Cleverly warns Labour will 'distort' political system
- Published
Conservative James Cleverly has warned that a Labour government would seek to "distort" the UK political system.
The home secretary was speaking as the general election campaign entered its final week, with the Tories seeking to warn against a Labour "super majority", as Sir Keir Starmer's party continues to dominate the opinion polls.
Labour has promised to phase out the remaining hereditary peers - Lords who inherit a seat in Parliament - in its manifesto, as well as giving 16 and 17-year-olds the right to vote.
Meanwhile, Labour has unveiled a new message as the 4 July poll nears, urging voters to avoid "waking up on July 5 to five more years" of Conservative government.
Speaking on BBC Breakfast, Mr Cleverly said Labour would "pack up" the House of Lords and give votes to 16-year-olds, foreign nationals and "criminals".
Only votes for 16 and 17-year-olds and changes to the House of Lords are in the Labour manifesto - there is no mention of votes for prisoners, and an earlier suggestion of votes for EU citizens has been ditched.
Mr Cleverly said: "They have said they're going to distort political system.
"I think there's a real risk that they take a majority, if that's what they get, to try to lock in their power permanently, because they don't really feel confident they're going to be able to make a credible case to the British people at the next election."
The home secretary was echoing the words of Rishi Sunak, who told a campaign rally in Staffordshire that there were "four days to save Britain from a Labour government".
He said: "If these polls are right, and Labour are in power with a super majority, you have to think about what that will mean – a Labour government unchecked, no-one to hold them accountable, no-one to stand up to them in Parliament and all of the impact it would have on all of your lives."
Over the weekend, Labour won endorsements from the Sunday Times and the Financial Times to add to those from the Economist - all titles that have previously backed the Conservatives.
Labour has also won backing from the Guardian and Observer, the Daily and Sunday Mirror, the Independent, and Scotland's Daily Record; whereas the Conservatives are the choice of the Daily and Sunday Telegraph, the Sunday Express and the Mail on Sunday.
Labour's Jonathan Ashworth welcomed the new endorsements from the newspapers.
"But the real endorsement we want is is the endorsement of the British people on Thursday," he told BBC Breakfast.
Labour has held a consistent 20-point poll lead for the last 18 months and maintained this with four days to go until polling day - but Mr Ashworth urged against complacency.
As shadow environment secretary Steve Reed handed out pillows with Mr Sunak's face on them to journalists on the Labour battle bus, Mr Ashworth urged voters to "vote for change" on Thursday so they don't "wake up to five more years of Rishi Sunak".
"To those who are still making up their mind or those who think this is a done deal -it is not," he said.
"Every single vote will count and if you want to get rid of the Conservatives, the way to do that is Labour."
Meanwhile, Mr Sunak claimed Russian President Vladimir Putin did not want the Tories to be re-elected due to their staunch support for Ukraine.
"Putin would like nothing more than for Britain to step back, to appease his aggression rather than face it down, and that is what will happen with another party in power," he told the Telegraph.
“Nigel Farage has talked of appeasing Russia, which will only play into Putin’s hands, and Labour will cut UK defence spending on day one.
"This will embolden our enemies and send a signal to our allies that Britain is not with them any more."
However, Mr Ashworth labelled the remarks "desperate" when asked about the claim that Mr Putin would prefer to see Labour win over the Conservatives.
"No of course not," he told Times Radio. "This is pretty desperate stuff from the Tories now, really desperate... Labour would always put the defence of our people first."
The Labour manifesto commits to spending 2.5% of GDP on defence "as soon as we can".
There was a backlash against Mr Farage when he suggested Mr Putin was "provoked" into the invastion of Ukraine.