Today’s political headlines includes the Lib Dems are top of the polls as Swinson launches leadership campaign, Trump indicates support for Johnson and a record number of patients are forced to change surgery as GPs close.<\/b><\/p>\n
Lib Dems top poll as Swinson launches leadership campaign Trump indicates support for Johnson Record number of patients forced to change surgery as GPs close Harper joins Tory race Labour peer claimed \u00a350,000 in expenses but didn\u2019t speak Trump to confront May over Huawei Most Tory leadership contenders say they\u2019re feminists Candidates endorse report calling for increased public spending
\n<\/strong>A new poll<\/a> by YouGov for The Times<\/em> shows that the Liberal Democrats have taken the lead, with 24% of the vote, followed by the Brexit Party on 22%. The Conservatives and Labour are each on 19%. The unprecedented finding appears to reflect the electorate dividing between those who want a no-deal Brexit and those who\u2019d rather remain in the EU. The Guardian<\/em> says<\/a> that Lib Dem deputy leader Jo Swinson has confirmed that she is standing for the leadership, saying that the \u2018country is crying out for a liberal movement that will challenge the forces of nationalism and populism\u2019.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>According<\/a> to The Daily Telegraph<\/em>, Donald Trump has indicated that Boris Johnson is his preferred leader of the Conservative Party. While he hasn\u2019t formally endorsed him, yesterday he said that Johnson was a \u2018friend\u2019 and that he had \u2018a lot of respect\u2019 for him. The two men are expected to hold private talks when Trump visits the UK next week, which would be a breach of convention, while Nigel Farage could also be invited.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Daily Mirror<\/em> reports<\/a> that last year 519,000 patients had to change GP because their clinic closed, which is a record high. According to the Patients Association, this is because of \u2018long-term failures in workforce planning and shortage of funding for the NHS in the face of rising patient need\u2019. The number of surgeries closing has increased sevenfold since 2013.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Daily Telegraph<\/em> reports<\/a> that Mark Harper, the former Chief Whip, has announced his candidacy for the Conservative leadership. He is the twelfth MP to do so, and admits that he is an \u2018underdog\u2019. However, he claims that he has an advantage over ministers who \u2018shared the responsibility\u2019 for failing to deliver Brexit with Theresa May, telling the paper \u2018we’ve seen basically the same faces saying the same things that they’ve been saying for the last three years\u2019.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>An investigation<\/a> by The Guardian<\/em> reveals that Labour peer David Brockman claimed almost \u00a350,000 in expenses from the House of Lords despite not speaking or asking questions. Other findings include that 88 peers didn\u2019t speak, hold posts or take part in committees, and that 46 didn\u2019t vote, sit on committees or hold posts.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Times<\/em> says<\/a> that Donald Trump will confront Theresa May about the security risk posed by Huawei when he visits next week. His national security advisor, John Bolton, said that the USA would only be happy with \u2018zero\u2019 risk in its federal telecoms network, suggesting that it was trying to convince its intelligence partners to follow its lead.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Guardian<\/em> says<\/a> that eight of the Tory leadership contenders, including frontrunner Boris Johnson, have said that they are feminists. This follows Dominic Raab saying that he \u2018probably\u2019 wasn\u2019t one, choosing to defend a claim he made in 2011 that feminists were \u2018obnoxious bigots\u2019.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Daily Mail<\/em> reports<\/a> that five Conservative leadership candidates, including Michael Gove and Jeremy Hunt, have backed a report from the think tank Onward calling on the Government to \u2018turn on all the taps\u2019 and boost spending on schools, hire more police officers and cut corporation tax. However, Chancellor Philip Hammond has warned that radical tax cuts could be unaffordable.<\/p>\n