Good evening. It’s day eight of the general election campaign – here’s the latest.
A first analysis has revealed that private school fees are set to rise by more than two-and-a-half times the rate of inflation as they brace for Labour’s tax raid. Meanwhile, a former Tory MP has defected to Labour, saying the party can “bring back optimism into British life”.
Elsewhere, Angela Rayner has insisted that Diane Abbott should be allowed to stand as a Labour candidate in a direct challenge to Sir Keir Starmer.
If you want to receive twice-daily briefings like this by email, sign up to the Front Page newsletter here.
Conservative MP defects to Labour
MP Mark Logan, who represents Bolton North East, told BBC News that he was backing Labour at the general election. He said his application to join Labour was “going in today”. He added that Labour had been on a “journey” and now offered “centrist politics” – follow our live blog for the latest updates.
Private school fees rise 6.2pc to brace for Starmer’s VAT raid
Data collated by The Telegraph predicts an average 6.2 per cent hike for parents in the 2024/25 academic year, despite inflation coming down to 2.3 per cent. Use our tool to find out how much Labour’s private school VAT hike will cost you and Mike Warburton explains how to fight back against Labour’s attack on private school fees.
