As political leaders mark the end of the first week of the election campaign the fight for Downing Street has reached a pivotal moment.
Keir Starmer’s campaign appears to be close to getting derailed over the Diane Abbott row.
The veteran Labour MP, a trail blazer who was the first black female MP, has vowed to stand again after apparently being told she would be barred. Or has she? Sir Keir says not.
Now it is being linked to a wider purge of the left - something even Tony Blair did not do - with Chingford candidate Faiza Shaheen finding out last night she was barred.
Tory chancellor Jeremy Hunt pounced, asking: “How on earth can Keir Starmer expect to deal with Vladimir Putin when he can’t deal with Diane Abbott?”
However, Mr Hunt has questions to answer on tax. He promised not to raise income tax in the next parliament. Except he will.
By freezing income tax thresholds, around 4 million people will pay it for the first time and 3 million will be dragged into the higher 40p rate.
