All the best General Election 2024 memes so far

 UK 

Rishi Sunak's General Election announcement hijacked by fan favourite Larry the Downing Street cat

Chief Mouser Larry the Cat stole the spotlight from Prime Minister Rishi Sunak as he ended months of speculation and confirmed the General Election would be held on July 4

Larry the Cat stole much of the public's attention (
Image: Tim Merry)NEWS

By Anders Anglesey

News Reporter

MIRROR

 22 May 2024

A soggy Rishi Sunak hoped to set out the Conservative Party's stall as he announced the date of the General Election only for Larry - the beloved Downing Street cat - to hijack his moment.

Heavy rain and blaring speakers downed out the Prime Minister as he called a snap election for July 4 following months of speculation about when the nation would next go to the polls. Despite his valiant attempts to defend his Government's record in office, it was a fellow Downing Street resident that won many of the public's attention.

As the Prime Minister addressed reporters outside No 10, viewers watching the announcement noticed the "Chief Mouser" was also caught in the rain. The feline was spotted sitting on the window before shifting to stand outside the door to No 10, no doubt in the hope he would be let in. Larry's predicament captured the hearts of many, who took to social media to share their concern.


UK General Election 2024 LIVE updates as soggy Rishi Sunak announces snap vote on July 4

Larry the Cat hijacked the Prime Minister's announcement (
Image: SKY News)

X user @Moswazowskinail said: "Larry the Cat is on the window. Let him in. Also, they cut the cameras away from Downing Street so do not know what's happening right now." Social media user @Ekklesia_co_uk added: "Larry the Cat has come out of No 10 and is sitting on the window, looking very unimpressed."

Others praised Larry, joking that he was more trusted than several Westminster politicians. The X commenter @LucyDBLanguage posted: "Larry @Number10cat looking way more statesmanslike (sic) on the steps of Downing Street than Sunak did." While @HelenYoung16 commented: "Larry the Cat sitting on the front step knowing he's the only Downing Street resident most of us trust."

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Things Can Only Get Better drowns out Rishi Sunak’s election speech

CHARLIE HERBERT

  News 

22nd May 2024

‘Whoever is playing Things Can Only Get Better during Rishi’s announcement deserves a gong’

The song Things Can Only Get Better blared out in the background as Rishi Sunak announced a surprise general election.

In an announcement outside Downing Street on Wednesday, the Prime Minister confirmed the country would head to the polls in six weeks time on July 4.

But as he stood outside Number 10 in the rain delivering his speech, protestors managed to get Things Can Only Get Better playing on a loud speaker.

You can watch the moment below.

Rishi Sunak drowned out by Things Can Only Get Better

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Along with the obvious message of the song’s title, the D:Ream track was also used by Labour during the 1997 general election, when Tony Blair won a huge 179-seat majority for the party.

Reacting on social media, one person wrote: “Whoever is playing ‘Things Can Only Get Better’ during Rishi’s announcement deserves a gong. Lol”

Another said: “Someone’s playing Things Can Only Get Better phahaha.”

Someone’s playing Things Can Only Get Better phahaha #GeneralElection pic.twitter.com/5RdyUXqepd

— Tom (@tommtthw) May 22, 2024

Meanwhile, comedian Kathy Burke described the song choice as “so f***ing perfect.”

Someone else wrote: “Sorry it’s really funny that he’s visibly being rained on and drowned out by things can only get better.”

Rumours that Sunak would call an election had been circulating on social media throughout Wednesday, with Downing Street sources not ruling out an early election announcement.

In recent weeks, the prime minister had said a general election would take place in the second half of 2024, but it was widely assumed this would not be until the autumn.

ITV reports that there had been a split in the Tory party over whether to hold an election in July or November.

Meanwhile the Guardian says that government insiders had warned Sunak that the economy was unlikely to improve much over the summer, whilst questions would continue about the Rwanda policy.

The publication says it was this that convinced the PM to call an election early.

The latest an election could have been called is December 17 this year, which would have been the fifth anniversary of the day this Parliament first met.

Anyone on the electoral register aged 18 or above on polling day can vote as long as they are:

• a British citizen, a qualifying Commonwealth citizen or a Republic of Ireland citizen with a UK address
• not legally excluded from voting

You must be on the electoral register in order to vote. You can register to vote at any time if you are 16 or over, or 14 or over in Scotland and Wales. To register to vote, click here.

UK citizens who live abroad can now register to vote in the constituency where they were previously on the electoral roll.

Related links:

Pensioner expertly breaks down why younger generation will never own homes

Martin Lewis slams minister to his face on the state of education

WATCH: Is Rishi Sunak about to call an election? Sewage in the taps and online misogyny | PMQs reaction

  

‘Inauspicious’ PM announces election in the rain with ‘It Can Only Get Better’ blaring in background

Rishi Sunak surprised Westminster by calling the election earlier than had been widely expected.

by David Hughes
2024-05-22


Rishi Sunak has called a General Election for July 4, saying it was “the moment for Britain to choose its future”.

The Prime Minister has gambled that improved inflation figures and a recovering economy will help him overturn Labour’s 20-point opinion poll lead.

In a sign that security and the economy will be key battlegrounds, Mr Sunak said: “This election will take place at time when the world is more dangerous than it has been since the end of the Cold War.”

The “uncertain times” call for a “clear plan”, he said.





A July election is earlier than many in Westminster had expected, with a contest in October or November widely thought to have been more likely.

Mr Sunak’s announcement came after the Office for National Statistics said Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation slowed to 2.3% in April, down from 3.2% in March.

He said that was a “major milestone” for the country, with inflation now “back to normal” levels.

One reason for delaying might have been to allow Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to deliver another tax-cutting financial statement in the lead-up to the vote, but official figures revealed borrowing for April overshot forecasts, hitting £20.5 billion, suggesting he would have had limited scope for pre-election giveaways.

 

All the best General Election 2024 memes so far

Tom SandersPublished May 22, 2024, 6:26pm|Updated May 22, 2024, 

Social media has delivered its verdict on Rishi’s GE annoucement (Picture: Getty)

Rishi Sunak has finally announced a General Election, and predictably, it has all got off to a chaotic start.

Following a day of feverish speculation which set social media alight, ‘Hot Podium Guy’ took to the stage and paved the way for Rishi Sunak to announce what most of us had been anticipating all day- an election was coming on July 4.

Making the annoucement drenched by heavy rain while protesters blasted the New Labour anthem ‘Things Can Only Get Better’ in the background, it wasn’t exactly an ideal start for Sunak, and with his party trailing massively in the polls already it looks to be an uphill struggle for our embattled PM.

But while both parties get to work on their sloganeering and pitches to the electorate, the peanut gallery on Twitter has already provided a snap verdict on the opening round. So without further ado, here’s the best memes, tweets and reactions from the PM’s announcement:

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Sunak ‘excluded deaf community’ as he called General Election by not having BSL interpreter

Wednesday 22 May 2024 

Rishi Sunak issues a statement outside 10 Downing StreetCredit: PA


Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has been accused of excluding the deaf community by not having a sign language interpreter with him when he called the General Election.

According to the hearing charity RNID, Downing Street pledged to have British Sign Language (BSL) interpreters on hand for big announcements from spring 2024.

However, there was no interpreter in sight when Mr Sunak made his announcement outside Number 10 on Wednesday afternoon.

UK General Election to take place on July 4, Rishi Sunak confirms
The charity wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “Where’s the British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter @10DowningStreet?

“Calling a General Election is one of the biggest moves our country can make – deaf people deserve to have that information at the same time as everyone else. This is not good enough!

“Let this be the last time British Sign Language (BSL) users are left behind – we call on all candidates to make this the most accessible General Election ever.”

As part of the Government’s disability action plan, officials said they would “make government publications and communications more accessible”.

This includes a pledge that “Number 10 Downing Street will work to provide in-situ BSL interpretation for all major press conferences and briefings from spring 2024 onwards.”

UK general election called for July 4 in surprise announcement

Hannah Davenport

Today 

Left Foot Forward

Rishi Sunak announces a snap summer general election

The Prime Minister has announced that a general election will be held on July 4, after making a surprise statement outside Downing Street this afternoon.

It follows fevered speculation after Rishi Sunak said that the election would take place in the second half of this year during Prime Minister’s Questions today. Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron was then forced to cut short his trip to Albania to “attend a meeting in London”, while Defence Secretary Grant Shapps had to delay an overseas trip to attend cabinet.

Political commentators were poised over the rumours of a general election as Home Office ministers were told to clear their diaries, while Rishi Sunak has faced fierce pressure from the opposition to announce a date.

He has now called a snap summer general election as he said the king has granted the dissolution of Parliament, which will be dissolved in Thursday 30 May ahead of what will be an intense six-week general election campaign period.

During his speech outside 10 Downing Street, Sunak talked about the government’s achievements, as he said a growing economy was “proof” that his “plan was working” and asked “who do you trust to lead our country?”

He said there were uncertain times ahead and insisted that he and his government have a clear plan to “take bold action” for the country “to flourish”.

It comes as Rishi Sunak is trailing behind Keir Starmer in the polls, with Labour about 20 points ahead of the Conservatives. But Sunak may be hoping that the rare glimpse of economic good news with the fall in inflation announced today could help his election campaign.

A Tory rebel source also told the BBC that some letters of no confidence in Rishi Sunak were being submitted, after a senior Tory MP said the atmosphere in the tea room was “panic”, ahead of the rumours of an imminent general election.

Commentators have also noted that the July 4th summer election will fall during Wimbledon and the Euros.

(Image credit: Rory Arnold / Number 10 – Creative Commons)

British Prime Minister Sunak sets July 4 election date as his Conservatives face likely defeat

LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Wednesday set July 4 as the date for a national election that will determine who governs the U.K., as his divided and demoralized Conservative Party looks likely to lose power after 14 years.

Heavy rain falls on the jacket of Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak as he speaks to the media outside 10 Downing Street in London Wednesday, May 22, 2024, he announced that he has called a General Election for July 4. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)


Jill Lawless And Brian Melley, The Associated Press


LONDON (AP) 

“Now is the moment for Britain to choose its future,” Sunak said in an announcement that took many people who expected a fall election by surprise. He chose a good day of economic news, hoping to remind wavering voters of one relative success of his time in office.

But Sunak was drenched by heavy rain outside the prime minister's residence, and his announcement was nearly drowned out by protesters blasting “Things Can Only Get Better,” a rival Labour campaign song from the Tony Blair era.

Sunak’s center-right party has seen its support dwindle steadily. It has struggled to overcome a series of crises including an economic slump, ethics scandals and a revolving door of leaders in the past two years.

The center-left Labour Party is strongly favored to defeat Sunak’s party. Labour leader Keir Starmer said his party would bring stability.

“Together we can stop the chaos, we can turn the page, we can start to rebuild Britain and change our country,” Starmer said.

Bookies and pollsters rank Sunak as a long shot to stay in power. But he said he would “fight for every vote.”

Sunak stressed his credentials as the leader who saved millions of jobs with support payments during the COVID-19 pandemic and got the economy under control. He said the election would be about “how and who you trust to turn that foundation into a secure future.”

The election will be held against the backdrop of a cost-of-living crisis and deep divisions over how to deal with migrants and asylum seekers making risky English Channel crossings from Europe.

The announcement came the same day official figures showed inflation in the U.K. had fallen sharply to 2.3%, its lowest level in nearly three years on the back of big declines in domestic bills.

The drop in April marks the greatest progress to date on five pledges Sunak made in January 2023, including halving inflation, which had climbed to above 11% at the end of 2022. Sunak hailed the new figure as evidence his plan was working.

“Today marks a major moment for the economy, with inflation back to normal,” Sunak said Wednesday ahead of the election announcement. “Brighter days are ahead, but only if we stick to the plan to improve economic security and opportunity for everyone.”

Voters across the United Kingdom will choose all 650 members of the House of Commons for a term of up to five years. The party that commands a majority in the Commons, either alone or in coalition, will form the next government and its leader will be prime minister.

Starmer, a former chief prosecutor for England and Wales, is the current favorite. The party’s momentum has built since it dealt the Conservatives heavy losses in local elections earlier this month.

The Conservatives have also lost a series of special elections for seats in Parliament this year, and two of its lawmakers recently defected to Labour.

Following on his party’s successes in the local elections, Starmer, 61, last week announced a platform focused on economic stability after years of soaring inflation as he tries to win over disillusioned voters.

He also pledged to improve border security, recruit more teachers and police and reduce lengthy waiting lists at hospitals and doctors′ clinics across the country.

Elections in the U.K. have to be held no more than five years apart, but the prime minister can choose the timing within that period. Sunak, 44, had until December to call an election. The last one was in December 2019.

Many political analysts had anticipated that a fall election would give Conservatives a better chance of maintaining power. That’s because economic conditions may improve further, voters could feel the effect of recent tax cuts, interest rates may come down and a controversial plan to deport some asylum-seekers to Rwanda — a key policy for Sunak — could take flight.

Tim Bale, professor of politics at Queen Mary University of London, said some voters might give Sunak credit for gambling on an early election because it makes him look strong and bold rather than weak and indecisive. But he said voters care about the fundamentals.

“And those fundamentals don’t look particularly good for the prime minister,” Bale said. “The economy, whatever he says, is still fairly weak. Growth is fairly anemic. Inflation has come down, but it’s still there ... (and) public services are in trouble.”

Sunak had been noncommittal about the election date, repeatedly saying — as late as lunchtime on Wednesday — that he expected it would be in the second half of the year.

Although inflation has fallen, Sunak’s other promises — to grow the economy, reduce debt, cut waiting lists to see a doctor at the state-run National Health Service and stop the influx of migrants crossing the English Channel — have seen less success.

He has struggled after entering office following the disastrous tenure of Liz Truss, who lasted only 49 days after her economic policies rocked financial markets. Truss had been chosen by party members after Boris Johnson was ousted over a series of ethics scandals.

___

Associated Press writer Danica Kirka contributed to this story.

Jill Lawless And Brian Melley, The Associated Press

General Election date: John Swinney accuses Downing Street of contempt


By James Walker@James_L_Walker

Political Reporter

THE First Minister has accused Downing Street of showing “contempt” for the Scottish people over the choice of date for the next General Election.

Rishi Sunak announced the snap election will be held on July 4, which will be in the first week of the school summer holidays in Scotland.

Speaking after Sunak's announcement, John Swinney set his sights firmly on the Prime Minister’s party rather than Labour, despite polls suggesting they are the SNP’s closest rival in Scotland.

Posting on Twitter/X, Swinney said: “I look forward to leading @theSNP in this election.

“This is the moment to remove the Tory Govt and put Scotland First by voting SNP.

“People in Scotland know we stand up for them and protect them from the damage done by Westminster.”

Speaking to journalists at Holyrood on Wednesday, the First Minister added that the party was in a “really good state” to fight the election because it has “strong, popular leadership”, adding that “Scotland is protected by the SNP”.

He also accused Downing Street of “contempt” for the Scottish people, with SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn also hitting out at the timing – saying it is "deeply concerning that Scotland’s school holidays have been an afterthought to Westminster".

The Scottish Greens – who until last month were the SNP’s Government partners – said they are prepared to stand a record number of candidates in the election.

“Scottish Greens are ready to go, we will be standing more candidates than ever before on July 4. With Scottish Greens in the room, people can be sure climate justice and social justice will always be on the table,” said co-leader Lorna Slater.


“A strong Scottish Green vote in this election could be transformational, so everybody needs to get out and vote for people and for planet.

“This is the last chance to save our nature and climate from the Tories, to put an end to their planet-wrecking policies, and to protect future generations from the harm being inflicted upon them.”

Alba Party leader and former first minister Alex Salmond urged voters to use the General Election to seek independence.


He said: “The 4th of July is celebrated in the USA as their Independence Day, but if we make the General Election about independence then in Scotland it may no longer be known as an American holiday, but as the day Scotland declared to the world that we will not accept a Westminster veto over our right to self-determination and that we have voted for Scotland to be an independent country.

“Alba Party are now the natural home for independence supporters. If we work hard then Alba can make a big impact for independence in the coming election.”

Analysis: Swinney slams election called during holidays as poll could be disaster for SNP but dream for Labour

By David Bol

THESCOTSMAN
Published 22nd May 2024,

The snap general election is set to be a dream come true for Labour in Scotland – but could spell disaster for the SNP hoping for time to steady the ship.

John Swinney has branded Rishi Sunak calling a snap general election during the Scottish summer holidays as “the latest act of disrespect” from Westminster.

Mr Swinney has welcomed the poll being held on July 4, but admitted it was happening “sooner than we thought”.

The poll will coincide with school summer holidays in Scotland but not in England, with many families likely to have already booked vacations.

John Swinney has criticised the general election taking place during the Scottish school summer holidays (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)


Speaking to the BBC, Mr Swinney described the move as “the latest act of disrespect from a Conservative government to call an election during the Scottish summer school holidays”. Expect more of that narrative in the coming weeks.


Read MoreWhy Rishi Sunak called a July general election and what it means for Scotland an...

He claimed the timetable will have “not have been given a moment’s thought” by the Conservatives and was another example of the “contempt the Tories have for Scotland”.


Despite the timetable, Mr Swinney said: “I very much look forward to leading the SNP in this election campaign.

Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross (Photo by Andrew Milligan/PA Wire)

“This is the moment to remove the Tory government and put Scotland first by voting SNP. We will work night and day to protect them from the damage done by Westminster.”

He claimed that “the SNP offers a better future to the broken Westminster consensus”.

The SNP leader added: “In this election we’ll be making the case why decisions about Scotland should be made here – and I’ll take that message to every part of Scotland.

“A vote for the SNP is a vote to put Scotland first – and for Scotland to become an independent country.”

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar (Photo by Lisa Ferguson)

The timing is a huge blow for the SNP. The party is lagging behind Labour in the polls and was hoping for a few months of stable government from Mr Swinney to steady the ship and close the gap. That has been ruled out.

Now, Mr Swinney has just six weeks to turn the SNP’s fortunes around.

There are also concerns over how prepared, financially, the SNP is to fight a general election. Accounts published in August 2023 showed that the SNP made a loss of more than £800,000 in the previous year.

For Labour, particularly in Scotland, a snap election is a dream come true. Anas Sarwar’s party has been chomping at the bit for months for a general election as they look to significantly boost their two Scottish MPs and help build a Labour government at Westminster.

First Minister John Swinney and Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar are gearing up for the general election (Picture: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

Mr Sarwar has insisted that “the people of Scotland and the UK are desperate for an election and desperate for change”.

He added: “After 14 years of Tory chaos and failure, this is an opportunity that we cannot afford to miss.

“Scotland is crying out for change and that change is only possible with a Labour government led by Keir Starmer that is on the side of working people.

“Voting Scottish Labour means booting out this rotten Tory government, maximising Scotland’s influence with Scottish Labour MPs in government and delivering the change that Scotland needs. It’s time for change and Labour is ready to deliver it.”

For the Scottish Tories, the election could be dismal - with the party plummeting in the polls.

One Tory MSP said that it was a "disaster to hold it over the summer", but stressed "it was becoming obvious there is no good time for us to have this election".

Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross stressed his party was “ready to take the fight to the SNP and beat the nationalists in crucial seats up and down Scotland”.

He added that the general election in Scotland was “a huge opportunity to defeat the SNP and put an end to their obsession with independence for good”.

But Mr Ross, who is standing down as an MP at the election, has suggested tactical voting may be required to oust the SNP from seats the Tories are targeting and hoping to hold on to.

He said: “If voters unite in the many seats where it’s a straight fight between the Scottish Conservatives and the SNP, we can get rid of nationalist MPs who have never focused on the things that really matter.

“In key seats up and down Scotland, only the Scottish Conservatives can beat the SNP and get all of the attention on to voters’ top priorities, such as creating good jobs, reducing NHS waiting lists and investing in schools.”

The Scottish Greens have no prospect of winning any Westminster seats, but their vote share could prove vital in taking away support from the SNP in marginal seats - helping Labour to make gains, particularly across the central belt.

Scottish Greens co-leader, Lorna Slater, boasted that her party is “ready to go”, adding “we will be standing more candidates than ever before on July 4”.

Ms Slater has stressed that voting for the Greens shows support for “climate justice and social justice”.

She added: “A strong Scottish Green vote in this election could be transformational, so everybody needs to get out and vote for people and for planet.

“This is the last chance to save our nature and climate from the Tories, to put an end to their planet wrecking policies, and to protect future generations from the harm being inflicted upon them.”

The LibDems are expecting to make gains south of the Border as support for the Conservatives falls, but their ambitions in Scotland remain less clear.

Scottish Lib Dems leader Alex Cole-Hamilton has stated “it is absolutely within our grasp to have more liberals than nationalists” in the next Westminster parliament from Scotland.

Alex Salmond’s Alba party face the likelihood, if not the inevitability, of losing their two MPs who defected from the SNP – leaving questions over whether the party has an electoral future at all.

Election 2024: cornered and with nowhere to turn, Rishi Sunak rolls the dice

By Josh Self
Editor
Wednesday, 22 May, 2024

And so it has come to pass. After a day of feverish speculation in Westminster, a soaking wet Rishi Sunak — drowned out by Tony Blair’s 1997 election theme tune — has confirmed that Britain will head to the polls on July 4th.

How does one explain this surprise development, given Westminster had collectively come to expect an election in the autumn or winter later this year? Well first, Sunak’s strategists will have resolved that this “shock” development works to their man’s advantage. The prime minister has never quite managed to grip the agenda at Westminster — but all that changed in the most profound, politically seismic way this afternoon.

But Sunak’s rationale naturally runs deeper than any ephemeral shock factor — and it is twofold: (1), after some dire months politically, he will have felt compelled to stop the rot; and, (2), with the political tides refusing to turn, he had simply run out of tricks. Let’s take them in turn.

***Politics.co.uk is the UK’s leading digital-only political website, providing comprehensive coverage of UK politics. Subscribe to our daily newsletter here.***

It is no secret that Conservative decay had emerged as the prevailing narrative at Westminster. Politically crippling portents of a reckoning to come arrived weekly — and with escalating severity. Electoral routings, MP defections, sleaze scandals and stories of standing down Tories contoured the daily conversation at Westminster. It amounted to a slow, ostensibly inexorable, political disintegration.

As such, against this backdrop, Sunak had run out of meaningful responses.

Not so long ago, there was a time when the PM looked ahead to a series of set-piece events on the near horizon, lauding each as a chrysalis chamber from which he would emerge energised and election-ready. Count with me: Conservative Party conference, the King’s speech, a cabinet reshuffle and the autumn statement; all were framed in terms of how they might alter the destiny of a tired party tailspinning into opposition. In the end, the Spring Budget proved the last — and perhaps the purest — illustration of an underlying brutal reality: nothing was shifting the dial.

Before the PM’s announcement today, therefore, we had reached the point in the political cycle when every action by the government was judged according to its electoral potency. It followed that, with Rishi Sunak’s party languishing over 20 points behind Labour by most measures, individual actions were dismissed as too late and not enough. But the reading was no breezier for the prime minister when his recent relaunch attempts were taken together: persistent strategic failure exacts a heavy toll — soon people just stop listening.

Moreover, every sepulchral set piece, every by-election routing, each distressing development (opinion poll, recession, etc.) served to further fan the flames of cynicism in the Conservative Party at large. A pungent odour of defeat hovered over every government move; a malaise had set in — and the Conservative Party was slowly coming to terms with it.

In this way, with a general election expected sooner or later (sooner as it turns out) and the polls showing no sign of narrowing, Conservative MPs still declined to fall behind Sunak en masse; the conservative press refused to temper its antagonism; and privately — and at times very publicly — ambitious MPs postured for a leadership contest to come.

After the local elections, therefore, the question vexing Westminster was not whether Sunak‘s comeback could soon start, but rather: how low can the Conservatives go? The situation, with Sunak’s window for action shrinking by the week, was untenable. And so the dice gets rolled.

Don’t doubt it for a second: this is the biggest gamble of Rishi Sunak’s premiership.


Posterity will either declare it genius or political suicide.

Josh Self is Editor of Politics.co.uk, follow him on X/Twitter here.

Politics.co.uk is the UK’s leading digital-only political website, providing comprehensive coverage of UK politics. Subscribe to our free daily newsletter here.

The opinions in Politics.co.uk's Comment section are those of the author.

UK
Inmates dig through cell wall with plastic cutlery

Curtis Lancaster,

BBC News

Getty Images
HMP Winchester, built between 1846 and 1850, was found to have "crumbling walls and roofs"

Inmates in Winchester Prison dug through cell walls using plastic cutlery, a report has found.

The Independent Monitoring Board's (IMB) national annual report for 2023 looked at the treatment and conditions for those detained.

Victorian establishments like Winchester, were labelled "particularly dire" with crumbling walls, which were able to be damaged by inmates.

The Ministry of Justice said it was "delivering an additional 20,000 modern prison places" across the country.


HMP Winchester, mostly built in the mid-19th Century, was found to have "crumbling walls and roofs all over the prison" which lead to "leaks, flooding, and slip hazards".

The report added: "There were several occasions throughout the year where prisoners were able to damage and attempt to dig through cell walls, on one occasion through the wall to the landing, using simple implements such as plastic cutlery."

The IMB said it was difficult to keep such buildings "functional and decent".

HMP Winchester IMB
Victorian establishments like Winchester Prison, were labelled "particularly dire"

The IMB added that Winchester's Care and Separation unit's were routinely full, with prisoners segregated in cellular confinement on the wings instead.

The report also found there were problems with the release of prisoners from Winchester.

It noted 40 - 50% of men were being release from the prison without accommodation, leaving them homeless.

The Winchester findings were part of the IMB's report into conditions in prisons across England and Wales.

It concluded that "population pressures and overcrowding caused tremendous strain on every area of prison life, which was compounded by widespread staff shortages".

Getty Images
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said it was "delivering an additional 20,000 modern prison places"


The Ministry of Justice said: “We are delivering an additional 20,000 modern prison places – including opening two new prisons in two years – to help rehabilitate offenders and keep our streets safe."

It said a £100m "security crackdown" in prisons included measures such as X-ray body scanners and specialist sniffer dogs.


Follow BBC South on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram. Send your story ideas to south.newsonline@bbc.co.uk or via WhatsApp on 0808 100 2240.


Decaying jail buildings undermine progress - report

World leaders still aren’t taking the ‘extreme risks’ of AI seriously

22May 2024
Text Thom Waite

DAZED

Joaquin Phoenix in Her (2013)Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

As trust in tech leaders like Sam Altman wanes, governments have agreed to establish a global network of AI safety institutes, but experts aren’t convinced that it’s enough to stop the tech from going rogue

In November last year, world leaders, prominent businesspeople, and (for some reason) King Charles gathered at the UK’s Bletchley Park for the world’s first AI safety summit, aiming to highlight the enormous risks of the most advanced AI models, offering a counterpoint to their huge projected benefits. The result was an unusual display of international unity, with the EU, China, and the US joining forces to sign the “world’s first” Bletchley Declaration. Six months later, however, things aren’t looking much better, according to the experts.

On Monday (May 20), 25 academics and experts in the field – including the likes of Geoffrey Hinton and Yoshua Bengio, two “godfathers of AI”, and Yuval Noah Harari – warned that governments have failed to adequately face up to the risks of powerful AI so far. “Although researchers have warned of extreme risks from AI, there is a lack of consensus about how to manage them,” they say. “AI safety research is lagging. Present governance initiatives lack the mechanisms and institutions to prevent misuse and recklessness and barely address autonomous systems.”

These doom-laden claims come in a paper titled Managing extreme AI risks amid rapid progress, published the day before a two-day summit in Seoul, which began May 21. In the South Korean capital, world leaders have been tasked with following up on last year’s safety commitments, and building upon these pretty vague foundations to ensure that the technology doesn’t prove too disastrous for humankind via the disruption of economies, elections, relationships and – on the more fantastical end of the scale – the very continuation of the human race.

The most concrete result of the Seoul summit is the joint signing of the Seoul Declaration by the EU and 10 other countries, including the UK, US, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea and the Republic of Singapore. This declaration commits to developing “human-centric, trustworthy and responsible” AI via a network of global AI safety institutes and research programmes. The UK, which founded the first of these institutes last year, simultaneously pledged £8.5 million in grants for new AI safety research. Just for context: ChatGPT developer OpenAI has been valued at $80 billion or more. Lol!

The renewed focus on AI’s risks comes amid rising scepticism toward leaders in the industry, most notably OpenAI’s CEO, Sam Altman, who has long positioned himself as a prominent figure in the safety conversation. Last week, Ilya Sutskever and Jan Leike, the co-leads of the company’s “Superalignment” team – the bit responsible for reining in the tech’s more existential threats – both resigned from their posts, with subsequent reports saying that they never received the resources they needed for their work. On top of that, Altman has been “embarrassed” by the revelation of manipulative exit agreements that encouraged outgoing employees to sign NDAs (just the latest cause for concern when it comes to OpenAI’s lack of transparency).

In even more public news, Scarlett Johansson recently accused OpenAI of stealing her voice for its latest chatbot iteration. Having declined to voice the chatbot when she was approached by OpenAI last year, the actor was apparently “shocked, angered and in disbelief” by its unveiling of a voice that sounded “eerily similar” to hers with GPT-4o. The company has since agreed to pull the voice, which it claims was never supposed to be an imitation of Johansson’s – even though Altman tweeted “her” straight after the launch, in an obvious reference to the 2013 film where Johansson voices an AI-powered virtual assistant.

Ok, so a dispute over a multimillionaire actor’s voice might not inspire too much sympathy. Many have pointed out, however, that the controversy raises broader suspicions about Altman’s – and other AI leaders’ – tendency to bypass rules and best practices, and reignites concerns about the manipulative personalities at the top of the game. Are these the people we want designing our potential successors? Maybe not!

All of that said, OpenAI has joined other tech giants including Google, Amazon, Meta, and Elon Musk’s xAI in signing a new round of voluntary commitments about AI safety to coincide with this week’s Seoul summit. These commitments include the publication of frameworks to measure the risks of their frontier AI models, and a promise to “not to develop or deploy a model at all” if it poses severe risks that can’t be mitigated.

The question is: will the actions of the countries and companies involved in the summit actually reflect their words, or will they continue to seek a competitive advantage via loopholes and a lack of transparency? When the next AI safety summit is held in France, six months down the line, will the experts be able to celebrate any real advancements, or will we still be speeding “recklessly” toward a world where AI spirals out of control, beyond the limits of human intervention? Based on the last six months, things aren’t looking too promising.