Tuesday briefing: Farage bombshell fires up campaign | World news – The Guardian, Theguardian.com

Good morning and welcome to today’s briefing. Nigel Farage has inserted himself front and center into the news cycle with a promise that his Brexit party will not contest Conservative-held seats. You can follow all the day’s developments atour politics live blog– but first let’s dive into this morning’s headlines.

What’s going on?

TheBrexit party leader’s dramatic U-turnhas given incumbent Conservatives clear air, but senior Conservatives are piling pressure on him to go further and stand down his candidates in Labor-held seats being targeted by Tories. Nigel Farage has conceded the Brexit party’s continued presence in those contests could lead to a hung parliament and a second referendum – the stopping of which was the “the single most important thing in our country”. He emailed supporters on Monday night pledging to “contest every seat held by Corbyn’s remainer Labor party” which he said had “openly betrayed” Labor leave voters.

Farage’s reversal has prompted claims from Labor , the Lib Dems and the SNP that he has secretly struck a pact in favor of a hard Brexit – something both the Brexit party and Tories denied. He is due toannounce on Fridaywhich seats the party is contesting.

Labor will focus on education today, pledging thatevery adult will be entitled to six years of free studyin a radical expansion of lifelong learning. The shadow education secretary, Angela Rayner, will announce the party would “throw open the doors” to adult learners if it wins government, including any adult without A-level or equivalent qualifications being able to study for them for free at college, and grants for low-income earners. Fiona Millar writes that Laborshould be sweeping the floor with the Torieswho have “brought schools to their knees ”But even last week they were asking for education policy ideas.

Week one of this campaign is barely done andracism has reared its ugly head, with one Lib Dem candidate resigning and a Tory refusing to do so. Kevin McNamara, who holds the marginal seat of Thurrock in Essex, has stepped down after a series of racist and homophobic tweets emerged. He has apologized and the party has opened an investigation. But the Tory candidate for South Cambridgeshire and former Johnson aide, Anthony Browne, hasrefused to stand asideover comments that blamed immigrants for bringing germs and HIV to the UK and accused Muslims of having divided loyalties.

At a glance

• The Guardian has unearthed a video showing howDominic Cummingshoned his political strategies in 2004 as campaign strategistfor North East Says No (Nesno ) against a regional assembly. The advert pits people against politicians and says money should go into the NHS, not politics.

• Labor’s MP until last week in Redcar (North Yorkshire),Anna Turley, is back in court today where she is suing the party’s biggest backer, Unite, over an article published on the Skwawkbox blog related to an application she made for union membership. Unite’s barrister has told the court Turley wasunfit to be an MP. ****************************

• Australia’s former top diplomat in the United Kingdom, Alexander Downer, has saidAustralia would need to “substantially reduce” intelligence sharing with the UKin the event Jeremy Corbyn wins on 12 December. Downer said a Corbyn victory would imperil substantial Australian investments in Britain, and would trigger a reassessment of the “very intimate” security relationship between Canberra and London.

• You can find out if the armed forcesreally have had a pay cut inour latest Fact Check (short answer: yes, in real terms since 2010).

• Don’t forget, you can check in at the end of the day on all the political action withAndrew Sparrow’s election briefing. In case you missed it,here is the first in the series.

The day ahead

Boris Johnsonwill chair a meeting of the Cobra emergency committeein response to the floods in the north.

• Jo Swinsonwill travel to flood-affected South Yorkshire. The Lib Dems are promising € 5bn for investment in flood defences.

• Jeremy Corbynwill launchLabor’s adult education and further education policyin Blackpool.

• Nicola Sturgeonwill join SNP candidateCatriona MacDonaldon the campaign trail in Edinburgh South.

• There will be aBrexit partyrally in Westminster at 11 AM.

Best of the rest

>Evo Morales, the former Bolivian president, has left the country for Mexico where he has been granted asylum after his disputed re-election led to national turmoil. Morales vowed he wouldsoon “return with more strength and energy ”to Bolivia. His exit has created further uncertainty and stoked fears about a power vacuum.

>Hospital admissions for children with pneumonia have risen by more than 50% in England in a decade, figures suggest, with the situation worst in deprived areas. Unicef ​​and Save the Children say it equates to six children being taken to hospital every hour. A health expert said parents shouldhave their children immunisedwith the pneumococcal and influenza vaccines to reduce their risk of getting sick.

>An antique turban-style hat made from theworld’s most exclusive textile – sea silk –is to be auctioned this week in New York. Its threads come from a giant Mediterranean mollusc,Pinna nobilis,whichroots itself to the seafloor with hundreds of fibers, known as byssus.

Once extracted, cleaned and spun, the threads are a rich chestnut color. It was once highly prized – Horatio Nelson wrote of his intention to send his lover, Emma Hamilton, a pair of gloves made from byssus – but fell out of favor among the synthetic fabrics of the (th century.)

Today in Focus podcast: Is the NHS up for sale at the election?

The NHS is one of the major battleground issues of the general election as parties debate the future of healthcare in the UK. Sarah Boseley and Denis Campbell discuss theextent of private company involvement in the NHS. Plus: Dan Collyns on the downfall of Evo Morales in Bolivia.