The UK’s political leaders are marking the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings by setting out their electoral offer to veterans and members of the armed forces.The Conservatives say they would cut the cost of veterans’ railcards by a third and keep in place tax breaks for employers of veterans.Labour has committed to setting up a new commissioner to speak for members of the armed forces. The Liberal Democrats are promising to improve Ministry of Defence housing. Commemorations are taking place all week to pay tribute to those who took part in the D-Day landings – the military operation which began the campaign to liberate north-west Europe from Nazi occupation. On Wednesday, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer attended an event in Portsmouth held for the 80th anniversary of the operation. Speaking ahead of further events on Thursday, Mr Sunak said his party would, if re-elected, reduce the price of veterans’ railcards from £30 per year to £21 – funded from the Department for Transport’s existing budget.It is also re-committing to introducing a Veterans’ Bill which would criminalise the wearing of medals that people are not entitled to and ensure military qualifications get equal standing with civilian ones. A Labour spokesperson said: “Veterans have had 14 years of the Conservatives promising a lot but delivering very little.”In a statement, Sir Keir Starmer said the country owed “a huge debt of gratitude” to armed forces personnel and veterans and that his party would “repay that commitment with a new package of support”.Labour said it would use its first …
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[mwai_chat context=”Let’s have a discussion about this article:nnThe UK’s political leaders are marking the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings by setting out their electoral offer to veterans and members of the armed forces.The Conservatives say they would cut the cost of veterans’ railcards by a third and keep in place tax breaks for employers of veterans.Labour has committed to setting up a new commissioner to speak for members of the armed forces. The Liberal Democrats are promising to improve Ministry of Defence housing. Commemorations are taking place all week to pay tribute to those who took part in the D-Day landings – the military operation which began the campaign to liberate north-west Europe from Nazi occupation. On Wednesday, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer attended an event in Portsmouth held for the 80th anniversary of the operation. Speaking ahead of further events on Thursday, Mr Sunak said his party would, if re-elected, reduce the price of veterans’ railcards from £30 per year to £21 – funded from the Department for Transport’s existing budget.It is also re-committing to introducing a Veterans’ Bill which would criminalise the wearing of medals that people are not entitled to and ensure military qualifications get equal standing with civilian ones. A Labour spokesperson said: “Veterans have had 14 years of the Conservatives promising a lot but delivering very little.”In a statement, Sir Keir Starmer said the country owed “a huge debt of gratitude” to armed forces personnel and veterans and that his party would “repay that commitment with a new package of support”.Labour said it would use its first …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]
