Tim Sigsworth;Dominic Penna;Jack MaidmentandAlex Barton
Reform activist’s Sunak slur ‘horrible’, says Farage
Nigel Farage has said the racial slur used against Rishi Sunak by a Reform UK activist was “horrible”.
Speaking to Channel 4 News, the party leader said: “It was horrible. It was horrible.”
Asked why he was not apologising, Mr Farage replied: “How much further can I go? Of course it’s an apology. I don’t know who this bloke is. Someone I met once years ago. I mean awful, horrible, horrible.
“Almost as bad as the Labour candidate in Clacton and his slurs on white people. Have you covered that?”
Conservatives are ‘climate deniers’, claims Flynn
Stephen Flynn has claimed that the Conservatives are “climate deniers”.
The SNP’s Westminster leader said on BBC Question Time: “In Scotland, we’ve got an abundance of offshore wind potential, green hydrogen potential, carbon capture potential.
“The future is bright and the future is green, but to make that happen, we need a Westminster system that wants to invest in green energy.
“The Tories are climate deniers. They’re not interested in climate change at all.”
Andrew Mitchell, the deputy foreign secretary, reacted with bemusem*nt to the remark, later saying he believed climate change was an “existential threat”.
I want to be Prime Minister for a decade, Starmer says
Sir Keir Starmer has said he wants to be Prime Minister for a decade.
Asked whether he would lead Britain throughout the “decade of national renewal” he has promised to deliver, the Labour leader said: “Oh I want to see that through. It’s my phrase.”
Sir Keir added: “A decade indicates how long I think it’s going to take for the fundamental change which will see a country transformed.
“And that years later, people will be able to look back and say that was a real game changing government.”
Asked if being Prime Minister at 71 would be too difficult, he said: “Well you know, I’m still playing football every week, managing 90 minutes. I’ve been playing since I was 10 years old. So these knees have been through a lot of games.”
‘Divisive’ Farage has no serious answers to Britain’s problems, says Starmer
Nigel Farage is “divisive” and has “no serious answers” to Britain’s problems, Sir Keir Starmer has said.
Speaking in an ITV interview, the Labour leader said: “I wouldn’t say [he is] not serious. But I don’t think he’s got serious answers to the questions the country is facing.”
Asked if Mr Farage was a “divisive” figure, Sir Keir said: “Yes, I do think he’s divisive because he tends to pick and choose between people and divide people.”
Labour will take ‘five years or more’ to reform care, Starmer admits
Sir Keir Starmer has admitted that Labour will take “five years or more” to reform care.
“It will take a number of years to set up because it has to be done properly,” he said in an ITV interview. “At least the first term of a Labour government.”
Paul Brand, the interviewer, interjected: “So five years to build serious reform?”
Sir Keir continued: “No, well, five years or more to get this right.”
He added: “It’s a very serious proposition. It’s going to take time.”
Starmer: The two-child benefit cap is bad but I won’t scrap it
Sir Keir Starmer has said he “understands” the damage done by the two-child benefit cap but that he will not commit to scrapping it.
“I don’t want to get ahead of myself and make hypothetical promises,” the Labour leader said.
“But I don’t want to leave you with the impression that I do not understand just how important this is the impact of the, of the cap and my sheer determination to drive down child poverty.
“We’ve done it before. We will do it again.”
Wealth creation ‘single most important thing’ to Labour, Starmer claims
Wealth creation will be “the single most important thing” to a Labour government, Sir Keir Starmer has said.
“Look, it’s a little odd in some respects to have a Labour leader saying that wealth creation is the number one mission of a Labour government,” Sir Keir said in an ITV interview.
“But I think that it’s the single most important thing and I genuinely think that working with business, we can get you know, the stability that we need, the investment that we need and reform the economy so that it works for more people across the country because it certainly doesn’t work at the moment.”
Starmer: I will never use my children in photo ops
Sir Keir Starmer has said he is “fiercely protective” of his children and will not put them in the media spotlight if he is Britain’s next Prime Minister.
“We are, you know, absolutely fiercely protective of the children,” the Labour leader said in an interview on ITV. “So we don’t have pictures of the children taken with us. We never use their names in public, that seems a bit odd.
“And it means that I’m unable to show how I am with my children. My boy’s 15, my girl’s 13, it’s quite an impactful age.
“It’s the only thing I really worry about about this election. If they were under five, I think they’d probably take it in their stride, probably wouldn’t notice too much.”
Sir Keir added: “This is a very impactful time and that’s why we’re fiercely protective of them and we will continue to be. So, don’t expect any photos of us with the children or using the children in any way to campaign.”
Tice says Reform activist’s slur was ‘inappropriate’
Richard Tice has said the Reform UK activist who used a racial slur to describe Rishi Sunak made “inappropriate” remarks.
The party chairman said: “We put a statement out and it’s all self-explanatory in the statement.
“The reality is that we’re a fast-growing movement, and when you’ve got unpaid volunteers, some people behave inappropriately. And they’re gone.”
Public should still vote Tory despite the betting scandal, says minister
The public should vote Conservative despite the election betting scandal, the deputy foreign secretary has said.
Asked if the Conservatives can still be trusted, Andrew Mitchell said: “I greatly regret what we have heard about this betting scandal in the last week, but you should vote because there are real differences between the Labour Party and the Conservative Party, and indeed the other parties as well.”
He added: “Everyone says that, basically, we’re getting Tory – and something that Stephen would definitely say –we’re getting Tory measures administered by Labour men and women.
“It’s not true. There is a real difference. The Conservative Party believes that you should keep as much of your income as you can and be taxed as little as possible.”
Mr Mitchell went on to say: “A majority of members of parliament on all sides are honest, decent people trying to do a good job. And if you, if you take a few bad apples, and you’ve done the whole profession on that basis, you will not increase trust in politics.”
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Flynn: Austerity to blame for knife crime
Austerity is to blame for knife crime among young people, the SNP’s Stephen Flynn has claimed.
Speaking on BBC One’s Question Time, Mr Flynn said: “We’re talking a lot about how you respond to someone with a knife, or how you punish someone who does something bad, when, in actual fact, what we should probably be talking about is why this is happening in the first place.
“It’s because the fabric within society has been broken by 14 years of austerity, because of the fact that money has been stripped out of the public services that each and every one of you relies upon, because of the fact that our young people don’t have the hope that they should have for their future.
“So they respond in a way which is filled with anger instead of optimism.”
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‘Mental health’ driving youth knife crime, Lib Dem claims
Young people’s “mental health” is driving an increase in knife crime, Layla Moran has claimed.
The Liberal Democrat told BBC Question Time: “What is causing a young person to feel that they need to go out with a knife?
“It’s in part fear. It’s in part deteriorating mental health in young people.
“So what I know works in areas where I’ve been an MP are youth services where it’s not just about a room, it’s where you’ve got youth workers who are on the streets getting to know those young people in their own backyards, who can then divert them on.”
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‘Comprehensive’ action needed on knife crime, says Cooper
Yvette Cooper has said “comprehensive” action is needed to tackle knife crime.
Labour’s shadow home secretary said on BBC Question Time: “It can’t just be a few token measures here and there. It has to be comprehensive.
“It does have to involve more police on the streets, and we have set out a plan for 13,000 more neighbourhood police.
“But it also has to mean there are proper consequences for carrying knives. There has to be a mandatory referral to the youth offending teams. Too often, there are just no consequences.”
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Reform UK’s challenge ‘even bigger than achieving Brexit’, says Farage
The challenge facing Reform UK is “even bigger” than achieving Brexit, Nigel Farage has said.
“In some ways, what we’re attempting here is even bigger than leaving the European Union,” the Reform leader said.
“This is about turning around the way our country is governed. It’s about a ruling class governed, not governed, but working hand in glove with the media.
“These guys don’t want change. It’s a case of, I’m all right Jack and the rest of you can go to hell, and we don’t need to worry about you because you’ll never really going to cause us any problems.
“Well, you know what, I think we should cause them the biggest problems they have seen in modern times. I think we should stand up and fight for what is right. I think we have an opportunity, on July 4 to make the first important step to turning our country around.”
Farage: Reform candidate scandals ‘nothing’ compared to Tory betting
Reform UK’s candidate selection scandals are nothing compared to the “betting ring that is the modern day Conservative Party”, Nigel Farage has said.
Speaking at a rally in Boston, Lincolnshire, he said: “We understand that in some cases, one or two people have let us down and we let them go.
“But compare that to the international price fixing and betting ring that is the modern day Conservative Party.
“I mean, it is astonishing, isn’t it? Every day that goes by we learn of more officials that bet on the date of an early election.
“This is corruption. This is greed. This is self entitlement. This is arrogance on a level that I can scarcely believe.”
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Channel migration an ‘invasion’, Farage says
Nigel Farage has said the small boats crisis is an “invasion”.
Speaking about remarks he made in 2020 warning about illegal migration across the English Channel, the Reform UK leader said: “I warned that, unless things changed, there may well be an invasion.
“How dare I? How dare I? Oh, gosh, what a terrible chap that Farage is.
“To use a word like invasion on the BBC, I mean, goodness gracious me.
“And yet, 4,000 boats and 128,000 people later, if it’s not an invasion, what the hell is it? What the hell is it?”
Tories need to overhaul election communications, says Badenoch
Kemi Badenoch has said the Conservatives need to overhaul their election communications to attract younger votes.
The business secretary told The Times: “The way we communicate needs to be updated for the 2020s and beyond. The [messaging] doesn’t quite work.
“People hear about pensions and triple lock and people under-65 don’t think it’s relevant to them. We need to have a broader conversation.”
Sunak ‘more dishonest than any politician since Blair’, says Farage
Rishi Sunak was “more dishonest” than any politician since Sir Tony Blair, Nigel Farage has said.
Speaking at a rally in Boston, Lincolnshire, the Reform UK leader said: “We’ve got Rishi. So energetic, like a teenager who’s gone to meet the prospective parents in law.
“Trying to do his best and be his best and to be oh so sincere but coming out with more spin and more dishonesty than any politician since Tony Blair, in my opinion. Slippery Rishi.”
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Sunak: Starmer will be ‘at back of room’ at Nato summit
Sir Keir Starmer would be at “the back of the room” at the Nato summit from July 9 to 11 if he is elected Prime Minister on July 4, Rishi Sunak has said.
Mr Sunak took aim at Sir Keir’s failure to match the Conservatives’ pledge to spend 2.5 per cent of GDP on defence by 2030.
“That means defence spending is going to go down from the plans that we’ve got in place, which are already happening with more money going to the armed forces,” Mr Sunak said.
“He’ll be at the back of the room. But what does that do? What message does that send to our adversaries, to China, to North Korea, to Russia, Iran?
“Here’s a new prime minister who says, no, no, I don’t think it’s important to invest more in our country’s defence. I am deeply worried about what that means. People should be deeply concerned.”
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Starmer cannot be allowed to lead, Sunak warns
Rishi Sunak has warned that Sir Keir Starmer “cannot lead” Britain because he “changes his mind” every five seconds.
“This is a guy who can’t tell you what he wants to do if he’s Prime Minister,” Mr Sunak told GB News.
“He wants to have the most important job in our country without going to tell you what he would do with it and on any position that he has taken in the last few years, he changes his mind five seconds later. That’s not leadership.
“And I can tell you, in the uncertain times that we live in, the things you have to grapple with as Prime Minister, if you don’t have the courage of your convictions, if you constantly change your mind, if you’re not straight with people about what you want to do, you cannot lead.”
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Sunak doubles down on calling Labour’s policies ‘surrender’
Rishi Sunak has doubled down on his use of “surrender” to describe Labour’s policies.
Asked on GB News if it was a “loaded” word, the Prime Minister said: “I don’t want people to surrender to Labour.
“I don’t want them to surrender to their tax rises. I don’t want people to surrender our borders to Labour, our welfare system to Labour, our national security to Labour, right?
“I’m up for the fight. I want people to join me in that fight. We should not surrender our country to this.”
Starmer blames media and politicians’ private education for VAT furore
Sir Keir Starmer has said an “element” of the backlash to his plan to impose VAT on private school fees is because many politicians and journalists were themselves educated privately.
In a Sky News interview, Sophy Ridge asked the Labour leader: “Do you think that some of the backlash against it has been because there’s so many people in Westminster and in the media who either went to private school or send their children there?”
He replied: “I think there’s an element of that.
“But parents across the country say to me, if they’ve got children in private school, that they’re concerned about it, and I go through the reason why we’re doing it with them, explain to them that schools don’t have to pass it on to them.”
Tugendhat twice declines to rule out running for Tory leadership
Tom Tugendhat has twice refused to rule out running to become leader of the Conservatives after the general election.
The security minister told ITV News on Thursday: “Well the first thing to do is win this leadership race.”
Asked a second time if he had leadership ambitions, he replied: “What I’m ruling in is winning the next general election by offering fantastic candidates.”
The Telegraph reported last week that Mr Tugendhat is expected to run for the leadership if a contest is triggered next month by defeat in the election.
Watch: Channel 4 News’s Clacton investigation
EXCLUSIVE: We've gone undercover inside Nigel Farage's Reform UK campaign in Clacton and found evidence of anti-migrant rhetoric, hom*ophobia and one canvasser making racist and offensive remarks. As @DarshnaSoni reports. pic.twitter.com/VkhVLczjcw
— Channel 4 News (@Channel4News) June 27, 2024
Reform denies overspending on Clacton campaign
Reform UK has denied overspending on Nigel Farage’s election campaign in Clacton.
Roger Gravett, Reform UK’s regional manager for London and candidate for Tottenham, by filmed by an undercover Channel 4 News reporter and appeared to admit that the campaign had exceeded local spending restrictions.
Peter Harris, Mr Farage’s electoral agent in the seat, said: “As to the suggestion that our campaign has overspent; I can assure everyone that this is completely untrue.”
In full: Nigel Farage’s statement
I am dismayed by the reported comments of a handful of people associated with my local campaign, particularly those who are volunteers. They will no longer be with the campaign.
The appalling sentiments expressed by some in these exchanges bear no relation to my own views, those of the vast majority of our supporters or Reform UK policy. Some of the language used was reprehensible.
Reform UK is a party for everybody who believes in Britain. I am proud that our supporters, candidates and national campaign team come from all backgrounds and identities.
I would be interested to know whether Channel 4 is subjecting the grassroots volunteers of all the political parties to similar subterfuges, or whether Reform UK has been singled out for special attention.
For instance, have they covered the grotesquely racist social media post by Labour’s candidate in Clacton who has now apparently been banished to the Midlands?
Just one week before polling day, we will not allow this to distract us from our mission to give voters a real alternative to the establishment parties that have broken Britain.
Reform activist called Rishi Sunak a ‘f---ing P---’ in racial slur, investigation reveals
A volunteer Reform UK canvasser has been filmed calling Rishi Sunak a “f---ing P---” by an undercover reporter.
Channel 4 News filmed the remarks in Clacton, where Nigel Farage is running to be MP, by Andrew Parker.
“I’ve always been a Tory voter,” he said. “But what annoys me is that f---ing P--- we’ve got in. What good is he? You tell me, you know. He’s just wet. F---ing useless.”
In a statement, Mr Parker said: “I would like to make it clear that neither Nigel Farage personally or the Reform Party are aware of my personal views on immigration.”
He added: “I would therefore like to apologise profusely to Nigel Farage and the Reform Party if my personal views have reflected badly on them and brought them into disrepute as this was not my intention.
Mr Farage said: “I am dismayed by the reported comments of a handful of people associated with my local campaign, particularly those who are volunteers. They will no longer be with the campaign.”
Tories have ‘one week to save Britain from Labour’, says Sunak
Rishi Sunak has said that the Conservatives have “one week to save Britain from a Labour government”, Genevieve Holl-Allen reports.
The Prime Minister told activists in Leeds: “A Labour government that would raise everyone’s taxes by £2,000, that would shunt our politics to the left, that would change the rules so that they are in power for decades.
“We can’t let Britain sleepwalk into that. It is our job, it is our duty over the next week to wake people up to that.”
Starmer visits Macclesfield pub
Sir Keir Starmer has arrived at a pub near Macclesfield, Cheshire, for his final campaign visit of the day.
The Labour leader is giving a speech in its garden, surrounded by supporters carrying red placards emblazoned with the word “change”.
He urged people who want change to “vote for it”.
“We are campaigning with a smile on our face and a spring in our step,” he said, adding: “it really feels like a summer of change”.
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Conservatives the wrong ‘class’ to run Britain, says Lammy
The Conservatives are the wrong “class” to run Britain and have a “public-school smallness”, David Lammy has said.
The shadow foreign secretary said Boris Johnson, Lord Cameron and James Cleverly had a “casual frippery” about them when he attended Trooping the Colour alongside them on June 15
“There was a sort of demob happiness about them, a sort of casual frippery, a certain kind of public-school smallness,” he told the New Statesman.
“They are not the class of people that Britain needs to run it now, and that’s what my own life story tells me.
“The Labour Party is full of people – Angela Rayner, for instance; I was with her yesterday, campaigning in Mansfield – she gets this.”
‘No evidence’ Labour’s VAT raid will shut private schools, Starmer claims
Sir Keir Starmer has claimed there is “no evidence” that private schools will be forced to close because of Labour’s planned VAT raid.
“I think they will adapt,” he told Sophy Ridge on Sky News in an interview due to be broadcast at 7pm.
“They’ve had lots of increases in costs over the last 14 years, and they’ve accommodated it.
“There’s no evidence to show these schools will close. They don’t have to pass the cost on to parents.”
Stop being so hard on England, Starmer urges supporters
Sir Keir Starmer has urged England supporters to stop being so hard on Gareth Southgate’s team and show them support to “get them over the line”.
Asked whether he thought the squad had come in for too much criticism, the Labour leader said: “Too much criticism, get behind them, get them over the line.
“This is a really important competition. England always do a bit of this at the beginning of competitions. Get behind the team – it’s a full squad of players who’ve all had fantastic seasons for their respective clubs. Just get behind the team.”
Vote Reform, get SNP, says Ross
The leader of the Scottish Conservatives has said that voting Reform UK in seats where the Tories are in a tight fight with the Scottish National Party (SNP) will risk nationalist victory.
Douglas Ross said: “What we’ve also seen in polls over the last few days is how close a number of these constituencies are going to be between the Scottish Conservatives and the SNP.
“It could come down to a few hundred votes either way. If people are thinking about supporting smaller parties – like Labour, the Liberal Democrats or Reform – they risk electing an SNP politician.”
Starmer attacks Conservatives over surrender advert
Sir Keir Starmer has said a new advert from the Conservatives depicting a man, woman and child with their hands up and urging voters not to “surrender” to Labour is “desperate stuff”.
Asked about the advert, Sir Keir told reporters on the campaign trail: “This is really desperate stuff and I’m surprised by it.
“I think it underlines the difference between the two campaigns. They are running a very negative campaign, nothing about the future of the country.
“I’m very happy to be the candidate going into the final week who is putting forward a more positive case for the change the country needs.”
I will never stop fighting for this country. pic.twitter.com/jNB44Ct0at
— Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) June 27, 2024
Badenoch compares Labour’s race reforms to apartheid South Africa
Kemi Badenoch has compared Labour’s plans for a Race Equality Act to apartheid in South Africa, writes Political Reporter Genevieve Holl-Allen.
The business secretary accused Sir Keir Starmer of having a “morally repellent” plan to force businesses into “classifying your workforce by race” through the new act, which would enshrine in law equal pay rights for black people, Asians and other ethnic minorities.
Speaking at the British Chambers of Commerce Global Annual Conference, Ms Badenoch said the legislation “will be used to work out what people of different ethnicities should be paid”.
“I think classifying your workforce by race and having this influence their salaries is morally repellent,” she said.
“It’s what they did in apartheid South Africa and what they do now in China and Myanmar.”
Ms Badenoch added that Labour envisions an economy where the party “micro-manages your business to meet their political objectives”, including “the divisive agenda of identity politics”.
Reform drops candidate over BNP membership
Reform UK has dropped a candidate who appeared on a leaked list of British National Party (BNP) members.
Nigel Farage’s party on Thursday withdrew its support from Raymond Saint, who is standing in Basingstoke, after The Guardian revealed he was named on a list of BNP members published by WikiLeaks in 2009.
When approached by the newspaper, Mr Saint said: “I don’t wish to discuss it, thank you.”
Reform said Mr Saint had failed to declare his BNP membership.
A party spokesman said: “As Nigel Farage has repeatedly made plain, people who belong or used to belong to the BNP are not welcome in the Reform UK party.”
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Sunak claims 150k voters could wipe out Labour’s poll lead
Rishi Sunak has claimed that just 150,000 voters could wipe out Labour’s lead in the polls if they back the Conservatives instead of Sir Keir Starmer.
Speaking to Christopher Hope on GB News in an interview due to be broadcast at 7pm, the Prime Minister said: “I’d say to everyone watching ‘those polls aren’t destiny’. People watching can make the difference.”
He added: “There’s other research that just shows it’s something like 150,000 voters in key places will make the difference.
“Those are the people that will be watching, right? If you’re watching this show right now, you can make the difference.
“I get people’s frustrations with me, with the party. We haven’t got everything right. I know that we haven’t made as much progress as we would have liked, but this is an important election about your future.
“You do not want Labour in charge with that blank cheque to do what they want for your family finances? Go out there, vote Conservative so we can stop that from happening.”
Cameron: I was hoodwinked by ‘deepfake’ Ukrainian ex-president
Lord Cameron has spoken for the first time about being hoodwinked by a “deepfake” version of former Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko.
Footage of the hoax call was released for the first time yesterday by the Russian prankster responsible.
The Foreign Secretary told LBC: “In my defence, the quality of the deepfake was remarkable.
“I was convinced throughout the call and after this was the former President of Ukraine who I know very well, I’ve met him.”
He added: “If I go back to when I was PM, you did get hoax calls getting through, but you could tell straight away it wasn’t the person it was meant to be, or it didn’t sound like them, it didn’t look like them.”
Sunak visits Elizabeth Line train builder
Rishi Sunak has visited a factory in Derby where trains are built for London’s Elizabeth Line, reports Genevieve Holl-Allen.
The Prime Minister met with staff and apprentices at Alstom’s plant, which is also building 54 HS2 trains in a joint venture with Hitachi.
Sitting in a newly-built carriage, Mr Sunak told apprentices that they must “feel like you’re already getting ahead of the game” as he told them of plans to fund 100,000 apprenticeships a year if they win the election.
The firm began a redundancy consultation at the factory earlier this year because of insufficient orders. But the factory’s future was secured earlier this month when a £370 million deal to build and maintain 10 new Elizabeth Line trains was agreed.
Osborne: General Sunak still on the battlefield
Rishi Sunak proved during Wednesday’s BBC debate with Sir Keir Starmer that he is a “general is still on the battlefield”.
Speaking on his Political Currency podcast, the former Chancellor said: “The snap poll immediately after the debate gave it 50/50 Starmer/Sunak, but given that Starmer is so far ahead in the polls, that’s definitely a success for Sunak.
“I think if you were a Tory candidate, you would take some heart that your leader is still in the fight. After all that’s happened on this campaign, with D-Day, with the betting scandal.
“Here is someone who is still fighting with a week to go, even though he knows the odds are completely against him.”
Mr Osborne added: “If you were out on the doorstep, you would take some heart that your general is still on the battlefield.”
Hugh Grant endorses Green Party’s Carla Denyer
Hugh Grant has endorsed the Green Party’s co-leader to unseat a Labour shadow minister at the general election.
Carla Denyer is up against Thangam Debbonaire, the shadow culture secretary, in Bristol Central.
The Love Actually star said Ms Denyer was a “politician with integrity”.
“It’s so refreshing to see a politician with integrity, who puts the public first,” he said in an endorsem*nt printed on Ms Denyer’s leaflets.
“Bristol Central would be very lucky to have Carla Denyer as its MP.”
Starmer ‘too cautious’ in final debate, says Balls
Ed Balls has said Sir Keir Starmer was “too cautious” in his final debate with Rishi Sunak on Wednesday night.
The former Chancellor told his Political Currency podcast: “He didn’t really go for the jugular … Keir Starmer just doesn’t, in boxing terms, jab to the ribs.
“It’s as if he knows he’s ahead on points, so he’s cautious, defensive and crouching.
“It’s almost like he’s not listening to what Rishi says because he’s thinking the most important thing is for me not to make mistakes, and therefore there’s opportunity after opportunity to go back in and have a go at the Prime Minister.
“And Keir Starmer doesn’t take those opportunities to jab back, and as a consequence, each round it’s like he’s lost it.”
Baker confirms he will run for Tory leadership
Steve Baker is set to run to replace Rishi Sunak if the Conservatives are defeated at the general election.
The minister of state for Northern Ireland is fighting to retain his Wycombe seat, where he has a majority of just 4,214.
“One thing at a time,” the prominent Brexiteer said. “I want to represent the people of Wycombe the best that I can, as I always have done.
“Then let’s see what happens.”
It is understood that Mr Baker will formally announce his bid after polling day.
‘I’m not sure there is a Tory party anymore’, says Lord Patten
Lord Patten has said he is “not sure there’s a Conservative Party anymore” and that Brexit and Boris Johnson’s premiership were “two of the biggest errors in modern British politics”.
The former party chairman told Times Radio: “I’m a Conservative, but I’m not sure there’s a Conservative Party anymore. It’s pretty questionable.
“I would like to feel some sympathy for the Prime Minister, but I don’t really because he was in favour of two of the biggest errors in modern British politics.
“I debated with him once saying that we shouldn’t have Boris Johnson as leader because he was a moral vacuum. Rishi Sunak was on the other side supporting him.
“He was also a long-term supporter of Brexit and the issue in this campaign, which doesn’t dare speak its name, but has obviously been one of the main reasons for our economic woes today.”
Sunak declines three times to say if he told Williams election date
Rishi Sunak has declined three times to say if he told Craig Williams when the election would be called.
The Conservatives have withdrawn their support from Mr Williams, who was the Prime Minister’s parliamentary private secretary, after he admitted betting on the date of the election.
Speaking to Sky News, Mr Sunak said it was “just not right for me to say anything more about that” while the bets are being investigated.
The Prime Minister insisted that “it’s important that those matters are allowed to proceed properly” when Sam Coates, the interviewer, said it is only possible to prejudice a jury trial, not an investigation.
Pro-Palestine protesters arrive at Starmer visit
A pro-Palestinian protest has gathered outside the pottery factory that Sir Keir Starmer is visiting in Staffordshire.
One protester shouted “you’re all wimps, you’re all child murderers” as journalists filed out.
The demonstrators carried a banner with the words “free Palestine” and “#BHAM2GAZA”.
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MPs could face police investigation over election bets, Met suggests
Politicians could face police investigation over bets placed on the date of the general election, Scotland Yard has suggested.
The Metropolitan Police is taking over part of the investigation and will assess whether any offences, such as misconduct in public office, have been committed.
Detectives from the Met’s specialist crime command will determine what further investigation is required, a spokesman for the force said.
Scotland Yard said the investigation would be split into two parts, with the Gambling Commission continuing to examine allegations of alleged cheating and the police focusing on whether any additional criminal offences had been committed.
This could potentially include allegations of misconduct in public office, which covers a range of activities and could include MPs and police officers.
Martin Evans, our Crime Editor, has the full story here
Starmer as well as Sunak pottering around
Sir Keir Starmer has arrived at a pottery factory in Staffordshire, where it looks like he’ll be doing some crafting of his own with celebrity guest Keith Brymer Jones.
The Labour leader has just sat down with the professional potter, known for judging the TV competition The Great Pottery Throw Down, on the factory floor.
Mr Brymer Jones greeted the Labour leader by saying “you’re my clay boy”.
The pair chatted about apprenticeships, Mr Brymer Jones’ dyslexia, and opportunities in the creative industries.
Sir Keir went on to stamp a mug with the word “change”.
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Starmer will do ‘cosy deal’ with EU on migration, claims Sunak
Rishi Sunak has claimed Sir Keir Starmer will do some “cosy deal” with the European Union on migration, writes Genevieve Holl-Allen.
Speaking to journalists at the Denby Factory in Derbyshire, he told journalists: “Since we left the Single Market, we’re connecting ourselves to the fastest growing parts of the world in Asia and I can tell you with my business background and experience that’s the right thing to grow our economy.
He added: “We’re creating free ports around the country from Teesside to Humberside to Southampton and to Scotland and Wales that are attracting billions of pounds of investment and creating jobs everywhere. Labour would undo all of that progress.”
Moving onto migration, Mr Sunak said: “Keir Starmer again, last night it was clear, is happy to accept greater migration from the EU doing some cosy deal, and I don’t think that’s right.”
Tory attack advert goes for Rayner over ‘French-style’ reforms
Angela Rayner's Britain? 🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/sf3dBe4YjP
— Conservatives (@Conservatives) June 27, 2024
Starmer: I didn’t mean to offend Bangladeshi community
Sir Keir Starmer insisted he didn’t mean to offend the Bangladeshi community, after singling them out for deportation in The Sun’s debate earlier in the week.
The Labour leader said: “In relation to Bangladesh, let me say just how much I value the relationship and the contribution that we have with the Bangladeshi community in Britain.
“They make a massive contribution to our economy to our culture and to our county. And that is why there has been a long standing and strong relationship between Labour and the Bangladeshi community here.”
He added: “The reference in the debate the other day, was an example of a country that is considered safe as far as asylum concerns and one of the countries that actually has a returns agreement with us.
“That is actually a good thing that we and Bangladesh should be proud of that we have this returns agreement. I certainly wasn’t intending to cause any concern or offence to any Bangladeshi community here.”
Nigel Farage: Reform speaks for the silent majority
Nigel Farage has wrapped up his remarks at a campaign rally near Sunderland.
“As we proved with the Leave EU campaign, you can be mightily effective when you organise yourself into groups, town-by-town, and are prepared to work. And I called it the people’s army and we beat the establishment.
“We now face an even bigger and tougher job. Be in no doubt, every single vote for Reform and every single elected Reform member is going to be the voice of opposition for the next five years. I urge people vote with your heart. Vote for what you believe in. Don’t vote for one of the other two because you think they’re ‘less bad’ than the other lot.
“With me, whether you like me or not, you’ll get a leader who is consistent, a leader who doesn’t change, a leader who’s got principles, a leader who’s prepared to tell the truth even if it’s at a certain moment in time.”
He concluded: “Just agreeing is not enough. We have to restructure, we have to build an organisation across this country that has branches and has roots. We have to mobilise, we have to organise. Once we’ve done that, we’ll be able to energise. I know there is a silent majority of people out there who in their hearts feel the same way that we do. This is but the first step of a very big and a very important journey. Don’t just agree, join us, help us, spread the message, do what you can. And thank you for this amazing reception in the North East today, I’ll be back with you in a few months’ time, thank you very much.”
Tories deserve to lose but Labour don’t deserve to win - Farage
Nigel Farage has taken a swipe at the Conservative Party, branding it as an “international betting consortium”, writes Fiona Parker.
Mr Farage said the betting scandal showed the party’s “sense of arrogance and entitlement”.
“The truth is the Conservatives deserve to lose this election, but Labour don’t deserve to win.”
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“Goodness knows what will happen under Starmer to our schools and some of the madder ends of trans ideology. After all, Starmer himself can’t even tell you what a woman is. I mean I don’t know, some people think a woman can have a penis. I’m just not one of them, are you?”
Farage defends Putin and Ukraine remarks
Nigel Farage said “all I did alone was to predict what would happen” in relation to his comments about Vladimir Putin and Ukraine conflict, which prompted a row last week.
“Equally, unlike Labour or Conservatives, I said on day one of the Iraq War what is your long-term goal? What is your exit strategy? And do you know what, they never, ever had one.
“And in Libya in 2012 when Cameron decides to go to war with Libya, with full support from the Labour party, I was the one saying this is madness, total madness. And you know before the Libyan war, Isis didn’t even exist. We helped create Isis, we are absolutely idiotic when it came to these things. And there were no small boats crossing the Mediterranean before the Libyan war and the knock-on here.
“I would put myself up on foreign policy against any of these people. I have got the track record of being right.”
Lockdowns were Britain’s biggest ever peacetime mistake, says Farage
The second and third Covid lockdowns were the biggest ever mistake made by a British government in peacetime, Nigel Farage has said.
The Reform UK leader was speaking to 1,000 people at the Rainton Arena which is in the constituency of Houghton and Sunderland South, currently represented by Labour’s Bridget Phillipson.
Mr Farage told the rally: “The Tories say we’re in economic trouble because of the pandemic. But hang on, you didn’t need to lock us down for a second and a third time.
“You didn’t need to take away our freedoms in a way that weren’t even done during World War Two and all of it with Labour support.
“I actually believe the long-term economic and psychological damage from lockdowns two and three perhaps represents the biggest mistake any British government, supported by the opposition, has ever made in peacetime.”
He went on to say he treated the second and third lockdowns with “contempt”.
Farage rails against Mordaunt and Rayner ‘catfight’
Nigel Farage said the North East is “perhaps the most patriotic part of the country, you believe in Britain, you believe in England”, adding there had been a “complete betrayal” of the Brexit vote and 2019 general election.
“There are some who think that maybe I need my bumps felt but I sense something is happening out there. I sense this unease that I talked about earlier is being wiredly felt and no-one sees solutions coming from the Labour and Conservative parties.
“I also sense what people want is not just the kind of politics you get when you put Penny Mordaunt and Angela Rayner together in a TV debate which descends into a catfight. ‘Oh look, look at them, they’re even worse than us!’ Well that’s what it is, isn’t it?
“I think what people want is a sense of a vision and a courageous leadership to say this is where need to go, this is what we want to do.”
Farage: Something about our culture directly under threat
Nigel Farage said there was an “even deeper sense of unease about what is happening in our communities”.
“We’ve always been I think as a people far more generous and far more open-hearted to those around the world facing genuine oppression or the threat perhaps even of death. So we’ve always been kind to those communities in trouble around the world.
“We’ve accepted absolutely since the late 1940s that immigration into Britain can be a good thing, certainly the choice of food in most of our towns is rather better as a result of it. But what has happened over the course of the last 25 years is something entirely different. It is mass migration on a level that begins not just to divide and damage communities, and potentially to set people apart from each other which is dangerous, but also I think a feeling that something about our culture is directly under threat, that sense of who we are.”
Of Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer, he said: “In policy terms, there’s not really much to choose between them... The more they argued, the more similar they came across.”
Farage: We need less woke approach to policing
Nigel Farage told supporters: “There is a growing deep sense of unease about crime on our streets, the fact that it doesn’t matter where you are, you can be in the poorest part of the country or the richest part of West London.
“The number of young people out there now threatening people, stealing mobile phones and carrying knives makes us all wherever we live think twice, doesn’t it, about going out in the evening.
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“I am aiming this at young people... One thing they can’t understand is the way I’m connecting with the younger generation, it’s very, very exciting. Whether that’s the result of having snakes crawling all over me in the jungle or not I don’t know, but I do have the most active TikTok of any British political figure by miles.
“It’s the younger people that now fear crime more than the middle-aged and the elderly because they want to go to music concerts, they want to go out clubbing, something for which the North East is world-renowned incidentally. And they’re deeply fearful that other young people are carrying knives. So there’s a sense of unease about that and the answer of course to that is a completely different, less woke approach to policing. And we should be executing stop and search, stop and search, stop and search.”
Farage: No country has a better past than Britain
Nigel Farage told supporters: “We all have a deep sense of unease. Something is going very, very wrong with the country that we’re part of, with the country that we believe in, with the country that we want our kids and grandkids to grow up in.
“We have spent time indoctrinating a younger generation that everything about our past is wrong. We’ve been poisoning the minds of our young people. That I think is absolutely appalling.
“I want them to learn that whilst not everything in our history is perfect, actually there is no country in the world with a better past than us and we should be proud of those that went before us.”
Farage has hired out NEC in Birmingham
Nigel Farage received a hero’s welcome from around 1,000 Reform supporters as he walked out to dramatic music at the Rainton Arena.
“Wow, what a reception, amazing. We decided on Sunday that it was appropriate for me to come up here and quite right too, and we booked a venue and I thought well I don’t know, it’s a working day, it might be difficult to get people out in the middle of the day.
“I thought there might be 150, 200 people, and yet with just 48 hours’ notice we’ve got 1,000 enthusiastic people here in this room.”
Mr Farage said there would be a national Reform event at the NEC in Birmingham on Sunday “and I fully expect it to be the biggest active political meeting that the country will have seen in modern times, I really do”.
Sunak: I’m not blind to your frustrations
Rishi Sunak has told factory staff that he is “not blind” to their frustrations, our Political Reporter Genevieve Holl-Allen reports from Derbyshire.
The Prime Minister then admitted that the Conservatives had “made mistakes”, but cited last night’s BBC debate and insisted Sir Keir Starmer did not have the answers, particularly on migration.
He said: “I’m not blind to the frustrations that you feel with me and the party”.
He repeated that voters should not hand Labour a “blank cheque”, adding: “Because you will not be able to get it back”.
‘You could have started me on an easy piece first!’
Rishi Sunak has been taught how to dip some pottery during a visit to a factory in Derbyshire, writes Genevieve Holl-Allen.
The Prime Minister was shown the teapot that he was about to dip, and said “you could have started me on an easy piece first!”
He then dipped both a sugar pot and a teapot with some success, with the staff member telling him his skills were “pretty good actually”.
Mr Sunak then said he wanted to a take a picture to show his daughters “and tell them ‘Daddy did some pottery today’”.
Reform candidate: MPs should ‘hang their heads in shame’ over lockdowns
Lynn Murphy, the Reform candidate for Easington, is introducing Nigel Farage.
“It’s been an absolutely amazing campaign up to now. I think Nigel’s brought a bit of excitement to it, don’t you think?”
Ms Murphy said there had been a “huge decline from housing, schools, a lack of police on our streets, and the list goes on”.
She added she “never had a lifelong dream of going into politics”, saying: “Since Covid, my attitude has changed. I watched on as we were told to stay home to save lives as politicians held gatherings. I watched my daughter struggle stuck at home, I saw my son not able to go to work...
“Every day we had experts keeping us glued to the TV with graphs and death figures. People became scared and fearful to do the simplest of things like go to the shop. We couldn’t visit our friends and family in hospital... There was nothing you or me could do about it. The men and women of Westminster should all hang their heads in shame.”
The Economist backs Labour for first time since Blair
The Economist has endorsed Labour for the first time at a general election since Sir Tony Blair’s premiership.
In an editorial, the publication praised Sir Keir Starmer and urged its readers to support Labour at the next national poll for the first time since 2005.
The article reads: “No party fully subscribes to the ideas that The Economist holds dear. The economic consensus in Britain has shifted away from liberal values, free trade, individual choice and limits to state intervention.
“But elections are about the best available choice and that is clear. If we had a vote on July 4, we, too, would pick Labour, because it has the greatest chance of tackling the biggest problem that Britain faces: a chronic and debilitating lack of economic growth.”
Farage on the Tyne
Sir John Hall, the former owner of Newcastle United, has declared his support for Nigel Farage at Rainton Arena, writes Fiona Parker.
The 91-year-old previously donated more than £500,000 to the Conservatives during Theresa May’s snap election in 2017.
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The former Newcastle United owner told journalists he had become a “disillusioned” Conservative supporter and that he had told the party to “get stuffed”.
Pints and politics at Farage arena rally
A lengthy queue is forming at the Rainton Arena in Durham, where Nigel Farage is expected to address 1,000 people, writes Fiona Parker
The arena is based in the constituency of Houghton and Sunderland South, currently represented by Labour’s Bridget Phillipson.
Inside the arena, seats are filling up with local residents looking to hear from Farage.
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Spectators are making good use of the bars at the back of the room and buying both soft and alcoholic drinks - with several pints already being nursed.
Mr Farage was seen arriving at 11am and quickly went to an area guarded by security. He is due to address the crowds at midday.
Everyone who can work should work, Starmer says
Sir Keir was asked if he would start moving schools out of academy trusts.
He said “we’re not against academies”, but he has some concerns about areas “where schools go into competition with each other rather than working collaboratively”.
The Labour leader was also quizzed on his plans for the benefits system.
He said “everyone who can work should work” but “it’s not always that easy” - particularly for those who are coming back after a long illness.
Steve Baker hints at potential leadership run
Steve Baker has hinted he may run in a likely Conservative leadership contest if he keeps his seat.
The Northern Ireland Office minister cited his experience in the ‘Brexit wars’ that ran from 2016 to 2019 and involvement in the lockdown sceptic group of MPs.
Mr Baker told the Huffington Post: “It’s a fact my colleagues sent for me four times to provide leadership through crisis to success: before and after the referendum, in Covid and in relation to the cost of net zero.
“I’m widely expected to lose my seat. We will see.”
Starmer: The more we can talk about mental health, the better
Sir Keir said it is “very good when people come out and talk about mental health”, adding: “The more we can talk about it, the better.”
Later on, the Labour leader was asked about his plans for childcare by a woman studying education.
She pressed him on how he was going to fill gaps in the workforce.
He said Labour would put childcare spaces “predominantly around primary schools”, which he claimed would help with the retention of staff.
He added that there is also a need to train up staff “across the sector”.
‘We’re not pitching you a new Netflix series’
The shadow business secretary has defended Labour’s general election drive amid criticism it is not “exciting enough”.
Jonathan Reynolds has been speaking at the British Chambers for Commerce conference in central London.
Mr Reynolds said: “I’m told by some commentators, they don’t think Labour’s campaign is exciting enough.
“We’re not pitching you a new Netflix series. We’re not putting on politics as entertainment.
“We want to return to serious government, to effective policy and to politics as public service, not as pantomime.”
Starmer takes questions at a pottery studio
Sir Keir Starmer has arrived at a pottery studio in a Staffordshire college, where he is taking questions from students, writes our Political Correspondent Amy Gibbons.
So far he’s been quizzed on the level of student debt and the cost of rented accommodation.
He acknowledged the cost of living is “bearing down on students” and said they need “more support”.
Senior Tory ‘bet £8,000 he would lose his seat at election’
A senior Conservative has been accused of placing an £8,000 bet that he would lose his seat at the general election, it has been reported.
The Sun reported that Sir Philip Davies, who is defending a 6,242-vote majority in Shipley, West Yorkshire, placed the four-figure wager.
There is no suggestion that the leading Tory, who is married to Cabinet minister Esther McVey, broke the law.
Sir Philip told the newspaper that the sum involved was “nobody’s business”, that he “fully expected to lose” the seat and that he had done nothing illegal.
My colleague Tim Sigsworth has the full story
Man bailed after Westminster honeytrap arrest
A man arrested as part of an investigation into the Westminster honeytrap scandal has been released on bail, the Metropolitan Police has said.
On Wednesday morning, the Met said a man in his 20s had been arrested in Islington, north London.
In April, reports emerged that approximately 20 Westminster figures were targeted with flirtatious messages and explicit photographs from senders using the aliases “Charlie” or “Abi”.
William Wragg, the former Tory MP, admitted that he shared colleagues’ phone numbers with a man he met on Grindr because he was “scared” the man “had compromising things on me”.
Rishi Sunak unveils new Tory attack ad
Rishi Sunak has unveiled a new Conservative attack advert on his X account.
Depicting an older man, a woman and a schoolchild facing backwards with their hands up, it reads: “Don’t surrender your family’s future to Labour.”
“Surrender” cropped up again and again in the Prime Minister’s language during his head-to-head debate with Sir Keir Starmer last night.
I will never stop fighting for this country. pic.twitter.com/jNB44Ct0at
— Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) June 27, 2024
Sunak versus Starmer outscored by the Euros
Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer’s head-to-head debate was watched by an average of 2.7 million viewers, figures show.
The BBC One clash between the Prime Minister and the Labour leader peaked at three million viewers.
Georgia’s surprise Euro 2024 win over Portugal on ITV received an average of 4.2 million viewers, peaking at 6.4 million.
Labour will make every UK borough take ‘fair share’ of migrants, says Rayner
Every borough in the UK will be required to take their “fair share” of asylum seekers under a Labour government, Angela Rayner has pledged.
The party’s deputy leader and shadow levelling up secretary said successful asylum seekers would be eligible for places in the 1.5 million new social housing and homes that Labour planned to build “right across the country”.
Labour has pledged to clear the 35,000 migrants currently being housed in hotels in a year.
The Tories claimed that this could mean 1,300 new asylum seekers being housed in every local authority if the number of illegal migrants entering the UK were to continue at current levels over the next parliament.
Charles Hymas, our Home Affairs Editor, has the full story
Who won the BBC general election TV debate? Our writers give their verdicts
How did Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer – the two men who could be prime minister at the end of next week – fare in their final face-to-face clash of the campaign?
Our commentators Tim Stanley and Tom Harris both agree the debate was a resounding victory for Sunak – but it will make no difference.
If a man from outer spacewatched this debate, he’d assume Rishi Sunak is winning the election by a mile. Keir Starmer was at his worst, ticking off his CV – toolmaker, peacemaker, prosecutor – culminating in stopping a bomb plot, as if he’s also James Bond.
There’s no wit there; zero poetry. A question to the effect of “why are you two so rubbish?” would have produced a joke out of Boris or a hymn to class struggle from Kinnock, but both men proved the point by falling back into grey platitudes
Tim Stanley and Tom Harris give their verdicts here
‘Armageddon is upon us, and Britain will never be the same again’
Make the most of living in Conservative Britain: Armageddon is upon us, warns Allister Heath.
In a little over a week, the Tory government – that last, oh-so-imperfect, infuriatingly porous roadblock to Left-wing hegemony – will have been obliterated. The removal vans, symbols of regime change, will be on their way. Parliament, the last major institution in Britain still nominally controlled by the centre-Right, will have fallen, in a wipeout without precedent.
Sir Keir Starmer will be prime minister with a crushing majority. Evenin the best-case scenario for the Conservatives, never before in British history will there have been so many MPs – mostly Labour, but also Lib Dem,Plaid Cymru, Green and the diminished SNP – dedicated to one or other form of socialism or social-democracy, and so few – Tory, Reform and DUP – interested in free markets, liberty, cultural conservatism, self-government or other strands of centre-Right thinking.
To add insult to injury, not every residual Tory MP will even fall into the latter category: plenty will be uber-wet, with little in common with the Conservative electorate of 2024. NigelFarage’s likely election won’t make up for this calamity.
Allister Heath: Right-wing Britain faces meltdown next week
Corbyn shows his support for striking junior doctors
Jeremy Corbyn has joined striking junior doctors who are on the picket line outside St Thomas’ Hospital in London.
The former Labour leader is running as an independent candidate against his old party in Islington North, which he has represented since the 1983 election.
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Mr Corbyn said: “I’m just here to show my support for junior doctors and support for our National Health Service.”
Wes Streeting, Labour’s shadow health secretary, has said he is prepared to negotiate with junior doctors but not to accept their 35 per cent pay demands.
Phillipson: I didn’t like Tennant’s trans comments
Bridget Phillipson has said she did not like the language used by David Tennant about Kemi Badenoch at an awards ceremony earlier this week.
The former Doctor Who star sparked a backlash after he said he wished the equalities minister “did not exist any more” and that she would “shut up” over her views on women’s rights and transgender issues.
Asked for her view on Tennant’s remarks, Ms Phillipson told Times Radio: “I personally don’t like that kind of language that was used. And I believe that where we discuss these issues.
“And it is right that we can have an open discussion about them, that we do so in a way that is absolutely frank, but respectful, tolerant, and in keeping with the best traditions within our country.
“I know that politicians, particularly female politicians, receive an awful lot of abuse sometimes and do frequently face that kind of language being used against them. AndI don’t think it advances a more tolerant and respectful discussion.”
Majority of voters found final Sunak-Starmer debate frustrating
Two-thirds of voters found the final TV debate of the general election campaign between Sir Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak “frustrating”, according to a snap YouGov poll.
The Labour leader and the Prime Minister clashed during a BBC showdown last night as they each sought to gain an advantage ahead of July 4.
A snap poll of 1,716 people conducted in the immediate aftermath of the debate found the two leaders tied 50/50 in terms of who was deemed to have performed the best.
But some 62 per cent said they found the debate “frustrating”. Four in 10 people - 40 per cent - said it was “interesting” and a quarter - 26 per cent said it was “engaging”.
Shadow education secretary: We’ll need strong regulation to save universities
Asked what a Labour government would do about warnings that four in 10 universities will go into deficit, the shadow education secretary said she was “not getting ahead of myself”.
“Our universities are a brilliant success story both here domestically and around the world in terms of the reach that we have.
“And I am determined that if we are fortunate enough to form the next government, if people put our trust in us, then we will have to stabilise the sector. And we will make sure that once again our universities are treated as the engines of growth that drive so many jobs in our communities.”
Pressed on universities being on the brink of collapse, Ms Phillipson said: “The difference that a Labour government would bring is a different relationship with our universities. We will work with them to make sure that we’re driving jobs and opportunity across our country. For too long, they have been treated as a political battleground by the Conservatives. We recognise them as a public good.”
Ms Phillipson said universities were facing “massive” financial challenges, saying: “We will need to make sure that there is strong regulation in place to make sure our universities can continue into the long run. That is what the Office for Students have been looking at, as you identify. But we need to make sure that we protect them into the long run because of the important economic impact that they have in towns and cities right across our country.”
Phillipson: It will be possible to negotiate returns agreements
Bridget Phillipson has insisted Labour would be able to negotiate migrant returns agreements with individual countries.
“We believe it will be possible to negotiate returns agreements. Just because the Conservatives have failed on this, it doesn’t mean it can’t be done.”
Labour: We won’t bring back free movement
A Labour government would not bring back free movement or take the UK back into the single market or customs union, the shadow education secretary has said.
Bridget Phillipson told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “There will be no return to free movement if Labour forms the next government. But what we do believe is important is that we work to get a better deal that secures jobs, that supports businesses.
“There are frustration there that you will have heard from businesses across our country, that they want to see action taken to deal with some of the red tape that has opened up.
“But to be absolutely clear, no return to the single market, customs union or free movement if people vote Labour on July 4.”
Minister: Brexit has helped some small businesses and hurt others
Kevin Hollinrake was asked whether he believed Brexit had been beneficial for small business owners.
Mr Hollinrake, the small businesses minister, replied: “Some. For some businesses, yes, because they can now trade with other parts of the world more easily, with things like the Australia trade deal, New Zealand, the one coming up with the Pacific countries, the Gulf and India.
“There is no doubt that for some businesses it is more difficult to trade with the European Union, there is no doubt that is the case, and we’re seeking to ease those frictions.”
He added: “For some businesses, particularly in the food and drink sector, particularly SMEs, they find it more difficult to trade with the European Union. That’s the reality. We have sought to ease those frictions, of course, and we want to ease them further, and the Prime Minister’s negotiation on the Windsor Framework helped with that to a large degree, particularly within the United Kingdom in terms of Northern Ireland.
“But yes it is more difficult today. But the vote for Brexit was a vote for change, and we have to try to ease those frictions. But let’s not forget, only 10 per cent of British companies export at all... and 73 per cent of our exports are not goods with the European Union, they are services and goods to the rest of the world.
“Easy on the sidelines, Keir Starmer saying we’ll get a better deal with the European Union. At what price? At what price?”
Business minister defends Sunak on small boats
A business minister has defended Rishi Sunak insisting small boat crossings have come down during last night’s debate.
The Prime Minister made the remarks despite a record number of migrants having crossed the Channel in the first six months of this year.
Kevin Hollinrake told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “He was talking about the last 12 months, and those key figures on the last 12 months, they have come down.
“What happens now on those small boats if people come across the Channel, they are now detained, they don’t go into hotels, they don’t go into council flats, they go into detention pending their removal to Rwanda. We think that is a significant deterrent.
“Now Keir Starmer has said and he wouldn’t clearly answer the question last night, what he’s said is he’s going to abolish that legislation... Those people currently in detention will be released onto the streets. This would effectively be a free-for-all if you come over on a small boat, that’s the reality.”
Wes Streeting: The polls may be too good to be true
The opinion polls could be as wrong about the general election as they were about the Brexit vote and the election of Donald Trump, Wes Streeting has said.
Surveys carried out during the campaign have shown Labour with a lead of around 20 points over the Conservatives, who are now regularly beaten into third place by Reform.
Speaking to GB News, Mr Streeting, the shadow health secretary, said: “We’ve got a week now in which people need to decide to choose change, and you only get change if you vote for it.
“And it’s no secret that Conservatives haven’t run a brilliant election campaign, let’s be honest. But the one thing they are doing, I think, quite effectively, is to suggest that there’s an inevitability about a Labour government.”
He added: “In the conversations on the doorstep, they just don’t reflect these wild polls. I’m still talking to undecided voters in huge numbers a week out from the general election, and to people who voted by post who said to me just last weekend when I was in the northeast, ‘Actually, I voted Conservative’..
“I’ve been brought up to believe if it looks too good to be true, it’s too good to be true. It doesn’t reflect what we’re feeling. And more than that, the polling industry is an industry that is addicted to calling it wrong and doing it very loudly. They called it wrong on Brexit. They called it wrong on Trump. They called it wrong in a number of general elections. It’s not the pollsters and it’s not the bookies that decide general elections, it’s millions of voters.”
Labour frontbencher refuses to say how much net zero plan will cost
A Labour frontbencher has refused to say how many hundreds of billions reaching Labour’s net zero target will cost.
Bridget Phillipson was asked about a record obtained by The Telegraph in which Darren Jones, the shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, said the party’s plan to decarbonising the economy will cost “hundreds of billions” of pounds.
Asked how much money meant in practice, the shadow education secretary told GB News: “The point that Darren was making is the answer is how we move to a position of decarbonising our economy, creating more jobs, is through private investment, not just public money.
“So you can invest relatively modest sums of public money and that brings in real returns when it comes to private companies using that as a lever to deliver bigger private investment. We know there are lots of companies that would relish the opportunity to invest directly in for example offshore wind to create jobs right across our country.
“So it’s about how Government can partner with business, yes to manage our obligations but also to create more well-paid, highly-skilled jobs right across our country.”
‘28 degrees yesterday and having a great time!’
Jeremy Hunt’s fight for re-election literally heated up yesterday as the Tory Chancellor seeks to do enough to impress constituents in Godalming and Ash.
The seat, created as a result of the boundary review, is a key Liberal Democrat target and Mr Hunt has said he expects there to be fewer than 1,500 votes between him and his rival.
Posting a photograph of him out canvassing with volunteers, he said: “28 degrees yesterday and having a great time!”
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BBC asks pollster how she votes before allowing her on air
The BBC has admitted asking a contributor to state how they voted at the last election, saying an employee had misinterpreted guidelines on impartiality.
Scarlett Maguire, a director at polling company JL Partners, expressed surprise at being asked to divulge the information before going on air.
The question was posed by a BBC journalist working on Adrian Chiles’ Radio 5 Live programme.
“Bizarre interaction this morning just before going into an interview at the BBC. Was asked how I voted at the last election as a precondition for coming on air,” she wrote on social media.
Anita Singh, our Arts Editor, has the full story here
Business minister bet on Tories winning election
A business minister has revealed he placed a bet on the Conservatives winning the general election.
Asked whether he had gambled on the result, Kevin Hollinrake told Times Radio: “Yes, I did. Not my seat, I think that would be wrong.
“This situation has definitely opened up a debate that we should have a proper debate about and decide whether it’s right or wrong that people have a bet on things they are involved in.”
Yesterday, Mel Stride, the Work and Pensions Secretary, suggested politicians should be banned from gambling in the wake of a row that has engulfed several top Tory figures.
Rwanda scheme could see ‘thousands’ deported in first year, says minister
A minister said he believed it would be possible to deport “thousands” of small boat Channel migrants to Rwanda in the first year of the scheme if the Tories win the election.
Asked the question during an interview on Times Radio, Kevin Hollinrake said: “Well, potentially thousands because it is a completely scalable solution.
“But the ideal number of people that go to Rwanda is zero because it will stop people coming in the first place.”
Tory frontbencher ‘optimistic’ of election victory
Kevin Hollinrake said he is “optimistic” the Tories can win the general election on Thursday next week.
It was suggested to the business minister during an interview on Times Radio that no one was listening to Rishi Sunak and the Tories.
He replied: “Well, that is not my experience on the doorstep. The only poll that matters is next Thursday, of course.”
Asked if he was optimistic of a Tory victory, he said: “Of course. I am always optimistic . Victory is always possible if you don’t stop fighting.”
Minister: Sunak is the ‘best possible person we could have in this situation’
A Tory minister said Rishi Sunak was the “best possible person we could have in this situation”.
Kevin Hollinrake, a business minister, made the statement after an audience member at last night’s TV debate was applauded for saying neither Sir Keir Starmer nor Mr Sunak were good leaders.
Asked if he believed Mr Sunak and Sir Keir were the best the UK could do to lead the country, Mr Hollinrake told Times Radio: “Well, I think Rishi Sunak is. I think he has proven himself through so many different trials and difficulties.
“You look back at the Covid crisis, how we delivered that half a trillion pounds of support for businesses and households. We saved millions of jobs.
“You saw the cost of living crisis, how we helped you through that. You saw how he has managed inflation, got the economy growing again.
“So I think he is the best possible person we could have in this situation.”
Poll: Labour holds six point lead over SNP in Scotland
Labour holds a six point poll lead over the SNP in Scotland, according to a new Survation survey.
The poll, conducted between June 21-25, put Labour on 37 per cent and the SNP in second place on 31 per cent.
Labour was up by one point and the SNP was down by one point when compared to the company’s previous Scotland survey conducted at the end of May.
The poll put the Tories in third on 14 per cent, down by three points, and Reform UK in fourth on 8 per cent, up by five points.
— Survation. (@Survation) June 26, 2024NEW Scotland Polling
Westminster Voting Intention:
LAB: 37% (+1)
SNP: 31% (-1)
CON: 14% (-3)
REF: 8% (+5)
LD: 7% (-2)
OTH: 4% (+1)F/w 21st - 25th June 2024. Changes vs. 28th May 2024. pic.twitter.com/UC81xs9MY6
Don’t let Labour ‘run away with it’ on July 4, warns Cleverly
James Cleverly has urged voters not to let Labour “run away with” the general election on July 4.
Senior Conservatives have repeatedly warned against handing Labour a massive majority, claiming it would lead to unrestrained spending and taxation.
The Home Secretary told GB News: “The Labour Party is not what Britain needs, not what Britain wants and the best way of making sure that they don’t run away with it is by voting Conservative.”
Labour government would hurt you, Cleverly tells undecided voters
There are still “millions of undecided voters” ahead of the general election on July 4, James Cleverly said as he warned a Labour government would “hurt” people.
Asked how he believed Rishi Sunak and the Conservative Party could shift the dial in the next seven days, the Home Secretary told GB News: “I think there are millions of undecided voters.
“They may well have been frustrated with us and I understand it. Of course because of Covid, because of the war in Ukraine, there are things we wanted to achieve that we’ve not been able to achieve. I get that frustration.
“But it’s reminding those floating voters who haven’t made their mind up yet that a Labour government would hurt them. And that’s particularly true, I think, of potential Reform voters.”
Labour government would mean ‘unfettered’ spending and taxation, claims Cleverly
Electing a Labour government on July 4 would mean ushering in a new era of “unfettered” public spending and taxation, according to James Cleverly.
The Tory Cabinet minister said the Conservatives are still fighting to win the general election.
But he said if that is not possible the party needs to be in a position to “hold Labour to account”.
He told GB News: “We would want to form a government but if that isn’t possible, we need to hold Labour to account.
“Because we know that their plans, their unfettered spending, their unfettered taxation, their failure to deliver on public services, and we see that in Wales, we see that in London where they run things. We need to protect the British people from that.”
Voting Reform ‘will herald a Labour government’, claims Cleverly
James Cleverly said voting for any party other than the Tories would “herald a Labour government” as he issued a plea to wavering Conservative supporters who may be thinking of backing Reform UK.
The Home Secretary told GB News: “This is a choice. And it is choice between a Conservative Party that is committed to reducing taxation, committed to increasing our defence spending, committed to protecting our borders and bringing the Rwanda plan into full operation and a Labour government that will put up taxes, will be soft on borders, will not fund our armed forces in the way they should be funded and a vote for any other party will herald a Labour government.”
What is happening in the general election campaign today?
With a week until the country goes to the polls, Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer return to the campaign trail after a heated final head-to-head televised debate.
The Prime Minister will be targeting seats in the Midlands and Yorkshire that were crucial to the Tories’ triumph in 2019, taking part in a visit to a Derbyshire pottery factory and a transport site visit before giving a short stump speech in Leeds on Thursday evening.
Sir Keir, the Labour leader, is also in the Midlands as he pays a visit to Staffordshire before heading to Cheshire late afternoon for a further campaign event.
Meanwhile, Nigel Farage will speak in front of a crowd of around 1,000 Reform UK supporters in Sunderland this lunchtime. The port city gave significant backing to Brexit in 2016 and has benefited from Nissan ramping up production in the following years.
Mr Farage will then campaign alongside Richard Tice, his predecessor and now the chairman of Reform, in Boston and Skegness, where Mr Tice hopes to unseat Tory incumbent Matt Warman.
In Scotland, John Swinney will be joining one of the SNP’s candidates in Edinburgh making and serving pizza.
Poll: Two-thirds of voters found final Sunak-Starmer debate frustrating
Two-thirds of voters found the final TV debate of the general election campaign between Sir Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak “frustrating”, according to a snap YouGov poll.
A snap poll of 1,716 people conducted in the immediate aftermath of last night’s BBC debate found the two leaders tied 50/50 in terms of who was deemed to have performed the best.
But some 62 per cent said they found the debate “frustrating”. Four in 10 people - 40 per cent - said it was “interesting” and a quarter - 26 per cent said it was “engaging”.
— YouGov (@YouGov) June 26, 2024How would BBC debate viewers describe the debate?
Frustrating: 62%
Interesting: 40%
Vague: 26%
Engaging: 26%
Helpful: 17%
Confusing: 14%
Fake: 12%
Detailed: 9%
Boring: 9%
Authentic: 6%https://t.co/wjNCCLiyWP pic.twitter.com/5p1rUrwNY8
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