Evening summary
Labour Leader Keir Starmer has said that Nigel Farage’s failure to deal with racists in Reform UK shows his weakness as leader. An activist for the party was filmed making racist comments about prime minister Rishi Sunak by a Channel 4 News undercover reporter.
Nigel Farage has claimed that an activist in question, Andrew Parker, is an actor and that the clip was a fabrication. The Reform UK leader told ITV’s Loose Women and BBC Question Time that the incident was orchestrated to discredit his party.
Prime minister Rishi Sunak said he felt hurt and anger, particularly on behalf of his two daughters, when he heard a Reform UK activist using a racial slur about him. Sunak deliberately repeated the slur in a broadcast interview, ‘because this is too important not to call out clearly for what it is’.
Essex police has said it is assessing the comments made in the Channel 4 News exposé to establish if any of the activists who were recorded were committing an offence.
Former Labour leader Neil Kinnock has warned his party not to be complacent about the impact Nigel Farage’s party can have on the electorate. He told the Guardian that targeting Reform UK ‘must start now’.
YouGov polling earlier this month found that 53% of ethnic minority voters intend to vote Labour. However, Conservative support is significantly higher among Indian voters while support for the Greens is significantly higher among Britons of Pakistani or Bangladeshi descent.
The Green Party want the wealthiest to contribute ‘modestly more’ to rebuild Britain’s public services. Co-leader Adrian Ramsay told BBC Question Time that ‘we need to achieve big changes in our society’.
Nigel Farage has claimed that he has ‘done more to drive the far-right out of British politics than anybody else alive’. He told BBC Question Time that he has never allowed a member of an extremist organisation to join a party he had led.
Updated
The tax burden for working people is at its highest level since 1948, Nigel Farage has said.
Responding to a question on BBC Question Time about whether he is wealthier as a result of not having to pay certain taxes since Brexit, Farage said: “You’re all poorer because the tax burden, for working people, is now the highest since 1948. And this is the trickery; I mentioned earlier about staff nurses.
“Forty pence tax was the top rate of tax in this country, right through the mid-eighties right through to the end of Tony Blair’s time. And one-and-a-half million people paid that top rate of tax. Because of sleight of hand, and freezing allowances, by the end of 2027 it’ll be eight million people paying that level of tax.”
Both Labour and the Conservatives want to keep the tax bands frozen, Farage claims.
Updated
Britain's immigration policy 'worked' up until the millennium, Nigel Farage tells BBC Question Time
Britain had the “most successful immigration policy” of any European country up until the millennium, but has since gone badly wrong.
The leader of Reform told BBC Question Time that Britain’s migration of “net 30-40,000 a year” from after World War II until the millennium was effective but is now “totally out of control”.
Think about this: two-and-a half-million people have come in the last two years. You wonder why you can’t get a house, you wonder why your rents have gone up 25% in the last four years, you wonder why our infrastructure is struggling.
Migration is now “running at numbers that are literally unimaginable”, Farage claims.
Updated
Establishment doesn't want Reform 'to do well', Nigel Farage tells Fiona Bruce
Nigel Farage has distanced himself from Reform candidates who have made racist comments, claiming that he doesn’t know “any of them”.
Fiona Bruce read out various racist comments by Reform candidates, including one which said that “importing sub-Saharan Africans would dilute the IQ of the country”.
I don’t know any of them obviously, but as you just went through with the Greens, every party has problems in a snap election. We paid, I organised a professional vetting company, we paid them £144,000 upfront to vet our candidates – they didn’t do it.
I think this was the first of a series of the establishment not wanting us to do well.
Updated
Nigel Farage claims he has “done more to drive the far-right out of British politics than anybody else alive”.
Speaking on BBC’s Question Time, he said he took on the BNP just over a decade ago.
I said to their voters: ‘if this is a protest vote, but you don’t support their racist agenda, don’t vote for them, vote for me’ – and we destroyed them.
Farage said he had never allowed anyone who was “a member of an extremist organisation” to join a party he had led.
The leader of Reform reiterated his previous claim that the man featured in the Channel 4 News exposé of racism, Andrew Parker, was actually an actor. (See 1.38pm.)
Channel 4 have strenuously denied claims of a fabrication, with Farage continuing to insist that they used a production company to ensure “deniability”.
Updated
Britain needs to have a “calm discussion” about how to approach the issue of migration, the co-leader of the Green Party has said.
Speaking on BBC’s Question Time, Adrian Ramsay defended the party’s position on migration which includes allowing those who gain a work permit to bring their dependents to the UK.
We have always benefitted from people coming to the UK; we benefit economically, we benefit socially. I’m sure we all know people who come to the UK to support us.
Reflecting on the “horrific comments” made by Reform UK activists recorded secretly by Channel 4 News, Ramsay said the UK could be heading for a “stark future” if the electorate backs Nigel Farage’s party in this election.
Updated
Green Party want wealthiest to contribute 'modestly more'
The “very richest in society” should contribute “modestly more” to help Britain rebuild its public services, the co-leader of the Green Party has said.
Speaking on the BBC’s Question Time, Adrian Ramsay said: “We need to achieve big changes in our society. We have an NHS which is severely overstretched, a social care system where people can’t get access to the personal care they need, our schools are crumbling, and we have a climate crisis and a nature crisis where we’ve got sewage in our rivers.”
The Green Party manifesto proposes to raise up to £151bn a year in new taxes by 2029, including a new tax on the wealthy which they say would raise about £15bn.
Updated
Immigration 'needs to come down' but Lib Dems favour capped system, Ed Davey tells Nick Robinson
The Lib Dems do not favour an approach where anyone under 35 can come from any country in the EU.
Ed Davey told Nick Robinson that “that’s not my message”, but rather the Lib Dems advocate for the Youth Mobility Scheme which is already operational in non-European countries such as Korea, Japan and Australia.
Let me defend and explain what the system is, because it’s a capped system, it’s not free movement of labour. The way the Youth Mobility Scheme works at the moment for Japan or Australia, or wherever, is that a certain number of visas can be given to young people and that’s what we envisage with the European dimension.
We’d obviously have to negotiate it, but that’s what we mean by that; and I think that’s really, really sensible. It means that you can control things but it also means our people, our young people have that wonderful freedom and it means that when there are specialist people, they can come.
Updated
Ed Davey has admitted that he isn’t “proud of every decision” he made during his time in coalition government.
The Lib Dem leader has responded to claims that his party spent their period in coalition with the Conservatives aiming “to deliver austerity” as a joint enterprise.
In response to Nick Robinson’s assertion that his party was part of a Cabinet that cut the welfare budget by £27bn and introduced the bedroom tax, Davey insisted efforts were made to keep the Conservatives in check.
I, as many other colleagues did, we rolled up our sleeves and tried to fight for the things we fought for. And we stopped the Conservatives doing some things, the clearest example is on welfare, the budget after we left office and the Conservatives running by themselves, George Osborne cut the welfare bill by £12 billion, and we clearly stopped that.
Updated
'Winning the argument' with significant MP numbers will help Lib Dems achieve NHS plans, Ed Davey tells Nick Robinson
The Lib Dems can press forward with their plans for the NHS through using their electoral weight for good, leader Ed Davey has said.
The BBC’s Nick Robinson challenged Davey on how his party can fulfil a “big promise” on the NHS without being one of the top two parties.
By winning the argument, and by making sure we have lots of Liberal Democrat MPs. I think if people vote for their local Liberal Democrat candidate they know they’re going to get a local champion who’s going to be championing their local NHS and their local care.
But they’ll know that I think in this election there’ll be a lot of Liberal Democrats in the next Parliament who are going to make this our number one priority.
The Lib Dems’ manifesto promises to give everyone the right to see a GP within seven days, or within 24 hours if they urgently need to. An additional 8,000 GPs will be recruited to deliver this.
The party have also pledged to improve early access to mental health services by establishing bespoke hubs for young people in every community and introducing regular mental health check-ups at key points in people’s lives.
A further pledge focuses on boosting cancer survival rates and introducing a guarantee that will see 100% of patients start treatment for cancer within 62 days from urgent referral.
Updated
Voter concern puts health and care “right at the centre” of the Lib Dem manifesto.
Leader Ed Davey told the BBC’s Nick Robinson that “the voters are saying that’s one of their biggest concerns, if not the biggest”.
“They worry about the health service, getting a GP, finding an NHS dentist. They’re worried also about care for their loved ones.”
Ed Davey’s personal experience as a carer for his son John, who has an “undiagnosed brain condition’ has captured hearts across the country. The leader says this background has shaped his political career.
“I’ve been a carer much of my life, and that has informed me. And because I know there are millions of people who have stories, caring stories, like mine, I think it’s been really important to talk about that too.”
A snapshot of the manifesto pledges on social care.
The Lib Dems have pledged to introduce free personal care based on the model introduced by Scottish colleagues in 2002 alongside a higher Carer’s Minimum Wage.
Labour have vowed to establish a Fair Pay Agreement in adult social care which will set fair pay, terms and conditions.
The Conservatives have promised to give local authorities a multi-year funding settlement to support social care at the next Spending Review.
Updated
Ed Davey has added archery to his extensive list of adventurous election trail activities, according to these images captured by PA Media.
The billions needed for the UK to reach net zero by 2050 are part of a target put into law by the Conservative government five years ago, it has been confirmed.
During last night’s final TV debate, Rishi Sunak claimed he had a recording which confirmed that Labour’s net zero climate plans would cost “hundreds of billions of pounds”.
However, while the government’s advisory Climate Change Committee (CCC) has estimated net investment needs of £321bn for the UK to reach net zero by 2050, it was a Conservative government that put this target into law in 2019. The Conservative election manifesto continues to back the 2050 target.
Updated
Former Labour leader warns party not to sleep on threat of Reform
Neil Kinnock is clear that the nationalist threat posed by Reform UK must be taken seriously.
Speaking exclusively to the Guardian, Kinnock said his party cannot afford to be complacent about the impact Nigel Farage’s party can have on the electorate.
There is no next time. It [targeting Reform] must start now. We have to combat this populist nationalism with words, in explaining to people what these people are, not just who they are.
Updated
Keir Starmer has confirmed that, if elected, Labour will resume processing asylum applications for those who have previously arrived in the UK illegally.
The Illegal Migration Act passed last July effectively blocks these individuals, which includes those who arrive on small boats, from gaining refugee status.
Prime minister Rishi Sunak has consistently vowed to ‘stop the boats’ and wants to be able to send those who arrive illegally to Rwanda where their asylum claims will be processed.
Speaking on BBC Breakfast this morning, the Labour leader promised a change in approach and said the Rwanda policy has proven to be the “absolute opposite of a deterrent”.
For years, the system in this country has operated on the basis that if someone claims asylum, they are processed.
Does anybody seriously think that not processing the claims, when now record numbers are coming across the Channel, is operating as a deterrent?
According to the latest Home Office and Border Force figures, a total of 150 migrants arrived on four small boats on 26 June. Over the last week a combined total of 882 migrants have arrived on 16 boats.
Updated
YouGov has published detailed polling on how ethnic minority Britons will vote, and what they think about various leaders, parties and issues. In their write-up, Matthew Smith and Tanya Abraham argue that two trends stand out.
As is traditionally the case, Labour has a strong lead among ethnic minority voters. In our polling for Sky News earlier this month, fully 53% intend to vote Labour, with the Conservatives and the Greens trailing far behind in joint-second on 14%.
A further 7% intend to vote for Reform UK, 6% for the Lib Dems, and 5% for other parties …
Breaking the data down into specific ethnic groups highlights two very notable variations. First is that Conservative support is significantly higher among Indian voters than other groups – 32% of Britons of Indian ethnicity intend to vote Tory, although more still intend to vote Labour (40%).
The second is that support for the Greens is significantly higher among Britons of Pakistani or Bangladeshi descent, at 29%.
While the former voting difference has is a longer term trend, the latter is a new development.
YouGov says the relatively high support for the Green party amongst Britons of Pakistani or Bangladeshi heritage is almost certainly a result of the Labour party’s stance on Gaza under Starmer. The Green party has been much firmer in terms of demanding a ceasefire, the end to arms sales to Israel and prosecution of people accused of war crimes.
How are ethnic minority groups in the UK intending to vote?
— YouGov (@YouGov) June 28, 2024
Black Britons
1. Lab: 72%
2. Con: 11%
3. Reform UK: 7%
Pakistani/Bangladeshi Britons
1. Lab: 44%
2. Green: 29%
=3. Con / LD: 7% each
Indian Britons
1. Lab: 40%
2. Con: 32%
3. Green: 12%
Britons of mixed ethnicity
1.… pic.twitter.com/OBhXAjrjjy
That is all from me for today. My colleague Cash Boyle is now taking over.
Updated
Rishi Sunak has been buying fish and chips in Redcar for officials and journalists travelling with him, PA Media reports.
This morning, on his Radio 5 Live phone-in, Keir Starmer was accused of talking “absolute twaddle” by a woman who did not think he was doing or saying enough to protect single-sex spaces. (See 9.56am.)
Starmer said he was committed to protecting women’s spaces. But the caller was not happy with this, because she wanted an assurance that spaces would be safeguarded for biological women and she suggested that she wanted trans women excluded from women’s toilets, changing rooms and refuges. Starmer would not give that assurance, and he spoke about the need for trans people to be treated with respect.
When Starmer is asked about this issue, he tends to talk about protecting women’s spaces, rather than single-sex spaces or spaces for biologicial women, because he does not want to exclude all trans women. This is in line with what the Equality Act says (although the Tories want to change it in a way that would make it easier for trans women with a gender recognition certificate to be excluded from these spaces.)
Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, was also asked about this today, and he adopted a similar position to Starmer’s. He said:
I believe in the Equality Act, which gives single-sex spaces and rights for women as a way of balancing rights. I think that is exactly right.
And what the Equality Act does in providing single-sex spaces where trans women are excluded, is it enables people providing services to make those decisions, and that’s quite right.
I strongly support the Equality Act and its provision for single-sex spaces.
But Davey was less evasive than Starmer on the topic of trans women using ladies’ toilets. Asked what toilet a trans woman with a penis should use, Davey replied:
It would all depend on what they want to use.
I’m not sure if we’re going to have people standing outside toilets and deciding what identity they have, I think that would be quite an odd society.
Updated
As long as the polls are not utterly, totally, catastrophically wrong, Keir Starmer will be prime minister a week today. One of his five missions is to decarbonise electricity supply by 2030, and today the Institute for Government thinktank has published a report saying that what he does in the first few days and weeks will determine whether or not he can succeed. The IfG says:
Major barriers include lack of grid capacity (with generators paid £1.38bn in 2022 to reduce the supply of cheap renewable energy when supply was high), stretched supply chains, shortages of workers with the necessary skills, insufficient public engagement, and a need to make the planning system work much faster if energy targets are going to be hit. Average waits to get consent for nationally significant infrastructure increased from 2.6 to 4.2 years between 2012 and 2023.
But historical successes – such as the 4,000 miles of transmission lines built in 12 years from the 1950s, the switch over of 13.5m buildings and 40 million appliances from coal or oil to natural gas between 1967-77, or the 40 gas power stations built in 10 years during the 1990s ‘dash for gas’ – show that the UK can deliver large scale projects …
If elected on 5 July Labour will have under six years to meet its goal of delivering clean power by 2030. The next two or three years will be critical to whether this is achievable. The UK has shown previously that it is able to deliver ambitious projects quickly under the right circumstances. It will need to do so again.
The Lib Dem leader Ed Davey has joined those condemning the Reform UK activists recorded secretly by Channel 4 News. on a campaign visit to Little Paxton, Cambridgeshire, he said:
I heard the comments on the television, and they were clearly racist, homophobic and abhorrent, and I hope the party deals with these and any other people who speak like this.
The Guardian has published its leader on who we want to win the election. It’s Labour, of course. Here is an excerpt.
The party’s poll lead has induced a rush to place Sir Keir in historical perspective before he actually makes history. That may be because people are yearning for the “change” of Labour’s campaign rhetoric. It is what the country needs. The greater the inequality, insecurity and sense of injustice, the more vulnerable democracies are to capture by rightwing demagogues. Imagine the dread of waking up to Rishi Sunak winning. Labour’s vision is calming rather than exciting. Sir Keir may not be inspiring, but he does inspire confidence. He offers compassion, where a lack of it has become a matter of principle for the Tories.
Lurking in Labour’s manifesto is a plan to give ordinary people opportunity, security and dignity. Bliss in this dawn to be alive? Maybe not quite, but viewed amid the debris of the last decade, Labour’s putative parliamentary majority seems an almost unimaginably hopeful starting point. To create a more equitable society, power must be in the hands of politicians prepared to shape the country that we want to see. That is why the Guardian would vote, with hope and enthusiasm, for Labour to lead Britain to a better future.
And you can read the article in full here.
Rishi Sunak has been visiting a school in Stockton West, where Matt Vickers is seeking re-election. He had a majority of 5,260 in 2019 in Stockton South, the predecessor constituency.
Essex police says it is reviewing comments in Reform UK exposé to assess if offences may have been committed
Essex police has said it is assessing the comments made in the Channel 4 News exposé about racism and homophobia in Reform UK to establish if any of the activists who were recorded were committing an offence.
A spokesperson for the force said:
We are aware of comments made during a Channel 4 News programme and we are urgently assessing them to establish if there are any criminal offences.
Labour cabinet could be 'most working class of all time', Jonathan Ashworth claims
Jonathan Ashworth, the shadow Cabinet Office minister, has said a Keir Starmer government could have “possibly the most working class cabinet of all time”.
Speaking about class to reporters, Ashworth said:
I’m definitely working class. My dad was a croupier – given that betting is very topical in this campaign, I know a little bit about it.
My dad was a croupier in the Playboy club in Manchester, which is where he met my mum, who was a bunny girl, so I know all about gambling and I know all about class.
I’m from a working-class background and I’m very proud that if we get a Labour government next week, you’ll have – actually, you should check this out, somebody should – it could possibly be the most working-class cabinet of all time, actually.
Keir Starmer would be the most working class Labour PM since James Callaghan. Ashworth also named Angela Rayner, Wes Streeting, Bridget Phillipson as some of his working class colleagues, as well as Rachel and Ellie Reeves, whose parents were teachers. He went on:
So, I think it’s certainly the most working class and ‘state comprehensive’ shadow cabinet and potential cabinet of all time – I think, I suspect.
Ashworth was responded to a question prompted by David Lammy, the shadow foreign secretary, telling the New Statesman the Tories were not the right class to be running Britain. Lammy said:
There was a sort of demob happiness about them, a sort of casual frippery, a certain kind of public-school smallness.
They are not the class of people that Britain needs to run it now, and that’s what my own life story tells me.
Scottish council takes action so people can vote before starting holidays if postal votes haven't arrived
A Scottish council has taken urgent action to ensure people who have not received postal votes can still have their say in next week’s general election, PA media reports.
Edinburgh city council has taken the unusual step of setting up an emergency centre where locals who have yet to receive their ballot can have one reissued, or can even cast their vote ahead of 4 July, PA says. Earlier today John Swinney, the first minister, said it was “deeply unacceptable” for people about to leave on holiday not to have their postal votes already. (See 10.20am.)
Farage claims 'nobody has fought harder against far right' and argues, as Ukip leader, he 'destroyed BNP'
In his interview on ITV’s Loose Women, Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, claimed that no one in Britain had done more than he had to fight the far right. He said:
Nobody has fought harder against the far right in British politics than me. I almost single-handedly destroyed the British National party. I’ve always said I don’t want anybody supporting me who’s got prejudices.
Farage was referring to the way the rise of Ukip coincided with the decline of the BNP as an electoral force.
Asked, if that was the case, why Reform UK was attracting support from extremists, Farage said
Ironically, I think because we destroyed the BNP, they haven’t got the BNP to go to any more. I think that’s the problem, just as hard-left extremists go to the Labour party
Asked about his own views, and the fact that a teacher described him as fascist when he was a pupil at Dulwich College,
To go back 45 years, when a few of us were winding up school teachers, is irrelevant.
Farage also suggested someone in his family was gay. Asked about homophobia, and what he would feel about having a relative who was gay, he replied:
Without going too deeply into it, and without giving personal things away, I understand completely what you are talking about. As with every family, we see this, as we see many other things. I’m incredibly tolerant. To be honest, I don’t care what people are. I judge them as human beings, whether they are good people or not.
Asked again if he would not have a problem having a gay family member, he replied: “I’ve just answered that – without getting into detail.”
Here is more from what Nigel Farage said on ITV’s Loose Women about the Channel 4 News exposé of racism in Reform UK. (See 1.38pm.)
Referring to Andrew Parker, the activist who featured most prominently, Farage said:
When I saw the footage last night, I thought no one speaks like that. You know, ‘We’re going to turn mosques into Wetherspoon’s’. It all seemed a bit over the top.
So someone told us he was an actor. You rang him this morning, the Daily Telegraph rang him this morning. He denied point blank he was an actor. It turns out he is an actor. We found his website. He’s a well-spoken actor who does something called “rough speaking”.
I was at the office when he arrived last Saturday. He was doing rough-speaking. It was an act right from the very start.
I was working and he came in and come up to me and said hello, and then he went out canvassing where the undercovering filming took place.
And he was rough speaking. He was not being himself from day one. I have to tell you, this whole thing is a complete and total setup. Of that I have no doubt whatsoever.
Farage would not say who he thought was responsible for the setup, and he said he did not know whether or not Parker had been paid. But he said “something is wrong here”.
Channel 4 News has denied the claim the report was a setup (see 12.58pm), and Parker himself has said that he was volunteering to help Reform UK because he believed its message (see 12.38pm).
Asked about three other activists filmed in the report, including George Jones, a longtime party activist who organises events for Farage and who was recorded alling the Pride flag “degenerate” and LGBT people “nonces”, Farage said:
They had watched England play football, they were in the pub, drunk, it was crass, vulgar … It was unforgivably nasty, no question about that.
Asked if he wanted people like that in the party, Farage said: “No, I don’t, of course I don’t.” He claimed the three had been removed from the party.
Farage claims Channel 4 News exposé of racism in Reform UK was 'complete and total setup'
Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, has just finished an interview on ITV’s Loose Women and he used it to make explicit what this morning he was only implying on social media (see 12.38pm) – his claim that the Channel 4 News exposé of racism amongst his campaign team in Clacton was a setup.
Referring to Andrew Parker, the activist who featured most prominently in the report, and who used a racist slur to describe Rishi Sunak, Farage said: “It was an act right from the very start.”
Describing Parker as “rough speaking” and “not being himself”, Farage added:
I have to tell you, this whole thing was a complete and total setup, I have no doubt about that.
Asked whether he thought Parker had been paid, he said:
I don’t know whether he was paid or not … I’m saying it’s possible, I don’t know. Something is wrong here.
Channel 4 News has already rejected this claim strongly. See 12.58pm.
Sunak tells of hurt and anger he felt about his daughters having to hear Reform UK's racist slur about him
Rishi Sunak has spoken about the hurt and anger he felt when he heard a Reform UK activist using a racial slur about him.
In a broadcast interview, he said he was particularly upset about his daughters having to hear what was said. And he made a point of repeating the slur himself (the P-word) because he said it was important to call it out for what it was.
Asked about the comment, one of several racist and homophobic comments made by Reform UK activists in Clacton and filmed by an undercover Channel 4 News reporter, Sunak said:
When my two daughters have to see and hear Reform people who campaign for Nigel Farage calling me an effing [P-word], it hurts and it makes me angry, and I think he has some questions to answer.
And I don’t repeat those words lightly. I do so deliberately, because this is too important not to call out clearly for what it is.
Asked if it was frustrating for Sunak to know that some former Tory supporters were backing a party whose activists behave like this, Sunak said:
When you see Reform candidates and campaigners seemingly using racist and misogynistic language and opinions, seemingly without challenge, I think it tells you something about the culture within the Reform party.
Andrew Tate isn’t an important voice for men. He is a vile misogynist, and our politics and country is better than that.
And as prime minister, but more importantly as a father of two young girls, it’s my duty to call out this corrosive and divisive behaviour.
• This post was amended on 28 June 2024 to make clear it was Rishi Sunak speaking about Reform candidates using racist and misogynistic language.
Updated
Channel 4 News rejects suggestion from Farage its Reform UK racism exposé was setup
Channel 4 News has rejected the suggestion from Nigel Farage that its report exposing Reform UK activists making racist and homophobic comments in Clacton, where Farage is standing for election, was some sort of setup.
Farage has been implying this in posts on X this morning. (See 12.38pm.)
In response, a spokesperson for Channel 4 News said:
We strongly stand by our rigorous and duly impartial journalism which speaks for itself. We met [Andrew] Parker [the activist who has also worked as an actor] for the first time at Reform UK party headquarters, where he was a Reform party canvasser.
We did not pay the Reform UK canvasser or anyone else in this report. Mr Parker was not known to Channel 4 News and was filmed covertly via the undercover operation.
Two senior shadow ministers with campaign responsibilities somewhat dodged the question when asked whether Labour was deliberately not engaging as much as it might with Reform as a party, and whether this should be re-thought.
Speaking after a campaign event in Croydon, Jonathan Ashworth, the shadow paymaster general, said Labour was “working hard to win the trust of every voter”, including those leaning towards Reform.
Ellie Reeves, Labour’s deputy campaign coordinator, said the party would “continue to speak to as many people as possible and win their trust, because they’re not taking anything for granted”.
Pressed on why Labour were not challenging Reform more, Ashworth added:
At the end of the day, people are going to wake up on 5 July with either Keir Starmer or Rishi Sunak in No 10. And that’s the choice at this election.
Updated
Angela Rayner, Labour’s deputy leader, held a rally with the Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar this morning. They were promoting Labour’s new deal for working people.
Labour urges Tata Steel to avoid irreversible closure at Port Talbot until new government in place
Labour politicians have urged Tata to avoid taking action that cannot be reversed before the election result after the steel giant announced it was bringing forward plans to shut down blast furnaces at its biggest plant because of a strike.
Responding to the news, Stephen Kinnock, who is seeking re-election as MP for Aberafan Maesteg, and David Rees, Labour’s MS (member of the Senedd) for Aberavon, said:
Everybody recognises that the number one priority in these negotiations has to be the safety and security of steelworkers and the plant.
Tata wouldn’t be in this position of facing strike action had it not chosen to press ahead at break-neck speed with the closures of the blast furnaces.
We have been consistently clear throughout this process that Tata should avoid taking any action that cannot be reversed before waiting to see the result of the general election, given the very real prospect of sitting down with an incoming Labour government to discuss its promised £2.5bn Steel Renewal Fund.
More immediately, Tata and Unite must get back around the table to reach an agreement on securing the safety of the site at all times which would include agreeing on the derogations required to prevent strikes causing safety risks, thus removing the need to close down Blast Furnace 5 early.
This will allow an incoming Labour government time to negotiate the future of steel making in Wales with Tata.
Andrew Parker, the Reform UK supporter recorded by an undercover Channel 4 News reporter making racist comments, including about Rishi Sunak, has apologisied, PA Media reports.
Parker told PA he had made the comments in “the heat of the moment” because he was being “goaded on”. He said:
Of course I regret what I said. Christ, I’m not a racist. I’ve had Muslim girlfriends. It was typical chaps-down-the-pub talk.
Asked whether he would like to apologise, he said: “Of course I’m sorry. They were off-the-cuff things that everyone says.”
Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, has highlighted the fact that Parker has worked as an actor, implying this suggests the exposé was a set up.
Andrew Parker was the man that made the astonishing racist comments that have given us so much negative coverage.
— Nigel Farage (@Nigel_Farage) June 28, 2024
We now learn that he is an actor by profession.
His own website says he is ‘well spoken’ but from the moment he arrived in Clacton he was doing what he calls…
Andrew Parker was the man that made the astonishing racist comments that have given us so much negative coverage.
We now learn that he is an actor by profession.
His own website says he is ‘well spoken’ but from the moment he arrived in Clacton he was doing what he calls ‘rough speaking’.
This whole episode does not add up.
Parker told PA that he was an actor but that he was volunteering to help Reform UK because he believed in its message.
Farage is now regularly floating conspirary theories which he cites as evidence that people are treating his party unfairly (Ofcom was behind one, he suggested recently, and his vetting company an other) and it seems very unlikely that Parker was part of a Channel 4 plot.
Parker was not the only Reform UK Clacton activist recorded making extremist comments. And there are now many examples of Reform UK candidates with a record of extremism and racism who are normally disowned by the party when their comments are highlighted by the media. Farage says he and his party are opposed to racism. But racists don’t seem to be opposed to Reform UK, and the party attracts them like a magnet.
Stamp duty for first-time buyers would rise in 2025 under Labour government
Stamp duty will rise for first-time buyers next year if Labour wins the election, the party has confirmed, as it plans to allow a temporary tax break enacted by the Conservatives to expire. Kiran Stacey has the story.
SDLP's Colum Eastwood judged winner of Northern Ireland's election debate
A televised debate with representatives of Northern Ireland’s five main parties produced a clear winner: Colum Eastwood of the Social Democratic and Labour party.
The SDLP leader zinged through health service funding, Northern Ireland’s constitutional future, Sinn Fein abstentionism from Westminster and Israel’s war in Gaza in last night’s BBC NI debate.
A snap LucidTalk poll said Eastwood shaded the DUP’s Gavin Robinson, Alliance’s Naomi Long, Sinn Fein’s Chris Hazzard and the UUP’s Robbie Butler. The Belfast Telegraph’s politics editor, Suzanne Breen, said the Foyle MP was “sensational”.
It injected some oomph into Northern Ireland’s otherwise low-watt election campaign. What a Labour government would do in the region may prove more significant than any reshuffling of seats between the local parties.
That two party leaders, Sinn Féin’s Michelle O’Neill and the UUP’s Doug Beattie, sent lieutenants in their place diminished the debate.
Asked by the host Tara Mills why their leaders didn’t show up Hazzard said O’Neill was canvassing and Butler said Beattie had other diary commitments.
The five politicians clashed on Stormont’s budget allocation for the health department, reform of power-sharing institutions and the prospect of Irish unity.
Long defended Alliance’s policy of steering a centrist path between orange and green and played down the likelihood of a referendum on unification in the short term. “People are not wakening up in the middle of night in a lather of sweat worrying about the border, but they are worried about are they going to be able to pay their bills.”
One of the most closely watched contests is East Belfast which pits Long against Robinson. The DUP risks losing up to three of its eight seats including Lagan Valley, which Sir Jeffrey Donaldson is quitting in the wake of sexual offence charges. He will be back in court on 3 July, the day before the election.
The DUP is squeezed between Alliance, which appeals to middle class moderate pro-union voters, and the Traditional Unionist Voice, a small rival that wants a tougher line on the Irish Sea border.
Sinn Féin, which holds seven seats, hopes to become the biggest NI party at Westminster, albeit abstentionist, and complete a hat-trick as the biggest party in local government and at the assembly. The SDLP appears on track to retain its two seats, including Eastwood’s.
Swinney says politicians should not bet on elections
John Swinney, the SNP leader and Scottish first minister, has said politicians should not bet on elections.
Speaking on BBC Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland, Swinney said:
I don’t think that people who are involved in politics should bet on the outcome of elections.
We are in an individual sense, we have knowledge that we acquire as we go around election campaigning, that obviously can inform our judgments better than most other people who won’t perhaps know what is going on.
I think there is an analogy to be made here with footballing where footballers are not allowed to bet on games with which they are involved, and I think the same should apply to politics.
Keir Starmer has said he does not favour a ban on MPs betting on politics, although Mel Stride, the Tory cabinet minister, has suggested this might be a good idea.
In his interview, asked if any SNP candidates have placed a bet on the election, Swinney replied: “I’m not aware of anybody, nothing has been drawn to my attention.”
The Gambling Commission is investigating claims that Tory candidates and officials, and police officers bet on the date of the general election using inside information. This has triggered a debate about whether MPs should be betting on matters like this.
This is from my colleague Peter Walker, who is in Croydon for a Labour event with Jonathan Ashworth and Ellie Reeves.
Labour election stunt/wheeze on a shopfront in Croydon. pic.twitter.com/LWZKj328VK
— Peter Walker (@peterwalker99) June 28, 2024
Labour is today highlighting a new analysis of ONS data that shows that families who had to remortage in the aftermatch of Liz Truss’s mini-budget saw their monthly payments increased by £221. It says:
For families who have remortgaged, £1 in every £3 of household budgets on average now goes on mortgage repayments.
The picture is a lot worse in many parts of the country. In over 50 local authorities, families are spending around £1 in every £2 on mortgage repayments.
Labour confirms it has no plans to stop people taking 25% of pension as tax-free lump sum
Labour has corrected, or clarified, what Keir Starmer said during his Radio 5 Live phone-in when he was asked about the rules allowing people to take out 25% of their pension pot as a tax-free lump sum. (See 9.36am.) Starmer suggested this arrangement could end.
Labour says Starmer was in fact referring to other tax allowances. A party spokesperson said:
The ability to withdraw 25% of your pension as tax-free lump sum is a permanent feature of the tax system and Labour are not planning to change this.
Keir was referring to temporary tax breaks in the system that are due to expire and which the public finances assume will not continue, like increasing the stamp duty threshold for first-time buyers from £300,000 to £425,000.
Swinney says it's 'deeply unacceptable' some Scots won't be able to vote because postal votes arriving after holidays start
John Swinney, Scotland’s first minister has voiced concern about delays in some people receiving postal votes for next week’s election, warning the situation could leave some Scots “disenfranchised” for the crucial ballot, PA Media reports. PA says:
Swinney was speaking after the Electoral Management Board for Scotland said there have been “many difficulties experienced with the delivery of postal votes” across the country.
Highlighting there could be a “lot of seats that are very close contests” in Scotland, the SNP leader raised fears this could potentially impact results come polling day on July 4.
Swinney said: “In an election where there will be a number of marginal contests in Scotland, because there is a really intense contest going on here in Scotland, I am worried people will be disenfranchised.”
He had already accused Rishi Sunak of being “disrespectful” with his decision to hold the election at a time when most schools in Scotland have finished for the summer and many families will be on holiday.
Speaking on BBC Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland programme, Swinney said: “About 25% of the electorate now vote by post, I don’t know what proportion of postal voters have or have not received their ballot papers.
“But when the convener of the Electoral Management Board for Scotland, Malcolm Burr, makes the comments he made of the concern about the conduct of the postal ballot – that is the advice of the senior returning officer in Scotland, the chair of the Electoral Management Board, expressing deep concern about it – I think it is something we should be troubled about.
Swinney said that in this election in Scotland, “my intelligence tells me there will be a lot of seats that are very close contests”.
He said the 2017 Westminster election saw the SNP’s Pete Wishart win by just 21 votes in the former Perth and North Perthshire constituency, while in North East Fife Stephen Gethins won the seat by two votes.
Swinney said this shows “individual votes count very, very significantly”, adding he is “troubled by what is happening in the postal ballot”.
He recalled: “The day the prime minister called the election I expressed my concern this election was going to take place during the Scottish school summer holidays, and various people criticised me for making that comment.
“But here we are, just as I feared we would be, that people leaving Scotland on their holidays have applied for postal votes, haven’t got them through, and it is not in any way shape or form a surprise to me that that is the case.
“I just think it is a deeply unacceptable situation that people will be disenfranchised because the calling of the election has been done at a time which is quite inconvenient for a lot of people, lots of schools in Scotland are already on their holidays, and we’re a week away from polling day.”
Starmer says he will resign as Labour leader if he loses election
Nicky Campbell asks the final question. If you lose the election, particularly badly, will you resign as Labour leader?
Yes, says Starmer.
Campbell says Starmer has given him a news line.
(But not really … Politicians do make news when they discuss what they might do in a hypothetical situation, but only if there is at least a small chance of that situation occurring. By now most analysts would accept that the chances of Starmer losing the election are not small or remote, that “minuscule” is probably overstating it, and that they are really close to zero.
Updated
The next caller, Jane, asks if Starmer will protect spaces for biological women. Saying she is sick of the “absolute twaddle” that he come out of his mouth on this, she says she does not want trans women using women’s toilets or other spaces for women.
Starmer says Labour will protect women’s spaces. But he also says he wants to protect trans women with dignity and respect.
Starmer says his comments about migrants from Bangladesh were 'clumsy' after caller accuses him of racism
The next caller accuses Keir Starmer of making racists comments about Bangladeshi migrants. He is referring to something Starmer said at the Sky TV Q&A on Monday.
Starmer says he did not intend to cause offence, and he is concerned if that has happened.
He says the Bangladeshi community has made a big contribution to Britain, and to his constituency. He says, when he became an MP, it was the first country he visit.
When it is put to him that his comments were clumsly, he says: “Clumsy would be a good word.”
Q: Do you think Nigel Farage is a racist?
Starmer says he would not call him names. He says he does not think Farage has the answers to the problems the country faces.
He says the remarks by Farage’s supporters exposed by Channel 4 News were clearly racist.
But he says “I don’t tend to campaign by going around calling people names”.
And he repeats the point he made on BBC Breakfast about how Farage’s inability to deal with racism in his party is a failure of leadership. (See 9.05am.)
Q: I have a modest pension fund and I want to take out a 25% lump sum tax free. Are you going to take away that option?
Starmer says that option is due to run out in a few years time. He says he has not committed to renewing it because he is only making promises he knows he can keep. He says the policy will be reviewed, but he says Liz Truss showed what happens when politicians make unfunded tax promises.
UPDATE: Labour says that Starmer was talking about a different tax break when he answered this question, and that the party does not plan to stop people taking 25% of their pension as a tax-free lump sum. See 10.49am for the full quote.
Updated
Starmer rejects Green party's plan for wealth tax, saying 'we cannot simply tax our way out of our problems'
Q: Furlough during lockdown saved my job. Can you guarantee income tax won’t go up under a Labour government?
Starmer says income tax won’t go up, national insurance won’t go up and VAT won’t go up.
The caller, Rob, says he voted Tory at the last election. He had voted Labour in the past. He has children and is about to become a grandfather. That is why he is worried about income tax.
Q: The Green party say it would raise £15b from a wealth tax – a 1% tax on assets worth more than £10m, and 2% on assets over £1bn. What is wrong with that?
Starmer says “we cannot simply tax our way out of our problems”.
Q: But these people have loads of money.
Starmer says the UK has a flatlining economy and the highest tax levels for the 70 years. He says the priority must be growth.
Starmer says he does not think Britain would be better without private education
After Starmer responds to a caller worried about Labour’s plans to put VAT on private school fees, Campbell asks if he thinks Britain would be better and more equal without private schools, with more social mobility.
No, says Starmer. He says he wants to see a society where it does not matter whether you go to private school or state school. But that will only happen when people in state schools have the same opportunities as people in private schools.
He says in Camden in London, where he lives, the state primary schools are now so good that parents who would have send their children to private schools use the state schools instead. He says that is the outcome he wants for the whole education system.
Starmer dodges question about Biden's performance in debate, saying it would not be 'helpful' to comment on US election
Keir Starmer is now taking part in a phone-in on Radio 5 Live with Nicky Campbell.
Campbell starts by asking about the US presidential election debate last night.
Q: Joe Biden looked flaky and confused. Are you concerned?
Starmer says he has enough on his hands with the UK campaign.
Campbell says this is important.
Starmer accepts that. He says it is for the Americans to elect their next president. A Labour government would deal with whoever is president.
Campbell suggests he must have a view.
Starmer says he does not think it would be “helpful” for him to comment on the US presidential election.
Starmer says Farage's failure to deal with racists in Reform UK shows his weakness as leader
In his interview on BBC Breakfast Keir Starmer also condemned the racist and homophobic comments made by Reform UK campaigners that were filmed by a Channel 4 News undercover reporter.
Starmer said he was “shocked” by what he heard, and that the comments were “clearly racist”. And he said the fact that the party keeps having problems like this showed that Nigel Farage was failing to assert leadership. He said:
This is a test of leadership …
You have to ask the question, why so many people who are supporting Reform seem to be exposed in this particular way? It’s for a leader to change his or her party to make sure the culture is right, and the standards are understood by everybody within the party.
He also said Farage did not have an answer to the big political problems facing the country.
Of course he is having an impact, we can see in the polls … but what he doesn’t have is the answers to the huge challenges we are facing as a country, both in the UK itself and of course globally where there’s probably more tension and conflict than there’s been in very recent years.
He doesn’t have answers to the big questions. He’s got rhetoric, for sure, but he doesn’t have answers to the question.
Updated
Starmer warns against complacency, saying if people want change, they must vote for it next week
Keir Starmer has been on BBC Breakfast this morning. Labour’s lead over the Conservatives is still more or less exactly the same now as it was at the start of the campaign (around 20 points), but Labour is worried that its supporters will see this as a reason not to vote (because the party will win big anyway) and Starmer said that in the final days of the campaign he wanted to stress the need for people to vote. He said:
We’ve got another six days to go. And it is very, very important to make the argument that if you want change, you have to vote for it.
This is a big choice election because it’s either five years of what we’ve just – that means the NHS won’t get better, we’ll still be in a low growth, high tax doom loop – or we could change, choose a different path and start to rebuild the country with Labour.
Sunak says Farage's stance on Ukraine and Russia 'emboldens Putin further'
Good morning. I’m Andrew Sparrow, taking over from Kirsty McEwen.
Rishi Sunak has given an interview to the Daily Telegraph, and he has used it to restate his claim that Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, would appease Vladimir Putin, the Russian president. Responding to claims that the Russian invasion of Ukraine was provoked by the eastward expansion of Nato and the EU, Sunak told the paper:
What [Farage] said was wrong, it was completely wrong. It plays into Putin’s hand. This is the guy that used nerve agents on British streets, he’s doing deals with North Korea. That is who we’re talking about here. This kind of appeasement is very damaging not just for our security, but the security of our allies that depend on us and it emboldens Putin further.
I talk to Volodymyr [Zelenskiy, the Ukrainian president] regularly, I just saw him. I’ve spent lots of time with his team. I’ve been in Ukraine multiple times. The thought that we would somehow be withdrawing our support to them, that there are people who think that that’s a right thing to do, I think is deeply worrying.
We will open the comments soon, and if you want to contact me, please post a message below the line (BTL) or message me on X (Twitter). I can’t read all the messages BTL, but if you put “Andrew” in a message aimed at me, I am more likely to see it because I search for posts containing that word. If you want to flag something up urgently, it is best to use X; I’ll see something addressed to @AndrewSparrow very quickly. I find it very helpful when readers point out mistakes, even minor typos (no error is too small to correct). And I find your questions very interesting too. I can’t promise to reply to them all, but I will try to reply to as many as I can, either BTL or sometimes in the blog.
Labour has “no plans” to raise any taxes should it win the election, the shadow Treasury minister has said.
Speaking to GB News, Darren Jones criticised the government for being wasteful with public finances during the Covid pandemic.
He said: “Procurement rules need to be followed even during a pandemic. It would not have happened under Labour.”
Jones said Labour would raise funds by closing tax loopholes. We have no plans to raise any other taxes because we don’t need to,.”
Gambling regulator speaks to Sunak's chief of staff as part of investigation
The Gambling Commission has spoken to the prime minister’s chief of staff as a witness in connection with bets allegedly placed on the date of the general election, it has been reported.
The BBC said Liam Booth-Smith was interviewed by the regulator last week to clarify who may have known about the date of the general election before it was announced.
The Gambling Commission investigation is focused on allegations of cheating, while Scotland Yard will lead on what is likely to be a much smaller number of cases where there could be additional offences such as misconduct in public office.
An update by the Metropolitan police and Gambling Commission said at least seven officers from the force are being investigated.
Commission chief executive Andrew Rhodes said: “We are focused on an investigation into confidential information being used to gain an unfair advantage when betting on the date of the general election.
“Our enforcement team has made rapid progress so far and will continue to work closely with the Metropolitan police to draw this case to a just conclusion.”
Rishi Sunak has withdrawn Tory support for his former parliamentary aide Craig Williams’s bid to be returned as MP for the Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr seat, after he admitted having a “flutter” on the election date.
During a campaign visit in Derbyshire, Sunak was repeatedly asked whether he had confided in Mr Williams ahead of his surprise announcement of a summer election. Speaking to broadcasters, the prime minister said: “I’ve been clear about this. I’m furious to have learned about these allegations.
“We’ve initiated independent inquiries of our own, because I don’t have access to the Gambling Commission’s detail. You’ll recognise that while there are ongoing independent investigations, it’s just not right for me to say anything more about that.”
Updated
There are 'so many' undecided voters, says education secretary Gillian Keegan
Education secretary Gillian Keegan has said there are “so many” undecided voters before polling day on 4 July.
She told GB News: “I think all of us are out every day knocking on doors, all of us are saying the same thing – I was talking to a colleague yesterday – there are so many voters who are undecided and, of course, what’s happening in the polls is everyone is trying to anticipate what they’ll do, there’s all kinds of algorithms trying to anticipate that, but what we’re doing is going out on the doorstep.
“What is clear is many of these voters have not decided to go for another party. Some have, but not many have, and that’s what we’re finding on the doorstep, so this last week is crucially important, you should never take the voters for granted, none of us ever do.”
Asked about whether Reform UK has rattled the Tories given its showing in the polls, Keegan said: “What actually shows up a lot about the Reform party is some of their disgraceful comments – either their racist comments or their comments about women, his [Farage’s] comments about Putin have cut through, a few people do mention that.”
Here’s the latest in the Guardian’s series on The broken years: Tory Britain 2010-24:
Unless the polls are wildly inaccurate, the Conservative party is heading towards a catastrophic defeat in the coming election.
All across the rich world, voters are angry at their governments – they blame politicians for a burst of inflation that happened almost everywhere and is now subsiding almost everywhere, including in the UK. But the Conservatives deserve defeat more than most: they took power 14 years ago promising to deliver responsible policies and economic success. Instead they have presided over economic stagnation and a collapse in public services.
Why has Conservative governance gone so badly? It is natural to blame Brexit, which did indeed increase trade frictions and therefore surely had a negative effect on British real income. However, Brexit has not had the disastrous effects some predicted, and has somewhat perversely led to a rise rather than a fall in immigration, especially of the highly skilled.
In fact, the roots of Britain’s poor economic performance are older and deeper than Brexit. Though many bad decisions undoubtedly contributed, one central cause was the way David Cameron and George Osborne gratuitously embraced fiscal austerity when they came to power after the global financial crisis.
Read more:
In February 2020, with the race to succeed Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader heating up, Keir Starmer’s office received a helping hand.
Peter Coates, the head of the dynasty behind Stoke-based online gambling company Bet365, donated £25,000 to Starmer’s office.
Coates and the Bet365 group had been regular donors to Labour until 2015, to the tune of £490,000, but the money dried up in the Corbyn years, when Bet365 turned its attention to stopping Brexit, handing £512,500 to the campaign for Britain to remain in the EU.
The donation was a clear sign that the gambling industry spigot could easily be turned on again.
Now, of the 12 most recent political donations by the industry and its executives, all have gone to Labour – a total of just under £400,000 stretching back to March 2020 – according to Electoral Commission records.
But that river of cash does not just indicate Labour’s position as the likely winner of the 4 July general election. It also illustrates the deep-rooted ties between the Labour party and the £11bn-a-year gambling sector.
Here are a few of the key campaign events coming up today:
Both SNP leader John Swinney and Labour leader Keir Starmer will be appearing on BBC Breakfast this morning at 7.30am and 8.30am respectively.
Prime minister Rishi Sunak will be visiting a school in Teesside at 11.30am.
Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey will visit a community hub in St Neots, Cambridgeshire at around 2.45pm.
Deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner and Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar will be at a rally in Hamilton at about 10am.
Scottish First Minister John Swinney and deputy first minister Kate Forbes to attend SNP campaign event in Edinburgh at about 9.30am.
Davey will take part in a BBC General Election interview at 7.30pm and Reform UK Nigel Farage and Green party co-leader Adrian Ramsay will appear on a BBC Question Time leaders’ special at 8pm.
Rishi Sunak’s chief of staff Liam Booth-Smith has been interviewed as a witness by the Gambling Commission over allegations of bets made on the date of the general election, the BBC reports.
Booth-Smith spoke to the regulator last week, the broadcaster reported, adding that sources had emphasised that he was not a suspect and had not placed any bets himself.
A few pics from Wednesday’s campaign trail:
Met indicates Tory in betting scandal could be part of criminal investigation
TheMetropolitan police have indicated that the dropped Conservative candidate Craig Williams could come under the scope of a criminal investigation into betting on the election that has overshadowed Rishi Sunak’s campaign.
The Guardian’s Pippa Crerar and Rob Davies report:
Scotland Yard will investigate any suspicious bets that could represent a misconduct in public office offence, while the Gambling Commission will continue to look at whether betting rules were broken.
The prime minister repeatedly refused to say whether he told Williams, his closest parliamentary aide, about the date of the election, wrongly claiming he could prejudice the watchdog’s inquiry.
So far, five Conservatives are known to have been caught up in the Gambling Commission inquiry since the Guardian revealed two weeks ago that Williams had placed a £100 bet with Ladbrokes three days before Sunak announced the date.
The Tories have withdrawn the party’s support for Williams’ campaign to be returned as the MP for the Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr seat, after he admitted having a “flutter” on the election date.
On the doorstep with Labour’s Wes Streeting
In the beating sunshine deep in the heart of one of the Conservatives’ safest Midlands seats, Wes Streeting is slapping on factor 50 for another afternoon in pursuit of a historic Labour majority. It is in these safe seats where it will be seen whether the extinction-level predictions for the Tories are accurate.
Streeting, often named as a potential future Labour leader, has spent his entire career as a campaigner deeply involved in local organising. He is in demand from candidates partly because he is such a comfortable doorstep activist, who bangs on doors with the vigour normally reserved for use by police officers or bailiffs.
The party’s message this week is an all-out war on complacency. But Streeting says he is genuinely encountering far more undecided voters than he had anticipated and that he has not seen the Labour landslide the polls have predicted. “I don’t think they take into account the millions of undecided voters who will ultimately decide whether there is a Labour government,” he said.
This morning's front pages
The Guardian leads with an interview with shadow health secretary Wes Streeting, and his pledge to ban NHS managers who silence and scapegoat whistleblowers, as part of a determined drive by Labour to eradicate a culture of cover-ups:
The Guardian: Labour pledge to ban managers who silence NHS whistleblowers #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/enhj3jWKSi
— George Mann (@sgfmann) June 27, 2024
The FT: Top-rate taxpayer numbers to exceed 1mn as threshold freezes swell coffers
Financial Times: Top-rate taxpayer numbers to exceed 1mn as threshold freezes swell coffers #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/hWUZQAQxJZ
— George Mann (@sgfmann) June 27, 2024
The Times: Shoot illegal migrants, said Reform campaigner
The Times: Shoot illegal migrants, said Reform campaigner #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/IzgbVlAvrd
— George Mann (@sgfmann) June 27, 2024
The Daily Telegraph: Farage is a Putin appeaser, says Sunak
The Daily Telegraph: Farage is a Putin appeaser, says Sunak #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/iHHaik7AZu
— George Mann (@sgfmann) June 27, 2024
The I: Private school fees VAT in Reeves’ first Budget but delayed until 2025 – and loophole closed
i: Private school fees VAT in Reeves’ first Budget but delayed until 2025 – and loophole closed #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/7Fi4GBILGI
— George Mann (@sgfmann) June 27, 2024
The National: Sarwar - Labour candidate lied about helping Tories at 2019 election:
The National: Sarwar - Labour candidate lied about helping Tories at 2019 election #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/vMo4BW64km
— George Mann (@sgfmann) June 27, 2024
The Daily Mirror: This is why we need to vote Labour: Tory NHS neglect highlighted…as striking docs say they’ll talk to Keir
Daily Mirror: This is why we need to vote Labour #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/PEXdCjbJ89
— George Mann (@sgfmann) June 27, 2024
The Daily Mail: Poll that shows it’s not too late to stop Starmer supermajority
Daily Mail: Poll that shows it’s not too late to stop Starmer supermajority #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/bLwILCU61Q
— George Mann (@sgfmann) June 27, 2024
The Daily Record has an interview with former Countdown host Carol Vordeman, who, it says, has “done sums to show how tactical voting can ensure party’s number is up”. The headline is, We can reduce Tories to rubble:
Daily Record: Carol - we can reduce the Tories to rubble #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/tToGQ4bXHa
— George Mann (@sgfmann) June 27, 2024
A bit more on Nigel Farage’s response to remarks made by Reform UK candidates, courtesy of PA:
At a £5-a-head event on the campaign trail in Boston, Lincolnshire, Farage said:
We’ve had one or two candidates that have said things they shouldn’t have said. In most cases they’re just speaking like ordinary folk.
“They’re not part of the mainstream political Oxbridge speak, we understand that. In some cases one or two people let us down and we let them go.
“Well, compare that to the international price fixing and betting ring that is the modern day Conservative Party.”
He made his remarks moments after Channel 4 News broadcast an undercover investigation into Reform UK’s Clacton campaign, where Farage is contesting the seat against Conservative incumbent Giles Watling.
Reform campaigners filmed making racist, homophobic slurs
Good morning and welcome to the Guardian’s live elections coverage with me, Helen Livingstone.
This morning’s top story: a Reform UK activist in the constituency where Nigel Farage is standing has been secretly filmed making extremely racist comments about Rishi Sunak, as well as using Islamophobic, and other offensive language, the Guardian’s Peter Walker reports.
Farage said he was “dismayed” by the views expressed by Andrew Parker, a Reform canvasser, who was filmed as part of an undercover investigation by Channel 4 News.
Parker also said asylum seekers should be shot as “target practice”.
In a statement to Channel 4 News, Parker said Farage and Reform were not aware of his views, and he was sorry if they “have reflected badly on them and brought them into disrepute”.
The channel also secretly filmed George Jones, a longtime party activist who organises events for Farage, making homophobic comments, calling the Pride flag “degenerate”.
