Lib Dems within spitting distance of overtaking Tories to become opposition party according to devastating poll

End of blog

That concludes our live blog of the General Election campaigns today.

We'll be back tomorrow morning for all the live updates from Day 29 of the campaign ahead of the General Election on July 4.

Sunak says he will not hand back money from Tory donor who said Diane Abbott 'should be shot'

The Prime Minister has said he will not hand back money from the Conservative party’s biggest donor, Frank Hester, because the businessman is "genuinely contrite."

An LBC caller told the Prime Minister: "Just saying he’s apologised isn’t going to cut it."

Sunak responded, saying Abbott herself had made "some comments in the past that were not appropriate but she apologised for those and was readmitted back into the Labour party".

Sunak added: "Maybe we disagree on this, but I believe if people are genuinely contrite … that should be accepted."

"I do think that in life if you made a mistake and honestly apologised and learned from it, as a society if that is something we can come together on, [that] is important."

Anas Sarwar says Scottish Labour took 'swift action' to suspend candidate accused of 'pro-Russian' posts on social media

Andy Brown was dropped as the party’s candidate in the Aberdeenshire North and Moray East constituency following reports he shared content which played down Russia's role in the Salisbury poisonings.

Reports suggest he shared an article from Russian state media outlet RT which claimed the "toxin" used in the poisonings was "never produced in Russia, but was in service in the US, UK and other Nato states."

But the candidate told the BBC he did not make the social media posts. Sarwar said: "We’ve taken swift action. New information came to light to us last night and within hours this candidate was suspended pending an investigation. I think that’s right thing for us to do."

The Scottish Labour leader added: "He’s been suspended pending investigation because of posts which we believe are unacceptable. We expect the highest standard in all our candidates and all those that seek to be representatives of the Labour Party.

"Clearly when new information came to light we took swift action in suspending this candidate and I think that’s the right thing for us to do."

Brown told the BBC: "I didn’t share those. Where they’ve been shared from or how has someone accessed my account and shared them, it may have been corrupted at some point – but honestly, I did not share those."

Asked if he had forgotten making the posts, he said: "No, I definitely didn’t make that. I would never like these at all. It’s not the sort of comments I would comment on."

Candidates standing in Aberdeenshire North and Moray East

• Ian Bailey - Liberal Democrats
• Andy Brown (Brown will still appear on the ballot paper on July 4 as the Labour candidate, but will not receive the backing of the party)
• Jo Hart - Reform UK
• Seamus Logan - SNP
• Douglas Ross - Conservative and Unionist Party

Exclusive polling for GB News from People Polling puts Reform UK in second behind Labour

• Labour - 35%
• Reform UK - 24%
• Conservatives: 15%
• Liberal Democrats: 12%
• Green Party: 8%
• SNP: 3%

New Labour Party broadcast features Sir Keir Starmer and former England and Manchester United defender Gary Neville

In the video, the pair walked in the Langdale Pikes foothills, near Ambleside, where Sir Keir used to holiday with his parents.

Neville asked Sir Keir on camera: "If your mum and dad were here now, in these cottages, what would they be saying to you?"

The Labour leader replied: "They’d be having a real moment, and so am I actually.

"If she was back here now and I was in a race to be a candidate for the prime minister of the country, they’d be really proud. It’d be a real incredible moment. It really would."

Daisy Cooper calls for inquiry following police officer arrest

The Liberal Democrat deputy leader has called for a Cabinet Office inquiry following the arrest of a police officer over alleged bets linked to the timing of the General Election.

She said: "Rishi Sunak must call a Cabinet Office inquiry into what is shaping up to be yet another scandal at the heart of Government.

"This stinks of yet more sleaze and answers are needed. An inquiry is needed to understand who knew what and when."

Muslim entrepreneur donates thousands to Reform UK

Zia Yusuf, who co-founded the luxury concierge app Velocity Black before selling it last year for £233 million, has donated hundreds of thousands of pounds to Nigel Farage's party.

The 37-year-old told The Telegraph: "My parents came here legally. When I talk to my friends they are as affronted as anyone by illegal Channel crossings, which are an affront to all hard-working British people but not least the migrants who played by the rules and came legally.

"I think Britain can be an amazing country, it’s the country of Dyson and DeepMind, but we have completely lost control of our borders, that is just factually correct.

"I love Britain and I’m a patriot, a British Muslim patriot, which I believe the vast majority of Muslims in the UK are.

"I was profoundly moved by the D-Day commemorations and I’m hugely grateful for the people who laid down their lives - hundreds of thousands of whom were Muslims. British values are worth defending and I find it concerning how few people are prepared to defend them."

Sinn Fein launches manifesto - 'now is the time to plan for the future'

SinnFein president Mary Lou McDonald said: "Every election I come to with huge optimism and an abundance of hope, the party has grown exponentially over the next decade or so. This is now a very large national organisation and I am very sure that we are going to perform very strongly in this election.

"The last election south of the border, we didn’t serve our meaty ambitions as we would have wished but we did win more council seats, we did win an additional seat in the European Parliament.

"We’re always going to be ambitious, we’re always going to push ourselves to achieve that bit more because we have a national project. When you’re that ambitious there is no simply no room for being despondent.

The party's outgoing MP and candidate for North Belfast, John Finucane, said: "The Irish and British governments must set a date for the referendum on Irish unity, for now is the time to plan for the future."

Full list of candidates standing in Belfast North:

• Phillip Brett - DUP
• David Clarke - TUV
• Fiona Ferguson - PBP
• John Finucane - Sinn Fein
• Nuala McAllister - Alliance
• Mal O'Hara - Green Party
• Carl Whyte - SDLP

BREAKING: Rishi Sunak protection officer arrested over 'election date bets'

Read the full story here.

New YouGov poll gives Labour a 200-seat majority

YouGov said its latest study projects Labour is on course to achieve a 200-seat majority.

Labour is predicted to secure 425 seats, the Tories 108, the Liberal Democrats 67, SNP 20, Reform UK five, Plaid Cymru four and the Green Party two.

YouGov used a technique known as MRP (multi-level regression and post-stratification) to model the outcome of the election in every constituency across Britain.

It said the estimated seat projections were based on modelled responses from 36,161 adults in England and Wales, and 3,818 in Scotland.

George Galloway calls for British warships to stop migrants

The leader of the Workers Party of Britain told GB News: "We would be stopping it. Where were the ships? The ships were in the Red Sea, in the Black Sea, in the South China Sea.

"The Royal Navy's principal purpose and duty is to defend the shores of His Majesty's realm, but they're not doing so. They're in every sea except our own sea.

"Illegal arrivals in England, which then cost £80 a night per person, and potentially forever to the British taxpayer. We've got all these Royal Navy assets, the problem is they're deployed everywhere except defending our own shores."

Read the full story here.

Pro-Palestinian protesters found guilty after holding protest outside Sir Keir Starmer's house

Leonorah Ward, 21, of Leeds, Zosia Lewis, 23, of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and Daniel Formentin, 24, of Leeds, hung a banner outside the Labour leader's house that read, "Starmer stop the killing", surrounded by red handprints, on April 9.

The trio was convicted of public order offences under Section 42 of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001, and with breaching court bail after a one-day trial at Westminster Magistrates’ Court.

Read the full story here.

Tory WIPEOUT: Rishi Sunak to LOSE SEAT as bombshell new poll shows Labour set for nearly 400-seat majority

Rishi Sunak is forecast to lose his seat at the general election, a bombshell new poll has shown.

This would make him the first sitting prime minister ever to lose their seat at a general election.

Analysis conducted by Savanta and Electoral Calculus put the Tories on course to return just 53 seats - with around three-quarters of the Cabinet losing their seats.

The Liberal Democrats are on course to be just behind the Tories on 50 MPs.

Farage claims he was offered knighthood not to take part in 2019 election 

Nigel Farage has claimed that his party was offered ten peerages, while he was offered a knighthood not to take part in the 2019 general election.

Speaking to the Sun, the leader of Reform UK claimed it was “bribery-corruption on the most extraordinary level”.

Starmer condemns Just Stop Oil for 'pathetic' Stonehenge vandalism

Sir Keir Starmer has condemned Just Stop Oil's attack on Stonehenge, describing the protest as "outrageous" and "pathetic".

Just Stop Oil activists defaced Stonehenge the day before the Summer Solstice in an act of vandalism to raise awareness on climate change.

As seen in dramatic images from the Unesco World Heritage site in Wiltshire, the stones have been daubed with orange powder paint in what the protest group calls "megalithic action" to demand the UK to drop fossil fuels in a matter of years.

In a statement on social media, Starmer said: "The damage done to Stonehenge is outrageous. Just Stop Oil are pathetic. Those responsible must face the full force of the law."

Starmer would send 'exactly the wrong message' to the UK’s adversaries, PM says

Sir Keir Starmer would send “exactly the wrong message” to the UK’s adversaries, such as Russia and North Korea, Rishi Sunak has said.

Speaking to reporters in East Anglia about defence spending, the Prime Minister repeated his concerns of an “axis of authoritarian states, including Russia, Iran, North Korea and China, who are increasingly acting together in a way that threatens our values, our interests and our security”.

He continued: “That’s why I made the decisions to increase investment in defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP, because we’re living in the most dangerous and uncertain time that our country has known since the end of the Cold War.

“Just from the conversations I’ve been having at the G7, and the Ukraine peace summit, that is a view that is shared widely across the world, that’s why it’s the right thing to do to invest more in our defence, to keep everybody safe.

“Keir Starmer has not matched that pledge and that deeply concerns me ’cause the first duty of government is to protect the country.

“In fact if Keir Starmer is elected, one of the first things he will do is head off to a Nato summit having cut British defence spending from the planned increases that I’ve announced, and I think that sends exactly the wrong message, both to our allies, where we want to lead so that they invest more in their defence as well, but also to our adversaries, like Putin, and like the North Koreans, and actually we need to deter them with strength.”

Farage set to win Clacton ‘with biggest swing in modern history’

Nigel Farage is set to win Clacton with the biggest swing in modern history, a new poll has suggested.

A survey conducted by Survation, commissioned by former Ukip donor Arron Banks, suggests that the Reform UK leader would win 42 per cent of the vote in the Essex constituency.

The Tories are forecast to take 27 per cent of the vote, while Labour would take 24 per cent.

Survation said the scale of the swing projected by the poll would be "extremely rare", adding that it would be "unprecedented in modern electoral history".

Farage said: “This poll shows Reform will win seats at the election. I think many people are going to be surprised on July 4. If you vote Reform, you get Reform.”

Sinn Féin's Pat Cullen fails to condemn IRA bombings that killed civilians

Sinn Fein candidate Pat Cullen failed to condemn the IRA's bombings at Enniskillen and Omagh, which saw nurses killed during the Troubles.

While Cullen called for people to "move forward", dubbing them "very dark days", she failed to explicitly condemn the attacks.

Asked if she condemns the bombings in Omagh and Enniskillen, she told the BBC: "I've said very clearly those were very dark days as a community nurse.

"I've held the hands of many people that have lived through those periods, I've felt, I've heard and I've seen their trauma.

"I've seen what it does to them. Let's not go back there, let's move forward and bring prosperity and hope to the people."

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

Palestine protesters left me feeling 'sick' - Starmer's wife speaks out on being targeted

Victoria Starmer said she was left feeling "a bit sick" when she encountered a pro-Palestine demonstration outside their family home, a court has heard.

Sir Keir Starmer's wife drove away in her car when she realised “people who were not agreeing with my husband” had gathered outside.

Leonorah Ward, 21, of Leeds, Zosia Lewis, 23, of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and Daniel Formentin, 24, of Leeds, are on trial at Westminster Magistrates’ Court over the demonstration, charged with public order offences under Section 42 of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 and with breaching court bail.

Activists from the group Youth Demand hung a banner outside the London house that read: “Starmer stop the killing”, surrounded by red hand prints, while rows of children’s shoes were laid in front of the door on April 9, it is alleged.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

Starmer: The public is 'fed up' with the Government saying 'everything is fine'

Sir Keir Starmer said the public was “fed up” with the Government saying “everything is fine” with the economy after inflation fell to 2 per cent.

Speaking to broadcasters in Wiltshire, the Labour leader said: “Inflation is now down to where it was three years ago. That doesn’t mean that for many people life’s suddenly got easier.

“So, yes, it’s back where it was three years ago, but that doesn’t mean that prices are coming down, it doesn’t mean that mortgages are coming down.

“If there’s one thing that’s been picked up on this campaign trail over and over again, it’s people being fed up with the Government sort of saying, ‘oh, you need to thank us now, we are turning a page, everything is fine’.

“Everybody here at Morrisons that we’ve been talking to, people across the country, don’t think it’s fine because they know that they are still paying the cost of the Government losing control of the economy.”

Millions of people will not feel drop in inflation, warn Lib Dems

Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper said she welcomed the drop in inflation but added that millions of people will not feel the difference.

Speaking from Farncombe, she said: “The hard truth is that for millions of people they’re not going to be feeling better-off today, food prices are 25 per cent higher than they were just two years ago and, of course, the average mortgage holder is seeing their mortgage go up by £3,000.

“So, of course we welcome any improvement in the economy, but millions of people will not be feeling any benefit from that as a result of years of Conservative economic mismanagement.”

Asked if the Lib Dems would push to rejoin the European Union in the next decade, Cooper said: “There’s no kind of offer like that on the table at this General Election.”

On immigration, she said that “everybody wants to see an end to people making that dangerous journey across the Channel, but the way to do that is to open safe and legal routes”.

SNP does not want 'independence for its own sake', says Swinney

The SNP does not want “independence for its own sake”, the First Minister said.

Speaking in Edinburgh, John Swinney said: “It is through independence, therefore, that we believe we can build the fairer country and the more prosperous economy we know is possible.

“Not independence for its own sake. Independence for the powers to protect our NHS and to help people through tough times.

“Independence for a stronger economy and happier, healthier lives.

“And independence for a better future for Scotland – made in Scotland – for Scotland.”

John Swinney: People are 'crying out for principled leadership'

People are “crying out for principled leadership”, SNP leader John Swinney has said.

Launching his party’s manifesto ahead of the July 4 General Election, the First Minister said: “We are living in a period of rapid change where new technology, the climate emergency and the implications of an ageing population will all have a profound impact on the way we live our lives in the future.

“Given this atmosphere of turmoil, more than ever I believe political leaders and political parties need a set of values as a foundation from which to respond to those challenges.

“I believe people are crying out for principled leadership which is prepared to argue for what it believes in.”

Farage issues warning to Starmer - 'Labour will be scared!' 

Nigel Farage has issued a stark warning to the Labour Party, suggesting they should be "scared" of Reform UK.

This comes days after Reform UK overtook the Tories in a poll for the first time.

Labour was ahead on 37 per cent support. But posting on social media, the Reform UK leader said: "Labour are not scared yet, but they will be by the time I’ve finished with them."

Record number of people crossed the Channel yesterday, Home Office confirms

GB News exclusively revealed that there was a record number of crossings to the UK yesterday.

But Home Office official figures have now confirmed that a total of 882 people were detected crossing the English Channel on Tuesday.

This is the highest number on a single day so far this year, the Home Office said.

Reeves 'very, very pleased' Labour candidate suspended after 'pro-Russia posts'

Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves said she is “very, very pleased” that the candidate has been suspended after pro-Russia posts appearing to play down the country’s role in the Salisbury poisonings.

She said: “I hadn’t heard of this guy until this morning and I’m very, very pleased that I will hopefully not have to hear of him again because he’s been suspended as a Labour candidate.

“That is absolutely right. We’ve taken the swift action.

“As soon as these postings came to light, we got rid of him.”

She added: “People who don’t share our values in the changed Labour Party are kicked out of the Labour Party, while the Conservative Party continues to harbour people like Liz Truss, who has caused so much damage to the lives of working people up and down the country.”

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

Labour candidate suspended after 'pro-Russia posts'

A Labour candidate has been suspended after sharing pro-Russia posts appearing to play down the country’s role in the Salisbury poisonings.

Andy Brown was disowned by the party in the Aberdeenshire North and Moray East constituency following reports he shared an article from Russian state media outlet RT which claimed the “toxin” used in the poisonings was “never produced in Russia, but was in service in the US, UK, and other Nato states”.

44-year-old Dawn Sturgess died after being exposed to the nerve agent Novichok, which had been left in a discarded perfume bottle in Amesbury, Wiltshire, in July 2018.

It came after the attempted murders of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal, his daughter Yulia and ex-police officer Nick Bailey, who were poisoned in nearby Salisbury in March that year.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

Tories will not hand back money from Frank Hester, Sunak says

Rishi Sunak has said he will not be handing back money from a Conservative Party donor embroiled in a racism row because the businessman is “genuinely contrite” and “that should be accepted”.

The Prime Minister was asked by a caller during an LBC phone-in about remarks made by Frank Hester, who was accused of saying MP Diane Abbott made him want to “hate all black women” and “should be shot”.

He was told that “just saying he’s apologised isn’t going to cut it”.

“Maybe we disagree on this, but I believe if people are genuinely contrite… that should be accepted,” Mr Sunak told the caller.

“I do think that in life if you made a mistake and honestly apologised and learned from it, as a society if that is something we can come together on, (that) is important.”

Hunt admits his constituency is 'on a knife edge' 

Jeremy Hunt has admitted his constituency, which has a notional majority of more than 10,000, is “on a knife edge”.

The Chancellor is facing a battle to win Godalming and Ash in Surrey, with the Liberal Democrats keen on taking a high-profile scalp.

Mr Hunt told broadcasters: “Well, this is a very marginal constituency. I’ve always treated it as a marginal constituency.

“I’m fighting for every vote. I think that I can win the seat. But I don’t take anything for granted.

“It is on a knife edge. And that’s what I’m knocking on doors for, six hours every day, meeting lots of people, making the arguments that I’ve been making this morning.”

Boundary changes mean Hunt is standing in the newly created seat, which would have had a Conservative majority of 10,720 if it had been fought on those boundaries at the 2019 election.

Hunt: Labour could be in power for 'a very long time' if Starmer wins by landslide

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said Labour could be in power for “a very long time” if Sir Keir Starmer won by a landslide.

He told broadcasters: “I think when people go to the polls, they will reflect on the dangers of Labour having such a big majority and then changing the rules by giving votes to people at the age of 16, giving votes to EU citizens, so that they’re here not just for a short time, for a very long time indeed.

“Compared to that, they will look at a Conservative government that hasn’t got everything right but took difficult decisions having inherited an economy that had higher inflation than nearly any of our major competitors.

“It is now lower, not just lower inflation but lower taxes, and soon hopefully lower mortgages as well.”

Asked if the Tories could win, he said: “Let’s see what happens on July 4. But what people will know when they go to the polls in just over two weeks’ time is that having inherited inflation that was higher than nearly any other major economy, it is now lower than America, lower than Germany, lower than France.”

It would be a “terrible shame to turn the clock right back and put up taxes on families with savings as it appears Keir Starmer wants to do”.

Liz Truss’s economic aspirations were 'absolutely right', says Mel Stride

Liz Truss’s economic aspirations were “absolutely right”, Mel Stride has said.

The Work and Pensions Secretary was asked about Chancellor Jeremy Hunt reportedly saying the former prime minister’s plans were a “good thing to aim for”.

Mr Stride told Sky News: “I think in terms of the aspirations that Liz had, which were to get taxes down, and recognising that low tax generally means growth, and I think that’s absolutely right.

“I mean, I was very clearly on the record at the time as chair of the Treasury select committee having considerable doubts about the way in which that particular policy or aspiration was pursued.

“So, I think Jeremy is absolutely right though that what we’ve got to do now is continue to bear down on taxes.”

Boris Johnson is 'clearly an asset' to the Tory General Election campaign, says Mel Stride

The Work and Pensions Secretary told Sky News: "I think he is campaigning. I mean, I’ve been aware that he’s certainly been doing videos for specific candidates, writing endorsements, tens of thousands of letters are being sent out in his name, I think, as we speak.

"I think that in this modern way of campaigning, that’s probably quite an effective way of getting a message across.

"I mean, Boris is clearly an asset to the campaign, he clearly chosen to get involved and he’s clearly urging people to vote Conservatives."

Farage and Anderson to win Reform seats, latest projections suggest

Nigel Farage is expected to win in his constituency of Clacton, Essex, according to a new poll.

The projections show Farage at 52 per cent, ahead of Labour’s Jovan Owusu-Nepaul at 24 per cent.

Pollster Ipsos also suggests that Tory defector Lee Anderson will hold his seat in Ashfield.

Rachel Reeves seeks to slash energy bills

Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves is expected to outline how Labour’s energy policies will aim to save £300 for families.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is due to embark on his “moral mission” to cut taxes, as campaigning continues in the General Election.

Reeves will visit the South West and accuse the Conservatives of being "staggeringly out of touch with the struggles facing ordinary families".

She will reiterate Labour’s pledge to make Britain a clean energy superpower by 2030, which the party says will save families up to £300 per year off their energy bills, boost the UK’s energy independence, and create 650,000 good jobs.

The party has pledged £8.3 billion for the publicly owned Great British Energy company, which will invest in clean energy.

Jeremy Hunt says Tory defeat would be 'our own stupid fault'

Leaked recordings have revealed Jeremy Hunt bemoaning his divided party.

"So as far as the election is concerned we won’t win it if we are not united and if we lose this election it will be because the British people do not want to vote for a divided party and it will be our own stupid fault and we need to remember that,” he said in the recording, which was obtained by The Mirror.

"And the second thing, and that isn’t the only point about the election. The other point about the election, the thing that is causing most division and dissent in the newspapers is a total failure to appreciate our superb record since 2010.

"I just want to say that I feel incredibly frustrated at this narrative that is building up that things are going to hell in the handcart."