General election live: Sunak tells furious Question Time audience he’s ‘incredibly angry’ over betting scandal

Rishi Sunak has admitted he is “incredibly angry” over the betting scandal that has engulfed the party’s top campaign team.

The prime minister faced tough questions on the furore that has hit his faltering election campaign on a BBC Question Time special on Thursday night, which also featured the leaders of Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the SNP.

With just two weeks until polling day, a string of people with links to the Conservative Party or No 10 are caught up in allegations about gambling on the timing of the July 4 contest.

But so far the PM has refused to suspend two candidates currently being investigated by the Gambling Commission.

Conservative candidate Laura Saunders earlier on Thursday said she “will be co-operating with the Gambling Commission” probe.

It comes as a gambling industry source said “more names” were being looked at over alleged wagers placed on the date of the 4 July election - in a crisis set to deepen for the Tories.

Key Points

• Sunak ‘extremely angry’ over gambling scandal but refuses to suspend candidates involved

• Who has a cervix… who has a penis?

• Jeremy Corbyn would have been a better PM than Boris, Keir Starmer

• Analysis: Is there anything Rishi Sunak can do now?

Will the Conservative Party ever be rid of the taint of sleaze? Don’t bet on it…

05:00 , Alexander Butler

Will the Conservative Party ever be rid of the taint of sleaze? Don’t bet on it…

Election candidate condemned for joking about domestic abuse and saying ‘70% of hell is going to be women

04:00 , Alexander Butler

Election candidate criticised for joking about domestic abuse and backing Andrew Tate

Sunak warned he has two weeks to persuade Tory voters back from Reform or face humiliation

03:00 , Alexander Butler

Sunak has two weeks to persuade Tory voters back from Reform or face humiliation

Editorial: The Tory betting scandal confirms what voters already know – it’s time for change

02:00 , Alexander Butler

The Tory betting scandal confirms what voters already know – it’s time for change

Fig rolls, hard hats and micromanagement: Behind the scenes with Michael Gove on the Tory battle bus

01:00 , Alexander Butler

Fig rolls and micromanagement: Behind the scenes with Gove on the Tory battle bus

All bets off on trust for the Tories as election gambling scandal engulfs campaign

Friday 21 June 2024 00:01 , Alexander Butler

All bets off on trust for Tories as gambling scandal engulfs campaign

Jeremy Corbyn would have been better PM than Boris Johnson, says Keir Starmer

Thursday 20 June 2024 23:19 , Alexander Butler

Jeremy Corbyn would have been better PM than Boris Johnson, says Keir Starmer

Sunak ‘extremely angry’ over gambling scandal but refuses to suspend candidates involved

Thursday 20 June 2024 23:17 , Alexander Butler

Sunak ‘incredibly angry’ over gambling scandal but refuses to suspend candidates

Teenagers could lose bank accounts and driving licences for snubbing national service, Rishi Sunak says

Thursday 20 June 2024 23:00 , Alexander Butler

Teens could face driving and banking bans for snubbing national service, Sunak says

Watch: Starmer applauded as he hits out at Sunak’s trans joke

Thursday 20 June 2024 22:39 , Alexander Butler

Watch: Ed Davey admits he is ‘not proud’ of Lib Dems's coalition with Tories on Question Time

Thursday 20 June 2024 22:19 , Alexander Butler

Pictured: Sunak looked defeated at the end of debate

Thursday 20 June 2024 22:14 , Alexander Butler

Watch: Question Time audience shouts ‘shame’ as Sunak says he is prepared to leave ECHR

Thursday 20 June 2024 22:10 , Alexander Butler

Sunak suggests new sanctions for national service plan during BBC election debate

Thursday 20 June 2024 22:10 , Alexander Butler

Analysis: Rishi Sunak finished like a man who knows he has lost

Thursday 20 June 2024 22:07 , David Maddox

It is never a great idea to attack the audience members when you are a politician at the best of times. The “optics” as political strategists put it, are just not good.

But a terse Sunak went for four audience members at the end looking as though he had finally lost patience. It is that sort of shooting from the hip that comes when someone knows they really have nothing to lose.

In the Tories’ case they seem to have barely any seats to lose anyway given how many appear to have gone if you believe the polls.

Sunak started his half hour blaming his predecessors and apologising for those close to him. He looked like someone ready to blame everyone but himself.

In the reckoning after this election there will be plenty who will point the finger of blame at the awful way he has conducted this election campaign and lead up to it.

Starmer refuses to say Corbyn would have made a good PM in BBC election debate

Thursday 20 June 2024 21:44 , Alexander Butler

Fiona Bruce has been brilliant tonight

Thursday 20 June 2024 21:41 , David Maddox

Fiona Bruce is a favourite target of social media trolls on Thursday nights.

But as the leaders have waded through their answers she has emerged as a brutal interrogator not letting any of them get away with some of their get out answers.

Classic of that was the way she has just tried to pin down Sunak on what will happen to young people who do not do his National Service plan.

For the first time he has admitted there will be sanctions.

Rishi Sunak says he might stop people from getting loans and drivers’ licences if they don’t do national service

Thursday 20 June 2024 21:40 , Archie Mitchell

Rishi Sunak has suggested he might suspend people’s drivers licences or stop them getting loans if they refuse to do national service.

The prime minister wants to force 18-year-olds to do one weekend a month for a year volunteering with community organisations or spend an entire year in the armed forces.

But he has failed to say how he will enforce the scheme. Under pressure from Question Time’s audience, the PM said: “There’s all sorts of things that people do across Europe, whether that’s looking at driving licences, or access to finance… all sorts of other things.”

Rishi Sunak angry but won’t suspend party candidates over gambling scandal

Thursday 20 June 2024 21:34 , Alexander Butler

Sunak acknowledges the chaos of the last seven years. He deliberately distances himself from his predecessors.

But the question of ethics on the gambling on the election date from a clearly angry audience member.

Sunak says he was “incredibly angry”. But he still has not suspended his party candidates.

Claims he will make anyone is guilty of allegations they will be “booted out of the Conservative Party.”

Not many people believe he will be around to do that.

Rishi Sunak smirks at Liz Truss’s 49-day tenure

Thursday 20 June 2024 21:32 , Alexander Butler

Rishi Sunak appeared to laugh when an audience member poked fun at Liz Truss’s 49-day tenure in Downing Street.

She is Britain’s shortest-serving PM, having been forced out of office for her disastrous September 2022 mini-budget, which caused the pound to plummet and sent mortgage rates sky-rocketing.

The PM held back outright laughter, but could not stop a smirk breaking out when the audience member said “we have had five prime ministers, one of whom only lasted for six weeks”.

Analysis: Is there anything Rishi Sunak can do now?

Thursday 20 June 2024 21:30 , Alexander Butler

The prime minister is the last one of four up. His campaign has been hit by so many gaffes, scandals and mishaps it is hard to know how he keeps going.

The arrival of Nigel Farage (missing tonight), the scarpering early from D-Day and now the betting scandal linked to his inner circle on the election date have killed off what little hopes he and his party had.

He has tried a lot, throwing tax allegations at Labour, offering tax cuts, offering National Service, trying to help pensioners more, rescuing the economy. Nothing has worked.

Mr Sunak would have been forgiven for watching the football instead of his opponents and dreaming of a new life in California.

He has two weeks to go to make up a gap of 20 percent with Labour. Nobody believes it will happen.

Who has a cervix… who has a penis?

Thursday 20 June 2024 21:22 , Archie Mitchell

Sir Keir Starmer has often struggled with the question of who can have a penis and who can have a cervix.

The Labour leader previously criticised backbench MP Rosie Duffied for saying only women can have a cervix, but has recently backtracked on the view.

A Question Time audience member asked “how do we know you will stick to your views”?

Sir Keir said men have penises and women have vaginas, before launching into a criticism of Rishi Sunak for making a joke about trans issues in front of the mother of murdered transgender teenager Brianna Ghey.

Labour leader challenged over lack of migration targets

Thursday 20 June 2024 21:20 , Archie Mitchell

Sir Keir Starmer has often criticised the Conservatives for letting immigration run “out of control”.

But the Labour leader has been challenged over his refusal to set a target for net migration if he wins the election.

He has promised to get it down, and said previous governments which have set targets have repeatedly missed them.

But a Question Time audience member challenged him over whether that is “a good enough reason” not to set a target himself.

He said: “We want to get it down significantly... It needs to be balanced immigration so that it works for us.”

‘We do need to reform tuition fees,’ Keir Starmer says

Thursday 20 June 2024 21:18 , Alexander Butler

The Labour leader has promised to reform tuition fees if he wins the general election, but said he cannot afford to scrap them entirely because of the dire state of the country’s finances.

Sir Keir Starmer said he could have chosen to invest the sum in fixing the NHS or abolishing tuition fees, but made the “political choice” to prioritise waiting lists.

He said the system of fees for university still needs reform, which Labour would carry out in office, but used economic challenges as an excuse for scrapping his leadership pledge to abolish them altogether.

The big U-turns question

Thursday 20 June 2024 21:17 , David Maddox

Sir Keir has been Mr U-turn. He wants to talk more about tuition fees than his many U-turns, not least because the question has come from a student.

He is of course blaming the state of the economy. “It’s a political decision,” he U-turned on tuition fees in favour of getting NHS waiting lists down.

Questionable to say the least that he would scrap tuition fees without hugely limiting the number of people who can go to university.

In Scotland where tuition fees do not exist there is a cap on students which means those from less well off backgrounds struggle to get into higher education.

Overall though, the number of U-turns made by Starmer has led to huge questions about his integrity. An issue also raised by the very first questioner.

Keir Starmer worried about rise of the far right in Europe

Thursday 20 June 2024 21:10 , Archie Mitchell

Sir Keir Starmer has said he is worried about the rise of the far right in Europe, saying he is leading a progressive party and the answers to the challenges of climate change, poverty and conflict are progressive.

“I am genuinely worried by some of the political trends and moves we have seen,” the Labour leader said.

It comes after European elections saw a surge in support for right-wing parties including Marine Le Pen’s National Rally in France and Germany’s AfD.

Tax also a difficult question for Starmer

Thursday 20 June 2024 21:06 , David Maddox

With the Tories still claiming he will increase taxes per household by £2,000 the tax question is still one which Starmer feels awkward about.

He repeats the line about not increasing income tax, national insurance and VAT. But there are other big taxes. This is one which will not change the election result now but in the next few years the Tories will be pressing this issue as Starmer tries to find more money for his projects.

Jeremy Corbyn would have been a better PM than Boris, Keir Starmer

Thursday 20 June 2024 21:05 , Alexander Butler

Sir Keir Starmer has given his strongest backing yet for former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, suggesting he would have been a better prime minister than Boris Johnson.

The current Labour leader has so far refused to say he would have liked to see Mr Corbyn enter Downing Street, simply saying he did not think the party could have won in 2019.

But pressed over his support for the left-winger, Sir Keir said: “He would be a better prime minister… look what we got… Boris Johnson, a man who made massive promises and did not keep them.”

Keir Starmer continues to try to give the impression that he did not want Jeremy Corbyn to win

Thursday 20 June 2024 21:02 , Alexander Butler

Keir Starmer continues to try to give the impression that he did not want Jeremy Corbyn to win.

“I campaigned for the Labour Party…and for good colleagues.” It is clearly an issue he still feels sensitive about.

Plenty in his shadow cabinet refused to serve Corbyn and would not have been ministers in a Corbyn government.

Pat McFadden: ‘British people face a choice'

Thursday 20 June 2024 21:00 , Alexander Butler

Pat McFadden, Labour’s National Campaign Coordinator, speaking ahead of the BBC Question Time Leaders’ Special, said: “Tonight the British people will witness the choice at the election.

“Five more years of the Conservatives where nothing would change and all the chaos would just carry on.“Or turning the page on all that with Labour.

“Getting the economy moving, cutting NHS waiting lists and pushing ahead with the first steps we have set out at this election. Change worth having and change worth voting for.”

Analysis: Starmer needs to remind people who he is

Thursday 20 June 2024 20:59 , David Maddox

After days of Nigel Farage’s circus continuing to dominate the political debate and the pantomime surrounding Rishi Sunak and the Tories grabbing the headlines, Keir Starmer has become the forgotten man in politics over the last few days.

The Labour leader will, if the polls are to be believed, soon become prime minister with a massive majority.

Tonight, for all those not watching Italy versus Spain or maybe catching up on iPlayer or social media clips later, Sir Keir needs to give people some impression of what he is about and let them get to know the man set to dominate this country politically for the next five years.

So far he is better known for U-turns and trying to dump Diane Abbott. He needs to go further than his favourite line of being the son of a toolmaker.

Swinney refuses to answer independence question

Thursday 20 June 2024 20:39 , Alexander Butler

John Swinney refused to answer if the SNP would drop ambitions of independence if his party failed to win seats in Westminster.

Scotland would be stronger if independent, Swinney says

Thursday 20 June 2024 20:38 , Alexander Butler

John Swinney has said Scotland would be stronger if it was independent from the United Kingdom and he would ask for another referendum.

SNP leader John Swinney questioned by audience

Thursday 20 June 2024 20:32 , Alexander Butler

SNP leader John Swinney is now being questioned by the Question Time audience. He has admitted his party has gone through a “turbulent time” but he would lead it through the 4 July election.

Mr Swinney claims he will rebuild trust with the Scottish electorate and “change people’s lives” of those living in Scotland.

Tutition fees blunder ‘very scarring’, Sir Ed says

Thursday 20 June 2024 20:19 , Alexander Butler

Sir Ed Davey has admitted the damage to the Liberal Democrats’ inflicted by raising tuition was “very scarring” and he lost his seat because of it.

He went on to claim his party could win a number of seats in the north across Manchester and Sheffield, winning against the Tories and Labour.

Becoming prime minister will be ‘challenging’, Sir Ed admits

Thursday 20 June 2024 20:13 , Alexander Butler

Sir Ed Davey has admitted becoming prime minister will be “challenging” given where the Liberal Democrats are currently polling.

Asked if his manifesto was a “wishlist”, Sir Ed said it was a programme for government. “You shouldn’t promise something you can’t deliver,” he said.

“I learnt when you have a costed manifesto, make sure the sums add up. And I’m very confident we do. Since I’ve become leader we have built back trust.”

Davey ‘enabled’ austerity, audience member says

Thursday 20 June 2024 20:07 , Alexander Butler

An audience member has accused Sir Ed Davey of enabling austerity under his party’s coalition with the Conservatives in the 2010s.

The question was met with cheers. Sir Ed said he wasn’t proud of some of the votes his party did while in coalition when pressed by Fiona Bruce.

Sir Ed Davey questioned by public

Thursday 20 June 2024 20:03 , Alexander Butler

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey has been asked if his party is planning to spend five times as much on spending than Labour and whether he would bankrupt the country.

He said no, and that his party had put together a costed manifesto for health and social care, free school meals and the cost-of-living crisis.

Sir Ed said corporations and big banks would help pay for his party’s spending plans, which also includes mental health support.

Sunak, Starmer, Davey and Swinney to face audience questions

Thursday 20 June 2024 19:30 , Salma Ouaguira

The leaders of the four biggest political parties in Westminster will shortly sit down in front of a live audience of voters.

Each of them will face grilling questions for 30 minutes each during the BBC’s Question Time Leader’s Special.

Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey is expected to appear fist, followed by SNP’s John Swinney, then Sir Keir Starmer and finally prime minister Rishi Sunak.

The show is due to start at 8pm, and we’ll follow the show with live updates and analysis from our political team.

Starmer and Sunak set to be grilled on BBC Question Time election special

Thursday 20 June 2024 19:11 , Alexander Butler

Sir Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak are set to clash tonight in a head-to-head BBC Question Time election special as the race to 4 July draws to a close.

The two leaders will be joined by the SNP’s John Swinney and the Liberal Democrats’ Ed Davey as they are grilled by host Fiona Bruce from a studio in York.

Election candidate condemned for joking about domestic abuse and saying ‘70% of hell is going to be women’

Thursday 20 June 2024 19:05 , Alexander Butler

Election candidate criticised for joking about domestic abuse and backing Andrew Tate

Thursday 20 June 2024 19:00 , Salma Ouaguira

Fig rolls, hard hats and micro-management: Behind the scenes with Michael Gove on the Tory battle bus

Thursday 20 June 2024 18:53 , Alexander Butler

Fig rolls and micro-management: Behind the scenes with Gove on the Tory battle bus

Second Tory candidate facing questions over election date gambling

Thursday 20 June 2024 18:30 , Salma Ouaguira

The Gambling Commission is investigating a second Tory candidate for taking a bet on the date of the election who may have had inside knowledge ahead of Rishi Sunak’s surprise announcement, David Maddox reports.

The candidate understood to be under investigation is Laura Saunders, who is running for the Tories in Bristol North West and has worked for the party since 2015. It was also revealed that she is married to Tony Lee, the Conservative Party’s director of campaigns.

This follows an admission by one of the prime minister’s closest aides Craig Williams that he “took a flutter” on the election date just days before it was announced.

It has led to concerns of corruption in Mr Sunak’s inner circle using inside knowledge to profit from betting.

Thursday 20 June 2024 18:20 , Salma Ouaguira

Nigel Farage enjoys clay pigeon shoot on campaign trail

Thursday 20 June 2024 18:00 , Salma Ouaguira

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has taken up a gun as his election campaign continues.

The politician met supporters at Catton Hall in Frodsham, Cheshire, before trying out some clay pigeon shooting at the outdoor activity centre.

He hit four of the clay pigeon targets before being asked to pose for photos.

He refused to point a gun at photographers, saying: “Never point a gun, even in jest.”

Laura Saunders ‘considering legal action’ against BBC

Thursday 20 June 2024 17:51 , Alexander Butler

Tory candidate for Bristol North West Laura Saunders who is facing a probe over allegedly betting on the timing of the election is considering legal action against the BBC.

Ms Saunders’s solicitor said on her behalf: “It is inappropriate to conduct any investigation of this kind via the media, and doing so risks jeopardising the work of the Gambling Commission and the integrity of its investigation.

“The publication of the BBC’s story is premature and is a clear infringement of Ms Saunders’ privacy rights. She is considering legal action against the BBC and any other publishers who infringe her privacy rights.”

Voters favour Farage to be leader of the opposition and Reform to replace the Tories

Thursday 20 June 2024 17:40 , Salma Ouaguira

Voters favour Farage to be leader of the opposition and Reform to replace the Tories

Michael Gove blames Liz Truss for blue wall collapse as Tories face wipeout

Thursday 20 June 2024 17:30 , Salma Ouaguira

Michael Gove blames Liz Truss for blue wall collapse as Tories face wipeout

Former Tory MP: Polls make ‘grim reading’ for party

Thursday 20 June 2024 17:20 , Salma Ouaguira

Sir Charles Walker has said the recent opinion polls predicting an unprecedented Tory wipeout at the election make a “grim reading”.

The former Tory MP said: “Well my heart doesn’t leap does it, it makes grim reading. I thought we would be performing better this far into the campaign, I really did. I thought that the gap would be closing.

“I still think the gap will close. I think we’ll do, well we have to do significantly better than that. I’m still in it to win it, you have to be in it to win it because we have hundreds, thousands of activists knocking on doors and it would be completely disingenuous of me, no it would be wrong of me, not disingenuous, it would be wrong of me to come onto this programme and say ‘well it’s all over’ because I’m not knocking on doors, they’re the ones knocking on doors.”

He added: “But it looks really really bad”.

Get general election updates straight to your phone – for free

Thursday 20 June 2024 17:10 , Salma Ouaguira

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Alliance party launch general election manifesto

Thursday 20 June 2024 17:00 , Salma Ouaguira

The Alliance party has launched its general election policy proposals in the 43-page Leading Change manifesto document. Here are the main pledges at a glance:

• Stormont reform: Remove the veto power to block decisions, and even collapse the institutions, which is held by the biggest unionist and nationalist parties, which currently are the DUP and Sinn Fein.

• Finances: Securing a new financial deal for Northern Ireland, with an improved funding model for the allocation of Treasury resources to the region.

• Repairing UK-EU relations: A closer relationship with the EU and a negotiated agreement on veterinary medicines.

• Climate: Reform of government spending rules to free up funding to tackle climate change.

• Integrated education: A new injection of Government funding for the sector.

• Childcare: The party wants to see the Government increasing its 20% relief to 35% across the UK – with a cap on support also removed.

• Voting age and system: Drop the voting age from 18 to 16. The party is also calling for a directly elected House of Lords.

Party leaders face grilling at BBC’s Question Time election special

Thursday 20 June 2024 16:55 , Salma Ouaguira

A part form the anticipated Euro 2024 England match, voters are looking forward to tonight’s BBC’s Question Time election special.

The televised debate will see leaders of four main parties answering intense questions from a live audience.

The line-up includes Rishi Sunak, Sir Keir Starmer, John Swinney and Sir Ed Davey who will have 30 minutes each to put up their cases.

Unusual spike of betting before election announcement, analysis shows

Thursday 20 June 2024 16:52 , Alexander Butler

An unusual spike of bets on a July poll preceded prime minister Rishi Sunak’s announcement of the UK general election, according to an analysis of public market data.

The Betfair Exchange data shows several thousand pounds wagered on the day before the 22 May announcement, when the odds implied a less than 25 per cent chance of an election being called for July, according to the Financial Times.

Up to £5,900 had been bet on the July election before 20 May, two days before the shock announcement by Rishi Sunak.

On 20 May, a further £689 was wagered, with £398 coming in one bet, posted in the mid afternoon at odds that would have netted the punter a £2,784 profit.

At midday, a bet was placed for £830 at odds that should deliver a £5,800 profit. An £850 bet, made at 4pm, should deliver an expected £2,562 profit.

It comes after a police officer in Rishi Sunak’s close protection team was arrested and suspended over alleged bets about the timing of the general election.

In a separate case last week, a senior aide to Mr Sunak admitted the betting watchdog was making inquiries after he reportedly placed a bet on the date of the general election.

Tory candidate Craig Williams, who was the prime minister’s Parliamentary Private Secretary in the last Parliament, placed a £100 bet just three days before Mr Sunak announced the election.

Ian Duncan Smith: Tory betting scandal candidates ‘incredibly stupid and venal’

Thursday 20 June 2024 16:47 , Salma Ouaguira

Former party leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith has said Tory figures who are being looked into over allegations of betting on the date of the general election are “incredibly stupid and venal”.

He told The News Agents: “I just think it’s people being incredibly stupid and venal when they do that sort of thing.

“First of all, what the hell are they doing betting anyway the outcome of an election? They’re meant to fight it, not foresee what may happen. And don’t make money out of it…

“This is a vocation. So, if it is a vocation, you need to behave like it’s a vocation, and your job is to try and get your party back into government, it’s not to play games with it. So, that is unacceptable and whatever happens to them wouldn’t be hard enough in my book.”

He added that politicians lose the public’s trust “when we start playing games with where we think the future lies”.

“They absolutely hate that.”

Tories slammed for releasing ‘abhorrent’ migrant boat attack ad on World Refugee Day

Thursday 20 June 2024 16:37 , Salma Ouaguira

Tories slammed for releasing‘ abhorrent’ migrant boat attack ad on World Refugee Day

Reform UK posts video of Richard Tice debating Tony Blair

Thursday 20 June 2024 16:27 , Salma Ouaguira

Everything we know about Tory election betting scandal

Thursday 20 June 2024 16:20 , Salma Ouaguira

Everything we know about Tory election betting scandal

George Osborne: Starmer cannot ‘assume’ he’ll get two terms in Downing Street

Thursday 20 June 2024 15:55 , Salma Ouaguira

The former chancellor has said that Sir Keir Starmer cannot “assume” he will have two terms as prime minister if he wins a huge majority on July 4.

Mr Osborne added the Labour leader will have to work to “justify” a landslide win.

He added: “I don’t think Starmer can assume that ‘I’m in now for a couple of terms if I get this huge, historic majority.

But I don’t still see any of the kind of enthusiasm and endorsement of a Labour plan for government that I think you’d need to cement right now a long period of Labour government.

“They’re going to have to do the work after the election to justify the very big majority that they look likely to win.”

Veteran Tory: Gambling probe won’t affect election campaign

Thursday 20 June 2024 15:45 , Salma Ouaguira

Veteran Conservative politician Sir Charles Walker has said the Tory betting scandal will not affect the general election result.

Mr Walker, who is not standing as a candidate, is convinces the Gambling Commission’s investigation will not challenge the campaign.

He said: “Nobody is going to change their vote off the back of this.”

Boris Johnson announces ‘unrestrained’ memoir Unleashed will be published in October

Thursday 20 June 2024 15:35 , Salma Ouaguira

Boris Johnson announces ‘unrestrained’ memoir Unleashed will be published in October

Labour wishes England team good luck ahead of Euro 2024 Denmark game

Thursday 20 June 2024 15:25 , Salma Ouaguira

Farage says Tories ‘more corrupt than worst critics imagined’ amid Tory betting scandal

Thursday 20 June 2024 15:15 , Salma Ouaguira

Nigel Farage has joined growing attacks over the election date gambling allegations engulfing the Conservative party.

The Reform UK leader blasted: “From all the news that’s breaking the day, it looks like the Conservative party is more corrupt than even its worst critics could have imagined. They are literally stealing the lightbulbs on the way out the door. This is another shocking scandal.”

Scottish Conservative leader: ‘Tory betting scandal candidates should be disowned'

Thursday 20 June 2024 15:05 , Salma Ouaguira

Douglass Ross has said that the Tory candidates facing betting scandal investigations should be disowned by the party if found guilty.

The Scottish Conservative leader said: “The investigation has been set up to look at these allegations, and if anyone is guilty of using [information] that they were privy to, to place bets, to financially benefit from that, it is completely unacceptable, it is completely wrong and they should no longer have the support.

“But there is an independent process and I think it’s right that due process is allowed to continue.”

Greens: Tories have shifted towards ‘right-wing extremism’

Thursday 20 June 2024 14:56 , Salma Ouaguira

Scottish Green co-leader Patrick Harvie has accused the Conservative party of moving closer towards “right-wing extremism”.

At the launch of his party’s manifesto in Edinburgh, Mr Harvie claimed a lurch to the “far right” is “inevitable” after polling day.

Mr Harvie said: “In the UK, it seems that a realignment along the far-right looks like an inevitable consequence of this election.

“Alongside the growth of online radicalism and far-right conspiracy platforms masquerading as news outlets, this is a chilling threat to democracy.

“Even if it ends up wiping them out, the truth is that the Conservative Party itself has helped to create this.

“Since Brexit, they’ve shifted ever further toward right-wing extremism and their culture war against vulnerable groups has been one of the ugliest expressions of Tory politics in recent years.”

Thursday 20 June 2024 14:40 , Salma Ouaguira

Former Green party leader slams Tories over ‘sickening’ migrants’ attack ad

Thursday 20 June 2024 14:36 , Salma Ouaguira

Former Green party leader Caroline Lucas has crticised the Conservatives over an ad attacking Labour over small boat crossings.

Ms Lucas said that the ad was “disgusting” adding: “Imagine the mindset that made this. People are dying. Afraid. Exploited and desperate.

“The Tories now chasing Reform to the very hard right and it’s sickening. Just when you think they couldn’t sink any lower.”

Voters favour Farage to be leader of the opposition and Reform to replace the Tories

Thursday 20 June 2024 14:30 , Salma Ouaguira

Voters favour Farage to be leader of the opposition and Reform to replace the Tories

Reeves: Labour’s planning reforms came from ‘smoked salmon and scrambled egg breakfast'

Thursday 20 June 2024 14:20 , Salma Ouaguira

Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves has said Labour’s planning reforms came from a “smoked salmon and scrambled egg breakfast” as she told business chiefs she hoped their “fingerprints” could be seen all over the party’s manifesto.

She told The Times CEO Summit: “My mission is to make Britain the best place in the world to invest or to start and grow a business, and that’s why I hope when you read our manifesto, or see our priorities, that you see your fingerprints all over them.

“So, the reforms about planning, that’s not something that we came up with in our office, that’s something that was probably first mentioned to me at the first smoked salmon and scrambled eggs breakfast that I had three-and-a-bit years ago where that was raised as an issue, and then raised countless times.”

She added: “I’m not going to be able to create wealth and prosperity from the Treasury, but you are going to be able to create that. What is my role is to remove as many of the barriers that are stopping you from investing as I possibly can.”

Thursday 20 June 2024 14:10 , Salma Ouaguira

Starmer denies Labour official claimed party should “flatten the whole green belt”.

Thursday 20 June 2024 14:00 , Salma Ouaguira

Sir Keir Starmer has denied a Labour Party official said a future government should “flatten the whole green belt”.

Politico’s London Playbook quoted an unnamed party official on Thursday, who said: “I don’t care if we flatten the whole green belt, we just need more houses in this country.”

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak posted the quote to his feed on X, formerly Twitter, with the caption: “Good to finally get Labour’s real views on Britain’s green belt.”

At a housing development in North Yorkshire, the Labour leader told journalists: “No, that wasn’t Labour Party officials. That wasn’t Labour Party policy.

“What we will do is we will build the one and a half million houses that we need over the next five years on projects like this, with the facilities they need, because what you need here is the schools and the GPs and the facilities that are needed for housing.

“We will get on and do the building we need to do, but we’d of course protect the countryside, as you’d expect.”

The Tories are fighting to avoid ‘unaccountable Labour majority'

Thursday 20 June 2024 13:50 , Salma Ouaguira

Sir Ed Davey slams Tory betting scandal ‘immoral and illegal’

Thursday 20 June 2024 13:40 , Salma Ouaguira

Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey was asked about the betting allegations as he campaigned in Sheffield, describing what appears to have been happening as “corruption”.

He said: “It think it’s quite awful.

“The idea that you bet on something when you know the result, that is immoral, it is illegal, and I can’t believe people at the top of the Conservative Party are doing this and have allowed this to happen.

“This is corruption, frankly, and it needs to have a heavy hand from the top.”

Sir Ed said: “We think there should be a Cabinet Office inquiry. I think the Gambling Commission will rightly look at this.

“I hope they come down heavy on those people who look like – I haven’t seen the details but they look like – they’ve acted illegally and immorally.”

Gove ‘lost for words’ over betting scandal

Thursday 20 June 2024 13:30 , Salma Ouaguira

Michael Gove has said he is “almost lost for words’ after three Tory members were accused of placing a bet on when the election would be held.

Although he said the party will have to wait for the investigations to conclude, he said: “You shouldn’t be using inside information to try to make a few hundred quid on the side. That is just not acceptable.”

It’s “terrible”, he said and he was “disappointed” as the “future of this election really matters to me and my children”.

Boris Johnson to release memoir book ‘Unleashed’

Thursday 20 June 2024 13:20 , Salma Ouaguira

General election: Where all the party manifestos stand on key areas from NHS to immigration

Thursday 20 June 2024 13:14 , Salma Ouaguira

Where do all the party manifestos stand on key policy areas?

Snap poll says majority of public think parties are not running honest campaigns

Thursday 20 June 2024 13:00 , Salma Ouaguira

New poll suggests nearly three in five (59%) UK adults have very little or no confidence that the political parties have run honest campaigns.

But the perception is most strongly felt amongst people who are undecided on how to vote on 4 July, more than three-quarters of whom (77%) said the campaigns have not been honest.

The snap poll by Savanta for Full Fact suggested that the campaign may have hit undecided voters hardest with 78% of people not confident that the parties have run honest campaigns.

Chris Morris, Chief Executive of Full Fact, said: “Political parties need to stop hammering away at one another with misleading statistics and start an honest dialogue with the country about the issues at stake.

“In these last weeks of the campaign, politicians need to realise that the people yet to make up their mind are amongst the most likely to think that political parties haven’t been straight with them. And the window to persuade them that more honest, transparent politics is on the ballot is closing fast.”

Led By Donkeys activists draw Farage image onto the beach in Blackpool

Thursday 20 June 2024 12:50 , Salma Ouaguira

Gove: Tories ‘wouldn’t need’ to be warned against putting bets on election

Thursday 20 June 2024 12:50 , Salma Ouaguira

Michael Gove has said he hopes General Election candidates “wouldn’t need to be told” not to make bets on an election they may have insider knowledge of.

Asked whether whips or the Conservative Party had warned campaigners not to engage in gambling behaviour linked with an election, the Levelling Up Secretary said: “I would hope you wouldn’t need to be told.

“Obviously, if as a private individual I put a bet on the Grand National or on the Euros, that’s one thing, but using privileged inside information is wrong.

“As a general rule, one certainly shouldn’t place commercial bets on political matters if you’ve got that sort of information. I can imagine, between two friends, you might have a bet on the, you know, price of dinner, something over which you’ve got no influence, so I could imagine, for the sake of argument, two politicians having a bet over whether or not it’s going to be (Donald) Trump or (Joe) Biden, something like that.”

Mr Gove added he would not want to be “puritan” about betting but said: “It is concerning if people use inside information in the way that’s been alleged or reported.”

Starmer refuses to say whether he would meet Trump for Nato talks

Thursday 20 June 2024 12:40 , Salma Ouaguira

Sir Keir Starmer has declined to say whether he would meet former US president Donald Trump at the Nato summit in Washington D.C.

The Labour leader said: “Well, I’m not going to get ahead of myself by suggesting what might happen the other side of the election.

“What I will say is this – that the Labour Party has a proud history when it comes to Nato.

“We were a founding signatory to the treaty, which was in Brussels, with (Ernest) Bevin’s signature on it. We’re absolutely committed to Nato. That’s an unshakable commitment.

“We will, of course, work with others in relation to anything to do with Nato, which we are already doing in opposition.”