Election latest: Starmer incredulous over latest Tory attack line (2024)

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was asked earlier about a Reform UK candidate's decision to suspend her campaign and back the Tories over concerns that many of the other candidates standing are bigoted.

"A vote for Reform is just a vote to put Keir Starmer in Number 10," he said, reacting to the news.

He was pressed on whether he agrees with Georgie David, who was the Reform candidate for West Ham and Beckton, in saying the "vast majority of [Reform] candidates are indeed racist, misogynistic and bigoted".

The prime minister said he'd already addressed the "appalling comments" made by Reform campaigners last week, adding that "speaks to the culture" in Nigel Farage's party.

Mr Sunak also said the postal vote delay situation needs resolving quickly as every vote counts.

Royal Mail has blamed the government for voters not receiving their postal ballots ahead of Thursday's election - and said there is "no backlog" in its system.

Second breakfasts are exciting enough, but imagine being able to have threebreakfasts.

Rishi Sunak lived the dream of every hobbit from The Lord Of The Rings this morning by doing just that, saying it helped him feel "energised" at this late stage of the election campaign.

"How often do you get to have three breakfasts before 10am?" he told reporters accompanying him in Beaconsfield.

"That's only good news."

One of them was a McDonald's breakfast wrap.

He previously revealed it was his favourite item on its menu, though it had been discontinued when he said it.

The sausage, egg, bacon, potato, and cheese concoction returned from a four-year hiatus earlier this year.

"I love a comeback," the PM said as he tucked into one on the Tory campaign battle bus this morning.

Presumably his other breakfasts were a Twix and some Haribo.

Whether he enjoys a comeback in the polls is another matter.

Lord Mann, a Labour peer who was appointed antisemitism adviser by Theresa May, has warned it is "so dangerous" for Sir Keir Starmer's "right to family time" to be questioned.

He said: "The attack on Keir Starmer for asserting his right to family time on a Friday night, as he has done for many, many years, is so dangerous.

"So insidious from those aware of why he chooses to be with his family specifically on Friday evenings."

He pointed out that Friday nights had a wider cultural significance within the Jewish community, likening it to Sundays in Christian communities.

“There’s a reason parliament does not sit on Sundays,” he said.

Sir Keir's wife Victoria is of Jewish heritage.

Reform UK has said it is "very disappointed" that another candidate has suspended their campaign - and instead endorsed the Conservatives.

Georgie David, who was the Reform candidate for West Ham and Beckton, said she is "in no doubt that the party and its senior leadership are not racist".

However, she said the "vast majority of candidates are indeed racist, misogynistic and bigoted".

In response, a spokesperson for Reform UK said: "We are very disappointed with Ms David's course of action.

"We strongly disagree with her sweeping comments about the 'vast majority' of our 600-plus candidates, the vast majority of whom she can never even have met.

"And we find it sad and strange that she chose not to bring up any of her concerns with the party leadership before publicly trashing so many of her blameless colleagues who are giving their all to get Reform UK elected.

"Ms David was a last minute addition to our candidate list, and we apologise to the voters of West Ham and Beckton for any inconvenience."

The other candidates in West Ham and Beckton are:

• James Edward Asser, Labour;
  
• Lois Austin, Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition;
• Emily Bigland, Lib Dems;
  
• Rob Callender, Greens;
  
• Sophia Naqvi, Newham Independents Party;
  
• Holly Alice Ramsey, Conservatives;
  
• Kayode Shedowo, Christian Peoples Alliance.

By Faye Brown, political reporter

Kemi Badenoch and Suella Braverman have denied being associated with website domains purporting to be for future leadership bids.

It comes as a source close to Penny Mordaunt told Sky News she kept her domain active from the 2022 contests "for the same reason you'd keep a spare tire in the boot" - and not to mount a challenge against the PM.

With Rishi Sunak widely expected to lose the election on Thursday, there has been mounting speculation about what direction the Conservatives will head in and who could take command.

While Northern Ireland minister Steve Baker has been open about fancying his chances, other senior Tories are keeping their cards close to their chests.

More on one of the day's top stories now - namely reports that some postal votes have not yet arrived at the homes of voters.

Royal Mail officials have said they "remain confident" that those postal votes that were received on time will be delivered before polling day, adding there is "no backlog".

The Post Office minister said earlier she is urgently investigating delays to people receiving their postal votes.

A Royal Mail spokesperson said: "We have no backlog of postal votes and, whilst we are not complacent, we remain confident that postal votes handed to us on time will be delivered prior to polling day."

It suggested that "stakeholders" involved in "printing and administering" the postal votes could be to blame.

"Where specific concerns have been raised, we have investigated, and confirmed ballot packs are being delivered as soon as they arrive in our network.

"We would welcome a review into the timetable for future elections with all stakeholders to ensure that the system for printing and administering postal votes before they are handed to Royal Mail works as smoothly as possible."

Sir Keir Starmer has said Tory attacks on his desire to spend Friday evenings with his family were a sign of "increasing desperation bordering on hysterical".

The father-of-two said he would continue to have "protected time for the kids" at the end of the week if he were to take over the top job on 5 July.

The Conservatives have tried to make hay with the comments, with an attack on social media saying: "Keir Starmer has said he'd clock off work at 6pm if he became prime minister.

"You deserve better than a part-time prime minister. The only way to prevent this is to vote Conservative on Thursday."

Starmer 'can hardly believe' Tory attack line

Asked about the Tory criticism, Sir Keir said: "This is just increasingly desperate stuff.

"I actually can hardly believe that 48 hours before an election, the Conservative Party has got nothing positive to say as they go into this."

Sir Keir said they were in a "negative, desperate loop".

He added: "My family is really important to me, as they will be to every single person watching this. And I just think it's increasing desperation bordering on hysterical."

The Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer is now asked about reports that some postal votes have not yet arrived at the homes of voters.

"I am concerned about the postal ballots because it is really important in this election that every single person has the ability to vote - and I hope vote for change," he says in response.

"I think it's on all of us on a sort of non-party political basis to say we must do everything we collectively can to ensure that those ballot papers get to people and they can fill them in and have the vote to which they are entitled so that the country can move forward with the change that I hope will be delivered at this election."

Sir Keir Starmer is now taking questions from the media, including from our political correspondent Serena Barker-Singh.

She asks about the cost of living crisis, which has eased because Europe is still reliant on Russian gas imports - with UK companies still facilitating the trade through insurance and ownership.

Would Sir Keir toughen sanctions to clamp down on this?

The Labour leader says the UK needs to have a "clear framework in place when it comes to trade".

He adds: "But what I would say you started with energy.

"One of the reasons that we've paid such high prices in energy is because we're over reliant on the international market.

"That is precisely why we want to start the work on day one, setting up Great British Energy, a home-grown renewable energy company, because that will give us lower bills for good, because we control it.

"It will give us independence and security, because whatever happens in Ukraine and Russia will not impact in the way that it has done."

You can read more on how British firms help to keep Russian gas flowing into Europe from our economics and data editor Ed Conway here: