General Election 2024 LIVE: Tories risk being ‘all but wiped out’ in London, says new poll as leaders fight for votes

Labour’s Angela Rayner said parts of the General Election campaign have been “nasty”.

Speaking at Citizens UK’s General Election assembly, the party’s deputy leader admitted that politics is not always a nice business to be in, adding: “Bits of this election campaign have been a bit nasty.”

Elsewhere in her speech Ms Rayner said greater devolution is one of the “key things” she wants to deliver, if elected later this week.

She added that it is the “people on the ground” who “know what needs to be done” in their areas.

Liberal Democrats leader Sir Ed Davey has been flung around in an inflatable doughnut in his latest stunt.

Following quickly on from his bungee jump on Monday morning, Sir Ed
rode the inflatable during a visit to Lakeside Ski & Wake in the Cotswolds.

The politician had earlier asked voters to take a “leap of faith” as he threw himself off a crane on the campaign trail.

Rishi Sunak said he has swapped notes on handling criticism of his leadership with England manager Gareth Southgate.

The Prime Minister told the BBC he had spoken to Southgate when it was announced the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland will co-host the Euro 2028 football tournament.

“His and I are the jobs everyone thinks they could probably do it better, and has a view.

“But look, you know, I think when it comes to those things, and the criticism, which of course is par for the course, you know, it’s easy to deal with when you have a conviction in what you believe – and I do.

“And I appreciate that not everyone will agree with me, but I’m clear about what I want to do for our country.”

Rishi Sunak has been asked by the BBC if he has the political version of Jude Bellingham’s bicycle kick.

The Prime Minister replied with a cricket reference, saying his reply is “more a flashy cover-drive or off-drive”.

He described the election as “an important choice about the future” adding that he strongly feels he can “provide the leadership that people want after a difficult few years”.

Rishi Sunak suggested he would never finish work at 6pm, after Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said in an interview that he rarely does work-related duties after six o’clock on Fridays in order to protect family time with his children.

Asked about Sir Keir’s comments, the Prime Minister said: “I haven’t seen the comments but what I would say is – what time is it now? – I haven’t finished at six ever.

“We would only have a couple of hours left in the day at this point, which is not great.”

The words “Zionist child killer” have been spray painted over a Conservative candidate’s campaign office.

Robert Largan, who is seeking re-election in High Peak, Derbyshire, posted a picture on X of the message written across the windows in red paint.

It comes after Walthamstow MP Stella Creasy’s office was vandalised last week.

Sir Keir Starmer said planning reform is his highest priority as he committed to start work on it “straight away” if he is elected later this week.

Asked if his first action would be to reform the planning system, the Labour leader replied: “Yes.”

Speaking to ITV News, he added: “We cannot go on with the system as it is. Infrastructure takes years. Housing takes years to build. We’re too slow. We’re too expensive. We’re over budget.

“We cannot go on like that. We have to take the tough decisions to get the country moving. And we’ll start on that if we’re elected in to serve our country, we’ll start on that straight away.

Sir Keir also said he wants to see “an NHS that’s not just back on its feet, but fit for the next 75 years”.

Theresa May was out canvassing in Perth and Kinross-shire for local candidate Luke Graham when she left a resident a video message to remember.

The former prime minister, who is not standing in 2024, knocked on the resident’s door but left a message through their doorbell.

She said: “My name is Theresa May, and I’m here supporting Luke Graham, the conservative candidate for the general election on the 4th of July.

“As you’re not in, I’ll pop a leaflet through your door.”

Mr Graham shared the funny incident on his Twitter page.

Sir Keir Starmer said a victory for France’s National Rally would not damage Labour’s goal of negotiating a “better deal” with the European Union.

Asked whether he would be willing to work with Marine Le Pen’s party, the Labour leader told reporters in Buckingham and Bletchley: “I will work with any government in Europe and across the world if we are elected in to serve the country. For me, that’s what serious government is about.”

Pressed on Ms Le Pen’s preference for bilateral deals over EU-wide ones, Sir Keir said: “I’ve always supported bilaterals as well as EU-wide agreements. They’re not mutually exclusive.

“And some of the agreements we’ve got with France are bilateral in any event. I think they need to be stronger and better and deeper, particularly in relation to smashing the gangs that are running the vile trade of putting people into boats.

“But there are also EU measures. The security agreement we want with the EU when it comes to dealing with smuggling gangs is really important.”

Sir Keir Starmer dismissed questions on whether he would meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin if he were to become prime minister.

Speaking during a campaign visit to Buckingham and Bletchley, the Labour leader told reporters: “Look at the moment that is simply not an issue. He is the aggressor in Ukraine, and the most important thing is to be absolutely clear that our support for Ukraine is on a united front in this country.

“And the current Government and us as the Opposition have spoken with one voice since the outbreak of this conflict. That was a deliberate decision that I took.

“I’ve been to see President Zelensky in Kyiv myself personally to say, should there be a change of government, there won’t be any change in our support for Ukraine.”

He continued: “Without getting ahead of ourselves, obviously, an important event next week is the Nato summit in Washington, where one of the big issues will be the continued support for Ukraine.”