General election latest: Betting scandal count rises as Sunak and Starmer face off in last TV debate

26/06/2024

Tory election betting probe: ‘Totally unacceptable’ if rules broken says Welsh secretary

The number of politicians caught up in the betting scandal has risen to seven after a cabinet minister admitted placing bets on the date of the election.

Scotland Secretary Alister Jack placed three wagers on the timing of the 4 July poll, but said he has not breached any gambling rules.

As well as seven politicians, the Gambling Commission is investigating five Metropolitan Police officers, and one constable has already been arrested and questioned.

On Tuesday, Labour was drawn into the scandal, suspending candidate Kevin Craig after being told the Gambling Commission has launched an investigation into him.

Mr Craig said he “deeply” regrets putting a bet on the Tories winning in the Suffolk constituency he is contesting and will “fully comply” with a Gambling Commission investigation.

Following pressure from opponents and his own party, on Tuesday Rishi Sunak suspended two candidates. Craig Williams, who is standing in Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr, and Laura Saunders, who is standing in Bristol North West, will still appear on ballot papers at the election as nominations have closed.

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Starmer has rebuilt Labour’s trust with Britain’s poorest

Labour has rebuilt its relationship with low-income people and is no longer “out of touch”, according to a new study by a major think-tank, while the Conservatives have lost ground significantly.

Five years ago, Labour was seen as the most “out of touch” party, according to voters on the lowest incomes (some 6 million households with an income of less than £21,000).

Nearly half of those questioned in 2019 (45 per cent) regarded Labour as ‘out of touch”. But this figure has plummeted under Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership with just of a quarter of low-income people (27 per cent) now taking this view.

The Conservative Party now hold this unenviable reputation with 40 per cent of the poorest voters seeing it as out of touch, up 6 per cent since 2019.

The figures come from Breadline Britain’s Election Battleground, a new report from the Centre for Social Justice, which commissioned polling by Survation.

You can read The Independent full story here

Salma Ouaguira26 June 2024 07:18

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Tory candidate defends Labour’s Kevin Craig

A Tory candidate and long-serving MP has said Labour may have overreacted in suspending Kevin Craig for betting against himself in the general election, Archie Mitchell reports.

Sir Conor Burns, who has been the MP for Bournemouth West since 2010, said Mr Craig “could not have had any inside information or really influenced the outcome of his bet - any more than any candidate can determine a free vote”.

He detailed the pair’s friendship, which dates back more than 30 years to when they were political opponents at Southampton University.

“He is one of the most decent, straightforward and kind people I know. And when I have needed friends most he has always been the first to be there. A good guy,” Mr Buns said.

Maryam Zakir-Hussain26 June 2024 07:18

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Labour suspends parliamentary candidate over betting investigation

Labour has suspended parliamentary candidate Kevin Craig after being told the Gambling Commission has launched an investigation into him.

PR boss Craig is standing in Central Suffolk and North Ipswich.

Suspended Labour candidate admits betting against himself at election

Kevin Craig admitted making a ‘stupid error of judgment’ by placing a wager on the Tories defeating him in Central Suffolk and North Ipswich.

Salma Ouaguira26 June 2024 07:08

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Another Sunak minister admits to betting on election date

The Westminster gambling row has deepened after a cabinet minister revealed he had placed bets on the date of the general election.

Scotland secretary Alister Jack denied having broken any rules but said he put three wagers on the timing of the July 4 poll, becoming the latest of seven politicians and officials to get drawn in to the controversy.

Rishi Sunak will face further pressure over the revelation, which comes after he caved to mounting calls from within the Tory Party to withdraw support for two parliamentary candidates facing a Gambling Commission investigation.

Labour was also dragged into the row on Tuesday, with the party suspending its candidate Kevin Craig after it emerged he had bet that he would lose to the Tories in the contest for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich.

Mr Jack said he had in April put £20 at odds of 5 to 1 on an election being held between July and September, but that he had no knowledge of when it would be called until the day that Rishi Sunak fired the starting gun on May 22.

Another Sunak minister admits to betting on election date as gambling row deepens

Alister Jack says he put three wagers on timing of July 4 poll but denies having broken rules

Salma Ouaguira26 June 2024 07:05

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General election polls: Are Labour or the Conservatives on track to win in July?

What the latest polls say for the July 4th general election

Salma Ouaguira26 June 2024 07:00

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Tory chairman’s campaign leaflets sent to wrong constituency

Hundreds of campaign leaflets for the chairman of the Conservative party Richard Holden have been sent to the wrong constituency, the BBC reports.

The party has admitted the mistake was out of their control but it did not confirm how many were lost.

Mr Holden, who oversees the national party campaigning, has seen his election material end up in Rayleigh and Wickford.

He confirmed that just a “few hundred” leaflets were misplaced but some party insiders have admitted it is more like thousands.

Salma Ouaguira26 June 2024 06:00

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Trans intervention nothing to do with ‘culture wars’ or leadership ambition, says health secretary

Victoria Atkins has denied that her intervention this morning on the trans debate had anything to do with opening up a new “culture wars” front in the general election or her own leadership ambitions.

The health secretary was wheeled out by the Conservatives this morning to respond to Labour’s plans to modernise the laws regarding changing gender.

It comes after a poll last night again showed the Tories even trailing Reform in third place and still 25 points behind Labouras the gambling scandal on the election date continued to hit their credibility.

Ms Atkins is already being discussed as a future leadership option after what now seems to be an inevitable defeat for the Tories with polls suggesting that it could be the worst in their 346-year history.