There are only two candidates for PM, Starmer tells Farage
Sir Keir Starmer visits Bassetlaw Hospital, Nottinghamshire, to launch Labour's Plans to clear the NHS backlog - Cameron Smith/Getty Images
Sir Keir Starmer has dismissed Nigel Farage’s claim to be leader of opposition, saying “there are only two candidates for prime minister”.
Speaking to journalists at a campaign event in the East Midlands, Sir Keir said: “There are only two candidates for prime minister, Rishi Sunak and myself, and that’s why it’s important for me to focus on that choice as I go around the country talking to voters.”
Asked to react to Mr Farage’s challenge to debate him head to head, Sir Keir said: “I don’t think it’s for Nigel Farage to declare himself leader of the opposition. I am actually leader of the opposition just at the moment, and I’m hoping to change that.
“My focus is on talking to the voters directly. That’s why I’m out and about every day, because it’s their concerns. And at the end of the day this is a contest which is a choice between five more years of Conservative government, after the failure of the last 14 years, or turning a page and a Labour government will rebuild the country.”
The Labour leader’s comments came after a YouGov poll found Reform UK has overtaken the Conservatives for the first time, prompting Nigel Farage to declare: “We are now the opposition”.
Asked earlier if he fancied facing Mr Farage across the dispatch box, Sir Keir said: “Nigel Farage can make his own predictions about his own future.”
05:23 PM BST
That’s all for today
Thanks for tuning in to today’s election live blog.
We’ll be back tomorrow to bring you all the latest updates from the campaign trail as July 4 edges closer.
Key moments from today:
- Labour shadow health secretary Wes Streeting has pledged to use “spare capacity in the private sector to get patients diagnosed faster”.
- Spectator editor Fraser Nelson has accused the Conservatives of thinking they have a “licence to lie” over their attacks on Labour’s tax plans.
- Anas Sarwar has dismissed SNP claims that a Labour government would impose austerity as “scaremongering”.
- Liz Kendall, the shadow work and pensions secretary, has failed to rule out raising capital gains tax on selling second homes or shares.
- Raising capital gains tax on primary residences “was never a policy”, Sir Keir Starmer has said.
- Sir Keir Starmer has said a Labour government would take “tough” decisions to drive through plans for new homes.
- Sir Keir Starmer has defended Labour’s disputed claim that NHS waiting lists could rise to 10 million if the Tories remain in power.
- Lord Cameron has accused Nigel Farage of “trying to destroy the Conservative Party by standing for Reform”.
- Rishi Sunak watched the Trooping the Colour to celebrate the King’s birthday before jetting off to Switzerland for the Ukraine peace summit.
- West Streeting, the shadow health secretary, has said that people who pay for private healthcare are “not traitors”, adding that the NHS is “a service, not a shrine”.
- Johnny Mercer, the veterans minister, has said that voting for Reform will give “unchecked power” to Labour.
05:14 PM BST
Sunak arrives in Switzerland for Ukraine Peace Summit
Rishi Sunak has arrived in Switzerland for a Ukraine peace summit, having jetted over after watching the Trooping the Colour this morning.
The Prime Minister has taken a brief hiatus from the campaign trail to perform his duties as head of state, which included attending the G7 summit in Italy yesterday.
Mr Sunak will be joined in Switzerland by Lord Cameron and representatives from over 100 organisations and countries - including Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky - for talks to negotiate a peace deal with Russia.
Rishi Sunak arrives at the Ukraine peace summit in Stansstad, Switzerland - Urs Flueeler/Reuters
The two-day gathering brings together world leaders to try to work out a way towards a peace process between Russia and Ukraine - Denis Balibouse/AFP
05:09 PM BST
The SNP’s opposition to Trident puts national security at risk, say Scottish Conservatives
The Scottish Conservatives have said the SNP’s opposition to Trident, the UK’s nuclear deterrent, puts national security “at risk”.
The deputy leader of the Scottish Tories Meghan Gallacher said: “The Scottish Conservatives are the only party truly committed to retaining our nuclear deterrent - along with the 11,000 jobs it supports in and around Faslane.
“Global security is as fragile today as it has been in decades, given Russia’s appalling invasion of Ukraine and the deepening conflict in the Middle East.
Her comments came during a visit to Argyll and Bute, near to the Faslane naval base which is home to the UK’s submarine fleet.
Ms Gallacher added: “Now, more than ever, we require the security of a nuclear deterrent and yet the SNP recklessly oppose Trident while many in Scottish Labour and in Keir Starmer’s frontbench team - including his deputy, Angela Rayner - share their hostility.
“They would happily put our national security at risk and threaten livelihoods.”
04:57 PM BST
Pictured: Farage goes canvassing in Frinton and Walton
04:43 PM BST
Wes Streeting: ‘Our NHS is not for sale’
Labour shadow health secretary Wes Streeting has pledged to use “spare capacity in the private sector to get patients diagnosed faster”.
Asked whether the plan risked future private finance initiative-style repayments future years, Mr Streeting said: “With Labour, our NHS is not for sale.
“The last Labour government delivered the shortest waiting times and the highest satisfaction in the history of the NHS.”
He added: “We did it before, we will do it again, starting with 40,000 more appointments every week, evenings and weekends, paid for by clamping down on tax avoidance and closing the non-dom loopholes that the Conservative Party has fought so hard to keep.”
Senior political figures rowed over the proposal during ITV1’s seven-way debate on Thursday, when Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper said: “There is very limited capacity in the private sector and we shouldn’t be using it if it guts more capacity from the NHS.”
04:28 PM BST
Wes Streeting warns of ‘nightmare in Downing Street’ if Tories win
Wes Streeting has warned of a “nightmare in Downing Street” if the Conservatives are re-elected.
Speaking on a visit to Bassetlaw Hospital, Nottinghamshire, alongside sir Keir Starmer, the shadow health secretary underlined Labour’s message that its plans for the NHS are fully costed.
“Look, I’m really proud of the manifesto that Labour’s put forward, because not only is it fully costed and fully funded, every promise in there is a promise we can keep and the country can afford,” Mr Streeting said.
“That really matters when - if there’s one thing that’s in even shorter supply in our country at the moment than money - is trust in politics and politicians.
Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting (centre) and Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer (centre-right) meet patients and staff at Bassetlaw Hospital - Stefan Rousseau/PA
“So, being able to knock on doors, look voters in the eye and credibly say, ‘if you choose change with Labour, we will deliver it, we will put more police officers on the streets, we will put more teachers in our classrooms, we will cut NHS waiting lists with more appointments’, this is real change, practical change, affordable change.”
He added: “The only question now is on Thursday July 4, are people going to choose change with Labour or wake up to the nightmare on Downing Street of an unprecedented fifth Conservative term with more chaos, division and incompetence.”
04:10 PM BST
Watch: Woman ‘heckles pro-Israel counter-protesters at Corbyn rally’
A video posted on social media appears to show a woman heckling pro-Israel counter-protesters who disrupted a Jeremy Corbyn rally.
Mr Corbyn, who is standing as an independent at the election, was holding an NHS rally alongside health workers and campaigners in Islington North.
Footage from the alleged incident shows a man and a woman launch a counter-protest by lifting an Israel flag into the air, before being shouted at by a disgruntled woman.
The woman can be heard repeatedly yelling at the counter-protesters to “move”, shouting: “Go away. What’s wrong with you.”
03:57 PM BST
Tories think they have ‘licence to lie’ over tax, says Spectator editor
Fraser Nelson has accused the Conservatives of thinking they have a “licence to lie” over their attacks on Labour’s tax plans.
The editor of the Right-leaning Spectator magazine was addressing Rishi Sunak’s disputed claim, repeated numerous times during the first ITV election debate, that Labour would raise taxes by £2,000 per working household if the party gets into power.
Mr Nelson told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “It’s strange. [The Conservatives] seem to think they’ve got a licence to lie during election campaigns.
“Political adverts aren’t regulated by the Advertising Standards Authority, so you can say things there that would get you prosecuted.
“I don’t know if they expect tribalism from journalists on the right - but journalists are going to point out untruths when they’re seen.
“Suffice to say it didn’t go down very well.”
Sir Keir Starmer has accused Mr Sunak of lying about Labour’s plans and of breaking the ministerial code.
03:39 PM BST
Starmer pays tribute to late Arsenal footballer
Sir Keir Starmer has paid tributed to former Arsenal and Everton footballer Kevin Campbell, after it was announced today he has died aged 54.
Writing on Twitter, the Labour leader and Arsenal fan said: “Deeply saddened to hear about the death of Kevin Campbell.
“I had the privilege of watching him play for Arsenal in the early 90s - a cult hero at Highbury, loved by so many in football and beyond. My thoughts are with his friends and family.”
Read more tributes to Campbell here.
03:15 PM BST
Pictured: Lib Dems caught in the rain on the campaign trail
Liberal Democrats deputy leader Daisy Cooper was caught in a rainstorm while out campaigning today.
Ms Cooper, who has risen to prominence taking part in ITV’s seven-way debates, posted two photos of herself side-by-side on Twitter, captioned: “A tale of two twenty minutes”.
02:57 PM BST
Sarwar dismisses SNP claims of Labour austerity as ‘scaremongering’
Anas Sarwar has dismissed SNP claims that a Labour government would impose austerity as “scaremongering”.
He told reporters: “There will be no austerity under a Labour government and John Swinney can do all the scaremongering he likes, that’s not going to happen.
“We’ve always been clear, this [manifesto] is our first steps for change, a key part of what we’ll be able to achieve is if we get our economy growing again, that’s why economic growth is front and centre.”
Labour has said tens of thousands of young people in Scotland will benefit from its policies to increase the living wage for those over 18 and scrap the lower minimum wage bands for workers aged between 18 and 20.
However, the SNP has repeatedly accused Labour and the Conservatives of offering austerity, claiming both parties are refusing to level with people that £18 billion of spending cuts are required.
The Scottish Labour leader said the SNP and Conservatives had both made “big, massive promises” which they had failed to deliver on.
02:44 PM BST
Angela Rayner: Labour’s offer for working people ‘not timid’
Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner has said her party’s manifesto offer for working people is not “timid” and will “transform working people’s lives for the better”.
Speaking alongside Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar during a campaign event in West Lothian, she said: “We can’t tax our way out of this problem, the Tories have shown us what [damage] high tax and unfunded commitments have made to our economy, [and] working people have paid the price.”
Ms Rayner added: “My new deal for working people is not timid, no-one’s ever called me timid in my life.
“I come from a trade union background, I know that will transform working people’s lives for the better.
“Those 40,000 more appointments in the NHS a week, bringing down the waiting lists, that will change people’s lives, who are currently waiting years.”
She said Labour are “fixing the foundations after Labour and the Tories have smashed them to pieces”.
02:34 PM BST
Watch: Farage meets voters in Clacton
02:20 PM BST
Nigel Farage labels Lord Cameron ‘abusive’
Nigel Farage has highlighted Tory divisions over how to respond to him and his Reform UK party.
Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron said Mr Farage was “incredibly divisive” and trying to “destroy” the Conservative Party.
But former home secretary Suella Braverman has suggested the Conservatives should welcome Mr Farage into the party.
Mr Farage said: “On the same day that Suella Braverman says she wants me in the Tory party, David Cameron is abusive about me.
“Sums them up.”
Nigel Farage (right) meets Labour candidate Jason Owusu-Nepaul during a walkabout on the campaign trail - Steve Finn
02:14 PM BST
Sir Ed Davey congratulates Sir Alan Bates on knighthood
Sir Ed Davey, the Liberal Democrat leader, has congratulated Sir Alan Bates on being named a knight in the King’s Birthday Honours list.
Sir Alan was named on the list for services to justice over his work campaigning on behalf of post office workers over the Horizon IT scandal campaigner.
Speaking to broadcasters, Sir Ed said: “Well I want to congratulate Alan Bates - this is thoroughly deserved.”
He added that it is an honour “not just for him, but on behalf of subpostmasters - and that’s really good news”.
Asked if, as a former Post Office minister, he should apologise, Sir Ed said he has said sorry to Sir Alan for not meeting him shortly after taking office in government.
02:06 PM BST
Starmer pays tribute to Jo Cox ahead of anniversary
Sir Keir Starmer has paid tribute to Jo Cox ahead of the eight anniversary of the former Labour MP’s death on Sunday.
“It’s an awful anniversary. Jo was a friend of mine,” said the Labour leader. “We came into Parliament on the same day.
“The best that we can take from this is Jo’s own words in her maiden speech, when she said: ‘We have far more in common than divides us.’
“That’s the spirit, I think, of this anniversary and what Joe would want us to be talking about today.”
Cox, the former representative for Batley and Spen, was shot and stabbed in her constituency by a far-right extremist on 16 June 2016.
01:48 PM BST
Pictured: Corbyn NHS rally disrupted by protesters
Jeremy Corbyn is standing as an independent candidate in Islington North - Jeff Gilbert
Pro-Israel protesters interrupt a Jeremy Corbyn rally - Jeff Gilbert
01:21 PM BST
Corbyn rally interrupted by pro-Israel protesters
Pro-Israel protesters have interrupted a Jeremy Corbyn rally in north London.
Mr Corbyn, who is standing as an independent candidate at the election after being expelled from the Labour Party over an anti-Semitism row, was holding an NHS rally alongside health workers and campaigners in Islington North.
Images from the event appear to show physical confrontations with protesters.
The former opposition leader was due to tell the rally that Labour’s manifesto failed to rule out cuts to the NHS.
A man draped in an Israel flag attends a Jeremy Corbyn rally - Jeff Gilbert
Mr Corbyn was expected to say: “Voters of Islington North need to know that if they want an MP that will stand up for a publicly run NHS then they have to vote for me as an independent, not Labour, on July 4.
“Unlike Labour and the Tories, I do not believe the expansion of the private sector is the answer to the NHS crisis.”
He was also due to accuse the Government of showing “contempt” for NHS staff, who have been on strike over pay, adding: “Our NHS is nothing without the cleaners, doctors, nurses, ambulance drivers and reception staff that keep it running.”
01:06 PM BST
Pictured: Labour leaders visit Scotland
Angela Rayner (left) and Anas Sarwar on the campaign trail in Broxburn - Wattie Cheung
12:58 PM BST
Labour minister fails to rule out capital gains tax hike
Liz Kendall, the shadow work and pensions secretary, has failed to rule out raising capital gains tax on selling second homes or shares.
Attempting to clarify Labour’s tax position after Tory claims that Sir Keir Starmer was secretly planning to hike capital gains tax, she told Times Radio: “We would not put capital gains tax on people’s primary homes. We want to see taxes come down on working people.”
Asked if Labour would put capital gains tax up on selling shares, Ms Kendall avoided the question, stating: “There is nothing in our manifesto that requires any other tax increases than the ones we have set out.”
Under current laws, a basic-rate taxpayer pays 10pc capital gains tax on assets and 18pc on property, while a higher-rate taxpayer will pay 20pc on assets and 28pc on property.
Liz Kendall failed to rule out a capital gains tax increase during this morning's media round - Alan Keith Beastall/Alamy Live News
Both Labour and the Tories have been criticised by the Institute for Fiscal Studies for orchestrating a “conspiracy of silence” by declining to admit they will either have to raise taxes, cut public services or change fiscal rules in order to grow the economy.
Ms Kendall responded: “[The IFS] are not looking at the economy and how we grow the economy. I do not accept that the only envelope we have is the current failing envelope under the Tories. We have a different approach which is to grow the economy.”
Bim Afolami, Economic Secretary to the Treasury, said: “Labour are in chaos over Capital Gains Tax with three u-turns in less than two days. This morning, Liz Kendall contradicted her Party leader. The British people deserve to know: what’s Labour real position and will they commit to ruling out the 18 tax rises that we have ruled out in our manifesto?
12:34 PM BST
Starmer rules out capital gains tax rise on primary residences
Raising capital gains tax on primary residences “was never a policy”, Sir Keir Starmer has said, writes Henry Bodkin.
Asked to “clear up the issue”, Sir Keir said: “Absolutely, it was never a policy,” describing the confusion as a “desperate story by the Tories”.
“It doesn’t need ruling out, but let’s rule it out, in case anyone pretends that it was [a policy].” He confirmed that this would apply for the whole Parliament.
Asked whether he had been “vague” in his tax pledges, Sir Keir said: “Well, I think when it comes to tax, we’ve been really clear they won’t rise, so that’s no rise in income tax and national insurance or VAT.”
12:28 PM BST
Starmer: Labour will take ‘tough decisions’ to build houses
Sir Keir Starmer has said a Labour government would take “tough” decisions to drive through plans for new homes.
He was responding to questions about Labour candidate Marsha de Cordova’s opposition to a development in the Battersea constituency where she is standing for re-election.
Sir Keir said: “We have a clearly costed plan for building 1.5 million homes over the course of the next parliament if we are elected into government.
“I know how important it is for people to own their own home, to have that first place. That will require tough decisions.”
While planning rules would be changed, Sir Keir said Labour would “listen to local communities” who had concerns about infrastructure.
But “we have to build those homes and we are going to take tough decisions in order to fix that”.
12:27 PM BST
Starmer defends Labour’s disputed claims on NHS waiting lists
Sir Keir Starmer has defended Labour’s disputed claim that NHS waiting lists could rise to 10 million if the Tories remain in power.
Speaking at a hospital in Nottinghamshire, the Labour leader said: “Waiting lists are an all-time high. They’ve never been at this level ever before in the history of the NHS. And therefore our job is to bring those lists down.
“What we’ve said is if the list was to increase at the same rate as it’s increased since Rishi Sunak has been Prime Minister, we will get - if we had more five more years of the Tories - to 10 million on that waiting list.
“That’s why it’s so important that this election is seen as a change election, the opportunity to turn the page on that, usher in a Labour government that is absolutely committed to rebuilding our country and starting, on day one, with our planning for 40,000 appointments each and every week.
“We will bring that waiting list down. We did it when we were last in government and we’ll do it again.”
12:22 PM BST
Ed Davey warns of ‘car theft epidemic’
Besides bouncing on a trampoline, Sir Ed Davey came to Surrey today to deliver a serious message.
The Liberal Democrats leader warned of a “car theft epidemic” after new statistics revealed nearly three quarters of stolen car crimes have gone unsolved since the last general election.
To resolve the situation, the Lib Dems have called for police and crime commissioners to be abolished and the savings invested into frontline policing instead - a move the party claims could generate around £170 million over the course of the next Parliament.
Sir Ed said: “We are seeing a car theft epidemic after years of Conservative chaos and failing Home Secretaries who have decimated frontline policing.
“The Liberal Democrats would abolish Police and Crime Commissioners and invest the savings in frontline policing instead, giving officers the resources they need to bring criminals to justice.”
12:19 PM BST
Pictured: Ed Davey on a trampoline on the campaign trail
Sir Ed Davey bounces on a trampoline in Surrey - Dinendra Haria/LNP
12:15 PM BST
Nigel Farage is ‘trying to destroy the Conservative Party’, says Cameron
Lord Cameron has accused Nigel Farage of “trying to destroy the Conservative Party by standing for Reform”.
The foreign secretary told The Times: “I want to be as sure as we can that we get no Reform members of parliament and the Conservative Party can move forward.”
His comments came after Reform this week overtook the Tories in a poll for the first time. A YouGov survey put Mr Farage’s party on 19 per cent, ahead of the Tories on 18 per cent. Labour remained way out ahead on 37 per cent.
Lord Cameron accused Mr Farage of being “incredibly divisive” in his language on immigration. “Don’t forget Enoch Powell stopped Britain talking about immigration for 20 to 30 years,” he said. “I think with these populists what you get is inflammatory language and hopeless policy.”
Elsewhere, the former prime minister criticised Labour for planning a tax raid if they win the election on July 4. “There’s nothing here apart from a bunch of spending plans that would mean higher taxes,” he said.
He also issued an implicit rebuke of Penny Mordaunt, the leader of the House of Commons, after she described Rishi Sunak’s decision to leave last week’s D-Day commemorations early as “completely unacceptable”. Lord Cameron said: “I choose my words carefully.”
12:02 PM BST
Starmer gives his prediction on England’s Euros opener
Asked what he predicted the England score will be tomorrow, Sir Keir joked: “It had better be better than the Scotland game,” writes Henry Bodkin.
He then admitted: “I didn’t actually watch the Scotland game.”
11:37 AM BST
Pictured: Sunak watching King’s Birthday Parade
Rishi Sunak is watching the Trooping the Colour to celebrate the King’s birthday alongside his wife, Akshata Murty.
He joined the Princess of Wales, who is watching the event from Buckingham Palace balcony with Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.
The Princess is appearing in public for the first time this year, as she begins her return to public life after her cancer diagnosis.
It is the second day in a row that the Prime Minister has been off the campaign trail, after attending a G7 summit in Italy yesterday.
Later today, he will be flying off to Switzerland for a Ukraine peace summit, where he will be joined by Lord Cameron.
Watch our live coverage of the Trooping the Colour here.
Rishi Sunak (centre left) and his wife Akshata Murty (centre right) during the Trooping the Colour ceremony at Horse Guards Parade - Yui Mok/PA
11:29 AM BST
Wes Streeting labels Corbyn a ‘sellout’ on NHS
Wes Streeting criticised those on the left of his party who have opposed his plan to use private healthcare to bring down waiting lists. “It’s all very well for people who’ve all been comfortable their whole lives, like Jeremy Corbyn, to sit there in righteous judgment,” he told The Times.
He added that those on the left who oppose his plan are “basically saying that their left-wing principles are more important than working class people getting faster access to care. I don’t think that’s principled. I think that is the sellout position.”
His comments came after Sir Keir Starmer claimed in an ITV debate that he would never pay for a loved one to have an operation privately, if they were stuck on an NHS waiting list.
11:23 AM BST
Wes Streeting: ‘People who go private are not traitors’
West Streeting, the shadow health secretary, has said that people who pay for private healthcare are “not traitors”, adding that the NHS is “a service, not a shrine”.
“People who are going private are refugees, not traitors,” Mr Streeting told The Times. “People are voting with their feet, through no fault of their own, I don’t judge people who have paid to go private — they’re fleeing from the NHS.”
He added: “Health comes first above everything else. And that’s why I don’t judge anyone who’s paid to go private at all. I understand that choice.
“I do feel a loyalty to the NHS. But it comes back to the argument I’ve been making as shadow health secretary which is it’s a service, not a shrine.”
His comments come ahead of a visit to a hospital in Nottinghamshire this morning alongside Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer. The pair toured an out-patient ward that is closed at the weekend but could be opened under a new Labour government.
11:10 AM BST
Pictured: Starmer and Streeting meet NHS staff
Sir Keir Starmer (centre) and Wes Streeting (right) meet staff as they visit Bassetlaw Hospital Nottinghamshire - Cameron Smith/Getty Images
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and West Streeting, the shadow health secreatry, have toured an NHS hospital in Nottinghamshire, where they were shown a theatre used for orthopaedic surgery.
Sir Keir asked about the specialist air flow equipment used during surgical procedures.
“I didn’t realise you were going to test me,” the senior sister said.
Mr Streeting interjected: “He’s worse than the CQC.”
11:04 AM BST
Johnny Mercer: Labour ‘can’t be bothered to stand up for veterans’
Johnny Mercer, the veterans minister, has said Labour “can’t be bothered to stand up for veterans”.
He told GB News: “You look at the Labour Party commitments for veterans: there’s two lines in 136 pages.
“Either the veteran candidates in the Labour Party are just not saying anything about veterans or they’re just so fixated on their own self-promotion in the labour Party that they can’t be bothered to stand up for veterans.
Mr Mercer added: “I want every veteran who uses the state in anyway in this country to be asked if they’re a veteran and go into clear and defined treatment pathways for mental health, physical health, whatever it may be. You’ve got nothing from the Labour Party.
“It’s no good going out and looking sombre on Remembrance Day if you can’t be bothered to do any critical thinking around policy which affects veterans lives, which is what’s happened with the Labour Party in this manifesto.
11:00 AM BST
Pictured: Rayner and Sarwar in kit for Scotland’s Euros opener
Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner (middle) and Scottish leader Anas Sarwar watch Scotland's first game of the Euros together ahead of a campaign event today - Wattie Cheung
10:33 AM BST
Johnny Mercer: Conservatives ‘should be worried about my seat’
Tory minister Johnny Mercer has said that the Conservatives “should be worried” about the safety of his seat.
The veterans minister told Times Radio that his seat, which has a notional majority of 13,262 if the 2019 contest was fought on the current boundaries, is at risk.
He said Conservative Campaign HQ “should be worried about me, it’s very hard out there on the doors and the polling is very much against us”.
He added that he was fighting for every vote “and that’s what politics is about, getting out, having a conversation with people and, to be honest, that side of it is really encouraging, it’s great fun”.
Mr Mercer said: “It’s when you come home and see the media and all the rest of it that morale plummets.”
10:18 AM BST
Bellwether seat dispatch: Lothian East tells you everything about Labour’s mission to unseat the SNP
There is not a lot of Dunbar Castle left. Once a strong and seemingly invulnerable fortress overlooking the Scottish town’s harbour, it is now reduced to ruins. As the July 4 General Election looms, the Scottish National Party (SNP) will be fervently hoping to avoid a similar fate, writes Rosa Silverman.
But voters’ opinions in Lothian East – a newly named constituency that covers much of the same ground as the old East Lothian seat and current council area – won’t offer them much reassurance.
“I desperately don’t want the SNP,” says a lawyer on Dunbar’s High Street. “They’re just as bad [as the ruling Conservatives in Westminster], if not worse,” scoffs the owner of a harbour cafe. “I used to vote SNP, but won’t this time because of all the nonsense they’ve been up to,” adds a self-employed tradesman, whose cottage faces onto the grey-blue North Sea.
And so it goes on, with the nationalists receiving short shrift in Dunbar from those of varying political persuasions and backgrounds. Little wonder, perhaps, that Lothian East (which counts Dunbar as one of its towns) is Labour’s number one target seat in Scotland. If voters are disillusioned with the SNP – and they do appear to be – Labour is expected to reap the rewards, particularly here and in the rest of the so-called Central Belt.
Read the full dispatch here.
09:57 AM BST
Three in five Britons back spending more on NHS, even if it means tax rises
The NHS is on today’s election campaign agenda after a new poll found that three out of five Britons back spending more on the health service, even if it means their personal taxes would increase.
Pollster Ipsos found 61 per cent of people would accept higher personal taxes if it meant the next chancellor put more money into the NHS, with only 16 per cent saying they wanted tax cuts even if it meant less money for the NHS.
09:48 AM BST
NHS in Northern Ireland in ‘dire need of reform’, says Sinn Féin MP
Sinn Féin MP John Finucane has said the NHS in Northern Ireland is in “dire need of reform”.
Echoing comments made by the DUP’s Emma Little-Pengelly, he said the health service has been underfunded for a “significant amount of time”, accusing the UK government of “essentially expecting devolution to do it’s job with both hands tied behind its back”.
Mr Finucane added that fixing the problem is “not just a matter of throwing money at public services”, saying his party wants to send “a strong message to London that we need more powers here”.
09:34 AM BST
NHS in Northern Ireland needs ‘significant transformation’, says minister
The health service in Northern Ireland is in need of “significant transformation”, DUP deputy first minister Emma Little-Pengelly said.
Asked about figures showing the waiting list has grown to 420,000 on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Ms Little-Pengelly said NHS delays are one of several “big challenges we face here in Northern Ireland”.
She added that although the government invests “more per head of the population in our health service than anywhere else across UK, those outcomes are not where they need to be”.
“We need significant transformation,” she said.
09:27 AM BST
SNP pledge to protect Scottish salmon after Brexit ‘nightmare’
Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes has pledged the SNP will protect Scottish food industries like salmon producers against the impact of Brexit.
Ahead of visiting a Scottish salmon haulage company today, she said: “Our world-famous food and drink exports are the backbone of Scotland’s economy, supporting thousands of jobs, bolstering our tourism sector and leading the way in UK exports - no thanks to the trade nightmare that is Brexit.
“Since the moment we left the European Union, from workforce shortages to dodgy international trade deals, Brexit has spelled nothing but disaster for food and drink industries across Scotland, who have paid a hard price for a Brexit we didn’t vote for.
“Neither Labour nor the Tories are prepared or willing to reverse the damage that Brexit has unleashed on our vital food and drink sector, which is why a vote for the SNP on the 4 July is so important, so we can make sure that our world-leading industries aren’t forgotten by a Westminster Government that ignores Scotland’s interests.”
09:22 AM BST
Catch up: Labour candidate pulls out of hustings over ‘constant trolling’
Rosie Duffield, the gender-critical Labour candidate, has said she will not be taking part in local hustings because the “constant trolling” she has suffered online has made her fear for her safety.
Ms Duffield, who is running again to be MP for Canterbury, said her attendance at the events was “impossible” because of the actions of a “few fixated individuals”, who had pursued their “spite and misrepresentation” with “a new vigour” during the election campaign.
The 52-year-old feminist campaigner has been subject to fierce criticism from trans rights activists, who take issue with her belief that a person’s sex cannot be changed.
Her gender-critical views have also put her on a collision course with her own party, which she has accused of having a “woman problem”.
Read the full story here.
09:16 AM BST
Catch up: Keir Starmer leaves door open to capital gains tax on family homes
Sir Keir Starmer is grilled by the BBC's Nick Robinson over Labour's tax plans - Getty Images
Labour’s tax position was in chaos on Friday night after Sir Keir Starmer left the door open to introducing capital gains tax on family homes despite a party spokesman ruling it out.
The Tories had spent Friday pressuring Labour to deny it could bring in the policy if it wins the general election, after Angela Rayner failed to do so when challenged by Penny Mordaunt in an ITV debate on Thursday.
Currently, people who sell their main home do not pay capital gains tax because of the private residence relief. The Tories have vowed not to change the rules and urged Labour to match them.
Pushed during Thursday’s debate to rule out a change by Ms Mordaunt, the Commons Leader, Ms Rayner, Labour’s deputy leader, failed to do so.
Read the full story here.
09:07 AM BST
What is happening in the general election campaign today?
Rishi Sunak will attend the Trooping the Colour to celebrate the official birthday of the King, after being absent from the campaign trail while attending the G7 summit in Italy.
Later in the day the Prime Minister will be jetting off again to attend a Ukraine Peace summit in Switzerland, where he will be joined by Lord Cameron, the foreign secretary, at the event hosted by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Labour leader Sir Keir Stamer will join shadow health secretary Wes Streeting on a visit to a hospital in the East Midlands this morning to discuss the party’s plans to clear the NHS backlog, with 40,000 extra appointments a week at evenings and weekends.
Later this morning, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar and Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner are due to attend a campaign event in Livingston to promote the party’s efforts to support working people.
Elsewhere, the Liberal Democrats are on the campaign trail in Surrey this morning, as leader Sir Ed Davey continues his party’s efforts to chip away at the “blue wall” - a collection of typically safe Conservative seats in southern England.
08:52 AM BST
Shadow minister defends Labour NHS waiting list claims labelled ‘scaremongering’ by Tories
Shadow work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall has defended Labour’s claim that NHS waiting lists could rise to 10 million despite a think tank saying that was “highly unlikely”.
Responding to the Institute for Fiscal Studies’ criticism, Ms Kendall told Sky News: “We’re saying that if there’s another five years of the Conservatives, you could see 10 million people waiting in pain or feeling they have to try and pay to go private to deal with their problem.”
She said it was a “reasonable assumption” that was based on what had already happened under the Conservatives and “if the trend continues in the future, as it has done in the past, that’s what we’re likely to see”.
The Tories have dismissed the Labour attack as “scaremongering”.
08:41 AM BST
Johnny Mercer: Voting for Reform gives ‘unchecked power’ to Labour
Johnny Mercer has said that voting for Reform will give “unchecked power” to Labour.
Speaking to Sky News, the veterans minister said: “If you vote for Reform, you’re going to get a Labour government, you’ll get unchecked power from a Labour government to come in and change the face of this country into something that I don’t believe it is, I don’t think it is a left-wing country.”
Addressing recent polls which show the Tories lagging well behind Labour, Mr Mercer said: “I don’t see those polls reflected on the doorsteps.
“I think people are focusing in and as we get closer to that election, they’re really starting to see that clear choice, if you like, between Starmer, who every time he goes on TV just refuses to rule out serious things like capital gains tax, like he did last night, and Conservatives, who are dealing with a tricky situation, but actually if you look at the manifesto, there’s a real bold plan there.”
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