Election latest: Farage and Sunak clash again on Putin; Rylan Clark reveals how he would change politics (2024)

Shadow chief secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones is out for Labour this morning.

Speaking to Sky News, he is asked about Labour's financial plans - especially with the tax burden at a 70-year-high.

Mr Jones says that, if his party wins, they will "inherit the county as it is - not as we might like it".

The situation on tax thresholds is put to the Labour man.

By keeping the levels at which people go up income tax bands frozen, more and more people end up paying higher taxes as wages naturally increase.

This effect has been dubbed a "stealth tax rise", and has led to greater proportions of people paying higher income tax rates than previously.

Mr Jones says: "We would like to unfreeze them, but of course we have to be able to afford to do so.

"And we've not done that at this point in the election because the money's not available right now to be able to do that.

"And that's why when you point to the Conservative Party's promise to change thresholds for certain voters, it's very clear that that's not a promise that anyone can believe, because the money's not there to pay for that commitment"

Sky News' deputy political editor Sam Coates and Politico's Jack Blanchard are here with their guide to the election day ahead.

This is day 39 of the campaign.

Jack and Sam talk about the leaders' final weekend, they discuss how Reform are continuing to be in the headlines, and following the Trump vs Biden debate, they look at the rest of the world, including the upcoming French election.

Email Jack and Sam: jackandsam@sky.uk

👉Tap here to follow Politics at Jack and Sam's wherever you get your podcasts👈

Speaking to Sky News this morning, Education Secretary Gillian Keegan has defended people gambling - as long as they do not rely on insider information.

This comes as the election betting scandal in the Conservative Party rumbles on.

Speaking to Sky News, Ms Keegan says: "I do not place bets on anything, least of all politics."

She adds that she doesn't know if "most MPs" are gamblers - adding that "clearly some will be".

"Betting is part of what many people do - and if you're placing a bet on an unknown outcome then, you know, that's something that people do all day, every day.

"But obviously where it's a problem is if you're placing bets on inside information."

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan is giving a frank summation of her party's situation in the election.

The Conservatives have remained around 20 points behind at Labour, and in some polls have fallen behind Reform.

Speaking to Sky News, Ms Keegan says the election campaign is "still going" and they are "still fighting for every vote".

"But clearly, you know, if you look at the 100 or so polls that have been done since the election was called - I think is by far the most polls that we've ever had done - then you've obviously got, a whole range of different views and none of them, looking like the, you know, the best outcome for our party."

The minister, says however, there are a large number of people who previously voted Tory that no longer want to do so.

She says: "So what we're trying to do is make sure we get round to as many of those voters as possible."

There was 0.7% growth in the UK's GDP between January and March this year, the Office for National Statistics as said.

The ONS previously estimated the expansion was 0.6% for this period.

But it has now confirmed they previously underestimated.

These figures came on the back of a short technical recession last year - which means two quarters of contraction in GDP.

The improvement in growth was driven by the services sector, with slightly stronger activity in the professional services, transport and storage sectors.

The Conservative Party is continuing to attack Nigel Farage and Reform over comments he made about the war in Ukraine.

Mr Farage said last week that the West had provoked Russia into invading.

Speaking to the Daily Telegraph, Rishi Sunak denounced Mr Farage as "wrong".

"What he said was wrong, it was completely wrong.

"It plays into Putin's hand.

"This is the guy who used nerve agents on British streets, he's doing deals with North Korea.

"That is who we're talking about here.

"This kind of appeasem*nt is very damaging not just for our security, but the security of our allies that depend on us and it emboldens Putin further."

The Telegraph says Mr Farage responded by saying: "Being against the Iraq and Libyan wars and predicting the Ukraine war is not appeasem*nt.

"I'm horrified by what Putin has done."

The Tory party has hammered this point as Reform support swells while backing for the Conservative Party recedes.

This - and saying a vote for Reform is a vote for Labour - are their two main attacks against Mr Farage.

TV presenter Rylan Clark has said he would "love" to become a politician - and replace the party system with a "Power Rangers of government" model.

The TV personality, 35, joined political editor Beth Rigby and former Scottish Conservative leader Baroness Ruth Davidson for this week's Sky News Electoral Dysfunction podcast.

Asked if he would ever consider the career change, he said: "If I wasn't in the job that I was in, I would love nothing more."

Rylan, who won Celebrity Big Brother and also appeared on the X Factor, appeared on the podcast in place of Labour candidate Jess Phillips after tweeting his praise for Rigby on the day Rishi Sunak announced the general election.

Sharing a clip of her and Sky presenter Sophy Ridge outside a rainy Downing Street waiting for Mr Sunak to appear at the lectern, he said: "Obsessed with the Rigby."

Speaking to her and Davidson, he said his "obsession" with politics began with Brexit - "as we've seen so many promises which weren't fulfilled" since then.

He added: "I lie there at night sometimes, and I think about [Volodymyr] Zelenskyy. He hosted one of the same shows I've hosted in Ukraine."

The TV presenter also shared his idea of abandoning political parties altogether.

Read the full story here:

By Gurpreet Narwan, political correspondent

Britain could soon have its most diverse parliament ever but how will voters from ethnically diverse communities behave at the ballot box?

The voting trends of such groups are incredibly complex and varied. There is no single narrative but several themes stick out from YouGov's exclusive polling for Sky News.

Most notably, the handling of the conflict in the Middle East has damaged the two major parties in the eyes of British Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities. This is something the Labour Party, in particular, is very sensitive too.

Labour have historically fared well with these voters and 53% of ethnic minority voters we polled said they would vote for the party - that's a greater lead than polls we've done with the general population.

However, the Tories fare worse among ethnic minority voters on the whole - in this poll they are neck and neck with the Green Party at 14%.

But, if we drill into the detail, 32% of British Indians said they would vote Conservative - 12% higher than the general population. This is a good reminder that there is a huge variation in voting trends among communities.

Reform UK polled much worse with ethnically diverse communities than the population at large - they're on 7% - but they're still one point above the Lib Dems.

Read Gurpreet's full piece here:

Welcome back to the Politics Hub.

It's the final Friday of the general election campaign.

In seven days time, we'll be waking up to the results of the country's vote.

The gambling scandal is still looming over the Conservatives, some communities are unhappy with Labour's response to the conflict in the Middle East, and Nigel Farage has responded to one of his party's campaigners saying the army should shoot migrants crossing the Channel.

Stay with us as we keep you up to date with the latest developments as they happen.

Coming up on Sky News this morning:

• Education secretary and Conservative candidate Gillian Keegan at 7.15am;
• Shadow chief secretary to the Treasury and Labour candidate Darren Jones at 8.15am;
• SNP leader John Swinney at 8.45am.

We'll be back at 6am with all the latest from the final week of the general election campaign.

There are just six days of campaigning left until the polls open on 4 July, and political parties from across the House of Commons are busy trying to win your votes.

Join us from the morning for more live updates.

Until then - read all the latest from Sky News below: