General election latest: Rayner in charge of Labour Party, says Sunak

Last week Starmer said the decision over whether or not Abbott would have the whip restored was subject to an “independent process” and was “not resolved”, after the veteran left-winger claimed she had been blocked from standing for the party.

However, on Friday the Labour leader stepped in to reverse the decision, saying Abbott was “free to go forward as a Labour candidate.”

“I make no apologies for Keir, Angela Rayner and the entire Labour Party for having the very highest standards for all our candidates,” Kendall said.

George Galloway has started his election campaign by claiming that “hundreds” of candidates are standing for his Workers Party of Britain (Dominic Hauschild writes).

Speaking in Angela Rayner’s Ashton-under-Lyne constituency, Galloway said Starmer’s campaign had “blown up in his face”.

Galloway, who was elected as the MP for Rochdale at a by-election in February, described Starmer as a “silent assassin” for allegedly culling left-wing candidates including Diane Abbott and Faiza Shaheen for being an “outspoken supporter of the Palestinian people”.

In an invective-laden speech, Galloway accused Starmer of supporting the “worst genocidal massacre seen on Earth since 1945.” He said: “Rivers of blood are running in Gaza, and Keir Starmer has supported it from the first day.”

He also backed Jeremy Corbyn, who is standing in Islington North as an independent candidate.

Roh Yakobi was a child in Afghanistan the last time Labour was in power.

A year later the Taliban massacred his people, his father had gone into hiding, and Yakobi would later be tortured.

Now, having come to Britain aged 16, he is standing to be a Labour MP to repay the debt he feels towards the country who took him in. “I survived the Taliban so how bad can it get?” he jokes.

Read in full: ‘I owe a debt to Britain’

Battle buses have been a staple of British election campaigns since the 1970s, although they were used in the United States 30 years earlier (Dominic Hauschild writes).

Before the advent of the battle bus, journalists were typically forced to follow party leaders around the country by car. During the 1987 general election, David Owen’s SDP bus was impounded by police.

Rishi Sunak’s bus, a Mercedes-Benz Tourismo, set off from the northeast of England this morning emblazoned with blue Tory livery and the party’s campaign slogan: “Clear plan, bold action, secure future”.

Keir Starmer’s, meanwhile, is made by the Chinese firm Yutong and featured Labour’s one-word slogan: “Change.”

Both buses are Ulez-compliant, meaning they can travel in and out of London without incurring charges.

Other recent examples include the controversial Brexit campaign bus, which claimed the UK sent £350 million a week to the European Union, and Labour’s bright pink “woman to woman” bus in 2015.

Campaigning has also started in Scotland, where Labour, the SNP and the Conservatives have set out their stalls (Dominic Hauschild writes).

Douglas Ross, the Scottish Conservative leader who is stepping down from Westminster at the upcoming election, has claimed the SNP has “failed rural and island communities” on health while on a visit in Moray.

He also criticised the SNP’s “obsession” with independence. “People can see their focus is not on the issues that really matter,” he said.

John Swinney, who was made leader of the SNP in April after his predecessor Humza Yousaf resigned, is visiting seats across northeast Scotland. “My party is best placed to remove Tory MPs across Scotland,” he said.

Meanwhile, Anas Sarwar, the Scottish labour leader, is in East Kilbride to promote his party’s “six steps” for Scotland, including cutting NHS waiting lists and establishing GB Energy’s headquarters in Scotland.

Rishi Sunak has claimed that Angela Rayner is running the Labour Party, after the deputy leader intervened over the apparent decision to block Diane Abbott from standing as a Labour candidate (Dominic Hauschild writes).

He said: “It’s clear that Angela Rayner is in charge of the Labour Party, and not him at the end of the day.”

The decision to bar the veteran leftwinger from standing for Labour in her Hackney North seat was reversed by Keir Starmer after an outcry from some within his party. “It confirms what we know about him,” said Sunak. “It’s that he doesn’t stick by anything he says, just constantly changes his mind.”

Starmer twice refused to comment on the row around Abbott when out campaigning this morning. “I dealt with that issue yesterday,” Starmer said, before changing the subject.

Yesterday, the Conservative Party used the row in a social media advert.

The prime minister emerged for a press huddle next to his new bus a few moments ago with a cup of tea (Will Lloyd writes).

Sunak batted away numerous questions with stock phrases about clear plans, bold actions, and so on.

He had slightly more trouble with a question about Taylor Swift, given that he is a self described “Swiftie”. Which of her songs best describes his current position in the polls? Sunak was stumped for a moment, and wondered whether to check his “Taylor Swift running playlist”.

“I’m not sure my knowledge of Taylor Swift is sufficient to deal with that”. Did she have a song about July 4th? That, said the PM, is the “only poll that matters”.

A Conservative candidate’s mischievous social media account may leave some voters confused about which party he’s standing for (Dominic Hauschild writes).

Robert Largan was elected as the Tory MP for High Peak in Derbyshire in the 2019 general election with a majority of just 590. It was previously held by Ruth George for Labour.

Largan also shared a “Reform for Robert” advert using that party’s sky-blue colours too.

Rishi Sunak has said he hopes Hamas will accept the proposed ceasefire deal set out by President Biden (Dominic Hauschild writes).

The prime minister said the plan for peace was “very welcome news”.

“I hope Hamas take this opportunity … which will ensure that the hostages can be released and be back with their families,” he added.

The proposals, which Biden announced at the White House on Friday, would see a six-week ceasefire whereby Israel’s military would withdraw from populated areas of Gaza. It would also include a “surge” of humanitarian aid and an exchange of hostages.

“This is truly a decisive moment,” said Biden. “Hamas says it wants a ceasefire. This deal is an opportunity to prove whether they really mean it.”

Times analysis has revealed that the Reform Party is outperforming both the Tories and Labour on Facebook despite spending nothing on ads (Jessica Sharkey writes).

Of the 52 most liked posts on Facebook by political parties since the election was called, 32 were posted by Reform. While younger people spend more time on Instagram and TikTok, older voters are more likely to use Facebook.

In the first week of the campaign the Tories spent almost £200,000 on Facebook ads, and Labour more than half a million.

With just five weeks to go until polling day, the Tories have made a play for the grey vote by pledging to raise the tax-free state pension allowance and introduce mandatory national service (Jessica Sharkey writes).

The biggest falls in Conservative support have been among older, male Leave voters but polling by YouGov this week showed that while young people don’t like the national service policy, pensioners do.

Rishi Sunak has revisited his key campaign themes outside his election battle bus this morning (Dominic Hauschild writes).

On international affairs, he spoke about how Russia, Iran, North Korea and China were “acting in a way that’s threatening our values and our interests abroad and at home”. He also urged Hamas to accept the ceasefire proposal put forward by President Biden.

Contrasting the announcements he has made on national service, pensions and apprenticeships with Labour, he said: “We’ve heard nothing from Keir Starmer … not a single new idea about what they would do in the future.”

Asked about a new poll which suggested Labour could win almost 500 seats at the election, Sunak said the only poll that matters is “the one on July 4 — the general election.”

“I’m going to work my socks off every day of this campaign,” he added.

Several of the young conservative activists waiting for Rishi Sunak to unveil the party’s battle bus this morning at Redcar Racecourse in North Yorkshire paid an unusual tribute to the prime minister (Will Lloyd writes).

With their brown leather shoes, sensible chinos and quarter-zip jumpers, many of them appeared to have arrived at the event dressed as Sunak.

They cheered as he arrived, without a jumper, under a startling bright and warm sun. Sunak did not seem bothered that the Tory battle bus did not feature his name or a picture of his face.

He made his speech, suggested that Angela Rayner might be running the Labour Party, then bounced away again.

Rishi Sunak has unveiled the Conservative Party campaign battle bus, a few hours after Keir Starmer did the same. Speaking in the northeast of England, the prime minister said it was “only the Conservatives” that deliver “economic stability” (Dominic Hauschild writes).

Pointing to the falling rate of inflation and a recovery after the pandemic, he said the “only certainty” with Labour was that they will “run out of money”.

On immigration, Sunak said the Rwanda plan shows his party is taking “bold action”.

“In every way Labour would make our country less safe, and less secure,” he said.

Sunak also said it was “clear” that Angela Rayner is the true leader of the Labour Party, after Starmer’s deputy intervened over the apparent decision to block Diane Abbott from standing as a Labour candidate, which was later reversed.

After a week of madcap publicity stunts, including falling off a paddleboard and riding down a giant water slide in Somerset, Ed Davey has said he is taking the weekend off (Dominic Hauschild writes).

In a post on X/Twitter the Liberal Democrat leader said that instead of campaigning, he would be doing the “most joyful and important thing … being a dad”.

“Together, Emily and I care for our wonderful son John, who has severe physical and learning disabilities,” he wrote.

Davey has previously spoken about being a carer to his son, who has a neurological condition that means he struggles to walk and talk, as well as his wife, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.

“Carers — paid and unpaid — are the lifeblood of our NHS and our economy,” he added. “I’m looking forward to putting them front and centre of the Liberal Democrats campaign next week.”

Starmer has been cracking jokes outside his party’s election battle bus this morning (Dominic Hauschild writes).

Referencing an incident where the former prime minister Boris Johnson hid in a fridge to avoid an interview with Good Morning Britain, Starmer said he is told the bus “has got a fridge at the back of it”.

“Check that Boris Johnson isn’t in there — he used to be around these parts,” he said.

Starmer also compared the bus to Conservative Party defectors, saying you wait for one “for ages” and then “three come along all at once”.

Striking a more serious tone, the Labour Leader claimed that Sunak was “preying on people’s hopes” over levelling up, with “another unfunded commitment” around investing £20 million in 30 towns.

“This election is all about change,” he said. “A changed Britain.”

Starmer has twice refused to comment on the row around Diane Abbott and his reversal on the position to block her from standing for Labour at the next election (Dominic Hauschild writes).

“I dealt with that issue yesterday,” Starmer said, before changing the subject. “Today is about taking out an argument to the country and getting people back to work.”

The veteran left-winger had initially claimed she was banned from standing for the party, but on Friday Starmer said Abbott was “free to go forward as a Labour candidate”.

Starmer, who was speaking before his party’s election battle bus set off, was asked a second time about the situation. “I dealt with this yesterday,” he repeated.

Starmer is preparing to get Labour’s general election battle bus on the road, with his deputy Angela Rayner preparing to travel 5,000 miles to battleground seats across the country (Dominic Hauschild writes).

Also joined by Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, Rayner said she was “looking forward” to getting on the bus, and sending a message that “we are a changed Labour Party”.

“This election is about putting the UK first,” she said.

The UK is “crying out” for change, added Reeves. “I will never play fast and loose with the public finances in the way the Conservatives have done.”

Liz Truss has denied that she was the worst prime minister in recent history, saying instead that Tony Blair deserves that title (Dominic Hauschild writes).

“The worst prime minister in recent years is Tony Blair, who created things like the Equality Act, the Human Rights Act and the Climate Change Act,” she told the Eastern Daily Press.

Truss, who was prime minister for 44 days, also tried to defend her legacy. “I campaigned in a leadership election on policies that got the support of Conservative party members, policies in my view were the right policies.”

Commenting on the upcoming general election, Truss warned against voting for Starmer’s party.

“Labour is very bad news for the country. Whatever Labour promise, we know that inevitably Labour end up spending more money and putting taxes up.”

Starmer said Labour would work with Donald Trump if he is elected as US president but the situation would be “unprecedented”.

On Friday we also learnt that: Diane Abbott is free to stand; Sir Keir Starmer takes a private jet; and the Labour left have accused Starmer of parachuting allies in to stand for the party.

• Read in full: 7 things we learnt on Friday

The row over Diane Abbott standing as an MP in the election has exposed a “chink in the armour” of the Labour leader, according to a member of Labour’s National Executive Committee (Peter Stubley writes).

Jess Barnard said she expected Abbott would now be “waved through” as the candidate for Hackney North & Stoke Newington on Tuesday.

Barnard told Times Radio: “What this comes down to is an overstep by the faction of Starmer’s and thinking that there wasn’t this kind of popularity and support for the first black woman MP. Hopefully this is a lesson that the country isn’t going to turn the other cheek while we see these sort of bullying tactics going on.”

She rejected Starmer’s claim that Labour was no longer tribal and said: “We have seen a number of MPs from the left targeted, pushed out of the Labour Party over the past year. So there’s a number of instances where that just doesn’t ring true, unfortunately.”

Sir Ed Davey has pledged to tackle high stadium ticket and TV subscription prices with a plan for free-to-air Premier League games, if his party is able to form a government (Laurence Sleator writes).

As part of the police, ten Premier League games a season would be put on free-to-air television, in response to rising ticket prices and soaring subscription costs.

The party leader accused broadcasters and Premier League clubs of being “money-grabbing”.

Sarah Olney, the party’s Treasury spokesperson, is in Eastbourne on a visit with the Lib Dem candidate standing there.

The Conservatives will continue their campaign as a new poll said they could win just 66 seats at the general election (Laurence Sleator writes).

Large-scale MRP polling by Electoral Calculus surveyed 10,000 people and found the party could be on track for its worst electoral performance ever, with more than 18 cabinet members losing their seats.

MRP, which stands for multilevel regression and post-stratification, takes polling data and adds census-type data to give a more accurate reflection of voters’ intentions.

The survey suggested Labour would win 476 seats, a massive majority of more than 300, with the Lib Dems on 59 seats.

The poll also suggested 18 cabinet ministers would lose their seats, including Oliver Dowden, the deputy prime minister, and James Cleverly, the secretary of state for the home department.

YouGov’s first MRP poll of the campaign is expected in the coming days.

The three most important figures in the Labour Party will come together to promote Labour’s “battle bus” before it sets off across the UK (Laurence Sleator writes).

On day one of the tour, Starmer and Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, will join Angela Rayner, Labour’s deputy leader, as the bus sets off on Saturday on a 5,000-mile journey to battleground seats across the country.

The party is focusing on its plan to “power up” Britain and deliver growth to every part of the country.

All three will deliver speeches from about 9am before the bus sets off.

In his first major interview of the campaign with The Times today, Starmer issued a direct appeal to middle-class voters and declared the Labour Party’s “number one mission is wealth creation” (Laurence Sleator writes).

He said he was not only “relaxed” about people making money but “doggedly determined” they should do so, adding that he wanted to “return politics to public service”.

Labour retains a 20-point lead in the polls, which would be more than enough for Starmer to enter No 10 on July 5.

Read in full: ‘Our number one mission is wealth creation’

The Conservative Party announcement of £20 million for 30 towns would take the total number of towns in the project to more than 100 (Laurence Sleator writes).

Some of the towns proposed to be added to the scheme include Tamworth, Preston, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Corby, Halifax, Bognor Regis, Newtown, Flint, Perth and Newry.

Rishi Sunak, the prime minister, said: “This bold action will transform 30 more towns — reviving their high streets, growing their local economies and making people feel proud of the place they call home.”

Labour called the pledge a “reckless, unfunded” commitment.