Starmer says election is opportunity to end ‘chaos’ of Tory years and chance to ‘change the country’
Starmer says the election is a chance to end the “chaos and division” of the Tory years, saying that for the last 14 years the country has been “going round and round in circles”.
He says his parents were not well off. But they could take comfort from the knowledge that things would get better for their children.
But do people feel like that now? Starmer says he does not think so.
For a government to leave, after 14 years, our country with living standards worse than when they started is absolutely unforgivable.
Starmer says the only plan the Tories have is for an £46bn unfunded tax cut.
(He is referring to Rishi Sunak’s plan to get rid of employees’ national insurance, which Sunak claims is a long-term aspiration, not a firm commitment.)
Starmer says he has experience of changing a public service (the CPS). And he has changed Labour.
We changed the Labour party to put it back in the service of working people. All we ask now humbly is the opportunity to change our country and put it back in the service of working people.
(There is an echo here of John Smith’s most famous quote.)
Key events
Starmer is now running through Labour policy proposals. He summarises the proposals in Labour’s six pledges.
And he talks about about being able to increase opportunities for people in Somers Town, a deprived ward in his constituency. It’s an argument he used in his speech last week announcing the pledges.
Starmer has now finished.
He and Rishi Sunak have both spoken this morning, and they were both delivering stump speeches. Readers will have noticed that neither of them said anything very new. A stump speech is meant to be the distillation of your core message. It is what we are going to hear every day for the next six weeks. It is not where political leaders make news.
Starmer says election is opportunity to end ‘chaos’ of Tory years and chance to ‘change the country’
Starmer says the election is a chance to end the “chaos and division” of the Tory years, saying that for the last 14 years the country has been “going round and round in circles”.
He says his parents were not well off. But they could take comfort from the knowledge that things would get better for their children.
But do people feel like that now? Starmer says he does not think so.
For a government to leave, after 14 years, our country with living standards worse than when they started is absolutely unforgivable.
Starmer says the only plan the Tories have is for an £46bn unfunded tax cut.
(He is referring to Rishi Sunak’s plan to get rid of employees’ national insurance, which Sunak claims is a long-term aspiration, not a firm commitment.)
Starmer says he has experience of changing a public service (the CPS). And he has changed Labour.
We changed the Labour party to put it back in the service of working people. All we ask now humbly is the opportunity to change our country and put it back in the service of working people.
(There is an echo here of John Smith’s most famous quote.)
Keir Starmer is about to speak at a rally in Gillingham in Kent. He is with Angela Rayner, the deputy Labour leader.
Naushabah Khan, the Labour candidate, is introducing them.
Rehman Chishti, the Conservative, had a majority of 15,119 here at the last election.
The April YouGov MRP poll suggested Labour is on course to win the seat, beating the Tories by 40% to 32%.
Labour suggests that, if Tories were re-elected, they might replace Sunak with alternative leader
Pat McFadden, Labour’s national campaign coordinator, was giving interviews this morning. He suggested that, if the Conservatives were to win the general election, Rishi Sunak could be replaced with another Tory leader. He told BBC Breakfast:
They’ve had 14 years, all they’re offering is five more years of the same as what we’ve had in the last 14, more chaos.
I mean, if the Conservatives were to win, do we even know if Rishi Sunak would remain as prime minister, be subject to one of the bouts of leadership challenges that always takes them over? So we’re not surprised that they will throw personal attacks at Keir Starmer.
Sunak rejects claim he is holding election now because he expects inflation to rise again later this year
Rishi Sunak did quite an extensive interview round this morning. The main news was his admission that he does not expect Rwanda deportation flights to leave before polling day. Here are the other main lines.
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Sunak rejected claims that he was holding the election now because he expected inflation to rise again later this year, or a spike in small boat arrivals. Asked if this was the case, he told BBC Breakfast:
No, that’s not the real reason.
And when it comes to the economy, of course I know there’s more work to do. I know that people are only just starting to feel the benefits of the changes that we’ve brought.
And for some people when they look at their bank balance at the end of every month it will still be difficult, but we have undeniably made progress and stability has returned.
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He was unable to confirm that important pieces of legislation, like the renters reform bill, or the Martyn’s law legislation to improve venue security in the wake of the Manchester Arena attack, would become law in the “wash-up” before parliament is dissolved. On the legislation for compensation for victims of the infected blood scandal, Sunak said he could not guarantee that would become law because other parties had to agree.
It requires a conversation with parties across parliament … But I will do absolutely everything in my power to make sure that we do get that through.
And, on Martyn’s law, he said:
Again, these are all conversations that need to be had with other parties across parliament.
I’m not going to deny that it was a bit wet. I’m not a fair-weather politician.
He also claimed that it was traditional for PMs to give major statements outside No 10.
I believe very strongly in the traditions of our country. And when you’re making a statement of that magnitude as prime minister, I believe in just doing it in the traditional way, come rain and shine, in front of the steps of Downing Street.
He did not explain why he did not stand under an umbrella.
Farage says he won’t stand as Reform UK candidate, and that helping to get Trump elected in US more important to him
For months Nigel Farage, who is honorary president of Reform UK (as well as its owner – it’s a company, and he is the majority shareholder) has been playing a ‘will he, won’t he?’ tease with the rightwing media, refusing to say whether he not he will be a candidate at the general election.
In a statement out this morning, Farage says he won’t stand.
What is significant is quite what a lukewarm endorsement of Reform UK this is. Farage just says he will “do my bit to help” – which does not sound like he is really going to make much of an effort.
Also, he says helping to get Donald Trump elected in the US is a bigger priority for him.
Rishi Sunak is now speaking at an event in Ilkeston in Derbyshire. It is in the Erewash constituency, where the Tory MP Maggie Throup had a majority of 10,606 at the last election.
He repeats the claim that a Labour government would cost every family £2,000.
This figure is based on an analysis of Labour’s plans published by the Conservative party last week. For the record, this is what they said:
Labour’s spending promises cost £16 billion per year in 2028-29, or £58.9 billion over the next four years.
But their revenue raisers would only collect £6.2 billion per year in 2028-29, or £20.4 billion over the next four years.
This creates a black hole in Labour’s spending promises of £10 billion per year in 2028-29, or £38.5 billion over the next four years …
They do not have a plan to fill this gap. As a result, to avoid breaking their fiscal rules, Labour will have to raise taxes equivalent to £2,094 per working household. Labour must explain whether they will raise income tax, national insurance, VAT or other taxes on the British people.
This analysis has not been endorsed by any serious, independent economic commentators. Labour said there were 11 mistakes in the Tory costings document. The party has said it would like taxes on working people to be lower.
Swinney says holding election on 4 July shows ‘lack of respect’ to Scotland because of school holiday timings
John Swinney, the SNP leader and Scottish first minister, has said that Rishi Sunak’s decision to hold the election on 4 July shows “lack of respect” for Scotland. That comes after some Scottish school holidays have started, which is a time when many Scottish families take holiday. Swinney told BBC Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland programme:
I don’t really think the arrangements in Scotland for the school holidays have really been anywhere near the calculations made by the prime minister …
I think it would be respectful if that was the case but it’s pretty typical of the lack of respect shown to Scotland that we’re an afterthought from the Westminster establishment and particularly the Conservative establishment.
What it means is that people who are going to be on holiday at the start of the school holidays in late June, early July have got to arrange a postal vote so that they can exercise their [right to] vote and be participants in our democracy, so that’s got to be put in place pretty quickly by folk.
Sunak says he spoke in rain yesterday because it’s traditional for PMs to make big statements outside No 10
Q: You say you have a plan. Why did you not have a plan for bad weather yesterday? Why did you not have an umbrella?
Sunak says he is not a “fair weather politician”.
And he claims he was honouring a tradition.
I believe very strongly in the traditions of our country. And prime ministers make important statements like that, they do it on the steps of Downing Street, come rain or shine. And I believe in those traditions, and that’s why I did what I did.
And that’s the end of the interview.
Q: Keir Starmer says stop the chaos. He has a point, doesn’t he? Why should the Tories get another term?
Sunak suggests Robinson should not not focus on Liz Truss’s 49 days in office. He says he is happy to talk about the record over 14 years.
Labour had bankrupted the economy, they left a note saying and laughing about the fact that there was no money left.
Since then we’ve created more jobs than. pretty much anywhere in Europe, grown the economy, reformed our school so our kids are the best readers in the western world. we’ve halved crime, we’ve got Brexit done and ensured we’re one of the biggest export economies in the world, we’ve increased defence spending, we’ve continued investing in the NHS we’ve reformed the welfare system, so I’m proud of that record.
Sunak claims Starmer has changed his mind “on almost every major issue I’ve had to debate with him over the last 18 months”.
Q: Are you saying Starmer is a threat to security?
Sunak says security is an issue in the campaign.
Q: You are not answering the question.
Sunak repeats the point about the world being dangerous. So it is right to ask who is most likely to protect people. He says he has decided to increase defence spending by 2.5% of GDP. Sunak says Starmer has not matched that pledge. He says that is the answer to the question.
Robinson says Sunak is failing on NHS waiting lists.
Sunak says they have not fallen by as much as he would like.
Robinson says they have not fallen at all. They are higher than when Sunak took office.
Sunak says they have been falling recently.
Sunak confirms Rwanda deportation flights will not leave until after the election
Q: When you became PM you set out a plan. You had a plan to stop the boats. Are the numbers going up or down?
Sunak says in the last 12 months the numbers are down by a third. This year they are up, mainly because of people arriving from Vietnam.
When he became PM, Albania was responsible for rising numbers. He addressed that, with a deal with Albania.
He says he wants flights to go to Rwanda. And 15 other European countries agree with the approach. Keir Starmer doesn’t, he says.
Q: When will the flights go?
In July.
Q: After the election?
Sunak does not contest that. But he says he has a plan. He is the only leader who will deliver that, he says.
Q: So you are saying you have not done it yet, you are having an early election, but you are asking people to trust you that the flights will take off later?
Sunak says he has done the preparatory work. If he is re-elected, the flights will leave. They won’t under Keir Starmer. He will just offer an amnest to illegal migrants, he claims.
(That is not Labour’s policy.)
Robinson says other EU countries are not proposing the same policy. They are only talking about processing asylum seekers’ claims in third countries.
Sunak says that is not true. He has just returned from Austria, he says. He says the statement from EU countries shows they favour returning illegal migrants to safe third countries.
Q: You say the UK is growing faster than the US. But that is only true if you look at one quarter. If you look at growth over a year, the US is growing more quickly.
Sunak says “the facts are the facts”. He quotes an economist from the ONS who said recently the economy was going “gangbusters”.
Stability is back, he says.
But he says the election is about the future. We are living in an uncertain world. That demands bold action to deliver security.
Sunak interviewed on Today programme
Nick Robinson is interviewing Rishi Sunak. He says the PM is in the “warm and dry”, which prompts some nervous laughter from the PM.
Q: Why are you having the election now?
Sunak says the economy is recovering. There is more work to do. But “we have turned a corner”, and so now is the time to think about the future.
Q: But why now is still a puzzle. Why not wait until you can show the plan is working? Won’t people suspect that you know it won’t work by January?
Sunak says he is not claiming the job is done.
But he has brought economic stability back, he says.
Good morning. It is the first day of the general election campaign, and Rishi Sunak has been doing an interview round. He is about to appear on the Today programme. Earlier, on BBC Breakfast, he appeared to admit the first Rwanda deportation flights will not take off before the election on 4 July. He told the programme:
The first flights will go in July. If I’m re-elected as prime minister on July 5, these flights will go, we will get our Rwanda scheme up and running.
Here is Pippa Crerar’s morning story about the campaign.
Here is the agenda for the day.
9am: Keir Starmer is holding a campaign event in Kent.
9.15am: Sunak is campaigning in Derbyshire, where he is due to take part in a Q&A. He is also visiting south Wales and, at around 5.30pm, the Inverness area with Douglas Ross, the Scottish Conservative leader.
9.30am: The latest immigration figures are published.
10am: Simon Case, the cabinet secretary, gives evidence to the Covid inquiry.
11am: Richard Tice, the Reform UK leader, holds a press conference.
1.30pm: Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, is campaigning in Cheltenham,
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