Sunak says he will take full responsibility for election result in final campaign Q&A with journalists
Peter Walker
Rishi Sunak has done what might be his last question-and-answer session with journalists as prime minister, at a primary school in Hampshire, adopting a tone that was both rigorously on-message and at times almost elegiac as he assessed his time in office.
On the more everyday electoral message, Sunak refused to engage with slightly apocalyptic assessments of the Conservatives’ chances from Mel Stride and Suella Braverman. Asked if he was the only Tory not resigned to defeat he replied: “No, that’s definitely not right.”
He claimed that large numbers of people had yet to decide:
There are lots of people who have not made up their minds – millions and millions. When they go to the ballots tomorrow I would just ask everyone to separate the frustrations which they understandably have about me, the party and the past from what a Labour government would mean for their families specifically.
He also claimed that the lack of recent questions to him about the cost of living meant things were improving – others might argue that it is mainly because most people don’t expect him to win. He said:
All those questions you used to ask me about the cost of living, in this campaign they have dissipated. I think that is a reflection of the fact that the economy is doing better.
Before the Q&A, Sunak toured the village primary school, based in the seat of Tory MP Caroline Nokes, who would normally expect to win again at a canter. He helped year three and four children with a maths lesson before going to a reception class, where he and Nokes made plasticine pizza slices with two girls – one of which would be topped with “ketchup and worms”.
Sitting on a blue plastic chair after, Sunak was asked what his highlight as prime minister had been. He somewhat dodged the question, but did accept that his time in office had often been a struggle with outside events.
There are lots of things that you’d like to do, but the reality is that you’re dealing with the situation in front of you. That’s very much been the story of my political career in the last few years. That’s just reality. You’ve got to play the cards that you’ve been dealt.
Asked if he would take full responsibility for whatever the election result was, he replied: “Yes”.
He has two more stops in what would normally be seen as safe Tory areas, now under threat from the Lib Dems, and then that’s it – back to his Yorkshire constituency. And then, most likely, not back to living at Downing Street at all.
Rishi Sunak with a pupil at Braishfield Primary School in Romsey, Hampshire this afternoon. Photograph: Jonathan Brady/PA
Thank you for following along with me (Amy) on the politics blog this evening. The blog will be closing shortly but you can stay up to date on the Guardian’s general election 2024 coverage here.
Before I go, here is a summary of the evening so far:
Keir Starmer said Labour is ready for government and plans on “hitting the ground running on day one”. The Labour leader told reporters on the flight to his final campaign stop that being in opposition has been “the least productive nine years of my life”. Starmer said: “I’ve been on there far too long so I’m really pleased to have the opportunity.” He added that Labour will be “unforgiven” if it is not prepared for government.
“This underdog will fight to the final whistle,” Rishi Sunak said during his last speech on the campaign trail. The prime minister, who was joined by his parents and his wife, Akshata Murty, on Wednesday evening, urged Tory activists to continue campaigning. Sunak said they had “urgent work to do” to “save the UK” from a Labour government. Earlier in the day, asked if he would take full responsibility for whatever the election result was, Sunak replied: “Yes”.
Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper said the party has focused on taking Conservative seats in the general election rather than competing with Labour. She told the PA news agency that the Conservatives had “taken a wrecking ball to standards in public life” and that the Lib Dem’s target was to “remove as many Conservative MPs as possible”.
Nigel Farage has said that Reform UK’s ambitions stretch far beyond the results from Thursday’s general election. Farage addressed the crowd in Clacton on immigration, saying: “How are you getting on for dentists in Clacton? Well then you should have come by dinghy.” He added: “This is unfair, this is wrong and this needs to stop and stop now.” He then went on to start a chant: “We want our country back.”
Scotland’s first minister has urged “every single SNP voter” to turn out on Thursday in what he said will be an “incredibly close” contest throughout the country. Addressing supporters at a rally in Leith on Wednesday evening, John Swinney said the Conservatives were going to be “heavily defeated” by the Labour party in England, but that there were “narrow margins” between Labour and the SNP in Scotland.
Sinn Féin Leas-Uachtarán Michelle O’Neill has said Thursday’s election is an opportunity to endorse strong leadership, positive change and Sinn Féin’s commitment to work for all. O’Neill, Northern Ireland’s first minister, appealed to voters to return the strongest Sinn Féin team by voting for its party candidates in the 14 constituencies in which they are standing. She also appealed to voters to vote for progressive candidates in the four areas in which Sinn Féin are not standing.
The Times have published its view on a Labour government. It says that “Labour in power” was a “leap in the dark”. It hasn’t quite fully endorsed the Labour party, saying that “Labour has bored its way to power”. While Starmer’s “risk-averse strategy” was “successful” on the campaign trail, it has “left the British people with little clue as to his intentions in government”, according to the Times.
Ofcom will not investigate Channel 4 News after Nigel Farage’s Reform UK claimed the broadcaster used an actor as a “plant” in its undercover investigation into his campaign. The watchdog said it had received more than 270 complaints about Channel 4 News’s programme titled ‘Undercover inside Reform’s campaign’, which saw a man named Andrew Parker filmed using a racial slur to describe Rishi Sunak.
John Swinney urges voters to turn out in 'incredibly close' election contest
Scotland’s first minister has urged “every single SNP voter” to turn out on Thursday in what he said will be an “incredibly close” contest throughout the country.
Addressing supporters at a pre-election rally in Leith on Wednesday evening, John Swinney said the Conservatives were going to be “heavily defeated” by the Labour party in England, but that there were “narrow margins” between Labour and the SNP in Scotland.
According to the PA news agency, Swinney said “constituencies will be close contests the length and breadth of the country”, and told supporters it was necessary to motivate “every single SNP supporter” to come out Thursday, saying each vote could “genuinely could change outcomes”.
I have just delivered my final speech of the election campaign. I am profoundly grateful to all in @theSNP team for all your support and hard work during this campaign. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. One more thing - please get the vote out tomorrow. Love John x pic.twitter.com/04B6BfVcz8
He explained this was a contest that “really matters” because Scots had a choice between a Labour party that would continue the Conservatives’ policies on Brexit, nuclear weapons and austerity, and an SNP that offered a vision of a “hopeful Scotland”.
His party, he said, would end austerity, eradicate child poverty, “reach out” to European neighbours and “do the right thing on the international questions of the day”.
To cheers, Swinney said:
To the people of Scotland weighing up voting tomorrow I say this.
If you want to live in a hopeful Scotland, a Scotland where we eradicate child poverty, where we reach out to our European neighbours, a Scotland where we do the right thing on the international questions of the day like Gaza, then vote for the Scottish National Party because our values are your values in this election campaign.
We have a chance tomorrow to shape the future of our country, to do what we believe is the right of the people of Scotland, to design a future that’s made in Scotland, for Scotland.
That’s what we’re about as a party, making sure that Scotland is able to make a future in Scotland, for Scotland, through independence.”
Scottish Conservative chairman Craig Hoy said:
This election offers voters the best chance yet to end the SNP’s divisive independence obsession for good.
In key seats across Scotland, it’s a straight fight between the Scottish Conservatives and the SNP.”
Commenting, shadow Scotland secretary Ian Murray said:
This election is an opportunity to boot the Tories out that we cannot afford to miss – but let’s not forget that Scots have been let down by two bad governments.
John Swinney was the architect of austerity in Scotland – but instead of apologising for decimating local services, he is standing by his dire record.
This is a first minister with no credibility on public finances and no new ideas for Scotland. After 17 years of SNP failure and 14 years of Tory chaos, Scotland has a chance to deliver a government that is on the side of the working people of Scotland with Scottish MPs at its heart.
Only Labour can end the Tory chaos, maximise Scotland’s influence, bring down bills, make work pay and deliver the change that Scotland needs.”
Ofcom will not investigate Channel 4 News after Nigel Farage’s Reform UK claimed the broadcaster used an actor as a “plant” in its undercover investigation into his campaign.
The watchdog said it had received more than 270 complaints about Channel 4 News’s programme titled ‘Undercover inside Reform’s campaign’, which saw a man named Andrew Parker filmed using a racial slur to describe Rishi Sunak.
The PA news agency reports that Ofcom said, after assessing the complaints against the due accuracy, due impartiality and offence rules under the broadcasting code, “we have concluded that they do not raise substantive issues warranting further investigation”.
A spokesperson for Channel 4 News said:
Since this report aired, Channel 4 News has strongly stood up for its accurate, rigorous and duly impartial reporting, which speaks for itself.
Ofcom’s decision underscores the integrity of Channel 4 News’s journalism and high editorial standards. The programme will continue to refute any claims that we – or the production company we worked with – knew or paid the Reform UK canvasser, Mr Andrew Parker.
We met Mr Parker for the first time at Reform UK’s campaign headquarters in Clacton, and he was filmed secretly via the undercover investigation.”
The Times have published its view on a Labour government. It says that “Labour in power” was a “leap in the dark”.
It hasn’t quite fully endorsed the Labour party, saying that “Labour has bored its way to power”:
Labour’s “Ming vase” is about to be carried over the finishing line. There have been no disasters in Labour’s campaign, no fatal gaffes; simply the turgid restatement of a few quite trivial spending commitments overshadowed by promises not to raise the four biggest taxes. Labour has bored its way to power.
Saying that “democracy requires change”, the newspaper said Starmer was “clearly a sensible man, flexible and pragmatic, a patriot committed to his country’s defence at a time of increasing geopolitical instability”, and also had praise for the shadow health secretary, Wes Streeting.
But while Starmer’s “risk-averse strategy” was “successful” on the campaign trail, it has “left the British people with little clue as to his intentions in government”. It states that “questions abound”.
It concluded its leading article with:
This newspaper wants the next government to succeed, and it will not be ungenerous in praise if that is the case. But Labour has yet to earn the trust of the British people. It has been sparing with the truth about what it will do in office and cannot expect an endorsement. Sir Keir may have secured a huge majority by Friday. The day after he must begin the process of earning it.”
Keir Starmer said he was pleased with Labour’s campaign and his party was “ready for what comes next”.
On his flight from Scotland to his final campaign stop in Worcestershire, Starmer told reporters:
I’m really pleased that we have run such a positive campaign. I’m really pleased the four-and-a-half years of work is being vindicated. Because this hasn’t been an easy gig.
When I took over as leader of the Labour party, the optimists said it will take 10 years to fix this party and get it back. The pessimists said you are never going to be in government again.
We had a three-part strategy, we stuck to it and here we are, the day before the election, in a reasonably good position going into the opening of polls at 7 o’clock tomorrow morning.
So I’m pleased, I’m confident in the hard work that we have done and we are ready for what comes next if the country puts their trust and confidence in us.”
According to the PA news agency, Starmer said he had drawn inspiration from sitting in the same seat as Gareth Southgate on his flights to and from Scotland.
He said:
It’s fantastic to be sitting in his [Southgate’s] seat.
I didn’t realise until we were on it earlier that it was the England team plane, so it’s fantastic to sit in it. I do draw inspiration.
But just as every time – you may have noticed a football theme to the campaign – every time we have come out the tunnel on to the pitch, this is a boyhood dream.”
Keir Starmer says Labour is ready for government and plans on 'hitting the ground running on day one'
Labour is ready for government, Keir Starmer has said. The Labour leader told reporters on the flight to his final campaign stop:
I’m confident that we’ll be ready. I’m not going to pretend it’s not going to be difficult … ready for government, nothing is going to be easy, almost everything is in a pretty poor state, but we have to be ready for it and I’m confident we will be.
So while we have not been getting ahead of ourselves, genuinely, we have been preparing hard on the basis that this needs to be hitting the ground running on day one, which is what we intend to do.”
Starmer described being in opposition as “the least productive nine years of my life”.
Asked if he was nervous ahead of polling day, Starmer said:
I’m quite pleased to have this opportunity. I can’t tell you how frustrating opposition is, it’s been the least productive nine years of my life.
Being in opposition, voting and losing for nine years, is not doing what I came into politics to do.
I didn’t come into politics relatively late in life, when I did have other things I could have done, to be on the opposition benches. I’ve been on there far too long so I’m really pleased to have the opportunity.”
Labour will be “unforgiven” if it is not prepared for government, Starmer added. According to the PA news agency, he said:
What I’ve said to the team is nobody is to get complacent. This has been drilled into them for 18 months.
We started the serious preparations during the Liz Truss period – I said we need to be ready for an election at any time.
I’ve also said to all of the shadow cabinet and all of the teams, ‘you are going to have to hit the ground running’. You cannot get ahead of yourself, but we will be unforgiven if we are not prepared and therefore we have been doing a lot of preparation for government.
We’re not going to get a period of time of grace, we’ve got to start this work straight away.”
Rishi Sunak’s parents and his wife, Akshata Murty, joined him for the final stump speech of the election campaign, reports the PA news agency.
The prime minister stood for a photo with his family after giving a speech at Romsey Rugby Club, north of Southampton where he grew up.
Rishi Sunak takes a selfie with supporters at Romsey Rugby Club, Hampshire, on the last day of the general election campaign trail. Photograph: Jonathan Brady/PA
“This underdog will fight to the final whistle,” Sunak said during his last speech on the campaign trail.
The prime minister urged Tory activists to continue campaigning, claiming they had “urgent work to do” to “save the UK” from a Labour government.
Keir Starmer has given his last speech of the election campaign at a community centre in Redditch.
Keir Starmer gives a speech to supporters during a visit to a community centre on in Redditch, on Wednesday. Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images
Speaking to cheering activists for the final time before polls open on Thursday, the Labour leader said:
Imagine a Britain moving forward together with a Labour government. That’s what we are fighting for, let’s continue that fight.
Nigel Farage has said that Reform UK’s ambitions stretch far beyond the results from Thursday’s general election.
Farage told crowds at his party’s rally at Clacton pier in Essex on Wednesday evening:
This is the first step of a new political movement, but this is not just about winning seats in parliament, which we will, it’s about forming an opposition to a Starmer led government with a big majority.
The Conservatives can’t do that. They say split, they’re so divided and frankly, I think pretty devoid of talent.”
He added:
I’m determined, I’m not frightened of anybody, I stand up for what I believe in, I always say what I think, I will not be bullied by anybody, whether it’s the European Commission, national Westminster bank, or a Keir Starmer government.
But here’s the important thing. Everybody talks about who’s going to be sitting in parliament. But for us that is the tip of the iceberg. My aim and ambition over the next few years is to turn this into a massive grassroots movement of millions of people.”
He continued: “I believe, I really believe that tomorrow marks the first step of what is going to be a truly historic political change in the direction of our country.”
The Labour leader, Keir Starmer, promised in an interview with Sky News last month, that a Labour government “will properly fund our public services. I believe in our public services.”
But to what extent do public sector workers believe in him? The Guardian has spoken to health workers, teachers, social workers and local government officials who mostly expressed muted support for Starmer. Many said they wanted a bolder and more radical vision from Labour after years of austerity.
Others said they were planning not to vote for the party for the first time, because they believe Starmer has moved Labour too far from its traditional leftwing values.
Polling companies are publishing their final figures ahead of the general election on Thursday, all of which show Labour holding on to the large lead it has enjoyed since the campaign began six weeks ago.
The PA news agency has calculated the averages, based on polls published by BMG, Deltapoll, Find Out Now, Focaldata, Ipsos, JL Partners, More In Common, Norstat, Opinium, People Polling, Redfield Wilton, Savanta, Survation, TechneUK, Verian, WeThink, Whitestone and YouGov.
According to the PA news agency’s calculations, an average of all polls with fieldwork completed during the seven days to 3 July, puts Labour on 39%, the party’s lowest rating since the campaign began, 18 points ahead of the Conservatives on 21%, followed by Reform on 16%, the Lib Dems on 11% and the Greens on 6%.
The Tories are up slightly on the figures for the previous week while Labour are down, with the averages for the seven days to 26 June being Labour 41%, Conservatives 20%, Reform 16%, Lib Dems 11% and Greens 6%.
On 22 May, the day Rishi Sunak called the general election, the seven-day averages stood at Labour 45%, Conservatives 23%, Reform 11%, Lib Dems 9% and Greens 6%.
Labour deputy leader, Angela Rayner, has written a piece for the Guardian. In it, she asks for the Labour party to be given a “chance to prove that politicians aren’t ‘all the same’”.
Rayner writes:
Travelling the length and breadth of Britain these past few weeks, I’ve seen potential in every conversation with voters. There is no doubt it’s a tall order to reverse Tory decline and restore optimism. But if you vote Labour tomorrow, change will begin immediately. We’ll start work on day one to enact our first steps – downpayments, if you like – for a better, brighter future. These will be fully funded and fully costed, as you would expect, to deliver the groundwork of a mission-driven Labour government.
I know first-hand the transformative difference Labour in power can make. It was a secure home, decent work and a strong community under the last Labour government that changed my life when I was a young mum struggling to make ends meet.
For too many people in Britain, those foundations of a good life feel as if they’re crumbling today. A generation looks to the future with worry rather than in hope. The dream of a safe, secure and affordable home is further out of reach. More people find themselves in insecure work and dragged into a race to the bottom. Families in every corner of the country are feeling worse off and forgotten.
Don’t get caught out like Boris Johnson did in May’s local elections. For the first time in a UK general election people will need to produce photo ID at polling stations on Thursday to be able to vote in person.
What photo ID do you need to vote?
There are 20 acceptable forms of valid ID for you to be able to cast your vote, of which the principal ones are a passport or driving licence.
Passports can be issued by the UK or any EU country, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein. Passports from any of the 56 Commonwealth countries are also accepted.
A driving licence is acceptable if it is a UK or Northern Ireland photocard or issued by an EU country. Licences from Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, the Isle of Man or any of the Channel Islands are also accepted.
A Northern Ireland electoral identity card is also valid, as are national identity cards issued by EU countries, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein.
Close election results ‘could be challenged over delayed postal votes’
Lisa O'Carroll
Close results in constituencies at the election could be challenged in the high court because of delayed postal votes, experts have said.
Caroline Morris, a barrister and reader in public law at Queen Mary University of London, said people could get a hearing if four constituents petition the high court arguing their vote could have had a material impact on the result.
The prospect of legal challenges comes as thousands of voters have complained of not receiving their postal votes on time. In Scotland several councils have opened special units to provide duplicate ballot papers.
Jane Golding, co-chair of the campaign group British in Europe, said members had complained about delays in proxy votes arriving.
Pete Jones, a British citizen who lives in Switzerland with his partner and daughter, condemned the “utter incompetence from those involved in the organisation of postal votes”.
Two of his family received their ballot pack on different days but he has yet to receive his, leaving him with no possibility of voting unless he flies back to the UK on Thursday.
Morris said the system appeared to be under “a great deal of strain”, partly because of the compressed timetable for the election.
A judge could open a fact-finding inquiry to assess whether a re-run of a vote should be called. In an egregious case a judge has powers under the Representation of the People Act 1983, part III to call for a new ballot straight away.
While the bar is high and courts will not order re-runs in general, it is not without precedent, said Morris.
In 1997, there was a re-run in Winchester when the Liberal Democrat Mark Oaten won with a majority of just two votes. After a legal challenge over an administrative bungle that left 54 ballot papers not stamped correctly, the high court ordered a fresh ballot and Oaten was elected with a majority of more than 21,000 seats.
Rishi Sunak has told the PA news agency that he is “campaigning hard for every vote”.
Speaking to the news agency, the prime minister said:
This election is ongoing. I am campaigning hard for every vote.
In terms of how I do this job, I work as hard as I can, I do what I believe is right for the country. That ‘clear conscience is the softest pillow’, as my father-in-law says.
As long as I can look myself in the mirror and know that I am working as hard as I can, doing what I believe is right for the country, that is how I get through, and that is what I believe I am doing.”
Sunak added: “I am someone who has the courage of my convictions, I’m not someone who changes their opinion with the weather, which is what Keir Starmer does.”
He shared a message for would-be Reform voters, saying that they would put Labour in power if they backed Farage’s party:
You have had a very clear message from me to those people about what I think they should be thinking about, because they will get the precise opposite of what they want if they vote Reform.
I know that might strike them as unfair, but that is the system that we have.”
On the last day of campaigning, it’s time to reflect back on the most notable moments of the last six weeks, for a special awards newsletter which we are calling the Election Editionies. I’m sure it will become a thing.
A small note on our election day plans – there’ll be no Election Edition at 5pm as normal, and instead you’ll get a super, special exit poll edition as soon after 10pm as is humanly possible, with reaction to the likely results and a handy companion guide for how to follow the rest of the night.
If you’re planning to go to bed, sign up for First Edition here, where Nimo Omer and I will be rounding up what’s just happened at 7am. And on Friday, you’ll receive your last Election Edition of this cycle (don’t cry) at 5pm. And then we can all get some sleep.
'Conservatives have taken a wrecking ball to standards in public life', says Lib Dem's Daisy Cooper
Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper said the party has focused on taking Conservative seats in the general election rather than competing with Labour.
She told the PA news agency that the Conservatives have “taken a wrecking ball to standards in public life”.
She said: “We’ve always said that our target is to remove as many Conservative MPs as possible. We are in second place to the Conservatives in around 80 seats around the country, and we’ve had to target our resources in those areas.”
According to the PA news agency, she would not be drawn on what number of new seats would be considered a success, saying that “every single extra Liberal Democrat MP” will be a voice to campaign for the NHS, social services and the raw sewage crisis.
An MRP poll today has forecast the Lib Dems could get 52 seats and 13.5% of the vote share. Only 11 Lib Dems were elected in 2019.
Speaking about the party’s series of stunts during the general election campaign, Cooper said:
The fact is that every single stunt we do comes with a very serious message. So when Ed was falling off the paddle board, he was highlighting our pledge to put an end to the raw sewage dumping scandal.
When he was at a water park in half-term, he was talking about our pledge to put a mental health expert into every primary and secondary school.
So every time there’s a stunt, there’s also a very serious message. And whilst we don’t take ourselves very seriously, we do take our politics very seriously.”
She said stunts knocking down blue dominoes and blue bricks were an effort to “hammer home” the message that the Lib Dems are seeking to oust Tories.
Deputy Lib Dem leader Daisy Cooper said that while the party take themselves ‘very seriously, we do take our politics very seriously’. Photograph: Phil Noble/Reuters
Cooper told the PA news agency:
There were some really difficult decisions that the Liberal Democrats had to take during coalition, and we were punished, and that’s democracy.
But I think people will now be looking at the Conservative party, and they will see what the Conservatives do when they are in power on their own, and when people go to the polls tomorrow, they will be very acutely conscious that our NHS is on its knees, that families have been abandoned and left to tackle the cost-of-living crisis and our local environment simply isn’t safe in Conservative hands.
I think the Conservatives have taken a wrecking ball to standards in public life, and people are just sick to the back teeth of sleaze and scandals. And when people go to vote tomorrow, I think that’s what they’ll have at the forefront of their minds.”
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has entered his party’s rally at Clacton pier on an army vehicle to the tune of ‘Without Me’ by Eminem.
The PA news agency reports that the vehicle drove through the crowds before reversing, narrowly avoiding contact with a woman in a mobility scooter.
According to the news agency, Farage addressed the crowd in Clacton on immigration, saying: “How are you getting on for dentists in Clacton? Well then you should have come by dinghy.”
He added: “This is unfair, this is wrong and this needs to stop and stop now.” He then went on to start a chant: “We want our country back.”
Reform UK party leader Nigel Farage speaks to supporters in Clacton-on-Sea on Wednesday. Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
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