General election live: Tories hint at bids to replace Sunak in leadership contest as PM quizzed on betting scandal

With the polls revealing a grim picture for the Tories, many are already preparing for a seat wipeout at the general election.

Several Cabinet members have voiced their ambition to replace Rishi Sunak at the inevitable Conservative leadership contest if the prime minister loses on 4 July.

Steve Baker is the last to hint at a potential bid after Kemi Badenoch, Tom Tughendhat, former Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick and Home Secretary James Cleverly all left the door open to run for the job.

As his party prepares for his defeat, Mr Sunak is facing questions on whether he told betting scandal candidate Craig Williams about the election date.

During the campaign trail in Derbyshire, the PM dodged questions about whether he had taken action against other party figures claiming he is “not going to speculate” while the Gambling Commission inquiry is ongoing.

It comes as a new MRP poll has predicted Reform UK is set to win 18 seats in the upcoming general election, compared to the Tories’ 15 per cent of the votes.

Key Points

• Reform suspends candidate over BNP membership

• Badenoch compares Labour’s race reforms to apartheid South Africa

• Northern Ireland minister to launch bid for Tory leadership

• Poll reveals Reform set to win 18 seats at general election

• Former owner of Newcastle United defects to Reform

• Reform UK campaigner says illegal migrants should be target practice

Watch: Business minister admits making bet on Tories winning election: ‘I am always optimistic’

20:00 , Salma Ouaguira

Farage ‘dismayed'

19:58 , Jane Dalton

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said he was dismayed after a campaigner for his party migrants coming to the UK in small boats should be shot, as reported by Channel 4 News.

The volunteer would no longer be with the campaign, he said.

“The appalling sentiments expressed by some in these exchanges bear no relation to my own views, those of the vast majority of our supporters or Reform UK policy. Some of the language used was reprehensible,” he said.

“I am proud that our supporters, candidates and national campaign team come from all backgrounds and identities.”

Reform supporter used racial slur against Sunak

19:50 , Jane Dalton

A Reform UK campaigner in the seat where Nigel Farage is standing to become an MP was also recorded using a racial slur against Rishi Sunak.

Andrew Parker described the prime minister as a “f****** p***”.

“I’ve always been a Tory voter,” he said, “but what annoys me is that f****** p*** we’ve got in. What good is he? You tell me, you know. He’s just wet. F****** useless”.

Campaigner apologises to Farage and Reform Party

19:44 , Jane Dalton

Andrew Parker, who said migrants coming to the UK in small boats should be shot, told Channel 4 News: “I would like to make it clear that neither Nigel Farage personally or the Reform Party are aware of my personal views on immigration.

“I have never discussed immigration with either Nigel Farage or the Reform Party and that any comments made by me during those recordings are my own personal views on any subject I commented on.

“At no time before I was sent out to canvass did I discuss my personal views with any representative of the Reform Party or Nigel Farage.

“I would therefore like to apologise profusely to Nigel Farage and the Reform Party if my personal views have reflected badly on them and brought them into disrepute, as this was not my intention.

“I offered to help the Reform Party on their canvassing as I believe that they are the only party that offer the UK voter a practical solution to the illegal immigration problem that we have in the UK.”

Farage Reform UK campaigner says war refugees should be target practice

19:40 , Jane Dalton

A Reform UK campaigner in the seat where Nigel Farage is standing to become and MP has called for people fleeing war or persecution to be used as “target practice”.

Talking about migrants coming ashore at Deal in Kent, Andrew Parker said: “Army recruitment - get the young recruits there, with guns, on the f****** beach, target practice. F****** just shoot them.”

He was canvassing for votes in Clacton, Essex, when an undercover reporter for Channel 4 has recorded footage of him.

Mr Parker gave the undercover investigator advice on what to say on the doorstep, saying: “The immigration thing, use the word ‘illegal’. Emphasise ‘illegal’ especially if you open the door and there’s a bunch of p****.”

Giving his view on Muslims and what the party would do with mosques, Mr Parker said: “Sick mate. Sick m*****f******”, adding: “It’s a cult. I tell you what, if you don’t know about Islam, it is the most disgusting cult out.

“We’re f****** kicking all the Muslims out of the mosques and turning them into Wetherspoons.“

BBC debate: Readers dub Starmer ‘statesmanlike’ and Sunak ‘obnoxious’

19:40 , Salma Ouaguira

Independent readers are divided following another televised head-to-head between Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer.

We asked for your opinions following the final party leader clash on BBC, revealing mixed reactions from our community. Some viewers noted an improvement in how Sir Keir challenged Mr Sunak compared to the first debate, with one adding: “Starmer seems to be getting more statesmanlike over time.”

But others found Sir Keir too polite and unable to land impactful blows. One reader noted: “Starmer is articulate, but just has not got the bruising instincts of real ‘Old’ Labour politicians.”

Read the full reaction here.

‘For every generation, Labour will tax you,’ warns Sunak

19:20 , Salma Ouaguira

Pictured: Sir Ed Davey paints cup at Vale House while on campaign trail

19:00 , Salma Ouaguira

Keir Starmer calls controversial Tory poster 'desperate”

18:40 , Salma Ouaguira

Keir Starmer has said a controversial new advert from the Tories depicting people with their hands up and urging voters not to “surrender” to Labour is “desperate”, Kate Devlin reports.

Asked about the advert, the Labour leader told reporters: “This is really desperate stuff and I’m surprised by it.

“I think it underlines the difference between the two campaigns. They are running a very negative campaign, nothing about the future of the country.

“I’m very happy to be the candidate going into the final week who is putting forward a more positive case for the change the country needs.”

Conservatives resort to ‘glue metaphor’ to warn against Labour

18:20 , Salma Ouaguira

Join our virtual event charting the future of British politics

18:01 , Salma Ouaguira

Join The Independent as our expert panel picks apart the key moments from the 2024 general election.

Hosted by our chief political commentator John Rentoul, this event will also offer a deep dive into the immediate and long-term challenges facing the newly elected government, including immigration, the cost of living, the NHS, education, Brexit and more.

Our panel includes The Independent’s own Andrew Grice, a political columnist and former political editor from 1998 to 2015. He has worked in Westminster since 1982, unearthed many political scoops and covered 11 general elections.

Also joining our event is Anand Menon. A leading expert on Brexit, Professor Menon is director of UK in a Changing Europe, an initiative which includes academics from universities across the country who specialise in the EU.

Reserve your free space here.

If Gen Z votes for Farage, don’t blame us, blame the boomers

18:00 , Salma Ouaguira

Why more Gen Z could vote for Farage and it could be what we all deserve

David Lammy: ‘Conservatives wrong class to run Britain'

17:48 , Salma Ouaguira

The shadow foreign secretary has said the Conservatives are the wrong “class” to run Britain and accused them of having a “public-school smallness”.

Mr Lammy said Boris Johnson, David Cameron and James Cleverly had a “casual frippery” when he attended Trooping the Color.

The Labour candidate said: “There was a sort of demob happiness about them, a sort of casual frippery, a certain kind of public-school smallness,” he told the New Statesman.

“They are not the class of people that Britain needs to run it now, and that’s what my own life story tells me.

“The Labour Party is full of people – Angela Rayner, for instance; I was with her yesterday, campaigning in Mansfield – she gets this.”

Sir Philip Davies ‘bet £8,000 against himself’ as Met probes seven officers over scandal

17:38 , Salma Ouaguira

Philip Davies latest Tory in gambling row ‘after betting £8,000 against himself’

Lib Dem leader takes alpaca for a walk during campaign trail

17:28 , Salma Ouaguira

Sir Ed Davey took an alpaca named Pele for a walk during a visit to Clivewood Farm in North Shropshire, to support the Liberal Democrat candidate Helen Morgan.

After a half-hour stroll to a nearby field with others walking six other alpacas, the Liberal Democrat leader described the election date betting allegations and the wider gambling scandal as “awful”.

Sir Ed said: “The idea that people walked into 10 Downing Street, were told the date of an election, and it appears… they went and bet on something that they knew the outcome of – I think everyone can see that’s wrong.

“And I think these MPs who appear to have bet against themselves – that’s highly questionable too. We need an urgent review, as soon as this is all over in a week’s time, by the Gambling Commission of betting with respect to politics to see whether we need much clearer rules.”

Speaking from inside a pen containing seven alpacas, including Pele, Sir Ed added: “I know they say be careful working with animals but these are fantastic aren’t they. It’s a lot easier than falling off a paddleboard in Lake Windermere.”

Starmer: ‘No evidence Labour’s VAT plans will force private schools to shut'

17:18 , Salma Ouaguira

Sir Keir Starmer has claimed there is “no evidence” that private schools will be forced to close if Labour implements VAT on them.

The Labour leader told Sky News he would use the money from the taxation to fund struggling state schools.

In an interview with Sophie Ridge, he said: “I think they will adapt. They’ve had lots of increases in costs over the last 14 years, and they’ve accommodated it.

“There’s no evidence to show these schools will close. They don’t have to pass the cost on to parents.”

Pictured: Sunak visits train company in Derby

17:15 , Salma Ouaguira

Sunak convinced 150,000 voters could narrow Labour’s poll lead

17:05 , Salma Ouaguira

Rishi Sunak is convinced that the Tories would need just 150,000 voters to narrow the gab between Labour in the polls.

Speaking GB News, the Prime Minister said: “I’d say to everyone watching ‘those polls aren’t destiny’. People watching can make the difference.”

He added: “There’s other research that just shows it’s something like 150,000 voters in key places will make the difference.

“Those are the people that will be watching, right? If you’re watching this show right now, you can make the difference.

“I get people’s frustrations with me, with the party. We haven’t got everything right. I know that we haven’t made as much progress as we would have liked, but this is an important election about your future.

“You do not want Labour in charge with that blank cheque to do what they want for your family finances? Go out there, vote Conservative so we can stop that from happening.”

Douglas Ross: Vote Reform, get SNP

16:55 , Salma Ouaguira

The leader of the Scottish Conservatives has warned voters against backing Reform UK as they would risk a SNP victory.

Douglas Ross said: “What we’ve also seen in polls over the last few days is how close a number of these constituencies are going to be between the Scottish Conservatives and the SNP.

“It could come down to a few hundred votes either way. If people are thinking about supporting smaller parties – like Labour, the Liberal Democrats or Reform – they risk electing an SNP politician.”

Badenoch compares Labour’s race reforms to apartheid South Africa

16:50 , Salma Ouaguira

Kemi Badenoch has compared Labour’s plans for a Race Equality Act to the apartheid in South Africa.

The Tory business secretary hit out at Sir Keir Starmer accusing him of having a “morally repellent” plan to force companies to “classify your workforce by race”.

She said the legislation “will be used to work out what people of different ethnicities should be paid”.

Ms Badenoch added: “I think classifying your workforce by race and having this influence their salaries is morally repellent,” she said.

“It’s what they did in apartheid South Africa and what they do now in China and Myanmar.”

Badenoch vows to ‘never shut up’ about ‘divisive diversity politics agenda'

16:48 , Salma Ouaguira

Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch has vowed she is “never going to shut up” about the “divisive agenda of diversity politics”.

Speaking on the British Chambers of Commerce annual conference, the Tory minister said Labour’s “vision of the future economy is one that micromanages your businesses to meet their political objectives and that includes – my favourite topic of course – the divisive agenda of identity politics”.

She added: “And I’m never going to shut up about it, no matter how many Doctor Whos tell me so. Identity politics is why Labour’s biggest change is to introduce a new Race Equality Act. In their manifesto they say that they will enshrine in law the full right to equal pay for ethnic minorities. But you know and I know we already have laws that do that, so this is going to be a much more political law.”

Stand up to Racism urges to' vote to stop Farage’

16:40 , Salma Ouaguira

Jewish Labour chair blasts ‘extremist’ Reform over BNP row

16:38 , Salma Ouaguira

Chair of the Labour Movement Mike Katz has criticised Reform UK after the party suspended a candidate for belonging to the BNP.

Mr Katz said: “Sadly no surprise given the near daily parade of candidates exposed as having the most vile, extreme views.

“Yet some senior Tories still want to get into bed with Reform. Legitimising this far-right party is bad news for our politics.”

Reform slammed over candidate linked to BNP

16:28 , Salma Ouaguira

Labour’s Margaret Hodge, who is standing for Barking, has slammed Reform UK for having candidates linked to right-wing party British National Party.

Raymond Saint has been dropped by the party after a Wikileaks revealed his name appeared on the BNP list.

Cameron admits being hoodwinked by ‘deepfake’ Ukrainian ex-president

16:26 , Salma Ouaguira

David Cameron has spoken up since being hoodwinked by a “deepfake” version of former Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko.

A video of the hoax call was released yesterday by a Russian prankster.

The Foreign Secretary told LBC: “In my defence, the quality of the deepfake was remarkable.

“I was convinced throughout the call and after this was the former President of Ukraine who I know very well, I’ve met him.”

He added: “If I go back to when I was PM, you did get hoax calls getting through, but you could tell straight away it wasn’t the person it was meant to be, or it didn’t sound like them, it didn’t look like them.”

Breaking: Reform suspends candidate over British National Party membership

16:17 , Salma Ouaguira

Reform UK has suspended a candidate whose name appeared on a leaked list from the right-wing British National Party (BNP).

Nigel Farage withdrew the party’s support from Raymond Saint, who is standing in Basingstoke after reports he was on a BNP membership list published by WikiLeaks in 2009.

Asked about the claims, Mr Saint said: “I don’t wish to discuss it, thank you.”

A party spokesman said: “As Nigel Farage has repeatedly made plain, people who belong or used to belong to the BNP are not welcome in the Reform UK party.”

Osborne: ‘Sunak still on the battlefield’

15:58 , Salma Ouaguira

George Osborne has claimed Rishi Sunak is “still on the battlefield” against all polls.

Reacting to last night’s BBC debate with Sir Keir Starmer, the former chancellor said the prime minister proved he is not giving up yet.

Speaking on his Political Currency podcast, the Tory said: “The snap poll immediately after the debate gave it 50/50 Starmer/Sunak, but given that Starmer is so far ahead in the polls, that’s definitely a success for Sunak.

“I think if you were a Tory candidate, you would take some heart that your leader is still in the fight. After all that’s happened on this campaign, with D-Day, with the betting scandal.

“Here is someone who is still fighting with a week to go, even though he knows the odds are completely against him.”

Mr Osborne added: “If you were out on the doorstep, you would take some heart that your general is still on the battlefield.”

Who is still voting Conservative? How Brexit and age define the Tory party faithful

15:47 , Salma Ouaguira

Who is still voting Conservative – how Brexit and age define the Tory party faithful

Pictured: Starmer stamps the word ‘change’ onto a mug made by celebrity potter Keith Brymer Jones.

15:40 , Salma Ouaguira

Join tomorrow's Q&A sessions with general election candidates

15:35 , Salma Ouaguira

The Independent is giving readers the chance to chat directly with candidates from some of the major political parties in a special general election series of Ask Me Anything events.

We have two Q&As tomorrow. One starts at 12pm, with Plaid Cymru candidate Ian Johnson taking your questions. The other session is with Dr Ellie Chowns of the Green Party at 6pm.

Find out more here.

Actor Hugh Grant endorses Green Party co-leader Carla Denyer

15:17 , Jabed Ahmed

Green Party co-leader Carla Denyer has been described by the actor Hugh Grant as a “politician with integrity”, as he endorsed her as a candidate for Bristol Central.

An endorsement from the Love Actually star was included in an election leaflet, which quoted Mr Grant saying: “It’s so refreshing to see a politician with integrity, who puts the public first. Bristol Central would be very lucky to have Carla Denyer as its MP.”

Since 2015, the Bristol Central seat has been held by Labour’s shadow culture and sport secretary Thangam Debbonaire, who is standing for re-election. The Greens have revealed this constituency as one of its target seats as the party aims to get four MPs in the Commons on July 4.

In 2019, Mr Grant said he considered formally entering politics, but instead he decided to focus on pushing for tactical voting and urged people to do everything they could to stop a Conservative government.

During the 2019 election campaign he showed support for the Liberal Democrats when he went door-knocking with the party’s candidate for Finchley and Golders Green, Luciana Berger.

Watch: Business minister admits making bet on Tories winning election: ‘I am always optimistic’

15:10 , Jabed Ahmed

Sunak accused of ‘desperate’ tactics with ‘don’t surrender to Labour’ poster of child with hands up

15:09 , Jabed Ahmed

Rishi Sunak has been branded “desperate” after the Conservatives released their latest shock election poster.

The prime minister highlighted the attack advert, which depicts three people, including a child, with their hands in the air as if at gunpoint and urges voters not to "surrender" to Labour.

The Independent’s Whitehall Editor Kate Devlin reports:

Sunak accused of ‘desperate’ tactics with ‘surrender’ poster of child with hands up

Battle for Richmond: The one mistake Sunak’s constituents cannot forgive

15:00 , Jabed Ahmed

Kevin Donald speaks to residents in Rishi Sunak’s constituency of Richmond, north Yorkshire.

Read the full article here:

The one mistake Rishi’s constituents cannot forgive

Northern Ireland minister to launch bid for Tory leadership

14:54 , Jabed Ahmed

Northern Ireland minister Steve Baker will launch a bid to replace Rishi Sunak as Tory leader should he lead the party to defeat on July 4 as expected, it is understood.

Mr Baker has hinted at a leadership run if he retains his Wycombe seat – where he was re-elected with a 4,214 majority in 2019 – at the General Election.

He said: “One thing at a time. I want to represent the people of Wycombe the best that I can, as I always have done.

“Then let’s see what happens.”

It is understood that he will announce his intentions after polling day.

Both Starmer and Sunak at campaign visits to pottery factories

14:52 , Jabed Ahmed

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has visited a pottery factory in in Stoke-on-Trent today, and was seen laughing with a potter who was holding a cup with the word 'Change' printed into it.

At the same time prime minister Rishi Sunak visited a pottery plant in Derbyshire.

Sunak challenged over rise in food bank use

14:44 , Jabed Ahmed

Rishi Sunak was challenged by a worker at a pottery plant in Derbyshire who said things had got “infinitely worse” since the Tories took office in 2010.

Frances Cutmore, a potter at Denby Pottery, asked the Prime Minister “why you feel that we should vote for another four years of Tory government when in the last 14 years you haven’t managed to make a good impression on our country”, with food-bank use soaring in that time.

“That’s not acceptable,” the 46-year-old from Belper said.

Mr Sunak replied: “I don’t want anyone to have to use a food bank. Of course I don’t. But I’m also very grateful to all those people who volunteer for them, who support them, so that they are there for those who need (them).”

He added: “There is lots of frustrations that you, and others, will have about some things in the past.”

But “this election is about the future”, Mr Sunak said. “And if you care about financial security for families, that’s what I will deliver, because no-one is going to be helped by their taxes going up.”

BBC debate: Readers dub Starmer ‘statesmanlike’ and Sunak ‘obnoxious’

14:20 , Salma Ouaguira

Independent readers are divided following another televised head-to-head between Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer.

We asked for your opinions following the final party leader clash on BBC, revealing mixed reactions from our community. Some viewers noted an improvement in how Sir Keir challenged Mr Sunak compared to the first debate, with one adding: “Starmer seems to be getting more statesmanlike over time.”

But others found Sir Keir too polite and unable to land impactful blows. One reader noted: “Starmer is articulate, but just has not got the bruising instincts of real ‘Old’ Labour politicians.”

Read the full reaction here.

Pictured: Sunak dips a teapot in a tup of pottery glaze

14:13 , Salma Ouaguira

Exclusive: Tory blame game already begins with a week to go before polling day

14:10 , Salma Ouaguira

The blame game has already begun within the Tories as the party prepares to face what could be the most catastrophic defeat in its history in just a week, our Political Editor David Maddox reports.

With seven days to go, polls suggest that the Conservative Party is on thebrink of a wipeout with a strong possibility it will get less than 100 MPs elected.

While fingers have been pointed by different factions behind the scenes for months even before the election, senior figures are now breaking ranks to give their verdicts even before most voters have cast their votes.

First out of the traps was former cabinet minister Nadine Dorries who has told The Independent that she blames Michael Gove for a malaise that has set in over the last 14 years and is demanding he does not get a seat in the Lords - just as she was denied one.

You can read The Independent’s exclusive story below:

Tory blame game already begins with a week to go before polling day

Labour keeps ‘fighting’ against Farage in Clacton

14:08 , Salma Ouaguira

Labour has insisted their candidate for Clacton Jovan Owusu-Nepaul is still fighting against Nigel Farage.

It comes as the party has reportedly given up on the race and not helping Mr Owusu-Nepaul because of how much social media attention he has received.

Sunak defends ‘don’t surrender’ attack poster

14:00 , Salma Ouaguira

Rishi Sunak has defended a Tory attack poster showing a picture of a man, woman and child holding their hands in the air in surrender.

The advert, which doubles down on the Prime Minister’s latest attack line, states “don’t surrender your family’s future to Labour”.

Challenged over the controversial imagery, Mr Sunak told broadcasters in Derbyshire: “This is an incredibly important election, and there’s an important choice for people. And I don’t want people to sleepwalk into something.

“I believe that a Labour government would be very damaging for our country.

“I get that people are frustrated with me and our party, but this is not a by-election. This is a choice about our future, and that choice will have severe consequences for people’s financial security.”

VOICES John Rentoul: The ‘Luvvies for Labour’ are back: are we time travelling to 1997?

18:02 , Salma Ouaguira

The ‘Luvvies for Labour’ are back: are we time travelling to 1997?

VOICES John Rentoul: The ‘Luvvies for Labour’ are back: are we time travelling to 1997?

18:01 , Salma Ouaguira

The ‘Luvvies for Labour’ are back: are we time travelling to 1997?