UK general election live: Sunak was ‘bullied’ into taking action over betting scandal, says Starmer in final debate | General election 2024

Here’s a more detailed timeline of what we can expect during today’s campaign, via PA:

Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer returned to the campaign trail on Thursday after clashing over the betting row at Westminster in their final televised debate directly before the general election.

Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Mel Stride is on the morning media circuit for Conservativesshadow secretary of state for education Bridget Phillipson for Labour, leader of the Liberal Democrats Ed Davey for the Liberal Democrats.

9.30 Scottish Liberal Democrat candidate for Edinburgh West, Christine Jardineis in the Edinburgh campaign.

10.15 am: Starmer is in the North West and West Midlands.

11.30 am: Sunak campaigned in the Midlands and Yorkshire with questions and answers from staff at a pottery factory in Derbyshire.

12 pm: Nigel Farage to the north-east, before a Reform event with Richard Tice in the evening.

14.30 Scottish Labor leader Anas Sarwar to visit a health charity in Kirkcaldy with a local candidate Melanie Ward.

3.10pm SNP leader John Sweeney campaigning in East Edinburgh and Musselburgh with the SNP candidate for East Edinburgh and Musselburgh, Tommy Sheppard. Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross will visit businesses in East Lothian.

20:30: ITV interview with Keir Starmer

9.00pm: Northern Ireland’s leaders take part in a BBC debate

Last night’s debate – and exclamation marks – are frequent front page topics this morning, p guard leading with The Prime Minister and Starmer clash over a betting scandal in a blistering final televised debate:

The times: Sunak ram domestic tax announcement in last debate

The Independent: Starmer opposes striking doctors: I won’t give a 35% increase

The Daily Mail: Rishi’s furious outburst against Starmer… You’re taking people for fools!

a Scotsman: SNP gap closure Labor despite the contrast in the number of seats

Like the scandal, the betting puns aren’t over yet: Daily record there’s Flutter Coward next to a picture of a reduced Sunak:

The award for counting – almost – to ten goes to Daily Express, with: I have no idea! 9 times the Starmer failed to provide an answer to a boating crisis:

Perhaps “the next foreign secretary” knows the answer this week A new statesman:

And dear guests, we have a tie for the Stuff of Nightmares prize, which goes to the cover artists of New European and on Spectator:

Dennis Campbell

Leaders of the BLA’s Junior Doctors Committee (JDC) said today they could call further strikes this summer if the next government does not hold talks “in time”.

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However, they have stressed in recent months that they would welcome any significant progress towards their goal of “full pay recovery” to be phased in over several years. This raised tentative hopes that the long-running and highly destructive dispute might soon end.

Wes Streeting, the shadow health secretary, said the pay rise for junior doctors should be “a journey, not an event”. He also said he would not approve a 35% increase because if he did, “any union worth its salt” would demand the same amount for its members.

Dr Robert Lawrenson, co-chair of the JDC, said: “He talks about things like ‘a journey, not an event’. We are happy to have a multi-year pay deal. He seems to have heard that and ‘journey not event’ fits it.’

Dr Vivek Trivedi, the other co-chair, said: “The main thing I took away from the discussions [with Labour] is that he is willing to try and at least engage in a constructive and meaningful way [talks]”.

He added: “If negotiations do not move forward in time, then of course our members will expect us to call for strike action.”

Junior doctors strike in England despite risking own goal

Dennis Campbell

Junior doctors in England will strike today for an 11th time over their pay, amid fears within their union that a stoppage so close to the general election was an “own goal”.

Senior figures at the British Medical Association (BMA) believe the strike is pointless and “naive” and risks causing irritation Laborwhich looks likely to be in power until next Friday and has asked the union to cancel it.

Around 25,000 junior doctors are expected to refuse to work during the five-day stoppage, which starts at 7am today and continues until the same time next Tuesday, July 2.

By the end of it, junior doctors will have been on strike for 44 days since they first took strike action in March 2023 in pursuit of a 35% pay rise.

The previous 10 strikes have forced NHS to cancel 1.4 million outpatient appointments and operations and spend £1.7 billion to minimize disruption.

NHS England expects the “widespread disruption to care” over the next five days to be worse than before as heat-related health problems increase the strain on many services. “This new round of strike action will once again hit the NHS very hard,” said Prof Stephen Powis, its national medical director.

Quick survey from YouGov out of 1,716 people who voted were evenly split on who won last night’s debate. Sunak and Starmer were also virtually tied in terms of who looked more “Prime Minister”, winning 41% and 42% respectively (with 16% “don’t know”).

Asked how well each individual performed, Starmer came out slightly ahead with a score of 61% to Sunak’s 56%. Starmer was far ahead on “in touch with the common people” with 63% to Sunak’s 18%. Starmer was also more likable (52-33) and trustworthy (50-39).

Sunak beat Starmer on immigration (55-35) and tax (48-37), with Starmer coming out on top on the economy (47-53), welfare and benefits (51-39) and Britain’s relationship with the EU ( 52-32).

Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer have clashed over their responses to the Westminster gambling scandal, as it emerged The Metropolitan Police is set to expand its role in the investigation of bets placed in the general election.

In the final head-to-head debate before voters head to the polls, Labor The leader launched a scathing attack on the culture at the top of the Conservative Party, saying it showed the “wrong instinct” to bet on the country’s future – likening it to the cavalier attitude towards Covid rules.

In the angry talks, Sunak repeatedly urged the country not to “give in” to Labour’s plans on tax and migration and said the general election should not be decided solely on the basis of disappointment with Conservatives.

Jessica Elgott and Pippa Crerar report:

Hello and welcome to the Guadian live broadcast of the UK General Election build-up with me, Helen Sullivan.

At this time next week, polling stations will be preparing to open – voting starts at 7am on July 4. In his final debate before Election Day, Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer traded criticism over their responses to the gambling scandalof the Guardian Jessica Elgott and Pippa Crerar report The Metropolitan Police will expand its role in investigating bets placed in the general election, it has emerged.

Starmer said he removed his candidate, Kevin Craig, “within minutes”. Craig admitted in a statement that he had bet against himself to win the seat a few weeks ago.

Starmer compared his actions to Sunak, who took days to make up his mind. “I think over the last 14 years politics has become too much about self-rights and MPs thinking about what they can get for themselves,” he said.

“The instinct of these people to think that the first thing they should do is try to make money, that was the wrong instinct and we have to change that.”

He said Sunak had “put off and put off and put off” and had been “bullied” into taking action. “My candidates know I have the highest standards. They have seen the consequences of my actions.”

Meanwhile, Sunak has repeatedly urged voters not to “give in” to a Labor government using the language used by Boris Johnson when he talked about Brexit.

“Don’t hand over control of our borders to the Labor Party. If Labor wins, people smugglers will need a bigger boat,” Sunak said.

More on key developments from the debate soon.

In the meantime, here’s what’s coming up today:

9.30 Scottish Liberal Democrat candidate for Edinburgh West, Christine Jardineis in the Edinburgh campaign.

12 pm: Nigel Farage to the north-east, before a Reform event with Richard Tice in the evening.

2.30pm Scottish Labor leader Anas Sarwar to visit a health charity in Kirkcaldy with a local candidate Melanie Ward.

3.10pm SNP leader John Sweeney campaigning in East Edinburgh and Musselburgh with the SNP candidate for East Edinburgh and Musselburgh, Tommy Sheppard.

The Scottish Conservatives are in the campaign in East Lothian.

20:30: ITV interview with Keir Starmer

9.00pm: Northern Ireland’s leaders take part in a BBC debate