Election latest: Martin Lewis attacks Tories over 'private' talks with Labour - as PM takes aim at David Tennant (2024)

Josh Greally, 28, has admitted a public order offence at after throwing items at Reform UK leader Nigel Farage on 11 July.

Greally, from Chesterfield, was arrested in Barnsley town centre after he threw what looked like a coffee cup and another object at Mr Farage, who was campaigning on the top deck of his battle bus.

Neither of the objects hit the politician.

Greally pleaded guilty in a short hearing when appearing atBarnsley Magistrates Court on Wednesday.

He will be sentenced on 28 August.

Labour have suspended a party member after they were arrested in north London.

It comes after the Met Police said they had taken a man in his mid-20s into custody in Islington over the Westminster honeytrap scandal.

He was arrested on suspicion of harassment and committing offences under the Online Safety Act.

This is the case where a number of MPs and parliamentary staffers received suspicious messages from unnamed senders.

The investigation by theMet's Parliamentary Liaison and Investigation Team began on 6 April following reporting, first published by Politico, of unsolicited messages being sent to MPs and people with links to parliament.

Those looking to drive to polling stations can park for free this general election.

JustPark are offering drivers 30 minutes of free parking near polling stations on 4 July.

They will need to pre-book online or via the JustPark app, however.

"We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to vote, but know that on the day it isn't always that straightforward," Mary Corrie, managing director of Just Park UK, said.

"By offering free parking on election day, we hope to make it easier for all voters, especially those with mobility issues or who are short on time, to find a place to park near their polling station.

"This is the second time we have offered this service, following its great success in the 2019 election, and we are confident it will help to get people to the polls once again."

Manifesto launches are still under way, and the latest to launch their proposals are the Alba Party, headed by Scotland's former first minister Alex Salmond.

The ex-SNP leader pitched his party as the "natural home" of independence supporters, and hit out at the UK government for havingvetoed the "democratic wishes of Scots" since the 2014 referendum (which the independence campaign lost).

He told gathered supporters and activists: "TheAlbaParty believe that every single national election should be used to seek a mandate to begin negotiations for Independence.

"That means the election itself should provide the popular mandate for independence."

He went on to say "Scotland stands at a pivotal moment in its history", and that despite winning "two mandates at Holyrood and three Westminster elections, all with an independence majority", there has been "little or no action taken" towards it.

"We have the opportunity at this election to make our votes count for independence," he added.

Here are some of the key parts of the launch:

• Pledged to mobilise supporters of Scottish independence;
• Fight to save theGrangemouth refinery from closure;
• Increase staffing in the NHS;
• Protect women's rights;
• Provide an annual £500 payment to households receiving a council tax reduction;
• Increasing the Scottish Child Payment from £26.70 to £40 per week.
  

We spoke a short while ago with the Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer, and we asked him about prisons, which will be a key issue facing the winner of the general election.

It comes on the day Sky's Scotland correspondent Connor Gillies reports more than 500 Scottish inmates, serving short term sentences, are set to be released early to tackle overcrowding - an issue across the UK.

Sir Keir told Sky News a Labour government is "not going to be able to deal with this on day one".

"I'll be completely straight with you on that. I can't build a prison in the first week of a Labour government," he said.

"But it is a really shocking state of affairs that we don't have enough prison places for people who should be in prison. It's a catastrophic failure within criminal justice."

He said Labour will "build the necessary prisons".

Pushed on whether they will scrap early release, Sir Keir replied: "We will have to deal with the problem as it is, and I can't promise that we can change that on day one, because I can't build a prison on day one of a Labour government.

"What I can do is take the tough decisions to make sure that we never get into this position ever again. We should not be here."

The Conservative Party has come under fire from Martin Lewis over a tweet using a clip of him speaking about a conversation with a "senior member of the Labour Party".

In the 22-second video, the "money-saving expert" and consumer champion was saying he had discussed an unnamed policy with them.

He said the senior Labour member - who he did not name - told him the policy is something they want to implement, but is not in the manifesto because they cannot commit to it.

It is apparently their "aim" to do it in the next parliament.

But the Conservatives wrote in their tweet it shows Labour will put up taxes, writing: "Labour have said they wouldn't put up your taxes. But it's now becoming clear that they have every intention to put them up."

Hitting back at the Tory party, Mr Lewis wrote: "NOWHERE in this comment do I talk about taxes.

"And the policy that I discussed (I will keep private as it was private) was NOT about taxes, or tax rises, it was about something that would be a positive change."

The Conservative Party has been contacted for comment.

Like night follows day, lunchtime comes with a Politics Hub bulletin.

Here's what you need to know from the morning, and what's to come later:

• The election gambling scandal certainly isn't going anywhere, with the BBC reporting more than a dozen Tory candidates and officials are facing scrutiny from the watchdog;
• Conservative minister Mel Stride told Sky News it had become a "disappointing" distraction from the campaign, while Labour's Liz Kendall said the party suspending one of its own candidates for betting showed how seriously they were taking it;
• The Liberal Democrats have called for a review into the rules around betting, though leader Sir Ed Davey admitted he put money on the 2010 election;
• Politics At Jack And Sam's talks at length about what's become known as "gamblegate" below:

• In an entirely separate political scandal, a man has been arrested in the Westminster honeytrap affair;
• This is the case of a number of MPs and parliamentary staffers receiving suspicious messages from unnamed senders;
• Met Police said a man had been arrestedon suspicion of harassment and offences under the Online Safety Act.

• Elsewhere, Rishi Sunak has attacked David Tennant after the actor said he wished minister Kemi Badenoch would "shut up";
• The Doctor Who star laid into her position on trans and women's rights while being honoured at the British LGBT Awards;
• Ms Badenoch had said she would "not be silenced" by the "rich, lefty, white male celebrity", and Mr Sunak has now told him: "You are the problem."

And there are two important things to remind you of this evening.

Firstly, if you don't have any photo ID, then 5pm is the deadline to apply for an ID certificate you can use at the general election.

That's also the deadline to apply for someone to vote on your behalf if you can't make it to the ballot box on 4 July - known as a proxy vote.

The other thing to make note of is the final head-to-head debate between Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer, hosted by the BBC tonight.

We will have live coverage here in the Politics Hub from 8.15pm - join us for updates and analysis.

A new poll from Ipsos has shown Labour is maintaining its lead going into the final week of the general election campaign.

The Tories are continuing to slump, falling four points to 19%, leaving Labour with a 23-point lead.

Meanwhile, Reform UK is continuing to surge, recording its highest ever score with the pollster.

Here are the full results:

• Labour: 42% (-1)
• Conservatives: 19% (-4)
• Reform UK: 15% (+6)
• Lib Dems: 11% (+3)
• Greens: 7% (-2)
  

The poll is of1,402 adults, conducted by phone from 21 to 24 June. The changes are from their poll conducted between 31 May and 4 June.

More than one in three say they may change their mind before the election (36%) - and that was at 27% at this stage before the 2019 election.

21% of those who might change their mind are considering Labour, 19% the Lib Dems and 14% the Greens, 7% are considering the Conservatives and 7% Reform UK.

64% of voters say they are voting for the party that best represents their views, while 19% are voting tactically, the pollster said.

In bad news for Rishi Sunak,83% are dissatisfied with the way the government is running the country - which is the worst scorefor a government in Ipsos' records at this stage of a campaign going back to 1979.

71% do not think the Conservatives deserve to be re-elected - an increase of four points since early June - while only 16% think they do (-4).

Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer are preparing to debate head-to-head for the second and final time of this general election campaign.

The BBC's Mishal Husain - who also chaired a seven-way leaders' debate earlier this month - will referee the contest that will last 75 minutes, starting at 8.15pm this evening.

It will be in front of a live audience, that has been chosen by pollster Savanta, rather than the BBC.

It will include Conservative and Labour supporters, in addition to undecided voters.

Which side of the stage the two men will stand on will be decided by a coin toss - as will the order in which they deliver their closing speeches to the nation.

It is likely to be one of the biggest live audiences of the campaign, allowing the two men to potentially reach millions of voters.

The debate will run straight through the full 75 minutes, without any breaks.

In an article for the BBC, Husain said she will be "nudging the two men back to what was in the question, clarifying points, and yes, probably having to call a halt from time to time".

She said she wants "spontaneity and energy" from tonight's contest: "A proper debate, really, rather than speech-making."

We will have live coverage of the debate here in the Politics Hub, and when the debate ends at 9.30pm, we will have live analysis and reaction here and across Sky News - do join us.