Rishi Sunak’s appeal to voters as polls show Reform and Labour gaining ground (2024)

26 minutes agoBy Joel Kulasingham

PM's appeal to voters

Voters must not “sleepwalk” into voting for Labour on July 4 or they could stay in power forever, Rishi Sunak has warned.

The PM used a speech at the launch of the Tory Welsh manifesto in Rhyl, North Wales, to issue a last-ditch appeal to the country.

He acknowledged people are “frustrated” with his party and with him but urged them not to let Sir Keir Starmer “waltz into office” with no scrutiny.

Mr Sunak said: “I warn you - don’t fall into Labour’s trap, don’t sleepwalk to July 4.

“I know you want to send us a message but this is not a by-election. It will determine who governs our country for the next five years and potentially much longer.

“For if Labour get in they will change the rules so it is much harder to ever get them out.”

56 minutes agoBy Joel Kulasingham

What has the Gambling Commission said about the betting scandal?

It is prohibited to use inside information to place a bet, and the Gambling Act makes it illegal to cheat with “attempted deception of interference”.

It is understood that a small circle of advisers knew Mr Sunak was planning on calling a snap election ahead of him announcing the date in May.

A Gambling Commission spokesman said: “As the Gambling Commission is an independent body, it wouldn’t be proper to comment further, until any process is concluded.

“The Gambling Commission regulates gambling in the interests of consumers and the wider public.

"Currently the Commission is investigating the possibility of offences concerning the date of the election. This is an ongoing investigation, and the Commission cannot provide any further details at this time.

"We are not confirming or denying the identity of any individuals involved in this investigation.”

Today, 15:00By Joel Kulasingham

Who is being investigated in the Tory betting scandal?

Two Conservative Party candidates are being investigated over bets made on the date of the general election.

Rishi Sunak’s Parliamentary aide Craig Williams revealed he placed a £100 bet on a July polling day before it was called.

Tory candidate Laura Saunders, the wife of the party’s director of campaigns Tony Lee, is also being probed by the watchdog.

Saunders says she is “co-operating” with the regulator.

A police officer who protects Mr Sunak was arrested on Monday after he allegedly placed a bet on the timing.

There was a significant spike in on the day before the election was called. Betfair said that close to £6,000 was put on their gambling exchange.

A furious Rishi Sunak told a BBC telly audience on Thursday night that he was “incredibly angry” about the incident saying anyone found to have broken any rules should “face the full force of the law”.

Today, 14:30By Joel Kulasingham

Labour MP: PM 'too weak' to take stand against his own people in betting scandal

Rishi Sunak is “too weak” to suspend candidates caught up in the election betting controversy, a senior Labour figure says.

The Prime Ministerhas shied away from distancing himself from the fellow Tories who tried tocash in on the date of polling day, a shadow Cabinet Minister says.

Peter Kyletold The Sun’s Never Mind The Ballots show that the PM just “can’t make a stand” against his own people two weeks out from the election.

He suggested the PM should follow the lead of police by suspending individuals caught up in the row.

BET SCANDAL Rishi is 'too weak' to take a stand against his own people, blasts Labour MP

Today, 14:00By Louis Allwood

Key promises in Labour’s manifesto

At the Labour manifesto launch last week, Sir Keir Starmer pledged to…

• Ruled out raisingincome tax, national insurance, or VAT
• Committed tokeeping the pensions triple lock, which increases the state pension each year in line with the highest of inflation, earnings or 2.5%
• Promised abenefits shake-up, working with local authorities to get more disabled and sick people back into employment.
• Said he would cutenergy bills and introduce a “warm home grant”
• Pledged toremove the ‘discriminatory’ age bands affectingthe National Minimum Wage
• Vowed to ban advertising junk food to children along with the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to under-16
• Promised to hike defence spending to 2.5% of GDP
• Promised to slapVAT on private schools to fund 6,500 new teachers
• Pledged tobuild 1.5million new homes

Today, 13:30By Louis Allwood

Minister slams Farage

Tory minister Steve Baker said there is no place for Nigel Farage in the Conservative Party because he “toxifies” debates.

Asked if Mr Farage should join the Tory Party, Steve told The Sun’sNever Mind The Ballots: “Not while he continues to speak of minorities in the way that he does.

“I would just observe that as far as I know, one of the people who said that of Nigel was Suella.

“As much as I don’t wish to get into a row with Suella, I parted company with her over the way she dealt with a very sensitive issue – tarnishing the reputations of a wider community – and it’s just not acceptable in our country to do that.”

Today, 13:00By Louis Allwood

Farage claims up to 50 Tory MPs will join Reform after the election

Nigel Farage has said up to 50 Conservative MPs could quit the party and join Reform after the General Election.

“Amongst that wing – and a lot of them are very prominent people who are very well known people – there is a feeling that at some point we will have to be in the same party”, Nigel told The Sun.

Singling outSuella Bravermanand Jacob Rees-Mogg, he added: “The centre of gravity of the Tory party High Command is so far away from me it is not true. So far away from Suella it is not true. So far away from Jacob it is not true.

“I’m looking to reshape the future of British politics.”

Today, 12:30By Louis Allwood

Lord Frost slams Tory ‘return to the Cameron era’

Brexit guru Lord Frost has blasted the Conservative Party’s “return to the Cameron era.”

Talking about when voters had lost faith in Mr Sunak’s leadership, the Tory peer told the Sun: “The moment they lost confidence was theautumnreshuffle when Suella (Braverman) was was kicked out, David Cameron was brought back.

“It symbolised the tilt back to the old world, not just the left, but a world in which we try to pretend that Brexit had never happened.

“Back to the Cameron era, back to the way things were. And people don’t want that. They want change.”

Today, 12:00By Louis Allwood

Nigel Farage compares himself to Corbyn as he declares ‘something is happening’

Jeremy Corbyn probably isn’t the first person who comes to mind when you hear Nigel Farage’s name.

But that’s who the Reform leader compared himself to when he spoke to the Sun this week.

“Something out there is happening”, he toldKate Ferguson.

“I think Jeremy Corbyn had a bit of that in 2017. There are similarities to the Brexit referendum in 2016.

“There are millions of people out there considering voting for us.

“It is bigger than the Brexit Party at its peak. It feels like momentum is building. Like a buzz.”

Today, 11:31By Louis Allwood

Tory candidate and her party boss husband are probed by gambling watchdog

Sunak has today been rocked by a deepening gambling scandal that has forced one of his campaign chiefs to quit just two weeks out from Polling Day.

It has emerged that a second Tory candidate was caught placing a bet on the prospect of an early July election.

The Gambling Commission is now probing wannabe MP Laura Saunders as well as her husband Tony Lee who is the Conservatives’ director of campaigning.

A party spokesman today announced that Mr Lee has taken a leave of absence following the revelations.

Cabinet Minister Michael Gove said: “Well, obviously it's a very far from ideal situation when you've got people who've acknowledged that they behaved in this way, deeply regrettable.”

Today, 11:00By Louis Allwood

Conservatives ‘can do a lot better than the polls suggest’

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt gave his verdict on the current situation with the polls.

Speaking at the Times CEO Summit, Mr Hunt said he thinks the General Election will be “tough” but he believes that they will do better than the polls suggest.

The Chancellor also remained defiant when he was asked what he would do if he loses his seat at next month’s general election.

Hunt said: “I’m not expecting to lose soon.”

Today, 10:30By Louis Allwood

Rishi Sunak speaks on regrets

When asked by an audience member last night whether he had any regrets, Rishi Sunak said: “Of course I have.”

Pushed on what they are, Mr Sunak replied: “I wish we had made more progress on the waiting lists that was important to me.

“We haven’t made as much progress as I would have liked.”

Mr Sunak pivoted to “focusing on the future” and said the important issue at stake is taxes – who wants to cut them and who will deliver hikes.

He said: “Sir Keir Starmer is going to put up your taxes – I’m fighting to stop that.”

Today, 10:00By Louis Allwood

How can I watch The Sun's live head-to-head?

The Never Mind The Ballots election showdown special is available onthesun.co.ukand The Sun’sYouTubeand social media channels.

You can livestream the show at 5pm on Monday, June 24.

The broadcast is scheduled to finish at around 7pm, two hours after it begins.

Today, 09:30By Louis Allwood

Labour's plans for landlords launching 'bidding wars'

Landlords will be banned from setting up “bidding wars” between prospective tenants, Sir Keir Starmer vowed today.

At a campaign visit inYork, the Labour chief pledged to introduce a new law protecting tenants from having to agree to extortionate prices just to secure a home.

But he stopped short of committing torentcaps.

Donning a hard hat and high vis jacket at a new housing development,Sir Keirsaid: "You can stop the bidding wars because what happens there is the landlord effectively goes between two or three different renters driving the rent up and up and up.

"We won't allow them to do that.

"We will introduce a law that says you can't do it because at the moment what happens is they sort of go back between the renters.”

Today, 09:00By Louis Allwood

When is The Sun's live showdown between Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer?

Rishi Sunakand Keir Starmer are being interviewed consecutively by The Sun’s Political EditorHarry Coleat our London HQ.

Both interviews will be filmed LIVE in front of an audience of Sun readers.

The Never Mind The Ballots election showdown special will be livestreamed on Monday, June 24 at 5pm onthesun.co.ukand The Sun’sYouTubeand social media channels.

Today, 08:30By Louis Allwood

Labour vows to clear backlog of NHS waiting lists

Sir Keir vowed to clear the backlog ofNHSwaiting lists completely by the end of first term of a Labour government. He said he would make a start on cutting waiting lists straightaway.

Pressed on when the public could expect them to come down to a reasonable level, he said: “We will be able to do two million a year on this model.

“That means that over the course of theParliament, we’ll get it down and clear the backlog completely.”

Sir Keir was also confronted about his flip-flopping views on gender and his treatment of Labour MPRosie Duffield, a feminist campaigner.

The Labour leader, who once said it was wrong to say only women could have a cervix, said: “On the biology, I agree with whatTony Blairsaid the other day in relation to men having penises and women having vagin*s.”

Today, 08:00By Louis Allwood

Keir Starmer slammed over past support for Corbyn

Sir Keir Starmerwas called out by the York audience for his past support forJeremy Corbyn, flip-flopping on trans issues and vague promises to tackle migration and the boats crisis.

Earlier, audience member Emma toldSir Keirthat his support for Mr Corbyn gave her concerns about his “integrity and trust”.

But Sir Keir hit back saying: “I’ve always backed theLabour Party.”

He accused Mr Sunak of repeatingMr Corbyn’s mistakes of including “unfunded commitments” in his manifesto.

Today, 07:30By Louis Allwood

Rishi slammed over Tory betting scandal

During yesterday's BBCQuestion Timespecial, the PM was grilled over the Conservative betting scandal.

Mr Sunaksaid he was “incredibly angry” to learn of the allegations, adding: “It’s a really serious matter.

"It’s right that they’re being investigated properly by the relevant law enforcement authorities including a criminal investigation by thepolice.

“I want to be crystal clear: if anyone broke the rules, they should face the full force of the law.”

Today, 07:00By Louis Allwood

Rishi Sunak's close protection officer arrested and suspended over alleged betting claim

A close protection officer for Rishi Sunak has been arrested amid over alleged bets on the timing of the General Election, reports claim.

The officer is a member of the Met's Royalty and Specialist Protection, according to Sky News.

This comes just days after it emerged Rishi Sunak's aide Craig Williamswas facing an investigation over alleged bets on the date of the election.

Today, 06:00By Louis Allwood

Cabinet minister admits Tories are ‘in trouble’ but claims Starmer would be ‘very unpopular’ as PM

Welsh Secretary David TC Davies admitted his party “can’t hide” from polls which are “clearly pointing at a large Labour majority”, but warnedSir Keir Starmerwould become “very unpopular, very quickly”.

In a candid interview on ourNever Mind The Ballotsshow, Davies saidPartygateand the Covidpandemicwere still being raised on the doorstep.

He admitted that “a lot of people are very unhappy” with the Conservatives and “politicians in general”.

Today, 05:00By Louis Allwood

‘Only billionaires can afford Labour’s tax hikes’ blasts Sunak

Wealthy capitalists are backing Labour because they are the only ones who can afford Keir Starmer’s tax hikes, Rishi Sunak has claimed.

He told LBC: “They are two of Britain’s richest men, they can probably afford Labour’staxrises.

“But for tens of millions of people who are working really hard, they can’t.”

This comes after billionaire John Caudwell, a donor who endorsedBoris Johnsonat the last election, announced he would be voting for Labour on July 4.

Today, 03:00By Louis Allwood

Farage claims up to 50 Tory MPs will join Reform after the election

Nigel Farage has said up to 50 Conservative MPs could quit the party and join Reform after the General Election.

“Amongst that wing – and a lot of them are very prominent people who are very well known people – there is a feeling that at some point we will have to be in the same party”, Nigel told The Sun.

Singling outSuella Bravermanand Jacob Rees-Mogg, he added: “The centre of gravity of the Tory party High Command is so far away from me it is not true. So far away from Suella it is not true. So far away from Jacob it is not true.

“I’m looking to reshape the future of British politics.”

Today, 02:00By Louis Allwood

Nigel Farage pledges to scrap BBC Licence Fee

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has said his party will scrap the BBC Licence Fee if they were to win the election.

Taking to X, Farage said: “Reform UK will scrap the BBC licence fee.”

Brits currently pay £169.50 per year to fund the broadcasting company.

Today, 01:00By Louis Allwood

Minister slams Farage

Tory minister Steve Baker said there is no place for Nigel Farage in the Conservative Party because he "toxifies" debates.

Asked if Mr Farage should join the Tory Party, Steve told The Sun'sNever Mind The Ballots: "Not while he continues to speak of minorities in the way that he does.

"I would just observe that as far as I know, one of the people who said that of Nigel was Suella.

“As much as I don't wish to get into a row with Suella, I parted company with her over the way she dealt with a very sensitive issue – tarnishing the reputations of a wider community – and it's just not acceptable in our country to do that.”

20th Jun 2024, 00:00By Louis Allwood

Farage claims up to 50 Tory MPs will join Reform after the election

Nigel Farage has said up to 50 Conservative MPs could quit the party and join Reform after the General Election.

“Amongst that wing – and a lot of them are very prominent people who are very well known people – there is a feeling that at some point we will have to be in the same party”, Nigel told The Sun.

Singling outSuella Bravermanand Jacob Rees-Mogg, he added: “The centre of gravity of the Tory party High Command is so far away from me it is not true. So far away from Suella it is not true. So far away from Jacob it is not true.

“I’m looking to reshape the future of British politics.”