‘This country is a better place to live now than it was in 2010,’ Sunak says
Rishi Sunak is now being interviewed by Laura Kuenssbergg. He said this country is a better place to live now than it was in 2010, when the Conservatives came into power (in a Lib Dem coalition), though he acknowledged the last couple of years have been difficult due to the pandemic and rising bills.
Key events
Rishi Sunak does not accept that the country has become poorer, sicker and has worse public services over the past 14 years. The prime minister does not accept this, pointing to the Conservative’s record on education (claiming “our children are best readers in the world” and that 9 out of 10 schools are rated outstanding).
‘This country is a better place to live now than it was in 2010,’ Sunak says
Rishi Sunak is now being interviewed by Laura Kuenssbergg. He said this country is a better place to live now than it was in 2010, when the Conservatives came into power (in a Lib Dem coalition), though he acknowledged the last couple of years have been difficult due to the pandemic and rising bills.
Pat McFadden, Labour’s campaign chief, is on the Laura Kuenssbergg Sunday programme on the BBC. He said “we are not going back to freedom of movement” when asked if any sort of freedom of movement would be negotiated with the EU under a Labour government (particularly in terms of young people wanting to travel and work abroad).
He also said that the Democrats had a “tough” night this week, referring to Joe Biden’s substandard debate performance against Donald Trump, but said the UK-US relationship would remain strong irrespective of who wins the US elections in November.
When asked about the Russian interference claims on Sunday, Oliver Dowden said there is a threat to the general election from hostile actors such as Russia seeking to influence the democratic process.
The deputy prime minister told Sky News:
There is a threat in all elections, and indeed we see it in this election from hostile state actors seeking to influence the outcome of the election campaign. Russia is a prime example of this, and this is a classic example from the Russian playbook.
What I would say is this is relatively typical, low-level stuff, but we stood up the election cell in the Cabinet Office, we did that at the very beginning of the campaign, and it was designed to look into exactly this sort of thing and I think that …
It should just be a salutary reminder for all of us, when you engage on social media, are these people that you think are posting stuff, are they real or are they bots generated by hostile state actors? It’s something we all need to be aware of.
Oliver Dowden: Claims of Russian interference in the UK general election ‘gravely concerning’
The UK’s deputy prime minister, Oliver Dowden, has warned that alleged Russian interference in the UK general election campaign is “gravely concerning”.
He responded to Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s (ABC) claims that it had been monitoring five coordinated Facebook pages promoting Kremlin talking points, with some expressing support for the Reform UK party.
In a statement carried by the Sunday Times, Dowden said:
These revelations reveal the real risk our democracy faces in this uncertain world.
Malign foreign actors, promoting British political parties, policies and views that fit their agenda is just another example of the challenges in the increasingly volatile cyberspace of the 21st century and is gravely concerning to see during an election campaign.
According to ABC, the pages appeared to have little in common but were linked through an examination of the location data attached to the pages’ administrators, the tracking of paid ads, and an analysis of the pages’ similar or shared content.
The network of pages has a combined 190,000 followers, each featuring criticism of several UK political parties, including the Conservatives and Labour, according to the ABC.
Conservative party chairman Richard Holden has written to Simon Case, the cabinet secretary, and Sir Tim Barrow, the national security adviser, asking for the claims to be investigated.
Buyer’s remorse will set in if public votes in Labour government, deputy prime minister says
The UK’s deputy prime minister, Oliver Dowden, has been asked by Trevor Phillips on Sky News if it is too late to unite the “Conservative family”.
He admits that he has spoken to many voters who are undecided about what party they are going to vote for on 4 July, adding that he understands people’s concerns about the Tories, who have been in power for the last 14 years.
Dowden said:
The only way, if you share out conservative values, of cutting taxes, of controlling migration, it’s only by voting Conservative that you can stop Labour getting in.
And what I would say is just think, think in six months’ times how you’re going to feel. I have a strong feeling the shine is going to come off Labour pretty quickly, buyer’s remorse will set in.
And the bigger the Labour majority, the bigger the buyer’s remorse. Everyone still has it in their hands to stop that by making sure they vote Conservative.
Dowden says his aim is still for the Conservatives to win an “overall majority”, something that is extremely unlikely.
He said the public should not focus on their anger “just now” and instead think of what the country would be like in six months to a year’s time if led by Keir Starmer, the Labour party leader.
Opening summary
Good morning, and welcome to our continued coverage of the 2024 general election campaign.
The final Sunday of the campaign will see Rishi Sunak face the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg for what could be the last time as prime minister, if the polls are to be proved correct.
The prime minister, who is himself in danger of losing his seat of Richmond and Northallerton, is today warning that Labour would cause “irreversible damage within just 100 days of coming to power”.
Sunak said:
It’s clear that Labour would do irreversible damage within just 100 days of coming to power.
Whether it’s announcing a suite of tax rises or throwing thousands of families’ plans for the autumn term into chaos, with children wondering if they will have a desk at school to go back to.
Labour would throw open our borders with their illegal migrant amnesty and free movement for under-30s in their deal with the EU, making us the soft touch migrant capital of the world.
They cannot be trusted. We must not surrender our taxes, our borders and our security to them. Only the Conservatives will deliver tax cuts, a growing economy and a brighter, more secure future for everyone.
The prime minister will follow up his appearance on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg by campaigning in London. We can expect the last few days of the campaign will see Conservatives repeating the idea of an unchecked Labour administration in power.
On Saturday, the final Opinium poll for the Observer showed Labour had retained a 20-point lead over the Conservatives – the same as a week ago and enough to deliver a large House of Commons majority if replicated on Thursday.
Labour is on 40% (unchanged compared with a week ago), while the Conservatives are on 20% (also unchanged). Reform UK is up 1 point on 17%, the Liberal Democrats up 1 point on 13% and the Greens down 3 points on 6% (you can read more in this story here).
Here is some of what to expect on the campaign trail today:
-
The UK’s deputy prime minister, Oliver Dowden, will be on Sky News, where he is likely to face questions about reports he could be put in place as a caretaker Tory leader if Sunak quits after a defeat in Thursday’s general election.
-
The Reform party leader, Nigel Farage, will be on Sky’s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips. He will later address a gathering of 5,000 Reform UK supporters at Birmingham’s NEC, which he said would be “our biggest rally ever”.
-
Scotland’s first minister, John Swinney, and Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper will also be on the airwaves.
-
Swinney, the SNP leader, is expected to follow up his morning TV appearance with a campaign event, while Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar and Lib Dem leader Ed Davey will also be campaigning.
-
Labour’s national campaign coordinator, Pat McFadden, will be setting out his party’s message that it can “stop the chaos” – but only if people turn out to vote.
It is Yohannes Lowe here for the next couple of hours. If you want to get my attention then please do email me on yohannes.lowe@theguardian.com. The comments will be turned on today around 10am.
