Election latest: Starmer calls for 'summer of change'; Davey bungee jumps off a crane - as campaign enters final straight (2024)

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has said being a father has helped him become a better politician, describing his children as his "pride and joy".

He told Virgin Radio: "We've had a strategy in place and we'll try to keep to it, which is to carve out really protected time for the kids, so on a Friday - I've been doing this for years - I will not do a work-related thing after six o'clock, pretty well come what may.

"There are a few exceptions, but that's what we do."

He said his son and daughter are his "pride and joy" and "I don't want to lose that time".

Sir Keir added: "I don't believe in the theory that you are a better decision maker if you don't allow yourself the space to be a dad and to have time for your kids.

"Actually, it helps me, it takes me away from the pressure, it relaxes me, and I think, actually, not only is it what I want to do as a dad, it is better."

In politics "some people think, if you fill your diary 24/7 and don't do anything else, that makes you a much better decision maker".

"I don't agree with that, I think you've got to make space, so we do it. "

Sir Ed Davey, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, has urged Britons to "take the plunge" and vote for his party at Thursday's general election.

He was asked for the reason behind his stunt today, which saw Sir Ed bungee jump from a crane in Eastbourne.

The Lib Dem leader said: "I'm asking people to do something many people have never done before, which is vote Liberal Democrat this coming Thursday.

"We're finding a lot of life-long Conservatives considering us, they don't want to vote Conservatives. We're saying do something you have never done.

"I have just done it - I've never done that [bungee jumped] before.

"So, take the plunge - vote for health and care, which is our main priority unlike anybody else's."

You can watch the moment again below:

Taking questions from the media, Sir Keir Starmer is asked by our political editor Beth Rigby whether he worries about his own popularity if he enters Number 10.

"You could be the most unpopular Labour leader to become prime minister and enter Number 10" Beth says.

"Does that worry you? You could end up with the biggest wedding and the shortest honeymoon ever with the British public."

The Labour leader says he "stands by" his record.

He adds: "I stand on my record - four and a half years ago when I took over as leader of the Labour Party I got similar questions.

"Which is - your party has lost really badly, it may never win an election again... are you capable as leader of the Labour Party of pulling it around and seriously putting it before the electorate as a credible force for change.

"And I said yes."

He says Labour is a changed party, claiming his "track record as a leader is clear".

Beth comes back, asking if a pillow handed out to journalists by the Labour Party today is what he sleeps on at night.

The pillows are printed with a mocked-up photo of the prime minister in bed and the words "Don't wake up to five more years of the Tories".

Sir Keir laughs: "No."

He goes on to say it is "a very, very good pillow for us to have across the country."

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer is in Hertfordshire today, where he is addressing those gathered at a campaign event.

He says: "We have one job - which is to make this a summer of change."

The Labour leader says the Labour campaign, this "fight for change", is for the people of the UK - but "change only happens if you vote for it".

"This is the final mile, these are the last hard yards - but the last steps are always the hardest," Sir Keir adds.

"We have to remember that people need convincing, there are undecided voters out there.

"We need to convince people that change is possible."

Sir Keir was joined by Alistair Strathern, the Labour candidate for Hitchin.

The Labour leader says: "The choice is stark, the prize is huge in terms of taking our country forward - but it will only happen if you vote for it."

The other candidates for Hitchin are:

• Bim Afolami, Conservative Party
  
• Charles Bunker, Reform UK
  
• Chris Lucas, Liberal Democrats
  
• Sid Cordle, Christian People's Alliance
  
• Will Lavin, Green Party
  

Sir Ed Davey has continued his out-of-the-box campaigning by bungee-jumping from a crane this morning.

The Liberal Democrat leader has helped raise the party's profile by taking part in a series of stunts - including falling off his paddle board and riding on a roller coaster.

Interestingly, Henry Morris, who runs the Secret Tory parody X account, posted weeks ago predicting this very stunt...

You can see how the polls are looking ahead of the election here...

Adrian Ramsay, the co-leader of the Green Party, says his MPs would "push" a potential Labour government "to be bolder" on climate.

He says the party is expecting a "record" result at the election on 4 July.

Mr Ramsay adds: "We are on track to having a Labour government with a big majority.

"Well, rather than adding to that majority further or electing another Conservative MP to add to their numbers, it would make a far bigger difference if people elect green MPs who can bring diversity of views into this next parliament."

The party co-leader insists that this would push the next government "to be bolder".

He says the Greens would "move Keir Starmer beyond the U-turns he's been making on climate and on funding for public services".

"And that's why we're on track to having a record green result of this election."

The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) says there's a conspiracy of silence at this election - that all of the major political parties aren't being honest enough about their fiscal plans.

And it has a point. Most obviously (and this is the main thing the IFS is complaining about) none of the major manifestos - fromLabour, theLiberal Democratsand theConservativeparties - have been clear about how they will fill an impending black hole in the government's spending plans.

No need to go into all the gritty details, but the overarching point is that all government spending plans include some broad assumptions about how much spending (and for that matter, taxes and economic growth) will grow in the coming years. Economists call this the "baseline".

But there's a problem with this baseline - it assumes quite a slow increase in overall government spending in the next four years, an average of about 1 per cent a year after accounting for inflation.

Sky News' deputy political editor Sam Coates and Politico's Jack Blanchard with their guide to the election day ahead.

This is day 40 of the campaign. Jack and Sam look at where the parties are now as the election approaches,with Labour’s attack ads and the Conservatives pushing back against Reform UK. Plus, the reaction to the first round of the French elections which has seen the far-right make significant headway.

Email Jack and Sam: jackandsam@sky.uk

👉Tap here to follow Politics at Jack and Sam's wherever you get your podcasts👈

Jonathan Ashworth, the shadow paymaster general, has insisted that the election isn't over until "the final whistle blows" as politicians gear up for polling day.

Labour has consistently been 20 points ahead of the Conservatives throughout the six-week campaign, with all pollsters pointing to a victory on Thursday.

But despite this, the party has continued to emphasise that it will fight for every vote.

Mr Ashworth said: "There's an election on Thursday, and if people want to bring an end to the chaos, to the scandals from the party in Number 10 to the insider gambling scandals, if people have had enough of being stuck on an NHS waiting list, if people who've had enough of having their family finances hammered and pay more on their mortgage, they've got to come out and vote Labour.

"Don't wake up, don't switch on Sky News on Friday morning and hear that Rishi Sunak has been re-elected.

"If you don't want that, we don't want that feeling in the pit of your stomach."

He does on to explain that there are still "a lot of undecided voters".

"But let me give you some meat," Mr Ashworth adds.

"We're going to deliver 40,000 extra appointments in the National Health Service.

"We are going to help young people get on the housing ladder by significant reforms to planning."

By Tom Cheshire, online campaign correspondent

If you want a good idea of what matters to each party - its deepest desires, its darkest fears - look at where it's spending money.

What it shows is a story of Labour spending big and spending everywhere, as it pursues a plausible supermajority, while the Conservatives retreat to fight for some of their heartland constituencies, and spend much less.

It shows the current state of play for all parties across the country. The map shows which is the biggest spender in each constituency - which parts of the country they're fighting to win, or not to lose.

The map was created by Who Targets Me (WTM), which tracks digital political advertising and has partnered with Sky News as part of our online campaign team.

"Our map of advertising activity shows where the parties have targeted their Facebook and Instagram ads in the last week," Sam Jeffers, executive director of WTM, says.