Election latest: 'Days left to save Britain from Labour,' Sunak warns; Starmer tells voters to avoid more 'economic chaos' (2024)

They came in their droves: thousands of Reform supporters poured into a vast hall in a Birmingham conference centre on Sunday to hear Nigel Farage.

His backers brought with them Union Jacks, and brandished Reform placards. There were even one or two red baseball caps emblazoned with the slogan "Make Britain Great Again", which seemed fitting for an event that felt quite Trumpian in style and tone.

Mr Farage came onto the stage to pounding music, smoke machines, fireworks, and a sea of "it's time for Reform" placards to a 5,000-strong crowd with a speech that spoke about how Britain was broken and it was time for Reform.

He said his party would be the "leading voice of opposition" as he attacked 'the establishment' in all its guises, from the Conservative Party to Labour, the BBC, and Channel 4 to the Governor of the Bank of England.

Pledges and promises are coming thick and fast from every party as the general election approaches.

Struggling to keep up with who is saying what?

Here is a summary of where the main parties stand on major issues.

For a more in-depth look at what each party has pledged, scour ourmanifesto checker...

Our live poll tracker collates the results of opinion surveys carried out by all the main polling organisations - and allows you to see how the political parties are performing in the run-up to the general election.

With under a week to go, the Tories and Labour have taken a drop, while support for Reform UK and the Liberal Democrats is on the rise.

Read more about the trackerhere.

The Conservative Party has claimed that Labour's immigration plans could lead to a "deluge" of asylum seekers, and tax hikes of £635 per family.

Analysis published by the party days before the general election claims that this rise in taxation would be necessary to cover a "blackhole" in Labour's budget.

Home Secretary James Cleverly claimed that Labour has no credible plan to deter Channel crossings, which have skyrocketed under the Conservatives.

He said: "Right now, all we know is that Keir Starmer would stand on the cliffs of Dover to do a rain dance and hope that stops the boats.

"There would be no deterrent under Labour and that means the business model for people smugglers would still be viable – boats would cross the channel in droves."

But Labour said allegations of tax rises are a "ludicrous lie from an increasingly desperate Tory party".

A spokesperson added: "This so-called Tory analysis is actually a costing of their own failing policies, not Labour's plans which will save the taxpayer billions.

"The Tories have already overspent the Home Office Budget by £5bn because they let the asylum backlog soar and failed to stop the criminal gangs.

"If they carry on like this for the next five years they will more than treble those costs."

It is the first big moment of election night. The exit poll is the moment millions tune in for a first sniff of the eventual result of the general election.

And inElection 2024this poll, with its impressive track record, sometimes down to a margin of only a few seats, will, once again, be a key part of broadcasters' coverage - including here at Sky News - on Thursday night.

The current model was devised in 2005 by Professor John Curtice and statistician David Firth and it has been consistently reliable, bar 2015 when the seat numbers suggested a hung parliament and David Cameron scraped a thin majority.

But for the most part, its accuracy has been dependable. In 2010, it correctly predicted the exact number of seats for the Conservatives.

Commissioned by the broadcasters - Sky, BBC and ITV - the fieldwork is carried out by IPSOS UK who will have interviewers at 133 polling stations around the country this year.

Sir Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak are set to begin a frantic final few days of campaigning as polling day rapidly approaches.

Both men will today reiterate their core messages as they try to motivate their backers to get out to the polling booths on Thursday.

TheLabourleader will impress on the nation that if they want change they "have to vote for it" - while theConservativeleader will warn there are "four days to save Britain from a Labour government".

Mr Sunakis conceding that Labour are on track for a "supermajority", with the opposition having managed to maintain a roughly 20-point lead in the opinion polls, according to theSky News Poll Tracker- somethingSir Keirwill do everything to ensure does not change.

Good morning!

There are just three days to go until the general election - and the gloves are well and truly off in the race to secure the keys to Number 10.

Here's what you need to know today:

• Both Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer will be on the campaign trail today, beginning a frantic few final days as polling day on Thursday quickly approaches;

• The prime minister will warn that there are "four days to save Britain from a Labour government", heading to the Midlands to urge voters not to give Sir Keir a "blank cheque";

• The Labour leader will tellvoters to avoid "waking up on 5 July to five more years of economic chaos" as he accused the Tories of having presided over a "one rule for them and another for everyone else" approach;

• The Liberal Democrats are set to continue their push to replace the Tories in seats that have traditionally been considered their heartlands on Monday;
  

• And the SNP will try to convince Scots to back them as polls show Labour could become the largest Scottish parliamentary contingent once again.

We'll be discussing all this and more with:

• Home Secretary James Cleverly at 7.15am;
• Labour frontbencher Jonathan Ashworth at 8.15am;
• Green Party co-leader Adrian Ramsay at 9.20am.

Follow along for the very latest in the general election campaign.

Thank you for joining us on the Politics Hub for live coverage of events on the general election campaign trail today.

Polls open in 3 days and 8 hours - and the campaign is about to enter a frantic phase as politicians spend every last moment fighting for your vote.

Scroll down for all of today's developments - and we'll be back from 6am with the very latest.

Pledges and promises are coming thick and fast from every party as the general election approaches.

Struggling to keep up with who is saying what?

Here is a summary of where the main parties stand on major issues.

For a more in-depth look at what each party has pledged, scour ourmanifesto checker...

The final weekend of the general election campaign is over, with three days and nine hours left until polls open.

Today has seen a slight lull in the pace of campaigning ahead of the frantic final days as the politicians fight for every last vote.

Here's what you need to know about what happened today:

• Nigel Farage held a vast Reform UK rally in Birmingham as he tries to stabilise his party's position after a slew of racism allegations this week;
• Speaking to Sky's political editor Beth Rigby, Mr Farage described hom*ophobic remarks by a close aide of his as "crass, drunken, vulgar, rude, wrong" - but also that "people say all sorts of things when they're drunk";
• Also in his interview with Beth, he finally ruled out joining the Tories after the election if he enters parliament, saying they are "ghastly";
• But the racism row engulfing the party continued, with one of his candidates quitting to back the Tories, citing "widespread racism and sexism" in the party, and "the failure of the party's leadership to not only take this matter seriously, but also to fundamentally address it".

• Rishi Sunakstarted the day with a tough interview in which he was challenged on his party's record in power;
• He insisted on BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg show that the UK is "a better place to live than it was in 2010", despite a "difficult" last few years;
• He also insisted that his party can still win the general election;
• In the afternoon, he visited a synagogue in north London and met community members;
• He pledged that a Conservativegovernment under his leadership would show "steadfast" support for Israel, and said he was "proud" that British forces helped defend Israel from Iran's attack in April;
• The PM hit out at the "sickness" of antisemitism, and pledged to"lead a long term effort" to tackle, and "change our culture so we tackle the root causes of this hatred";
• Speaking to Sky's Trevor Phillips this morning, Mr Sunak's deputy, Oliver Dowden, warned that Russia is using bots to boost Reform UK on social media (a spokesman for the party said Mr Dowden must think voters are "stupid").

• Sir Keir Starmerwas not seen on the campaign trail today, but his national campaign coordinator Pat McFadden was challenged bySky's Trevor Phillipsabout whether they would owe a potential victory on Thursday to Reform UK;
• He replied that the power is in the hands of the electorate, and dismissed any questions over the legitimacy of a potential Labour win;
• SNPleader John Swinneytold Sky News that Scots have been "disenfranchised" by the timing of the election, because school holidays in Scotland have already started in large parts of the country;
• The first minister also made the case for independence with the SNP - but did concede his party has had a "tough time" in recent months.

Follow along for the latest political updates throughout the evening.