Election latest: Rishi Sunak warns voters not to 'let Labour waltz into office'; Jeremy Corbyn tells Keir Starmer to 'own' his time in his top team (2024)

Rishi Sunak has once again been quizzed on the election betting scandal that has plagued the Conservatives over the last week.

The prime minister's close parliamentary aide Craig Williams, the Tory candidate in Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr, admitted to placing a bet on the election.

Laura Saunders, the candidate for Bristol North West, and her husband, director of campaigns Tony Lee, are also being investigated by the Gambling Commission.

Asked by LBC Wales on when he found out Mr Williams had placed a bet and whether he was confident no one in his cabinet has done the same, Mr Sunak said: "I was incredibly angry when I learned about these allegations. It's the same anger many of you watching will feel.

"It's right that they're being properly investigated. These are serious allegations."

"What I will say is that if anyone is found to have broken the rules, they should face the full consequences of the law."

Sky News then asked if Mr Sunak was comfortable with Tory candidates placing bets and if he was aware of any other candidates doing similar.

"There's not much more I can say," replied the PM.

"There are multiple investigations happening. It's right they're allowed to proceed. They're independent and necessarily confidential. There's also a criminal investigation and these are potentially criminal matters.

"If anyone is found to have broken the rules, they should not only face the full consequences of the law, but I will make sure they are booted out of the Conservative party."

Rishi Sunak is now making a speech before his Q&A session takes place.

The PM starts by saying that Wales has been let down by Labour, with poorer NHS waiting lists than England and poorer education records.

He also makes a jibe at Vaughan Gething for ignoring the vote of no confidence in him.

The PM then tells the audience to scrutinise Labour's policies and admits the Conservatives' shortcomings.

"I know you're frustrated with our party, frustrated with me," he says. "But do not let Labour waltz into office without scrutinising them.

"Without seeing what their policies would mean for country and your family security. Do you know what you're really going to get with Labour?"

Mr Sunak says he understands the frustrations of the public, but warns that "this isn't a by-election" and that a Labour government will do what they can to stay in power for longer than a single term.

He said: "Don't sleepwalk to 4 July. I know you want to send us a message, but this isn't a by-election.

"This will determine who governs our country for the next five years and potentially much longer.

"If Labour get in, they'll change the rules so it's much harder to get them out."

We're about to hear from the Welsh Conservatives as they launch their manifesto.

We'll be hearing from David TC Davies and prime minister Rishi Sunak.

Stay tuned for the latest updates from north Wales.

Watch live on Sky News, in the stream above, at the link below - and follow live updates here in the Politics Hub.

Jeremy Corbyn has told Sir Keir Starmer to "own" the fact that he helped design the former Labour leader's 2019 manifesto.

Sir Keir was a key figure in My Corbyn's team five years ago, but now says he "never thought they would win" the 2017 or 2019 elections.

During last night's Question Time election special, Sir Keir claimed that Mr Corbyn would have been a better prime minister than Boris Johnson, had he been elected.

When asked about Sir Keir's claims, Mr Corbyn told the Evening Standard: "He didn't say that at the time. He never hinted at that, or intimated that at any stage to me.

"We did press conferences and events together in the 2019 election.

"He was part of the shadow cabinet that agreed the manifesto, and part of the Clause V who agreed the manifesto. Own it. I was there, he was there… and there were witnesses."

Last week, Mr Corbyn accused Sir Keir of trying to rewrite history with his comments on the pair's working relationship.

"You have to be honest about what you said, what you did in the past, and carry on from there," Mr Corbyn added.

"I think it's a bit sad really. Why doesn't he just say 'Well, this is what I did at the time'?"

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.

It currently shows a drop in support in recent days for Labour and the Tories - with a jump for Reform and the Liberal Democrats.

Read more about the tracker here.

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

This is day 30 of the campaign. Jack and Sam discuss the betting scandal clouding the Tory campaign, last night's Question Time and Labour's Rachel Reeves opening up.

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

The Conservative Party is seen as "tawdry", Ruth Davidson has said, as two of its candidates are being investigated over alleged bets placed on the election date.

The Gambling Commission islooking into two Tory candidates over alleged wagerson the date of the 4 July election.

An industry source has told Sky News that "more names" are being looked into, but police are so far "not involved".

Speaking on theElectoral Dysfunctionpodcast with Sky News political editor Beth Rigby, and former broadcaster and presenter Carol Vorderman, the former leader of the Scottish Tories waded into the fallout of the alleged betting scandal.

"What an absolute sh*t show. Firstly, I mean, how tawdry is it?" she said.

She described it as akin to "insider trading" and criticised Rishi Sunak's response, saying he had repeatedly failed to get out in front and take control of events.

👉 Click here to follow Electoral Dysfunction wherever you get your podcasts👈

Welsh Labour's manifesto launch kicks off in Wrexham with words from the party's former leader Neil Kinnock.

Mr Kinnock is welcomed with a warm round of applause and he wastes little time attacking the Conservatives on their economic policy and "crashing the economy" with a "mad budget".

"That's not national prudence," Mr Kinnock says, "that's national pillage".

Introducing Rachel Reeves, Mr Kinnock says he understands why the shadow chancellor can't make economic promises without saying where the money is coming from.

"Her caution is not fear or lack of ambition," he says.

"In the conditions that Labour will inherit in our country right now, caution is common sense. Caution is the truth. Caution is honesty, not fear."

Ms Reeves starts by telling the crowd about her connections to Wales and the family she has living in the country.

She says: "I love Wales (..) but I know that, to really prosper, Wales needs to change."

Ms Reeves says Labour has a costed plan for Wales, unlike the Conservatives who "disrespect devolution and disregards Welsh interest".

She says that Britain, and Wales, faces a "simple choice" in less than two weeks.

"[You face] five more years of Tory chaos and the decline it brings or a changed Labour Party, restoring stability and fighting every day for the interests of working people," she says.

Shadow secretary of state for Wales Jo Stevens follows, telling those in attendance that the foundation of Welsh Labour's offer to voters "is a changed relationship between Wales and Westminster".

She says: "We'll enhance protection for Welsh devolution, so no UK government can ride roughshod over it in the way that the Conservatives repeatedly have.

"We'll explore new powers over youth justice and probation, and decisions about structural funds spent in Wales will be made in Wales once again."

Ms Stevens also reaffirms Welsh Labour's commitment to the steel industry in Wales.

She says she will not allow Port Talbot Steelworks to close, avoiding the "decades of scarring" caused by the closure of Shotton steelworks in 1980.

Vaughan Gething then takes to the stage and speaks about the Llay Miners Welfare Institute building that Welsh Labour have launched their manifesto in this morning.

"The history of this building and the mining community that it once served, goes to the very core of the promise being made to the people of Wales today," he says.

"The institute was built through miners contributions. A penny a week. A proud community investing in their future."

Mr Gething goes on to talk about Gwaith Tech, Welsh Labour's work plan for the country that, he says, "will help us to deliver better pay, protection and progression for Welsh workers to build on the best practices of our best businesses".

"And this is personal to me," Mr Gething adds. "As a shop steward and as a trade union lawyer, I've seen the damage that is done to people and to our nation's prosperity, to bad working cultures, unfair practice and discrimination."

The First Minister ends by saying the phrase we've heard a few times already this morning: "Two Labour governments working for Wales, replacing rivalry with respect."

We're about to hear from Welsh Labour as they launch their manifesto.

We'll be hearing from Neil Kinnock, Rachel Reeves, Jo Stevens and Vaughan Gething.

Stay tuned for the latest updates from Wales.

Watch live on Sky News, in the stream above, at the link below - and follow live updates here in the Politics Hub.

An audience member from last night's Question Time election special has once again accused Rishi Sunak of putting words in her mouth.

Lateisha Holland drew praise on social media for standing up to the PM after his answer on whether the Conservatives would consider leaving the European Convention on Human Rights.

"You and I disagree on that," said Mr Sunak. "You think it's fine for people to come and they shouldn't be removed - that's your decision.

"I don't think that's right for our country and that's why I'm prepared to do what it takes it get this problem resolved."

Host Fiona Bruce then gave Ms Holland the chance to respond to the PM's claims.

She responded: "I said 'are you considering leaving the ECHR?'

"You're just putting words in my mouth there."