General election latest: Rishi Sunak won’t confirm whether he’ll quit as leader if Conservative Party loses
When pressed, the prime minister only said ‘my priority is focused on this election’
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Rishi Sunak won’t confirm whether he will quit as Conservative Party leader if the Tories lose the general election.
Pressed on whether he would remain Tory leader, Mr Sunak told the BBC: “My priority is focused on this election, right. I love this party dearly and of course I’ll always put myself at the service of it, and the service of my country.”
It came as Sir Keir Starmer has said only the progressives can beat the far-right and blamed the surge on “disaffection among voters” amid popularity of Marine Le Pen’s nationalist party in France.
The Labour leader said people feel the country is “too broken to be mended” and “can’t trust politicians” after 14 years of “Tory chaos”, but added: “Only progressives have the answers of the challenges that are facing us.”
Labour holds a strong 24-point lead in latest polls on voter intentions, with the Tories struggling to close the gap.
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With just days to go before voting opens in the general election, the Labour Party held a pre-election event in London on Saturday night. Kate Devlin explains why it was so muted.
She writes: “The Labour leader knows the opinion poll shows power is within his grasp. Forecasts suggest he could even make history with the largest ever Labour majority in parliament – winning by even more than Tony Blair achieved with his 1997 landslide.
“Yet the event had an air of deliberate caution, tempered by fears of comparisons with 1992 and that the feeling a Labour government is already guaranteed will see the party leak votes to the Lib Dems and the Greens.”
Civil servants to spend three days each week in the office under a Labour government
Jonathan Ashworth was asked at a press conference if he would, as paymaster general, remove the requirement brought in by the Tories for civil servants to spend three days a week or 60% of their time in the office.
He said it was “sensible that civil servants are in the office and at their desks.”
Mr Ashworth said that if elected, a Labour government would get started with their plans that include growing the economy, recruiting more teachers and fixing the NHS.
“And I’m confident that the impartial Civil Service, and we are very fortunate this country to have an impartial Civil Service, will want to turn their mind to that agenda as well,” he said.
Asked to confirm that he had no plans to change the requirement, he said: “We want to see civil servants in the office, yes.”
Conservatives label Sir Keir Starmer ‘Sir Sleepy’ after his refusal to work past 6pm on Fridays
Sir Keir Starmer has been mocked by the Tories after saying he wanted to protect his personal time to spend with his son and daughter.
The Labour leader and his wife Victoria have a 16-year-old son and a 13-year-old daughter.
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.”
But Rishi Sunak took a swipe at the Labour leader, telling reporters: “I haven’t finished at six ever.”
A Conservative source told The Sun: “Whether he likes it or not, if he became PM, Sir Sleepy would be required to work after 6pm. If he thinks he can just put his slippers on and make a mug of Horlicks while he tunes into The One Show, then he is in for a shock.”
Rishi Sunak says he has swapped notes on handling criticism with Gareth Southgate.
The Prime Minister told the BBC he had spoken to the England manager when it was announced the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland will co-host the Euro 2028 football tournament.
“His and I are the jobs everyone thinks they could probably do it better, and has a view.
“But look, you know, I think when it comes to those things, and the criticism, which of course is par for the course, you know, it’s easy to deal with when you have a conviction in what you believe – and I do.
“And I appreciate that not everyone will agree with me, but I’m clear about what I want to do for our country.”
Asked whether he could move the electoral dial against the odds, in the same way Jude Bellingham rescued England’s Euro 2024 match against Slovakia on Sunday with a stoppage-time overhead kick, Mr Sunak instead made a cricket analogy.
He said: “Mine is probably more a kind of flashy, cover drive or off drive, or something instead, but there we go.
“Look, it is not over till it’s over.”
Sunak vows to take responsibility for election result
Rishi Sunak has promised to take personal responsibility for the result of Thursday’s general election.
Despite the polls predicting a huge majority for Labour, the prime minister has vowed to own it.
Asked on Times Radio if he would, the Mr Sunak replied: “Of course I do, and this election is not over.
“There’s a clear choice for everybody in a few days’ time. If you want your taxes cut, your pension protected, your border secure, only a vote for the Conservatives is going to deliver that for you.
“And look, I appreciate that people have got frustrations. The last few years have not been easy. People are frustrated with me, with the party.”
PM not concerned by postal vote delays
Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney has warned that some Scots could be “disenfranchised” by issues around the printing and delivery of postal ballot packs in some local areas.
But asked whether the Prime Minister shared Mr Swinney’s concerns, Mr Sunak’s official spokesman told reporters on Monday: “No.
“We are aware of some concerns around the printing and delivery of postal ballot packs in some local areas.
“We’re working closely with the Electoral Commission, returning officers, Royal Mail and the print suppliers to support the resolution of these issues.
“We understand that the Royal Mail will also be conducting sweeps of their delivery system on polling day to make sure that any ballot packs still in the postal system are identified and passed to returning officers ahead of polls closing.
“And anyone who hasn’t received their postal ballot yet may want to contact their returning officer or arrange for it to be reissued, or to arrange for an alternative avenue to cast their ballot.”
Join today's Q&A with Reform UK candidate Howard Cox
The Independent is giving readers the chance to chat directly with candidates from some of the major political parties in a special general election series of Ask Me Anything events.
Today’s Q&A session starts at 6pm and is with Reform UK candidate Howard Cox.
Two of Reform’s core five pledges are to do with migration. The party says it would freeze non-essential immigration, but concedes there would be exceptions with work in healthcare considered essential.
Elsewhere, the party pledges big tax cuts for small businesses, an overhaul of the adult social care system, scrapping the net zero target, banning ‘transgender ideology’ in schools, and axing the rest of the HS2 rail link.
If you have a question for Mr Cox submit it now. Find out more here.
Starmer opposes a united Ireland
Sir Keir Starmer has said he opposes the idea of a united Ireland and backs Northern Ireland’s place in the union.
During the campaign trail in Buckinghamshire, the Labour leader was asked: “In the 1990s, when you were in Northern Ireland with the delegation of Haldane Society of Lawyers, you helped write a report which called for a united Ireland. Is that something you still support?”
He replied: “No, and I didn’t at the time. I think somebody else wrote that introduction.”
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