General election latest: Farage lashes out at BBC with new policy in speech and denies Reform has Russia links

Party leaders have just four days to go to secure votes before looming 4 July deadline

Rishi Sunak reveals anger after being called 'effing p***’ by Reform UK canvasser

Nigel Farage said Reform UK would campaign as the “leading voice of opposition” to abolish the BBC licence fee, claiming the broadcaster has “abused its position of power” at the party’s rally in Birmingham.

It comes after the Reform UK leader was questioned about the state of his party, and the views expressed by some of its candidates and campaigners, by a live audience during an appearance on BBC Question Time on Friday night.

“They stand for nothing. I was told they were a broad church. Well they’re a broad church without any religion,” he added.

“It simply doesn’t work. So we will again renew our campaign with added vigour to say that the state broadcaster has abused its position of power and we will campaign for the abolition of the BBC licence fee.”

It comes as Rishi Sunak has said the UK is a better place to live in now than it was when the Tories took office in 2010.

In a fiery interview with BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg, the prime minister acknowledged the last years have been “difficult” as he cited the pandemic and the war in Ukraine driving up energy bills, but insisted “we are now on the right track”.

Key Points

• Reform UK will campaign as ‘leading voice of opposition’ to BBC licence fee
• Claims about Russian interference in General Election ‘cobblers’, says Farage
• Sunak: ‘UK is better place to live now than when Tories first came into office’
• PM says he is ‘proud’ of his election campaign
• Reform UK withdraws support from three candidates

[30 June 2024 01:30 · Holly Evans]

‘Gamble-gate’ will go down as Rishi Sunak’s Covid

[30 June 2024 00:30 · Holly Evans]

Among the gift shops and Goth daytrippers – meet the ‘Whitby woman’ who could sway the election

Pensioners whizz around on mobility scooters, pirate-themed boats sail by, couples clutch each other’s hands. Welcome to Whitby: the seaside town in North Yorkshire that has lent its name to a target voter in the general election race.

The so-called “Whitby woman”, a term coined by polling think-tank More in Common, is a Tory voter who remains undecided about who will get her vote on 4 July.

With an average age of around 61, she is a homeowner who lives in a suburb or a small town like Whitby, who voted in favour of Brexit and is less likely to have gone to university.

Read the full article here:

[29 June 2024 23:30 · Holly Evans]

‘Panicking’ Rishi Sunak in final weekend of campaigning to save his own seat

Rishi Sunak’s Labour opponent in his Richmond and Northallerton seat in Yorkshire has accused him of “panicking” as the prime minister campaigned to save his own seat in the last weekend before polling day.

Tom Wilson, the 29-year-old NHS worker and musician who spoke to The Independent last weekend, has questioned why the prime minister’s team apparently tried to arrange a hustings in the seat with farmers was cancelled.

Mr Sunak, who was campaigning in the North East yesterday to be close to his seat for the weekend, is potentially facing the prospect of being the first prime minister to lose his constituency in an election in British history.

Read the full article here:

[29 June 2024 22:30 · Holly Evans]

It cannot be denied any longer – Reform is riddled with racism

[29 June 2024 21:45 · Holly Evans]

Starmer urges voters not to forget Conservatives’ record in office

At the major rally in London, featuring a video message of support from Sir Elton John and a speech by comedian Bill Bailey, Sir Keir went on the attack over the Conservatives’ record in office since 2010.

“Don’t forget what they have done, don’t forget Partygate, don’t forget the Covid contracts, don’t forget the lies, don’t forget the kickbacks, don’t forget the cronyism, don’t forget the division, the scapegoating of minorities, the failure to invest, the trips to the bookies, the decimation of your public services.

“Telling working people ‘we’re all in it together’, the people who hurt your family finances, swanning around the House of Lords, after giving tax cuts to the richest 1% that crashed our economy, don’t forget any of it.”

But Sir Keir said “we can heal the wounds, bring our country together, return politics to service, and start to build a new Britain”.

[29 June 2024 21:15 · Holly Evans]

Farage refuses to appear on BBC show on Sunday

Nigel Farage has refused to appear on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, describing the BBC as having “behaved like a political actor throughout this election”.

In a social media post on X, the Reform leader said he would be “refusing until the BBC apologises for their dishonest QT audience” and that “Reform will be campaigning vigorously to abolish the licence fee”.

[29 June 2024 20:50 · Holly Evans]

Failed Tory project fear drove voters to Labour and Reform, poll reveals

The Conservatives’ “project fear” tactic deployed to scare voters with the threat of a Labour “supermajority” has spectacularly backfired, new polling has revealed.

According to findings from Techne UK for The Independent, twice as many people are “more likely” to vote Labour (26 per cent) than more likely to vote Conservative (13 per cent) as a result of the warning used by Rishi Sunak and senior Conservatives about handing Sir Keir Starmer too much power.

The tactic was also used to try to prevent Tory voters defecting to Reform, but almost one in 10 (9 per cent) said the warning had in fact made them “more likely” to vote for Nigel Farage’s party.

Read the full article here:

[29 June 2024 20:30 · Holly Evans]

‘Crank views’ have followed Farage, says crossbench peer

Lord Walney said “crank views” and “racism” have followed Reform UK leader Nigel Farage around “throughout his time in British politics”.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s PM programme, the crossbench peer added: “It is inevitable and right that – as he is emerging potentially as a serious force at this election and possibly beyond it – there is due scrutiny.”

Lord Walney said he was “glad to see” the Tories are “bringing a level of push-back to the totally unacceptable things that are being said” by members of Reform UK.

[29 June 2024 20:05 · Holly Evans]

Now is the time for change – that’s why The Independent is backing Labour in the 2024 election

How would you feel if you woke up on 5 July and you had to have another five years of Tory rule? It is a highly potent question. We conclude it would not be good for Britain.

It is not quite an iron rule, but political parties that have been in power for a prolonged period eventually run out of ideas, talent and energy – and can collapse into a spiral of corruption. The latest election betting scandal is embarrassing and damaging to the Conservative campaign because, although novel, it is entirely consistent behaviour from a government that brought us Partygate, among many other severe lapses in the standards we expect in public life.

It is this sense of betrayal that is driving the national mood for change.

Read why the Independent are supporting Labour here:

[29 June 2024 19:45 · Holly Evans]

James Norton and Kit Harington show support for Labour leader

Actors Kit Harington and James Norton and musician Beverley Knight were also among the celebrities endorsing Labour in the General Election.

Video messages were heard from each of them at an event in Westminster to try and drum up support in the final days before the vote.

Game Of Thrones star Harington said he would be voting Labour because he feels they have “a practical plan” that is needed in the face of the climate crisis.

He said: “The climate is teetering and we really can’t afford 14 more years of the Tories in action.”

Stage, film and TV actor Norton, who has appeared in Happy Valley, Grantchester, War & Peace and McMafia, said: “I support the Labour Party’s ambition when it comes to making the arts accessible to all children, particularly in regards to their ambitions around the school’s curriculum, reintegrating the arts into kids’ lives.”

Soul singer and Olivier Award-winning actress Knight added: “I support the Labour Party’s ambition to allow all children to pursue their passions in the creative space. Because I was one of those children.”