Teetotaller Rishi Sunak swigs lemonade from a beer tankard

Rishi Sunak swigged lemonade from a beer tankard today as he took his election tour to Devon.

The PM, a teetotaller, was visiting the Drewe Arms near Exeter, which has been taken into community ownership.

Flanked by Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride and locals, Mr Sunak raised a glass as two bewildered French tourists watched. 

Meanwhile, other Tory MPs took a slightly different approach. Former minister Jake Berry has posted a video of himself downing a pint of beer in one. 

In other election developments today:

• Labour is struggling to contain a row about Diane Abbott being blocked from standing as a candidate at the election;
• Junior doctors have announced a six-day strike finishing on July 2 – just two days before the election; 
• A YouGov poll has suggested Labour‘s lead has extended to 27 points; 
• A top think-tank has poured scorn on Labour’s plan to slash NHS waiting lists by warning of the ‘challenging’ public finances the party will face if it wins power. 

Rishi Sunak swigged lemonade from a beer tankard today as he took his election tour to Devon

The PM, a teetotaller, was visiting the Drewe Arms near Exeter, which has been taken into community ownership

Former minister Jake Berry has posted a video of himself downing a pint of beer in one

Mr Sunak was in Cornwall this morning as he pushes another big Tory policy announcement, vowing to scrap ‘rip off’ low-quality university degrees and boost apprenticeships.

He picked up breakfast for the media pack and staff at a local cafe – although he when he offered to pay he was told a ‘handsome’ official had already settled the tab.

The PM met apprentices at a broadband company in Cornwall, where he was given a chance to try out their technical skills.

After unsheathing a cable from a blue casing and wiping it with alcohol gel, he used a small device to join it with another.

Kiri James, 30, a field service engineer apprentice who led a demonstration for the Prime Minister, ran the cable through a testing machine and said he had carried out a perfect splice.

Mr Sunak pumped his arms in the air to celebrate.

The Prime Minister had earlier visited Long Rock train depot in Penzance where he also met apprentices as he promoted plans to boost apprenticeships while axing ‘rip off’ degrees.

The latest stage of the drive towards July 4 came as a YouGov poll suggested Labour‘s lead has extended to 27 points. Redfield & Wilton and Survation have also shown the gap widening in the early stages – although JL Partners has given Mr Sunak a glimmer of hope by indicating a narrowing. 

Mr Sunak was in Cornwall this morning as he pushes another big Tory policy announcement, vowing to scrap ‘rip off’ low-quality university degrees and boost apprenticeships

The PM met apprentices at a broadband company in Cornwall, where he was given a chance to try out their technical skills

Survation and Redfield & Wilton Strategies both found that Labour is 23 points ahead overall. 

A survey by Deltapoll of 1,517 British adults online, carried out from May 23-25, put Labour on 45 per cent, the Conservatives on 23 per cent, Reform on 10 per cent, the Liberal Democrats on 9 per cent, and the Greens on 6 per cent, with the SNP on 3 per cent, Plaid Cymru on 1 per cent and other parties on 2 per cent.

The latest poll by Opinium, carried out on May 23 and 24 among 2,050 UK adults online, put Labour on 41 per cent, the Conservatives 27 per cent, Reform 10per cent, the Lib Dems 10 per cent and the Greens 7 per cent, with the SNP on 2 per cent, Plaid Cymru on 1 per cent and other parties on 1per cent.

But the JL Partners research, conducted Friday and Saturday, put Labour on 40 per cent, while the Tories were on 28 per cent – up two points since the start of May.

Labour’s lead has slipped from 18 points in April and 15 points in early May.

The pollster said the main reason was a shift among over-65s, with the Conservatives going from a 10-point lead over Labour to a 20-point lead in the age group.