Smiling Rishi joked with veterans in his local Spoons about ‘the amount of people who have given me an umbrella’ after getting soaked in the pouring rain while announcing the snap July 4 election.
Going back to his Northallerton, in his Richmond constituancy, the Prime Minister joked that he avoided catching pneumonia after getting wet while speaking outside 10 Downing Street, but admitted he was not sure what state his suit was in.
On a sunny morning, he met the group of eight veterans and sat in the Buck Inn, a Wetherspoons pub on the High Street, where the group were sipping tea and some tucked into breakfasts.
Vicky Rudd, sat next to her husband Doug, from Richmond British Legion, asked Mr Sunak about his health, concerned he might have caught pneumonia ‘after seeing that picture’ of the election announcement speech.
The Prime Minister replied: ‘It was wet. The number of people who have given me an umbrella over the last couple of days…’
He reflected it was still right to make the announcement in the rain, saying: ‘When the moments happen, that’s what you do. That’s our tradition, the Prime Minister, in the big moments, they call the election and they go out there.
British Prime Minister and Conservative Party leader Rishi Sunak reacts as he meets with veterans at a community breakfast, in Northallerton, North Yorkshire
On a sunny morning, he met the group of eight veterans and sat in the Buck Inn, a Wetherspoons pub on the High Street
Going back to his Northallerton, in his Richmond constituancy, the Prime Minister joked that he avoided catching pneumonia after getting wet while speaking outside 10 Downing Street
During the meeting, staff brought over six large breakfasts which caught the group by surprise and the Prime Minister did not tuck in, but carried on sipping from his tea
Labour Party leader Keir Starmer drinks from a mug during a Labour general election campaign event in Stafford, Britain
Keir Starmer speaks to local resident Sarah during a Labour general election campaign event in Stafford
‘I thought, come rain or shine, it’s the right thing to do. But no pneumonia yet, my suit on the other hand…
‘I’m not quite sure what state it will be in when I get back down to London.’
During the meeting, staff brought over six large breakfasts which caught the group by surprise and the Prime Minister did not tuck in, but carried on sipping from his tea.
Speaking to the veterans – whose group includes ex-servicemen from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines – Mr Sunak revealed that the pub is a favourite place that he ‘very occasionally’ goes to for breakfast after a park run.
And in Stafford, Keir Starmer also opted for tea as he sipped from a mug while meeting local residents.
The Times reported that the Prime Minister is readying himself to ‘double down’ on the Conservatives’ stalled Rwanda deportation scheme by using the manifesto to announce ambitions for similar schemes with other countries.
His admission that flights to the east African nation as part of the party’s flagship immigration policy will not take off before the election overshadowed his initial economy-focused pitch to voters on Thursday.
The Prime Minister has endured a torrid few days since announcing the date of the election earlier this week, culminating in Conservative heavyweights Michael Gove and Andrea Leadsom last night announcing their intention to stand down.
It means a record 78 MPs have now signalled their intention to quit – more than the 75 Tories who decided to do so ahead of Tony Blair‘s landslide victory in 1997.
But today the Prime Minister will keep on campaigning – as he is set to attend a campaign event closer to home near his constituency in Yorkshire.
It comes despite reports last night that the Tory leader would shy away from public events on the first weekend since he announced the election.
Treasury minister Bim Afolami confirmed the PM ‘will be campaigning’ throughout the day as he was questioned about the weekend agenda on Sky News.
Rishi Sunak (pictured) will reportedly spend Saturday at home in meetings with his aides after a shaky start to his election campaign
Government minister Andrea Leadsom (pictured) has become the latest Tory MP to announce they are standing down at the election
Michael Gove, 56, (pictured) announced yesterday that he will also quit
Gove announced he would step down at the election despite attending the launch of Sunak’s campaign this week
Many have predicted a drubbing at the polls for the Conservatives
Asked whether the PM was ‘taking the day off’ from the campaign trail, Mr Afolami told Sky News: ‘It’s not right. He’s going to be campaigning in Yorkshire.’
Asked whether Mr Sunak has lots of events planned, he said: ‘I don’t know what he’s got planned but I know he’s campaigning in Yorkshire today.’
The Chancellor signalled the party would seek to end the impact of tapering of personal allowances on larger incomes, while his opposite number vowed to deliver financial stability with a Thatcher-style commitment to ‘sound money’.
Workers lose £1 of their tax-free personal allowance for every £2 that their earnings go above £100,000, and anyone on more than £125,140 gets no allowance.
In an apparent bid to draw dividing lines with Labour, Jeremy Hunt used an interview with the Telegraph newspaper to dangle the prospect of a change to the current system.
‘If you look at the distortions in the tax system between £50,000 and £125,000, they are bad economically because they disincentivise people from doing what we need, which is to work, work harder. And we are the party of hard work,’ he said.
Asked if a Tory government would aim to correct these ‘distortions’ in another five years, he said: ‘Yes.’
Mr Hunt also branded inheritance tax ‘profoundly anti-Conservative’, but refused to be drawn on whether cuts to death duties would feature in the party manifesto.
Meanwhile, Rachel Reeves will on Saturday meet with supermarket workers in London to talk about the cost-of-living crisis, seeking to attack the Conservative record on the economy as she pitches Labour as the party of ‘stability and tough spending.’
In an article on the front page of the Daily Mail, Ms Reeves said: ‘Back in the 1980s, Margaret Thatcher proclaimed that the Conservatives were the party of sound money. But three decades on from when she left office, it was the Conservatives who crashed the economy, put pensions in peril and sent the average monthly mortgage repayments up by £240 a month.’
In an apparent bid to draw dividing lines with Labour, Jeremy Hunt (pictured) used an interview with the Telegraph newspaper to dangle the prospect of a change to the current system
Rachel Reeves (pictured with Keir Starmer) will on Saturday meet with supermarket workers in London to talk about the cost-of-living crisis
Mr Johnson said the electorate should ‘save this country from socialism’ as he threw his weight behind the Conservatives – though failed to mention leader Rishi Sunak (pictured) by name
She added: ‘I will never play fast and loose with your money… I believe in sound money and public spending that is kept under control.’
Ms Reeves appeared to drop a hint that she may eventually be able to cut taxes ‘for working people’ under a Labour government, saying saying she supports reductions when there is ‘a plan to pay for it’.
Shadow chief secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones was asked on Saturday whether the comments appearing in a right-leaning national newspaper showed Labour still need to convince middle England that they will manage the public finances responsibly.
‘The Labour Party is a party that seeks to govern for the whole country on behalf of everyone’s interests and so it’s great that we are being front-page coverage on all different types of newspapers,’ he told Sky News.
He also did not rule out a commitment to offer 16 and 17-year-olds the vote in the Labour manifesto, as reported in the Times, saying only that ‘you’ll have to wait’ for the policy document.
However, sharing the front page with Ms Reeves was an intervention from former prime minister Boris Johnson, who used his Mail column to warn of a ‘lurch’ to the left and say voters would be ‘mad’ to hand Labour a big majority.
Sir Keir (pictured) will hammer the message that Labour would never play ‘fast and loose’ with taxpayer money on a visit to the West Midlands as campaigning for the July 4 vote enters day three
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer (left) and Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar launch Scottish Labour’s General Election campaign at City Facilities in Glasgow
Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves during a visit to Wrights of London cafe in St James’s, central London, to discuss the cost of living
Mr Johnson said the electorate should ‘save this country from socialism’ as he threw his weight behind the Conservatives – though failed to mention leader Rishi Sunak by name.
Sir Keir will hammer the message that Labour would never play ‘fast and loose’ with taxpayer money on a visit to the West Midlands as campaigning for the July 4 vote enters day three.
And Mr Sunak will take the trail back to Yorkshire after completing a whistlestop two-day tour of the four home nations.
The Times reported that the Prime Minister is readying himself to ‘double down’ on the Conservatives’ stalled Rwanda deportation scheme by using the manifesto to announce ambitions for similar schemes with other countries.
His admission that flights to the east African nation as part of the party’s flagship immigration policy will not take off before the election overshadowed his initial economy-focused pitch to voters on Thursday.
It comes after veteran Cabinet minister Michael Gove on Friday joined a record-breaking exodus of Conservative MPs announcing they will not stand at the election as the party languishes behind Labour in opinion polls.
The Housing Secretary revealed he was bringing a political career spanning nearly two decades to an end, saying it was time to let ‘a new generation lead’.
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey eats ice cream on the promenade in Eastbourne, East Sussex, while on the General Election campaign trail
Britain’s Prime Minister and Conservative Party leader Rishi Sunak speaks to journalists on the plane on their way to Staffordshire
He was quickly followed by health minister Dame Andrea Leadsom, bringing the total number of Tory MPs not fighting their seats to 78 – a post-war high that exceeds the 72 who quit before Labour’s 1997 landslide victory.
The Liberal Democrats, who are targeting so-called blue wall seats in southern England, claimed the Surrey Heath MP was ‘running scared’ from the prospect of an electoral drubbing.
Sir Ed Davey’s party will be continuing its trail across the South East on Saturday, with the leader hitting two marginal constituencies to highlight sewage-dumping as a key electoral battleground in areas near the coast.
The Lib Dems claimed that party analysis shows water company bosses have pocketed some £54 million in bonuses since 2019 as they announced plans for a new, strengthened water industry regulator to replace Ofwat.
Sir Ed said: ‘It is time to get rid of this toothless and weak regulator that is sitting idly by while water firms destroy our rivers and beaches with filthy sewage.
‘This is a national scandal which has got far worse under the Conservatives’ watch. Their record is one of rising sewage levels and water firms stuffing their pockets with cash.
‘The Liberal Democrats have led the campaign against sewage, with our plans for a new regulator, an end to disgraceful bonuses and profits, and a focus on protecting our previous environment.’
In a letter to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak posted on X, the former Commons leader said she had come to the decision after ‘careful reflection’ but did not go into detail about her reasons for quitting
Addressing Mr Sunak, Leadsom said in her statement announcing that she would step down: ‘I would like to thank you for your faith in giving me the responsibility as Minister for Start for Life, Primary Care and Public Health’
Leadsom (pictured being made a Dame Commander of the British Empire in 2022) has joined a post-war record-breaking exodus of Tory MPs leaving Parliament
Other political heavyweights quitting include former Prime Minister Theresa May, ex-Defence Secretary Ben Wallace and Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris.
Maidenhead MP Lady May, leaving after 27 years, paid tribute to her husband Sir Philip in a farewell speech to the Commons last night.
She recalled Sir Philip being there to ‘make the beans on toast and pour the whisky’ on difficult days in three tumultuous years at No 10 during the Brexit negotiations.
Ben Wallace, meanwhile, urged the next Government to ensure that defence spending ‘is not an add-on after health and education’.
In the ‘wash-up’ process, where the Government and opposition decide whether to wave through legislation because of the election, plans to ban no-fault evictions for England’s 11 million renters were shelved despite being in the 2019 Tory manifesto.
The compensation scheme for infected blood scandal victims, and the quashing of convictions for sub-postmasters caught up in the Horizon scandal, did make the cut.
Meanwhile, Leadsom has joined a post-war record-breaking exodus of Tory MPs leaving Parliament.
In a letter to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak posted on X, the former Commons leader said she had come to the decision after ‘careful reflection’ but did not go into detail about her reasons for quitting.
Boris Johnson with Andrea Leadsom after a cabinet meeting in 2018
The Communities Secretary, 56, who has served under four Conservative Prime Ministers since 2015, confirmed he will not contest his Surrey Heath seat on July 4
Addressing Mr Sunak, the health minister said: ‘I would like to thank you for your faith in giving me the responsibility as Minister for Start for Life, Primary Care and Public Health.’
She added: ‘I will continue to support the Conservative Party through this General Election and in the future as the party best aligned with the ideals and values of the people of the United Kingdom.’
After his announcement, Britain’s ‘strictest head teacher’ Katharine Birbalsingh said Gove was the ‘greatest education secretary we have ever had and ever will have’.
She said: ‘Did he make mistakes? Sure. Haven’t we all? Did I agree with him on everything? No.
‘But I will be forever grateful for so much – his courage, his vision, his determination.
‘Our schools are so much better off thanks to the personal and professional sacrifices he made, fighting for what was right, popular or not, always valuing children and their futures above all else.
‘Thank you Michael Gove for your service. I missed you when you stepped down as Ed Sec. and I will miss you now and always.’
However, Liberal Democrat Treasury spokeswoman Sarah Olney said: ‘Conservative politicians are fleeing the Blue Wall in their droves. Michael Gove is running scared of the Liberal Democrats.’
One of the Tories great survivors his career survived an infamous split with Boris Johnson in 2016 when he announced he would run for party leader having led his Brexit Referendum ally’s own campaign
He is also well known for his love of partying outside of politics, having been pictured clubbing in Aberdeen in 2021
He has served Rishi Sunak as Housing and Communities Secretary since 2022
Man the lifeboats? Some 77 Conservatives have now said they will stand down rather than contest the July 4 vote, one more than stepped down ahead of Tony Blair’s landslide win in 1997
Today Mr Mackinlay confirmed the July 4 election date made it ‘impossible’ for him to contest his seat as he continues his recovery.
Those also going include ‘Bionic MP’ Craig Mackinlay, who today reversed his decision to fight for his seat despite having no hands or feet – because Rishi Sunak called the election so soon.
The South Thanet Tory was applauded in the Commons on Wednesday as he returned from a life-threatening battle with sepsis with four prosthetic limbs.
He vowed to fight for his Kent seat, hours before Mr Sunak stood wetly in Downing Street and set a date for July 4, instead of later in the year as expected.
Today Mr Mackinlay confirmed this date made it ‘impossible’ for him to contest the seat as he continues his recovery.
He became the 74th Conservative MP to confirm they are quitting the Commons at the election, minutes before former minister Greg Clark (Tunbridge Wells) became the 75th. Later David Evennett (Bexleyheath and Crayford) became the 76th.
They join veteran eurosceptic Sir John Redwood, 72, who announced early this morning he would not contest Wokingham because ‘I have other things I wish to do.’
Many have predicted a drubbing at the polls for the Conservatives, and Brits have already poured £2million into the General Election betting markets on Betfair Exchange this week, backing Starmer to win a majority.
Labour remains heavy odds-on favourites to win most seats (1/18) and an overall majority (1/6), while the Tories are at 8/13 to lose more than 201 seats.
Mr MacKinlay said in a statement to GB News: ‘Whilst my heart tells me to stand again, there being so much unfinished business across local regeneration and national issues which are important to me, my head knows this to be impossible at this time.
‘It would be difficult to withstand the rigours of an all-out election campaign, a campaign that I’d always wish to lead from the front.
‘Thereafter, upon being re-elected it would be difficult for me to sustain 70 to 80 hour working weeks which were the norm prior to my illness. ‘I had hoped to phase my return to the House of Commons over the coming months as my abilities improved.’
Speaking to a small group of reporters allowed onto his flight from Belfast to Britain this afternoon, Mr Sunak praised Mr Mackinlay, saying: ‘He is just an enormous inspiration.
Despite having a majority of 18,349 the Liberal Democrats regard his Blue Wall seat in the Home Counties as an election target, with leader Ed Davey heading there first after Rishi Sunak’s announcement on Wednesday (pictured)
Veteran eurosceptic Sir John Redwood, 72, announced early this morning he would not contest Wokingham because ‘I have other things I wish to do.’
Former minister Greg Clark (Tunbridge Wells) became the 75th. Later David Evennett (Bexleyheath and Crayford) became the 76th.
‘For him to have gone through what he’s gone through and, as everyone can see, to just have the positivity and energy that he has brought to life is nothing short of inspiring, and whenever I’m having my difficult days I think about what he’s been through and the courage and resilience he’s shown and I think all of us can take something from that and be inspired.’
Sir John served as Welsh Secretary between 1993 to 1995 before challenging then-prime minister Sir John Major for the Tory leadership.
He received just 89 votes to Major’s 218 in the 1995 contest, and was also later defeated in a second bid for leadership in 1997.
Sir Ed Davey has said the Conservative departures meant they were ‘running scared’ of the Liberal Democrats as he hit the campaign trail in Eastbourne, East Sussex.
The party leader said news that Mr Redwood will not be standing in the General Election is a sign that the Tories ‘know we’re going to win’. Wokingham is one of the party’s Blue Wall targets.
Both former health secretary Matt Hancock and veteran MP Bob Stewart had the Conservative whip returned to them last night ‘as a gesture of goodwill’.
The pair – who had already said they are standing down at the election – had been sitting as independent MPs in the Commons after previously losing the Tory whip.
Mr Hancock was suspsended from the Tory parliamentary party after appearing on TV show I’m A Celebrity without permission.
Mr Stewart surrendered the party whip after being found guilty of a racially-aggravated public order offence. The conviction was quashed on appeal in February.
The previous record number of Tory MPs standing down before an election was 75 – the number who quit prior to Sir Tony Blair’s 1997 landslide win.
Announcing his decision to leave the Commons, Sir John – who has been an MP since 1987 – wrote in a blog post: ‘I have decided not to put my name forward in the forthcoming election.
Sir Ed Davey (right) has said the Conservative departures meant they were ‘running scared’ of the Liberal Democrats as he hit the campaign trail in Eastbourne, East Sussex
Sir John, pictured in 1995, served as Welsh Secretary between 1993 to 1995 before challenging then-prime minister Sir John Major for the Tory leadership
Matt Hancock, who was suspsended from the Tory parliamentary party after appearing on TV show I’m A Celebrity without permission, has had the whip returned ‘as a gesture of goodwill’
‘I have other things I wish to do. It has been a privilege to represent Wokingham in nine Parliaments.
‘I have drawn many of my campaigns from the views I have heard on doorsteps and read in my email box.
‘We have achieved good things together for our local community and the wider nation.
‘I was pleased to help local Conservative Council candidates win seats in the recent local elections.
‘We stopped the Lib Dems winning a majority despite their forecasts by highlighting the big damage they are doing to our roads, the money they waste, their neglect of public spaces and the way they are worsening our refuse service.’
At the 2019 general election, Sir John was re-elected as Wokingham MP with a majority of 7,383.
The Lib Dems claimed he was ‘yet another big beast in the South of England who is now running scared’.
The party’s deputy leader Daisy Cooper said: ‘This is yet another Conservative big beast in the South of England who is now running scared.
‘Wokingham is a key battleground where the Liberal Democrats are the clear challengers to the Conservatives.
‘Right across the blue wall Conservative MPs are standing down in their droves and it’s because they’re worried about losing their seats to the Liberal Democrats.
‘From the cost of living crisis to the sewage scandal these Conservatives know they’ve failed their constituents and now they’re abandoning their seats.’
Lib Dem sources pointed to how the party had won 47 per cent of the popular vote in the Wokingham constituency at last month’s local elections, compared to the Tories’ 35 per cent.
Yesterday, on the first day of the general election campaign, transport minister Huw Merriman and work and pensions minister Jo Churchill announced they are not seeking re-election.
Ms Churchill cited ‘family reasons’ in her resignation letter, saying she had the ‘utmost respect for the difficult job’ of the Prime Minister.
Bexhill and Battle MP Mr Merriman did not specify a reason for his departure but thanked his staff, local Conservative association and Rishi Sunak, and paid tribute to his constituency.
A spate of high-profile Tories will not feature on the ballot paper, including former prime minister Theresa May and former chancellor Nadhim Zahawi, who both said they would not run again before the election was called.
Dame Eleanor Laing, the Deputy Commons Speaker who was elected as an MP but relinquished party affiliation to take up her role, and former minister Sir Michael Ellis, are also stepping down.
Inveterate plotter who did for Boris… twice!
BY NEIL SEARS
Adopted as a child, he studied his way into Oxford, established himself first as a senior journalist, then as a minister – and aspired to be the occupant of No 10.
The political career of Michael Gove – whose plan to lead the Conservative Party and become prime minister failed – will be remembered by some as Machiavellian after he engineered the downfall of his on-off friend Boris Johnson not once, but twice.
Even his critics, however, have to acknowledge he became one of the leading figures in Westminster as he bounced in and out of the Cabinet.
Mr Gove’s intelligence, sharp wit, and staunch defence of free journalism have all helped him stand out from the crowd.
Born in 1967, he was adopted by the Labour-voting Goves in Aberdeen aged four months.
Mr Gove claimed the struggles his father Ernest’s fishing business suffered thanks to EU regulations motivated his politics.
By the time the voracious reader arrived to study English at Oxford in the 1980s, he was a Tory ‘young fogey’ in tweeds.
He found himself among ‘posher’ university contemporaries including Mr Johnson, whom he helped get elected as Oxford Union president.
After working at The Times as a senior writer, Mr Gove became a Conservative MP in Surrey in 2005, and under David Cameron was made education secretary in 2010.
Aided by his adviser Dominic Cummings he introduced moves to restore traditional teaching while fighting ‘the Blob’ of resistance from Left-wing teachers and trendy education experts. Stints in the Justice, Environment, Levelling Up and Housing departments followed.
Mr Gove advised then-prime minister Mr Cameron against holding a Brexit referendum. When he was ignored, Mr Gove joined the Vote Leave campaign, against his boss, and famously declared, ‘The people of this country have had enough of experts’ in response to the Establishment’s support for the EU.
After the British people voted for Brexit, Mr Cameron resigned – and while Mr Gove was set to be the cheerleader of Boris Johnson’s campaign to take over as Tory leader, he decided to run for the top job himself.
His failure led to chaos – and the inglorious run of Theresa May as prime minister.
Two years ago Mr Gove again moved against Mr Johnson, advising the beleaguered prime minister to resign – only to be promptly sacked ‘for disloyalty’, shortly before the then-PM did indeed decide to go.
Mr Gove then opposed Liz Truss’s campaign to be Tory leader before being invited back into the Cabinet by Rishi Sunak. It is no surprise that Mr Cameron has written of Mr Gove: ‘One quality shone through, disloyalty. Disloyalty to me and, later, disloyalty to Boris.’
Even an unnamed Tory supporter of Mr Gove has said: ‘Call it Machiavellian if you want, but he has an urge to ensure things turn out in the way he thinks they should — he will meddle even if he or others get burnt.’
Mr Gove, 56, has previously found time at dinner tables to perform self-penned ‘gentlemen raps’ – with his ‘Bojo song’, praising Mr Johnson in rap style as ‘The million pound NHS funder… A golden wonder… Vote Leave made him top gunner’.