Election latest: Senior Tory says bets on date are 'stupid' but seeks to play down scale of scandal (2024)

Welcome back to the Politics Hub.

We're into the final furlong now, with less than a fortnight left in the election campaign.

There's now ten days until polling booths open in the 2024 general election.

Today, our senior Ireland correspondent David Blevins will be sitting down with the leaders of political parties in Northern Ireland ahead of the vote.

And from 8pm, Sarah-Jane Mee will be hosting a special edition of the UK tonight from Northern Ireland.

Speaking to us this morning on behalf of the Conservative Party will be Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris at 7.15am.

And Then Labour's shadow health secretary Wes Streeting will be on at 8.15am.

We'll be back at 6am with all the latest from this busy election campaign, which has entered its latter days before polls open on 4 July.

Until then, you can scroll through the posts below to catch up on the day.

Join us for more live updates on Monday.

It's an election campaign - and that means political donations have ramped up.

What exactly are the rules on donations? Do they change for elections? Who gets the most money? Why do people donate? And can parties give funds back?

Here, we explain...

Veterans minister Johnny Mercer has tonight offered further details of an "awkward" hustings in Plymouth, after which he claimed his Labour rival was "bloating" his military service.

Mr Mercer, who is standing as the Conservative candidate for the Plymouth Moor View constituency, took aim at his Labour opponent Fred Thomas after the event on Wednesday.

The minister questioned whether the Labour candidate had served in combat missions during his time as a Royal Marine, as had been reported by the Guardian newspaper in 2023.

Labour has said Mr Thomas is unable to discuss much of his role in the armed forces because of its "sensitive" nature.

Now, in a lengthy social media post, Mr Mercer described the event, which he said "descended into anarchy".

In response to Mr Mercer's comments, Labour's shadow defence secretary John Healey said: "The Commanding Officer of the Special Forces Support Group wrote of Fred's integrity and his character. Those words will not have been penned lightly. Mr Mercer should do the right thing and withdraw his deeply disrespectful remarks."

By Adam Boulton, Sky News commentator

Have you ever taken part in an opinion poll? I was about to say I haven't and then a dim memory surfaced from decades ago of a nice lady with a clipboard asking me questions in the Berkshire town of Pangbourne.

Whether or not your opinions have been sampled, you will have found it impossible to miss coverage of polls during this electioncampaign.

Reporting of opinion polls has been such a feature of the race that some are complaining about it. The controversy has been inflamed after the dramatic results shown in recent MRP polls,such as this week's YouGov survey for Sky News.

Critics range from those who argue polls are one-day wonders that take coverage away from the "real issues" to others grumbling that polls distort how people vote, even though they may turn out to be wrong.

In this election, there are at least 18 separate companies publishing voting intention polls. They are busier than ever now the campaign is under way.

Read the rest of Adam's column here:

A flurry of general elections since 2015 has brought an unprecedented churn in our parliamentary representatives.

This year, two in five MPs aren't seeking re-election and the picture for the Conservatives is record-breakingly grim.

An unparalleled total of 23% of Conservative MPs are calling it a day in 2024, more than the previous high of 22% of Tories who quit in 1997, another year of boundary changes.

In contrast, only 15% of Labour MPs are resigning.

There are many reasons MPs quit: from retirement, family commitments and health concerns to career change, abolished constituencies, and the prospect of defeat.

But their decision to depart can reveal much about life in Westminster and have a significant impact on parliament's mix of experience, demographics, and the direction of political parties.

Dr Sofia Collignon, associate professor in Comparative Politics, analyses the churn in our representatives here:

Our politics show hosted by political correspondent Ali Fortescue has just wrapped up for today.

But don't worry - the Politics Hub will be live at 7pm on Sky News every night through the election campaign.

And until then, you can keep up with all the latest right here.

This is the question asked by our political correspondent Darren McCaffrey...

In 2019, Liz Truss was once again elected MP for South West Norfolk - her fourth election win.

The then international trade secretary and later prime minister romped home to victory with nearly 70% of the vote.

Her constituency was one of the safest in the country.

Now, if the polls are to be believed, it is hanging in the balance.

Watch below as Darren tries to track Ms Truss down:

The full list of candidates in the South West Norfolk constituency is:

• Earl Elvis of East Anglia - The Official Monster Raving Loony Party
• James Bagge - Independent
• Gary Conway - Heritage Party
• Pallavi Devulapalli - Green Party
• Lorraine Douglas - Communist Party of Great Britain
• Terry Jermy - Labour Party
• Toby McKenzie - Reform UK
• Josie Ratcliffe - Liberal Democrats
• Liz Truss - Conservative and Unionist Party

Crossbench peer Lord Darroch is next up with Ali Fortescue.

She asks if Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer becoming prime minister would change the UK's relationship with the European Union.

"Yes, there will be a reset," he says. "I think that he is hosting a European political community summit in Blenheim House within a couple of weeks of the election."

Lord Darroch says Sir Keir will likely be "the star of that show".

"If he wins as big as some of the polls suggest, this will be a historic margin of victory.

"All the other leaders will want to meet him, and talk to him, and discover how he did it."

He will find himself "almost mobbed" at this summit, Lord Darroch claims.

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 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.