UK general election LIVE: Nigel Farage channels Eminem to taunt Rishi Sunak after Reform UK overtake Tories in first poll

Rishi Sunak has been contacted by the Gambling Commission over an official probe into an election bet placed by one of his close aides.

The PM is understood to have received a letter from the regulator over a £100 wager made by Craig Williams, his parliamentary private secretary.

The bet, that the election would take place in July, was placed on May 19. Mr Sunak announced July 4 as the election day on May 22.

Rishi Sunak has been contacted by the Gambling Commission over an official probe into an election bet placed by one of his close aides.

The PM is understood to have received a letter from the regulator over a £100 wager made by Craig Williams, his parliamentary private secretary.

The bet, that the election would take place in July, was placed on May 19. Mr Sunak announced July 4 as the election day on May 22.

Nigel Farage and the Reform Party have been getting excited about a poll by YouGov which last night showed the party in second place, one percentage point above the Conservatives, in terms of vote share.

But it's important not to celebrate too early in any election.

An average of the past week's polls show a Reform are still behind the Tories, and experts have said last night's results for Reform are within the margin of error.

An average of all polls that were carried out wholly or partly during the seven days to June 14 puts Labour on 42%, 21 points ahead of the Conservatives on 21%, followed by Reform on 15%, the Lib Dems on 11% and the Greens on 6%.

Reform's average is up two percentage points on the figure for the previous week while both Labour and the Tories are down two points, with the averages for the seven days to June 7 being Labour 44%, Conservative 23%, Reform 13%, Lib Dems 10% and Green 6%.

Nigel Farage today conceded that he could get six million votes on July 4 and still only have a 'paltry' number of MPs.

The Reform leader painted himself as the 'opposition' to Labour, after one poll showed his insurgents with more support than the Tories.

But at a press conference in Westminster, Mr Farage admitted that the electoral system made it very hard for parties to break through and win seats.

He said he hoped Reform would get significantly more than the 3.9million votes Ukip received in 2015, despite not having 'ammunition' or an established 'ground game'.

'If we did finish up with a huge number of votes and a paltry number of seats, do you know what it would do?' Mr Farage said.

'It would tell us yet again that Britain is broken and Britain needs reform, and that reform includes the electoral system, that reform includes the abomination that is the House of Lords, and that reform includes the right, as people in Switzerland have, to call referendums on key issues if they think their government and parliament are out of touch with them.'

Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper has defended the party's stunt-heavy campaigning style, saying 'we don't take ourselves too seriously'.

Speaking on a visit to south-west Hertfordshire, she said: 'It absolutely is a conscious strategy. We take our politics very seriously but we don't think politicians should take themselves too seriously.

'Ed has won a lot of people's hearts and minds with this strategy. Every time he's done a stunt it's come with a very serious message.

'When he fell off a paddle board he was talking about our policy to tackle the crisis of raw sewage dumping. When he was at a water park he was talking about the importance of putting a mental health practitioner into every single school.

'We've managed to grab people's attention at a time when the country is really struggling. People are leading very difficult lives and what they're looking for from their politicians is hope and optimism.'

Nigel Farage has challenged the leader of the Labour party to a head-to-head debate.

In a day when most parties are taking a pause in campaigning, the Reform leader has held a major press conference today after a poll showed his party overtaking the Tories into second place, behind Labour.

Mr Farage has demanded a spot on BBC Question Time's four-way leaders' special later this month.

'I think we can demand of right now that the BBC put us in to that debate,' he said.

'I would also very much like to do a debate head-to-head with Keir Starmer and the reason's very simple - we think this should be the immigration election.'

Nigel Farage also labelled himself 'leader of the opposition' during the press conference, held in central London.

Nigel Farage claimed he had done more than anybody else to 'destroy' the British National Party as an electoral force.

Responding to a question comparing his party to the right-wing German AfD, Mr Farage said: 'In my previous incarnation as leader of Ukip, I had an absolute rule that nobody who'd ever been part of the British National Party or any organisation like that could even be a member of the party, let alone a candidate, and I was absolutely ruthless about that.

'I think because I did that, I would honestly say to you I did more to destroy the British National Party as an electoral force in Britain than absolutely anybody else, and the same thing applies this time.'

Nigel Farage has backed increasing benefits and cutting taxes to 'encourage' Brits to have more children.

The Reform UK leader today said backed scrapping the two-child cap on handouts - which is backed by both the Tories and Labour - would be in his party's manifesto.

The twice-wed father of four backed tax breaks for married couples at a press conference today, despite admitting 'my own track record in this is not great'.

His position would appear to be another attempt to blur the lines between Reform and the Tory right.

Last month former Conservative home secretary Suella Braverman also surprised Westminster by coming out against the benefit cap.

Voters should be in 'no doubt' that Labour wants to reduce child poverty, a shadow minister has said after the party did not include abolishing the two-child benefit limit in its manifesto.

Jonathan Reynolds, the shadow business and trade secretary said he understood people wanted to see progress on reducing child poverty, adding a 'rise in destitution' had been 'one of the most visible features of the last 14 years'.

Tackling child poverty was one of the key missions of the 1997-2010 Labour government, and over that period the number of children in poverty fell significantly, reaching its lowest level since the mid-1980s by the time the party left office.

In the manifesto published by Labour on Thursday, the party said child poverty had risen by 700,000 under the Conservatives and committed to developing an 'ambitious strategy' to tackle the problem.

Mr Reynolds added that tackling the problem required, first of all, 'a stronger economy, more business investment, better productivity, better growth', which Labour would be able to deliver.

The ITV General Election debate between seven senior political party figures was watched by more than two million viewers, the broadcaster has said.

The second head-to-head for the politicians, moderated by Julie Etchingham, had an average audience of 2.1 million and a peak of 2.4 million across devices, according to overnight ratings.

This includes those watching on streaming service ITVX.

The showdown featured the Conservatives' Penny Mordaunt, Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner, SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn, Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper, Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth, Green Party co-leader Carla Denyer and Reform UK's Nigel Farage.

The BBC hosted the first multi-party debate last Friday, with an average audience of 3.2 million tuning in across BBC One and the BBC News Channel to watch, according to overnight ratings by the broadcaster.

With England and Scotland about to embark upon their attempt to win Euro 2024, the UK's political hopefuls are campaigning for a victory of their own ahead of the General Election.

Politicians will find it difficult not to lean on the European Championship in their campaigning, but how interested in football are our potential leaders?

Well the Prime Minister famously supports Southampton, having been born in the town.

Sir Keir Starmer supports Arsenal and even holds a season ticket for Emirates stadium.

Sir Ed Davey meanwhile backs at least four different teams: Notts County, Liverpool, AFC Wimbledon and Kingstonian.

Nigel Farage previously said he follows Crystal Palace, although has said football is 'not my number one sport'.

Nigel Farage has told attendees at a London press conference that a vote for the Tories in the Red Wall is a 'wasted vote'.

He called his party's new lead over the Conservatives an 'inflection point'.

The Reform UK leader also called on the BBC to include him in the four-way Question Time leaders' special later this month, an expressed an interest in doing a head-to-head debate with Sir Keir Starmer.

Labelling himself the 'leader of the opposition', he said: 'I would also very much like to do a debate head-to-head with Keir Starmer and the reason's very simple - we think this should be the immigration election.'

Reform UK chairman Richard Tice has said "no-one expected" that in less than two weeks the party would 'leapfrog' the Tories in the polls after a YouGov survey suggested a crossover.

A YouGov poll put Reform on 19%, narrowly ahead of the Conservatives on 18%.

At a press conference in Westminster, Mr Tice said: 'Well, well, well. It's fair to say that in just two weeks we have turned what looked like being the most boring General Election campaign since any of us could remember to the most interesting and extraordinary campaign.'

He said two weeks ago 'everyone was writing Reform UK off" before Nigel Farage joined the campaign 'big time', and 'we've been heading north in the polls' ever since.

With a major poll showing Reform UK overtaking the Tories into second place, Nigel Farage's return to frontline politics has potential to be a gamechanger for election.

The election will be Mr Farage's eighth attempt to become an MP. His previous seven were all for UKIP.

He last stood in a Westminster election in 2015, when he picked up 16,026 votes in South Thanet, narrowly finishing in second place behind Conservative Craig Mackinlay.

His latest party was formed from a rebrand of Mr Farage's previous project, the Brexit Party.

Reform was launched as an "entrepreneurial political start-up", with Mr Farage the company's majority shareholder and honorary president. It rose to prominence following the defection of Conservative Party Deputy Chairman Lee Anderson earlier this year.

Unlike the Brexit Party in 2019 when Mr Farage agreed to stand aside in Tory seats, Reform is fielding candidates in 609 constituencies across England, Wales and Scotland.

Polling expert Professor John Curtice has warned that Reform's rise could spell 'disaster' for the Tories.

A YouGov survey for the Times newspaper put support for Reform at 19%, just ahead of the Tories on 18%.

Sir John, a professor at Strathclyde University in Glasgow, said an average of recent polls shows backing for Reform is now at about 15% or 16%, which he declared was an 'utter disaster for the Conservatives'.

Speaking at an online event organised by the Fraser of Allander economic think tank at Strathclyde, he also said of the potential victory for Labour: 'We at the moment are looking at swings of 15%, 16% from Conservative to Labour.

'We've never had a swing of that size before. We could be having the biggest swing in the post-war era from one party to another.'

He added: 'This is a real, real problem for the Conservatives because virtually all the people who are switching to Reform are 2019 Conservative voters.'

It's set to be a packed summer, with a plethora of sporting and cultural events set to take place over the next few months.

The General Election will still of course go ahead regardless of the conditions, with voters now facing the prospect of heading to polling stations with a raincoa.

Mother nature has already played her part in political events, after Rishi Sunak was drenched when the heavens opened as he announced the date of the election on May 22 in Downing Street.

The new Prime Minister may even been seen walking into No 10 with an umbrella.

Right-leaning voters flirting with the idea of Reform could cost the Tories 110 seats and gift Sir Keir Starmer a 'super-majority', analysis shows.

Fearing handing Labour a 'blank cheque' in the July 4 election, senior Conservative figures including Chancellor Jeremy Hunt have warned a wipe-out would only hand a 'socialist' Prime Minister power.

Mega-polls published last week suggest the Tories are on track to hold just 126 MPs, in what would be the party's worst electoral result for over a century.

Labour are forecasted to clinch 439, with them on track to eclipse even Tony Blair's 1997 landslide victory.

But MailOnline analysis today shows the extent to which Sir Keir's majority would be dented if disillusioned Tory voters contemplating a shift to Nigel Farage's party were tempted to return to the Conservative fold.

Labour's Wes Streeting is still speaking at Wakefield Trinity Rugby Club as he campaigns for the party in the town today.

Asked about Tory MP Craig Williams, who placed a bet on the election date just three days before it was announced, Mr Streeting said he owes the public a 'full and frank apology'.

He added: 'I think Craig Williams's conduct, I think it appears to be pretty appalling.

'I think that Rishi Sunak has clearly known about this and sat on this knowledge for some time, and failed to take action. I think it underlines why people shouldn't trust Rishi Sunak, why he's a weak leader.

'Obviously, nominations have closed now and Craig Williams is going to be a candidate at the General Election, and I'm sure voters will take his conduct into account when they go to the polls.'

Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting has said the growth of reform is just the 'latest chapter' in 'the Conservative Party's psychodrama'.

Speaking to reporters on Friday, he said: 'I think the growth of Nigel Farage and the Reform Party during this general election is just the latest chapter in the Conservative Party's psychodrama.

'We've had Conversative candidates like Andrea Jenkins putting Nigel Farage on her leaflet positively, rather than her own leader. I think that it's clear that if the Conservatives scrape back in at this General Election, we're going to see more division, more chaos. It's time to turn the page on that.

'Labour is taking Reform on. We're going to beat them in the battle of ideas and we're going to demonstrate what real change looks like in our country, if we earn the trust of people in this General Election.'

Nigel Farage has taunted Rishi Sunak on social media this morning with a post on X in which he sang along to a popular Eminem song.

Mr Farage posted the video, which showed him in a car, and sang along to lyrics 'Guess who's back' and 'Back again'.

He then tagged the Prime Minister in the post.

It comes as Rishi Sunak meets global leaders at the G7 summit in Italy.

Rishi Sunak has insisted that voting for Reform UK would be 'handing Labour a blank cheque' as he played down a major opinion poll showing Nigel Farage's party overtaking the Conservatives.

He added that there is a 'massive difference' between Labour and the Tories, claiming that Labour would 'raise the tax burden to the highest level in this country's history' after Sir Keir's party launched its manifesto on Thursday.

'I think that choice will crystallise for people between now and polling day,' the Prime Minister said.

It comes after Grant Shapps this week also warned about handing Labour a 'blank cheque' - and appealed to voters to ensure the Conservatives have sufficient MPs to properly challenge a Labour government.

Other ministers have since denied that Mr Shapps' comments amounted to 'admitting defeat'.

Reform UK's lead over the Conservatives in an opinion poll is a 'stark warning', Chief Secretary to the Treasury Laura Trott has said.

Speaking at a press conference a few minutes ago, Ms Trott said: 'The Conservative Party are fighting for every single vote in this election.

'And look, we're only halfway through, right? Things can change.

'But the poll is a stark warning. If a result like this is replicated on election day, Keir Starmer would have huge and unchecked power to tax your home, your job, your car, your pension however he wants.

Echoing the Prime Minister, she added: 'A vote for anyone other than Rishi Sunak and the Conservatives is a vote for Keir Starmer as prime minister'.

The Liberal Democrats have said they are 'firmly on the side of hospitality' as Euro 2024 kicks off on Friday.

During a visit to a cocktail bar in Edinburgh, Scottish Lib Dem leader said the UK and Scottish governments have 'made life harder for business'.

Scotland will open Euro 2024 on Friday night against hosts Germany in Munich, with thousands of fans making the trip.

Mr Cole-Hamilton said: 'As people pour into pubs, bars and restaurants this month, venues across the country will be welcoming the increased trade.

'Many are still struggling to get back on their feet after the pandemic was immediately followed by the worst cost-of-living crisis for a generation, made worse by the chaotic Conservatives.

'The SNP have made life harder for business through their botched schemes.

'By managing the public finances responsibly, Liberal Democrats will give businesses the stability, certainty and confidence they need.'

Former leader of the Labour party Jeremy Corbyn is on a mass recruitment drive as he battles to retain his seat and beat his old party's candidate.

Mr Corbyn has already enjoyed the support of up to 200 activists a day, who have been knocking on doors and distributing flyers on his behalf.

But he wants to double this number to 400 to ensure he reaches all his constituents in North Islington, Sky News reports.

Labour have selected local councillor Praful Nargund as their candidate, who has been out campaigning with the likes of former party leader Neil Kinnock.

The Tories, Labour and Liberal Democrats have all launched their general election manifestos as they bid to win over voters ahead of polling day on 4 July.

The three parties have made a series of pledges in key areas, including the economy, the NHS, migration, education, defence and housing.

Rishi Sunak has put a £17billion package of tax cuts at the heart of his offer to British voters, with the Conservative manifesto also promising to halve migration.

There were no surprise new policy announcements in Labour's manifesto, with Sir Keir Starmer promising a 'serious plan for the future of our country'.

The Liberal Democrats unveiled a £9.4billion a year package for the NHS and social care as the centrepiece of their manifesto.

A Conservative minister has accused Labour of launcing a 'tax trap manifesto'.

Speaking at a press conference in London, Laura Trott said: 'Yesterday we saw a manifesto from Labour that contained no tax cuts, only tax rises - they even warned of it in their manifesto.

'It's a tax trap manifesto from a Labour Party that has tax rises coded into its DNA.

'Labour's first, second and third answer to every problem is always the same: raise taxes. And as a result, the tax burden under Labour - on their own figures - will rise to be the highest our country has ever seen.'

Labour says it has committed to not raising taxes on working people, including through income tax and VAT rises.

Chief Secretary to the Treasury Laura Trott has claimed that Labour has 'deliberately failed to rule out 18 potential tax rises'.

She told a press conference in London attacking Labour's plans: 'What's most important about Labour's manifesto is what is not in it.

'Not including planned tax increases in manifestos is standard practice for Labour... We don't want Labour to get away with it this time.

'That's why today I'm setting out that Labour have deliberately failed to rule out 18 potential tax rises during this election campaign.

'In relation to each of these tax rises, Labour's manifesto deliberately makes no commitment not to raise them.'

Shadow business secretary Jonathan Reynolds has said there is 'not an ounce of complacency' in Labour's campaign after a YouGov poll showed support for the party falling slightly to 37 percent.

Reacting to Reform's surge in the polls, he told Sky News: "I'm confident in the argument Labour is making and in the manifesto that we have put forward.

'We're not so much interested in what's happening with other political parties. We know the job in Labour is to win back the support, the trust of people who didn't feel they could support Labour in the past, to build that overall coalition.'

He added: 'We're not focused on what other people are saying or doing.

'Ours is a prospectus for government, for a change of direction that would make a difference to people's lives and that is the argument we will continue to put forward, because whatever these polls say, not a single vote has been cast.

'There is not an ounce of complacency from the Labour side - we'll continue to make that case right up until July 4.'

Sir Keir Starmer is facing a revolt from Labour peers over his 'ageist' plan to force members of the House of Lords to quit after they turn 80.

Under proposals set out in the party's election manifesto there would be a mandatory requirement to step down at the end of a parliament in which a peer hits their eighth decade. The current average age of peers is 71.

The party is also pledging to remove the last remaining hereditary peers as part of a longstanding commitment to reform the upper chamber in the first term of a Labour government.

In December 2022, Sir Keir said he would abolish the 'indefensible' House of Lords 'as quickly as possible', ideally within the first term of government, and replace it with an elected chamber.

The manifesto states Labour is 'committed' to replacing the Lords with an 'alternative second chamber that is more representative of the regions and nations', adding it will consult the public on this.

Candidates are facing yet another rainy day on the campaign trail as Brits could be forgiven for forgetting it's a summer election.

Labour MP Jess Phillips this morning posted a video of pouring rain outside her office in Birmingham.

'Loving the Summer election. Day for envelope stuffing and phone banking,' she wrote.

We can all spare a thought for all the candidates and campaigners having to brave the weather today.

Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorweth has admitted that most Welsh people 'aren't convinced' about the argument for an independent Wales.

'I would argue the move [towards independence] is there,' he told 5 Live, arguing the current situation is similar to the years running up to the 2014 Scottish referendum.

He made the case for Welsh independence and said it was an opportunity to forge its own relationship with the EU.

'We should be building the closest possible relationship with the European Union,' Mr Ap Iorwerth said.

Shadow Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds has hit back at criticism over the Labour manifesto and says it is a 'genuine prospectus for change'.

'If you are putting forward things that can't be delivered, that will only increase cynicism in British politics,' Mr Reynolds said.

Asked about a suggestion published in The Guardian that Labour's proposals amount to a 'downbeat manifesto for a downbeat nation', he told Sky News: 'I would really strongly disagree on that because what you see in the Labour manifesto is a set of proposals for genuine change that would make a real difference to people's lives.'

Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth has said his party has a 'Wales-wide' message.

Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, he said he has been to every Welsh constituency in the first three weeks of campaigning, adding: 'I believe my message is relevant to all parts of Wales.'

Mr Ap Iorwerth said Labour doesn't have the 'political renewal' or 'refreshing of ideas that we need'.

He said as leader he wants to show he is 'serious about our message being a Wales-wide one.

Boris Johnson has thrown his support behind Conservative MP and long-standing ally Simon Clarke for the seat of Middlesborough South and East Cleveland.

'Just saying how passionately I hope that Simon Clarke will be re-elected for Middlesborough South.

He's been such a crucial part of the whole levelling up agenda in Teeside, the free ports, bringing back steel ports to the area, and helping to save the airport.

'And it's vital that we keep Simon Clarke there to stop Ben Houchen being simply surrounded by Labour MPs.'

He also said Mr Clarke had been 'heroic' in helping the former PM get elected and 'getting Brexit done'.

Appearing on Nicky Campbell's Five Live show a few minutes ago, Nigel Farage refused to say how many seats he believes Reform will win in the general election.

He said: 'I have no idea. I tell you what, we are going up by one percentage point a day. We have got momentum behind us.

Who knows, we might surprise everybody, including myself.

Up next on the show is Plaid Cymru's Rhun ap Iorwerth.

The Tory and Labour election battle buses are not taking to the road on Friday but campaigning continues.

Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves and shadow business secretary Jonathan Reynolds are meeting top bosses for breakfast to drum up support for Labour's manifesto.

Leader Sir Keir will face a grilling from BBC journalist Nick Robinson in the latest Panorama election interview to be broadcast on Friday evening.

Chief Secretary to the Treasury Laura Trott will attack Labour's plans at a press conference in London.

Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting will promote Labour's mental health offer during a visit to a men's mental health facility, after warning there is a crisis in mental illness that is keeping people out of the jobs market and costing the country billions.

Elsewhere, Lib Dem deputy leader Daisy Cooper will visit the east of England, as her party promotes its plans for a national food strategy.

Social media users last night once again targeted Penny Mordaunt's hair after the Tory was grilled in a brutal election debate.

The Leader of House of the Commons was torn into by Nigel Farage in another miserable evening for the Tories in which they slipped behind the Reform leader's party in an opinion poll for the first time.

At the start of the seven-way TV debate Mr Farage gleefully boasted Reform had overhauled the Conservatives to become the opposition to Labour.

Some viewers, though, were once again distracted by Ms Mordaunt's hair and couldn't help but notice it had less volume than last week's bouffant style during the BBC debate.

One felt the deflated look mirrored her performance on the stage, while another jibed that ITV had saved £400 in hairspray.

Last night's shock YouGov poll which showed Reform pulling ahead of the Conservatives will be an unwelcome end to a pretty dismal week for Rishi Sunak.

It put the Tories on juust 17 percent of the vote, with Reform ahead on 18 percent.

Meanwhile as is often seen in election campaigns, the gap to the top narrowed slightly, with Labour on 37.

The Lib Dems are projected to receive 14 percent and the Greens seven percent.

It's worth noting these are only the projected vote shares, and not seat counts.

Nigel Farage has described Adolf Hitler as 'hypnotic in a very dangerous way' after reiterating his admiration for Vladimir Putin as a "political operator".

The Reform UK leader offered his view on the public speaking abilities of Nazi Germany dictator Hitler when asked about him during a live BBC phone-in.

Mr Farage, challenged about his previous remarks praising Russian president Mr Putin as an operator, told BBC Radio 5 Live: 'Yeah, but not as a human being.'

He added 'You can recognise the fact that some people are good at what they do even if they have evil intent.'

Asked if Hitler was good at what he did, Mr Farage replied: 'What, as a public speaker? What do you think? Clearly, hypnotic in a very dangerous way.'

A Tory minister has ruled out making any kind of electoral pact with Reform.

Treasury minister Bim Afolami rejected suggestions that the Conservatives should consider striking an election deal.

Asked if the Tories would consider a deal, he told Sky News: 'No, no. It's an election.

We're not doing deals with anybody.

Listen as Nigel Farage sets out his ambition to become the 'opposition voice' as head of the Reform party.

Introducing a cap on adult social care costs by October next year is part of Labour's plan if they win the election, Wes Streeting has insisted.

The pledge did not appear in the party's manifesto when it was published on Thursday.

Adult social care charging reforms - including an £86,000 cap on the amount anyone in England has to spend on their personal care over their lifetime - had been due to be implemented by the Conservative Government from October 2023 but were delayed by two years.

Shadow health and social care secretary Wes Streeting was asked whether he could make a firm commitment to bringing in the cap in October 2025.

He told BBC Radio Four's Today programme: 'That's the plan, as things stand.'

Rishi Sunak has insisted that voting for Reform UK would be 'handing Labour a blank cheque' as he played down a major opinion poll showing Nigel Farage's party overtaking the Conservatives.

The Prime Minister emphasised that 'we are only halfway through this election" and the choice between the Tories and Labour will "crystallise for people between now and polling day'.

He told reporters at the G7 summit in Puglia: 'We are only halfway through this election, so I'm still fighting very hard for every vote.

'And what that poll shows is - the only poll that matters is the one on July 4 - but if that poll was replicated on July 4, it would be handing Labour a blank cheque to tax everyone, tax their home, their pension, their car, their family, and I'll be fighting very hard to make sure that doesn't happen.

'And actually, when I've been out and about talking to people, they do understand that a vote for anyone who is not a Conservative candidate is just a vote to put Keir Starmer in No 10.'

A bombshell poll for the Times conducted by Yougov revealed last night that Reform is polling one point ahead of the Tories.

At a fiery debate last night, Nigel Farage, head of Reform, told Penny Mordaunt of the Conservatives: 'A vote for you is actually now a vote for Labour.'

The Leader of the House of Commons pushed Conservative claims that voting for Reform on 4 July would make it easier for Sir Keir Starmer to become PM.

Just prior to last night's

ITV debate, a YouGov survey for The Times put Reform up two points to 19 per cent, with the Conservatives unchanged on 18 per cent.

The symbolic moment of Reform moving ahead of the Tories for the first time is a shattering blow to PM Rishi Sunak with just three weeks until the general election.

Good morning and welcome to MailOnline’s live blog covering everything on the election this Friday.

We’ll bring you all the latest news and updates as the parties take to the campaign trail around the country, and everything from Rishi Sunak’s visit to Italy for the G7.