Closing summary
Rishi Sunak has hinted that he might not quit as Tory leader immediately if he loses the election on Thursday. The prime minister did not give a direct answer when asked if he would stay on if he lost. But he told the BBC he would always put himself at the service of his party, implying that he might stay on for a period.
Keir Starmer said that a government in France led by Marine Le Pen’s National Rally (RN) party would not hamper a Labour government’s intention to negotiate a better EU deal. The RN made historic gains in the first round of France’s snap elections on Sunday with 33% of the vote. Starmer also said that far-right gains in France proves the left must show “only progressives have answers” to problems people are facing.
Labour has released a dossier claiming “166 hardcore Trussites” are among Tory election candidates.
James Cleverly, the home secretary, claimed Keir Starmer, the Labour party leader, would want to establish “a permanent Labour government” if he won. Cleverly then accused him of indulging in a “dog whistle attack on the Bangladeshi community”, referring to Starmer telling the Sun TV Q&A last week that “at the moment people coming from countries like Bangladesh are not being removed because they’re not being processed”.
Sunak defended his claim that Vladimir Putin would welcome a Labour victory in the election. Asked to justify the allegation, which he first made in comments to the Daily Telegraph, Sunak said: “[A Labour victory] sends a signal to our adversaries that we’re not going to take our security seriously.”
Thousands of people fear they will be unable to vote in the general election with delays, human error and Brexit being blamed for missing postal ballot packs in the UK and abroad.
Tactical voting and disaffection with mainstream parties make this 4 July a once-in-a-lifetime general election that could reshape the political landscape for decades, Ed Davey, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, argued. He said the Lib Dems seemed poised to entrench themselves in a swathe of formerly Conservative territory, particularly in the south.
Thank you for reading and all your comments today. This blog is closing now but you can read all of our politics coverage here.
Thousands of people fear they will be unable to vote in the general election with delays, human error and Brexit being blamed for missing postal ballot packs in the UK and abroad.
Clarissa Killwick, a British citizen living in Italy, said she could not trust the post to deliver her vote in time.
“I decided to leave nothing to chance and will be going to the UK to vote in person,” said Killwick, who runs a Brexit campaign group for UK citizens in Italy.
Another said they had to courier their ballot back to the UK.
Vienna-based Michael Goldrei said Hackney council in London told him his pack had been posted on 17 June but he started to panic when it had not arrived a week later. It eventually arrived on 26 June. Goldrei said he was “determined that my vote was counted” so he sent it back via DHL at a cost of €45 (£38). “But will others do that?”
You can read the full story by my colleagues, Lisa O’Carroll, Caroline Bannock and Rachel Obordo, here:
