General election latest: Starmer accused of 'purge' by Corbyn - as Labour gains defector over Tory stance on Gaza (2024)

As we're in the election period, there is plenty of party political criticism flying around.

The Conservatives have responded to our political editorBeth Rigby's interview with Angela Rayner - in which the deputy Labour leader said Diane Abbott should be allowed to stand if she wants.

A spokesperson for the Tories said: "Today the Labour Party campaign has descended into complete chaos.

"Keir Starmer changed major tax policy overnight in response to a press release, and today he's being undermined by his own deputy.

"Starmer's central claim that he has 'changed' the Labour Party has been exposed as nothing more than a con that is falling apart before the public's eyes."

Read the interview with Ms Rayner below:

By Jon Craig, chief political correspondent

Sir Keir Starmer is celebrating the third defection by a Tory to Labour in just over a month.

Mark Logan, who was elected Conservative MP for Bolton North East in 2019, has told Sky News he is quitting the Tories and is urging people to vote Labour in the general election on 4 July.

In recent months he has been a fierce critic of the government's policy on Gaza and is now calling on the UK to recognise Palestine as a country.

Northern Ireland-born Mr Logan, 40, won his seat from Labour in the 2019 general election with a slender majority of just 378. It had been Labour since 1997 but was previously held by the Tories.

A former UK diplomat serving in China who is fluent in Mandarin and Japanese, his dramatic switch follows secret talks with Labour chief whip Sir Alan Campbell and members of Sir Keir's inner circle.

Mr Logan had been due to defend the seat in the general election, but after his shock defection, he hopes to become a Labour candidate in another constituency.

In a "personal statement" on Commons stationery written just before parliament dissolved on Thursday, Mr Logan referred to Labour's 1997 election anthem Things Can Only Get Better.

He wrote: "Labour is back, and given how things have been, I believe things can only get better."

Read more below:

By Faye Brown, political reporter

Trump-style Tory attacks claiming Sir Keir Starmer is "too old" to be prime minister may have backfired, a new poll suggests.

According to More in Common, only 17% of voters think the Labour leader is too old to be PM - a number that drops to 5% among swing voters.

What's more, the average age of undecided voters is… 61 - the same age as Sir Keir.

Luke Tryl, the UK director of More in Common said "given the Tories need these voters back, implying 61 is a 'sleepy' age may not be wise".

On Sunday, anonymous quotes emerged in the papers calling Sir Keir "Sir Sleepy", suggesting he does not have the stamina for the campaign.

It echoes the sort of attacks launched in the US by Donald Trump on Joe Biden, who is 81.

'A risky strategy'

Mr Tryl told Bloomberg, which first reported on the polling, that pretending the two have the same age problem is "either wishful thinking… or Tory aides have watched too much West Wing".

"Implying people of that age (61) are past it is a risky strategy", he said, given this is "the key demographic the Tories need to win back if they are going to avoid a 1997-style landslide defeat".

Sir Keir has dismissed the "sleepy" claims as "desperate".

Even senior Tories have appeared uncomfortable with this line of attack.

On Tuesday, we asked Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride, 62, if he would condone that sort of characterisation.

"It's not a term that I have used or would use. I think whatever age you are in life, people have a huge amount to contribute in some of the most effective ways", he said, noting he is "in the same bracket" as Sir Keir.

Statistics released today show the number of soldiers in the UK's armed forces has dropped below the target of 73,000.

Plans set out by the government put the UK on course to reduce its armed forces from 82,000 troops to 73,000 by 2025.

Ten years ago, there were 97,000.

Data out from the Ministry of Defence shows that numbers fell to 72,510 in April this year - down 2,320 in the previous year.

John Healey, the shadow defence secretary, says "our forces can't afford five more years of the Tories".

The Conservatives have pledged to increase military spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2030, and Labour say they will meet the same target when economic conditions allow.

An MoD spokesperson said: "Recruitment and retention are a priority for the armed forces, and they continue to implement a number of measures to improve it for both regular forces and the reserves."

It's just gone 5pm - here's where we are as we get to tea time.

First up, if you need something to listen to on your journey home from work, our political editor Beth Rigby spoke to Labour's deputy leader Angela Rayner.

Listen to them talk on the Daily Podcast below:

All the parties have been on the campaign trail as we remain more than a month out from the election.

Let us get you up to speed on everything you may have missed so far today…

• Sir Keir Starmerhas launched his party's election campaign in Wales, alongside the embattled first minister, where he reiterated his message of "change" and "national renewal" - and said Rishi Sunak didn't catch them out with the early election call;
• But the accusation that he is blocking left-wing candidates from standing for the party is overshadowing the party's messaging, with his predecessor Jeremy Corbyn telling Sky News he is "clearly intervening" in a "purge";
• The Labour leader denied that he is doing so, however, insisting the party wants "the highest quality candidates";
• He also praised Diane Abbott - who claims she has been blocked from standing - as a "trailblazer", but added: "No decision has been taken to bar her";
• And his deputy, Angela Rayner, told Sky News there was no reason Ms Abbott can't stand;
• Our political editor Beth Rigby says the issue has turned into a "massive distraction" - and leaves Sir Keir with questions to answer;
• And Sky News has learned that Faiza Shaheen, who was blocked by Labour from being their candidate in Chingford and Woodford Green, intends to take legal action to challenge the decision.

• Rishi Sunak had a tough afternoon at a voter Q&A in Milton Keynes, where a man who lost his mother during the pandemic challenged him over his partygate fine;
• Ourpolitical correspondent Darren McCaffreysays this shows the scandal that brought down Boris Johnsonis still relevant in this year's election;
• Meanwhile,the Conservative Partyhas been hitting Labour on its tax pledges today, with Chancellor Jeremy Hunt accusing the opposition of "flip-flopping";
• He accused his opposite number, Rachel Reeves, of "buckling under pressure" to rule out raising VAT in the next parliament, having "carefully and deliberately" avoided doing so all week -including in an interview with Sky News' Sam Coates;
• Speaking to Sky News, hedefended the PM's assertion that interest rates would fall under a government led by him, saying although the Bank of England is "independently" responsible for interest rates, he claimed Labour would fund spending through borrowing, which would see higher interest rates;
• But Mr Hunt also refused to commit to lowering prices amid this cost of living crisis by cutting VAT, saying prices are "decided in a market economy".

• Elsewhere, theGreen Partyhas launched its election campaign, saying they want to win at least four seats in parliament to ensure Labour are "pushed beyond the timid change they are offering".
• TheLib Demshave been unveiling their plans for a mental health professional to work in every school - and Sir Ed Davey went down a waterslide.
• The SNP leader, John Swinney, has been out campaigning in Edinburgh.
• Plaid Cymruhas launched its campaign in Bangor, declaring it's "time to kick the Conservatives out of power".
• AndReform UKhas launched itslegal immigration policy, which consists primarily of an "employer immigration tax" to incentivise businesses to employ British workers;
• Nigel Farage also took the time to rule out a deal with the Tories.

Here are a couple of other stories that may interest you:

Our essential political podcast,Politics At Jack And Sam's, is going daily through the election campaign to bring a short burst of everything you need to know about the day ahead as this election unfolds.

Click here to listen to this morning's episode - and tap here to follow Politics At Jack At Sam's wherever you get your podcasts.

Stick with us for all the latest throughout the evening.

ByGurpreet Narwan, political correspondent

During a Reform campaign event earlier, Nigel Farage rowed back from comments he made last night in which he hinted he might be open to doing a deal with the Tories.

Mr Farage told The Sun his party "might have a conversation" with the Tories, but asked "what are they going to do for me?"

It came after he conceded the election result was a foregone conclusion, with a Labour victory almost certain.

'No deal with Tories whatsoever'

Mr Farage said he was instead looking to the future and wanted to shape the conservative opposition in the UK.

When asked whether this meant a deal with the Tories was likely, Mr Farage said he was joking.

He said he was being "deeply sarcastic" in his interview with The Sun and Reform had "absolutely no interest in doing anything at all".

"There is no deal with the Conservatives whatsoever," he said.

When asked whether that was true or whether he was rowing back because of tense conversations with the party and leader Richard Tice, Mr Farage said "there's not a cigarette paper between us."

Sky political correspondent Serena Barker-Singh has been speaking to Jeremy Corbyn, the former Labour leader who is now an independent.

Mr Corbyn was asked about the candidates seen to be on the left of the party - like Diane Abbott, Lloyd Russell-Moyle, and Faiza Shaheen - not being allowed to stand.

He tells Serena: "The one thing they all have in common, the people that have been purged, is that they're on the left of the party and have all spoken out in favour of an immediate ceasefire and permanent ceasefire in Gaza."

When it was put to him that Labour claims some of the action was down to liking social media posts, Mr Corbyn says: "We don't even know which tweet it was or whose tweet it was.

"That seems to me a bit thin - and the Labour Party's procedures ought to be more robust and more open than that."

Serena asks if Mr Corbyn thinks Sir Keir Starmer is behind the decisions.

The ex-Labour chief says: "Well, as much as he claims sometimes it's nothing to do with him and other times that he's made the decision, he better make up his mind what it is.

"I think the leader ought to be independent of the other processes. But he clearly is intervening all along the way."

Mr Corbyn is standing for re-election in Islington North.

Labour'sAngela Rayner speaks to our political editorBeth Rigbyin an extended interview for the Daily podcast.

The party’s deputy leader says that she believes Diane Abbott should be able to stand as an MP - and she denied leader Sir Keir Starmer was acting "in a factional way".

On the first official day of campaigning, she also spoke about the investigations into her living arrangements - and revealed the details of her campaign battle bus.

Sky political correspondent Darren McCaffery was listening in as Rishi Sunak answered questions from the public.

As we reported, this included him being asked about the fine he received for breaking COVID regulations in 2020 when chancellor (read more).

Darren says this shows partygate "is clearly still an issue for the Conservative Party - and this is a prime minister who did receive a fixed penalty notice over that".

He adds that the person asking - who had lost their mother - "seemed pretty angry at the prime minister".

This, Darren says, is a reminder of which issues "still resonate with members of the public".

Mr Sunak did try to address the issue by explaining he was at a meeting, but was also "trying to pivot away to his record as chancellor on the furlough scheme".

Darren says that, while some of those covering the election may get "led slightly by government announcements and opposition announcements on a daily basis", there are many voters for whom "there are other issues at play here, whether they be historical or not, that are going to factor into how the vote in five weeks".