Election latest: Reform candidate's post criticised by minister - as PM denies he considered quitting (2024)

Until voters go to the polls on 4 July, the Politics Hub will be looking back at some memorable moments from previous general election campaigns.

Never mind his slightly sloppy bacon sandwich eating technique, it was the entirely deliberate decision to unveil Labour's 2015 election pledges inscribed on an enormous slab of limestone that really got voters wondering what Ed Miliband was up to that year.

The then party leader thought the stunt, known as the Ed Stone, would persuade the public he was serious about delivering on his promises.

They included "a strong economic foundation", "controls on immigration", and "homes to buy and action on rents" (these sound familiar, no?).

Worse still, Labour even committed to putting it up in the Downing Street garden should they win power.

But it was immediately ridiculed upon its unveiling in Hastings, and the party ended up performing so disappointingly at the election that the now shadow energy secretary resigned as leader.

Sir Keir Starmer was probably right to stick to a pledge card this time.

Previous entry: Bigotgate

To round off the show, we are talking about the freshest election on the block - the one over in the European Union.

Sophy Ridgeasks our panellists what they think of the success of parties on the far right in the parliamentary polls - notably France, where the results saw President Emmanuel Macron call a snap election.

Former Green Party leaderCaroline Lucas says she is "deeply concerned" about the "wave" of this sort of politics in the US, Europe and at home - accusing Nigel Farage of falling into that category.

And she says it is a "real threat that we ignore at our peril".

'Easy to be an armchair critic'

Sophy asks ex-Tory party communications directorGiles Kenninghamwhether there is any mirroring of what is happening in the EU with Reform UK - Mr Farage's party.

He says there are a lot of people "lobbing bricks from the side lines" as it is "very easy to be an armchair critic".

But he questions what the party leader would do in power, and says French President Emmanuel Macron would pose the same question if his right-wing rival wins, saying "politics is not all milk and honey".

That concludes our coverage of tonight's Politics Hub With Sophy Ridge, but stick with us for more news and analysis throughout the evening.

Next up withSophy Ridge is the Lib Dems' Helen Morgan.

The party has promised more money for the NHS, care and schools, as well as building more homes and increasing income tax thresholds - but what are its unpopular policies?

Ms Morgan says the Lib Dems have focused on the issues "that people raised with us on the doorsteps" - adding that she hopes there isn't "anything particularly unpopular" in the manifesto.

She's pressed on this - asked by Sophy if her party will "level" with the public about the "difficult decisions" that will need to be made after the election.

Ms Morgan says the Lib Dems are focusing on taxing "big banks and looking at the wealthiest people" in order to avoid raising taxes on working people and pensioners.

Its capital gains tax plan would see the top 0.1% of people paying more of the levy, she adds.

The Liberal Democrats have released their manifesto - the first party to do so during the 2024 general election campaign.

Sky News has scoured their policy pledges so you don't have to.

Scroll to the right in the interactive tool below to find out what Sir Ed Davey's party has promised to do if they win the election.

We will produce a breakdown of all the other parties' manifestos here when they are announced.

Ahead of Wednesday night's The Battle For Number 10 on Sky News, we have been speaking to a number of voters in one of our Target Towns.

Reporting from Grimsby and Cleethorpes for tonight's show is our national correspondent Tom Parmenter,to gauge how the Tory and Labour leaders are fairing among the public.

You can read Tom's report below:

The Battle For Number 10 Leaders Special Event, Wednesday 12 June 7pm-10pm on Sky News - free wherever you get your news.

Freeview channel 233, Sky 501, Virgin 603, BT 313 and streaming on the Sky News website, app and across social channels. It is also available to watch on Sky Showcase.

Sophy Ridge puts to James Cleverly that in football terms, it feels like the Conservatives are "5-0 down" and need all their "strikers on the pitch".

She then asks if he'd like to see Boris Johnson playing more of a role in the election campaign.

Mr Cleverly replies that he's "always keen to get the whole Conservative family campaigning" against Labour's "bonkers ideas".

Pressed on whether that means he'd like the former prime minister on the campaign trail, the home secretary says: "Boris Johnson is a subset of everybody, yes."

He adds: "I would like to see everybody who is a conservative out campaigning for the Conservative Party, that by definition also includes Boris Johnson."

Now Home Secretary James Cleverly is speaking to Sophy Ridge to tell the Tory tale from the day.

He starts by focusing on their announcement to hire 8,000 new police officers as "public safety matters" - and promising they will be "embedded in neighbourhoods".

Asked how he thinks the campaign is going, Mr Cleverly admits he has faced "concerns and criticisms" on the doorstep, but claims voters "scrunch up their faces" when asked if they would vote for Labour.

"There is everything up for grabs, and we will continue to take our bold plans to the British people," he adds.

Tonight's Politics Hub panel are now having their say on the Lib Dem manifesto.

Former Green Party leader Caroline Lucas says while it has generated some "interesting headlines", it doesn't "follow through on its logic" - such as on proposed changes to water company ownership and plans to tackle climate change.

And she adds that what "really struck her" was the party's more muted approach to discussing Brexit.

"I think you had to look through to page 112," she says - a far cry from the 2019 manifesto that advocated rejoining the EU.

Farage took UK on 'mad adventure'

Ms Lucas says a debate is needed about the impact of Brexit, and the role of new Reform UK leader Nigel Farage in championing the cause.

"I can't bear the fact that Nigel Farage keeps getting away with no one asking him about his last mad adventure before he starts trying to take Britain down the path of a new one," she says.

Labour 'too scared' to address Brexit

But former Tory party communications director Giles Kenningham says it's unlikely that Labour will mention Brexit at all as "they're too scared about it".

He adds that it's "not in the interests" of the two main parties to put it "centre stage".

"The Tories will argue Brexit's done, and Labour got themselves in knots, and arguably it cost them the last election," he says.

Our deputy political editor Sam Coates has been at today's Liberal Democrat manifesto launch and now comes to us live from Thorpe Park, where Sir Ed Davey has been riding rollercoasters - and doing some serious political interviews of course.

Sam says the party is having a campaign that is "clearly cutting through" to the public with "all the japes" - remember the paddle board anyone?

But while Sir Ed may be riding high, he is still "desperate to be taken seriously".

Our deputy political editor said the Lib Dems have done "one big thing" in this campaign - managing to "reposition themselves as an anti-Tory force".

But if the Conservatives get kicked out of power in a few weeks time, where does it leave them?

Sir Ed tells Sam that Labour will "follow" his policy ideas as he claims other government have before. But that is quite optimistic…

We're kicking off tonight's show with the first manifesto launch of this election campaign.

It came via the Liberal Democrats, headlined as a "fully-costed" plan to "save the NHS", primarily by fixing the UK's social care system.

But do the party's sums add up?

Who better to comb through all 114 pages - and the manifesto's associated costings document - than Sky News' very owneconomics and data editor Ed Conway.

He'll be doing the same for all the manifestos as they come out.

Check out what he had to say about the Lib Dems below: