Election latest: Rishi Sunak 'pulls emergency ripcord' by summoning Boris Johnson (2024)

Our deputy political editor Sam Coatesdescribes Boris Johnson's campaign appearance with Rishi Sunak as "a surprise and a gamble".

He says: "Rishi Sunak has pulled the emergency ripcord with one full day of campaigning left to go in this election, and summoned Boris Johnson - his predecessor but one - to front a rally here in central London, just as so many different candidates face disaster in this election."

Sam describes the move as "extraordinary", noting that Mr Sunak helped oust Mr Johnson two years ago.

"Now he is relying on him for an election campaign boost at the 11th hour."

Sam says the crowd "cheered" Mr Johnson and "loved to see him".

But Sam also notes: "He talked about himself, he talked about his 2019 election victory, he talked about his record in government".

The ex-PM also rolled out some of the Tory campaign's attack lines on Labour, but Sam adds: "What he didn't say was just as important.

"He did not lavish praise on his successor, Rishi Sunak, and he did not shake his hand after his appearance."

Rishi Sunak is on his feet at a campaign event in London as the general election campaign enters its final hours.

He thanks Boris Johnson for his support, and says it is "shameful" to suggest Jeremy Corbyn would have made a better a prime minister.

"Boris was right to say now is the time for all Conservatives to come together to deny Labour that super majority that Keir Starmer craves," he adds.

"We have 48 hours to save Britain from the danger of a Labour government."

He says the Conservatives need to "fight for every vote" and he knows that the election result is not a "foregone conclusion".

"Every single vote matters... we have got to give it one more push," he adds.

He urges people to "get out" and support a number of Tory candidates.

Addressing the Conservatives' record, his says the party has rescued the UK from "Labour's bankruptcy" under David Cameron's leadership, and has delivered the third-fastest growth in the G7.

He also notes the introduction of the pension triple lock, support for Ukraine, the COVID vaccine rollout, and Brexit.

But, he acknowledges that people are "hesitant" to support the party.

"I am not blind to their frustrations with me, with our party. It has been a very difficult few years for our country," he says.

"We haven't got everything right, we haven't made as much progress in every area as we would have liked, but I would say to everybody that this Thursday is not a by-election.

"It is a choice about the future of our country, and that choice has severe consequences for your family if you get it wrong."

He takes aim at Labour's plans for the country, saying it will not tackle illegal immigration, will make the UK "more reliant on foreign energy" and will "raise everyone's taxes".

"You name it - they will tax it," he adds. "A vote for the Conservatives is a vote for lower taxes."

He says there will be tax cuts under a Conservative government, which sparks cheers from the crowd.

"We want Rishi," one person can be heard shouting.

Mr Sunak concludes by saying he will work "day and night" to deliver for the country.

"Do not surrender to Labour. Let's get out there and fight for every vote," he says.

Boris Johnson has taken to the podium to cheers of "Boris".

He thanks supporters for attending the event "way past Sir Keir Starmer's bedtime."

He tells the crowd: "If you are slightly surprised to see me, I'm going to be absolutely clear that I was glad when Rishi [Sunak] asked me to help - of course I couldn't say no."

"We are here because we love our country," he says.

Mr Johnson adds: "Whatever our differences, they are utterly trivial by comparison with the disaster we may face if these so-called opinion polls are right."

"If these polls are right then at the very moment this country has beaten COVID and at the very moment we should be encouraging enterprise and growth - Westminster is about to go diametrically in the opposite direction," he says.

Mr Johnson says Labour will "destroy so much of what we have achieved".

He adds that "it will be the height of insanity if these polls are right".

"Labour are so co*cky and complacent, they are barely concealing their agenda anymore," he says.

"Whacking up taxes on pensions and property and persecuting private enterprise and attacking private education and private healthcare.

"All the while, Starmer is so terrified of disappointing left-wing dogma he is reluctant to explain the difference between a man and a woman and sits there with his mouth opening and shutting like a stunned mullet."

He concludes by saying: "Vote Conservative on Thursday!"

Watch Mr Johnson's full speech here.

Michael Gove is speaking at a Conservative campaign event in London.

He tells crowds he wants them to vote with "pride".

"Our children are the best readers in the western world and our schools are the best in Europe - this is all down to the Conservative Party," he says.

Mr Gove says "we got Brexit done" and "had the fastest vaccine rollout in the world".

"Let's stand up and say we are proud to be Conservative," he says.

"Let's stand up and say we are proud Rishi Sunak is our prime minister."

He says "at the heart of Rishi is a moral core than cannot be broken".

He adds: "In an uncertain world we cannot take the risk of the alternative."

Mr Gove asks the crowds: "What has Keir Starmer ever done for us?"

"This Corbyn hugging, tax raising, flip flopping apology for a leader should never be allowed anywhere near Number 10," he adds.

"He is the jellyfish of British politics.

"Transparent, spineless and swept away by any incoming tide."

A Conservative Party campaign event is under way in London.

We expect to hear from the prime minister as he fights to, as he puts it, prevent a "Labour supermajority".

Watch live in the stream above, at the link below - and follow updates here in the Politics Hub.

ByFaye Brown, political reporter

Kemi Badenoch and Suella Braverman have denied being associated with website domains purporting to be for future leadership bids.

It comes as a source close to Penny Mordaunt told Sky News she kept her domain active fromthe 2022 contests"for the same reason you'd keep a spare tire in the boot" - and not to mount a challenge against the PM.

With Rishi Sunak widely expected to lose the election on Thursday, there has been mounting speculation about what direction the Conservatives will head in and who could take command.

While Northern Ireland minister Steve Baker has beenopen about fancying his chances, other senior Tories are keeping their cards close to their chests.

Over the weekend it emerged a website called kemi4leader.co.uk was registered in April and currently redirects to the Conservative Party homepage.

Business Secretary Ms Badenoch has long been considered a favourite to succeed Mr Sunak on the Conservative right.

However, a source close to her told Sky News the website domain is "nothing to do with her".

Ms Braverman has also told Sky News a website, Suella4leader.co.uk, which redirects to her personal website, has nothing to do with her.

Read more here:

Tonight's poll from Survation suggests Labour are almost certain to outperform the landslide win achieved by Tony Blair in 1997.

It has the party winning 484 seats, with the Tories a distant second on 64 (see 19.01 post).

It will likely see Rishi Sunak ramp up his warnings of a Labour "supermajority" even further.

It's a term the Tories have been banding about for weeks - but what does it mean, and why does Mr Sunak think it'll work?

What's the PM getting at?

"Supermajority" is being used by Mr Sunak to refer to the scale of the Labour victory being projected by many pollsters - with some saying they could top the 419 seats won by Tony Blair in 1997.

That gave Labour a majority of 179, but with the Tories tipped to do even worse than they did back then (165 seats), Sir Keir Starmer could end up enjoying the biggest parliamentary advantage on record.

Mr Sunak has said such a "supermajority" would make it harder for the Labour Party to be held to account in the Commons.

Is he right to sound the alarm?

Well, no - because the concept of a supermajority is meaningless in British democracy.

It's a familiar phrase in US politics, where a supermajority of two-thirds really does matter in some votes.

For example, Congress is required for particularly significant legislation like impeaching a president to hit that two-thirds threshold.

In the UK, a governing party only has to hold more than half of the 650 seats in the Commons, whether that be 326 or much more.

A majority of one could be just as effective as something much bigger - as long as the majority party keeps its MPs in line.

Some have argued the "supermajority" concept isn't without merit, for example in referendums, but it's certainly not relevant to this election despite the Tories' best efforts to make it so.

Whether it's healthy for parliament to be as dominated by one party as it could be from 5 July is another question - but whatever the majority Labour might have, there'll be nothing super about it.

The first big moment of election night this Thursday is the exit poll.

It'll provide us with our first major insight into the result.

Our political correspondent Serena Barker-Singh explains all you need to know:

One of the latest Tory tactics has been to go after Keir Starmer for working "part time" - a line that has come about after the Labour leader said he liked to finish at 6pm on Fridays to spend time with his family.

Former adviser to Boris Johnson Jo Tanner tells the Politics Hub she was "shocked" by the rhetoric.

"It's pretty poor from the Tories to be going after Keir Starmer. They've sort of twisted what he was getting at," she says.

"Friday night isn't exactly the biggest night of the week for events - if anything, it is the day.

"I think it is a bit of storm in a teacup, really... I think they do need a release as well from the pressures of the job."

That brings our coverage of tonight's Politics Hub With Sophy Ridge to an end - but the show returns tomorrow at 7pm. Stay with us in the meantime for the latest election news and analysis.

Child poverty is an issue hitting areas across the whole country, and former prime minister Gordon Brown has recently called for the two-child limit on benefits to be scrapped to help tackle the problem.

Labour's shadow minister for employment and social security Alison McGovern says she will never be comfortable while there is child poverty in the UK, but there needs to be economic stability before the cap could be removed.

"We have to make sure we can grow the economy and take our economy out of the political instability we've had," she says.

"This isn't just poverty now, it's experiencing a childhood where the basic necessities of life are completely uncertain."

She explains that if she was made a minister tomorrow, she would want to reform universal credit.

"We need to review it and have a cross-government strategy to tackle child poverty," she adds.

She does point to Labour's plans for free breakfasts for children at school, but admits: "We will need to do much more."