Election latest: Liz Truss aspirations 'absolutely right', minister says (2024)

The SNP will be launching its manifesto at 11am.

Follow along with us live as we bring you all the latest updates as they happen.

Earlier this morning, Rishi Sunak took part in a phone in with LBC.

Unsurprisingly, the prime minister came in for some criticism from the public.

One man, who told the PM he was gay and had been living with HIV, criticised Mr Sunak for being "obsessed with divisive culture wars".

He added: "Personally, I think you've become a poundshop Nigel Farage."

"I'm very sorry to hear you feel that way," Mr Sunak said.

"I don't believe that at all. I care very much about making sure people, whatever their background, are respected."

YouGov pollsters have asked 2,238 people how they feel about various party leaders - and who would make the prime minister.

In a series of head to heads, Sir Keir Starmer came ahead of all the other leaders.

He beat Rishi Sunak by 41 points to 21 points, Nigel Farage by 50 points to 25, and Sir Ed Davey by 40 points to 14.

The rest of the 100% in each case was made up by "don't knows".

Out of the other match-ups, Mr Farage came second in them all - and Mr Sunak lost out to Sir Ed.

By Faye Brown, political reporter

Sir Ed Davey has said legal migration is "too high" but refuses to accept his own policies would exacerbate the issue.

In an interview with Sky's Sophy Ridge, the Liberal Democrat leader said rising immigration is "a massive broken promise" by the Conservatives and "one of the reasons why we're seeing such disillusionment in politics".

However he rejected the claim that some of his own policies, such as closer ties with Europe and a new EU Youth mobility scheme, would increase immigration further.

Asked if he thinks legal migration is too high, Sir Ed said: "Yes, I do. And you're right to say that since we left the EU, immigration has more than doubled, completely against what the Conservatives and the Brexiteers promised."

Pressed on what he would do to fix the issue, he said his policy to raise the minimum wage of care workers would attract "people who are currently working in an Amazon warehouse or a supermarket" to the sector, reducing the reliance on foreign staff.

"They (the Conservatives) refuse to pay people properly and so they've issued hundreds of thousands of health care visas, so they've increased legal immigration," he said.

Watch the full interview - the first in a series with all political leaders - on thePolitics Hub with Sophy Ridgeat 7pm today.

Read the full story here:

This is the largest number of people to cross in a single day since 29 November 2022.

Having 15 boats cross in a single day has only happened twice in the past year - the last occurrence being in September last year.

A total of 12,313 people have crossed to the UK across the Channel since the start of the year.

This is up almost a fifth on the same period last year, when the total was 10,472.

It is 5% higher than this stage in 2022, when the number was 11,690.

Our live poll tracker collates the results of opinion surveys carried out by all the main polling organisations - and allows you to see how the political parties are performing in the run-up to the general election.

The SNP are shown to be polling around 3% - although due to the concentration of their vote in specific areas (Scotland), this could lead to dozens of seats still.

Read more about the tracker here.

Stewart Hosie, the SNP's campaign director, has been speaking to Sky News this morning.

One policy the SNP is advocating is to introduce a "social tariff" on energy prices - this is a rate that is more affordable for people who need it.

Asked if this policy was able to be implemented by Scotland, Mr Hosie confirms it is not.

He said: "Oh no, the SNP, the SNP can't do that. This is a reserved matter.

"Energy is reserved, this has got to be a UK policy.

"This is a UK election and this is exactly the kind of measure SNP MPs will be pushing for when we return to Westminster."

Another policy the SNP wants to implement is an increase in NHS funding.

Because the money for the Scottish NHS is calculated off the back of the UK's funding for the service, the party is advocating for a UK-wide boost.

The SNP is calling for the UK-wide funding to go up by £10bn, so Scotland can get another £1.6bn.

On polling, Mr Hosie says that the "only poll that matters is 4 July".

The party is forecasted to lose between 10 and 20 seats in various polls - it had 43 when parliament was dissolved for the election.

He adds that the party is running a "first class" ground campaign.

Yesterday was the last day that people could apply to register to vote before the general election.

Some 632,863 submitted applications - slightly below the659,666 applications on the equivalent deadline day in 2019.

The deadline was at 11.59pm on Tuesday.

It means more than 2.7 million applications to vote were submitted from 23 May, the first full day after Rishi Sunak called the general election, to 18 June.

More than half of those who applied were aged 34 and under,with 30% from 25 to 34-year-olds and 26% from those under 25.

Meanwhile, 17% of applications were from 35 to 44-year-olds, 11% from 45 to 54-year-olds, 9% from 55 to 64-year-olds, 4% from 65 to 74-year-olds and 2% from people aged 75 and over.

It is likely some of those who applied to register to vote were already registered, so the632,863 figure is likely higher than the number of people were added to the list of registered voters.

The prime minister is currently answering questions from the public on LBC.

One caller asks if Rishi Sunak will serve as an MP for the full parliament - up to five years - even if the Conservatives are in opposition.

Mr Sunak says "yes" - but that he is focused on winning the election.

The PM is also asked about high-profile donors to the Conservative Party - like Phones4U founder John Caudwell - choosing to back Labour instead (read more here).

He says these are some of the UK's "richest men and can probably afford Starmer's tax rises".

Sky News' deputy political editor Sam Coates and Politico's Jack Blanchard with their guide to the election day ahead.

👉Tap here to follow Politics at Jack and Sam's wherever you get your podcasts👈

This is day 28 of the campaign. Jack and Sam discuss inflation, the SNP manifesto launch, and how Labour's transition planning is going.

Email Jack and Sam:jackandsam@sky.uk