Election latest: Labour to win landslide and Farage to become MP for first time, poll projects (2024)

By Faye Brown, political reporter

Rishi Sunak's "soaring" personal wealth has come under fresh attack ahead of crucial inflation figures coming out tomorrow.

In what will be a key moment in the election campaign, the rate of inflation is expected to ease back to the Bank of England's target of 2% for the first time since spring 2021.

The figures could provide a much needed boost for the embattled prime minister, whose key offering to voters is that the economy has "turned a corner" under his leadership and they should not risk change with Labour.

But the Labour Party says this claim is "rubbished" by data showing more than half of Brits think the cost of living crisis has become worse in the last month.

The party says that Mr Sunak's wealth increased by £122m in the last year, while data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows millions of people continue to struggle.

Read more below:

More people in the UK think immigration hasa negative impact on society than a positive one, according to a YouGov survey forSky News.

In the first general election since Brexit, all the major parties mention migration in their manifestos.

Both the Conservatives and Labour are placing promisesto tackle illegal boat crossings high on their list of promises if they get into Number 10.

Sowhat do voters think about immigration, and how could itaffect these elections?

Niall Paterson is joined by community correspondent Becky Johnson, who'sbeen speaking to voters inSwindon about their views.

Plus,economics and data editor Ed Conway digs into the statistics to reveal exactly how big an impact migration, both legal and illegal, has on the UK.

As we've been discussing this evening, both the Tories and Labour are promising to cut net migration levels - the number of people coming from overseas minus the number leaving.

Our political reporter Alix Culbertson has looked at their immigration policies - and those from the other main parties.

Read the full explainer here...

The public has "probably seen through Boris Johnson" and he is no longer an asset to the Tory campaign, Jim Murphy, the former leader of Scottish Labour, says duringSophy Ridge's final panel discussion.

Mr Johnson has been appearing in campaign videos for a number of his Tory MP allies after reportedly being drafted in to help counter the growing threat from Reform UK.

Mr Murphy says the former prime minister was probably an asset during 2019 but now the public and Tory MPs have seen through him.

"I think the Conservatives are making the mistake that if you play the tune of 2019 it'll work for them in the same way," he adds.

"Involving Johnson at this stage suggests a campaign that has lost its sense of direction, because they're still trying to beat the Reform party rather than try to overcome Labour."

'There are MPs who like him'

Former government adviserNimco Ali notes Mr Johnson "is popular in certain sectors of the country" and some MPs are leaning towards that.

"I would not think it's a Conservative plan to have him involved, I think it's individual MPs who like him, and he has kindly sent them those videos," she says.

That concludes our coverage of tonight'sPolitics Hub With Sophy Ridge- it'll return tomorrow from 7pm. In the meantime, stick with us here for the latest general election news and analysis.

A poll we reported on earlier is "terrible news" for the Conservatives, says our chief political correspondent Jon Craig.

It's predicting a 256-seat majority for Labour - up on 453 seats and the Tories down on 115 (see 17.51 post)

Jon says this would be "much worse than 1997", when Tony Blair took Labour back into government, and their worst result since 1906.

But 117 seats are still too close to call in the Ipsos survey, he explains.

But while polls are only a "snapshot" of a campaign, there is a clear "trend" across the various surveys we're seeing.

"They are all fairly similar," Jon says, and it's "terrible news for the Tories".

It's been "double trouble" for the Tories this evening, he adds, given their former donor John Caudwell's endorsem*nt of the Labour Party (see 19.31 post)

"We don't know if Mr Caudwell is actually going to give some money to the Labour Party, but he's not donating to the Tories, and he's switched his allegiance."

Sophy presses former Conservative MP Philip Dunne on whether the Conservatives think it's all over.

It comes after the prime minister spent the day campaigning in traditionally safe Tory seats in the South West.

Mr Dunne says Rishi Sunak has "been all over the place throughout this campaign".

He says the prime minister "hasn't given up" and has "made it very clear he's fighting, every waking moment, to try to retain the Conservative government and Conservative candidates all over the country".

'No huge surprise' Tory support is waning

Asked if he is worried about the future of the Conservative Party, Mr Dunne, who is not standing in this election, says all political parties in office for a prolonged period "go through sort of waves of enthusiasm and support and waning of support".

He adds: "So it's no huge surprise that the opinion polls are suggesting that our support is declining somewhat at the moment."

Former Conservative MPPhilip Dunne, who's not standing at this election, tellsSophy Ridgethe government's Rwanda scheme is a "deterrent" for illegal immigration.

Rishi Sunak has said the first flights will take off next month if the Conservatives win the election.

Bur Mr Dunne says a separate agreement with France had worked until 2018 and says the two countries need to co-operate more.

Asked whether the Conservative Party would take responsibility for a breakdown in the relationship with France, he says: "I don't think there has been a breakdown in goodwill, I think there's been a challenge of implementation."

He says the UK needs "to be talking to the French about what they can actually do to stop this".

"We need to be working together to try to solve these problems."

Former Conservative Party donor John Caudwell has announced he is endorsing and voting for Sir Keir Starmer's Labour Party.

The billionaire Phones4U founder was one of the biggest donors to the Tories ahead of the 2019 general election, donating £500,000 to Boris Johnson's campaign.

Mr Caudwell said he had been "rather despairing" at the Tories' performance "for many years now".

He said he donated the money "to help avert the disaster that would have been Jeremy Corbyn in Downing Street" but has been "increasingly critical of Tory failures since then".

He highlights the "mismanagement of the economy" by then chancellor Rishi Sunak during COVID, the "lowering of ethical standards" under former prime minister Boris Johnson, and "the Liz Truss debacle".

Starmer 'delighted' with endorsem*nt

Mr Cauldwell called for "a very strong Labour government that can take extremely bold decisions".

"I will be doing my best to influence them wherever I can, in putting the great back in Britain," he added.

Sir Keir said he was "delighted" with the endorsem*nt from someone "with such a successful track record in business".

During our panel discussion about immigration, Jim Murphy, former leader of Scottish Labour, tellsSophy Ridgea Labour policy that may work to reduce immigration is "dealing with the gangs in the same way you would deal with terrorists".

Mr Murphy says: "We were promised Brexit would stop all this and it hasn't. So we have to do something different. And all the parties will struggle with this."

He says people want to come to the UK because "for all the faults in our country, it's still a very appealing place to be".

A change of government would give a fresh chance to look at the issue, adding: "The one thing I think that Labour's cottoned on to, I think may work, is dealing with the gangs in the same way that you would deal with terrorists.

"Without any empathy, without any excuses, and with the full force of the law. I can only hope that that would work."

Labour's Anneliese Dodds says communities need to be "unleashed" to keep pubs as local hubs.

Publicans are finding it too difficult to keep their establishments once property developers "start circling", she says.

The party chair dodges the question when asked if Labour would extend the beer duty freeze.

But she does give some insight into her favourite bar beverage - real ale.

Sophy Ridgeturns to comments made today by shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves, who said she wants Labour to "hit the ground running" if they win the election.

Asked if that means there would be a fiscal event before summer, Ms Dodds says only that Mr Reeves will be "thinking this through very carefully".