Facing up to Farage: Will Sunak change tack?
Welcome to the daily ITV News digest direct from the campaign trail. Each afternoon we'll bring you analysis and insight from across the nation as the General Election 2024 gathers pace.
Hi, I’m Romilly Weeks, ITV News Political Correspondent, writing this as I speed up the A1 on the Tory battle bus whilst listening to Nigel Farage launching his manifesto (I know they want to call it a contract, but still…)
What will be interesting is how it affects Tory strategy in the remaining few weeks of this campaign.
This morning, Grant Shapps admitted winning is now not the most likely option saying “I’m a realist”. The PM, by contrast, is still trying to cling to a shred of optimism telling reporters this lunch time: “There’s still two-and-a-half weeks to go … I believe we can win.”
Tory strategists are certainly hoping the more recent warnings of a Labour ‘super majority’ and not giving Keir Starmer a blank cheque might give some of those flirting with Reform pause for thought.
There are those in the Tory party and beyond who believe Nigel Farage is getting too much of a free pass. So far Rishi Sunak has been reluctant to even mention him by name, even less to attack him directly.
I’ve asked those around the PM whether there will be any change of approach. It seems not yet. In their view, Reform is only likely to win at best a handful of seats and and they have to stay focused on their main target: Labour.
For more analysis on the day’s events, check out Talking Politics, our daily podcast from the campaign live from 4pm on ITVX, hosted today by News at Ten presenter Tom Bradby, with Robert Peston and Anushka Asthana. Or watch on demand on ITVX or where you listen to your podcasts.
Thanks for reading and enjoy some of the best content brought to you by the rest of the ITV News team below.
Reform ‘contract’ with public: Farage says July 4 is ‘just the start’
Nigel Farage has acknowledged that Reform UK would not form the next government after the July 4 election as he launched the party's manifesto.
Speaking in Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales, he said the party is "not pretending" that Reform UK will win, due to it being "a very, very new political party".
He said he did have his sights on the next General Election, however.
“Although this election is for our party, and for me, the first important step on the road to 2029."
He once again said Reform was the “true opposition” to Labour.
Mr Farage pledged “proper control for our borders”, and Reform would also increase the tax threshold to £20,000, put up the higher rate to £70,000, slash corporation tax and reshape the NHS.
ITV News Political Correspondent Shehab Khan said the tax cuts amounted to £70bn - and by contrast, the Liz Truss mini-budget featured £45bn-worth.
A YouGov poll last week showed Reform UK nudging ahead of the Conservatives for the first time.
Watch our report from the Reform launch on ITVX here and our Talking Politics podcast team picks apart to substance of Farage’s ‘contract’.
Reform candidate Grant StClair-Armstrong made "daft and inappropriate" comments and "has apologised" after he resigned over historic blog posts in which he called on people to vote for the British National Party.
Wooing business, life’s a beach or it’s a gas: Day 26 of the campaign
With just over two weeks to go until election day, the parties hit the campaign trail hard today.
Labour was focused on wooing big business to their cause. Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves told business leaders in the City of London that holding a global investment summit in the first 100 days of entering government would show Labour is “pro-business”.
Ms Reeves said: “That is an opportunity to show that, with Labour, we are pro-business, we are pro-investment, and we are determined to seize for the UK the investment that we know is out there.” She and leader Sir Keir Starmer then visited port workers in Southampton.
Shadow paymaster general Jonathan Ashworth earlier refused to say whether Labour would increase council tax, fuel duty or stamp duty.
Rishi Sunak, meanwhile, was off-shore on a gas rig in the North Sea. Mr Sunak insisted the Conservatives were “on the right track”, despite his Defence Secretary Grant Shapps admitting earlier that a Tory victory at the General Election is unlikely.
Speaking from Centrica’s Rough 47-3B gas rig off the Yorkshire coast, the prime minister said: “There’s still two-and-a-half weeks to go in this election, I’m fighting hard for every vote because I believe we can win.”
Elsewhere, Sir Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats, was back in the south west, pressing his message of doing more for rural communities.
He was on the beach in Paignton, Devon, making sandcastles and talking of fuel duty relief for more isolated areas. His first attempt at a sandcastle saw the turrets collapse…
See the latest from the campaign on ITVX here.
Robert’s half-time report: Rishi Sunak’s big mistake
As the General Election campaign ticks this week into the second half, ITV News Political Editor Robert Peston has offered his thoughts on the opening three weeks.
He wrote that in the weeks BF - before the return of Farage - it was a commonplace among MPs and commentators that the UK was a wonderful anomaly: there would be an election dominated by two mainstream centrist parties with technocratic leaders, with nary a right-wing populist insight, he writes.
Weren't we the superior lucky ones? So they chuckled. Just look at the chaos caused by the populists and extremists in the US, France, Germany and Scandinavia, and across swathes of Eastern Europe, Robert says.
Read more of his half-time report on our website.
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Suspicious accounts used to push pro-Reform content on TikTok
As Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer faced their first TV head-to-head debate of the election campaign, all eyes were on how they would perform.
But cybersecurity experts at Cardiff University working with ITV News noticed a collection of accounts with "unusual behaviour" on TikTok pushing support for Reform UK.
Clips of the ITV Leaders' Debate, alongside the accompanying interviews with other parties, were repurposed for TikTok, but it was obvious how many comments included the phrases 'Vote Reform' or 'Reform UK' being posted on repeat.
Watch Digital Video Producer George Hancorn’s report on our Here’s The Story account on YouTube.
You can also listen to George talk with ITV News presenter Faye Barker about ‘The TikTok Election’ on our What You Need To Know podcast.
What’s the future for Wales? Leaders put on the spot in ITV debate
What plans do the leading political parties have for Wales? Where do they stand on the NHS, on immigration, on the economy?
Senior representatives from the Conservatives, Labour and Plaid Cymru went head-to-head in the ITV Wales Debate on Sunday night.
Conservative David TC Davies, Jo Stevens from the Labour party and Plaid Cymru's Liz Saville Roberts answered questions on the most important topics decided by Welsh voters from ITV Cymru Wales's latest YouGov opinion poll.
You can catch up with the debate on our streaming platform, ITVX and read the key moments from the clashes here.
What’s coming up…
Monday June 18: Midnight deadline for registering to vote.
Tuesday June 19: Deadline for new postal vote applicants or amending existing absent voting arrangements.
Wednesday June 20: Inflation figure for May to be published by the ONS.
Wednesday June 20: SNP to reveal its manifesto.
Thursday June 21: Question Time Leaders’ Special to air on BBC1 with Rishi Sunak, Sir Keir Starmer and a representative from the Liberal Democrats and SNP.
And finally… last chance to ensure you can have your say
Nearly 2million applications to vote have been submitted since the General Election was called, as the deadline approaches for people to register to cast a ballot.
A total of 1,978,540 applications were made from May 23 to June 16, Government figures show.
This includes 330,621 submitted on June 13 – the highest for a single day so far this year.
You have until midnight tonight register to vote - and you can find all the details on how and where on our website.