Five moments of a most maddening election
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 enters its final few hours.
Hi, Robert Peston here. I'm about to go submarine. Under the rules, TV journalists aren't permitted to say anything material about politics on election day. So this is my last chance to offer a few reflections as the most maddening and absurd election battle of my life draws to a close.
Here, in no particular order of importance, is a list of just a few of the events I never expected to see in an election period but did.
1) Revelations that Tory candidates and officials bet on the date of the election, rather than concentrate on winning the election, and that a Labour candidate bet he'd lose
2) A PM turning his back on free publicity that campaign money can't buy, through his early departure from a D-Day gathering of world leaders that was held to celebrate our brave war veterans
3) A wannabe Tory leader, Suella Braverman, saying that Rishi Sunak's attacks on racist remarks by Reform leaders and candidates have less force because the Tory party kept millions of pounds from a donor who made racist remarks
4) A Tory leader seemingly conceding defeat weeks before polling day by saying the vote is all about making sure Labour wins only a normal majority, not what Sunak calls a "super" one
5) A prime minister drowning in the pouring rain when announcing the dissolution of parliament, for want of an umbrella
The die for tomorrow's vote was probably cast long before Sunak announced July 4 would be the day.
I'll explain more in coming days. That's a treat to look forward to, isn't it?
For more analysis on the day’s events, check out Talking Politics, our podcast from the campaign live from 4pm on ITVX, hosted today by Presenter Julie Etchingham, with me 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.
All over bar the shouting? Last few hours of the campaign tick down
Day 42 - the last day of election campaigning - and it seems some senior Tories have all but thrown in the towel.
Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride, asked on ITV’s Good Morning Britain whether he agrees with ex-home secretary Suella Braverman that it is effectively “over”, said: “What I’m saying is very clear, which is that all the polls are pointing to one very clear conclusion tomorrow: a Labour government with a huge, huge majority.”
His boss, Rishi Sunak, appearing later on ITV’s This Morning, tried to play down the comments: “Here’s what I’d say, actually, here’s what I’d say.
“We just saw some analysis which showed that just 130,000 people can make the difference in this election. So, everyone watching who thinks, ‘oh, this is all a foregone conclusion’, it’s not.”
Meanwhile, Sir Keir Starmer - on a three-nation dash - has said the Conservatives are “chaotic and divided”, and described Boris Johnson as “exhibit A” of this, after the former prime minister made a surprise appearance at a campaign event on Tuesday.
He said talk of a supermajority was tantamount to “voter suppression”, designed to keep people at home and he urged supporters that change will only happen if people vote for it. Labour received a late shot in the arm with the backing of The Sun newspaper.
Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey finished as he started - with a stunt as boarded a yellow JCB tractor during a visit to Chippenham in Wiltshire to knock down a blue wall.
“Farmers and rural communities have been let down by the Conservatives quite badly,” he said.
North of the border, a new poll published on Wednesday suggested the SNP could be pulling away from Labour in the dying embers of the campaign, and leader John Swinney claimed “a handful” of voters could decide close races across the country.
Nigel Farage took to the boxing ring in Clacton, where he is standing to be MP, with heavyweight contender Derek Chisora. He expressed “regret” at Reform UK “letting some bad people” stand as candidates.
You can keep across the last few hours of campaigning across our website, on ITVX and on our social media platforms.
How to watch election night unfold - live across ITV
ITV News has put together a stellar political line-up for its election night programme to guide you through the night.
Tom Bradby - who anchored election nights in 2015, 2017 and 2019 - will again lead ITV's coverage.
He will be joined by political insider guests including from Tory chancellor George Osborne, ex-Labour minister Ed Balls and Nicola Sturgeon, former SNP First Minister.
What are the key moments to look out for? Which seat declaring when could give a solid indication of whether it’s going to be a good night for some, and a bad night for others? Read our comprehensive hour-by-hour guide here.
Election 2024 Live: The Results airs on ITV1, ITVX, STV and STV Player from 9.50pm.
Despair may be the real winner of this election
One of the privileges of being a journalist is getting people to waive their privacy and talk about who they’re going to vote for at each election, writes ITV News UK Editor Paul Brand.
Voters generally get into the spirit of elections and, like the Euros or the Olympics this summer, want to tell you which team they support.
But not so much this time. At least not to the same degree…
You can read more from Paul of why he thinks this election is different on our website. And you can watch his final report in our Fight for 24 series on ITVX.
'Schools are becoming the fourth emergency service for families in crisis'
More than four million children were living in poverty in the UK in 2023, an increase of 100,000 on the previous year.
Yet, how to tackle child poverty and help those living in the most deprived communities has barely featured in this election campaign, angering education unions, headteachers, and charities.
In the latest of our series examining key election issues, ITV News Social Affairs Correspondent Sarah Corker travelled to Middlesbrough and London to meet those at the sharp end.
You can read more of what she learned here and watch her report on catch-up on ITVX.
Polling day: Do you need photo ID, can you use your own pen and what if you’re ill?
Millions of people heading out on Thursday to vote in the General Election will have done so before. For some, it’ll be the first time, for others it could be into double figures.
This will be the first general election in which photo ID will be required - and only certain forms will be acceptable.
And there are number of other do’s and don’ts that apply on polling day - so ITV News has put them all here on a handy guide.
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Exit polls: What are they, how do they work and how accurate are they?
Come the evening of July 4, as the clock ticks towards 10pm, party leaders, workers, political journalists and pundits will be anxiously awaiting news of the General Election exit poll.
Exit polls take place at about 144 polling stations across the country, with tens of thousands of people asked to privately fill in a replica ballot as they leave, to get an indication of how they voted.
All that data - constituency by constituency - is analysed to give us the national exit poll prediction of how many MPs each party is forecast to gain in the new parliament.
Prof Colin Rallings, ITV News’ election analyst has given his thoughts on exit polls here.
From showbiz to SW1: The celebrities running to become your MP
A musician who's headlined Wembley, a double Olympic gold medallist and a man who became famous on TV because the nation liked watching him... watch TV, are just some of the celebrities standing in the election.
Celebrities are no strangers to using their platform to raise awareness of socio-political issues.
ITV News has taken a look at some of those to have gone a step further by throwing their hat in the ring in the hope of winning a seat in the Houses of Parliament…
What’s coming up…
Thursday July 4: General Election polling day - polls open 7am, close 10pm.
Thursday July 4: ITV stages Election 2024 Live: The Results, on ITV1, ITVX, STV and STV Player from 9.50pm.
Friday July 5: The 58th UK prime minister will likely be elected.
Saturday July 6: New Cabinet, ministers of state expected to be appointed.
Tuesday July 9: Parliament set to be recalled; new MPs sworn in.
And finally… caught on camera…
Knock, knock. "Hi, it's David Cameron," is probably a greeting many Britons wouldn't expect to hear on their doorstep during the run-up to a General Election.
But the Foreign Secretary is one of several politicians who have been caught on doorball cameras, while campaigning for their respective parties.
The resulting footage has been widely shared online, although not always to the advantage of those captured on video…