Why France’s elections are a warning to Starmer
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 stages.
Hi, Robert Peston, ITV News Political Editor here. One of the iron laws of politics is that disaffection breeds extremism.
There was proof of that in this weekend’s French parliamentary elections, where - on a relatively high turnout - the vast majority of voters backed the hard right Rassemblement National and the far left bloc the Nouveau Front Populaire.
Macron’s Centre was squeezed till the pips squeaked, to deploy a saw from an earlier British era.
This is a European earthquake. The idea that Marine le Pen’s party - with its racist and anti EU roots - could form the next government in France (we won’t know whether that will happen till after next weekend’s second round of voting) was unthinkable for much of the post war era.
I said to Labour’s leader today on a last tour of constituencies to gee up the party’s door knockers, the failure of Macron’s bold and ambitious centrism is a lesson for the UK.
Starmer agreed. He told me that trust in [mainstream] politics is broken.
So if he and Labour take power at the end of this week, he says his over-riding priority is “to address the everyday concerns of so many who feel disaffected by politics”.
But the lesson of France is that if millions of people continue to feel unheard, they’ll dump him with the ruthlessness and unsentimentality he showed when dumping his own predecessor.
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 Presenter Julie Etchingham, with myself 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.
‘People are exhausted by constant division,’ Starmer tells ITV News
Sir Keir Starmer has told ITV News this week's general election is an opportunity to return politics to a "real force for good" as he acknowledged the British public have lost all trust.
He told Political Editor Robert Peston that if France's election results are anything to go by, a Labour government would have to work hard to turn things around for those who feel so "disaffected" with mainstream politicians.
"I genuinely think that people are exhausted with the constant division in politics and we have to find a way through that... and understand why people feel disaffected with politics and politicians and return politics to a sort of real force for good," he continued.
You can watch Robert’s interview with Sir Keir on ITVX or read more about what they discussed here.
Watch election night unfold - how ITV News will keep you up-to-date
The time for silly stunts, barbed soundbites and caustic quips is almost done - polling day is closing in fast.
ITV News has put together a stellar political line-up for its election night programme to guide you through the night, as the results are announced and the shape of the new parliament emerges.
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.
So 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.
Plunging on with the campaign - into the last few days before polling day
The election campaign is into its final three days before polling day on July 4.
Prime minister Rishi Sunak again warned voters not to hand Labour a “blank cheque” with a supermajority.
He said: “I don’t want Britain to sleepwalk into the danger of what an unchecked Labour government with a supermajority would mean.”
Home Secretary James Cleverly has claimed Labour will “gerrymander” and “distort” the British political system in order to ensure a permanent majority.
And, one former ‘big beast’ has been spotted in Westminster - could Boris Johnson yet play a last-minute tub-thumping role for the Conservatives?
Meanwhile, Labour is pushing its message that nothing is decided yet.
Campaign workers in Hertfordshire passed out pillows to journalists on Monday morning printed with the words “Don’t wake up to 5 more years of the Tories”.
Sir Keir Starmer was asked by Sky News journalist Beth Rigby after a stump speech at Hitchin Town Football Club if that is what he puts his head on when he goes to sleep.
“But it’s true,” he said. “Don’t wake up to five more years of the Tories because if you don’t vote Labour, if you don’t vote for change, change won’t happen.”
Sir Ed Davey took part in a bungee jump as he urged voters to take a similar “leap of faith” and back the Liberal Democrats on Thursday.
The Lib Dem leader sought a General Election poll bounce for his party by flinging himself off a crane platform while shouting: “Do something you’ve never done before – vote Liberal Democrat.”
One onlooker at the event in Eastbourne, East Sussex, could be heard saying: “Is there anything he won’t do?” – a nod to Sir Ed’s stunt-laden campaign, which has also included paddle-boarding and rollercoasters.
You can keep across the latest from the campaign trail across our website, on ITVX and on our social media platforms.
ITV News is one of Britain’s most trusted providers of news. You can access our expert analysis, correspondents and content on platforms beyond ITV1.
Our streaming platform ITVX has all our regional and national news programmes, plus original content and a regularly updated bulletin
Visit our website or download the news app on Apple or Android
We’re on social platforms: TikTok; Instagram; Facebook; X (Twitter); LinkedIn and YouTube
And we’ve a range of podcasts including Talking Politics and What You Need To Know
You can also follow the ITV News channel on WhatsApp for regular updates
All our journalists work to the Ofcom code
Getting to grips with knife crime tops the law and order debate
Historically, the Conservatives have positioned themselves as the party of law and order - tough on crime. Partygate eroded that brand, writes ITV News Social Affairs Correspondent Sarah Corker.
While Labour is promising to "take back our town centres from thugs and thieves" but what does that actually mean? They’re catchy slogans but tackling crime and its causes is complex.
One thing that struck me reading through the law and order sections of the various party manifestos was the repeated pledge from the Tories, Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Greens to "restore public trust in policing and the criminal justice system".
Sarah, along with other specialist correspondents at ITV News, has put the various party pledges on a range of issues - from climate to health - under the microscope.
You can catch up on our Policy 2024 series on our website here. There you can also read up on the key elements from party manifestos.
Labour and the Tories should scrap fiscal rules to deliver on levelling up, economist says
An architect of the Levelling Up agenda has told ITV News that progress has been nowhere near good enough.
Andy Haldane, chair of the government’s Levelling Up Advisory Council, said progress on tackling regional inequality in the last parliament was disappointing and that Brexit “got in the way” of achieving it.
“It's not good enough so far,” the former chief economist at the Bank of England said in an exclusive interview with ITV News. “We must, must do better.”
Haldane helped the government design the Levelling Up White Paper which was published in February 2022.
What it's been like covering party leaders' election visits to the North East
During this campaign, I've seen and interviewed the four main party leaders on visits to the North East and North Yorkshire, writes ITV News Tyne Tees Political Correspondent Tom Sheldrick.
For us regional media, it's a chance to question them on local priorities and hopefully provide some insight into who they really are.
Nowadays, actual engagements between most leaders and members of the public are rare, due to security concerns and the political risks of encountering angry voters.
So the best bits of unpredictability have come from children on school visits…
You can read more of what Tom learned from covering the campaign on the ITV News Tyne Tees website.
What’s coming up…
Wednesday July 3: Last full day of campaigning for parties.
Thursday July 4: General Election 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.
And finally… Labour is red, Tories are blue…
The bold colours of the main political parties are synonymous with their campaigns.
But why is it cobalt for Conservatives and scarlet for Labour? Not only that but why did the Lib Dems select orange or what was it that made the newest contenders, Reform UK opt for turquoise?
ITV News set out to find out the answers… read what we learned here.