Election latest: More bad news for Tory campaign as latest donation figures released (2024)

The Labour Party raised almost £4.4m in the second full week of the general election campaign - close to 15 times the amount brought in by the Tories.

Rishi Sunak's party took in just under £300,000 between 6 and 12 June.

Reform UKraised more than double this figure, with £742,000 taken. However, £500,000 of this money was handed over by Britain Means Business, a company run by Reform's deputy leader Richard Tice.

TheLiberal Democratsalso took in more than the Conservatives, raising £335,000.

The Green Party raised £20,000.

You can read more from Sky News below:

The Politics Hub is now under way, hosted by political correspondentAli Fortescue.

The fast-paced programme dissects the inner workings of Westminster, with interviews, insights, and analysis - bringing you, the audience, into the corridors of power.

Joining Ali tonight are:

• Alison McGovern, the shadow employment secretary;
• Richard Graham, member of 1922 Committee.
  

And on her panel are:

• Guto Harri, former director of communications for Number 10 under Boris Johnson;
• Caroline Flint, the former Labour MP for Don Valley.

Watch live on Sky News, in the stream at the top of this page, and follow live updates here in the Politics Hub.

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

This is day 30 of the campaign. Jack and Sam discuss the betting scandal clouding the Tory campaign, last night's Question Time and Labour's Rachel Reeves opening up.

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

Labour's deputy leader Angela Rayner has called for the Tories and the prime minister to "come clean" and disclose further details of alleged gambling rule breaches.

During a visit to a manufacturing technology centre near Coventry, Ms Rayner was asked if Rishi Sunak should confirm how many people were known to be involved in the election date betting row.

"I think he should be up front if he knows what the details are," she replied.

"He should explain and inform people about that. I think it's worse for the Conservative Party that they've got this drip-feed approach.

"I think they should just come clean and tell people what's happened."

Nigel Farage has reiterated that he blames the West and NATO for the Russian invasion of Ukraine - as he confirmed that he previously said he "admired" Vladimir Putin as a statesman.

Speaking to the BBC, the Reform UK leader was asked about his previous comments on the conflict.

Asked about Russia invading Ukraine in 2022, Mr Farage told Nick Robinson that he has been saying there would be a war in Ukraine due to the "ever-eastward expansion of NATO and the European Union" since the Berlin Wall fell in 1989.

He said this gave Mr Putin a reason to tell the Russian people the West was "coming for" them and "to go to war".

The Reform leader confirmed his belief that the West "provoked" the conflict - but added that it was the Russian president's "fault".

Mr Farage was also asked about comments he made previously about Mr Putin being the statesman he most admired.

Mr Farage said he disliked him, but added: "I admired him as a political operator because he's managed to take control of running Russia."

"This is the nonsense, you know, you can pick any figure, current or historical, and say, you know, did they have good aspects?" he added.

"And if you said, well, they were very talented in one area, then suddenly you're the biggest supporter."

Our weeknight politics showPolitics Hubwill be live on Sky News from 7pm with ourpolitical correspondentAli Fortescuehosting this evening.

The fast-paced programme dissects the inner workings of Westminster, with interviews, insights, and analysis - bringing you, the audience, into the corridors of power.

Joining Ali tonight:

• Alison McGovern, the shadow employment secretary;
• Richard Graham, member of 1922 Committee;

And on her panel are:

• Guto Harri, former director of communications for Number 10 under Boris Johnson;
  
• Caroline Flint, the former Labour MP for Don Valley.
  

Watch live on Sky News, in the stream at the top of this page, and follow live updates here in the Politics Hub.

WatchPolitics Hubfrom 7pm every night during the election campaign on Sky channel 501, Virgin channel 602, Freeview channel 233, on theSky News websiteandappor onYouTube.

From first past the post to voter ID, here's everything you need to know about the general election in less than five minutes.

Government borrowing was less than expected in May, new figures have revealed.

Net borrowing - the difference between public sector spending and income - was £15bn, an increase of £0.8bn on the same time last year, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported on Friday.

The amount is below the £15.7bn forecast by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) and less than expected by economists.

However, it was still the highest amount for the month of May since theCOVID-19 pandemic.

The ONS also said that public sector net debt, excluding public sector banks, was provisionally estimated at 99.8% of gross domestic product (GDP) in May - the highest level since March 1961.

The figure is also 3.7 percentage points higher than during the same period last year.

Economists said it showed that whoever wins theupcoming general electionwill face a string of potential financial challenges.

It's 5pm - time for your teatime election update.

The general election takes place in under two weeks, and political parties from across the House of Commons are busy on the campaign trail.

Here's what you might have missed so far today:

• Rishi Sunak has reiterated he was "incredibly angry" when he learned about allegations that his own parliamentary aid Craig Williams, who is a Tory candidate, had placed a bet on the election;
• Laura Saunders, the candidate for Bristol North West, and her husband, director of campaigns Tony Lee, are also being investigated by the Gambling Commission;
• David TC Davies, the Welsh secretary, told Sky News this morning that he "certainly" did not bet on the date of the general election;
  
• And, as we have just learned, the Conservatives got less than £300,000 in party donations between 7 and 12 June - far behind the £4.3m handed to Labour;
• Mr Sunak's favourability is now at an all time low, with three quarters of Britons having an unfavourable view of him - less even than Mr Johnson's lowest polling;
• The Welsh Conservatives have launched their manifesto today.

• Over with Labour, who - as we just mentioned - have come top of the list for party donations for the second week of the general election campaign.
• And Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer today said he would not enter negotiations with the Scottish government on an independence referendum if the SNP wins a majority of Scottish seats at the 4 July election;
• Sir Keir has also admitted today that the choice the public faced in the 2019 general election - Boris Johnson or Jeremy Corbyn - "wasn't a good one";
• And Welsh Labour has launched its manifesto today, with shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves detailing the "simple choice" voters have to face on 4 July.

• Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey today criticised Rishi Sunak's response to his party's betting scandal as "not good enough";
• And Plaid Cymru has claimed Welsh Labour's manifesto lacks ambition and undermines devolution. The party said that Labour is imposing further austerity on Wales with £1.8bn worth of cuts to public services.

While you're here, check out more of our election coverage below:

Norman Phillips and his wife Ros – who lives with multiple sclerosis and dementia - are the human faces of the social care crisis.

Initially Norman was able to combine work with his caring responsibilities but as Ros's condition worsened, he took early retirement.

The couple found help hard to come by and after Norman suffered an injury, they were forced to sell their home to settle care-related debts.

Ros is now subject to an NHS continuing healthcare plan after Norman suffered a breakdown earlier this year and authorities decided he was unable to carry on caring for his wife.

This includes round the clock care for Ros – something Norman says wouldn't have been needed if a lower level of help had been made available earlier.

He said: "They've got six million of us unpaid carers. If they… help us, we can help the system.

"But what's happened to me, you know, is the system just kept backing away and backing away until I cracked."

Read political correspondent Rob Powell's full report below.