Election latest: Liz Truss aspirations 'absolutely right', minister says (2024)

Stewart Hosie, the SNP's campaign director, has been speaking to Sky News this morning.

One policy the SNP is advocating is to introduce a "social tariff" on energy prices - this is a rate that is more affordable for people who need it.

Asked if this policy was able to be implemented by Scotland, Mr Hosie confirms it is not.

He said: "Oh no, the SNP, the SNP can't do that. This is a reserved matter.

"Energy is reserved, this has got to be a UK policy.

"This is a UK election and this is exactly the kind of measure SNP MPs will be pushing for when we return to Westminster."

Another policy the SNP wants to implement is an increase in NHS funding.

Because the money for the Scottish NHS is calculated off the back of the UK's funding for the service, the party is advocating for a UK-wide boost.

The SNP is calling for the UK-wide funding to go up by £10bn, so Scotland can get another £1.6bn.

On polling, Mr Hosie says that the "only poll that matters is 4 July".

The party is forecasted to lose between 10 and 20 seats in various polls - it had 43 when parliament was dissolved for the election.

He adds that the party is running a "first class" ground campaign.

Yesterday was the last day that people could apply to register to vote before the general election.

Some 632,863 submitted applications - slightly below the659,666 applications on the equivalent deadline day in 2019.

The deadline was at 11.59pm on Tuesday.

It means more than 2.7 million applications to vote were submitted from 23 May, the first full day after Rishi Sunak called the general election, to 18 June.

More than half of those who applied were aged 34 and under,with 30% from 25 to 34-year-olds and 26% from those under 25.

Meanwhile, 17% of applications were from 35 to 44-year-olds, 11% from 45 to 54-year-olds, 9% from 55 to 64-year-olds, 4% from 65 to 74-year-olds and 2% from people aged 75 and over.

It is likely some of those who applied to register to vote were already registered, so the632,863 figure is likely higher than the number of people were added to the list of registered voters.

The prime minister is currently answering questions from the public on LBC.

One caller asks if Rishi Sunak will serve as an MP for the full parliament - up to five years - even if the Conservatives are in opposition.

Mr Sunak says "yes" - but that he is focused on winning the election.

The PM is also asked about high-profile donors to the Conservative Party - like Phones4U founder John Caudwell - choosing to back Labour instead (read more here).

He says these are some of the UK's "richest men and can probably afford Starmer's tax rises".

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

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

This is day 28 of the campaign. Jack and Sam discuss inflation, the SNP manifesto launch, and how Labour's transition planning is going.

Email Jack and Sam:jackandsam@sky.uk

Speaking to Sky News this morning, Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride praised former prime minister Liz Truss's aspirations for the UK economy.

He was asked about comments from the chancellor, who praised Ms Truss's goals as "good things to aim for", according to The Guardian.

He said: "I think in terms of the aspirations that Liz had, which were to get taxes down, and recognising that low tax generally means growth, and I think that's absolutely right.

"I mean, I was very clearly on the record at the time as chair of the Treasury select committee having considerable doubts about the way in which that particular policy or aspiration was pursued.

"So, I think [Chancellor Jeremy Hunt] is absolutely right though that what we've got to do now is continue to bear down on taxes."

During the interview, Mr Stride admitted the election is "undoubtedly tough" - but there are still two weeks to go and the Tory party will "fight for every single vote".

As political correspondent Mhari Aurora points out, it's unusual for Conservatives to endorse Ms Truss due to her unpopularity with the public.

"Perhaps this is partly because if they feel the election's already been lost, they need to start appealing to the voter base, to members," she says - as Ms Truss was popular with grassroots Tories.

Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves is speaking to Sky News on behalf of Labour this morning.

She is asked about Labour's stance of not raising taxes on "working people".

Sir Keir defined them yesterday as "people who earn their living, rely on our [public] services and don't really have the ability to write a cheque when they get into trouble".

Asked if this was correct, Ms Reeves repeated several times that "working people are people who go out to work".

She adds that the idea is to change who the government thinks about when making policy.

Ms Reeves says: "Whether you've got a small level of savings, whether you've been able to save a little bit more or whether you're savings have now totally disappeared because of the Conservative cost of living crisis, you're paying the price for the chaos and decline that we've seen these last two years."

Pressed on whether a fiscal event will take place after the election if Labour wins, Ms Reeves says the party would wait to hold a budget until the autumn.

She rules out an event in July.

The shadow chancellor does not rule out MPs being forced to sit for longer during the summer if Labour wins to get its administration off the ground.

Mel Stride, the work and pensions secretary, is speaking to Sky News this morning.

He welcomes inflation returning to the 2% target as a "significant moment".

Mr Stride claims it shows the Conservative Party can be trusted with the economy.

Controlling inflation is the responsibility of the Bank of England, although the government sets the target of 2%.

Challenged that inflation is nothing to do with the government, Mr Stride says Downing Street has to take decisions like whether to raise public sector pay that can have inflationary impacts.

Sky's Kay Burley points out that when inflation was high, the government was saying it was not their responsibility.

Mr Stride says that while there was a big inflation shock that impacted economies across the world, how individual countries responded shows the competency of different governments.

The rate of inflation dropped to 2% in May - down from 2.3% in April and ending a three-year battle to return price rises to target levels.

It hasn't been this low since July 2021, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.

A drop to 2% had been forecast in a poll of economists by Bloomberg.

The target for the headline CPI figure is 2% - set by the Bank of England and central banks across the world.

Economists think the Bank of England will still want more evidence inflation is sustainably under control before cutting interest rates - with a hold at 5.25% widely expected tomorrow before a potential cut in August.

Rates are kept high in order to tame inflation by squeezing the economy.

You can read more about the inflation rise in our Money blog.

The latest in a series of YouGov and Sky News MRP polls is set to be published at 5pm today.

It is an MRP (multiple regression and post stratification) poll.

This is the first time we have gathered the data since candidates were confirmed, and manifestos were launched.

It is also the first poll since Reform's Nigel Farage said he would stand at the election.

Sky News'deputy political editor Sam Coates says: "We've had lots of them from other parties, but I think YouGov is the gold standard, which is why we use them here on Sky News.

"And it will tell us basically how the campaign has been going for the political parties.

"So we'll be looking to see whether it's been getting better for the Tories since Rishi Sunak launched the campaign - or maybe worse - and how Labour are fairing.

"And what is going on in Scotland today, of course, with the SNP launching their manifesto.

"And what about the smaller parties? Are they benefiting for some unpopularity of Keir Starmer?

"So one of these big campaign moments at 5pm today."

What is an MRP poll?

You might come across the term MRP quite a lot in the coming weeks as we head towards the general election on 4 July.

An MRP poll – which stands for multilevel regression and post-stratification – is a type of poll that gets pundits excited because it draws from large amounts of data, including a large sample size and additional information like locations.

MRP polls first ask a large representative sample of people how they will vote. They then use that information of how different groups say they will vote combined with information about the sorts of people who live in different constituencies. This allows the pollster to estimate how people will vote in each constituency across the country - even when they may have surveyed just a few people, or even none, in some places.

This can then be broken down into smaller groups to see how voters in different areas say they plan to vote. Rather than making more generalised assumptions that everyone behaves the same way in different constituencies, it takes into account the fact that every constituency is its own race and local issues and trends may be at play.

What MRP can't do is account for very specific local factors - such as a hospital or large employer closing down in a constituency, or a scandal relating to a particular candidate.

It still involves a lot of assumptions and estimates – and some races are too close to call with any level of certainty. It also only gives a snapshot of people's opinions, and a lot can change over the course of an election campaign. However, it does give us a more nuanced idea about what the general election result could be than other more generic polls.

By Faye Brown, political reporter

The general election may be "the last chance" to fix the UK's "broken renting system", housing organisations have warned as they called on party leaders to come up with bolder solutions to the crisis.

In an open letter to Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer, groups representing tenants said thousands more people "face homelessness, poverty and exploitation" unless a "serious policy offer" is put on the table.

It comes as one renter told Sky News how he has been priced out of his home following a 40% increase in rent - despite the flat having "an excessive mould issue".

The groups, including the New Economics Foundation (NEF) and Generation Rent, want all party leaders to commit to rent controls, a full ban on no-fault evictions and greater investment in social housing.

In the letter, shared exclusively with Sky News, they said: "As organisations representing and working with tens of thousands of private renters across the UK, we are warning the next government that the housing emergency is set to deepen unless major action is taken as part of a serious housing policy offer.

"This could be the last chance to fix our broken renting system before countless more renters face homelessness, poverty and exploitation. "

Read the full story here: