Starmer reacts to Boris Johnson’s speech at last night's Tory campaign rally
Last night saw former Prime Minister Boris Johnson make a speech at a Conservative Party rally. Johnson, who has played a minimal role in the Tory campaign, spoke about the “insanity” of giving Labour a supermajority. After all, 2019 saw voters ‘send Jeremy Corbyn and his then-disciple Keir Starmer into orbit’, and from Friday, if the polls are correct, we will see a Labour government 'hike taxes radically' and enforce ‘mandatory wokery’.
When asked how he felt about Johnson’s last-minute intervention, and its potential to convince voters to stick with the Conservative plan, Sir Keir said: ‘Oh no, I’m not worried in the slightest. Having argued for six weeks that they’re chaotic and divided, to bring out…Exhibit A with 24 hours to go just vindicated the argument I’ve been making.
‘I’m only assuming that sometime about lunchtime today there’ll be a joint press conference from Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak on economic stability for the country going forward. I suspect that’s what’s coming next.”
Mel Stride predicts ‘the largest Labour landslide majority this country has ever seen’
Mel Stride, work and pensions secretary and one of Rishi’s closest allies, has warned of a huge Labour majority, saying: ‘I totally accept that where the Labour polls are at the moment means that tomorrow is likely to see the largest Labour majority that this country has ever seen.’
His comments are seen as a bid to persuade wavering right-wing voters to opt for the Tories, so as to avoid a Labour supermajority government - a recent change in tack in the Conservatives’ campaign messaging and one that is not only damaging moral within the party but appears to be failing to cut through to voters.
Postal vote delays could bar Kemi Badenoch from standing as party leader
Kemi Badenock may be barred from a future Conservative leadership contest due to delays in postal votes in the constituency of North West Essex where she is standing as candidate.
More than 90 constituencies have been hit by problems, with ballot papers failing to arrive on time, leading to councils to introduce emergency measures including delivering the papers by post.
If Kemi wins her seat by a small margin, there is every likelihood that Labour will challenge the result and demand a re-run of the vote. Were this to happen, she would not be considered an MP until after the process, thereby making her ineligible to stand in the leadership contest.
The former Business Secretary is the bookies’ favourite (11/4) to replace Rishi Sunak, who is expected to resign as party leader if (when) the Conservatives lose the election.
Poll watch
The Conservatives will win just 64 seats at tomorrow’s election, according to a new Survation poll, with Labour securing seats in parliament. Such a victory would outstrip the 418 seats won by Tony Blair in 1997, and therefore would be the party’s biggest win in its 124 year history.
Moments of the day
Ofcom-Watch, a new campaign against the regulator Ofcom, has instructed a senior barrister to lead an independent inquiry into alleged ‘election interference’ by Channel 4. The accusations relate to the broadcaster’s undercover report into the Reform campaign in Clacton, which showed campaigner Andrew Parker making racist comments about the Prime Minister and other unsavoury remarks. However, Parker was revealed to be an actor by profession, which raises the important question of whether he was hired by Channel 4…
ITV’s This Morning had an unusual line up today, with the Prime Minister appearing on the show to discuss his favourite food (sandwiches, who knew?!) after ‘Britain’s most tattooed mum’ appeared wearing little other than her extensive inking.
Whatever the outcome of tomorrow’s election, Nigel Farage and Reform UK rule social media, having racked up over 2.8 million reactions on Facebook alone. The combined number of Labour and Conservative engagements are at just 60% of Reform’s.
Reigning supreme on X is Farage, who has amassed a staggering 13.9 million likes and re-tweets, and 39.4 billion views on videos he has posted during the election campaign period. In comparison, Starmer has gathered 1.95 billion views and Sunak has 5.34 billion. This online engagement supports the recent polling findings by JL Partners, who revealed support for Reform is soaring among 16 to 17 year olds.
Finally, the Sun announced it's 'time for a new manager', as it endorsed Labour. Although making clear there are 'still plenty of concerns about Labour', notably its lack of a clear plan 'for getting a grip on immigration, legal or illegal', the paper said it wishes the party every success.
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