![Sir Keir Starmer listens to a video message by Elton John and David Furnish during a general election campaign event at The Royal Horticultural Halls in London](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/politics/2024/06/29/TELEMMGLPICT000383829426_17196804928550_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqpVlberWd9EgFPZtcLiMQf0Rf_Wk3V23H2268P_XkPxc.jpeg?imwidth=680)
Sir Elton John endorses Labour in general election
![Sir Keir Starmer listens to a video message by Elton John and David Furnish during a general election campaign event at The Royal Horticultural Halls in London](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/politics/2024/06/29/TELEMMGLPICT000383829426_17196804928550_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqpVlberWd9EgFPZtcLiMQf0Rf_Wk3V23H2268P_XkPxc.jpeg?imwidth=680)
This blog is now closed. Follow today’s General Election updates in our latest live blog
Music legend Sir Elton John has endorsed Labour to win the next general election.
The singer sent a video message alongside his husband David Furnish and called on voters to back the party when they head to the polls on Thursday.
In the clip, which was played at a Labour rally in Westminster on Saturday night, Sir Elton warned that the creative opportunities he enjoyed through closer links to Europe were at risk of “dying out completely”.
“It’s heartbreaking to see the hopes of Britain’s next generation of creative talent downtrodden and destroyed by bureaucracy and red tape,” he said.
“The rich cultural exchange and education that informed my early years and paved the way for my career and success is drying up and in danger of dying out completely… That’s why we’re backing Keir and Labour to win this election. There is only one choice.
“Let’s help artists cut through the red tape that prevents them from thriving and contributing to this country’s future success.”
He concluded: “Let’s get behind Labour to win on 4 July.”
Sir Elton expressed his support for Sir Tony Blair in 2006 but withdrew his backing for Labour under Gordon Brown as he felt he had failed to tackle the increase in the number of HIV infections in Britain.
According to estimates by the Health Protection Agency, the number of cases rose by eight per cent between 2007 and 2008.
Sir Keir, the Labour leader, was greeted with a standing ovation as he joined supporters on Saturday.
![Sir Keir said: 'Change only happens if you vote for it, and it is time for change'](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/politics/2024/06/29/TELEMMGLPICT000383832761_17196892357340_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqbRF8GMdXQ5UNQkWBrq_MOJ7l27lL2GwsDfq_bqCh_mE.jpeg?imwidth=350)
He walked into the venue alongside Angela Rayner, his deputy, and musician and comedian Bill Bailey during the final weekend of campaigning before polling day.
Other endorsement videos played at the event came from pop singer Ed Sheeran, actors Kit Harrington and James Norton, and Dragon’s Den star Deborah Meaden.
At a rally attended by hundreds of Labour activists, Sir Keir sounded the alarm against complacency as he urged supporters to do all they could in the final days of the campaign.
“Don’t take the risk. If you want change you have to vote for it. Imagine, if you dare, waking up on July 5 and the Tories are back in.
“It could happen if we take our foot off the gas, if people think it’s all in the bag – undecided voters, and there are millions of them. It could happen.”
Sir Keir concluded: “Change only happens if you vote for it, and it is time for change. Time to stop the chaos, turn the page and rebuild our country by voting Labour on July 4.”
Today’s live coverage has ended
Today’s live coverage has ended. Here’s a roundup of the day’s events:
- The Independent said it would back Labour at the 2024 general election.
- Sir Elton John endorsed Labour in a video message before Sir Keir Starmer gave a speech at a campaign rally.
- Reform UK reported Channel 4 to the Electoral Commission.
- Sir Keir Starmer refused to confirm if David Lammy would be foreign secretary should Labour win the election.
- Nigel Farage said he would boycott the BBC in the wake of a Question Time bias row.
The Independent backs Labour
The Independent has announced it will back Labour at the 2024 election.
In an editorial, the newspaper said it was “time for change” and that it was prepared to give its support to Sir Keir Starmer’s party.
The Partygate affair and the brief premiership of Liz Truss “leaves an indelible stain on the government”, it said.
Warning that its support for Labour was conditional, the newspaper said the party must turn its promises into “policies that benefit the hardworking and hopeful people of this country”.
The Independent has not backed the Labour Party since the 2005 general election.
Starmer: ‘Always country first, Party second’
Sir Keir Starmer has given a speech at a major Labour Party event at The Royal Horticultural Halls in London.
The overarching theme was of “change”. Sir Keir said that the Labour “project” had spent four and a half years changing the party, and now it was time to “rebuild our country”.
Here are some of the key lines from the Labour leader’s speech:
Whether you’ve been serving in uniform or in your community, this campaign is for you. The fight for change is for you. And the power of the vote belongs to you.
And this is what this project has always been about. Four and a half years changing our party so we can end gesture politics and take our party to a party in the service of working people.
Always country first, Party second.
We will make our country better off, with a mission to create wealth in every community.
Economic stability with tough spending rules to keep taxes down, inflation down and prices down.
Cutting NHS waiting times, with 40,000 extra appointments and operations each and every week, 2 million a year to get our waiting lists down.
We will set up the Border Security Command to take control of our borders.
And we’ll set up Great British Energy, a publicly owned energy company that will keep your bills low, give us energy security and harness the jobs of the future.
And will recruit those 6500 teachers desperately needed in our secondary schools, giving your children the start in life they deserve.
Starmer won’t ‘bulldoze’ local government, says Burnham at Glastonbury
Andy Burnham, the Greater Manchester mayor, said Sir Keir Starmer will not “bulldoze” local government if Labour win the general election.
Speaking to reporters after an event at the Glastonbury Festival, Mr Burnham said: “We will work with whoever’s in government to get the balance right.
“It’s not Keir’s style to just bulldoze things through, I think he’ll work with us to get the balance right.”
The comments came after Burnham told a crowd at the festival that he will continue to “assert” Manchester’s devolved status.
Mr Burnham, who was met by applause from the audience, also condemned the Conservative approach to local government, using the cancellation of HS2 and alleged Covid 19 furlough discrepancies as examples.
Concerns raised over £200k Tory migration adviser funding
Jacob Freedland reports that several Tory candidates have received nearly £200k from a lobbying group whose leading figures described the Rwanda plan as a “dark moment” and source of “shame”.
Since July 2020, Caroline Nokes, David Simmonds and Simon Fell – all Tory candidates – have received £197,562 in donations from the Refugee Asylum and Migration Policy project (RAMP), according to the Electoral Commission.
RAMP takes no official position on the Rwanda plan, but two associates of the group have publicly criticised the scheme.
You can read the full story here.
Pictured: Nigel Farage campaigns in the Essex village of Great Bentley during its annual fête
![Nigel Farage with a customary pint](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/politics/2024/06/29/TELEMMGLPICT000383815466_17196739938540_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqWqpbAtgKJyHaMBh-yZTXbeDb_zHeougPJk0-Rsnxim0.jpeg?imwidth=350)
![Nigel Farage with a young fan while campaigning in Essex](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/politics/2024/06/29/TELEMMGLPICT000383816260_17196741633500_trans_NvBQzQNjv4Bq-IWLY18X4-CzgyIcjLEAj0k9u7HhRJvuo-ZLenGRumA.jpeg?imwidth=350)
![Nigel Farage campaigns in the Essex village of Great Bently](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/politics/2024/06/29/TELEMMGLPICT000383815538_17196742246000_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqeK8ehqBZJSTiVTgumtathQRSGxdwZZ3YY7Uv4oTmABQ.jpeg?imwidth=350)
Archbishop of Canterbury urges against ‘personalised abuse’
The Archbishop of Canterbury has urged people to avoid “personalised abuse” in the run-up to Thursday’s general election.
He also encouraged voters to make sure they go to the ballot box on July 4.
Justin Welby said: “In these last few days before the election, let us pray for all candidates taking part in this most essential act of democracy.
“Let us encourage courteous and kind debate and not use personalised abuse.
“Let us carefully consider issues and the common good, and above all vote.”
‘The truth will come out in the papers,’ says canvasser at centre of Reform racism row
Andrew Parker, the canvasser at the centre of the Reform racism row, has said that the “truth will come out” in the papers.
“It’ll all come out in the papers, what’ll come out is the truth,” Mr Parker told the PA news agency.
He declined to say whether he had been paid by Channel 4 to appear in the footage, but added that he was “glad” that Reform had reported the broadcaster to the Electoral Commission.
On Thursday, Channel 4 broadcast undercover footage of Mr Parker, a Reform canvasser, referring to the Prime Minister with a racial slur.
He has since called himself a “total fool” and said he has learned his lesson.
Nigel Farage said that the incident was a “set-up”, adding that Parker was an actor and has worked with Channel 4 in the past.
Ed Davey reaffirms that Lib Dems ‘share no values’ with Farage
Sir Ed Davey, the Liberal Democrat leader, has reaffirmed that his party “shares no values with Nigel Farage”.
“Liberal Democrats share no values with Mr. Farage. He can sort himself out. My job as a Liberal Democrat leader is to tell you what we’re about,” he said on Saturday.
“I want to fight a positive campaign about how we rescue our NHS and make sure we get the investment in health and care.
“Make sure we sort out the cost of living problems that people are really suffering under, and deal with things like the environmental issues, like sewage.”
On Thursday, Sir Ed made the same comments to GB News. Earlier in June, he told an Evening Standard reporter that the Liberal Democrats “do not share a single value with Nigel Farage and Reform”.
Reform reports Channel 4 to the Electoral Commission
Reform UK has said it has reported Channel 4 to the Electoral Commission after the broadcaster showed footage of a canvasser for the party referring to the Prime Minister with a racial slur.
In a letter to the Electoral Commission, Adam Richardson, the party’s secretary, claimed that it was “entirely evident that Mr Parker was a plant within the Channel 4 news piece”.
He added: “The Channel 4 broadcast has clearly been made to harm Reform UK during an election period and this cannot be described as anything short of election interference.”
Mr Farage has said the incident was a “set up”, adding that the Andrew Parker, the canvasser, was a professional actor and had previously worked with Channel 4.
On Friday, Mr Parker told GB News that he rejects any suggestion that he was a “paid actor” set-up to make Reform look bad.
Reform drops support for three candidates
Reform UK has withdrawn support from three of its candidates following reports that they had made offensive comments, the party has confirmed.
Edward Oakenfull, Robert Lomas, and Leslie Lilley will still appear on the ballot paper as Reform candidates, as it is too late for them to be removed, however the party will no longer endorse them.
The names of the three are no longer listed on the Reform UK website.
It comes after leader Nigel Farage disowned the candidates during an appearance on BBC Question Time on Friday evening.
“I want nothing to do with them,” Mr Farage said.
![Edward Oakenful, Robert Lomas and Leslie Lilley](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/politics/2024/06/29/TELEMMGLPICT000383804923_17196688696090_trans_NvBQzQNjv4Bq-IWLY18X4-CzgyIcjLEAj0k9u7HhRJvuo-ZLenGRumA.jpeg?imwidth=350)
Starmer: Labour are not a threat to national security
Another snippet from Senior Reporter Patrick Sawer, this time on Sir Keir Starmer’s response to Tory claims that a Labour election win would leave the UK vulnerable to foreign powers.
Sir Keir Starmer said it did the Conservatives “no good” to try to portray a Labour government as a risk to national security.
Speaking to journalists after a coffee morning with Army veterans he said: “On the nuclear deterrent, we’re clear about the triple lock that we’ve put in place, not only the current deterrent but the future upgrades of that deterrent and the jobs that go with it.”
He added: “To now turn around and make this ridiculous claim just shows how desperate they have become going into this election. It does them no good.”
Officials ‘doing all we can’ amid postal vote delays
Officials in Scotland have said they are doing “all we can” to ensure every voter can take part in the general election amid delays in people receiving postal votes.
Postal ballots have not been delivered on time in a string of seats. The crisis has been caused by councils not printing enough ballot papers and Royal Mail not delivering them on time, the Telegraph understands.
The problem has been particularly acute in Scotland. With the election taking place during the Scottish school summer holidays, many voters have registered for postal vote as they will be away on July 4.
Chris Highcock, secretary of the Electoral Management Board for Scotland, said: We’re doing all we can to ensure that every voter that’s entitled to vote in this election is able to take part.
“Councils right across Scotland, and indeed the UK, are taking measures to make sure that if any postal votes haven’t been received, voters can collect replacement ballot papers and make sure that they can have their say in this important election.
“We want to make sure that everyone can take part in an election if they’re entitled to vote, but also it’s very important that elections are secure, so that people can trust the results.”
He added that around 20 per cent of all votes in Scotland are now from postal voters.
Starmer urges Corbyn supporters to stick with Labour
More from Senior Reporter Patrick Sawer as Sir Keir Starmer urges Jeremy Corbyn’s supporters to stick with Labour.
Reacting to reports that 72 members had quit Islington North Labour Party to back Mr Corbyn, including the majority of its executive committee, Sir Keir said: “The choice at this election is between continuing with a Tory government or turning the page and rebuilding the country with a Labour government.
“My strong message is that change will only happen if you vote for it.”
Starmer ‘concerned’ about rise of nationalism in Europe
Sir Keir Starmer has said he is concerned by the rise of nationalism across Europe, Patrick Sawer writes.
The Labour leader said: “I am concerned about populism and nationalism.
“I think in a time where in our country and across the world there are increasing challenges of every variety, the like of which we haven’t seen until recent years, it’s very important we have a progressive answer to those challenges.
“We are a progressive party. We hope that we can win the election and form a progressive government – a government that always says ‘country first, party second’ – but also rises to the challenges both in this country and across Europe.”
Pictured: Sir Keir Starmer has coffee with veterans in Aldershot
![Sir Keir Starmer with Labour candidate Alex Baker (centre) during a visit to a veterans' coffee morning at Aldershot Town Football Club](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/politics/2024/06/29/TELEMMGLPICT000383782939_17196570452950_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqpVlberWd9EgFPZtcLiMQf0Rf_Wk3V23H2268P_XkPxc.jpeg?imwidth=350)
Sir Keir Starmer has joined veterans in Aldershot for a chat over coffee to mark Armed Forces Day.
The Labour leader said that his party would be a “government of service, for those who serve” and that it would “always ensure that those who defend our country have their voices heard at the highest level”.
Starmer refuses to confirm David Lammy would be foreign secretary
Sir Keir Starmer has refused to confirm that David Lammy would be his foreign secretary if Labour wins the general election.
Asked by reporters, the Labour leader said: “I’m not going to announce anybody who may be in a cabinet after Thursday if we win.”
On Friday, Sir Keir distanced himself from previous comments that the shadow foreign secretary had made about Donald Trump, who is the Republican candidate for November’s US election.
Mr Lammy described Mr Trump in 2018 as a “woman-hating neo-Nazi sympathising sociopath” and a “profound threat to the international order”.
Sir Keir said: “Those aren’t words that I’ve ever used. I’ve dealt with all sorts of leaders when I was chief prosecutor across the world.”
Starmer backs Sunak over Reform racism row
Sir Keir Starmer has backed Rishi Sunak’s response to the Reform UK racism scandal, in which a canvasser was filmed using a racial slur to refer to the Prime Minister.
The Labour leader said: “I thought what he said about his daughters was very powerful and I’m glad he said it.
“I share the disgust at the comments that were made.”
Turning to Reform’s leader, Nigel Farage, Sir Keir added: “This is about leadership. Leadership sets the culture and tone of a political party.
“It’s no good Nigel Farage saying he doesn’t agree [with his candidate’s racist comments]. He needs to speak as a leader.”
Footage from an undercover Channel 4 report showed Reform activist Andrew Parker using a discriminatory term about the Prime Minister.
Mr Parker has since called himself a “total fool” and said he has learned his lesson.
Nigel Farage has said that the incident was a “set-up”, adding that Parker was an actor and has worked with Channel 4 in the past.
Pictured: Ed Davey begins mammoth 1,343-mile tour of seats from John O’Groats to Land’s End
![Sir Ed Davey, Liberal Democrat leader, in John O'Groats, Scotland](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/politics/2024/06/29/TELEMMGLPICT000383750074_17196536742540_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqgsaO8O78rhmZrDxTlQBjdLdu0TL-Cg_AMOUqySXmFgU.jpeg?imwidth=350)
Sir Ed Davey, the Liberal Democrat leader, will take the party’s battlebus on a journey around seats the Lib Dems are looking to win from the Conservatives and the SNP.
Tugendhat does not rule out Tory leadership bid if Sunak quits
Tom Tugendhat, the security minister, has not ruled out a run for leadership of the Conservative Party if Rishi Sunak quits following the general election.
Asked if he wanted to be leader, he told Times Radio: “What I want to do is to make sure we’ve got a Conservative leader in this country and that’s why I’m supporting Rishi Sunak.
“Because the alternative with Keir Starmer, I’m afraid, is higher taxes, more regulation, worse growth and more unemployment.
“What we need to do is to make sure that Conservatives across this country win their seats and that’s exactly what I’ve been focused on.”
Pressed again on what happens after the election, he said: “Well, we’ll deal with hypotheticals in a different way.
“I mean, the reality is Rishi Sunak is the candidate, there’s only two candidates for prime minister, there’s Rishi Sunak and there’s Sir Keir Starmer.
“One of them is committed to lowering your taxes, protecting your borders and making a difference in everybody’s lives. The other, I’m afraid, is Sir Keir Starmer who is committed to raising your taxes, to making life a little bit harder for everybody and to lecturing you on how to live your life.”
Labour’s services shake-up ‘will force middle classes to back of the queue’
Associate Editor Gordon Rayner reports today on criticism of the Labour plan to enact the socio-economic duty in the Equality Act 2010.
Critics say it will force public bodies to put middle class people at the back of the queue for taxpayer-funded services including policing, schools and refuse collection.
Police resources, such as responding to burglaries, could also be skewed in favour of poorer areas, and bin collections could likewise be allocated on the basis that deprived areas go to the front of the queue.
The Equality Act 2010, passed in the dying days of the Gordon Brown government, included a clause that required public bodies to “have due regard to the desirability of exercising [their functions] in a way that is designed to reduce the inequalities of outcome which result from socio-economic disadvantage”.
It was described by Labour ministers at the time as “socialism in one clause” because it stressed the need for equality of outcome, rather than equality of opportunity.
You can read the full story here.
Ann Widdecombe calls for investigation into whether Reform canvasser was genuine
Ann Widdecombe has called for an investigation into a row about whether an incident in which a Reform canvasser used a racial slur against Rishi Sunak was genuine, writes Dominic Penna.
Nigel Farage has cast doubt on Channel 4 footage showing Andrew Parker, a part-time actor who lists “secret filming among his skills”, making racist comments about the Prime Minister.
Channel 4 insists the remarks were genuine but the Reform leader claims it was a “political set-up of astonishing proportions”, while Mr Parker has said his remarks were “off-the-cuff things that everyone says”.
Ms Widdecombe, Reform’s home affairs spokesman, told GB News: “I think we need to look at the facts. The facts are that the man in question is an actor, he has been in roles on television, he lists among his interests secret filmmaking. He was using a voice that as far as we can make out is his actor’s voice, not his own.
“So you’ve got to ask exactly what was he doing? And I think there needs to be an investigation. It looks to me like a setup, but if it isn’t, let Channel 4 give us all the facts.”
Nigel Farage needs to ‘get a grip of his own party’, shadow defence secretary says
Nigel Farage is fuelling a row with Channel 4 to distract from racism and homophobia issues within Reform UK, the shadow defence secretary has suggested.
John Healey told Sky News: “To some extent, I see him fuelling a row over this Channel 4 film to distract, really, from the fact that there are officials and there are candidates right at the heart of the Reform party, that have been responsible for racist, anti-gay, and other deeply offensive statements.
“And it’s for Farage to take action on them. And in the end, the culture and the standards of any political party are set by the leader and Nigel Farage wants to be seen as a leader.
“He needs to get a grip of his own party and he’s failing to do that at the moment.”
The comments came after Nigel Farage on Friday said that the incident in which a Reform canvasser was shown in undercover Channel 4 footage referring to the Prime Minister with a racial slur was a “set-up”.
Mr Farage said Andrew Parker, the canvasser, was an actor and had worked with Channel 4 in the past.
I’m not taking winning my seat ‘for granted’, says Rishi Sunak
Rishi Sunak said he is not taking winning his seat “for granted” at Thursday’s general election.
The Prime Minister, whose party continues to trail Labour by around 20 points nationally, is fighting to hold on in Richmond and Northallerton.
A Telegraph seat-by-seat poll last week suggested Mr Sunak was on track to lose his seat despite him winning a majority of 27,210 in 2019. He would become the first ever Prime Minister to be unseated at a general election.
In an interview with the Yorkshire Post, Mr Sunak said: “I never take anything for granted, and I work as hard as I can for my constituents.
“I always say that’s my day job, and it’s a job that I absolutely love. And I think most of my constituents know that I have always worked really hard for them from the day I first got this job because I love doing it.”
Mr Sunak has repeatedly insisted he will stay on as an MP for a full term if re-elected.