Election latest: Sunak and Starmer to take part in Sky News leaders' special next week (2024)

Next, we ask Treasury minister Bim Afolami about the tax row that has been raging today, and in particular, those who have challenged the veracity of the claim that Labour would raise taxes by £2,000 per household.

He insists that the claim is not a "lie", saying: "Of the 27 costings that were included, 21 of them were done by independent civil servants."

He says it is "really sad to see the Labour Party just trying to distract people".

Sophy Ridge pushes back, pointing out thatNick Davies of the Institute for Government has said his work was used by the Tory party in a nonsense way.

But Mr Afolami sticks to his position that "the vast majority of this was done, costed by independent civil servants", but adds the £2,000 figure was "not produced by civil servants", which "the prime minister never said".

Asked if civil servants are really independent as they work for the government, Mr Afolami says they are "making independent judgments that they are willing to stand behind".

He also repeats that the £2,000 figure was "Conservative Party analysis, but we drew upon independent analysis also".

Sophy then puts to Mr Afolami that taxes have gone up £13,000 per household since 2019, so £2,000 seems a bargain in comparison.

He replies: "I don't recognise that number, frankly, because that, I've never seen that calculation."

Disposable income, he says, is "over £1,000 higher" in real terms since 2010.

Finally on this topic, Sophy puts to the minister that no one is being straight about the constraints on public spending we are likely to see after the election.

He replies that he does not think it is a "fair" assessment, saying the Tories have worked to bring interest rates down by reducing inflation, for example.

He also says the Tory party's plans show a 1% increase above inflation in public spending without needing to tax more - a plan Labour has not matched.

"I'm not saying the choices are easy, and I'm not saying that there can't be things happening in the next parliament that you can't anticipate now."

But he says Sir Keir Starmer must be "honest about what his plans are".

Our first guest on tonight's edition of Politics Hub With Sophy Ridgeis Treasury minister Bim Afolami, and we started by asking if he is looking forward to watching Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer taking part in next week's Sky News leaders' event.

He replies: "Well, frankly, after the prime minister's performance last night against the poor performance of Keir Starmer, I'm very much looking forward to it."

He adds that it'll be "a good spectacle and a good event".

'Wrong' to dismiss TV debates

Asked how important it is for leaders to put themselves forward for interviews and scrutiny, Mr Afolami replies that there are "a lot of undecided people" in this election.

"Obviously, the manifestos are still to come, and that's part of it, but it's important that both leaders get to interrogate each other's plans as well."

He goes on to say it is "wrong" that some dismiss the debates as "too shouty" or say they don't matter.

"There are lots of people who still do not know how they're going to vote. And they are looking very carefully at these debates," he says.

There are two reasons I don't really want to discuss the Conservative claim that a Labour government would cost you £2,000 in extra taxes.

It's obviously been disputed.

Not just because it's cumulative rather than annual – but because it's based on an awful lot of assumptions, with some conclusions even being disowned by the authors who did the research.​

But the first reason I really don't want to talk about it is because the Conservatives want us to – even if we're discussing the fact the number is being disputed, we're still talking about Labour putting up tax.

And the second reason is even more important: the parties are both arguing about whether each other's sums add up.

Well, they don't, do they?

Both of them are promising they won't raise income tax, national insurance, or VAT – three fifths of the total tax revenue.

Nobody wants to borrow other than to invest. Health, schools, and defence are all ring-fenced from spending cuts in some form.

I genuinely don't understand how this all adds up. Not even close.

Public spending projections after the next election have been described as a "fantasy" by economists – the tax burden is set to hit a historic high, and we're spending more on debt interest payments than education.

Forget about the quibbling over a few numbers here and there.

Because it doesn't seem to me like any party is being honest about just how difficult it will be after the election, and the kind of choices that the next government will have to make – no matter who it turns out to be.

Both Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer will take part in a special leaders' event programme next week, Sky News has confirmed.

The Battle For Number 10, a UK Election Leaders Special Event, will be aired on Wednesday 12 June.

The event will be live from Grimsby in front of an audience.

The new Grimsby and Cleethorpes constituency is complex andlikely to be a key battleground in the election.

If you would like to be part of this studio audience, and be given the opportunity to ask a question to one of the party leaders, please complete the short questionnaire inthis link.

Sky News will put the main candidates vying to lead the country under scrutiny in front of a representative audience drawn from the local area and nationally.

The two men will look to pitch to voters in an in-depth interview before answering questions from the audience.

The Conservative Party said: "Rishi Sunak looks forward to taking part in Sky News' leaders event next week.

"We hope that Sky will continue to work with the Labour Party to find a way to ensure both leaders are on stage taking questions from the live audience at the same time for at least part of the programme.

"And we hope that Keir Starmer can find the courage to agree.

"This would provide the best possible opportunity for voters to see the clear choice at this election."

The Leaders Special will be the second televised event with the two men, coming halfway through the general election campaign and just three weeks ahead of polls opening.

Read more here:

Our weeknight politics showPolitics Hub With Sophy Ridgeis live now on Sky News.

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

Sophy will be hearing fromBim Afolami, the Tory economic secretary to the Treasury, as the prime minister comes under fire for his claims about Labour's tax plans during last night's TV debate.

Also on the show is chefTom Kerridge, one of the business leaders backing Labour, and our election analystAdam Boulton.

On Sophy's panel tonight are:

• Jim Murphy, former leader of Scottish Labour;
• Nick Ferrari, LBC radio presenter.

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

WatchPolitics Hub With Sophy Ridgefrom Monday to Thursday on Sky channel 501, Virgin channel 602, Freeview channel 233, on theSky News websiteandappor onYouTube.

On 12 June, Sky News will be hosting an election leaders event in Grimsby - a key marginal seat and one of our Target Towns this election year.

The Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and the Conservative leader Rishi Sunak have both agreed to attend, and we are looking for a live audience to join us on the night.

If you would like to be part of this studio audience, and be given the opportunity to ask a question to one of the party leaders, please complete the short questionnaire inthis link.

Our national correspondent Tom Parmentersays theSky News election leaders' special event next week will be "another key part of this general election".

The Battle For Number 10will take place inthemarginal constituency of Grimsby and Cleethorpes, a battleground seat.

Two constituencies are being merged into one; they are both currently held by the Conservatives, and Labour is "desperately trying to get back hold of this traditional territory".

Tom explains the format of the event on Wednesday 12 June will be "different to the debate last night, which was head-to-head".

The Sky News event will see Sir Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak "look to pitch to voters in an in-depth interview before answering questions from the audience".

'An unmissable moment'

Tom explained there will be full Sky News coverage throughout the day from bothGrimsby and Cleethorpes, as well as after.

"It will be an unmissable moment in this election, as Grimsby becomes the first town away from the major cities to host this kind of major political moment."

Grimsby has its own backstory, Tom explained, with the fishing industry having moved away.

"It is also a microcosm of issues that face families and business up and down the country - the cost of living, the NHS, what are politicians doing to try to rebuild trust with the electorate?"

People in Grimsby "tell it like it is" and "will not hold back", so "it will be fascinating to see just how they respond to the direct questioning from the people".

If you would like to be part of this studio audience, and be given the opportunity to ask a question to one of the party leaders, please complete the short questionnaire inthis link.

We've just had the first reaction from Vaughan Gething, the first minister of Wales, to him losing a vote of confidence in his leadership (more here).

Asked for his reaction to the vote, he said it was "a very disappointing afternoon".

He labelled the confidence motion a "transparent gimmick in the general election, led by the Welsh Conservatives".

The Welsh Labour leader went on to say that two of his MSs (members of the Senedd, the Welsh parliament) were unwell and unable to participate in the vote.

He hit out at the Welsh Tories for not pairing, meaning "you even up people from one party to another".

"We did that for more than three months for the leader of the Welsh Conservatives. So, all the questions about integrity - there are lots of questions about the integrity of other people."

On if he is considering his position in the wake of losing the confidence vote, Mr Gething said: "I'm here proud to be the first minister of Wales, to serve and lead my country.

"That's what I've done today. That's what I'll carry on doing."

Reform UK has pulled to within two points of the Conservatives, according to the latest YouGov poll of the campaign for Sky News.

The exclusive weekly survey, conducted on Monday and Tuesday before the head-to-head TV debate, puts Labour on 40%, the Tories on 19%, Reform UK on 17%, Liberal Democrats on 10% and the Greens on 7%.

Most of the poll, carried out using different methodology to last week's, was conducted after Nigel Farage became Reform leader on Monday.

Compared to the last voting intention poll taken on Thursday and Friday, the Conservatives are down two, Labour is down six, the Lib Dems up two, and Reform up two.

This means under the new methodology, the lead for Labour is 21 points.

How was the poll carried out?

YouGov interviewed 2,144 adults online.

The impact of the methodological change - which applies modelling to turnout and the behaviour of "don't knows" - is typically to reduce the Labour lead by three and increase the Lib Dem share by about two.

There is usually no boost to the Tory share.

YouGov says the impact on this particular poll is slightly bigger because of rounding, and the Labour lead under the old method would have been 27 points, up from the 25 point lead at the end of last week.

It's been a day of fiery fallout from last night's debate between the prime minister and Labour leader.

Rishi Sunak has faced backlash over his claims that Labour's plans will cost households £2,000 more in tax, with Sky's economics and data editor Ed Conway among those questioning the figures.

Whether you're on the train home or catching up before tea, here's everything you need to know:

• We'll start with Labour's no-nonsense response to Rishi Sunak's claims about their tax plans last night, which peaked with Sir Keir Starmer accusing the prime minister of repeatedly lying;
• Mr Sunak's claim is also being looked into by the UK's statistics watchdog, while doubt has been cast on his allegation by a top Treasury official who said the civil service had nothing to do with it;
• The Tories have stood by the claim that households will pay an extra £2,000, but Labour insist working families won't be out of pocket;
• Ed Conway has written about why you should probably be sceptical of those claims and says even if true, the amount is nowhere near the extra burden placed upon taxpayers in recent years.

• Nigel Farage's return to frontline politics this week has also dragged down the Tories' ratings in our latest election polling;
• Our exclusive survey from YouGov shows Mr Farage's party have pulled within two points of the Conservatives, with Labour on 40%, the Tories on 19% and Reform on 17%;
• Speaking of Mr Farage, a woman has been charged after he had a milkshake thrown over him in Clacton yesterday.

• Elsewhere, the Welsh first minister has lost a vote of no confidence, having been left in tears as the Senedd debated his future;
• Vaughan Gething faced the vote after concerns were raised about a campaign donation he received, allegations he misled the COVID Inquiry, and Plaid Cymru withdrawing from its co-operation deal with Labour - but he has said he won't quit;
• In Scotland, Scottish Labour has been extolling the virtues of the party's plan for Great British Energy, which would be headquartered in the country;
• Campaigning has been quieter in England, as party leaders assembled with royalty and veterans for D-Day commemorations in Portsmouth.

Sky News has also had its own announcement to make this evening, with Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer agreeing to take part in a special leaders' programme.

The Battle For Number 10 will air from 7pm next Wednesday.

Here are some other stories you might want to read: