General election latest: Starmer to face questions on Sky News - as Labour and Tories clash over energy (2024)

With the general election campaign officially under way, what better time to keep a close eye on the latest polling?

The Sky News live poll tracker - collated and updated by our Data and Forensics team - aggregates various surveys to indicate how voters feel about the different political parties.

See the latest update below - and you can read more about the methodology behind the trackerhere.

By Jon Craig, chief political correspondent

Rishi Sunak and senior Tories have sparked the first major row of the election campaign by accusing "spineless" Sir Keir Starmer of "chickening out" of weekly TV debates.

The prime minister has challenged the Labour leader to take part in six TV clashes during the campaign debating issues such as tax, the cost of living and security.

But Labour's high command has hit back, claimingSir Keir's priority is spending time on the road talking to voters, and revealed that he will take part in two TV debates with the PM.

Realistically, TV schedules in June and early July are packed with the group stages and knock-out matches in the Euro 2024 football tournament - with England the favourites - meaning six election debates are highly unlikely.

But undaunted by a football and politics clash,Mr Sunakthrew down his challenge to the Labour leader in an article from The Daily Telegraph in which he declared: "There are big issues at stake in this election.

"Do we continue cutting taxes or raise taxes on working households as Labour would do?

"Do we prioritise energy security and your family's finances in our approach to net zero or put environmental dogma first as Sir Keir Starmer and Ed Miliband would?

"And, above all, how do we give this country the secure future it deserves?"

You can read more from Jon below:

The first main focus of the election campaign so far appears to be energy policy, as Ofgem prepares to release the price cap for July to September at 7am.

Today, Sir Keir Starmer is using a visit to Scotland to promote his plan for a publicly-owned green electricity generator, which he said would cut bills and boost energy security.

Meanwhile, Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho has set out plans for consumer-friendly changes - and accused Labour of not being "honest about the costs" that their plans for net zero power would involve.

Ofgem is expected to announce that the average household energy bill will drop by about 7% from 1 July, when the latest change to the regulator's price cap takes effect.

Energy consultants Cornwall Insight said it expects the typical household's energy bill to fall from the current £1,690 a year to £1,574.

This would be £500 less than the cap in July last year when it was £2,074, but Labour pointed out it would still be £400 more than in 2021.

Sir Keir will say that "after 14 years of Tory chaos" people "are desperate for change".

"Families are picking up the tab of 14 years of Tory energy failure and are expected to remain a staggering £400 a year worse off under the new price cap."

He will add: "Labour will stop families paying over the odds for energy. Great British Energy, our new publicly-owned energy company, will invest in homegrown clean energy to boost energy independence and cut bills for good."

Ms Coutinho said Labour's drive to decarbonise the electricity system by 2030 would "take us back to square one by making voters pay more for net zero".

Good morning!

The date is set - and the tooth-and-nail fight for the keys to No10 will accelerate today as we head towards the 4 July general election.

This six-week race began yesterday, with political parties beginning their campaign trails after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledged himself as the "man with a plan".

Here's what you need to know about the election today:

• Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is continuing his whistle-stop tour of the UK's four nations today, heading to Northern Ireland days after confirming the date of the election;
• Meanwhile, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer is heading up to Scotland to meet with his Scottish counterpart Anas Sarwar - we expect to hear from them both;
• And Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey will visit Tory-held seats on the south coast as he pledges to guarantee patients in England the right to see a GP within seven days;
  
• As the campaigns gear up, reaction will likely continue after Mr Sunak and senior Tories accused Sir Keir of "chickening out" of weekly TV debates;
• The Tories had challenged the Labour leader to these clashes, but Sir Keir's priority is spending time on the road talking to voters.

And in other news...

• At 7am, Ofgem will confirm the energy price cap for the July to September period. This number currently stands at £1,690 for a typical household;
• Also today, the Joint Committee on Human Rights has called on the government to go further in improving how the state responds to major tragedies.

We'll be discussing all this and more with:

• Claire Coutinho, the energy secretary, at 7.15am;
• Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer at 8.45am.

Stick with us for all the latest political news throughout the day.

By Alix Culbertson, political reporter

Nigel Farage has said he will not be making a return to British politics after a general election was called.

The Reform UK honorary president and former UKIP leader said he had thought "long and hard" as to whether he should stand to become an MP in the 4 July general election announced on Wednesday, but said "it is not the right time".

Mr Farage said although the general election is important, the United States election in November "has huge global significance" so he has chosen to "help with the grassroots campaign" there as a "strong America...is vital for our peace and security".

He has helped Donald Trump's campaign since 2016.

Reform UK leader Richard Tice told Sky News Mr Farage will still help with their election campaign, which he is "absolutely thrilled" with, and said the Reform co-founder will be "very busy" during the campaign.

Moments later, Mr Farage retweeted a social media post saying he is quitting his GB News show during the campaign so he can canvass for Reform UK.

Read more here:

The latest edition of Electoral Dysfunctionis in your podcast feeds now, and one of the main topics was the optics of Rishi Sunak's announcement of the general election date.

In case you missed it, he went out on to Downing Street in the pouring rain, and throughout his speech, the song Things Can Only Get Better by D:Ream was blaring out - which was the official anthem of Sir Tony Blair's landslide victory for Labour in 1997 (more here).

Our political editor Beth Rigbyexplained that Mr Sunak did the announcement on the street because he "wanted to be traditional".

But former Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidsonbranded the launch "disastrous", saying: "The idea of tradition and all the rest of it, well, that's great and all.

"But you're the prime minister - you make the traditions here.

"How f****** incompetent do you have to be to launch a campaign that badly?

"And how much do you not protect your boss by allowing him to do it or encouraging him to do it?"

She added: "Wait for a break in the clouds, okay? Look, how hard is that?"

Jess Phillips, Labour MP for Birmingham Yardley said he wanted to avoid advertising that he is a centi-millionaire by having "a lackey holding an umbrella".

She added that he "wouldn't have lost a single vote" if someone had been holding an umbrella, or he'd delivered the speech inside.

"He will lose votes because of the way he launched it," she said.

👉Listen above then tap here to follow Electoral Dysfunction wherever you get your podcasts👈

Email Beth, Jess, and Ruth at electoraldysfunction@sky.uk, post on X to @BethRigby, or send a WhatsApp voice note on 07934 200 444.

We've got three key dates for your diary from the Electoral Commission should you need to register to vote in the general election.

18 June: This is the deadline to register, which you can do online at gov.uk/register-to-vote.

19 June: This is the deadline to apply for a postal vote, should you not be around when polling stations open on 4 July.

26 June: This is the deadline to apply for a proxy vote, which allows someone to vote on your behalf, and also to apply for a Voter ID certificate should you not have another valid form of identification.

This is the first general election where ID is needed to vote - find out more about registration here:

In January 2023, Rishi Sunak made five promises.

Since then, he and his ministers have rarely missed an opportunity to list them. In case you haven't heard, he promised to:

• Halve inflation
• Grow the economy
• Reduce debt
• Cut NHS waiting lists and times
• Stop the boats

See below how he is doing on these goals:

It's not just your lifelong politicans who enter the fray when it comes to election time.

With the next general election now confirmed for July, there are already some faces in the mix you might recognise from other walks of life.

They wouldn't be the first from the worlds of entertainment and sport to venture into politics - the late Oscar-winner Glenda Jackson won a seat for Labour in the 1992 election, as did TV personality Gyles Brandreth for the Conservatives.

And Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was known as a comedian and actor before assuming his current role in 2019.

Here are some new candidates hoping to become MPs in July - along with one who bowed out after just eight days...

As the football season comes to an end - the general election battle is just beginning.

And it's the crossover you didn't know you needed - Sky's Kay Burley kicks out David Jones, Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher from the Monday Night Football studio.

Below, she gives you a first look at our Election Night Live studio, our home for when the results come in from across the United Kingdom.

Have a sneak peak below: