General election 2024: Nigel Farage calls Clacton milkshake attack 'frightening' (2024)

That concludes today’s general election live coverage.

But we are now launching our TV debate blog for tonight’s clash between Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer.

Thanks for joining us.

In the grand slog of a general election campaign, televised debates don’t take up much time at all, writes Guy Kelly.

An hour or three, at most, and candidates only have to speak for a fraction of that – otherwise they just have to try and stand still.

And yet, and yet. Stakes will be high for Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer’s first televised debate of the 2024 Election, which will air on Tuesday on ITV and be moderated by Julie Etchingham.

It may be over in a flash, but a bad few seconds in a TV debate – a modern, US-imported phenomenon – can make the rest of the campaign feel like a slog. Similarly, land a winning zinger and confidence abounds.

Julie Etchingham, who will host tonight’s debate, is the capable head girl who never puts a foot wrong – apart from her mortifying “hot mic” moment with David Cameron.

The presenter is ITV News’ most trusted pair of hands, anchoring general elections and royal events.

Her one moment of controversy occurred in 2007, when Lord Cameron was leader of the opposition. She was covering his speech on immigration, in which he told the audience: “Let me outline the action that a Conservative government would take. Here our policy should be obvious…”

“Extermination,” Etchingham said. Unfortunately, her microphone was not switched off.

Anita Singh and Gordon Rayner have more here

Parents have been warned they are unlikely to escape Labour’s tax raid on private schools even if they pay fees in advance.

Experts said tax-avoidance rules mean there is a “high risk” advance payments will be subject to tax, “particularly if the payment was made mainly to avoid paying higher VAT”.

Interest in “fees in advance” (FIA) schemes has soared since the election was called as parents look to avoid paying thousands of pounds extra each year if the levy is introduced.

But The Telegraph has identified at least 11 schools who have added caveats to their terms and conditions reserving the right to backdate VAT payments to avoid being accused of tax avoidance.

Pieter Snepvangers has the full story

Rachel Reeves has attempted to reassure parents who send their children to private schools that they may not have to bear the entire cost of her party’s decision to impose VAT on fees.

Speaking during a general election campaign stop in Edinburgh, where around a quarter of children are privately educated, the shadow chancellor insisted that many schools would not “pass on the full cost to parents”.

She argued that parents had already absorbed “sharp rises” in school fees in recent years, citing this as evidence that most would find the money to continue to fund their children getting a private education.

Ms Reeves also denied that the move would lead to an exodus of children from the independent sector to state schools run by cash-strapped Edinburgh City Council.

Simon Johnson has the full story here

Nigel Farage told ITV News Politics: “I don’t know what was thrown at me but it hit me in the face, fair and square, quite frightening.”

Asked why it kept happening to him, he said: “Because I go out and meet the public, nobody else does. What does Rishi do? He gets a room with two-dozen councillors or whatever it is.

“Nobody goes out and does the old-style street campaigning the way that I do. And this is the risk that goes with it, and I’ll be honest, it is quite scary.”

A visibly emotional Mr Farage was asked if he thought about what would happen if it was something “more serious” than a milkshake.

He replied: “That’s a very tough question to answer. I try not to.”

Beware low-flying drinks, writes William Atkinson. Nigel Farage has again found himself drenched on the campaign trail. Reform UK’s leader might have thought Clacton’s Wetherspoons was a safe space. Instead, upon leaving the pub, he was splashed by a member of the public in a repeat of his milkshake run-in back in 2019.

What’s the point of that union flag umbrella if you don’t use it?For many on the Left, this might seem like a happy comeuppance for a particularly controversial politician. It’s harmless, they seem to think – a bit of fun and some free advertising for McDonald’s.

Farage has already joked about it on social media, and Richard Tice has claimed it will win his party “hundreds of thousands more votes”.

But one must remember that two MPs have been murdered in the last decade. A disgruntled Clactonian is a world away from the brutal killers of Jo Cox and David Amess. But what if that hadn’t been a milkshake?

William Atkinson: We are responsible for our politicians’ safety

By July 5, we are very likely to have a Labour government with a working majority, if not a landslide victory, writes Mike Warburton.

I am going to assume that this is the outcome, and make a few suggestions about how we might prepare.

The problem facing the new chancellor has been illustrated by a report from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS). Simply stated, the economic situation is very tight. Following the Covid pandemic and the war in Ukraine, Britain’s debt to GDP (gross domestic product) ratio has risen to almost 100pc.

Taxes relative to GDP are heading for a post Second World War record, and pressure is rising for higher public spending on virtually all departments including, health, welfare and defence.

Labour has said it will keep to the existing rules to reduce the debt-to-GDP ratio in five years with capped annual borrowing at 3pc of GDP. Something has to give. I have seen little to suggest that Labour is prepared to make cuts in spending departments, so even higher taxation seems inevitable.

Our tax expert sets out the Opposition’s plans

Now, this is what I call an election! writes Tim Stanley. While other candidates meet select voters in empty hangars, Nigel Farage made a triumphant, uncensored return to Clacton-on-Sea – the Trafalgar of Brexit.

The folks came by their hundreds, by foot or mobility scooter, cramming the cliff and the path that leads down to the pier. The candidate had to force his way through to the stage. Was this Nigel Farage or Tom Jones? Thankfully, no one threw any knickers.

He was introduced by Richard Tice, who has learnt to keep his remarks short – they’re not here for you, Dickie – then Nigel was helped by burly handlers up onto a table so he could survey the masses.

“We love you!,” they shouted. “Welcome back!,” said a fellow whose T-shirt bore a picture of Donald Trump and the words “WANTED FOR PRESIDENT.” Over Farage’s head, a merry-go-round turned peacefully. Two Union flags fluttered in the wind.

Tim Stanley: Farage kicks off with an eventful day by the seaside

“We are full of ideas, we’re full of vim, we’re full of vigour, and something is happening out there,” Nigel Farage said.

“People are rejecting this political class, Sunak’s Conservatives, Starmer’s Labour. They’re both big state social democrats. This is a real, real alternative, I’ve got to tell you it’s pretty exciting out there. I reckon this time next week the opinion polls will look very, very different out there.”

Mr Farage said he was going to Normandy tomorrow morning for the 80th anniversary of D-Day, saying a “failing education system” was responsible for so many schoolchildren and young adults not knowing what D-Day was.

“We’ve had Labour and Conservative governments that don’t believe in this country, don’t believe in its history, they’re more obsessed with diversity than they are with actually promoting what is good about this country.”

Nigel Farage told social media followers: “Into what was the most boring general election ever, the response has been unbelievable.

“I turned up today in Clacton and we’d said on TV last night I was going to be here. The response has literally been incredible. A massive crowd of people, wildly enthusiastic, and people just pleased in many cases to have someone to vote for. I think my standing will actually increase the turnout at the election... The buzz, the mood here today, absolutely unbelievable, off the charts. In fact, I would say unlike anything I’ve ever seen before.

“This folks is going to be a lot bigger than four million [votes] believe me. For those who say you’re ruining it for the Tory Party, it’s done already. Labour are going to win, it’s merely a question of what the size of the majority is going to be.

“If this Conservative Party is in opposition, they will be like rats in a sack. They will be at each other all the time, they will not form a united opposition to a Starmer government that is going to be at best, perhaps even worse than that. There needs to be a proper, coherent opposition voice and that is the short term of Reform UK... to provide the voice of opposition.

“We’re not here as wreckers, we’re here as builders. We actually believe that a country that looks after the little man, the little woman, and gives them a decent chance, to set up their own businesses, is a good thing. So we’re off, we’re up and running, and I tell you something, something is happening out there. And I’m seeing it among young people too.”

Nigel Farage said Sir Keir Starmer was on track for a bigger majority than Sir Tony Blair won in 1997 and “the reason is the Tory brand is broken”.

He said in a live social media video: “Now in terms of being disaffected with politics, no-one’s more upset with the Tories than me. In 2019 I formed the Brexit Party with Richard Tice and in six weeks we didn’t just win the election, we got double the number of votes than the nearest party, Mrs May resigned in disgrace, the worst result they had had in 200 years of their existence...

“I stood aside in that December election in 320 seats and Boris got an 80-seat majority and some promises were made to me that haven’t been kept... It is a complete betrayal of the trust tha TI put in them, it is a complete betrayal of the trust that you put in them and a complete betrayal of 17.4 million people who voted Brexit in 2019.”

On his candidacy in Clacton, he said: “I wanted a six-month run in to it. Sunak calls the early election, I must confess I was very wrongfooted by it... What changed my mind were two things. Number one, something is going on out there, no, believe me.

“There is a rejection of our political classes on a level I’ve never seen before. Brexit was a symptom of that - nobody thought Brexit would happen but it bloomin’ well did. The second thing that happened was people were saying why are you not standing?”

Tonight Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer will face off in their first television debate of the general election campaign, writes Genevieve Holl-Allen, The Telegraph’s Political Reporter.

With the Conservatives still around 20 points behind in the polls, Mr Sunak will see the TV debates as an opportunity to put himself in front of voters and try and change minds before the vote on July 4.

Sir Keir is likely to portray himself as the answer to ending what he describes as the “chaos” under the Conservatives, while Mr Sunak will accuse the Labour leader of having no plan for the country.

But what are the issues that the pair are likely to spar over?

Here are five things to watch out for in tonight’s debate

The Tories are prepared to quit the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) if their demands to reform it are rebuffed, James Cleverly has suggested.

Speaking during an election campaign visit in Kent, the Home Secretary said his party would always put the “protection of UK borders” ahead of the “views of a foreign court” as part of its efforts to tackle illegal migration.

It leaves the door open for a threat to leave the ECHR to be included in the manifesto.

Mr Cleverley denied that the Conservatives’ plans – which include an annual cap on worker and family visas – were being dictated by Nigel Farage and Reform’s manifesto pledge to freeze “non-essential” migration and withdraw from the ECHR

Charles Hymas, our Home Affairs Editor, has more here

You might think in the run up to the general election Labour would be able to get its act together on one of the areas where many voters have traditionally trusted the party the least, writes Richard Kemp.

But as Keir Starmer tries hard to burnish his credentials on defence and to distance himself from Corbyn, his deputy, Angela Rayner, comes out with an opposing view.

To much fanfare, Starmer announced his “triple lock” commitment on nuclear defence, which in reality seems no different to current Tory policy of maintaining the nuclear deterrent, building four new subs and making upgrades when necessary.

But shortly after he claimed his commitment to the nuclear deterrent was “absolute”, Rayner announced she wants to rid the world of it. She said she seeks multilateral disarmament but has never supported unilateral disarmament. History tells a different story.

In 2016 she, and many other members of her party, voted not to renew Britain’s nuclear deterrent, which very much amounts to unilateral disarmament.

Richard Kemp: We must question Rayner’s overall judgement

Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer will go head to head on Tuesday evening in a bid to win over voters exactly one month out from the general election.

Millions of viewers are expected to watch the Prime Minister take on the Labour leader for the first in a slew of political clashes happening in the run up to July 4.

ITV is set to host the first televised event with both Labour and the Conservatives at 9pm ahead of a wider programme involving all seven main political parties on June 13.

More details of both parties’ election manifesto is expected to be debated over the course of the debate as the leaders will face questions from ITV newsreader Julie Etchingham and the studio audience.

You can read all the details of the debate here

Angela Rayner has said she would “definitely vote” to keep Trident having opposed it in 2016.

“I have never said I don’t want nuclear weapons at all, the nuclear deterrent triple lock is really important, when you see what’s happened with Putin invading Ukraine, it’s very clear that we need our nuclear armaments,” she told LBC.

“So the triple lock about keeping nuclear weapons, about making sure we build those four submarines in Barrow and then about making sure we do the upgrades is absolutely lockstep with Keir.

“The vote some years ago didn’t mention multilateral disarmament, Margaret Thatcher wanted multilateral disarmament, it’s been UK policy for a very long time, and the world we live in at the moment unfortunately that is further away. I would [now] definitely vote to keep Trident.”

Officers have made two arrests after responding to a report a drink was thrown at a man l in Clacton.

We were called to the area of Marine Parade East, Clacton, at around 2.10pm today (Tuesday 4 June).

It was reported a man had a drink thrown over him as he left a premises in the area.

A 25-year-old woman, from Clacton, was arrested at the scene on suspicion of assault.

While officers were responding and making this arrest, a second individual, a man, was arrested on suspicion of assaulting an emergency worker.

Both individuals remain in custody for questioning.

A woman has been arrested after a milkshake was thrown at Nigel Farage as he relaunched Reform’s general election campaign in Clacton.

The drink was bought at McDonald’s and thrown at Mr Farage – who has returned to frontline politics to lead the party into the July 4 poll – as he left a Wetherspoons pub.

The Reform leader is standing for Parliament for an eighth time and Clacton, in Essex, elected an MP representing his former party Ukip in 2015.

Nigel Farage returning to frontline politics is a “calamity” for the Tories but “not without some risk” for Labour, Lord Mandelson has said.

He told the How to Win an Election podcast: “Rishi Sunak’s just up the creek without a paddle. I mean, he’s heading in his little boat towards some sandbank where he’s going to be marooned, I think, with all the sort of Tory party crocodiles snapping their jaws around him.

“I mean, it sounds completely wild, but I think a number of Conservatives now will just think about replacing him in the time they have left before the end of the election.

“I think if he stood down in favour of Penny Mordaunt, a complete relaunch, I mean, it sounds completely implausible, but I can’t really see what the alternative is. I mean, look, what this means is that it’s going to produce a huge lift for Reform UK, potentially a likely calamity for the Conservatives. Farage and Reform UK offer an alternative protest vote to the Lib Dems and the Greens.

“Now, it’s not without some risk for Labour, let me say, because Farage has an ability to sort of upend, capsize, and disrupt a campaign. And he could skew the debate of the election towards his agenda and his issues. It could syphon off some of the oxygen of the campaign away from Labour’s campaign.”

Nigel Farage has mocked the Clacton Conservatives and incumbent MP Giles Watling.

The Reform leader posted a video of him outside Mr Watling’s closed office, saying: “Well, we thought we’d pay a visit, but no one’s at home. Can’t think why.”

Nigel Farage said he was not “an expert on the local area” as he refused to give Clacton’s postcode.

The Reform leader was asked by the BBC where FC Clayton played its football games, when the pier was built and what the Clacton postcode was.

Mr Farage replied: “I’m not playing silly quiz games. Am I an expert on the local area? Of course I’m not.”

An axed Left-wing Labour candidate has resigned as a member of the party, accusing it of a “hierarchy of racism”.

Faiza Shaheen was blocked from standing forLabour at the general election on July 4 after she allegedly liked a series of social media posts that downplayed anti-Semitism accusations.

Ms Shaheen was initially selected to represent Sir Keir Starmer’s party in Chingford and Woodford Green in north-east London, where she has suggested she may now stand as an independent.

The economist and author came second by just over 1,000 votes to Sir Iain Duncan Smith, theformer Conservative leader, in the same constituency at the last election in 2019.

Read the full story here

The woman who threw the milkshake gave her name only as Victoria when she spoke to the BBC.

She claimed she had not come down to Mr Farage’s campaign launch to throw the liquid at the politician, adding she “just felt like it”.

“He doesn’t stand for me, he doesn’t represent anything I believe in, or any of the people around here,” she said.

“He doesn’t represent us, he’s not from here.”

Nigel Farage had a milkshake thrown at him this afternoon as he relaunched the Reform party’s election campaign in Clacton.

Mr Farage announced his shock return to the political fray at the start of this week at a press conference, succeeding Richard Tice as leader of the insurgent Right-wing party.

In photographs of the incident, a woman can be seen throwing a McDonald’s milkshake at Mr Farage as he left a Wetherspoons in Clacton.

The Reform leader is standing for Parliament for an eighth time in the Essex constituency, which elected an MP for Ukip, one of Mr Farage’s previous vehicles, in 2015.

It is not the first time Mr Farage has been hit by a milkshake while on the campaign trail. He warned “radicalised remainers” were making political campaigning “impossible” after a drink was thrown over him during a European elections walkabout in Newcastle in 2019.

Diane Abbott has welcomed her reselection as a Labour candidate ahead of the forthcoming general election.

Ms Abbott, the former shadow home secretary, last week claimed she had been blocked from running in Hackney North and Stoke Newington, which she has represented since 1987.

Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, then repeatedly refused to endorse her candidacy but said she would be “free” to stand in her London seat following pressure from Angela Rayner, his deputy.

Labour has since confirmed Ms Abbott is the party’s approved candidate for her constituency of the past 37 years.

Dominic Penna here, The Telegraph’s Political Correspondent, guiding you through the rest of the day.

At 9pm tonight Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, go head-to-head in the first live televised debate of the 2024 general election campaign, with exactly one month to go until polling day.

Faiza Shaheen has announced she has resigned her membership of the Labour Party.

She was blocked from running in the Chingford and Woodford Green constituency as a Labour candidate, allegedly in relation to past posts on Twitter.

She said in a statement posted on Twitter this afternoon that she would not “beg and grovel to earn my place”.

“My removal shows that the desires of local members and my community mean nothing to the people at the top of the party,” she said.

Peter Kyle, the shadow science secretary, has just paid a visit to Keele University’s Local Carbon Energy Generation Park, where he toured a solar field, writes Amy Gibbons.

Before braving the drizzle to check out the site in person, Mr Kyle was briefed on how the university generates up to half of its campus electricity needs from renewable sources.

During the visit, he vowed that the “war on universities” will end under a Labour government, as he accused the Prime Minister of “talking down” British institutions with talk of “Mickey Mouse” degrees.

One of Rishi Sunak’s closest advisers has been selected to contest a safe Conservative seat in the general election.

Will Tanner, the Prime Minister’s deputy chief of staff, was chosen as the Tory candidate for Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket in Suffolk on Monday.

Mr Tanner was appointed by Mr Sunak in November 2022 for his second stint in Number 10, having served as the deputy head of Theresa May’s Downing Street policy unit between July 2016 and July 2017.

You can read the full story here.

The Tories have told voters in a new social media attack advert that if they believe Labour will win the general election then they should “start saving”.

Both of the main parties have claimed that the other would have to hike taxes to pay for their policies and it looks set to be a major theme in the run up to July 4.

The Conservatives tweeted this afternoon:

Ben Riley-Smith, The Telegraph’s political editor, was at Nigel Farage’s launch event in Clacton and he has sent across this piece of analysis:

So what can we make of the rapturous reception that greeted Nigel Farage in Clacton and its significance?

Yes, this was just a fraction of the constituency’s electorate. He will need many, many more voters than those hollering his name here today to become an MP at the eighth time of asking.

But the energy of the crowd will have helped convince Reform folk that he genuinely can pull off a victory here and take the seat from the Tories. After all, Ukip won the seat in 2015.

Mr Farage himself told The Telegraph that it was an emotional experience being cheered by so many people after his surprise return to frontline politics.

One thing is fair to say: It is unlikely Giles Watling, the current Conservative MP for Clacton, will be able to draw a crowd that big or boisterous by speaking on top of a wooden bench on the pier.

The Reform UK candidate forced to make way for Nigel Farage has told supporters the decision “came as a surprise”.

Tony Mack, who was campaigning to be the next MP for Clacton-on-Sea, said he was “disappointed” to no longer be running.

However, he said he would support Mr Farage and told his campaign team to put aside any disappointment that he had about not standing in his home town.

You can read the full story here.

My colleague Dominic Penna has done a deep dive on Reform UK’s policies.

You can find out everything you need to know about where the party stands on key issues here.

James Cleverly would not be drawn into saying whether the Conservatives could pledge during the election campaign to leave the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

Asked whether ECHR withdrawal could be on the table, the Home Secretary told broadcasters during a visit to Rochester, Kent: “We have already put forward a set of proposals which are having an effect, we are bringing down illegal migration.

“We have got plans to bring it down even further and we are going to do so in a way that supports the UK economy as well.”

Rishi Sunak has previously hinted he would be prepared to exit the ECHR if it blocked his Rwanda flights.

No other political party is dictating the Conservatives’ migration policy, James Cleverly has said.

Asked by broadcasters if the Tories could move further to the Right as a result of Nigel Farage’s return to front-line politics, the Home Secretary and Conservative candidate for Braintree said: “Conservative policies are created with the British people in mind.

“We focus on their needs, on the needs of the British economy and the British people, and our policies are not dictated by any party.

“We have got a credible plan, it is a plan which is already working, bringing those migration figures down and projected to continue to do so under a Conservative government.

“No other party has got a credible plan for migration. Not Reform, not the Lib Dems, not Labour.”

Nigel Farage urged voters in Clacton to become a “people’s army” to help get the country “back on track”.

He said: “Thank you for coming along this morning in such unbelievable numbers. Always risky doing an outdoor event but you are here.

“But I want to ask this of you. Coming along, enjoying the circus, agreeing with me is one thing but what we need is to reactivate a people’s army, a people’s army against the establishment, a people’s army who want to get this country back on track.”

A group of supporters shouted “hip-hip hooray” and sung “for he’s a jolly good fellow” after Mr Farage ended his stump speech.

Nigel Farage urged the voters of Clacton to “send him to Parliament to be a bloody nuisance”.

He said: “I will stand up and fight for you, I will give you my best and I will do what I have done for the last quarter of a century in politics, I will be unafraid, despite what everybody says, despite what names they call me, they are so stupid it only encourages me really, in fact, send me to Parliament to be a bloody nuisance.”

Nigel Farage said Reform UK will “stand up for the little guy” in Parliament if he is elected as an MP.

He said his party would “get British people back to work”.

The Reform leader also said that if he becomes an MP he will “put Clacton on the map”.

Nigel Farage said he had “no confidence” that Labour would reduce net migration levels.

The Reform leader then questioned the patriotism of both Labour and the Tories.

He told the crowd in Clacton: “They are not genuinely patriotic people, they don’t believe in Britain and the British people the way that you do.”

Nigel Farage said the Tories deserved to pay a “big price” for their handling of immigration.

Speaking in Clacton the Reform leader said: “I campaigned here with Douglas Carswell, your MP, and in the end we made an offer to the British people. We could get back our independence and control of our borders.

“But what has happened, the Conservatives have betrayed that trust. They opened up the borders to mass immigration like we have never seen before and they deserve to pay a price for that. A big price for that.”

Nigel Farage is now addressing what is a very large crowd in Clacton.

There are hundreds of people gathered to listen to the Reform leader.

He told them: “This place played a pivotal role back in 2014 and it got us, without Clacton Brexit would not have happened, so thank you Clacton.”

Scores of people have gathered at Clacton pier for Nigel Farage’s first appearance in the constituency after announcing he wants to become its MP, writes Ben Riley-Smith.

Chatting to those who have turned out it is clear that there is excitement among his supporters. Some appeared not to know who Richard Tice, the man he has replaced as Reform leader, was when asked.

When pressed about why they plan to vote for Mr Farage, immigration is coming up a lot among those here, though interestingly no specific policies.

Instead it is the broad idea that the Tories have lost control of the border and that Mr Farage is the only one talking about tackling the issue.

A former Tory MP has urged Nigel Farage not to stand Reform candidates in seats where there are Right-wing Conservatives battling for election.

Marco Longhi said that as things stand it looked like there would be an “overwhelming win by Labour” on July 4.

He told The Times: “It feels like there is going to be an overwhelming win by Labour. Why target certain MPs who have a track record of Reform-type politics?

“If you want to remove even those with traditional conservative views there will be absolutely no coalition left to have in parliament. If he wins and becomes an MP they will have no one to partner with.”

A minister has given a brutally honest assessment of life on the general election campaign trail as he said yesterday was a “pretty s--- day” following Nigel Farage’s return to the front-line.

Johnny Mercer, the minister for veterans’ affairs and the Conservative candidate in Plymouth Moor View, said election campaigns are “pretty hard going”.

He said in a campaign video posted on Twitter: “Morning Plymouth! It’s another fantastic day on the campaign trail. Everyone’s feeling really good… no they’re not really. It’s pretty hard going these general elections, I’ll be honest with you.

“It’s raining, everyone’s pretty tired, and yesterday was a pretty s--- day. But we are going to get up and keep going because I want you to come out and vote on July 4.”

Three top Tory donors will not support the party’s general election campaign after private polling showed the Conservatives are on course for defeat.

The trio - billionaire Sir Leonard Blavatnik, Ron Dennis, the former McLaren group owner, and Selva Pankaj, chief executive of education company Regent Group - have concluded that further money will not help the Tories preserve their majority, the Financial Times reported.

You can read the full story here.

Nigel Farage will launch his general election campaign in his chosen seat of Clacton at noon.

Mr Farage electrified the campaign yesterday as he reversed his decision not to stand and also replaced Richard Tice as Reform leader.

Reform sources have suggested the party’s open-top double-decker bus may well be making an appearance at lunchtime.

James Cleverly denied that giving the Migration Advisory Committee a role in setting the level of the Tories’ proposed immigration visa cap amounted to passing the buck to a quango.

The Home Secretary told reporters in Kent: “What this is about is making sure we have a proper, balanced assessment of both the advantages and costs of migration.”

Comparing the process to votes on the Budget, he said: “The Government takes analysis, it makes policy and it is tested in a vote in Parliament.”

The Tories’ plan would see the MAC tasked with recommending a cap which would then be voted on by Parliament.

As the country prepares for its first national vote since 2019, The Telegraph’spolitical correspondent, Dominic Penna, will be answering your questions about the contest on Thursday June 6 at 5pm.

So if you have a question about the general election, please submit it using the form below:

Sir Keir Starmer said he was “looking forward” to his head-to-head TV debate with Rishi Sunak tonight.

Asked how he was feeling ahead of the clash with the Prime Minister at 9pm on ITV, the Labour leader said: “Very good, looking forward to the opportunity to speak directly to voters through the debate to put our case, because at the end of the day it is that clear choice, and I think voters will see that tonight.”

Sir Keir Starmer said he has not spoken to Diane Abbott since the row over her selection as a candidate, but added his team had been in touch with her.

He told broadcasters at the Bridge Cafe in Bolton: “I have spoken to Diane two or three months ago, my team have obviously been speaking to her, but that decision is taken, that’s clear.

“The question now before the country is about the decision, the choice, that will fall to be made on July 4, which is continuing with this chaos and division or turning the page and starting to rebuild the country with Labour.”

Labour’s ruling National Executive Committee is expected to meet today to formally agree the party’s candidate list for the election. Ms Abbott is expected to be on the list as she seeks re-election in her Hackney North and Stoke Newington constituency.

Sir Keir Starmer has repeatedly refused to guarantee that net migration would fall under a Labour government.

He criticised the Tories for failing to set a number for their new visa cap but could not give a firm commitment that he would deliver a cut to the overall numbers.

Asked if he could guarantee that net migration would fall every year under a Labour government, Sir Keir told broadcasters that he wanted “immigration to come down, it is far too high”.

Asked against if he could guarantee a cut every year, he said: “Net migration is far too high. This Government has lost control.”

Asked for a third time if he could guarantee net migration would fall under Labour, Sir Keir said: “They need to come down, we have got a plan to bring them down but you can’t wish them down. That is what the Tories are doing.”

Sir Keir Starmer claimed immigration was “out of control” as he criticised a Tory plan to introduce a cap on visa numbers.

Speaking to broadcasters during a campaign visit to the north west of England this morning, the Labour leader said: “The Conservatives have let immigration get out of control. We have got record numbers of people coming to this country and they have now said they are going to have a visa cap, they have not said what the number is, so you have got a visa cap without a cap.

“We did have a visa cap before. Rishi Sunak argued to get rid of it which they did in 2020 and now they are going back to it without a number. It is utter chaos.”

George Osborne has predicted the Conservatives will pledge to abolish inheritance tax as “one big throw of the tax dice” to try and transform their electoral fortunes.

The former chancellor said that if polls continue to predict a wipeout for the Tories at the election, then there would be a feeling that “there’s nothing that can be done” within the party.

But he told the Political Currency podcast: “I still am waiting for one big throw of the tax dice. We haven’t heard from the Tories on tax and I think a pledge to abolish inheritance tax or all but abolish inheritance tax is probably coming down the track.

“I say this because I was the guy who announced this back in 2007, as shadow chancellor and it had a big impact then.”

He added: “Whether it will have the same impact in 2024 I question, but, you know, if you’re throwing everything at this election, it seems quite likely you’d reach for that tool in the toolkit.”

Mr Osborne described abolishing inheritance tax as a “potent weapon” for the Conservatives as it is a “much-hated tax”, and that “there will be loads of pressure to try something big”.

You can read the full story on Mr Osborne’s comments here.

Former Conservative MP Mark Logan is at a Labour Party campaign event in Greater Manchester this morning.

The former MP, who announced his support for Labour after the start of the general election campaign, spoke to pensioners while waiting for Sir Keir Starmer’s arrival at the event, including one lifelong Conservative voter who had also switched her support to Labour.

Nigel Farage is a “big wrecking ball” who is good at destruction but not at building anything new, Lord Hague claimed this morning.

The former leader of the Conservative Party said Mr Farage’s return to the political front-line is a “big problem” for the Tories.

It was suggested to Lord Hague that Mr Farage leading Reform could help the party take more votes away from the Tories.

He told Times Radio: “It is a big problem, I think for the Conservative Party, although if the Farage campaign really got going it would take votes from the Labour Party as well but more from the Conservatives.

“So that is a problem… Nigel Farage is like a big wrecking ball in politics really and it is fascinating to watch a wrecking ball, isn’t it.

“Which building is it going to bring down next, which masonry is going to collapse next? And everytime you think it has gone away it comes back and knocks down another building. But there is no building, there is no putting anything new in place.”

Lord Hague claimed that Mr Farage was “always achieving something very destructive”.

Lord Hague rejected the suggestion that Rishi Sunak made a mistake by calling the general election on July 4 instead of later in the year.

The former foreign secretary told Times Radio: “No. I don’t think so.

“I think if this election was going on in three months from now it would be a very, very similar election but you would have had three more months of the country without being clear when the election was going to be and who the government would be after that.”

Lord Hague said a big general election win for Labour could actually cause a headache for Sir Keir Starmer.

The former leader of the Conservative Party said it would be hard to control so many MPs should a YouGov poll which suggested Labour could win 422 seats come to fruition on July 4.

He also said that if the Tories end up with just 140 seats - as the YouGov analysis suggested - then there would be a “huge battle” for the future of the party.

Asked what would happen to the Conservatives if the YouGov poll comes true, Lord Hague told Times Radio: “That is a big if. This is not the actual result of the election. There would be quite a big problem in the Labour Party if they won that many seats actually as to how they would control that many MPs.

“There would be a bigger problem in the Conservative Party. To lose an election to that extent, there would then be a huge battle over what is the future of Conservatism.”

Labour will ban foie gras imports if they win the general election, the shadow environment secretary has announced.

Steve Reed has pledged that a Labour government would ban the product, made from force-feeding ducks and geese, from being imported to the UK, writes Genevieve Holl-Allen.

This would effectively stop the sale of the product in Britain, as producing it in the UK has been banned for about a decade on cruelty grounds. Foie gras imports were due to be banned last year by the Conservatives, but plans were later shelved.

In a video posted on Twitter, Mr Reed makes the announcement after watching a video of ducks and geese being force-fed, and calls the practice “beyond disgusting”.

He added: “The Conservatives are on the side of that kind of cruelty to animals. Labour will ban the import of foie gras, that is made following these abhorrent, cruel practices.”

“A vote for Labour is a vote for animals”

Labour’s national campaign coordinator said Nigel Farage standing as a Reform candidate and becoming Reform leader “makes no difference to us”.

Asked what the Labour reaction was when Mr Farage made his announcement yesterday afternoon, Pat McFadden told GB News: “Our reaction was just get on with the job, keep going.

“It’s an election anyone’s entitled to stand, anyone’s entitled to be a candidate if they put themselves forward. It makes no difference to us.

“We’re just going to keep on focusing on the voters that we need to win in all these battleground seats. That’s been our focus in recent years.”

Rishi Sunak made a “big mistake” by calling the general election on July 4 because if he had waited until the autumn Nigel Farage would likely have been busy with the US presidential contest, a former No 10 chief of staff claimed.

Lord Barwell, a Tory peer who served in No 10 during Theresa May’s premiership, also took aim at Tory MPs who view Mr Farage as “their mate”.

Responding to Mr Farage’s return, Lord Barwell tweeted: “Two reactions to this: 1. If Sunak had waited until the autumn, Farage would have been in the US fawning over Trump. Big mistake.

“2. All those Conservative MPs who pretended Farage was their mate: how stupid do you look now? He is trying to destroy you.”

Nigel Farage said Reform in power would reduce net migration to zero.

The party’s new leader told the BBC: “We cannot go on as we are. We have to limit numbers. Our lives, our quality of life in this country is being diminished by the population explosion.”

Asked what he wanted the annual net migration number to be, Mr Farage said: “Net migration at zero would be the target.”

Told that that would depend on how many people permanently leave the UK, Mr Farage said: “It does but we know roughly about 600,000 [left the country last year] so you would still have room within the labour market for up to 600,000 people.

“Now hopefully we wouldn’t need that many but it still leaves plenty of room.”

James Cleverly claimed Richard Tice had been “squeezed out” as Reform leader after he was replaced by Nigel Farage.

Put to him that Tory hearts must have sunk when Mr Farage announced he will stand as a Reform candidate, the Home Secretary said: “I think the person whose heart really sank was Richard Tice, who has obviously been squeezed out.

“A vote for Reform is not going to create a Reform government, Reform is not going to form part of the next government, it is either Rishi Sunak and a Conservative government or Keir Starmer and a Labour government.

“A vote for Reform opens the door to a Labour government, and a Labour government will just open the door and wave people through into our country.”

Nigel Farage suggested his long-term aim is for Reform to effectively replace the Conservative Party.

He told ITV’s Good Morning Britain programme that he could not stand for, or seek to lead the Tories “as they currently are”.

But he added: “You can speculate as to what’ll happen in three or four years’ time, all I will tell you is if Reform succeed in the way that I think they can, then a chunk of the Conservative Party will join us – it’s the other way around.”

He said: “I don’t want to join the Conservative Party, I think the better thing to do would be to take it over.”

Rishi Sunak has vowed to impose an annual cap on immigration visas to reduce the number of foreign workers and dependants coming to the UK.

The Prime Minister unveiled the plan in a move to woo core voters frustrated by the surge in net migration to a record high of 764,000.

Ministers are refusing to put a figure on a target reduction in migration but would commission the Government’s migration advisers to set a cap that would ensure it was brought down to “sustainable” levels.

You can read the full story here.

James Cleverly claimed Sir Keir Starmer would “love people to vote Reform” because it would “open the door” to a Labour general election victory.

Asked for his reaction to Nigel Farage standing as an MP candidate and becoming Reform leader, the Home Secretary told Sky News: “I am surprised because the last time I heard him make reference to Clacton, he was saying that he didn’t want to spend every Friday in Clacton.

“Reform has always been a vehicle for Nigel Farage’s self-promotion, I think Richard Tice is now discovering that rather painfully.

“The point that we have made is that Keir Starmer would love people to vote Reform because he knows that a vote for Reform basically opens the door to a Labour government.”

James Cleverly has acknowledged he would prefer Tory poll ratings to be better than they are currently.

YouGov analysis published yesterday suggested the Tories could be reduced to just 140 seats at the general election.

Mr Cleverly told Sky News the only poll that mattered was on July 4 but added: “If you are asking ‘would I prefer going into the last few weeks of this election campaign with the polls in our favour?’, of course I would prefer that.”

He insisted people were “completely unconvinced by Labour” and Sir Keir Starmer.

“At these turbulent times, handing control of the country to a man who doesn’t even really seem to be in control of his own shadow cabinet is probably not a good idea,” the Home Secretary said.

Nigel Farage accused BBC Radio 4 Today presenter Mishal Husain of “very poor form” after she asked a question about his children.

The pair clashed after Mr Farage said there are towns and cities in the UK where many people do not speak English and “we have groups of people living within those towns and cities who don’t even speak to each other”.

Ms Husain asked for an example and the Reform leader replied: “I could take you to streets in Oldham right now where no one speaks English.”

Ms Husain replied: “Or they could be speaking two languages, couldn’t they? Don’t your children speak another language?”

Mr Farage said: “I wouldn’t comment on that.”

Ms Husain asked again about Mr Farage’s children and he replied: “I wouldn’t comment on that. I don’t talk about my children and if you do I think that is pretty poor form. Very poor form. Unsurprising, but very poor form.”

Nigel Farage signalled he will drop one of Reform’s asylum pledges.

The party has pledged the following: “Asylum claims that arrive though safe countries will be processed rapidly offshore in British Overseas Territories.”

Asked which territories could be used, Mr Farage told the BBC: “That would be up to us wouldn’t it and they would get money for doing it but hopefully we wouldn’t need to do that.”

Asked which overseas territories, like Gibraltar and the Falkland Islands, he believed could be open to the policy, Mr Farage said: “I don’t think it is terribly practical. I think it is a very difficult policy. I haven’t put it forward, by the way.

“I took over yesterday, give me more than 12 hours and I will sort a few things out.”

Nigel Farage accused BBC Radio 4 Today presenter Mishal Husain of pursuing a “rather silly” line of questioning as he was grilled about Reform UK’s immigration plans.

The party has pledged to freeze “non-essential” immigration and Mr Farage said this meant a crackdown on “unskilled labour”.

Mr Farage was pressed on who exactly his party would allow to come to the UK.

Ms Husain asked if midwives and architects would be allowed and Mr Farage said: “In limited numbers.”

Asked if butchers could come, he said: “In limited numbers.”

Asked if bakers would be deemed essential, he said: “This is really getting rather silly.”

Nigel Farage claimed the Tories had “lied” on the issue of immigration for 14 years.

The Reform UK leader referred to past Tory pledges to reduce net migration to the tens of thousands.

Told that the Tories had recently brought in a crackdown on foreign students bring allowed to bring dependants to the UK, he told the BBC: “Why did they allow them in the first place? They have lied to us for 14 years about this and they thought they’d get away with it. Well, they can’t.

“It doesn’t even matter what Sunak pledges today. The lie is to say in 2010 and 2015 and 2017 in manifestos they would reduce net migration to tens of thousands. That is the lie.”

Nigel Farage said there were “no circ*mstances whatsoever” in which Reform UK would stand candidates down to give the Tories a clearer run at the general election.

Asked the question this morning during an interview on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Mr Farage said: “Nope. There are no circ*mstances whatsoever. We have been betrayed by a Conservative Party that I gave considerable help to back in 2019 and boy did I.

“I got rid of Mrs [Theresa] May by forming the Brexit Party and they had their most crushing defeat in 200 years.

“I stood aside in over 300 seats for Boris Johnson and we were told that we would get control of our borders, we were told the immigration numbers would come down. They have exploded.

“I feel betrayed by them, millions of voters feel betrayed by them and even though there are some people in the Conservative Party who I fought with during Brexit and other battles I am afraid they are part of a party who are well past their sell by date, the brand is ruined, they have lost the election already.”

It is a big day for Nigel Farage who will formally launch his bid to be the next MP for Clacton at a late-morning campaign event.

The new leader of Reform UK is starting his day with a mini broadcast round and he will be on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme shortly.

I will guide you through the key lines.

The first head-to-head general election debate between Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer will take place tonight on ITV at 9pm.

It is exactly one month until polling day and both leaders will be keen to gain the upper hand ahead of further debates in the weeks to come.

You can find out everything you need to know about tonight’s clash and the rest of the scheduled showdowns with our handy guide which you can find here.

Nigel Farage is likely to be the star attraction on day 14 of the general election campaign as he formally launches his bid to become the next MP for Clacton.

The newly crowned leader of Reform UK will launch his campaign late this morning as he formally enters the fray after stunning Westminster yesterday by reversing his decision not to stand as a candidate.

Meanwhile, James Cleverly will lead the fight for the Tories today as the Home Secretary trumpets a new Conservative plan to curb immigration numbers.

Mr Cleverly will be campaigning in the south east of England after the Tories promised to introduce an annual cap on worker and family visas.

Sir Keir Starmer will turn his attention to energy, with the Labour leader expected to promise during a visit to the north west of England that his party would “close the door on” Vladimir Putin and Russia by reducing Britain’s reliance on fossil fuel from overseas.

Sir Keir and Rishi Sunak will then clash tonight in their first televised election debate on ITV at 9pm.

Elsewhere, Sir Ed Davey, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, will be on the campaign trail in North Shropshire.

Grant Shapps has denied that Nigel Farage’s return is Rishi Sunak’s “worst nightmare”.

The Defence Secretary warned voters that backing Reform could boost the chances of a Labour general election victory.

Asked during an interview on GB News if Mr Farage standing as a candidate and becoming Reform leader was Mr Sunak’s “worst nightmare” coming true, Mr Shapps said: “I don’t think the idea that there are other candidates in an election is that at all, other than to say that if people care about some of the things that Rishi Sunak passionately cares about, including for example ensuring that we can control our own borders… then the worst thing possible for somebody to do if they care about those sorts of things is to vote for Reform.

“Because it would lead to Starmer, absolutely undoing all of that. He has no intention of tackling illegal migration through a change in the law at all.”

Nigel Farage’s return to the political front-line is “nothing short of a disaster” for the Conservative Party, according to a leading polling expert.

Chris Hopkins, the political research director at Savanta, said Mr Farage’s decision to run to be the MP for Clacton and to become Reform leader had left Rishi Sunak with “nowhere to go”.

He said: “This is nothing short of a disaster for the Conservative Party. Everything about this election, from the timing to the apparent strategy, was aimed at squeezing Reform UK’s vote. With Farage’s announcement that is now much harder, and Rishi Sunak has nowhere to go - politically or electorally.”

“Let’s be clear however - Farage’s announcement today isn’t about taking the country - it’s about taking the Conservative Party. He is a significant upgrade on Richard Tice, but he remains a compelling issues campaigner, rather than a potential prime minister - Labour will be rubbing their hands with glee.”