Election latest: Sunak not taking questions amid talk of Tory battle to succeed him - as Dragon joins Starmer at brewery (2024)

Question. If a prime minister is heckled at a rally and there's no backdrop scandal to imbue it with meaning, should it still end up on the news?

I ask because so often in election campaigns, individual and often innocuous events get sucked into the black hole of a political narrative and spat out as something very different and much more dangerous.

Exhibit A - the torrid two days Rishi Sunak has had after his early departure from the D-Day commemorations.

Such was the scale of this saga that even a solitary road sign in rural Gloucestershire was transformed into a symbol of the hapless Tory campaign stumbling from one PR disaster to another - simply because it read "Veterans Way" and happened to be next to a school the prime minister was visiting.

A GP with gripes about the widening of access to medical care topped off the party's hell day after she interrupted Mr Sunak at a rally in Wiltshire.

This was inevitably seen as another blow for the embattled campaign, despite the prime minister giving a fairly convincing defence of his policy.

You wonder how such a situation would have been received had it happened to Sir Keir Starmer - the drama potentially diluted by his huge lead in the polls and polished campaign machine.

None of this is to deny the importance of the D-Day story.

As one pollster put it, the debacle seemed almost "laser guided" to inflict the maximum amount of damage on a leader leaking votes to the right and facing frequent accusations of being out of touch.

That was certainly evident in Bishop Auckland on Saturday.

The Tories took this seat for the first time ever in 2019, but metres from a Conservative campaign stop one former candidate for the party told Sky News he could "never vote for that man" after events of the past two days.

"He's leading them off the cliff like rats following the Pied Piper," he said.

So how can Rishi Sunak change the weather?

Read Rob's full analysis below...

The polls are stubbornly refusing to move for the Conservatives.

Sky's latest average poll tracker shows Labour on 43.6% while the Conservatives trail on 22.8% - a commanding lead.

And - despite Rishi Sunak appealing to the right of his core vote with policies on immigration and national service, Nigel Farage's Reform party are nipping at the Tories' heels.

One YouGov poll this week showed the party on 17% - just two points behind the Conservatives on 19%.

Conservative peer and poll expert Lord Hayward has said the Tories have been "flatlining" in the polls.

"I think the polls have somewhat overestimated the Labour lead but it's still solid and it's still very substantial," he tells the Politics Hub.

He says Reform's position is "dangerous" to all other parties.

"What's interesting is that Reform, and other disruptor parties like the Greens, are taking away votes from the major parties," he adds.

"It will hit all parties, not just the Conservatives, and this what people have to be aware of nbecause voter loyalty is very low."

He adds that he believes his party's chances of achieving a majority is going to be "pretty difficult".

Ali Fortescue is joined now by our political correspondent Tamara Cohen, and the pair are discussing whether the Conservatives can dig themselves out of the hole they've found themselves in after a bad week.

Tamara says there is a lot of deep despair in the Tory ranks.

"Rishi Sunak refusing to speak to journalists today and just look at the seats that they're visiting. The prime minister in Bishop Auckland, where the Conservatives have an 8,000 majority," she says.

"Whereas Labour today is in Aldershot - a seat the Conservatives have held for 100 years.

"Next week we have the manifestos released. Is that a moment for Rishi Sunak to regain a bit of momentum?

"We've also got more debates including our election event and the Tories are chucking out a lot of ideas here."

Next up on the show is Labour's shadow treasury minister James Murray.

Ali begins by asking him about Labour's plan to overhaul the business rates system if it gets into power.

Mr Murray explains that his party wants to replace the current system with one that "rebalances the burden away from high streets and make sure that online giants pay their fair share".

"People want high streets to thrive... but at the moment they pay a disproportionate amount of tax through business rates," he adds.

He explains that bricks and mortar stores would be given extra support under a Labour government.

He reiterates Labour's pledge to not rejoin the single market, the customs union and it will not have the freedom on movement again.

But he says that the party wants to "reduce friction" with the European Union to improve the economy.

Business Minister Kevin Hollinrake is the first guest to appear on tonight's Politics Hub with Ali Fortescue.

He is asked about the Conservatives defenders seemingly missing in action, saying everybody's time in politics eventually comes to an end, and they have their own decisions to make.

Mr Hollinrake is among those standing again as an MP.

"Politics isn't the only thing to do in your life," he adds. "But there are some fantastic people coming through, and we have a fantastic leader in Rishi Sunak."

Ali pushes him on the criticism surrounding Sunak over his decision to leave D-Day commemorations early.

"He made a mistake, and he was of course in the commemorations in the UK and in the British commemorations in France," Mr Hollinrake says, adding that the PM has apologised.

He adds that only one person he has spoken to in his constituency have raised D-Day as an issue.

"I think it's time now to talk about other issues," he says.

Moving on now to the Ultra Low Emission Zone in London, he insists the Conservatives want to make sure the cost of moving to a cleaner environment is "sensible and proportionate".

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has been trying to move on from anger over his decision to leave D-Day commemorations early – today he refused to speak to journalists.

Last night though, a cabinet minister speaking on live TV told the country his decision was "very wrong".

But where have all those who would be out defending the Conservatives got to?

Boris Johnson, long-time deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab, Sajid Javid, Liz Truss, even Michael Gove, have all deserted the field.

None - apart from Liz Truss - are even standing at the election.

Here's our political correspondent Rob Powell's latest report from today's campaign trail...

In the last few moments, Rishi Sunak has posted on X about the release of four Israeli hostages in Gaza.

He said it was a "huge relief" to see them returned home after their "unimaginable ordeal".

"We will continue to strive towards an end to the fighting as well as safety and security for all," he added.

Earlier, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer reposted a message from shadow foreign secretary David Lammy, which said the hostage's rescue was a "glimmer of hope in the darkness".

Tonight's show begins with a look at the rescue of four Israeli hostages from Hamas captivity in Gaza earlier today.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his forces had acted with "creativity and boldness" and they will not relent until all hostages have been returned home.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has accused Israeli forces of a "bloody massacre".

The Hamas-run government in the enclave has said at least 210 Palestinians were killed during the rescue mission.

You can read all the latest updates in our dedicated Israel-Hamas war blog below...

Our weeknight showPolitics Hub With Ali Fortescueis 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.

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

WatchPolitics Hubfrom 7pmevery night during the election campaign on Sky channel 501, Virgin channel 602, Freeview channel 233, on theSky News websiteandappor onYouTube

Rishi Sunak has faced impromptu questioning over the state of the NHS for a second time in 24 hours.

The prime minister was on the campaign trail again today - but was not taking any questions from journalists as the row over his early departure from D-Day rumbles on.

He attended a fete in his own constituency, where he ended up being challenged over the state of the NHS.

This comes after he was challenged at a campaign rally on Friday over GPs (see here).

Today, a woman who identified herself as a consultant called Chloe stopped the prime minister and asked him for "his plan for waiting lists" - and claimed the government had left the NHS "completely unprepared" for the pandemic.

The pair shook hands at the start of the encounter, and Mr Sunak moved on after around 30 seconds.