General election latest: Starmer takes pop at Johnson hiding in fridge as he refuses to comment on Abbott row (2024)

Speaking to broadcasters after the Workers Party campaign launch, George Galloway was asked what he is hoping for.

He replied: "We're standing enough candidates that if everyone votes for them, I'll be the prime minister.

"That's a big task in a very short period of time - we're only four years old, and the party only really took off in the Rochdale by-election.

"And yet, we've managed to find all these hundreds of candidates."

The goal, he said, is "to persuade the maximum number of people to vote for our policies of peace, equality, justice, an end to the slaughter in Gaza, and a new direction for Britain".

Asked what success looks like, Mr Galloway said he wants "many" MPs, and would be "extremely disappointed if it's not in double figures".

He said if they get 200,000 votes or more, they would qualify for state financial support, table motions in the Commons, initiate debates, and more, which would be crucial for them.

Mr Galloway added that it would be important "especially if Keir Starmer is the prime minister" because he would be "the leader of the real opposition".

He said he is prepared to have no MPs, saying that if they get hundreds of thousands of votes at this election, they would "still regard 2024 as being the year of our breakthrough".

But he also said that it would be "an indictment of the electoral system", but he added: "I really don't think that hypothetical is going to come to pass."

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

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and the Conservative leader Rishi Sunak have been invited 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 in this link.

The leader of the Workers Party of Britain, George Galloway, has addressed party supporters at their election campaign launch inAshton-under-Lyne.

Here are the key points of what he said (this post was updated live):

• Mr Galloway opens by praising their candidate in the constituency who just spoke (see previous post), Aroma Hassan, who is hoping to defeat Labour's deputy leader, Angela Rayner;
• "They [the Tories] thought they were pulling a surprise election. Well, it may have been a surprise to some, but not to us - we have been on a permanent election footing";
• Their campaign, Mr Galloway declares, has "started exceptionally well, while Keir Starmer's campaign has blown up in his face";
• He labels the Labour leader a "silent assassin" for an alleged cull of left-wing candidates;
• Continuing his attack on Sir Keir Starmer, Mr Galloway claims that Sir Iain Duncan Smith had already packed his bags when Faiza Shaheen was removed as the Labour challenger in Chingford and Woodford Green;
• Moving back to Sir Keir, he claims Diane Abbott was allegedly going to be barred as a Labour candidate because she was an "outspoken supporter of the Palestinian people", and says of the Labour leadership: "You cannot believe a word they say";
• He then moves on to Rishi Sunak, who he claims uses "elevated heels" because he is so small;
• "I could not tell you which is the lesser of the two evils - Keir Starmer or Rishi Sunak. They're both equally evil to me";
• He moves back to the Labour leader again, claiming that his "biggest problem is that he has supported the worst genocidal massacre seen on Earth since 1945";
• He backs independent candidates like Jeremy Corbyn, in addition to his own candidates, and adds that the public does not like either Sir Keir or Mr Sunak;
• He claims that he is a candidate for PM, attacks ITV for not including him in their debate on Tuesday, and says he is going to take legal action against the broadcaster and Ofcom in order to be included.

The Workers Party of Britain are launching their election campaign in Ashton-under-Lyne today.

Aroma Hassan, the party's candidate for the constituency - who is running against Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner - is first to speak.

She says she "believes in being the change I want to see".

Ms Hassan hits out at Labour and the Conservatives, saying that "term after term, we're promised things" and that they "dance around pretending they're different parties but we see them".

She also takes aim at "the media" and "the establishment".

The pop band behind New Labour's 1997 anthem Things Can Only Get Better has banned Sir Keir Starmer from using the song in the election.

D:Ream's founding members Alan Mackenzie and Peter Cunnah said they were dismayed to hear their number one hitplay through a loudspeakeras Rishi Sunak announced he was calling a general election on 4 July.

The pair told LBC their first thought was: "Not again."

"The fact that it's gone back to a political thing, I find disturbing. I was thinking, can we get on with our lives? But now it's come back," Cunnah said, speaking from his recording studio at home in Donegal.

You can read more from Sky News here:

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak today said his children would probably not describe him as a Taylor Swift fan, ahead of the popstar's tour of the UK.

He told journalists on the campaign trail in Redcar: "My kids would not probably describe me as a Swiftie.

"I think they would be not OK with that description.

"Their level of fandom is considerably more than mine and I'm not sure I pass the threshold in their eyes."

Mr Sunak declined to say which Taylor Swift song "best describes (his) current position in the polls", when asked by The Sunday Times.

The prime minister replied: "My encyclopaedic knowledge of Taylor Swift is probably not sufficient to deal with that, but what I can tell you is that the only poll that I'm focused on is the one on 4 July.

"Has she got a song about 4 July? I don't know, I'll have to go and check the canon."

Sky News' deputy political editor Sam Coates and Politico's Jack Blanchard are already in your podcast feeds with their daily guide to the election day ahead.

This is day nine of the campaign. Jack and Sam discuss Donald Trump's show-stealing convictions in the US, continued accusations of a purge of Labour's left, and how the parties will be preparing for next week's first TV debate.

👉Tap here to follow Politics at Jack at Sam's wherever you get your podcasts👈

Email Jack and Sam: jackandsam@sky.uk

It's 1pm - here's what you need to know this lunchtime.

Both Labour and the Conservatives have been out on the campaign trail, launching their "battle buses" for the rest of this six-week race.

Let us get you up to speed on everything you may have missed today…

• Labour is in Uxbridge, west London, kicking off a 5,000-mile trip around the UK on their "battle bus", fronted by deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner;
• Launching the bus, Sir Keir Starmer made a few digs at the Conservatives - and former prime minister Boris Johnson, who was an MP in Uxbridge - saying of the bus: "This one I'm reliably told has got a fridge at the back of it, so check that Boris Johnson isn't in there - he used to be around these parts";
• The joke is in reference to the former prime minister hiding in a fridge as he tried to avoid a TV interview with Good Morning Britain;
• Later, Sir Keir refused to comment on the row with Diane Abbott, avoiding even saying her name when asked about the situation around her candidacy.

• Rishi Sunak is in the North East of England, where he too launched a campaign bus baring the slogan: "clear plan, bold action, secure future";
• Ahead of his arrival, a soundtrack of indie and pop from the 2000s and 2010s played, includingMr Brightside by the Killers, and Pumped Up Kicks by Foster The People, two US bands;
• The Conservatives have also pledged to give £20m to 30 towns across the country - a move the Labour Party has branded a "reckless, unfunded commitment";
• Science minister Andrew Griffith clarified today that this is a pledge of £600m - with £20m earmarked for each of the 30 towns identified by the party.

• And Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey is taking a break from the campaign trail today to "be a dad", and look after his son John - who has special needs;
• Despite this, the Lib Dem campaign continues, with Treasury spokeswoman Sarah Olney on a visit in Eastbourne;
• Reform UK leader Richard Tice is in Skegness with honorary president Nigel Farage, and the pair have been spotted stopping for an ice-cream and chatting with locals.

Here are a couple of other stories that may interest you:

Our essential political podcast,Politics At Jack And Sam's, is going out every week day through the election campaign to bring a short burst of everything you need to know about the day ahead as this election unfolds.

Tap here to follow Politics At Jack At Sam's wherever you get your podcasts.

Stick with us for all the latest throughout the evening.

Parliament was officially dissolved at midnight, which means we are now in a pre-election period known as purdah.

The term "purdah", which derives from Urdu and Persian and means "curtain", describes the period between the time an election is announced and the date the election is held.

It is a period of heightened sensitivity, when certain restrictions are in place on government activity.

Sky News and other broadcasters also have to ensure their coverage gives due weight to parties and candidates during the campaign period.

You can read more from Sky News below:

Next, Rishi Sunak is asked about a new poll which suggests Labour could have a 303-seat majority after the July general election.

He says the only poll that matters is "the one on 4 July - the general election".

"We're just over a week into this and what is clear is that we're the only ones that have a plan that is working when it comes to the economy," Mr Sunak adds.

"We're the only ones who are putting ideas on the table."

The prime minister reiterates that the Conservatives can deliver a better future - in "direct contrast" with the Labour Party.