The betting scandal continues to dominate the campaign trail for under-fire Rishi Sunak, who has been forced to confirm he is not personally under investigation.
The prime minister said he is not aware of any other Conservative candidates being investigated, following the revelations that alleged bets connected to two Tory candidates are being looked at by the Gambling Commission.
Amid warnings that the saga will damage the party’s results on 4 July, a recent poll by Savanta revealed the Tories are set for a wipeout in London.
The survey found 55 per cent of Londoners are planning to vote for Labour and only 22 per cent for the Conservatives.
Nigel Farage has been speaking in Kent on the campaign trail and doubled down on widely criticised claims about Nato’s role in the build-up to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The Reform leader hit back at Boris Johnson’s criticism over his comments branding the former prime minister the “worst PM of modern times” as he unveiled a giant version of the i newspaper frontbage with the headline “Boris blames EU for war in Ukraine”.
Labour is on course for a 250-seat Commons majority, according to new poll
Labour is set to win a 250-seat majority in the House of Commons, according to a new poll released on Monday afternoon.
The Focaldata survey said the Conservatives are set to lose an astounding 262 seats, leaving the party with 110 MPs.
According to the research the Labour Party would gain 250 seats, which would culminate in 450 seats in the Commons.
The Liberal Democrats would gain 42 seats, while the SNP would lose 34.
Tories doing own inquiry into betting allegations, says Sunak
The Conservative Party is conducting its own internal inquiry into allegations that officials and candidates bet on the date of the general election, Rishi Sunak said today.
Speaking to journalists, Mr Sunak said: “(The Gambling Commission) don’t talk about the individuals that they are investigating,” the Prime Minister told journalists on the campaign trail in Edinburgh on Monday.
“What I can tell you is I am not aware of any other candidate that they are looking at.”
He added: “What I can tell you is, in parallel, we’ve been conducting our own internal inquiries and of course will act on any relevant findings or information from that and pass it on to the Gambling Commission.”
The party’s chief data officer Nick Mason is the latest figure understood to be taking a leave of absence amid claims he placed bets on the election date, along with director of campaigning Tony Lee.
Mr Lee’s would-be MP wife Laura Saunders and fellow candidate Craig Williams, who was a parliamentary aide to the prime minister, are also under investigation by the Gambling Commission.
Watch: Nigel Farage defends Ukraine war comments and attacks Boris Johnson
What are Labour and the Conservative positions on transgender rights ahead of the 2024 general election?
Labour has clarified its position on transgender rights as Wes Streeting says the party would “modernise and reform” gender laws if it comes into power on July 4.
The shadow health secretary has said Labour’s policy aims to allow transgender people to “live their lives with freedom, dignity and respect”. His comments come after all the major parties unveiled their manifestos over the past few weeks, outlining their visions for the country. Each covers transgender policy, with the issue becoming a major cultural talking point over the past few years.
You can read The Independent full story below.
Rishi Sunak insists he got general election timing right
The prime minister has insisted he was “right” to choose 4 July as the day for the general election.
During a media huddle in Edinburgh, he was asked if he would have wanted more months to make his case.
He said: “No – The most important job I had when I was Prime Minister was to restore economic stability back to our country after what has been a really difficult few years with Covid and the war in Ukraine.
“My priority was bring inflation down, because inflation was eating into everyone’s pay packets, their savings, making everyone feel the challenges of the cost of living.”
Pictured: Sir Keir Starmer visits Northampton Town Football Club at Sixfields Stadium
Exclusive: One in 5 young voters prefer TikTok and Instagram for election news, poll reveals
Young voters are relying less and less on traditional media for news, as the election looms round the corner, our Data correspondent Alicja Hagopian reports.
A substantial 21 per cent of 18-34 year olds say that TikTok and Instagramare their main source of information for the general election campaign, an exclusive Techne poll for the Independent can reveal.
Perhaps most surprising is that Twitter and Facebook are the least preferred source for young voters — at just 4 per cent.
While all platforms can share both image and video content, Instagram and TikTok have more of a skew towards visual content, while Twitter and Facebook are more centred around text-based content.
Farage ‘doesn’t have a point worth listening to about anything’ says ex-head of British Army
Former head of the British Army Lord Dannatt has attacked Nigel Farage over his claims that the West had provoked the invasion in Ukraine.
Asked whether the Reform leader had a point with his remarks, he said: “As far as I’m concerned, Nigel Farage doesn’t have a point worth listening to about anything.”
He added on BBC Radio 4’s World At One: “If the issue is the wider point as to whether the situation in the war has got to a point where negotiations should take place, that is entirely a matter for President Zelensky and really for him alone to decide whether, in his judgment, to negotiate would be a better thing to do in order to save more Ukrainian lives than continue fighting.”
Badenoch hints at Tory leadership bid after general election
Kemi Badenoch hinted at having leadership ambitions, saying “we will talk about leadership things after an election”.
The business secretary is seen as a frontrunner to replace Rishi Sunak as Tory leader if the party loses the general election to Labour.
Ms Badenoch entered the race to replace Boris Johnson last summer and was endorsed by Michael Gove, eventually coming in fourth place.
She campaigned to leave the EU in 2016 and is combative on cultural issues, giving her a significant appeal with the right wing of the party.
Ms Badenoch told a Bloomberg debate: “I’m already the secretary of (state for) business and trade, and it’s actually been the job of a lifetime. I love it. There’s no better job.
“It is a lot easier and a lot less pressured than being prime minister.
“The fact of the matter is, I stood and I lost. And what terrifies me now is not not becoming leader, it is seeing Labour come in.”
She continued: “This is one of the things that I’ve found most difficult doing this job, that people tend not to know what it is, because I’m always asked the leadership question. We’re so interested in the personalities, in the gossip and so on…
“We need to focus on this election. The choice is going to be between us or between them. Be afraid if it is them, is all I would say. And we will talk about leadership things after an election, but not before.”
