General election 2024 latest: Rishi Sunak accused of ‘lying through his teeth’ at LBC phone-in as PM gets inflation boost

Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves has said Labour would seek to “make changes” in “some areas” to the UK’s relationship with the EU.

But denied that the party will start a process to reverse Brexit if it wins the election.

Ms Reeves told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “We’re not going to go back into the EU, the Customs Union. Those are our red lines. So I never tend to think about Customs Union or free movement of labour.

“But I don’t believe that the deal that Boris Johnson got is the best deal that we could have got or is in our best interest.

“So there are some areas where we do want to see reform. We want a veterinary agreement to make it easier for our fantastic farming and fishing industries to export, and to reduce for all businesses some of those delays at the borders.”

Ms Reeves added: “There are areas where we are seeking to make changes because we believe it’s in our national interest to do so.”

Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves Labour’s definition of “working poeple” includes pensioners after she was questioned about Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer’s definition of the term.

The definition has been at the centre of controversy after Labour pledges that it will not increase taxes for “working people”, who are defined by Keir Starmer as “people who earn their living, rely on our services and don’t really have the ability to write a cheque when they get into trouble”.

Asked whether Labour believes “working people” are only those without savings, Ms Reeves told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Working people are people who get their income from going out to work every day, and also pensioners that have worked all their lives and are now in retirement, drawing down on their pensions.”

She added: “Many working people do have savings, but the truth is, during the cost-of-living crisis, loads of working people have had to run down those savings and have very little left, very little to draw upon.”

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has predicted that Labour could be in power for “a very long time” if Sir Keir Starmer wins by a landslide.

He told broadcasters: “I think when people go to the polls, they will reflect on the dangers of Labour having such a big majority and then changing the rules by giving votes to people at the age of 16, giving votes to EU citizens, so that they’re here not just for a short time, for a very long time indeed.

“Compared to that, they will look at a Conservative government that hasn’t got everything right but took difficult decisions having inherited an economy that had higher inflation than nearly any of our major competitors.

“It is now lower, not just lower inflation but lower taxes, and soon hopefully lower mortgages as well.”

Some 632,863 applications to vote were submitted on Tuesday, the last day to register before the general election, Government figures show.

The number is just below the 659,666 applications that were submitted on the equivalent deadline day ahead of the 2019 general election.

People had until 11.59pm on June 18 to register to vote. The number of applications submitted on Tuesday is the highest for a single day so far in 2024 and is nearly double the year’s previous high of 330,621 on June 13.

It means more than 2.7 million applications to vote were submitted from May 23, the first full day after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called the General Election, to June 18.

Of the applications submitted on Tuesday, more than half were by people aged 34 and under, with 30% from 25 to 34-year-olds and 26% from those under 25.

Some 17% of applications were from 35 to 44-year-olds, 11% from 45 to 54-year-olds, 9% from 55 to 64-year-olds, 4% from 65 to 74-year-olds and 2% from people aged 75 and over.

Rishi Sunak has heaped praise on Boris Johnson’s Daily Mail columns and thanked him for helping the Tory campaign as he wished his predecessor a happy birthday, Archie Mitchell reports.

Mr Johnson is celebrating his 60th birthday and Mr Sunak said “I hope he is having a good day”.

“It’s been great having him supporting the Conservative Party, he has been endorsing lots of candidates with videos and letters and that is really great and makes a big difference,” Mr Sunak added.

He said LBC listeners can see every week that he is pointing out the risks of a Labour government in his Friday Daily Mail column.

After Sir Keir Starmer praised the prime minister’s bipartisan approach to national security and the war in Ukraine, Rishi Sunak was asked what he admires about the Labour leader.

Mr Sunak said: “These jobs take a toll on everyone’s family, and I think he does a very good job of balancing family life and work life and making sure he prioritises that and makes time for that.

“When you hear him talk about that, that’s a nice thing.”

Rishi Sunak has said the number of small boat crossings have fallen in the past year, but the number who have arrived so far this year is at a record level, Archie Mitchell reports.

He stressed that there is a stark choice for voters at the general election between the Labour Party who will not send migrants to Rwanda, and the Conservatives who will.

So far, the Conservatives have spent almost £300m of taxpayer cash without sending a single asylum seeker to the east African nation as part of the scheme.

Rishi Sunak is grilled by an LBC caller for being “richer than the King” and being unable to relate to struggling poeple.

A caller asks: “How as a prime minister that is richer than our king relate to any of our struggles?”

The prime minister replies that he will “always have people’s backs in tough times”. But the caller accuses him of lying about supporting poeple through the pandemic.

Nick Ferrari then asks the PM: “Do you accept you are rich?”

Rishi Sunak replied yes he is rich, adding that he has been “very fortunate in my life”.

“I’m not going to apologise for that because my parents worked really hard,” he added.

The prime minister denied wearing a £500 coat to an election visit in Brighton and said “not a single person has spoken to me about what I am wearing” on the campaign trail.

Rishi Sunak has been confronted by Figen Murray, the mother of Manchester Arena bombing victim Martyn Hett, over why he has not passed a law in her son’s honour yet, Archie Mitvhell reports.

The prime minister was asked why it is referred to as a “priority” in the Conservative Party manifesto despite him promising Ms Murray 18 months ago that he would pass it.

She said: “You have put in your manifesto that Martyn’s law is a priority. I don’t know what you mean by that because you promised me 18 months ago, in a phone call on what would have been Martyn’s 35th birthday, that you’re going to really Hurry up with Martyn’s law and you’re very committed to it. And there has been nothing since then.”

The PM said he is still planning to pass the law before summer recess if he is re-elected, despite only having a week of time scheduled between the reopening of parliament after the election and MPs going on their holidays.