General election latest: Corbyn accuses Starmer of 'intervening' in left-wing 'purge' - as partygate returns to haunt PM (2024)

Statistics released today show the number of soldiers in the UK's armed forces has dropped below the target of 73,000.

Plans set out by the government put the UK on course to reduce its armed forces from 82,000 troops to 73,000 by 2025.

Ten years ago, there were 97,000.

Data out from the Ministry of Defence shows that numbers fell to 72,510 in April this year - down 2,320 in the previous year.

John Healey, the shadow defence secretary, says "our forces can't afford five more years of the Tories".

The Conservatives have pledged to increase military spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2030, and Labour say they will meet the same target when economic conditions allow.

An MoD spokesperson said: "Recruitment and retention are a priority for the armed forces, and they continue to implement a number of measures to improve it for both regular forces and the reserves."

ByGurpreet Narwan, political correspondent

During a Reform campaign event earlier, Nigel Farage rowed back from comments he made last night in which he hinted he might be open to doing a deal with the Tories.

Mr Farage told The Sun his party "might have a conversation" with the Tories, but asked "what are they going to do for me?"

It came after he conceded the election result was a foregone conclusion, with a Labour victory almost certain.

'No deal with Tories whatsoever'

Mr Farage said he was instead looking to the future and wanted to shape the conservative opposition in the UK.

When asked whether this meant a deal with the Tories was likely, Mr Farage said he was joking.

He said he was being "deeply sarcastic" in his interview with The Sun and Reform had "absolutely no interest in doing anything at all".

"There is no deal with the Conservatives whatsoever," he said.

When asked whether that was true or whether he was rowing back because of tense conversations with the party and leader Richard Tice, Mr Farage said "there's not a cigarette paper between us."

Sky political correspondent Serena Barker-Singh has been speaking to Jeremy Corbyn, the former Labour leader who is now an independent.

Mr Corbyn was asked about the candidates seen to be on the left of the party - like Diane Abbott, Lloyd Russell-Moyle, and Faiza Shaheen - not being allowed to stand.

He tells Serena: "The one thing they all have in common, the people that have been purged, is that they're on the left of the party and have all spoken out in favour of an immediate ceasefire and permanent ceasefire in Gaza."

When it was put to him that Labour claims some of the action was down to liking social media posts, Mr Corbyn says: "We don't even know which tweet it was or whose tweet it was.

"That seems to me a bit thin - and the Labour Party's procedures ought to be more robust and more open than that."

Serena asks if Mr Corbyn thinks Sir Keir Starmer is behind the decisions.

The ex-Labour chief says: "Well, as much as he claims sometimes it's nothing to do with him and other times that he's made the decision, he better make up his mind what it is.

"I think the leader ought to be independent of the other processes. But he clearly is intervening all along the way."

Mr Corbyn is standing for re-election in Islington North.

Labour'sAngela Rayner speaks to our political editorBeth Rigbyin an extended interview for the Daily podcast.

The party’s deputy leader says that she believes Diane Abbott should be able to stand as an MP - and she denied leader Sir Keir Starmer was acting "in a factional way".

On the first official day of campaigning, she also spoke about the investigations into her living arrangements - and revealed the details of her campaign battle bus.

Sky political correspondent Darren McCaffery was listening in as Rishi Sunak answered questions from the public.

As we reported, this included him being asked about the fine he received for breaking COVID regulations in 2020 when chancellor (read more).

Darren says this shows partygate "is clearly still an issue for the Conservative Party - and this is a prime minister who did receive a fixed penalty notice over that".

He adds that the person asking - who had lost their mother - "seemed pretty angry at the prime minister".

This, Darren says, is a reminder of which issues "still resonate with members of the public".

Mr Sunak did try to address the issue by explaining he was at a meeting, but was also "trying to pivot away to his record as chancellor on the furlough scheme".

Darren says that, while some of those covering the election may get "led slightly by government announcements and opposition announcements on a daily basis", there are many voters for whom "there are other issues at play here, whether they be historical or not, that are going to factor into how the vote in five weeks".

The prime minister is next asked what the Conservatives will do to ensure net zero will remain a priority.

He has been accused of watering down the government's green pledges since becoming prime minister (read more here).

Rishi Sunak responds that as a father of two daughters aged 11 and 13, he believes in tackling climate change.

"I want us to get to net zero because that's the right thing to do for my kids, your kids, or grandkids, making sure that we leave the environment in a better state than we found it," he says.

Tories 'won't rip out your boiler'

Mr Sunak says he will prioritise UK energy security, including backing energy coming out of the North Sea.

He also says the Tories will look after people's bills and won't force homeowners to "prematurely rip out your boiler, upgrade your home, change your car, because those things cost thousands of pounds".

"We don't need to do them right now. We will do them slowly over time in a measured way," he says, and takes a swipe at Sir Keir Starmer by saying Labour doesn't "believe in British energy".

Another person asks the PM about two things - the recently announced national service scheme and a lack of patriotism among young people.

In response, Mr Sunak says national service will help people develop skills, but also that it is going to foster a culture of service and bring people together at a time when "there are a lot of forces pulling us apart".

He says that it will become a new "rite of passage" and will help solve the question about patriotism, because it will instil a "renewed sense of service".

The first question to Rishi Sunak is notably direct.

An audience member says he lost his mother during the pandemic in 2020 and could not be with her in hospital. He suggests this was happening while parties were taking place at Downing Street.

Mr Sunak, then chancellor, was fined by police along with Boris and Carrie Johnson for breaching COVID rules over an event on 19 June that year.

"How can anyone trust you or the party after things like this?" he asks Mr Sunak.

The prime minister responds with condolences for his loss and apologises for "what was going on at Downing Street".

"As you know, I was working on things to help you and your business and many other families like that… hopefully some of you here benefited from some of the support that we put in place."

On whether he can be trusted, Mr Sunak says he did "everything" he could to protect the public during some "really big shocks" over the past few years.

"When our country goes through tough times, I will always be there to support you," he says.

The prime minister is on his feet in Milton Keynes, offering his usual pitch to voters that he is the man with a plan - and "bold ideas" like national service and the pensions "triple-lock plus".

He says Sir Keir Starmer "doesn't stand for anything" and cannot be trusted to run the country.

Rishi Sunak will be taking questions after his speech - we'll bring you the best bits.