Election latest: Gillian Keegan to face Sky News questions; Rylan Clark reveals how he would change politics (2024)

There was 0.7% growth in the UK economy between January and March this year, the Office for National Statistics as said.

The ONS previously estimated the expansion was 0.6% for this period.

But it has now confirmed they previously underestimated.

The Conservative Party is continuing to attack Nigel Farage and Reform over comments he made about the war in Ukraine.

Mr Farage said last week that the West had provoked Russia into invading.

Speaking to the Daily Telegraph, Rishi Sunak denounced Mr Farage as "wrong".

"What he said was wrong, it was completely wrong.

"It plays into Putin's hand.

"This is the guy who used nerve agents on British streets, he's doing deals with North Korea.

"That is who we're talking about here.

"This kind of appeasem*nt is very damaging not just for our security, but the security of our allies that depend on us and it emboldens Putin further."

The Telegraph says Mr Farage responded by saying: "Being against the Iraq and Libyan wars and predicting the Ukraine war is not appeasem*nt.

"I'm horrified by what Putin has done."

The Tory party has hammered this point as Reform support swells while backing for the Conservative Party recedes.

This - and saying a vote for Reform is a vote for Labour - are their two main attacks against Mr Farage.

TV presenter Rylan Clark has said he would "love" to become a politician - and replace the party system with a "Power Rangers of government" model.

The TV personality, 35, joined political editor Beth Rigby and former Scottish Conservative leader Baroness Ruth Davidson for this week's Sky News Electoral Dysfunction podcast.

Asked if he would ever consider the career change, he said: "If I wasn't in the job that I was in, I would love nothing more."

Rylan, who won Celebrity Big Brother and also appeared on the X Factor, appeared on the podcast in place of Labour candidate Jess Phillips after tweeting his praise for Rigby on the day Rishi Sunak announced the general election.

Sharing a clip of her and Sky presenter Sophy Ridge outside a rainy Downing Street waiting for Mr Sunak to appear at the lectern, he said: "Obsessed with the Rigby."

Speaking to her and Davidson, he said his "obsession" with politics began with Brexit - "as we've seen so many promises which weren't fulfilled" since then.

He added: "I lie there at night sometimes, and I think about [Volodymyr] Zelenskyy. He hosted one of the same shows I've hosted in Ukraine."

The TV presenter also shared his idea of abandoning political parties altogether.

Read the full story here:

By Gurpreet Narwan, political correspondent

Britain could soon have its most diverse parliament ever but how will voters from ethnically diverse communities behave at the ballot box?

The voting trends of such groups are incredibly complex and varied. There is no single narrative but several themes stick out from YouGov's exclusive polling for Sky News.

Most notably, the handling of the conflict in the Middle East has damaged the two major parties in the eyes of British Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities. This is something the Labour Party, in particular, is very sensitive too.

Labour have historically fared well with these voters and 53% of ethnic minority voters we polled said they would vote for the party - that's a greater lead than polls we've done with the general population.

However, the Tories fare worse among ethnic minority voters on the whole - in this poll they are neck and neck with the Green Party at 14%.

But, if we drill into the detail, 32% of British Indians said they would vote Conservative - 12% higher than the general population. This is a good reminder that there is a huge variation in voting trends among communities.

Reform UK polled much worse with ethnically diverse communities than the population at large - they're on 7% - but they're still one point above the Lib Dems.

Read Gurpreet's full piece here:

Welcome back to the Politics Hub.

It's the final Friday of the general election campaign.

In seven days time, we'll be waking up to the results of the country's vote.

The gambling scandal is still looming over the Conservatives, some communities are unhappy with Labour's response to the conflict in the Middle East, and Nigel Farage has responded to one of his party's campaigners saying the army should shoot migrants crossing the Channel.

Stay with us as we keep you up to date with the latest developments as they happen.

Coming up on Sky News this morning:

• Education secretary and Conservative candidate Gillian Keegan at 7.15am;
• Shadow chief secretary to the Treasury and Labour candidate Darren Jones at 8.15am;
• SNP leader John Swinney at 8.45am.

We'll be back at 6am with all the latest from the final week of the general election campaign.

There are just six days of campaigning left until the polls open on 4 July, and political parties from across the House of Commons are busy trying to win your votes.

Join us from the morning for more live updates.

Until then - read all the latest from Sky News below:

The Metropolitan Police has been dragged - reluctantly, as I understand it - into investigating candidates a week out from the election.

Even 24 hours ago this was not the case - Scotland Yard wanted to take care of their own - the officers probed by the Gambling Commission - and no more.

But as the days have dragged on, it's clear the issue has become more complex, and now gone beyond the scope of the Gambling Commission.

What has changed is a realisation by investigating authorities that they need to look into whether some candidates may have broken the law on misconduct in public office.

This is beyond the remit of the Gambling Commission, which began the initial probe, and now falls to the police.

This means the prospect of mainly Conservative candidates, including the prime minister's closest aide, potentially being interviewed under caution, maybe even this side of election day.

You could see how tetchy the subject made Rishi Sunak in the interview with the broadcast pool earlier today.

Read Sam's full analysis here:

With our coverage here on the Politics Hub drawing to a close, here's everything you need to know as the election campaign entered its final week - and a sneak preview of what we have coming up tomorrow.

• Sir Keir Starmerhas told Sky News there is "no evidence" private schools will be forced to close due toLabour's plans to impose VAT on them;
• Speaking toSky's Sophy Ridge,the Labour leader defended his party's education policy to use the money to support state schools;
• He also vowed to "hit the ground running" should he become prime minister, saying cutting NHS waiting lists would be Labour's first priority in government.

• A Reform UK campaigner has been filmed saying migrants crossing the Channel should be used as "target practice";
• Infootage recorded by a Channel 4 undercover reporter, the same campaigner used a racial slur against Rishi Sunak;
• Another Reform figure was filmed making hom*ophobic remarks;
• Party leader Nigel Farage has described comments in the footage as "very wrong".

• Rishi Sunakhas refused to say if he told one of his closest parliamentary aides the date of the electionbefore he placed a bet on it;
• Craig Williams, who has now been suspended as the Conservative candidate in Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr,admittedhe "committed a serious error of judgment" but "not an offence";
• TheMetropolitan Policehave issued an update on their investigation into bets being placed on the date of the election - there are nowseven officers under investigation;
• Meanwhile, Mr Sunak's most senior adviser in Downing Street has been interviewed in the investigation. Sources have emphasised to Sky News that he is not a suspect.

Join us tomorrow morning for a new episode of Sky'sElectoral Dysfunctionpodcast - and this time we've got someone very much outside the Westminster bubble.

Joining ourpolitical editorBeth RigbyandRuth Davidsonthis week is none other thanRylan Clark.

👉Tap here to follow Electoral Dysfunction wherever you get your podcasts👈

The next government is being urged to tackle an "appalling" rough sleeping crisis as new figures show a record high in London.

A total of 11,993 people were seen rough sleeping in the capital in the year to March, according to the latest Combined Homelessness and Information Network (Chain) statistics.

That is the highest figure ever recorded on the database, and marks a 58% increase compared to 10 years ago.

The "appalling" increase reflects a "crisis, both in the capital and across the country", said Rick Henderson, chief executive of Homeless Link, the membership body for frontline homelessness services in England, which manages the Chain database.

He said the next government "must create a cross-government plan to prevent rough sleeping and homelessness through delivering genuinely affordable and secure homes quickly, whilst making sure there are a diverse range of properly-funded homelessness services to help people address the root causes of their destitution and move on from rough sleeping for good".

The St Mungo's homeless charity said the next government must "treat homelessness as an emergency and prioritise it in their first 100 days".

According to the latest available figures for England, published in February, the estimated number of people sleeping rough on a single night in autumn in 2023 was 3,898 - more than twice that of the figure in 2010.

Racist and hom*ophobic remarks filmed as part of a Channel 4 investigationduring the Reform UK campaignwere "inappropriate," chairman of the party Richard Tice has said.

Speaking at aReform UK event in Boston with party leader Nigel Farage, Mr Tice said: "We put a statement out and it's all self-explanatory in the statement.

"The reality is that we're a fast-growing movement, and when you've got unpaid volunteers, some people behave inappropriately. And they're gone."

In footage recorded by a Channel 4 undercover reporter,a Reform UK campaigner has been filmed saying migrants crossing the Channel should be used as "target practice". He also used a racist slur against Rishi Sunak (see previous post).

Another Reform figure was filmed making hom*ophobic remarks.

Mr Farage has described remarks in the footage as "very wrong".