Election latest: Top Labour candidate at risk of losing seat 'very concerned' over postal ballot delays (2024)

"I was supposed to parachute in," jokes Sir Ed Davey as he addresses supporters in Hampshire, his second stop of the day.

Campaigning alongside vet and Winchester candidate Danny Chambers, Sir Ed says: "We've got the pet vote, and the farm animal vote, all sewn up."

He continues: "This is a once in a century election. A chance where we can change the political geography of our nation, and in doing that, I want us to become a caring nation."

As the event winds down, he apologises for keeping his supporters waiting: "An hour?! I'm so sorry - I blame the Tories."

The full list of candidates running in Winchester include:

• Chris Barfoot, independent;
• Danny Chambers, Lib Dems;
• Kevin D'Cruze, independent;
• Andrew Davis, Social Democratic Party;
• Hannah Dawson, Labour;
• Flick Drummond, Conservatives.

The leader of Plaid Cymru has said the Conservatives are "desperate" for attacking Sir Keir Starmer for wanting to spend Friday evenings with his children.

Sir Keir said earlier this week that Friday night dinner is important to his family and that he tries to "not do a work-related thing after 6pm" on Fridays.

This led to senior Conservatives criticising the Labour leader, accusing him of being a "part-time prime minister".

Rhun ap Iorwerth, the leader of Plaid, said: "I think that the Conservatives are pretty desperate if they're coming down to that kind of level of personal attack.

"People attack me personally all the time and I tend to try to ignore it."

Plaid vows to 'hold Labour to account'

"What we need to focus on is what's really at stake in this election," he added.

"Conservatives are going - high time - Labour will form the next government, but we can hold them to account."

SNP leader John Swinney also criticised the Tory attacks on Sir Keir earlier today, labelling them "disgusting".

No criminal offences were committed by Reform UK activists campaigning for Nigel Farage who were filmed by an undercover journalist for Channel 4, Essex Police says.

"Having assessed the comments made during a Channel 4 news programme, and all other information available to us, we have concluded that no criminal offences have taken place," said the force in a statement.

The footage showed canvasser Andrew Parker using a racial slur about Rishi Sunak and suggesting migrants arriving in the UK on small boats should be used as "target practice".

Another activist described the Pride flag as "degenerate" and suggested members of the LGBT+ community are paedophiles.

Mr Farage claimed he was the victim of a stitch-up because Mr Parker is an actor, but Mr Parker insisted he was there as a Reform activist and Channel 4 said he was not known to the broadcaster before being "filmed covertly via the undercover operation".

By Jennifer Scott, political reporter

More than £232m has been paid out in compensation to people affected by the now-scrapped northern leg of HS2, Sky News can reveal.

Responses to our Freedom of Information requests show just shy of £550m has been spent so far on a range of government compensation schemes for both residents and businesses impacted by the planned route between London and Manchester.

But more than 40% of the pot went to land and property owners in phase two of the project - starting at Birmingham and heading north - which was cancelled by the Conservatives at their 2023 party conference and will never be built.

A total of 2,446 successful applications for pay outs have been made across five schemes, but 53 are still yet to be settled - 10 years after compensation was first made available.

You can read more from Sky News here:

By Faith Ridler, political reporter

A Labour frontbencher in a hotly contested seat is "very concerned" about delays to arrivals of postal votes in her constituency - which she could be set to lose to the Greens.

Thangam Debbonaire, the shadow culture secretary, wrote to a British citizen who lives in Hong Kong - but is registered to vote in Bristol Central - to explain she is "certainly not the only person" who has experienced delays.

'Completely unacceptable'

Bronwen Baynes, 34, did not receive her postal vote and now there is no way of her getting it back to the count before the deadline of 10pm on Thursday.

She is now applying for an emergency proxy vote in the hope that one of her friends can vote on her behalf - but this is proving difficult.

Ms Debboinaire told her in an email seen by Sky News that this situation is "completely unacceptable" - and she is "very concerned" about the "failure of postal votes to be sent out on time".

She added that Ms Baynes is "certainly not the only person who has experienced this".

Bristol City Council told her to pick up a re-issued postal ballot from the council offices - some 9,762km away from where she lives - and resubmit this to register her vote.

The latest MRP poll shows Bristol Central could well be a Green gain, with a possible 12-point majority.

The Labour candidate holds a 16,000 - or 32.5% - majority in the seat.

There are reports of thousands of postal ballots not being delivered in time, with postal affairs minister Kevin Hollinrake calling onRoyal Mail"to do all they can" to make sure postal votes get to people in time.

More than 90 constituencies, including those of cabinet ministers, have raised concerns about ballots failing to arrive, according to The Telegraph.

But Royal Mail said it is delivering postal votes as soon as they arrive in its network - and has called for a review of how the printing and administration of postal votes is handled before the ballot papers are given to Royal Mail.

The other candidates in Bristol Central are:

• Robert Clarke, Reform UK;
• Nicholas Coombes, Liberal Democrats;
• Carla Denyer, Green Party;
• Kellie-Jay Keen, Party of Women;
• Samuel Williams, Conservatives.

Rishi Sunak has said his favourite meal is "sandwiches".

Asked about his final meal in Number 10, should he lose his role after voting on Thursday, the Prime Minister told ITV's This Morning: "Well, my favourite meal generally is sandwiches.

"You know, I'm a big sandwich person.

"But, actually, I always have on election night - we have a bit of a tradition, my local butcher, one of my local butchers called Kitson's in Northallerton High Street, always do a special election pie."

PM will 'check in' with favourite butcher

Mr Sunak described the pie as a "very good pork pie with a special chutney and some cheese as well, on top", and added he has had the pie at all the elections he has stood at in the Richmond, Yorkshire, constituency.

"I have to check in with them," he said.

The other candidates in Richmond and Northallerton are:

• Jason Barnett, independent;
• Count Binface, Count Binface Party;
• Daniel Callaghan, Lib Dems;
• Angie Campion, independent;
• Louise Anne Dickens, Workers Party;
• Kevin Foster, Greens;
• Rio Goldhammer, Yorkshire Party;
• Niko Omilana, independent;
• Brian Richmond, independent;
• Sir Archibald Stanton, Monster Raving Loony Party;
• Lee Taylor, Reform;
• Tom Wilson, Labour.

Former Labour adviser Ayesha Hazarika is back with Beth and Ruth for the last few days of the election campaign.

On this episode they discuss how Beth is preparing for election night, what constituencies to look out for and election night snacks.

They also discuss the final days of campaigning and why theTories are attacking Keir Starmer for suggesting he willfinish work at 6pm on aFridaynight if he becomes prime minister.

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

Email Beth, Ruth, and Ayesha at electoraldysfunction@sky.uk, post on X to @BethRigby, or send a WhatsApp voice note on 07934 200 444.

It's 12pm - time for your lunchtime general election update on the very final day of this fiery, six-week campaign.

Here's everything you need to know so far today:

• We're in the final 24 hours of the general election campaign, and both Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer will spend the day making their last-ditch pleas to voters;
• The prime minister will make the case for voting Conservative, and claim that Tory MPs will help to offer a counterbalance to what is expected to be a landslide majority for Labour;
• Poll after poll is now suggesting the Labour Party is expected to win a large majority in parliament, with the Sky News poll of polls putting Sir Keir 19 points ahead this morning;
• But the Labour leader tells Sky's Beth Rigby he still fears people not feeling the need to "go out and vote for change".

• Mel Stride, the work and pensions secretary, today said the Conservatives "know what the result is going to be if the polls are right - we know it's going to be a Labour landslide";
• But Mr Sunak has sought to downplay this since, saying Mr Stride "wasn't quite saying" that the goal for the Tories now is only avoiding a Labour "supermajority";
• And - if you wondered - the prime minister has revealed his favourite food is... a sandwich.

• Sir Keir has continued to insist that his party is not counting on a victory in tomorrow's election, despite Conservatives appearing to concede their own defeat;
  
• He also reiterated that Labour is "not in the slightest" worried about Boris Johnson's appearance at a Tory rally overnight;
• Meanwhile, in typical Liberal Democrat fashion, Sir Ed Davey has been tractor racing in Chippenham today - and there's more to come;
• And away from the general election, Ex-DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson will face trial over allegations of historical sex offences.

This was a question posed to the Labour leader by our political editor Beth Rigby as he began the final stretch of the election campaign today.

He says: "My fear at the moment is that people will not feel the necessity to go out and vote for change.

"This is not a done deal, we need to fight all the way through to 10pm tomorrow night."

Sir Keir says the "prize" on Thursday is a "historic change in direction for our country, to take our country forward".

But, he adds: "This will only happen if you vote for it.

"I picked up the Labour Party in a pretty poor state four years' ago and set about the task of changing the Labour Party, putting it in the position where we are a day away from election as credible contenders for election."

He says now, Labour wants the opportunity to "take the country forward".

"I will always say country first, party second."