Election latest: PM insists UK is better off than in 2010 - as Farage says he 'doesn't want to know racists' (2024)

Rishi Sunak has said he still believes he will win the general election.

Asked by the BBC whether he thought he would still be prime minister on Friday, he replied: "Yes.

"I'm fighting very hard and I think people are waking up to the real danger of what a Labour government means."

Polls have almost consistently shown that the Tories are 20 points behind Labour.

Mr Sunak also hit back at what he claimed was a "declinist narrative" when asked whether it was a mistake to change course on net zero.

BBC presenter Laura Kuenssberg pointed out that some people, including the independent climate change committee, believe that the UK has lost its status as a leader on the issue.

The broadcaster also said there was "plenty of evidence" that the economic reality of Brexit is that Britain's standing long-term is "more challenging".

Asked whether he thought the shift was a mistake, the prime minister appeared frustrated as he said: "No, and actually you started that question with something that I fundamentally disagree with: 'Because of Brexit, we've lost our standing in the world'."

Told that was not what the she had said, he replied: "You said we've lost our standing in the world. That's completely and utterly wrong."

Mr Sunak cited Britain building new nuclear submarines with Australia and the United States, and the negotiation of the Windsor Framework with the EU and support for Ukraine.

He claimed that "people are queuing up to work with us because they respect what we do".

"So I just completely reject that, it's entirely wrong, this kind of declinist narrative that people have of the UK I wholeheartedly reject."

Hats in support of Donald Trump and Union Flag jackets were spotted at the Reform UK rally at the NEC in Birmingham this afternoon.

Dozens of people have gathered to watch Reform UK leader Nigel Farage address the major campaign event, bidding for votes ahead of Thursday's election.

A group of students from the Warwick University Conservatives Association have been condemned for an "utterly abhorrent" video in which they sing a Nazi marching song.

The clip, taken at a chairman's dinner at the Warwick Conservatives Association two weeks ago, shows members singing "Erika" - a song used by the SS and the armed forces of Nazi Germany.

In a statement, the Union of Jewish Students condemned a "blatant and unchallenged support for Nazism".

"The blatant and unchallenged support for Nazism at the Warwick Conservatives Association 'chairman's dinner' is utterly abhorrent," it said.

"Glorification of the Nazis has no place in our society, especially on campus. It is in no way acceptable and must be widely condemned.

"We expect swift and decisive action from the University of Warwick and the ConservativeParty. Actions must have consequences.”

Additionally, a spokesperson for Warwick University said: "We have been made aware of this video and the allegations surrounding it, which are extremely troubling.

"Behaviour like this is reprehensible and we are disappointed to see our students involved.

“The university is reviewing the material disclosed to us via our reporting service and has notified the Student's Union.

"We have requested a meeting with the Jewish Society (Jsoc) to assist with our review.”

Our live poll tracker collates the results of opinion surveys carried out by all the main polling organisations - and allows you to see how the political parties are performing in the run-up to the general election.

With under a week to go, the Tories and Labour have taken a drop, while support for Reform UK and the Liberal Democrats is on the rise.

Read more about the trackerhere.

Pledges and promises are coming thick and fast from every party as the general election approaches.

Struggling to keep up with who is saying what?

Here is a summary of where the main parties stand on major issues.

For a more in-depth look at what each party has pledged, scour ourmanifesto checker...

A speech by Nigel Farage was interrupted by a banner showing a smirking Vladimir Putin with the caption "I [heart emoji] Nigel".

Campaign group Led By Donkeys carried out the stunt as the Reform UK leader spoke on stage at the Columbine Centre in Walton-on-the-Naze, Essex.

Footage posted on social media showed the banner slowly descending from the ceiling showing the Russian president with his thumb up.

Upon seeing the banner, Mr Farage - the Reform UK candidate for Clacton - said: "Who put that up there? Someone at the Columbine Centre needs to get the sack."

It comes after Mr Farage received widespread criticism for claiming earlier this month that the West and NATO "provoked" Russia's war on Ukraine.

Watch below...

Rishi Sunak was asked if it was a mistake for him to say at the start of the campaign that he has respect for Nigel Farage.

It comes in the wake of controversy over racist comments about Mr Sunak made by a man alleging to be a Reform UK canvasser.

Mr Farage, the leader of Reform UK, claims he is an actor.

Asked about his respect for the politician, Mr Sunak says there are views of his "that he's been right to highlight".

"Where I agree with someone's policies, I'll happily say that."

However, Mr Sunak says again that the racist remarks made about him were "wrong".

"I was keen to call it out."

The prime minister is also asked: "When was the last time you were wrong?"

He jokes: "If you talk to my wife and daughters they would say on a regular basis."

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has today insisted that the UK is now a better place to live in than it was when the Conservatives took office in 2010.

He told the BBC: "It's a better place to live than it was in 2010.

"Of course I understand that the last few years have been difficult for everyone."

He cited the pandemic and the war in Ukraine driving up energy bills, insisting "we are now on the right track".

It was put to him that the country has become poorer by many measures since 2010, and public services are worse.

"I just don't accept that," Mr Sunak replied, citing education and saying "our schoolchildren are now the best readers in the Western world".

Former spokesperson for Tony Blair, Alistair Campbell, has speculated that "next week PR [proportional representation] will be on the agenda".

"Because if you have Labour getting a massive majority with fewer votes than [Jeremy] Corbyn, Lib Dems doing really well with fewer votes and Charles Kennedy, Nick Clegg, and Reform getting millions of votes but a few seats, people are going to go, 'oh, hold on a minute'," he says.

The UK has a first-past-the-post system, where the candidate who gets the most votes in a constituency wins - no matter the size of their vote percentage.

Proportional representation is a type of system in which the number of seats a party wins more closely corresponds with the percentage of the vote it won.

Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips has finished now, but we'll be continuing with our live politics coverage here.

John Swinney also indicated his party would continue to press for a second referendum on Scottish independence even if they faced significant electoral losses.

"The issues that people are concerned about in Scotland today - the cost of living crisis, the cuts in public services and our public spending, the implications of Brexit - these are all decisions that were arrived at [in] Westminster," he said.

"If Scotland was an independent country, we could take a different course."

Mr Swinney also said that the economic consequences of Brexit amounted to "a very significant change in circ*mstances that I believe alone merits the right of the people of Scotland to decide their own future".

The SNP leader also acknowledged the party has had a "tough time" in recent months.

He said he "became first minister to essentially strengthen the party and to build a relationship with the electorate".

"We are building that trust as a unified and cohesive political party and it's unified and cohesive political parties that win elections."