General election – latest updates: Ministers admit betting Sunak and Starmer will go head-to-head

Minister for Work and Pensions Mel Stride has defended his cabinet colleague Alistair Jack after he said he had made three bets about the timing of the July 4 vote.

Mr Stride told Times Radio: “I think the key thing about Alistair is the fact that whatever bets or whatever it was that he made, they didn’t take place in May.”

“He has clearly not broken any rules and has not been investigated by the Gambling Commission.”

Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride suggested consideration should be given to banning politicians from gambling.

Asked whether it should be banned, he told Times Radio: “That’s very much a possibility and I think it’s something that needs to be discussed.”

But, he said, “there are many different types of political gambling.”

“My personal opinion is that people shouldn’t do that, but I think it should be discussed more broadly.”

“But I want to be very clear: I fully recognise that using inside information against specific individuals in this way is completely wrong.”

Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride said the election gambling scandal was “deeply disappointing”.

“If proven correct, it is deeply disturbing that someone would use inside information in this way,” he told Times Radio.

“Obviously the Gambling Commission is continuing its investigation and we’ll have to wait for the outcome of that to establish whether that’s the case or not.”

“So if that’s what’s happening, I say it’s very unfortunate.

“And I’m just as angry as the prime minister. That’s why the prime minister took the decision after an internal investigation to suspend some of the candidates who are running. I think that was the right decision. So I think the right step has been taken.”

Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer are due to go head-to-head in the final televised debate before next week’s vote, making their final arguments to the public.

The scandal involving candidates and government officials betting on the timing of the election will have a major impact on Wednesday’s clashes, with Cabinet ministers becoming the latest to say they were betting on the timing of the vote.

Labour’s GP promise

Labour will likely highlight its commitment to ending the scramble for 8am GP appointments by training more doctors and updating the NHS app to make it easier to book and change appointments.

Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting spread the message, saying his party was also committed to bringing back GPs to ensure continuity for patients.

Blue wall and yellow

The Liberal Democrat leader, Sir Ed Davey, will continue to campaign in the traditional Conservative heartland of the south of England, while the Scottish leader will campaign in the south-east of Scotland.

Reform UK chairman Richard Tice is due to visit Scotland to speak about net zero and “saving the oil and gas industry”.

Five years ago, Labour was seen as the most “out of touch” party by voters on the lowest incomes (around six million households earning less than £21,000).

Almost half (45%) of those surveyed in 2019 viewed Labour as “out of touch with reality”, but under Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership this figure has plummeted and now just a quarter (27%) of those on lower incomes hold this view.

Five years ago, Labour was seen as the most “out of touch” party by voters on the lowest incomes (around six million households earning less than £21,000).

Almost half (45%) of those surveyed in 2019 viewed Labour as “out of touch with reality”, but under Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership this figure has plummeted and now just a quarter (27%) of those on lower incomes hold this view.

The Conservative party currently suffers from this stigma, with 40% of the poorest voters seeing the party as out of touch with reality, a 6% increase since 2019.

The numbers are The poor are Britain’s election battlegroundThe new report comes from the Center for Social Justice, which commissioned the poll from Survation.

A Conservative candidate and long-time MP has said Labour may have overreacted by suspending Kevin Craig after he bet against him in the general election. Archie Mitchell I will report.

Sir Conor Burns, the MP for Bournemouth West since 2010, said Mr Craig “cannot have inside information or actually influence the outcome of a bet, just as any candidate cannot dictate a free vote”.

He recounted the friendship between the two men, which dates back more than 30 years when they were political rivals at Southampton University.

“He’s one of the most polite, open, kind people I’ve ever known, and he’s always been there for me when I needed a friend the most. A good guy,” Bunz said.

The Labor Party has suspended parliamentary candidate Kevin Craig following reports that the Gambling Commission has launched an investigation into him.

Craig, our PR Director, stands in central Suffolk and north Ipswich.

The Westminster gambling controversy has intensified after ministers revealed they had placed bets on the date of the general election.

Scottish Minister Alistair Jack denied breaking the rules but said he had made three bets on the timing of the July 4 vote, becoming the latest of seven politicians and officials to be embroiled in the controversy.

The revelations mean Rishi Sunak faces further pressure after bowing to growing calls from within his Conservative party to withdraw his support for two parliamentary candidates who are under investigation by the Gambling Commission.

The Labour Party was also drawn into the fray on Tuesday, when it suspended its candidate, Kevin Craig, after it was revealed he had bet that he would lose to the Conservatives in the Central Suffolk and North Ipswich elections.

Jack said he placed a £20 bet in April at odds of 5 to 1 that the election would take place between July and September, but had no idea when it would take place until Rishi Sunak fired the starting gun on May 22.