General election latest: Abbott tells rally she won't be 'intimidated' - as minister defends Truss over far-right podcast (2024)

This week, Beth gets Ruth and Jess'stake on what'shappening now that Diane Abbott has had the Labour whip restored. The WhatsAppsfrom Beth’s sources keep coming as they'rerecording.

They discuss the strategies behind the Sunak and Starmer campaigns– with one going for headline-grabbing pledges and the other spending the first week focusing on the personal rather than policy.

There's news from Jess on her plans for the campaign – and she met a dog named after Ted Heath when she was out door-knocking, so that takes us in only one direction.

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

The Democratic Unionist Party has just launched its general election campaign, and with it ratified Gavin Robinson as the new leader.

This comes afters meeting of the party's ruling executive on Wednesday.

Mr Robinson has been serving as interim leader since early April, when Jeffrey Donaldson resigned from the DUP and was suspended from the party after being charged with historical sexual offences.

"It is with honour, humility and commitment that I look forward to leading our party into the future," the new leader said.

On 12 June, Sky News will be hosting an election leaders event in Grimsby - a key marginal seat and one of our Target Towns this election year.

The Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and the Conservative leader Rishi Sunak have been invited to attend, and we are looking for a live audience to join us on the night.

If you would like to be part of this studio audience, and be given the opportunity to ask a question to one of the party leaders, please complete the short questionnaire inthis link.

Sir Keir has agreed to take part, with talks ongoing with Mr Sunak's team.

A spokesperson for the Conservatives said: "Rishi Sunak would be delighted to travel Grimsby to take part in Sky News leaders' event and answer questions from voters, on the condition that he and Keir Starmer take those questions on stage together.

"This will give viewers the best opportunity to see the clear choice the country faces at this election."

Peter Craig, a journalist who has worked in Grimsby for 40 years, said this year's general election is "undiscovered territory" for the constituency.

The constituency of Grimsby and Cleethorpes is historically Labour, but switched to Conservative at the 2019 general election.

He says: "This is undiscovered territory, it's like shifting sands every day.

"We've got two of the main candidates announced, but we've also got a Conservative defection - a young Conservative councillor who has gone to be a Reform UK candidate for Grimsby and Cleethorpes.

"So you can't keep your eye off it for a minute."

That's it for tonight'sPolitics Hub With Sophy Ridge- the show will be back at the same time tomorrow.

Sophy Ridgeis presenting her show tonight from Grimsby, a key target town for Labour and the Tories.

She spent some of the day meeting voters to get their take on the election campaign so far - and asked them what they'd ask Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer if given the chance...

Sophy Ridge's conversation with shadow social care ministerAndrew Gwynne now turns to the NHS - and plans to bolster appointments and cut waiting lists.

"We know that we are going to inherit an NHS that is struggling with a huge backlog of over seven million people on the waiting list," he says.

"If this backlog can't be curtailed, the kind of growth that we are seeing under the Conservatives… the list will just continue to grow and grow.

"This is a real concern."

Turning to Labour's policy to curtail this, Mr Gwynne says the party will send in "crack teams" to "work at cutting NHS waiting lists from day one of a Labour government".

This includes introducing 40,000 extra appointments a week.

He says this will be funded by "clamping down on tax dodgers".

Sophy questions this, saying such a pledge is becoming "meaningless" given it only seems to come up during election campaigns.

But Mr Gwynne insists this NHS plan has been costed for "some time".

Up next on the show is shadow social care ministerAndrew Gwynneof Labour.

He's asked by Sophy what the latest on Diane Abbott is, given the degree of confusion surrounding the current state of play.

"She is a Labour member of parliament for as long as this parliament has left, which is a few hours, before it's dissolved [tomorrow]," he says.

He then says there is still a process that needs to take place before she is allowed to stand for re-election in Hackney North and Stoke Newington.

"Firstly, you have to confirm to the party that you intend to be a candidate at the next election, and then you have to be approved by the National Executive Committee - and we all have to go through that process."

He says that decision is not up to him, but adds he "believes she has a future" in the party.

'No decision has been taken'

"She has been that trailblazer for black and minority communities," he says.

"She's apologised for the hurt she caused by some careless comments that she made, [but] she is now a member of the parliamentary Labour Party again, but does have to go through the same process that every other Labour MP seeking re-election has to go through."

"Keir Starmer has made it very clear today no decision has been taken in respect of Diane Abbott," he concludes.

Next, Sir Mark Spencer is asked about former prime minister Liz Truss - who will be appearing on the right-wing podcast "Lotus Eaters".

This is run by former UKIP candidate Carl Benjamin, who has previously said that he "wouldn't even rape" Labour MP Jess Phillips.

Asked about this, Sir Mark said these seem like "pretty abhorrent comments".

He said he would be surprised if Liz Truss "didn't think those comments were abhorrent as well".

"Liz Truss is of very solid moral fibre and would not support any abhorrent comment like that," he adds.

So should she appear on the platform?

Sir Mark doesn't say, only stressing that MPs appear on "all sorts of platforms".

Sir Mark Spencer, the food, farming and fisheries minister, now discusses his thoughts on apprenticeships.

This comes after we reported that the Conservatives will promise to replace "rip-off degrees" with 100,000 apprenticeships each year by the end of the next parliament if they win the general election.

Rishi Sunak said the Conservatives will replace "under-performing" university courses with "high quality apprenticeships", which he said would leave them financially better off and provide better opportunities.

"This is about actually giving young people opportunity, both in their education, to make sure they go on to great careers," Sir Mark says.

"I think the apprenticeship route actually is the best route for many of those young people.

He explains that some will of course want to go to university - giving examples of wannabe lawyers and doctors - but other career paths may be better served by apprenticeship schemes.

First up with Sophy Ridge tonight is Sir Mark Spencer, the food, farming, and fisheries minister.

Joining the Politics Hub in Grimsby, the minister is asked about the government's new pledge to scrap "rip-off degrees" in England - in favour of apprenticeships.

He says: "Universities should be a vehicle to enable young people to be able to go on and get a great career."

Sir Mark adds that going to university has become "an ambition to get to", rather than someone building a career and becoming more financially viable.

Asked which courses fall under the "rip-off" category, he says there are all sorts of "mad things" - such as degrees about "working in the circus".

The minister says jobs like this can be achieved without student debt.

Is this not just snobbery, Sophy asks.

"The apprenticeship route is actually better for lots of young people," he says.