Election latest: Sunak admits he got job 'because of a mistake' (2024)

Wales is a Labour heartland, but it's clearly in the sights of other parties during this election campaign.

Reform UK even launched its manifesto in a town in the south of the country, Merthyr Tydfil.

Although Wales has its own parliament and makes most of its own decisions, they still elect MPs who stand in Westminster.

Sky's Wales reporter Tomos Evans explains how the cost of living, steel industry and nuclear energy will be key issues for voters.

By David Blevins, senior Ireland correspondent

Northern Ireland's first and deputy first ministers have condemned the Conservative Party for the impact of Brexit on the region.

Sinn Fein'sMichelle O'Neilltold Sky News the current government had "played fast and loose" with theGood Friday Agreement.

Emma Little-Pengelly, of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), said Northern Ireland was the victim of the Tories having "botched Brexit".

Doug Beattie, the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) leader, accused the "chaotic" Tory government of "destroying the cohesion of the United Kingdom".

Tactical voting is a talking point at every election - but it could play a particularly big role this time round.

The polls suggest huge public discontent with the Tories, but there are many seats where Labour - widely projected to form the next government - are not the main challengers.

It's contests like these where the Lib Dems, Reform UK, and the Greens might hope to make gains.

Below, Sky's political correspondentSerena Barker-Singh explains what tactical voting is when it comes to an election and how it could impact parliament's makeup come 5 July.

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.

It shows a drop in support in recent days for Labour and the Tories - with a jump for Reform and the Liberal Democrats.

Read more about the tracker here.

Tonight on Politics Hub With Sophy Ridge, both our Tory and Labour guests faced questions over a report suggesting neither party are being honest with voters about their tax and spending plans.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies launched its report on their election manifestos this morning, warning public services will have to be cut over the next parliament, unless government debt or taxes rise further.

Labour and the Tories have both ruled out tax rises on working people, but also downplayed the risk of cuts to key public services.

So, are they being honest? Our business correspondent Paul Kelso takes a closer look at the numbers...

That concludes our coverage of tonight's Politics Hub With Sophy Ridge- the show will return tomorrow at 7pm. Stick with us here for more updates and analysis throughout the evening.

Five years ago it was indisputably the Brexit election, but this time round it's become something of an elephant in the room.

But in Northern Ireland, none of the party leaders are shy of talking about the impact of Britain leaving the EU.

Oursenior Ireland correspondentDavid Blevinshas spoken to them all about the legacy of the 2016 referendum - and how a new government at Westminster might change things.

As David notes, to "get Brexit done" the Tory government put a trade border in the Irish Sea between Northern Ireland and Great Britain - something that was once unthinkable.

Michelle O'Neill, Sinn Fein:

"I think there's an opportunity now with what potentially looks like a Labour government coming into play to reverse the damage of Brexit.

"And actually, I would hope we get to the point where actually we reverse the Brexit decision altogether.

"That may not be where Labour are headed, but I think there is an opportunity to reset relationships, critically between London and Dublin, because those have been very much fractured."

Emma Little-Pengelly, DUP:

"The Conservative Party and the UK government botched Brexit and Northern Ireland was the victim of that.

"We called out the Conservative Party on this at every single stage.

"We had to fight incredibly hard to try to undo the damage made by the decisions made by the Conservative Party in government.

"But of course it was us fighting for that, while others were agitating and pushing for rigorous implementation of that really bad deal."

Naomi Long, Alliance:

"What we need to do looking forward is say... how do we make the benefits of the Windsor Framework work in our advantage?

"We have a unique position in Northern Ireland in terms of trade: we can trade freely into GB, we can trade freely with the Irish Republic, but more than that, we are a foot in the European Union."

Colum Eastwood, SDLP:

"Brexit has been a disaster for the whole of the UK, I would argue, economically and in many other ways, but we felt it much more keenly here because we share a border with the European Union.

"We had to do an awful lot of work to put things back together after the mess that was made by Brexit and Boris Johnson and the DUP.

"From our perspective, there's no better outcome than actually being back in the European Union lock, stock, and barrel."

Doug Beattie, UUP:

"Brexit was a defining moment.

"It absolutely undermined the cohesion of the United Kingdom, and I think we can see the out workings of that even today.

"And whatever government gets in - and we all think it's going to be a Labour government - I think they're going to have to work on that cohesion as one of their main outputs."

Northern Ireland has been front and centre of UK politics since the 2016 EU referendum, proving a critical issue in particular to the ill-fated premierships of Theresa May and Boris Johnson.

But you'd be forgiven for thinking it's not taken quite such a pivotal role this time, likely not helped by the two main parties' reluctance to speak about how Brexit has been going.

In Northern Ireland, there are five main parties contesting 18 seats at Westminster: two unionist, two nationalist and one neutral.

Our senior Ireland correspondent David Blevins has spoken to the country's party leaders about their hopes for the 4 July poll.

The first and deputy first ministers took the opportunity to condemn the Conservative Party for the impact of Brexit.

Sinn Fein's Michelle O'Neill told Sky News the current government had "played fast and loose" with the Good Friday Agreement.

And Emma Little-Pengelly, of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), said Northern Ireland was the victim of the Tories having "botched Brexit".

Election a chance for a 'reset'

Other party leaders were similarly damning of the Tories.

Doug Beattie, the Ulster Unionist (UUP) leader, accused the "chaotic" Tory government of "destroying the cohesion of the United Kingdom".

Colum Eastwood, leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), accused them of "wrecking the place" for 14 years.

Naomi Long, leader of the neutral Alliance Party, said the election offered the opportunity for a "reset" on relations.

It's now the turn of Gillian Keegan, the education secretary, to respond to the IFS's damning report this morning that suggested that no party manifesto was properly costed ahead of this election.

She says the pandemic and resulting economic fallout continues to ease off under Conservative stewardship and that the costings in their manifesto are accurate.

"It's not unrealistic to say we're going to put [civil service] staffing levels back down to 2020 [levels], and we're going to put the welfare bill in the same place it was a 2020 - that's not too unrealistic," she says.

It's those cuts that will allow the Tories to deliver spending cuts, the party's manifesto claims.

Gillian Keegan, the education secretary, has said she is "very confident" that her cabinet colleagues are not those implicated in the election day betting scandal.

But, with the election 10 days away, she admits the "timing is terrible".

She says the country has a "big decision" in front of it, pointing to issues like the NHS and the economy.

Pushed again by Sophy on the gambling issue, she says she hopes the ongoing investigations - both by the Gambling Commission and the Tory party itself - can be "done quite quickly".

"You do need to allow people to have due process," she says, and establish facts before actions follow.

Jonathan Ashworth, the shadow paymaster general, is responding to the IFS's damning report released this morning that suggested that no party manifesto was properly costed ahead of this election.

Mr Ashworth admits the public finances "are shot to pieces", but says Labour "part company from the IFS" on the topic of growth.

"We think we can better," he says.

He says Labour has an industrial, science, skills, welfare reform and energy policy to "stimulate growth".

Mr Ashworth also points to Labour's planning reforms.

"Focusing on all of these big microeconomic issues will actually get growth motoring in our economy, which will transform the position of the public finances," he adds.