Sunak has to pull off an escape act to rival Houdinipublished at 09:43 British Summer Time 23 May

09:43 BST 23 May

Nick Eardley
Political correspondent, reporting from Derbyshire

Hi from Derbyshire, where I’m with Rishi Sunak as he kicks off his first full day of campaigning.

The PM is hitting the ground running with a packed agenda over the next couple of days. He’s covering the UK four nations on a whistle-stop tour to start his campaign.

It’s one of the advantages he has: the PM got to choose when the election was held. He had a significant head start in planning the first 48 hours of the campaign.

It gives him a chance to seize the agenda - or at least to try. But Sunak knows he has a mountain to climb.

The Conservatives are miles behind in the polls. They have been for a while. The local election results at the start of May appeared to add more evidence the Tories were in trouble in many parts of the country.

So how is the PM planning to turn it around?

You can expect him to repeat the argument that the plan is starting to work. Look at the fall in inflation, he’ll say. The economy is turning a corner, he’ll seek to persuade you.

He’ll talk about national security – and his pledge to increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP.

Expect the PM to offer a lot of contrasts. I’ll do this, he’ll say. Do you really know and trust Labour’s plan, he’ll ask you.

But be under no illusion; if Rishi Sunak is going to be prime minister on 5 July – he’s going to have to pull off an escape act to rival Houdini.

Brian Wheeler
Reporting from Westminster

Some quotes now from Nigel Farage, the former UKIP and Brexit Party leader, on why he won't try to become an MP for Reform UK.

"I will do my bit to help in the campaign, but now is not the right time for me to go any further than that," he says.

Reform insist they are targeting both Labour and the Conservatives but evidence from recent by-elections suggests the Conservatives have the most to fear from the rebranded Brexit Party.

They are polling around 10%, making them neck-and-neck with the Lib Dems and claim they will have enough candidates to stand in every seat.

Brian Wheeler
Reporting from Westminster

Image source, Reuters

Reform UK founder and honorary president Nigel Farage has announced he will not stand as a candidate at the general election.

There was speculation he would be unveiled as a candidate by Reform leader Richard Tice at an event later this morning.

He has always said he would not make an eighth attempt to become an MP at Westminster under the current first-past-the-post electoral system

But his decision will come as a relief to Rishi Sunak and, to a lesser extent, Keir Starmer.

Iain Watson
Political correspondent, reporting from Kent

The ⁦‪Labour placards are already piled up in Kent, ready for ⁦‪Sir Keir Starmer’s launch event this morning.

It’s no secret we will be hearing this word a lot in the next few weeks - though voters may well ask: change from what to what?

Iain Watson
Political correspondent, reporting from Kent

Activists are starting to gather in Kent ahead of Labour's campaign launch.

I wonder if this football theme will be repeated throughout the campaign given Sir Keir Starmer’s love of the beautiful game.

He will be hoping to do better in July than his beloved Arsenal’s close second…

A big story alreadypublished at 08:54 British Summer Time 23 May

08:54 BST 23 May

Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent

A few hours into the election campaign and a big story already.

Rishi Sunak has told both Breakfast and the Today programme that a flight will not take off for Rwanda before the election.

Instead, he said, a flight would take off in July if - and only if - the Conservatives won the general election.

Perhaps that was one of the reasons for calling a summer election. Had the election been later, the Rwanda scheme would have had several months to prove either its success or failure.

It is also worth saying that this means that after two years, three prime ministers and four home secretaries, all of whom have made this their flagship immigration measure… there’s a decent chance a flight might never take off for Rwanda after all.

In his BBC interviews this morning, Rishi Sunak was pressed on when the first flights to Rwanda will take off, taking migrants who crossed the Channel on small boats.

He repeatedly said "July". As a reminder, the election is on Thursday 4 July.

Sunak was also pressed on LBC, where he conceded they will take off "after the election".

"If I'm elected, we will get the flights off," he said.

Pressed further on timing, he said: "No, after the election. The preparation work has already gone on."

Image source, PA Media

Lastly, Sunak is asked about the decision to announce the election date in heavy rain yesterday.

Sunak says he is the "first to admit that it was a bit wet" but that he is "not a fair weather politican" who "believes in the traditions of our country".

He said it felt right to deliver the speech on Downing Street come "rain or shine".

"I believe very strongly in the traditions of our country. And when prime ministers make important statements like that, they do it on the steps of Downing Street come rain or shine.

"And I believe in those traditions and that's why I did what I did."

Robinson now asks if people should judge Sunak, or the Tories as a whole after 14 years in power? Why should the Tories get another term?

Sunak says he's happy to focus on the last 14 years, accusing the last Labour government of "bankrupting" the economy.

He says the Tories have helped repair the economy, reformed schools, halved crime, got Brexit done and increased defence spending.

He says he is "proud" of the last 14 years of Tory rule - but adds that "this is about the future" and says he's the person willing to take bold action for the country.

Robinson now presses Sunak about kindness throughout the campaign - can the prime minister guarantee it won't get too personal?

Sunak claims Keir Starmer has "changed his mind on almost every major issue" and "doesn't have a plan".

"He's assuming that he can waltz into Downing Street and take the British public for granted," he adds.

Sunak pivots to talk about security, underlining - as he has done before - that he thinks its an important theme for the election.

He emphasises his decision to increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP.

Robinson now asks why NHS waiting lists have gone up - and suggests Sunak is reluctant to talk about it.

The PM says he's happy to talk about the NHS and "is from an NHS family".

Sunak says waiting lists have "not fallen as much as I'd liked", before it's pointed out that they haven't fallen at all.

Sunak says the Tories are hiring more doctors and nurses and have brought in plans for banning smoking.

"You can't have a strong NHS without a strong economy," he says, adding that he will now invest more in public services.

Robinson now presses Sunak on whether flights to Rwanda will take off before 4 July. Seemingly accepting they won't, he only says they will take off in "July".

But Sunak stresses that his government has put everything in place for the scheme to progress - including hiring caseworkers, booking flights and detaining people.

Robinson says no other European country is planning to do what he is planning - even if, Robinson says, they may process asylum seekers in third countries.

Sunak strongly denies this - referring to a statement from European countries which he says is clear about returning illegal migrants to safe third countries.

Sunak is now asked if illegal migration is up or down this year. The PM says there are "different ways to look at it".

Robinson says more people have arrived this year than any other year on record. Sunak says a lot of that is due to people arriving from Vietnam - and draws a comparison to arrivals from Albania, which were high, but have now fallen.

Sunak is then asked if he will any migrants who cross the Channel will be sent to Rwanda before the election.

Sunak says he has a "clear plan" and will get the Rwanda scheme "up and running".

Sunak is pressed on his claim that the UK economy is growing faster than in the US.

Nick Robinson says that is based only on three months of data, one quarter. Over a longer period of time that growth comparison isn't true, Robinson says.

Sunak says the "facts are the facts". He acknowledges it has been a difficult few years - but says it is encouraging the economy is growing at a healthy rate.

Sunak is pressed again on what presenter Nick Robinson calls the "puzzle" of why now, and not later, when he may be able to show the plan is "working"?

Sunak says he is not claiming for a second that the "job is done" and says there is "more work to do".

He said his priority was bringing economic stability back - which he says he has achieved.

On Today, like on Breakfast, Sunak starts by joking about being warm and dry after his wet appearance outside No 10 yesterday.

He is first asked about why is he holding an election now.

He replies by giving a familiar line - inflation is coming down and the economy is growing, although he says there is still "more work to do".

We're about to hear Rishi Sunak's second BBC interview of the day - this time on Radio 4. You can listen live by pressing the Today programme logo at the top of the page, and we'll have all the key lines here.

Image source, PA Media

We've just finished hearing from Rishi Sunak on BBC Breakfast, but a little bit earlier we had the chance to hear from Daisy Cooper, the Lib Dems' deputy leader.

She says the country is “crying out for change” and adds her party has been campaigning on three big issues: NHS and social care, cost of living and sewage in rivers.

Cooper says voters “feel as though they’re getting a very raw deal” and the Liberal Democrats are promising “a fair deal” and a “future full of hope”.

Sunak makes it personalpublished at 07:53 British Summer Time 23 May

07:53 BST 23 May

Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent

If there was any doubt before, there isn't now.

This is Rishi Sunak's general election campaign. His gamble, and he's the one determined to make it pay off.

I didn't feel there on BBC Breakfast he was running on the Conservatives' record over the last 14 years. He is running on Rishi Sunak's record over the last five years.

The last question put to Sunak before the interview wraps is if he's willing to make the election campaign personal with Sir Keir Starmer.

Sunak initially lists issues that he says British people care about - migration, energy, taxes and security.

But then he adds: "I don't know what Keir Starmer believes and I don't think anyone knows because he changes his mind the whole time."