Summary

  • Rishi Sunak tells the BBC it's now harder for people to have their own home under a Conservative government

  • In an interview with Nick Robinson, Sunak also confirms the Conservative manifesto, due out tomorrow, will include tax cuts

  • Sunak defends his record as prime minister and says he hopes people "find it within their hearts" to forgive him for leaving D-Day events early

  • Earlier, Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey launched his party's manifesto with a promise to "save the NHS"

  • He pledged to recruit 8,000 more GPs, give unpaid carers a right to paid carers' leave from work, and introduce free personal care in England

  1. A closer look at Farage's claim about the pollspublished at 10:36 British Summer Time 9 June

    A little earlier we heard from Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, who said "right now, we're just two to three points behind the Conservatives."

    This claim has been fact-checked and according to Laura Kuenssberg, it was a "very selective take", saying there has been three polls where the gap between the two parties was that small, but "many more where it has been wider than that".

    And several pollsters have put the Conservatives over 10% ahead of Reform UK, she said.

  2. Final comments from panelpublished at 10:26 British Summer Time 9 June

    As the show drew to a close, the panel were asked a few final questions.

    On the future of the Conservatives, former home secretary Amber Rudd said she "hopes strong centre right voices get back in", and "certainly hopes" that Nigel Farage won't get a place in the party in the future.

    Fire Brigades Union General Secretary Matt Wrack talks about energy and jobs, saying he wanted Labour to keep their promises on greener energy and says he agrees with other unions that are concerned about oil and gas jobs.

    And on climate, businessman John Cauldwell says all parties have "missed the point completely" in their election campaigns.

  3. Flynn quizzed on SNP windfall tax and possible job lossespublished at 10:10 British Summer Time 9 June

    Still on the North Sea oil and gas sector, Flynn claims Labour policies would result in 100,000 job losses, and says Labour wouldn't invest in a net-zero future.

    He says the Tory position is to act like oil and gas will last forever.

    He's challenged over why Labour's plan for a 78% windfall tax on oil and gas profits could cost 100,000 jobs, when the SNP is backing 75% - is the difference that big?

    Flynn says the additional revenue Labour is seeking to take in will go into nuclear power projects and not benefit people in Scotland. He says other experts have come up with the 100,000 job cut figure.

  4. Flynn: We believe in a 'just and sustainable' transition for oil and gaspublished at 10:09 British Summer Time 9 June

    Laura asks SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn about North Sea oil and gas drilling.

    "What we believe in is a just and sustainable transition that protects the future employment of the tens of thousands of people who live [here].

    "Scotland's future, when it comes to renewables, is huge.

    "The only way to grasp it is to invest, the Labour party don't want to invest in that future... the SNP do want to invest," he says.

  5. Flynn asked: Why isn't the SNP talking about independence more?published at 10:04 British Summer Time 9 June

    flynn

    Now we're over to SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn.

    It's put to him he didn't mention independence in the debate during the BBC's debate on Friday - has he given up on the idea?

    "Not at all," he says, saying his party fully believes in an independent Scotland.

    He says it's a general election so they need to focus on the biggest issues in Westminster, such as austerity, the cost of living and the consequences of Brexit.

    It's put top him his party's policy was to treat this election as a de facto referendum on independence - isn't it a bit strange they are not speaking more about it?

    Flynn says that was never an adopted position if his party, but says the first line of the first page of the manifesto will say a vote for the SNP is a vote for independence.

  6. Police could crush seized bikes quicker, says shadow justice secretarypublished at 10:01 British Summer Time 9 June

    Laura asks Mahmood about Labour's policy on crushing mopeds and quadbikes seized by police, saying some police forces already do it.

    "We've been working with police forces who've been asking for this broader power," Mahmood says.

    Mahmood says Labour would reduce the time police forces have to wait to destroy the vehicles from 14 days to 48 hours.

  7. Mahmood asked whether Labour would release prisoners early?published at 09:58 British Summer Time 9 June

    Back to the topic of prisons, Laura asks Mahmood how Labour plans to tackle overcrowding in prisons, before pressing the shadow justice secretary on whether prisoners would be released early, which the current government has been doing.

    Mahmood says the government hasn't released the figures she needs and says it would be "irresponsible" for the opposition to comment properly without seeing the data.

    Laura presses her again, and there is some back and forth.

    Mahmood says she "can't rule anything in or out".

  8. Mahmood: Farage's comments on Sunak are completely unacceptablepublished at 09:51 British Summer Time 9 June

    Laura asks shadow justice secretary Shabana Mahmood about Nigel Farage, who called Sunak unpatriotic and said the prime minister doesn't understand "our culture".

    "I think this is a classic Nigel Farage trick, lean just enough to signal a bit of a dog whistle and then lean straight back and sound perfectly reasonable," says Mahmood.

    "He's got form, it's completely unacceptable.

    "This is a man who's got a track record of seeking to divide communities."

    Farage earlier defended the comments - read that here.

  9. Labour's Mahmood pressed on how party would deliver prison reformspublished at 09:50 British Summer Time 9 June

    Mahmood

    Next up, Labour's Shabana Mahmood

    She is asked about her party's plans to address overcrowding in prisons without big tax rises.

    She says the government has not delivered enough prison spaces. She says the money has already been allocated for that, and says the government has allowed the planning system to get in the way.

    She says it's about having the will to get prisons built.

    "On day one we would designate prisons as being of national importance so that those decisions are ultimately made by ministers rather than the usual planning process," she says.

    Mahmood says she wants to reduce reoffending, saying 80% of offenders are reoffenders.

    "We have a reoffending crisis" which is "exacerbating the capacity crisis," she says.

    She says she wants to make better citizens out of people who enter the prison estate, rather than better criminals.

  10. Panel, including Amber Rudd, digests latest pollingpublished at 09:48 British Summer Time 9 June

    panel

    Back to the panel, and Rudd said things look "very difficult" for Tories after "very difficult few weeks".

    Rudd says looking at polls it's clearly going to be a Labour victory, but says many voters don't want a Labour landslide.

    She takes aim at Farage, saying it is easy to make announcements but it is "all about the delivery", saying he has "no idea how to deliver".

    She says she will vote Conservative.

    General Secretary of the Fire Brigades Union Matt Wrack also says there seems to be an inevitability to a Labour win.

  11. Stride on Sunak and D-Day: 'He has apologised unequivocally, he feels it very deeply'published at 09:46 British Summer Time 9 June

    The subject of the prime minister leaving D-Day events early comes up again as Laura reads viewers' comments to Stride, before asking if the Conservative election campaign is going as planned.

    Stride responds directly about Sunak: "The prime minister has not run away from this, he has put his hands up, he has recognised a mistake and he has apologised unequivocally actually.

    "He feels it very deeply, and I know that because I know him quite well and I know how patriotic" he is.

  12. Stride says reforms to welfare could create big savingspublished at 09:42 British Summer Time 9 June

    Talking about welfare, Stride says if the caseload is held for those of working age who are getting some kind if health and disability element to their benefits, that's a cost of £69bn at the moment, but it's forecast to rise to £90bn.

    If we just held the level of the caseload it would actually be £14bn less than the forecast, he says, and if it was back to where it was pre-pandemic, it would be about £34bn less.

    "We're saying £12bn lower than the forecast" in five years' time is achievable with reforms, he says.

  13. Stride asked: Why the Conservatives already cracked down on tax avoidance?published at 09:39 British Summer Time 9 June

    Laura asks Stride how the Conservatives are going to pay for their promised spending, on policies like national service and raising the child benefit charge.

    She quizzes him on why his party says they will pay for it by cracking down on tax avoidance, while it also criticises Labour when it says it will fund policies the same way.

    "The evidence is we are much better at doing this.

    "We have the track record to deliver," Stride says.

    On why the Conservatives haven't already cracked down on tax avoidance, Stride says: "We have been doing it and there's more we can do."

  14. Stride quizzed on plans for pensioners and taxpublished at 09:35 British Summer Time 9 June

    Stride is speaking about the Conservatives' policies.

    He says they will bring in the "triple lock plus" for pensioners, saying Labour would bring millions of pensioners into income tax.

    It's put to him the Conservatives have increased taxes on some pensioners by freezing the tax thresholds - but he says they will be giving them a tax cut.

  15. Stride: I feel uncomfortable about Farage's Sunak commentpublished at 09:31 British Summer Time 9 June

    Mel stride

    Next up, Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride.

    Laura starts by asking about Farage's comments on the prime minister leaving D-Day anniversary events in Normandy early.

    When asked what he thought about it, Farage had said Sunak doesn't "understand our culture".

    Stride tells Laura he thinks they're "deeply regrettable comments".

    "I don't want to stoke this whole thing up but it seems to me that was an ill-advised thing to have said."

    You can read what Farage said about the comments here.

  16. Farage pressed on his comments on D-Day and 'our culture'published at 09:26 British Summer Time 9 June

    Farage is asked about Sunak's decision to leave D-Day commemorations in France before the international leaders event, and him saying Sunak isn't patriotic and doesn't understand "our culture" in the UK.

    Farage stands by the comment, saying Sunak "should have known in his heart that it was right to be there".

    Sunak is "utterly disconnected by class, by privilege, from how the ordinary folk in this country feel" and revealed that "spectacularly", Farage says.

    Farage is pressed on how the words "our culture" may be interpreted as emphasising the PM's immigrant heritage.

    He says 40% of the country's contribution in the world wars came from the Commonwealth, saying clearly Sunak "doesn't understand that" and that it was the "biggest mistake" of his political career.

  17. NHS not working as it was 20 years ago, says Faragepublished at 09:23 British Summer Time 9 June

    Laura asks Farage about his proposed NHS reforms and his idea of following a similar system to France.

    Farage says: "This model is not working, the French system of mutualisation is producing far better returns.

    "Let's have a proper open debate about this because everyone knows the NHS is not working the way is was 20 years ago."

  18. Farage pressed on his call for £50bn of spending cutspublished at 09:20 British Summer Time 9 June

    He's pressed on his call for £50bn of spending cuts - which public services would he get rid of?

    He says he will outline more detail tomorrow, but says Reform UK want to raise the level at which people start paying tax to £20,000.

    He says it's not about getting rid of public services, but making them more efficient, and talks about money spent on things such as diversity training.

  19. Nigel Farage: If Labour wins, Tories 'incapable' of providing voice of oppositionpublished at 09:18 British Summer Time 9 June

    Up first, Laura asks Reform UK leader Nigel Farage about his grab for Tory voters - and directly asks why he wants Keir Starmer to be the next Prime Minister.

    "I don't particularly," Farage responds.

    The Reform UK leader says: "Let's be honest, the election is over, Labour have won already.

    "The real question here is who is going to provide a voice of opposition in Parliament and in the country to a Starmer government, the Conservatives are incapable of it."

  20. Businessman John Caudwell: I haven't decided who I'm voting for yetpublished at 09:12 British Summer Time 9 June

    Caudwell

    Laura's panel kick us off.

    Businessman John Caudwell - who was previously a major Tory donor but has previously spoken about his switch to backing the Labour Party - says he has not made his mind up on who he will vote for.

    The one thing that is fairly clear is that he is not going to be a Conservative voter this time around, he says, attacking their record on Covid-19, unless "they change dramatically in their policies", particularly on energy, citing his concern about the environment.

    Former home secretary Amber Rudd, who held a number of positions in Conservative governments between 2013 and 2019, defends Sunak's record during the pandemic, saying they supported lots of people, which was the "right thing to do".