Election latest: New poll blow for Sunak over manifesto - Labour doesn't come out much better (2024)

Sir Keir Starmer has said he wants a judge-led inquiry into the Nottingham attacks if Labour wins the election.

Emma Webber, mother of victim Barnaby Webber, called into LBC's phone-in show with the Labour leader to ask if he would hold a public inquiry into the outcome of the trial into the attack last year.

Her son, his friend Grace O'Malley-Kumar and school caretaker Ian Coates, were stabbed to death by Valdo Calocane, who was sentenced to an indefinite hospital order after admitting manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

Mrs Webber said she felt let down by the system in terms of sentencing, and all the families have previously criticised the "utterly flawed and under-resourced criminal justice system" after the Court of Appeal rejected an application to increase Calocane's sentence to include jail time.

Sir Keir said he met her and other family members to hear about their concerns and said "it was a difficult meeting".

He said: "I think a judge-led inquiry is the right way forward.

"I was concerned about the way the system had let her and the family down in terms of the charges, the communication with the families. It was difficult to hear what they'd been though.

"My resolve is to make sure we have that inquiry and make sure it doesn't happen to anyone else. We have to improve here."

Sir Keir Starmer has refused to rule out raising council tax for "working people" - a term he has clarified.

The Labour leader was asked by a caller to LBC radio if he would raise council tax after announcing national insurance, income tax and VAT would not be hiked.

"On the question of tax, we've been really clear, we're not going to be raising tax on working people," he said.

He added a line he has repeated many times over the general election, saying: "Beyond that, none of our plans require tax rises over and above the ones we've announced."

Pressed on whether that could mean a rise in council tax, he said: "I'm not going to sit here and write the budgets for the next five years.

"None of our plans require a tax rise.

"I understand this is a different approach and Labour leaders in the past would have come on and said 'tax, tax, tax'. I'm saying growth, growth, growth."

He also clarified who the "working people" he and Labour candidates keep referring to when they say taxes will not be increased for them.

"The person I have in my mind is people who earn their living, rely on our public services, don't really have a cheque to write if they get into trouble," he said.

"Therefore relies on public services like the NHS. It's quite a big group these days."

Sir Keir Starmer has said only parents with children on a special educational needs plan will be exempt from paying VAT on private school fees.

The Labour leader told a headteacher of a private school for pupils with special education needs (SEN) that those who do not have a plan will have to pay VAT.

She said many of her pupils are not on an official education, health and care plans (EHC) but need the support her school provides.

Asked specifically about those pupils, Sir Keir, speaking on LBC, said: "If it's part of the plan and because of particular needs can only be in a private school then that fee is exempt from that scheme.

"Where there is a plan in place we'll put the exemption in place, where there isn't a plan that doesn't apply."

When pushed on the tens of thousands of SEN pupils who do not have a plan, Sir Keir said: "I've got nothing against private schools and I do understand lots of parents save hard and work hard to send their children to private schools.

"I want to make sure every single child, wherever they come from has the same opportunities.

"It's a tough choice, there isn't a lot of money around.

"We do care and I want every single child, whether they go to private or state school, to have the same opportunities.

"Where there's a plan in place they are exempt."

Boris Johnson has been drafted in by the Conservatives to help counter the growing threat from Reform UK, reports have claimed this morning.

He has reportedly signed thousands of letters due to be delivered to voters this week, as well as recording campaign videos for a number of his Tory MP allies.

The former prime minister has urged voters to re-elect the likes of Sir Simon Clarke, Paul Bristow, Nick Fletcher, Tom Hunt and Jane Stevenson.

But it appears Mr Johnson may be campaigning from the sunny beaches of Sardinia - where he has been photographed with his family...

Layla Moran, the Liberal Democrat candidate for Oxford West and Abingdon, has today outlined her party's £10m plan to recruit "sewage inspectors".

This, she says, would form part of a Clean Water Authority to replace Ofwat - the Water Services Regulation Authority - and tackle the issue of polluted water.

She told Sky News: "We'd want to get rid of Ofwat... It is a busted regulator. It's got no teeth at all.

"And when you do that and replace it with what we'd like to call a Clean Water Authority, the two together would be transformative.

"So today we're announcing £10m to recruit sewage inspectors."

The Lib Dem candidate said the government also needs to tackle the "root cause of how we got here".

This, she says, "is the fact that water companies have been allowed to mark their own home work, that cannot be allowed to continue."

"We want sewage busters to come in to tackle this national scandal."

Sky News' deputy political editor Sam Coates and Politico's Jack Blanchard with their guide to the election day ahead.

This is day 27 of the campaign. Jack and Sam discuss the Tories doubling down on blank cheque warnings, if Labour’s economic message is struggling to break through, and Nigel Farage heads to Clacton.

Email Jack and Sam: jackandsam@sky.uk

👉Tap here to follow Politics at Jack and Sam's wherever you get your podcasts👈

Premier League clubs could have to pay a 10% tax on the transfer of football players under plans being considered by Labour.

Sir Keir Starmer's party has pledged to bring forward football governance reforms that would prevent breakaways in the style of the ill-fated European Super League if Labour wins the general election.

On Monday, shadow sports secretary Thangam Debbonaire was asked if this would include reviving the transfer levy - something which was recommended in a 2021 fan-led review but not taken up by the Conservatives in their version of the bill.

Ms Debbonaire said she was "going to look at everything again" that was in the review.

You can read more from Sky News here:

Jonathan Reynolds, the shadow business secretary, has said the general election is a choice between "real measures" and "gimmicks" on immigration.

With record highs of people arriving in the UK on small boats, illegal immigration - and the future of the Rwanda scheme - has been a core component of the election campaign.

But is stopping the boats an impossible task?

"I think we can make a difference," Mr Reynolds said.

"This is an incredibly significant issue, you see it manifested all over the world.

"But the question should be - do you want real measures to improve that situation, or are you for gimmicks?

"There is simply no way any robust analysis of the Rwanda scheme from this government stacks up as a serious way to do it."

He said this scheme - to send people to a third-party country to have their asylum claims processed - would not "even touch the scale of the problem".

Mr Reynolds stressed what is needed is "real action" on the criminal gangs behind illegal migration in the English Channel.

Asked if immigration has become a dirty word, the frontbencher said: "We will always welcome people coming, but we think it's going to come down from these record highs.

"We've got a number of policies about linking the immigration system to the school system, how we will change the apprenticeship levy that will do it.

"It's all about an economy that works better for all parts of the UK, and I think that's the right way to look at the particular issues around illegal immigration."

If you're not yet registered to vote, time is running out to sort it so you can have your say in the 4 July general election.

The good news is, you have until 11.59pm on 18 June - and it only takes five minutes.

Here's everything you need to know about how to register so that you can cast a vote to choose your local MP...

By Faye Brown, political reporter

Labour is being urged to commit to keeping the requirement for local referendums on "excessive" increases in council tax if it wins the election.

The Conservatives claim the fact that Labour have not pledged to maintain the rules in their manifesto suggests they would "ditch" them in power.

Under the current system, parliament can set a limit on council tax increases, which is 4.99% this year.

If a local authority wishes to increase tax above that level, it must hold a referendum first.

While the Conservatives have committed to keeping this rule in place if they retain power at the general election, the Labour manifesto does not mention the referenda.

Labour described the claims as "hysterical" and "desperate" - but outgoing Communities Secretary Michael Gove said"we are simply holding Labour to the standard they set for themselves".

Read more about Labour's council tax position here...