Election latest: Labour and Plaid Cymru to launch election manifestos at campaign halfway point - as Rishi Sunak jets to G7 (2024)

By Tom Parmenter, national correspondent

The prime minister seemed "defeated" to audience members in Grimsby after Sky's Battle For Number Ten.

Some also questioned whether Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer had fully answered the questions they asked.

The 90-minute TV grilling left the audience asking how the prime minister could fight back and win the election.

Amy Green had travelled from Leeds to ask a question and said he seemed beaten.

"Sunak needs to drop the act, speak to us like an electorate as humans," she said.

"I think he was quite defeatist - if I was fighting for my job, I would be out there socking it to people… he has given up and lost the will."

Retired teacher Ian Miles from Grimsby said the longer format really helped understand the two men better.

Read more here:

By Laura Bundock, Sky correspondent

The majority of the Sky News YouGov voters panel thought Keir Starmer performed better than Rishi Sunak in the Grimsby Leaders' Event.

But a large number of our panel, made up of undecided voters, were also unimpressed with both leaders.

When asked whether the leaders' performances had impacted their voting intentions, our panel was split.

One voter said Keir Starmer had "energy" and was "more relatable", while another likened him to the former Conservative Prime Minister John Major, "boring, but probably the man we need right now".

When considering Rishi Sunak, one panellist said he sounded "defeated", but another said: " I didn't really agree with everything Rishi Sunak said, but he did seem to answer more questions."

Our unique voters panel, produced by pollster YouGov, represents over 40 different seats, and a range of different political views.

Giving rapid reaction to the Leaders' Event, we asked people which moments stood out.

Read their views in full here:

Sir Keir Starmer performed best overall in the Sky News leaders' event, a snap YouGov poll suggests.

Almost two thirds - 64% - of those questioned said the Labour leader came out on top, compared to 36% who thought Prime Minister Rishi Sunak did better.

The question was: leaving aside your own party preference, who do you think performed best overall in tonight's televised leaders' event?

During the Battle For Number 10 programme, broadcast live from Grimsby Town Hall, the leaders each faced a 20-minute interview from Sky News political editor Beth Rigby followed by 25 minutes of questions from audience members.

Afterwards, when the voters in the poll were asked who came across as more trustworthy, 58% said Sir Keir, while 28% stated Mr Sunak.

Also, 56% said Sir Keir was more likeable, compared to 29% for his rival.

According to 71%, the Labour leader came across as more in touch with ordinary people, while 13% opted for the prime minister.

And when the voters were asked who came across as more prime ministerial, 50% said it was Sir Keir, with 35% saying Mr Sunak.

Read more from the polling here:

Whether it was the audience reaction, the overwhelming verdict in a snap poll or simply the crestfallen look of the PM as he battled to defend his record, it was clear which of the two leaders had the more challenging time on Wednesday night.

The Battle for Number 10 rigorously ran the rule over Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak, with questions from a 100-strong Grimsby audience and a meticulous interview with political editor Beth Rigby.

It is the mid-point of the general election campaign, so the Sky News special programme came at a pivotal moment.

We saw a Labour leader trained to give as little away as possible - sticking to a script on tax which will allow for unadvertised post-election tax rises that the safety-first campaign will not take the risk of spelling out now.

But the night mattered much more for Rishi Sunak, after a rocky campaign which caught his party and the country by surprise, he needed a transformative win.

It didn't appear to come.

Read Sam's full analysis here:

Sky's leaders event - TheBattle For Number 10 - took place last night, and what an evening it was..

Both Sir Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak had plenty of time to get their points across and covered a huge range of topics.

But did either man do enough to convince you to vote for them on 4 July?

If you didn't manage to catch either leader answer questions from political editor Beth Rigby or our live audience in Grimsby, read on to see the key points.

Sir Keir Starmer

• "It must be country first" - The Labour leader started the event by defending his history of U-turns, including on Jeremy Corbyn and a second EU referendum, saying he is putting the country ahead of his party, dragging Labour "back into the service of working people";

• Sir Keir was punchier on questions of tax than he was in last week's debate, and got the first big round of applause from the live audience after attacking the Tories on this issue. He said: "The Tories are in no position to lecture anyone about tax rises";

• Beth Rigby got a big clap when she pointed out that just because Sir Keir ruled outa rise in VAT, national insurance and income tax, there are still other taxes he could raise such as fuel duty or council tax;

• Asked what he fears most about becoming PM, the Labour leader said he's worried about the impact it'll have on his family, including his children aged 16 and 13;

• We then moved to the audience questions and Sir Keir was firm when he said he's prepared to roll up his sleeves, "get in the room and settle this dispute" with doctors over pay;

• Another audience member asked the Labour leader on his plan to levy VAT on private school fees. Sir Keir said he has "nothing against"private schools but there are "too many" state school students not getting the best education possible;

• Sir Keir appeared slightly taken aback when told he seems "like a political robot" before saying he has had a "constant theme" in his life of trying to serve the public.

Rishi Sunak

• "It hasn't been an easy 18 months" - Things started on the defensive for the PM as he was asked what's gone so wrong for the Tories. Mr Sunak said he'll keep fighting until the last day of the election in response;

• He was then cornered over his early exit from the 80th D-Day anniversary events, and he sounded contrite when he asked for forgiveness.The audience seemed in an unforgiving mood;

• "We need to have somewhere safe to remove them" - the PM was grilled on his Rwanda policy next but refused to put a number on how many people would be put on flights. There was a round of applause when he answered on stopping the boats, though;

• "You were Dishy Rishi!" - Beth Rigby finished her grilling of the PM by asking him to tell the audience one thing they might not know about him. He said he's not as healthy as he appears and has a real sweet tooth. Haribo and Twix are apparently his favourites;

• The first question from the audience was on housing and Sunak talks about buying a house costing £425,000. There were groans from the audience, many of whom agreed that a house that price is out of their reach;

• NHS worker Hamzah told Rishi Sunak he had seen "the chronic effect" of underfunding in the NHS. The PM replied by saying the government is "investing record amounts" and that the Conservatives are "recruiting and training more staff and nurses than we ever have";

• Mr Sunak was pushed on trust, with his D-Day gaffe and the COVID-19 parties in Downing Street both mentioned. Sunak said "trust takes time to rebuild", which didn't win him any applause;

• The PM said he is "incredibly excited" for his daughters to do national service in response to a question from William, a student from Grimsby. "I think it will be transformative for our country", he said.

By Jennifer Scott, political reporter

Labour has promised its manifesto will have "wealth creation" at its heart, ahead of the document's launch.

Sir Keir Starmer will take to the stage in Manchester on Thursday in an effort to convince the public he has the right policies to earn the keys to Number 10.

The Labour leader is expected to say that "growth is our core business - the end and the means of national renewal", as he pledges to bring Britain's finances back on to a steady footing.

And he will insist his Labour government - if it wins the election on 4 July - will be both "pro-business and pro-worker".

The party has consistently led the polls over the past three weeks of the campaign, putting it around 20 points ahead of the Tories.

But party officials fear complacency could see them fail to cross the line at the ballot box in three weeks' time, as well as surveys showing the public has yet to warm to Sir Keir - even if they favour him over Rishi Sunak.

The manifesto launch will be a chance for him to convince floating voters by outlining Labour's plans for power, though a party source told Sky News it would be a "slim" document.

Read more below - and watch live coverage later this morning.

Good morning!

Welcome back to the Politics Hub on day 22 of the fight for the keys to No 10.

We are precisely halfway through the general election campaign, with polls opening in exactly three weeks - hasn't time flown?!

After both men hoping to lead the country for the next five years faced a grilling from Sky's Beth Rigby and our live audience in The Battle for Number 10, they both have busy days ahead as we enter the second half of the race.

Here's what's happening today:

• The Labour Partyis launching its manifesto this morning at an event in Greater Manchester, with Sir Keir Starmerand his team due to unveil their proposals for the next five years;
• The party has promised it will have "wealth creation" at its heart, and they are pitching a potential Labour government asboth "pro-business and pro-worker";
• The manifesto launch will be a chance for Sir Keir to convince floating voters by outlining more detail on Labour's plans for power - though a party source told Sky News it would be a "slim" document;
• Plaid Cymruis also unveiling their manifesto this morning, with the party pledging to "fight for economic fairness" and secure "fair funding" for Wales;
• The party say Wales is owed "billions" after HS2 was scrapped, and the funding model is currently not "fair";
• They will unveil their plans around protecting devolution, more investment in the NHS, and assistance for families amid the ongoing cost of living crisis;
• Rishi Sunak, meanwhile, has jetted off to Italy for the G7 summit as the essential business of government continues amid the campaign;
• The government has confirmed thata £240m aid package will be provided to Ukraine, to be used for emergency humanitarian aid and to rebuild critical energy infrastructure targeted by Russian bombing, as well as wider reconstruction;
• This is not new money, however - it is part of the £2.5bn aid package announced by the PM on a trip to Kyiv in Ukraine;
• On the campaign trail, the Conservative Partyis highlighting its commitments on security, including raising defence spending to 2.5% of GDP;
• Elsewhere, the Lib Dems, SNP, the Green Party, and Reform UKare expected to be out and about this morning ahead of another debate tonight - with deputies and leaders due to take to the stage in another multi-party contest.

We'll be discussing all of that and more with:

• Wendy Chamberlain, deputy leader of the Scottish Lib Dems, at 6.45am;
• Wes Streeting, shadow health secretary, at 7.15am;
• Lord Cameron, foreign secretary, at 8.10am.

Following along for live coverage of the day on the general election campaign.

Thanks for joining us for what's been a massive night in the campaign calendar as Sky hosted The Battle for Number 10.

It saw Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer scrutinised by political editor Beth Rigby and audience members in Grimsby.

We are pausing our coverage here for the evening.

But if you missed anything - or just can't get enough - you can scroll back through our minute-by-minute updates below.

You can also check out our summary of the key moments here:

Take a look at our recap of the leaders' responses on the main issues facing the country here:

Plus, you can see how viewers thought both leaders performed here:

We will be back first thing tomorrow morning for another busy day, with Labour next in line to launch their election manifesto.

Until then, goodnight!

By Faye Brown, political reporter, in Grimsby

The first audience member to ask a question tonight was Sharon from Grimsby.

I caught up with her afterwards and she tells me she was generally happy with the Labour leader's answer on her question about what he could do for the local community, such as devolution, but there's more that needs to be done to tackle poverty.

She says she is very involved in her community and has seen first hand the impact of austerity - from people choosing between heating and eating, to parents relying on uniform banks and "diabolical" housing conditions.

She says she has always been a Labour voter, but her support for Sir Keir is "strengthened" after tonight.

She says she's glad Sir Keir has changed the party and realised "he needs to put the country first" - so she isn't angry about the U-turns he has made on on many of his leadership pledges.

"I appreciate the honesty, there are going to be tough decisions".

She says her message to the Labour leader is, "we're giving you a chance, don't waste it".

"I am just hoping we get that change that is so needed and we can start to look forward to positive change.

"Local people being able to make decisions about their local towns, that's really important."

At this point, we are all aware that Sir Keir Starmer's dad was a toolmaker.

He has brought it up on plenty of occasions, including during the first election debate - and tonight, when the comment earned some laughter from the audience.

Asked why people may have laughed at this, Labour MP Jonathan Ashworth said: "Perhaps because they know that he talks about it quite a lot but, as he said, he's very proud of coming from that working class background, as I'm very proud of coming from a working class background as well.

"And I think the issue in politics is when politicians try to pretend they were hard up when they weren't, perhaps saying that they didn't have access to this new thing called satellite TV back in the 1990s as if that somehow indicates they were short of a few bob."

That last comment is a reference to Rishi Sunak earlier saying he went without Sky TV as a child.