Election latest: Elton John backs Labour and Starmer in general election; Farage told to 'get a grip' on party (2024)

The Labour leader is speaking at a campaign rally as the party prepares to make its final pitch to voters ahead of polling day.

Here is what he says, as he says it (this post will be updated):

• Sir Keir Starmer opens his speech by thanking the previous speakers - particularly the first time voter who addressed the crowd just before him;
• He says everyone has "one job" - which is "to make sure it's a summer of change, to restore hope, to restore spirit, belief in a better future";
• He says people can use their vote "to stop the chaos, to turn the page, and start to rebuild our country";
• Sir Keir argues that the last four years have been about changing the party to put it "back in the service of working people", adding: "Country first, party second";
• He thanks activists for their work not just during the campaign, but over the last four years, saying: "Thank you for everything";
• But he goes on say that these final days of the campaign is "the hardest mile" of the campaign;
• "The hope has been kicked out" of the British people, he argues, and says people "need to be convinced that change is possible" and to "vote for it";
• Sir Keir pledges that if Labour wins the election on Thursday, the work "begins immediately";
• He says Labour needs a "clear mandate" from the electorate, pointing to "chaos under Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak, two politicians who never had a clear mandate";
• Britain will be "stuck" in a "doom loop" if there is not a "democratic reckoning" on Thursday - as he lists what Labour would view as the misdeeds and failures of the Tories;

Sir Keir Starmer's Labour Party has secured the endorsem*nt of global superstar Sir Elton John, and his husband, David Furnish.

In a video message played to activists and supporters at the party's campaign rally in London, Sir Elton said it is "heartbreaking to see Britain's next generation of creative talent downtrodden and destroyed by democracy and red tape".

He says the cultural education that paved the way for his career and success is "drying up and in danger of dying out completely".

Mr Furnish says it is "madness to treat a hugely successful sector with such disdain, particularly one that has been the envy of the world for decades".

He goes on to say that Labour's manifesto "sets out sensible and practical proposals that promise to give every young person a creative education and help young and emerging musicians achieve the routes to success that have been cruelly and pointlessly snatched away from them".

That is why, Sir Elton explains, they are backing Labour and Sir Keir Starmer.

Sir Elton has previously backed the Labour Party, saying back in 2006 that he was a fan of Tony Blair.

Actor, musician, and comedian Bill Bailey is next to speak at Labour's campaign rally.

He is a lifelong Labour supporter, and has previously appeared in election broadcasts on behalf of the party.

He opens with jokes about his new haircut, but moves quickly on to more serious matters - the rapidly approaching election day.

"The Tories are now bracing themselves for a Liz Truss comeback - what is it with this 'don't surrender' business? It's a kind of mad wartime nonsense."

He is referring to the Conservative Party's latest message of not "surrendering" to the Labour Party.

"To say they've got a grip of things is an insult to grips and things," he quips, to laughter and applause.

He tells activists that this election is "the most important" of his lifetime, and "feels like a pivotal moment in Britain's fortunes".

He thanks party supporters and activists, but warns that it's "not over yet", saying that "every vote is crucial".

Appealing to the wider public to cast a ballot, he says: "Every vote counts."

"The fact that we now have a real possibility of a Labour government is in no small part [thanks] to the great efforts of Keir Starmer," he tells the audience, that breaks out in loud applause.

He praises Sir Keir's plan, as well as the team he has built around him.

Mr Bailey appeals to voters to back Labour, saying change only comes if you vote for it.

He says the feeling of the last 14 years is "neglect" and missed opportunities".

"These 14 years have diminished a sense of what is possible, of what Britain is capable of, of what we are all capable of.

"We say enough of that. 14 years of waste - it has to end."

Labour's deputy leader has just addressed party supporters at a campaign rally in London.

Here is what she said, as she said it (this post was updated live):

• Ms Rayner opens by thanking activists for their work on this campaign so far, on behalf of the entire shadow cabinet team;
• But she says there is still "a long way to go" and "millions" have not cast their vote or decided which way they will go, so slowing down would be "disrespectful to them";
• "Right now we've won nothing," she emphasises;
• "The past six weeks alone have shown we can't take another minute of this chaos";
• She argues that Labour has delivered change in government in past, and is now "ready to deliver a radical and responsibly plan for Britain's future";
• She reiterates that Labour does "not promise the earth", but that "stability is change and the bedrock upon which everything is built";
• Ms Rayner warns that "next Friday, we could all wake up to five more years of Tory chaos" - and appeals to the public to vote for "change" with Labour.

With days to go until polls open in the general election, the Labour Party is holding a major campaign rally in London.

Sir Keir Starmer is due to address gathered activists as they prepare to make their closing arguments to voters across the country.

The party is also expected to unveil celebrity endorsem*nts during the event.

Watch live in the stream at the top of this page, at the link below - and follow live updates here in the Politics Hub.

TV presenter Rylan Clark has said he would "love" to become a politician - and replace the party system with a "Power Rangers of government" model.

The TV personality, 35, joined political editor Beth Rigby and former Scottish Conservative leader Baroness Ruth Davidson for this week's Sky News Electoral Dysfunction podcast.

Asked if he would ever consider the career change, he said: "If I wasn't in the job that I was in, I would love nothing more."

Rylan, who won Celebrity Big Brother and also appeared on the X Factor, appeared on the podcast in place of Labour candidate Jess Phillips after tweeting his praise for Rigby on the day Rishi Sunak announced the general election.

Sharing a clip of her and Sky presenter Sophy Ridge outside a rainy Downing Street waiting for Mr Sunak to appear at the lectern, he said: "Obsessed with the Rigby."

Speaking to her and Davidson, he said his "obsession" with politics began with Brexit - "as we've seen so many promises which weren't fulfilled" since then.

He added: "I lie there at night sometimes, and I think about [Volodymyr] Zelenskyy. He hosted one of the same shows I've hosted in Ukraine."

The TV presenter also shared his idea of abandoning political parties altogether.

Read the full story here:

By Matthew Thompson, political correspondent

837 miles. That is, officially at least, the distance the Lib Dem bus will travel on its final campaign push from John O'Groats in the North East of Scotland, to Land's End on the tip of Cornwall.

Add in several daily campaign stops (and, insists our producer Katy, the fact that she and a hardcore crew rode the bus all the way up from London), and the total distance will be considerably more.

Nor is it simply another Lib Dem gimmick. Both John O'Groats and Land's End are in constituencies the party are very much targeting at this election.

What's instructive, though, are the stops they have planned in-between.

It's been a busy start to the trip, with four stops in Scotland alone. A mixture of seats the party is defending, and those it hopes to take from the SNP.

But once we leave Edinburgh tonight, we drive for several hours without stopping, until we reach the South West of England.

And not by accident. Even the most generous polls only have the Lib Dems gaining 6 seats across the whole of the North of England and the Midlands.

This is a highly targeted campaign. The strategy is to focus on areas where the party has historical strength, and where it has recently come second, primarily to the Conservatives.

And of approximately 85 such seats, 69 are in the South West, South East and London.

It is there that the Lib Dem campaign will succeed or fail. And it is there that we will spend the last precious few days left to campaign.

No doubt with the occasional stunt thrown in for good measure.

Pledges and promises are coming thick and fast from every party as the general election approaches.

Struggling to keep up with who is saying what?

Here is a summary of where the main parties stand on major issues.

For a more in-depth look at what each party has pledged, scour ourmanifesto checker...

By Jason Farrell, home editor

The Welsh electorate has travelled in one direction for the last 100 years.

Labour always win more votes and seats than their rivals inWalesbut, floating our parliamentary bench on a barge across the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, we discover not everything is as tranquil as it seems in this stunning beauty spot.

The20mph speed limit, wind farms and waiting times on the NHS are all matters raised by people who are not happy with Labour's record in theSenedd.

The first person we meet is Reuben Jones, who works at the local barge hire company adjacent to the aqueduct.

"I'm a transgender person," says Reuben. "I'm very unhappy with the state of the Israeli-Palestinian conflicts at the moment. There are a lot of issues with the education system, a lot of problems with the health care system."

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.

With under a week to go, the Tories and Labour have taken a drop, while support for Reform UK and the Liberal Democrats is on the rise.

Read more about the trackerhere.