Election latest: Tom Tugendhat says Nigel Farage sounds like 'Putin's poodle' on Ukraine - but Reform leader doubles down in war row (2024)

Union boss Sharon Graham has said she does not agree with Labour's fiscal rules and the party should borrow more to invest.

Speaking to Sky News'Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillipsin an interview that will be broadcast in full tomorrow, the Unite general secretary said other countries with growing economies have a larger debt-to-GDP ratio than the UK, "so there is wiggle room".

Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, has promised to retain the Tories' commitment that debt as a proportion of GDP must be on track to fall in five years if Labour win the election on 4 July.

She has ruled out borrowing to fund day-to-day spending, saying her focus will be on reforms to grow the economy.

But Ms Graham said: "I don't agree with Rachel Reeves in terms of what has been said about the plans on growth.

"If you look at other countries - in France, their debt to GDP is 112%. In America, where the economy's growing, it's 130% debt to GDP. Ours is around about 99%. We have wiggle room. Give Britain a break."

The union leader said that workers "are literally hurting beyond anything that you could comprehend" due to the cost of living crisis.

She added: "We need the straitjacket off a little bit, get some wiggle room there.

"Borrowing to invest is not the same as other borrowing. It's borrowing to invest."

You can watch the full interview with Sharon Graham on Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips from 8.30am tomorrow morning on Sky News.

Sir Keir Starmer said he always suspected Boris Johnson's relationship with the truth "would bring him down"- as he revealed how he "set a trap" for the ex-prime minister over the partygate scandal.

In an interview with The Guardian, the Labour leader said he "couldn't care less" about the insults Mr Johnson hurled at him over the despatch box, including when the then PM called him a "pointless human bollard".

"I'm not saying I have great insight, but I felt his character would bring him down," he told the newspaper.

"I thought, there's a guy who is detached from the truth. Whether he's lying or not, it doesn't matter to him."

Sir Keir then laid out the specific way he "set a trap" for Mr Johnson to catch him out over the Downing Street parties scandal, according to The Guardian.

Read the full story here:

Scarlett Maguire, a pollster with JL Partners, says focus groups run by the firm in Rishi Sunak's constituency show that the D-Day blunder and the recent betting scandal in the Tory party have cut through to voters.

Both issues have been "incredibly damaging" for the prime minister, she says.

Ms Maguiresaid one voter told researchers that the betting scandal "showed a complete disregard for voters".

"They were saying the impression was that it was just like Partygate. It was indicative of a political class and this particular political party that takes voters a bit for a ride and takes their votes for granted," she says.

"That sense was something that came through very strongly."

Ms Maguire said these issues mean voters could perceive Mr Sunak as being "out of control".

However she pointed out that the public also "do not like the sound of a Labour majority", and there's an "appetite" to prevent this.

"It about whether that works and about whether people actually think 'you know what? I am really cross with the main parties... I'm going to do more of a protest vote'."

Next up on the show is pollsterScarlett Maguire, director at JL Partners.

She's asked first about the big polling story of the campaign, which has been the rise of Reform UK support in the UK.

Asked if the Conservatives should be worried about this, Ms Maguire says she is "sceptical" that Reform could end up with a greater share of the vote than the Tories - in part because they are not standing in every seat.

However she notes the rise of Reform has been "the defining feature of this campaign - or at least the only real action we've seen in the polls".

Ms Maguire says Rishi Sunak's decision to call the election while 20 points down in the polls was unprecedented.

"He desperately needed a campaign where he could win back those voters that started voting Reform and also win back those Conservatives that were now telling pollsters they don't know. So far, he's not done either," she says.

Next up is a discussion with the Politics Hub panel on JK Rowling's accusation in The Times newspaper that the Labour party is "abandoning women".

In a 2,000-word essay, the author said she will "struggle to support" Labour if Sir Keir Starmer keeps his current stance on gender recognition.

Sir Keir has defended Labour's record on gender equality in response, saying he was "proud" of his party's history on the subject.

Charlie Rowley, former special adviser to Michael Gove, says the issue is a "sticky wicket" for Labour, but he adds that there are "so many other issues in society" that require focus.

"Party leaders shouldn't be getting caught up in the minutiae of this kind of conversation," he says.

Meanwhile, AvaSantina Evans, political correspondent at PoliticsJOE, says Labour advisers are worried the issue will "ramp up just before polling day".

She adds it's unfair to trans people in the UK "to experience this sort of rhetoric before the election".

"This election really is a lot to do with the politicisation of people's bodies," she says.

Asked if he wants to be leader of the Conservative Party, Tom Tugendhat says he wants his party to get "as good a result as possible" in the election.

Mr Tugendhat, who is rumoured to be among the candidates who will run for leadership after 4 July, says he wants to make sure the Tories win and"prevent Keir Starmer from making all the terrible changes that he's proposed already".

Next questioned on whether he thinks the Conservatives will "tack to the right", the security minister says parties can make the biggest changes when "in the centre ground".

"We're a party of government, because the ideas and the ethos that the Conservative Party has - pro individual rights, pro people, pro-business - are absolutely key to making sure this country is safer and more prosperous," he says.

He says he does not accept that the Tories have drifted to the right.

Tom Tugendhat says he "has to accept" that Sir Keir Starmer is "currently front running for prime minister", as he dodges a question on Reform UK's threat to Tory support.

Asked why he thinks the Conservative Party appears to be losing voters to Reform, the security minister instead turns to the Labour leader, accusing him of "playing constitutional games".

Mr Tugendhat does not directly answer when pushed on the question by Ali Fortescue, as he says people should be "focusing on what the real challenges are today".

He cites security threats posed by Moscow and cyber attacks on British institutions as examples of such challenges.

First up on the show is security minister Tom Tugendhat.

Asked first about Nigel Farage's comments that the West "provoked" the Ukraine war, he says that for a man who "always claims to speak like Winston Churchill, he sounds an awful lot more like Neville Chamberlain".

He calls the Reform leader's remarks "appeasem*nt" and accused him of repeating Kremlin propaganda.

"During the Cold War, we had a word for people like that. We called them useful idiots. And it sounds to me like Nigel Farage is just being Putin's poodle on this," he says.

Questioned about members of his own party who've suggested Mr Farage should be welcomed into the Tories, MrTugendhat says there is "no place in Parliament or indeed in the Conservative Party for anybody who sides with our enemies".

Pressed on the issue that some Conservatives have been open to the idea of Mr Farage joining their party, the minister says "people who represent the British people in Parliament should put the virtues and interests and strengths of the British people first".

"They shouldn't undermine that by repeating the propaganda of those who are trying to undermine us," he adds.

Unpatriotic, an apologist for President Putin – they're not the claims you want against you in the last weeks before polling day.

Is this Nigel Farage's first big blunder? Tonight he's doubled down on his claim the West "provoked" Russia's invasion of Ukraine - telling The Telegraph "don’t blame me for telling the truth".

"If you poke the Russian bear with a stick don't be surprised if he responds." He did say he's never sought to justify Putin's invasion.

It may be may be there's no such thing as bad publicity for a man who wants to be outside the political mainstream.

But as his party gains ground you sense Nigel Farage is trying to smooth his harsher edges and will not want to scare off shy wavering Reform voters with less than two weeks to go.

Our daily politics showPolitics Hubis live now on Sky News with ourpolitical correspondentAli Fortescuehosting this evening.

The fast-paced programme dissects the inner workings of Westminster, with interviews, insights, and analysis - bringing you, the audience, into the corridors of power.

Joining Ali tonight:

• Tom Tugendhat, security minister
• Scarlett Maguire, director at JL Partners polls

And on her panel are:

• Ava Santina Evans, political correspondent at PoliticsJOE
• Charlie Rowley, former special adviser to Michael Gove

Watch live on Sky News, in the stream at the top of this page, and follow live updates here in the Politics Hub.

WatchPolitics Hubfrom 7pm every night during the election campaign on Sky channel 501, Virgin channel 602, Freeview channel 233, on theSky News websiteandappor onYouTube.