General election latest: Sunak denies he's planning to flee to US - as outgoing Tory MP backs Reform to take her seat (2024)

Thanks for joining us for the start of the first full week of this election campaign - there's plenty more to come before polls open on 4 July!

We'll be back at 6am but, until then, here are the latest headlines:

Join us on Tuesday for all the latest.

More than 120 business leaders have written an open letter giving their backing to Labour in the general election.

Senior figures, including chef Tom Kerridge and former CEOs of Heathrow, JP Morgan and Aston Martin, said the party had "shown it has changed and wants to work with business to achieve the UK's full economic potential".

They said the public should now "give it the chance to change the country and lead Britain into the future".

Both Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and his shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves have long been making efforts to win over the business community since taking over the party from Jeremy Corbyn.

An open letter printed in the Times and signed by figures including the founders of Wikileaks Jimmy Wales and Koru Kids - the latter of which wasonce invested in by the prime minister's wife- shows signs of success in the endeavour.

In the letter, the business people said it was "time for a change" as "for too long now, our economy has been beset by instability, stagnation, and a lack of long-term focus".

You can read more here:

By Jennifer Scott, political reporter

The Conservatives have promised to cut taxes for pensioners by creating a new "age-related" tax-free allowance - dubbed "triple lock plus".

Currently, people can receive £12,570 a year of their pensions before they start paying income tax on them - the same figure as the personal allowance for those who work.

But if the party wins the next election, a pensioner's allowance would rise in line with either average earnings, inflation or by 2.5% - whichever is higher - from next April, echoing the rules on annual state pension increases.

Rishi Sunak said the move "demonstrates we are on the side of pensioners", and would bring people "peace of mind and security in retirement".

But Labour's shadow paymaster general, Jonathan Ashworth, called it "another desperate move from a chaotic Tory party torching any remaining facade of its claims to economic credibility".

He added: "Why would anyone believe the Tories and Rishi Sunak on tax after they left the country with the highest tax burden in 70 years?"

You can read more from Sky News here:

Earlier (see 8.25pm post), we brought you news that another Labour MP - John Cryer - had confirmed he will step aside at the general election.

Paying tribute to the outgoing MP, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said: "The constituents of Leyton and Wanstead, and indeed the whole Parliamentary Labour Party, will sorely miss John Cryer.

"Thank you for your friendship, support and years of service to the Labour and Trade Union Movement."

Until voters go to the polls on 4 July, the Politics Hub will be looking back at some memorable moments from previous general election campaigns.

How would you react if someone threw an egg in your face?

In the case of John Prescott, the answer was to punch them.

The former deputy prime minister threw a fist at the voter who targeted him ahead of a campaign rally in Wales.

The incident came on the day Labour launched its 2001 election manifesto, and went down in such infamy it has its own Wikipedia page.

Mr Prescott, then Tony Blair’s deputy, insisted the hefty jab was an act of self-defence - but him choosing violence divided the party leadership, with Gordon Brown more sympathetic than the prime minister was.

What are the rules on voter ID?How does tactical voting work? In what different ways can you cast your ballot?

The countdown to the election is on - and already the amount of information can seem overwhelming.

We cut through the noise to bring you what you need to know, from registering to vote, to election day and what happens next.

Read on here...

By Rob Powell, political correspondent

The Conservatives have admitted mistakenly sending out an email which reportedly accused MPs and ministers of failing to "get behind" the party's election campaign.

Staff at Tory headquarters accused some MPs of focusing too much on ministerial business and said some were refusing to knock on doors or were away on holiday, The Times reported.

The document was accidentally emailed to MPs by a senior figure in the campaign, the newspaper said.

Responding, a Conservative Party spokesperson said: "The email was sent in error and immediately recalled. Those who received it have been contacted with an apology".

You can read more from Sky News below:

Why are so many Tory MPs going? Is it because they read the opinion polls and believe their party's time is up and they don't fancy the hard slog and often unrewarding grind of opposition?

There's a famous quote attributed to James Callaghan, during the 1979 general election campaign, shortly before Labour was swept from power by Margaret Thatcher.

"You know there are times, perhaps once every 30 years, when there is a sea-change in politics," avuncular "Sunny Jim" observed shrewdly to his close aide Bernard Donoughue.

Read more:

With the general election campaign officially under way, what better time to keep a close eye on the latest polling?

The Sky News live poll tracker - collated and updated by our Data and Forensics team - aggregates various surveys to indicate how voters feel about the different political parties.

See the latest update below - and you can read more about the methodology behind the trackerhere.

Today has already brought news of four Labour MPs announcing they won't be standing for election on 4 July.

John Spellar, MP for Smethwick and Oldbury; Barbara Keeley of Worsley and Eccles South; Kevin Brennan, from Cardiff West; and Ealing Southall MP Virendra Sharma are all to stand down.

Now, John Cryer, the member for Leyton and Wanstead, has decided to join them.

You can read his statement in full below...