Election latest: Leaders gear up for first election debate - as Sunak focuses on immigration after toughest day of campaign (2024)

We've got three key dates for your diary from the Electoral Commission should you need to register to vote in the general election.

18 June: This is the deadline to register, which you can do online at gov.uk/register-to-vote.

19 June: This is the deadline to apply for a postal vote, should you not be around when polling stations open on 4 July.

26 June: This is the deadline to apply for a proxy vote, which allows someone to vote on your behalf, and also to apply for a Voter ID certificate should you not have another valid form of identification.

This is the first general election where ID is needed to vote - find out more about registration here:

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.

Back to our conversation with Home Secretary James Cleverly, who was asked about Nigel Farage's U-turn over running to become an MP in Essex.

Mr Farage is now the leader of Reform UK, and a candidate for the party.

But Mr Cleverly tells Sky News that Reform is simply a "vehicle" for Mr Farage's "self-promotion".

"I think Richard Tice is now discovering that rather painfully."

Mr Tice was, until yesterday, the leader of the party.

"Keir Starmer would love people to vote Reform because he knows that a vote for Reform basically opens the door to a Labour government," Mr Cleverly says.

Turning to immigration, the home secretary claims that shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper's "big reveal" over migration "already exists".

Labour has pledged to launch a new Border Security Command, but Mr Cleverly says this is the same as the "Small Boats Operational Command".

He adds this is "really embarrassing for the shadow home secretary".

There are "no circ*mstances whatsoever" in which Reform UK would consider making a deal with the Conservatives, Nigel Farage has said.

The new leader of Reform UK, who confirmed he will be a candidate for the party yesterday, was asked if he could help the Conservatives form a government.

He explicitly ruled out any sort of deal with Rishi Sunak.

Mr Farage told the BBC: "There are no circ*mstances whatsoever.

"We have been betrayed by a Conservative Party I have given considerable help to."

The full list of candidates for Clacton are as follows:

• Jovan Owusu-Nepaul for Labour
  
• Giles Watling for the Conservative Party
• Natasha Osben for the Green Party
  
• Matthew Bensilum for the Liberal Democrats
• Nigel Farage for Reform UK

Home Secretary James Cleverly has insisted the British public is "not convinced" by Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer as he defended the Tories after a damning poll.

An MRP poll published by YouGov forecast that Labour could be on course to win a historic landslide, with the party expected to win a 194-seat majority.

It would be the highest number of seats of any party at any election since Stanley Baldwin won a majority of 208 in 1924.

Asked about this, he said: "I know it's a cliche, but we are focusing exclusively on the one poll that matters - which is the one on 4 July."

But would Mr Cleverly prefer the polls to be in his favour?

"Of course I would... but the fact of the matter is when I knock on doors, what I'm hearing is people completely unconvinced by Labour."

However, it is put to the minister that a number of frontbenchers would lose their seats if the scenario forecast in the YouGov MRP poll plays out.

He shrugs this off, reiterating that the British people "aren't convinced by Keir Starmer", claiming they "scrunch up their faces" at the prospect of voting for Labour.

Asked for his reaction to the poll, he says he just "carried on campaigning".

The most famous TV election debate image is a sweaty and unshaven Richard Nixon up against the telegenic JFK in the US in 1960.

Here in the UK, the most decisive debate game-changer was Gordon Brown and David Cameron conceding "I agree with Nick" in 2010.

That sparked the"Cleggmania"which propelled Nick Clegg to the post of deputy prime minister in Mr Cameron's coalition government.

Mr Nixon's disaster under the harsh TV lights came in the first TV debate held in a US presidential election, one of four during the 1960 campaign.

At the time, Mr Nixon was Republican vice-president and John F Kennedy a young Democratic Party senator. But Mr Nixon was cruelly exposed as a TV novice and looked shifty.

You can read more from our chief political correspondent Jon Craig below:

Former Labour adviser Ayesha Hazarika joins Beth Rigby and Ruth Davidson as the regular Tuesday sub for Jess Philips during the election period.

On this episode, they talk about how leaders will be preparing for TV debates - Beth's hosted one, Ayesha has worked with politicians doing them, and Ruth has stood behind a lectern several times herself.

They discuss what Rishi Sunak might try to land as he attempts to close the gap in the opinion polls.

Plus, has there been a "purge" of the left in Labour as Starmer thinks about what his benches will look like if he becomes prime minister.

👉Click here to follow Electoral Dysfunction wherever you get your podcasts👈

Email Beth, Ruth, and Ayesha at electoraldysfunction@sky.uk, post on X to @BethRigby, or send a WhatsApp voice note on 07934 200 444.

Day-to-day care for adults in need, including the elderly and disabled, would be free under a Liberal Democrat government, the party has pledged.

Leader Sir Ed Davey described the issue as "deeply personal for me" as he vowed to place "fixing the care crisis" at the heart of his party's offer to voters.

Provision of care should be based on need rather than ability to pay, the party said, as it promised what it described as free personal care for people either at home or in care homes.

This would cover nursing care, help with mobility, hygiene and medication, it said, adding that people in residential care would still have to contribute towards their accommodation.

The party added that its plan covers social care for those over 18, including working age adults, the elderly, and the disabled.

Sir Ed said these plans would be funded by reversing tax cuts given to big banks by the Tories. This, he said, would cover the estimated £2.7bn cost by 2028/29.

The Lib Dem leader said: "As a carer for my disabled son, and after caring for my ill mother when I was young, care is deeply personal for me.

"That is why I am putting fixing the care crisis at the heart of the Liberal Democrat offer to the country at this election.

"We cannot fix the crisis facing the NHS without fixing the crisis facing social care."

On 12 June, Sky News will host an election leaders' event in Grimsby - a key marginal seat and one of our Target Towns this election year.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and the Conservative leader Rishi Sunak have been invited to attend, and we are looking for a live audience to join us on the night.

If you would like to be part of this studio audience, and be given the opportunity to ask a question to one of the party leaders, please complete the short questionnaire in this link.

Sir Keir Starmer will promise to "close the door" on Vladimir Putin with his homegrown energy plan - while Rishi Sunak will propose an annual visa cap to try to reduce immigration as election campaigning continues today.

Theprime ministerwill look to win over voters after what was perhaps his toughest day of the campaign so far on Monday - with someConservativesfearingNigel Farage'sdecision to lead Reform could split the Tory vote.

Mr Farage is alsostanding to be an MP in Clactonand will launch his campaign in the Essex constituency today.

A difficult day was made worse for Mr Sunak whena YouGov poll for Sky News suggestedLabour could be on course to win a historic landslide - with the party projected to win a 194-seat majority.

You can read more from Sky News below: