Election latest: Sunak not taking questions amid talk of Tory battle to succeed him - as Dragon joins Starmer at brewery (2024)

61% of people quizzed in an exclusive Sky News poll think the NHS is in a "poor state", with parts of it "broken".

Reducing NHS waiting times is the issue voters want the next government to prioritise, with 39% of people saying it was their top issue.

The same Sky News poll asked voters who they trust most to run the NHS. The majority - 32% - said Labour, while only 9% thought the Conservatives.

But a quarter of those polled didn't think any party could be trusted with the NHS.

With waiting times on voters' minds, Sky's people and politics correspondent Nick Martin spoke to Jasmine, one of the millions waiting months, sometimes years, for treatment.

At 23, she has spent the last 11 years battling endometriosis and lives with what feels like "a ball of acid in the middle of my torso".

Read more of her story here:

The latest Sky News poll tracker has the Conservatives on the same level of support - just 22.8% - as the day Liz Truss left office.

Labour has 43.6% of the share, while Reform UK is on 13.1%, Lib Dems on 9.6%, Greens on 5.7% and SN p on 3%.

The 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.

Read more here:

Rishi Sunak took up a watering can and was encouraged to apply for an allotment garden by volunteers while on the campaign trail in County Durham.

An opportunity for the media to ask questions of Rishi Sunak did not take place as was originally planned, likely following the fallout on Friday of his early return from D-Day commemorations.

Members of the public could be seen gathered on a hillside above the garden to try to catch a glimpse of the prime minister.

At the garden, Mr Sunak spoke with volunteers Margaret Lambert and Hilary Bellwood and watered plants with Jane MacBean, Conservative candidate for Bishop Auckland.

Sir Keir Starmer has promised to overhaul the business rates system, sayingthere's "not a level playing field between businesses that are online and those that are ... bricks and mortar".

The Labour leader was joined by Dragons' Den star Deborah Meaden at 3 Locks Brewery in Camden, London, to launch the party's plan for small businesses.

"We want small businesses to thrive because they are the backbone of our economy and they need that stability in our economy, and they need to know that their energy bills are actually going to be lower and stable," he said.

Labour launched its plans for Great British Energy policy a week ago - a new, publicly owned company that would generate homegrown green energy across the country.

Meaden voiced her support for the plans: "Businesses don't like being out of control of costs and energy is one of those costs that simply fluctuates beyond your control," she said.

Sir Keir pulled the first pint of the day at 10.55am and was heard saying "if all else fails", he will be back at the brewery on 5 July.

John Swinney says Rishi Sunak "completely destroyed" his credibility as prime minister by leaving D-Day commemorations early.

Speaking to journalists on the campaign trail in Livingston, the Scottish First Minister said: "I think Rishi Sunak's credibility is completely destroyed by his departure from D-Day early and the insult he delivered to the veterans who had travelled to Normandy for that solemn occasion.

"It also, frankly, was a desertion of the international responsibilities of the prime minister.

"The prime minister and especially the Conservative election campaign is now utterly in tatters."

Mr Sunak was forced to apologise for leaving France before an international ceremony attended by world leaders, saying it had been a mistake - but he said it was important not to "politicise" the decision.

The Tory battle bus has rolled into County Durham, with Rishi Sunak heading to two locations in the North East today - but don't expect him to be answering questions.

The PM is not doing any interviews with national or broadcast media today and a possible huddle - when he takes questions from reporters off-camera - has been cancelled.

He may, however, do some interviews with regional media.

While the PM may not be speaking for himself today, much has been said this morning about his decision to bow out of D-Day commemorations early.

Shadow business secretary Jonathan Reynolds called it "inexplicable" while Sir Ed Davey said it made him "pretty cross" and Transport Secretary Mark Harper labelled it a "mistake" - but said it wouldn't cost the Tories the election.

The Lib Dem leader says he's "pretty cross" about Rishi Sunak's decision to leave D-Day commemorations early and has called on him to make a donation to a veterans' charity to make amends.

Sir Ed Davey urged the Conservatives to give some of the cash donated to the party by Frank Hester, a businessman who was embroiled in a racism row, to charity.

"I think the Conservative Party should give £5m of that donation to a veterans' charity. I think if they did that, then people might be able to draw the line.

"But it's such a letdown for our whole country and our history, particularly for our brave veterans."

The Liberal Democrats have pledged to create three new national parks in England.

This manifesto commitment would bring the number of national parks in England up to 13, with the party saying it would spend £50m a year maintaining them.

The Chilterns in Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire are possible locations for the new parks, along with the Mendips, Cotswolds and Quantocks.

Other proposed areas include the Surrey Hills, Northumberland coast and Dorset.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey accused the Tories of having "broken too many promises to protect our countryside".

"It is hard to overstate the difference things like National Parks can make to entire communities," he said.

Reform UK and the Conservatives are neck-and-neck in a new poll of Welsh voters with each party taking an 18% share of those surveyed.

But both trail Labour, which is far ahead on 45%, according to the survey by Redfield & Wilton.

The poll of 960 Welsh voters put Plaid Cymru on 11%, Liberal Democrats on 5% and Greens on 4%.

Only 39% of those who voted for the Conservatives in Wales in 2019 willvote Conservative again, the poll showed - with 32% of past Conservative voters saying they would defect to Reform UK.

It comes after the latest YouGov poll of UK voters for Sky News showed Reform had pulled to within two points of the Conservatives.

Sky News has been tracking locations visited by party leaders in the first two weeks of the general election campaign to decipher what their choices tell us about the parties' election strategies.

Of the 650 seats, 54 have now been visited during the campaign by Rishi Sunak, Sir Keir Starmer or Ed Davey.

The South East seems to be garnering the most attention with 12 visits overall - highlighting the importance of the region for all of the English parties.

Read more from Sky News elections analyst Dr Hannah Bunting and data journalist Joely Santa Cruz here: