The Conservative candidate going up against Nigel Farage in Clacton has claimed Reform UK rallies are "reminiscent of the big rallies at Nuremberg" where Adolf Hitler addressed Nazi supporters.
Giles Watling, who has held the Essex constituency since 2017, described recent rallies as "chilling".
Speaking to Politics Home, he said: "I’m not ascribing any of these sort of things to Nigel Farage himself but the method, the process is just sort of reminiscent of the big rallies at Nuremberg with people standing to one side.
"It’s a personality cult that’s been created."
He added: “There may be no evil intent, but it feels wrong and bad."
Jonathan Gullis
Getty
Speaking at a Conservative campaign event, Jonathan Gullis said: “The leader of the Labour Party, who is literally boasting that he plans to clock off at 6pm on a daily basis today.
“So let’s hope Putin doesn’t choose 6.01pm when he wishes to go any further with his illegal and immoral invasion of Ukraine.”
The Labour leader told Virgin Radio he intends to finish work at 6pm on Fridays to spend time with his family, adding that protecting time to spend with his son and daughter made him more relaxed and a better decision-maker.
Jeremy CorbynPAJeremy Corbyn has written to the Islington North Labour candidate, Praful Nargund, to request a public debate, after his "repeated ducking of local hustings".
The independent candidate wrote: "The people of Islington North have been disappointed by your repeated ducking of local hustings.
"These events are crucial to democracy. Residents in Islington North deserve to know who their candidate are. They deserve to know what they are voting for. Most importantly, they deserve to know their views on - and connections to - private healthcare."
Rishi Sunak is the current Prime Minister PARishi Sunak suggested he would never finish work at 6pm, after Sir Keir Starmer said that he rarely does work-related duties after six o’clock on Fridays to protect family time.
When asked about Starmer’s comments, the prime minister said: "I haven’t seen the comments but what I would say is — what time is it now? — I haven’t finished at six ever.
"We would only have a couple of hours left in the day at this point, which is not great."
Sir Keir Starmer has vowed to work with Marine Le Pen on the migrant crisis - if her party wins the French election.
Speaking at a campaign event in Buckinghamshire on Monday, Starmer said his party stood ready to "work with whoever", and expressed his support for "stronger and better and deeper" agreements with France on "smashing the gangs" bringing illegal migrants to Britain.
Speaking to a throng of reporters in Little Norwood as he toured traditional Tory safe seats, Starmer claimed Le Pen's victory in the first round of France's parliamentary elections was a "lesson" for progressives, but sounded pragmatic on foreign cooperation if a Labour government were formed this week.
The Labour leader said: "I will work with any government in Europe and across the world if we are elected in to serve the country."
Jonathan Ashworth has claimed a a Liz Truss-inspired agenda would emerge if Rishi Sunak is re-elected on Thursday
PA
Jonathan Ashworth has claimed a a Liz Truss-inspired agenda would emerge if Rishi Sunak is re-elected on Thursday.
The Shadow Cabinet Office minister spoke today in front of a backdrop stating "Stop the Liz Truss takeover".
Ashworth told a press conference in London: "In the 25 years or so I’ve been involved in politics now I cannot remember any occasion when an incumbent government has got their candidate selection so obviously wrong as the Tories have at this election."
He added: "Not even the professional exorcist standing for the Tories in Cardiff East could expel all the diabolical forces haunting their candidate list. The one person who will never take that action is Rishi Sunak, a man too weak to enforce basic standards within his own party."
Ashworth claimed there are "166 hardcore Trussites" standing for the Conservative Party at the General Election.
He added: "Most of them share the core ‘Pop-Con’ belief which is that Trussonomics was sabotaged by the so-called big state establishment in the autumn of 2022 and has never been given a proper chance to succeed.
"Our dossier today proves that five more years of the Tories means five more years of chaos, five more years of fiscal irresponsibility, five more years of mortgage rises, five more years of one rule for them and another for the rest of us. Our warning is clear: vote Sunak on Thursday, get Truss 2.0 on Friday."
Ashworth concluded: "A vote for a Tory candidate in this election is a vote for a Trussite agenda."
The Labour leader said a victory for France’s National Rally would not hinder Labour’s goal of negotiating a “better deal” with the European Union.
Sir Keir Starmer said he would work "with any government in Europe" if he gets the keys to Downing Street at this week's General Election.
Asked whether he would be willing to work with Marine Le Pen’s party, Starmer told reporters in Buckingham and Bletchley: “I will work with any government in Europe and across the world if we are elected in to serve the country. For me, that’s what serious government is about.”
Asked about Le Pen’s preference for bilateral deals over EU-wide ones, Starmer said: “I’ve always supported bilaterals as well as EU-wide agreements. They’re not mutually exclusive.
“And some of the agreements we’ve got with France are bilateral in any event. I think they need to be stronger and better and deeper, particularly in relation to smashing the gangs that are running the vile trade of putting people into boats.
“But there are also EU measures. The security agreement we want with the EU when it comes to dealing with smuggling gangs is really important.”
Pressed on whether he thinks a Eurosceptic French government could make his aim of closer economic ties more difficult to achieve, he said: “I genuinely don’t want to get ahead of myself. Firstly, we haven’t seen the final outcome in France. We’ve also got a big outcome of our own on Thursday.
“I don’t think it affects the overall intention we have, which is to negotiate a better deal with the EU. I think the deal we’ve got is botched. I think that anybody who’s trading with the EU feels that it’s botched, and we can do better than that across not just trade, but actually research and development, also on the security front.”
The Conservative candidate going up against Nigel Farage in Clacton has claimed Reform UK rallies are "reminiscent of the big rallies at Nuremberg" where Adolf Hitler addressed Nazi supporters
PA
The Conservative candidate going up against Nigel Farage in Clacton has claimed Reform UK rallies are "reminiscent of the big rallies at Nuremberg" where Adolf Hitler addressed Nazi supporters.
Giles Watling, who has held the Essex constituency since 2017, described recent rallies as "chilling".
Speaking to Politics Home, he said: "I’m not ascribing any of these sort of things to Nigel Farage himself but the method, the process is just sort of reminiscent of the big rallies at Nuremberg with people standing to one side.
"It’s a personality cult that’s been created."
He added: “There may be no evil intent, but it feels wrong and bad."
GB News can reveal that almost 4,000 small boat migrants have now crossed to the UK since Rishi Sunak called the election
PA
GB News can reveal that almost 4,000 small boat migrants have now crossed to the UK since Rishi Sunak called the election.
Claims by the Prime Minister that illegal migrants are waiting in Calais for a Labour Government before crossing the Channel have been dismissed as "complete nonsense" by senior maritime sources.
On the campaign trail on Monday, the Prime Minister was challenged about his assertion that migrants were not crossing until the outcome of the election later this week. Mr Sunak said: "That's what the illegal migrants themselves in Calais are saying.
"They know Rwanda is not somewhere they would like to go, it is a deterrent. It's very simple - I don't think illegal migrants should get to stay in our country".
Rishi Sunak suggested Nigel Farage has not done enough to tackle the allegations of racism within Reform UK
PA
Rishi Sunak suggested Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has not done enough to tackle the allegations of racism within the party.
Speaking to reporters in Staffordshire, the PM said: “I’ve made my views on that pretty clear, and I said he’s got some questions to answer. And I think he described the comments as inappropriate last time I heard. They weren’t inappropriate. They were racist and appalling.
“And the person who made them has apologised to Reform for the impact it’s had on them.
“And as I said, you’ve got now multiple Reform candidates and campaigners openly espousing racist and misogynistic views, seemingly without challenge, tells you something about the culture within the Reform Party.”
The BBC is preparing to "love bomb" the Labour Party if it wins the election, party insiders have claimed
PA
The BBC is preparing to "love bomb" the Labour Party if it wins the election, party insiders have claimed.
This comes against a backdrop of mounting concern over cuts to the broadcaster and an upcoming review of the TV licence fee.
Staffers believe a change of government would bring an end to the "antagonistic relationship" currently seen between the Tories and the broadcaster.
One employee told the i: "There’s a giddy feeling of liberation coming. The Tory boot is being lifted from the BBC’s throat."
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has asked voters to judge him in five years’ time against improved public services, economy and living standards
PA
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has asked voters to judge him in five years’ time against improved public services, economy and living standards.
Speaking to reporters after a speech at Hitchin Town Football Club, he was asked if he is concerned he could be the least popular Labour leader ever to enter Downing Street.
Starmer said he had changed the fortunes of the Labour Party from electoral disaster to "seriously putting it before the electorate as a credible force for change".
He added: "So my track record as a leader is clear. Yes, what we’re asking now is for the opportunity to do the same for our country. And yes, we face the same challenge, which is a version of ‘look the country is broken, almost nothing is working better than it was when the Tories started. Is it possible to bring around the change that we offer?’
“Yes, it is. We have that determination, that intention. And in five years’ time, we will be able to look back and say ‘you are truly better off, your public services are working properly and the economy is working for everyone’.
“I’ll be very, very happy to be judged on that record.”
Sir Keir Starmer has said being a father helps make him a better politician
PA
Sir Keir Starmer has said being a father helps make him a better politician.
Speaking to Virgin Radio, he said: “We’ve had a strategy in place and we’ll try to keep to it, which is to carve out really protected time for the kids, so on a Friday – I’ve been doing this for years – I will not do a work-related thing after six o’clock, pretty well come what may.
“There are a few exceptions, but that’s what we do.”
He said his son and daughter are his “pride and joy” and “I don’t want to lose that time”.
The Labour leader added: “I don’t believe in the theory that you are a better decision-maker if you don’t allow yourself the space to be a dad and to have time for your kids.
“Actually, it helps me, it takes me away from the pressure, it relaxes me, and I think, actually, not only is it what I want to do as a dad, it is better.”
In politics “some people think, if you fill your diary 24/7 and don’t do anything else, that makes you a much better decision-maker”.
“I don’t agree with that, I think you’ve got to make space, so we do it. “
James Cleverly has argued his party has “done the right thing” by the British people.
The Home Secretary was asked if Rishi Sunak has “given up” on the election - despite posting to social media following England’s Euro match: “It’s not over until it’s over.”
Responding, Cleverly told ITV: “The point the Prime Minister was making is that the choice of who runs the country from Friday onwards is still in the hands of the British people, they do not need to be dictated to by the opinion polls.
“As the Prime Minister is saying, we will campaign right until polls close. We will put forward the work that he and his team have done, bringing inflation down to 2 per cent.
He added: “We’ve got economic growth faster than any other country in the G7, wages growing faster than prices, unemployment remaining low, so we have, I think particularly in these last difficult couple of years, done the right thing by the British people and we are determined that if we are voted back in that we will continue to bring down their taxes, that we will continue to grow the economy, to attract investment into business.”
Labour will "distort" the political system to create a permanent majority, James Cleverly has claimed
PA
Labour will "distort" the political system to create a permanent majority, James Cleverly has claimed.
He warned that the General Election is not about giving the Tories a "bit of a telling off", denying that his party has "in effect forfeited the right to govern".
The Home Secretary told the BBC: "The reason that this is so important, is because Labour have already said they are going to gerrymander the system, they have said they’re going to pack out the House of Lords, they’ve said they’re going to get votes at 16, they’re going to get votes for foreign nationals, they’re probably going to get votes for criminals.
"They are determined to have a permanent Labour government and they are quite willing to distort the British political system to get that – that is what is at stake. This is not an election which is about giving the Conservatives a bit of a telling-off, and many people might think that is legitimate.
"This is about the next five years and beyond and Labour are going to put up taxes, that is inevitable because of the spending commitments they’ve already made, let alone the ones they’ve hidden from people.
"They have said they’re going to distort the political system and I think there’s a real risk, there is a genuine risk that they take a majority if that is what they get to try and lock in their power permanently because they don’t really feel confident that they’re going to be able to make a credible case to the British people at the next general election."
Labour frontbencher Steve Reed has handed out pillows to journalists at the start of the final week of the General Election campaign
PA
Labour frontbencher Steve Reed has handed out pillows to journalists at the start of the final week of the General Election campaign.
The pillows, printed with a mocked-up photo of Rishi Sunak in bed, were printed with the words: “Don’t wake up to five more years of the Tories”.
A Reform UK candidate has announced plans to suspend his campaign and endorse the Tories, blaming the move on a “failure of leadership” over behaviour within Reform.
He said this has led him to become “increasingly disillusioned”.
Liam Booth-Isherwood, who is standing in Erewash, said he would instead be endorsing the Tory contender Maggie Throup.
In a statement, he said: “I am today announcing my decision to leave the Reform Party and have suspended my campaign as the Reform candidate for Erewash with immediate effect.
“Over the past few weeks, I have been increasingly disillusioned with the behaviour and conduct of Reform.
“Whilst I have campaigned alongside many decent, honest and hardworking people during the course of the General Election campaign in Erewash, the reports of widespread racism and sexism in Reform have made clear that there is a significant moral issue within certain elements of the party, and the failure of the party’s leadership to not only take this matter seriously, but also to fundamentally address it, has made clear to me that this is no longer a party I want to be associated with.”
“As a result, I am announcing my endorsement of the Conservative Party candidate, Maggie Throup, for Erewash. Only she can stop Labour.”
Nigel Farage channelled Donald Trump at a rally in Birmingham yesterday, promising to "make Britain great again"
PA
Nigel Farage channelled Donald Trump at a rally in Birmingham yesterday, promising to "make Britain great again".
Reform UK's Birmingham rally yesterday saw Farage declare that the party is entirely opposed to racism, saying: "If anybody is motivated in this room by hatred for anyone who is different, I invite you to leave the room now".
He also concluded that the party will not form the next government, but said: "We will get seats – we will. Believe it, it is going to happen."
