General Election 2024 latest: Boris Johnson ‘to go on summer holiday’ rather than campaign for Tories

Labour frontbencher Anneliese Dodds has refused to rule out that the party could hold a summer Budget if they win the general election.

Asked the question during an interview on Sky News, Ms Dodds said: “Well, I’m going to have to say something before I answer that question, which is that barely any votes have been cast. Postal votes are only just starting to land now. So, you know, still lots of people who don’t know. We’re getting up and down the country to have that conversation with them.

“If we are given that chance to serve, the very first thing that we will do for our economy is that first economic step that Keir and Rachel set out before the general election was even called.”

Boris Johnson is set to go on holiday rather than join the Conservative campaign trail ahead of the general election, according to Tory sources.

The former prime minister, who turned 60 on Wednesday, is expected to go on his second summer holiday this year within the next few days and return on 3 July,The Times reported.

Despite endorsing 50 Tory candidates across the country, Johnson is no longer expected to join the Tories on the doorstep due to the party facing decimation in red wall seats he won in 2019.

UK Inflation dropped to 2% in May, which is down from 2.3% in April, returning to the official target set by the Bank of England.

It marks the first time inflation has been at the Bank of England’s target since July 2021, before the cost-of-living crisis saw inflation shoot up – at one stage hitting levels not seen for 40 years.

The good news are likely to give a pre-election boost to the Conservatives, with Rishi Sunak already declaring victory on inflation last month – even though inflation was always expected to fall sharply as rising energy and food costs subside.

But experts said it is unlikely to boost chances of an early summer interest rate cut.

Most economists believe the Bank of England will hold rates at 5.25% on Thursday, with the election denting hopes of a reduction before the nation head to the polls on July 4.

Investec economist Sandra Horsfield said: “Welcome though a return to target inflation would be, the MPC (Monetary Policy Committee) is unlikely to be fully satisfied should the numbers meet our expectations. In the (Bank’s) May Monetary Policy Report, the baseline forecast was for a 1.9% inflation rate. Nor it is clear that inflation will stay at 2% from now on – In fact, we expect a small rise again over the second half of the year.”

With just over two weeks to go to the polls, parties are entering the last sprint of the campaign trail.

Here’s what can we expect from today:

• Rishi Sunak will be answering calls from voters in an hour-long LBC morning phone-in.

• The SNP will unveil its manifesto in Edinburgh where John Swinney will appear alongside Patina activists.

• Sir Keir Starmer and shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves will visit a supermarket in Wiltshire.

• Daisy Cooper to unveil a new poster van in Jeremy Hunt’s Godalming and Ash constituency.

• Rochdale MP George Galloway is expected to launch his manifesto in Manchester.

• Cabinet wives Akshata Murty, Lucia Hunt and Susie Cleverly are campaigning with Lucy Frazer in Cambridgeshire.

• We’ll also learn the final number of people who have registered to vote.

• The Office for National Statistic will publish inflation figures.

Labour has spent over £2.4 million on social media ads since the general election campaign began, more than twice as much as the Tories.

Analysis by campaign spending non-profit Who Targets Me has found political parties spent more than £3.49 million on social media advertising since Rishi Sunak called the election on 22 May.

Around 70 per cent of that has been commissioned by Labour Party groups and candidates, including Sir Keir Starmer, Welsh Labour, and Rachel Reeves.

The UK will take to the polls on July 4 after prime minister Rishi Sunak called a snap general election at the end of May.

Speaking outside of Downing Street, the prime minister announced that King Charles had granted his request to dissolve Parliament and promised to “fight for every vote” in the run up to polling day.

The following weeks have seen fervent campaigning from all parties, as they vie for votes up and down the country. The Labour and Conservative ‘battlebuses’ are travelling far and wide to visit as many areas as possible, attempting to woo voters, and avoid gaffes along the way.

Nigel Farage has parked his tank firmly on Rishi Sunak’s lawn with a manifesto designed to win over disgruntled Tory supporters and an extraordinary prediction he will be prime minister after the 2029 election.

Launching Reform UK’s so-called “contract with the people”, the arch-Brexiteer appealed directly to right-wing voters with policies including a freeze on non-essential immigration, scrapping net zero targets and pulling Britain out of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

His controversial pledges came as one prospective candidate was forced to stand down over historical comments urging people to vote BNP, while another described Adolf Hitler as “brilliant”.