Key points
- Leaders ramp up attacks as final days of campaigning begin
- Minister criticises 'celebrating' of Banksy migrant boat inflatable
- Labour: It's not over until the final whistle blows
- Ed Conway: The science and security of the exit poll
- Polls open in three days on Thursday
- Live reporting by Faith Ridler
Election essentials
- Manifesto pledges:Conservatives|Greens|Labour|Lib Dems|Plaid|Reform|SNP
- Trackers:Who's leading polls?|Is PM keeping promises?
- Campaign Heritage:Memorable moments from elections gone by
- Follow Sky's politics podcasts:Electoral Dysfunction|Politics At Jack And Sam's
- Read more:Who is standing down?|Key seats to watch|What counts as voter ID?|Check if your constituency is changing|Guide to election lingo
- How to watch election on Sky News
Starmer: My track record as a leader is clear
Taking questions from the media, Sir Keir Starmer is asked by our political editor Beth Rigby whether he worries about his own popularity if he enters Number 10.
Is he worried that his mandate could be wide - but shallow?
The Labour leader says he "stands by" his record.
He adds: "I stand on my record - four and a half years ago when I took over as leader of the Labour Party I got similar questions.
"Which is - your party has lost really badly, it may never win an election again... are you capable as leader of the Labour Party of pulling it around and seriously putting it before the electorate as a credible force for change.
"And I said yes."
He says Labour is a changed party, claiming his "track record as a leader is clear".
Beth comes back, asking if a pillow handed out to journalists by the Labour Party today is what he sleeps on at night.
The pillows are printed with a mocked-up photo of the prime minister in bed and the words "Don't wake up to five more years of the Tories".
Sir Keir laughs: "No."
He goes on to say: "A very, very good pillow for us to have across the country."
Starmer: 'We have one job - to make this a summer of change'
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer is in Hertfordshire today, where he is addressing those gathered at a campaign event.
He says: "We have one job - which is to make this a summer of change."
The Labour leader says the Labour campaign, this "fight for change", is for the people of the UK - but "change only happens if you vote for it".
"This is the final mile, these are the last hard yards - but the last steps are always the hardest," Sir Keir adds.
"We have to remember that people need convincing, there are undecided voters out there.
"We need to convince people that change is possible."
Sir Keir was joined by Alistair Strathern, the Labour candidate for Hitchin.
The Labour leader says: "The choice is stark, the prize is huge in terms of taking our country forward - but it will only happen if you vote for it."
The other candidates for Hitchin are:
- Bim Afolami, Conservative Party
- Charles Bunker, Reform UK
- Chris Lucas, Liberal Democrats
- Sid Cordle, Christian People's Alliance
- Will Lavin, Green Party
Another stunt, Sir Ed? Lib Dem leader bungee jumps on final week of campaign
Sir Ed Davey has continued his out-of-the-box campaigning by bungee-jumping from a crane this morning.
The Liberal Democrat leader has helped raise the party's profile by taking part in a series of stunts - including falling off his paddle board and riding on a roller coaster.
Interestingly, Henry Morris, who runs the Secret Tory parody X account, posted weeks ago predicting this very stunt...
You can see how the polls are looking ahead of the election here...
Green MPs would 'push Labour to be bolder', says co-leader
Adrian Ramsay, the co-leader of the Green Party, says his MPs would "push" a potential Labour government "to be bolder" on climate.
He says the party is expecting a "record" result at the election on 4 July.
Mr Ramsay adds: "We are on track to having a Labour government with a big majority.
"Well, rather than adding to that majority further or electing another Conservative MP to add to their numbers, it would make a far bigger difference if people elect green MPs who can bring diversity of views into this next parliament."
The party co-leader insists that this would push the next government "to be bolder".
He says the Greens would "move Keir Starmer beyond the U-turns he's been making on climate and on funding for public services".
"And that's why we're on track to having a record green result of this election."
Five things the main parties aren't talking about this election
The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) says there's a conspiracy of silence at this election - that all of the major political parties aren't being honest enough about their fiscal plans.
And it has a point. Most obviously (and this is the main thing the IFS is complaining about) none of the major manifestos - fromLabour, theLiberal Democratsand theConservativeparties - have been clear about how they will fill an impending black hole in the government's spending plans.
No need to go into all the gritty details, but the overarching point is that all government spending plans include some broad assumptions about how much spending (and for that matter, taxes and economic growth) will grow in the coming years. Economists call this the "baseline".
But there's a problem with this baseline - it assumes quite a slow increase in overall government spending in the next four years, an average of about 1 per cent a year after accounting for inflation.
Politics at Jack and Sam's: Election week begins
Sky News' deputy political editor Sam Coates and Politico's Jack Blanchard with their guide to the election day ahead.
This is day 40 of the campaign. Jack and Sam look at where the parties are now as the election approaches,with Labour’s attack ads and the Conservatives pushing back against Reform UK. Plus, the reaction to the first round of the French elections which has seen the far-right make significant headway.
Email Jack and Sam: jackandsam@sky.uk
👉Tap here to follow Politics at Jack and Sam's wherever you get your podcasts👈
Labour: It's not over until the final whistle blows
Jonathan Ashworth, the shadow paymaster general, has insisted that the election isn't over until "the final whistle blows" as politicians gear up for polling day.
Labour has consistently been 20 points ahead of the Conservatives throughout the six-week campaign, with all pollsters pointing to a victory on Thursday.
But despite this, the party has continued to emphasise that it will fight for every vote.
Mr Ashworth said: "There's an election on Thursday, and if people want to bring an end to the chaos, to the scandals from the party in Number 10 to the insider gambling scandals, if people have had enough of being stuck on an NHS waiting list, if people who've had enough of having their family finances hammered and pay more on their mortgage, they've got to come out and vote Labour.
"Don't wake up, don't switch on Sky News on Friday morning and hear that Rishi Sunak has been re-elected.
"If you don't want that, we don't want that feeling in the pit of your stomach."
He does on to explain that there are still "a lot of undecided voters".
"But let me give you some meat," Mr Ashworth adds.
"We're going to deliver 40,000 extra appointments in the National Health Service.
"We are going to help young people get on the housing ladder by significant reforms to planning."
Which party is spending the most on online political ads in your constituency?
By Tom Cheshire, online campaign correspondent
If you want a good idea of what matters to each party - its deepest desires, its darkest fears - look at where it's spending money.
What it shows is a story of Labour spending big and spending everywhere, as it pursues a plausible supermajority, while the Conservatives retreat to fight for some of their heartland constituencies, and spend much less.
It shows the current state of play for all parties across the country. The map shows which is the biggest spender in each constituency - which parts of the country they're fighting to win, or not to lose.
The map was created by Who Targets Me (WTM), which tracks digital political advertising and has partnered with Sky News as part of our online campaign team.
"Our map of advertising activity shows where the parties have targeted their Facebook and Instagram ads in the last week," Sam Jeffers, executive director of WTM, says.
'Don't wake up to five more years of the Tories'
Steve Reed, the shadow environment secretary, just handed out pillows to journalists on the Labour campaign bus - emblazoned with Rishi Sunak's face.
The pillows are printed with a mocked-up photo of the prime minister in bed and the words "Don't wake up to five more years of the Tories".
'Dark days' of cost of living crisis are still here for this family - and this is what it means for their vote
By Nick Martin, people and politics correspondent
"We eat according to price rather than enjoyment," Sarah Bowmer tells me when we meet on the high street of her hometown of Bakewell, Derbyshire.
It's a sunny day and the tourists have flocked to this picturesque market town in the heart of the Peak District.
Day-trippers wander around the souvenir shop and queues have formed to buy the famous Bakewell pudding, which has made this town famous since the 1820s.
But Sarah isn't feeling it.
Food prices are still 25% more expensive than when I first met Sarah and Paul in 2022. She calls that period the "dark days".
