Election latest: 'Enormous increase' in postal votes - as Starmer faces questions over cabinet rumours (2024)

It's 5pm - time for your afternoon general election update as we enter the very final stretch of a fiery, six-week campaign.

Here's everything you need to know so far today:

• Sir Keir Starmer has been batting away Tory attacks about his ambition to keep spending Friday nights with his family if he becomes PM;
• He says it should be "blindingly obvious" those evenings are of particular importance given his wife's Jewish heritage, but he also just values having dedicated time for his children;
• Meanwhile, the Labour leader has refused to be drawn on whether his current shadow cabinet will automatically get the same roles in government should his party win the election.

• Rishi Sunak has spent plenty of his day attacking Sir Keir, but has also reiterated his problems with Nigel Farage's Reform UK;
• The prime minister said "appalling comments" made by some candidates and campaigners "speaks to the culture" in the party;
• It comes after Reform expressed its disappointment that another candidate, Georgie David, had stood down, citing concerns of racism and misogyny.

• Away from party politics, one of the key issues with just two days until polls open has been delays in the delivery of postal ballots;
• The head of the Electoral Commission has told Sky News the system has been "under quite a bit of pressure" due to an "enormous increase" in how many people are voting by post;
• But he reassured voters they can post their ballots as late as tomorrow and still expect their vote to be counted on Thursday night.

Don't forget, we've got Politics Hub With Sophy Ridge at 7pm.

On the show tonight are Tory minister Tom Pursglove and Labour's Alison McGovern, with ex-Tory adviser Jo Tanner and The Observer's chief lead writer Sonia Sodha on the panel.

Over the last 24 hours, the Tory party has been attacking Sir Keir Starmer for expressing a desire to spend Friday evenings with his family.

The father-of-two said he would continue to have "protected time for the kids" at the end of the week if he were to take over as PM on 5 July.

The Conservatives said he would be a "part-time prime minister", but Sir Keir has hit back, labelling the attacks "laughably pathetic".

He told reporters: "I do carve out Friday nights, as best I can, for Vic (his wife) and the kids and her dad as protected time.

"Her dad's side of the family is Jewish, as people will appreciate, and we use that for family prayers – not every Friday, but not infrequently.

"That doesn’t mean I’ve never had to work on a Friday, of course it doesn't - plenty of times I haven't been able to do it.

"But I've tried to protect that time. I'd like to try and protect it in the future, but I know very well, it's going to be really difficult to do it."

The Labour leader was also asked if he agrees with Lord John Mann, a Labour peer who was appointed antisemitism adviser by Theresa May, who said the comments from the Tory party are "dangerous" and "insidious from those aware" of the cultural significance of Friday evenings in the Jewish faith.

Sir Keir replied: "I would have thought, to anybody, it is blindingly obvious that the Friday night is quite important in some religions and faiths.

"But to be perfectly honest, it's also time that we want to spend as a family."

We've been reporting in recent days on delays in the delivery of postal ballots ahead of the election on Thursday.

Both the government and the Royal Mail have been trying to allay people's fears that they may not get their ballots in time, though some have had to resign themselves to not being able to vote as their ballots hadn't arrived before they went on holiday.

'Enormous increase' in postal votes

Vijay Rangarajan, chief executive at the Electoral Commission, the independent body which oversees elections, said he'd be "concerned if anyone was disenfranchised" as a result of delays.

He told Sky News there had been an "enormous increase" in people choosing postal voting this year - with some 6.7 million ballots having already been sent to voters, filled in and returned.

"That's more than at this stage of the 2019 election," he said.

Mr Rangarajan admitted the system "is under quite a lot of pressure", predicting the number of postal votes to reach as high as 10 million.

That's partly down to Rishi Sunak having called the election to coincide with school summer holidays in Scotland.

But he did seek to reassure people who want to vote by post and still haven't been able to.

"People can put them in the mail as late as tomorrow, the day before polling day," he said, and still be confident they'll be counted.

With the election just two days away, thoughts are starting to turn to who might be in a potential Starmer cabinet.

Some shadow cabinet members, such as shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves, are all but certain to be appointed if they win their seats and Labour win a majority on Thursday.

But rumours are swirling that David Lammy, who has been shadow foreign secretary since November 2021, may not be appointed to the top Foreign Office job.

Sir Keir Starmer was asked about those rumours by the BBC's Chris Mason, but the Labour leader refused to comment.

"I'm not naming a cabinet two days before the election, which isn't won," he said.

"We have to stay focused until 10pm on Thursday, because it will come down to quite narrow margins. The polls don't predict the future."

Certain constituencies are "very, very tight", he said, adding the party has to be "absolutely laser focused as we go into the last few days".

As Rishi Sunak said yesterday, the jobs of prime minister and England manager are similar in that just about everyone has an opinion on how you're doing it.

Sir Keir Starmer is no exception, it seems.

Speaking to the BBC, the Labour leader was asked what he made of a tactical switch made by Gareth Southgate during England's rather nervy 2-1 win over Slovakia at the Euros on Sunday.

The England boss moved Bukayo Saka, a star man for Sir Keir's Arsenal, from the right-hand side to the left to help make room for Chelsea's Cole Palmer.

Sir Keir, a keen footballer and Arsenal season ticket-holder, said seeing Saka play at left-back made him "very nervous".

"He actually did start in his early days at Arsenal playing as a left-back so you could see the logic in it," he admitted.

"But I think he's been one of the major outlets on the right."

England go up against Switzerland in the quarter-finals on Sunday.

Former DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson will face more sex offence charges when he appears in court tomorrow.

He is now being accused of a total of 18 offences.

He was facing 11 before.

His wife Lady Eleanor Donaldson is to face five charges, up from four.

Donaldson, 61, resigned as DUP leader after being charged in March.

Back then, he said he'll be "strenuously contesting" all charges.

Born in County Down in the 1960s, he was raised during the Troubles and has been a vocal campaigner for unionism.

He came to the fore after the UK left the EU for his opposition to the Northern Ireland Protocol - which he believed undermined Northern Ireland'splace in the United Kingdom.

One of our top stories today is the latest in a series of investigations by economics and data editor Ed Conway on how Russia continues to keep Western powers hooked on its gas supplies.

British firms are among those helping to keep Russian gas flowing into Europe, including an obscure company based in Glasgow.

You can read Ed's full report by tapping here.

We also asked Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer about it on the campaign trail earlier.

Referring to Ed's report, our political correspondent Serena Barker-Singh asked him about Europe's reliance on Russian gas imports - with UK companies facilitating the trade through insurance and ownership:

By Laura Bundock, news correspondent

Two days before the polls open and there is still a sizeable group of undecided voters on the Sky News YouGov panel.

With a last political push from the parties, the undecided votes could be critical this week.

That's because significantly more of this group backed the Conservatives in the 2019 election.

Among the former Tory voters on our panel, there is a split on who to vote for this time.

Some are switching to Labour.

"Even though Conservatives do seem like they have clear plans, their clear plans don't seem genuine anymore," said one voter.

You can read more from Sky News below:

By Mark Kleinman, City editor

The Conservative Party will on Wednesday unveil a letter signed by scores of small business-owners in a last-ditch bid to convince undecided voters that they can be trusted as the stewards of Britain's economy.

Sky News understands the Tories are planning to publish a letter signed by between 100 and 150 SME bosses that will argue that a Labour government would risk damaging their business.

Sources said the letter was expected to be released on Wednesday, the final day before Britain goes to the polls.

Neither the text of the letter nor the names of the signatories were clear on Tuesday.

Sir Keir Starmer has risked the wrath of the Tories by suggesting it's not just family he'll want to make time for if he becomes prime minister.

The Labour leader is a keen footballer and wants to keep it up.

"I'm determined to be able to play five-a-side," he told Times Radio.

"Whether I'll be able to play on a Sunday or not, I don't know.

"I suspect I'll be busy."

Sir Keir has already said he wants to keep Friday evenings free for time with his wife and children. He currently clocks off work at 6pm that day.

That ambition has drawn the ire of Conservative ministers, who've suggested it's a sign he won't take the job of PM seriously.

Sir Keir acknowledged he likely won't be able to play football "as regularly" should he end up in Number 10 on Friday.

But he said he was similarly determined to keep going to The Arsenal with his son and friends.

Sir Keir, like his predecessor Jeremy Corbyn, is a big Gunners fan.