General election latest: UK anti-migrant stance 'biggest economic threat' to Scotland, SNP leader claims (2024)

Hospital patients are "dying in corridors", nurses have warned as they declared a "national emergency" in the NHS.

Patients are regularly treated on chairs in corridors for extended periods of time - and sometimes even days, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has said.

They are also receiving cancer diagnoses in public areas, and may have to undergo intimate examinations there too, the union added.

A survey of almost 11,000 frontline nursing staff across the UK shows the practice has become widespread, the RCN said.

When asked about their most recent shift, almost two in five reported delivering care in an inappropriate area, such as a corridor.

Patient privacy and dignity had been compromised, almost seven in 10 said.

"You wouldn't treat a dog this way," one nurse said.

Read more here:

The Conservatives have vowed to change the Equality Act to ensure "biological sex" is a protected characteristic.

The party said reforming the law - which states that an individual must not be discriminated against on the basis of their sex - would clear up "confusion" among public bodies and institutions about access to female-only spaces.

The Tories said it would change the Act to clarify that "sex" meant "biological sex".

It said the shake-up would make it "simpler for service providers for women and girls, such as those running sessions for domestic abuse victims, to prevent biological males from taking part".

The party's latest general election promise came as it claimed that the current terms of the Equality Act, which came into force in 2010 after being passed by Labour, was outdated and had created uncertainty.

It could result in transgender women being barred from female-only spaces.

Read more here:

By Alexandra Rogers, political reporter

Sir Keir Starmer will put defence and national security at the heart of Labour's election pitch to voters during a visit to the North West on Monday.

Sir Keir will pledge Labour as the "party of national security" as he meets forces veterans and candidates.

He will also reaffirm the party's commitment to the so-called "nuclear deterrent triple lock", which includes a commitment to construct thefour new nuclear submarines in Barrow-in-Furness.

The Labour leader will also repeat his ambition to increase defence spending to 2.5% of gross domestic product (GDP) - a target Rishi Sunak hassaid he wants to meet by 2030- when economic conditions allow.

As well as the commitment to build four new submarines, under the "triple lock" Labour is also promising to maintain Britain's continuous at-sea deterrent and deliver all future upgrades needed for the submarines to patrol the waters.

Sir Keir's focus on defence is part of a wider strategy to convince voters that the party has changed from the days of Jeremy Corbyn's leadership.

Read more here:

Good morning!

It's officially the start of the second full week of the tooth-and-nail fight for all 650 parliamentary seats, and the keys to Number 10.

Political parties are spreading out across the country to get their message out ahead of polling day on 4 July.

Here's what you need to know as campaigning continues today:

• The Conservatives have unveiled a pledge to change the Equality Act to ensure "biological sex" is a protected characteristic to make it "simpler for service providers for women and girls, such as those running sessions for domestic abuse victims, to prevent biological males from taking part;
• He will be out campaigning today to promote this pledge and the rest of his platform to voters, and we expect to hear from him at some point in the day;
• Meanwhile,Sir Keir Starmer will put defence and national security at the heart of Labour's election pitch, reaffirming hisparty's commitment to the so-called "nuclear deterrent triple lock";
• He will be outmeeting with forces veterans at Labour candidates in the north east of England today, and we are expecting to hear from him this morning;
• The Liberal Democrats are announcing a pledge to expand marine protected areas and bring in a new Blue Flag status for rivers, which would set legally binding targets to prevent sewage dumping in those sites, protecting swimmers and wildlife;
• Their deputy leader Daisy Cooper will be out promoting the pledge this morning;
• The SNP,Reform UK, the Green Party, andPlaid Cymruleadership and candidates will be out campaigning and speaking to voters;
  
• This evening, the first TV debate of the election campaign will take place, with the leaders of the main Scottish parties appearing on STV to make their pitches to voters.

We'll be discussing all of this and more with:

• Kemi Badenoch, business secretary, at 7.15am;
• Luke Pollard, shadow armed forces minister, at 8.15am.

Stick with us for all the latest political news throughout the day.

It's just gone 8pm - here's what you need to know as the first full week of campaigning ends.

We're ending our live coverage here for today - but will be picking it up again in the morning.

Let us get you up to speed on everything you may have missed today…

• Diane Abbottsays she will stand and win as a Labour candidate in the election;
• Shadow home secretary Yvette Coopertold Sky News that Ms Abbott had not been offered a peerage in exchange for not standing as an MP;
• And on policy, Labour announced plans to reduce net migration - with Sir Keir accusing the Conservatives of having "repeatedly broken their promises" to get the number down;
• Shadow schools minister Catherine McKinnell said the party would use the forecasts to get net migration to 315,000 by 2028.

• The Conservative Party pledged to build 100 new GP surgeries if they get into power;
• Rishi Sunak was out campaigning in London;
• Health Secretary Victoria Atkins said Tory defectors had their 'own' reasons for leaving the party;
• And health minister Maria Caulfield said it wasn't the number of people on NHS waiting lists that mattered - but the length of time they spent on it.

• SNP leader John Swinney attacked Labour as he launched his party's general election campaign;
• He said immigration was important to Scotland - and views in the UK threatened that;
• Sky political correspondent Darren McCaffrey said the SNP faces losing several seats in the areas that were once Labour heartlands.

Here are a couple of other stories that may interest you:

Our essential political podcast,Politics At Jack And Sam's, is going out every week day through the election campaign to bring a short burst of everything you need to know about the day ahead as this election unfolds.

Tap here to follow Politics At Jack At Sam's wherever you get your podcasts.

A word cloud from pollsters More In Common, found that a lot of people think the general election campaign is "boring".

Ali asks our panel if they agree that it is the case (with a disclaimer that both are on a politics show on a Sunday night).

James Starkie, the former Home Office adviser, says he thinks it's partly to do with the parties' leaders.

He says that, even though Jeremy Corbyn wasn't charismatic, he was compelling.

And no-one would describe Boris Johnson as boring, Mr Starkie says.

But there is a fatigue in politics at the moment. Mr Starkie reckons a lot of people will only tune in for the last week or so of the election.

The New Statesman's Freddie Hayward says Rishi Sunak needs to avoid the mistakes he made with Liz Truss during public debates - where he came across as rude by interrupting.

He also spoke too quickly, Mr Hayward says.

Both leaders, he reckons, will be working with their teams ahead of the debates to make sure they're best prepared.

And with that, Ali ends the Politics Hub show.

Join us again tomorrow, when Sophy Ridge will be back at the helm.

By Tamara Cohen, political correspondent

As AI deepfakes cause havoc during other elections, experts warn the UK's politicians should be prepared.

"Just tell me what you had for breakfast", says Mike Narouei, of ControlAI, recording on his laptop. I speak for around 15 seconds, about my toast, coffee and journey to their offices.

Within seconds, I hear my own voice, saying something entirely different.

In this case, words I have written: "Deepfakes can be extremely realistic and have the ability to disrupt our politics and damage our trust in the democratic process."

We have used free software, it hasn't taken any advanced technical skills, and the whole thing has taken next to no time at all.

This is an audio deepfake - video ones take more effort to produce - and as well as being deployed by scammers of all kinds, there is deep concern, in a year with some two billion people going to the polls, in the US, India and dozens of other countries including the UK, about their impact on elections.

You can read more from Sky News below:

Our panel is now discussing the NHS.

James Starkie says that shadow health secretary Wes Streeting's pledge to reform the NHS has struck a chord with the public.

He says that it does need to be digitised drastically, among other things, and Mr Streeting has spoken about that.

But the devil is in the details, Mr Starkie says, and also the funding - which Labour has not set out its plans for.

Freddie Hayward, a political correspondent at the New Statesman, says it remains to be seen if Labour has the political capital to reform the NHS if they come into power.

He says the situation is tricky due to the party's inheritance - and there will be a swathe of issues if they come into power.

Maria Caulfield, the health minister, is now speaking to Ali about the NHS.

Ali asks about the NHS waiting lists - noting they doubled between 2010 and the pandemic.

Ms Caulfield says that "it's not how many people are on the waiting list that is the important factor".

She adds: "Because as we develop new treatments as we open up new services, as people get conditions that can be treated, waiting lists of course will grow".

What does matter, she says, is "how long" people wait.

People have gone from waiting two years this time last year, to an average of 16 to 18 weeks, Ms Caulfield claims.

Building new surgeries

Ms Caulfield is then asked about her party's pledge today to build 100 new GP surgeries and modernise another 150.

Ali points out that Boris Johnson pledged 40 new hospitals in 2019 - and it is predicted these will not be done by the 2030 deadline.

Ms Caulfield dismisses the concerns of the National Audit Office - and says the target remains 2030.

Back to our panel, and they are discussing migration.

James Starkie, the former Home Office adviser, says Labour adopting the OBR's forecast for net migration to fall to 315,000 by 2028 is important.

He says targets are "hostage to fortune" - as the Tories have found out.

But committing to the OBR's figures impacts how a government can forecast their tax income - and this was shown when Liz Truss had to accept large levels of immigration to fund her tax cuts.

Freddie Hayward says that cutting immigration will cost money - taking the example of employing UK people in the care sector costs more as wages are higher.

And that has to be funded from council budgets, who will look to central government for help.