Election latest: Final head-to-head of campaign looms for Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer (2024)

ByTim Baker, political reporter, in Nottingham

They say an army marches on its stomach - well journalists report on theirs.

The BBC has put on a sizeable spread of sandwiches, chocolate, crisps, fruit, soft drinks, hot drinks and water for the assembled members of the fourth estate.

The band of merry(ish) Conservative and Labour candidates despatched to Nottingham as spinners are weaving between tables, rubbing shoulders with hacks and eyeing up the dinner options.

A quick glance at the sandwich boxes and a supplementary Google provides welcome relief the producer is not one pinged for the recent E. coli outbreak.

In between crusts and co*kes the on-screen cohorts are darting out to the make-up room to have their game faces put on - and take advantage of the air-con.

But beware a bathroom break - the loos are two flights down and far from a quick dash.

With around an hour to kick-off, everyone is fuelling up and getting their match kit on.

You probably think you know the outcome of this election.

Rishi Sunak has all but given up - the only question is the size of Sir Keir Starmer's majority.But this evening I want to inject a bit of jeopardy.​

At the last election, in 2019, a full quarter of voters said they made up their minds who to vote for in the last few days.

Around of a half of those said they decided on election day itself, according to research by Lord Ashcroft.

And actually I find it quite believable.. the whole experience of going into the voting booth, your pen hovering over the boxes, and thinking oh go oh, I'll vote for them.

Whether it’s because they’ve been lukewarm about all the candidates… or just because they haven't engaged until the end of the campaign… there are an awful lot of last minute switchers.

Which means it's never actually over, until it's over.And that’s why tonight, matters.

Rishi Sunak versus Keir Starmer… in the final head to head debate before polling day.

We'll be bringing you all the build up before the big fight.

Our weeknight politics showPolitics Hub With Sophy Ridgeis live on Sky News now, as we gear up for the final leaders' debate of the general election campaign.

The fast-paced programme dissects the inner workings of Westminster, with interviews, insights, and analysis - bringing you, the audience, into the corridors of power.

Sophy and Ali Fortescue will be joined tonight by Home Secretary James Cleverly, live from the spin room in Nottingham.

Also on the show is Labour frontbencher Bridget Phillipson, the shadow education secretary.

In any election campaign, a lot of attention shifts to undecided voters.

As this campaign moves into its final week, Niall Paterson looks at how the election date betting scandal is cutting through to those who are still wondering who to support - and those who could change their mind.

He speaks to political correspondent Darren McCaffrey who has spent the campaign covering the Conservatives and to pollster Luke Tryl, from More InCommon UK, about how this scandal has comparedto other moments of the election.

👉Click to subscribe to the Sky News Daily wherever you get your podcasts👈

ByTim Baker, political reporter, in Nottingham

Someone with a sense of humour clearly decided the location of tonight's debate.

It is coming from the Newton and Arkwright buildings of Nottingham Trent University.

It goes without saying the huge gravity of a prime ministerial debate holds - paying tribute to Sir Isaac and his falling apples.

But the lesser known Richard Arkwright provides his own nominative determinism to proceedings.

For the spin room in which journalists and politicians are watching the debate is in a building bearing the name of the champion of the spinning frame.

The machine was a key part of the industrial revolution - and Mr Arkwright drove its development.

More than 200 years since the industrialist died, allies of Sir Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak will be trying to spin their own yarns as they weave the narrative to suit their preferred candidate.

Our weeknight politics showPolitics Hub With Sophy Ridgewill be live on Sky News at 7pm, as we gear up for the final leaders' debate of the general election campaign.

The fast-paced programme dissects the inner workings of Westminster, with interviews, insights, and analysis - bringing you, the audience, into the corridors of power.

Sophy and Ali Fortescue will be joined tonight by Home Secretary James Cleverly, live from the spin room in Nottingham.

Also on the show is Labour frontbencher Bridget Phillipson, the shadow education secretary.

By Tim Baker, political reporter, in Nottingham

With eight days to go until polling day, Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer are preparing for the final head-to-head event of the campaign.

They'll be taking the stage at Nottingham Trent University in a BBC debate chaired today's sheriff, Mishal Hussain.

According to the weather apps, it's around 27 degrees here in the East Midlands.

But here in the spin room, lights, gossiping journalists and the pressure of a general election are all raising the temperature.

It will surely be the same for both party leaders.

Labour still lead by 20 points, and the Conservatives still seem on course for electoral wipe-out.

As the last contest between the two men vying to be prime minister, could we see something different from the other events which have been fairly matched?

We'll keep you up to date as it happens...

Continuing his conversation with our political editor Beth Rigby, Home Secretary James Cleverly was asked if he would consider running for the Tory leadership.

He had previously said that leader of the opposition is not a job any politician should aspire to - does he still agree?

Mr Cleverly said: "Leader of the opposition, by definition, means you're planning for a defeat. And that's not what I do.

"That's not what any Conservative candidate should do at this general election.

"We should work for a victory. We should work to take our message to the voters. We should work for every vote."

Pressed again on whether he would consider running for the leadership should the Conservatives lose the election, and Rishi Sunak stand aside, Mr Cleverly dodged the question.

He said: "My focus is on making sure that I'm returned as the Conservative MP for Braintree.

"Our focus should be winning the election. And that and that is where my focus is."

Home Secretary James Cleverly today said he is angry that the general election campaign has been overshadowed by the election betting scandal.

Speaking to our political editor Beth Rigby, Mr Cleverly said "of course" he was angry about the scandal - because "we only do interviews" focused on the situation.

He said that, instead, he wants to "talk about the choice at this general election between a high taxing Labour Party and a lower taxing Conservative Party".

Mr Cleverly added: "The prime minister has made it clear right from the start that he was furious about this. We said we would let the Gambling Commission do its investigation.

"We wouldn't comment on that. We've looked at it internally.

"We've made the decision that we have removed support for the Conservative candidates involved. And the prime minister is clear.

"I am clear that when you enter public service, it's about serving the public. That's why he was so angry about it."

The home secretary added that "the standards that we set our candidates are clear and unambiguous, and they have fallen short of that.".

"That's why we've taken action."

The Conservative Party has withdrawn support for two candidates over allegations they were involved in placing bets on the date of the general election - with inside knowledge.

Pledges and promises are coming thick and fast from every party as the general election approaches.

Struggling to keep up with who is saying what?

Here is a summary of where the main parties stand on major issues.

For a more in-depth look at what each party has pledged, scour ourmanifesto checker...