Election latest: Sunak and Starmer to take part in Sky News leaders' special next week (2024)

The Welsh first minister, Vaughan Gething, has lost a vote of confidence in his leadership in the Senedd.

29 members of the Senedd voted in favour of the motion of no confidence, while 27 voted against.

The motion of no confidence had been put forward by the Conservatives, the largest opposition group in the Senedd (Welsh parliament).

Despite losing, Mr Gething will not automatically have to step down as the vote is not binding, but it will put further pressure on the embattled leader.

Vaughan Gething has only been first minister since March, but in that time he hasfaced questions over a controversial £200k donationto his leadership campaign from a man convicted of environmental offences.

Mr Gething said the donations had been made in line with party protocols and has refused calls to return the money.

He also faced accusations he misled theCOVID Inquiryover deleted messages andsacked one of his ministersfor allegedly leaking information to the media.

Plaid Cymru then withdrew from a cooperation deal they had with the Labour government in which the party lent its support on dozens of key policy areas.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has given his backing to the party's leader in Wales, telling reporters on the campaign trail Mr Gething was doing a "good job".

By Tomos Evans, Wales reporter

Wales' first minister Vaughan Gething says he has "made and will continue to make mistakes".

He was responding to a motion of no confidence laid down by the Welsh Conservatives – the largest opposition party in the Senedd (Welsh parliament).

"It does hurt deeply when my intentions are questioned," he said.

"I will not shy away from scrutiny and challenge."

He said the refusal to pair with absent Labour members "reflects poorly on opposition parties".

Mr Gething challenged the opposition to table a binding motion of confidence in his government.

"If they want a confidence motion, then table one properly in line with the standing orders," he said.

"I will continue to put Wales first."

The vote has been deferred until the voting time, expected to take place at around 6pm.

Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer have agreed to take part in The Battle For Number 10, a Sky News election leaders' special event, on Wednesday 12 June.

The two men vying for the keys to Downing Street will travel to Grimsby for the event, which will be broadcast live on Sky News.

They will look to pitch to voters in an in-depth interview before answering questions from the audience

It will be the second televised event with the two party leaders, coming halfway through the general election campaign, just three weeks ahead of polls opening.

A Conservative Party spokesperson said: "Rishi Sunak looks forward to taking part in Sky News' leaders event next week.

"We hope that Sky will continue to work with the Labour Party to find a way to ensure both leaders are on stage taking questions from the live audience at the same time for at least part of the programme.

"And we hope that Keir Starmer can find the courage to agree.

"This would provide the best possible opportunity for voters to see the clear choice at this election."

Sky News has beenregularly reporting from themarginal constituency of Grimsby and Cleethorpesover recent months on the key issues facing voters.

Grimsby turned Conservative at the 2019 general election for the first time since the Second World War, with many feeling a cultural rift with the Labour Party.

As a result of the boundary changes at this general election, the constituency has now been combined with Cleethorpes, which the Tories have held since 2010 - although support for them has dropped.

Cleethorpes has been a bellwether seat since its formation in 1997, backing the largest party in Westminster.

It contains both a rural conservative base, as well as urban voters who have been drawn by Tory promises of Brexit and levelling up.

The complex make-up of the new constituency means it is shaping up to be a key battleground, which will be fought over by both main parties.

ByTomos Evans, Wales reporter

The confidence motion in the first minister of Wales is "disrespectful" to veterans, a Labour member of the Senedd has said.

"My father was involved in the D-Day landing," Joyce Watson said.

"You have prevented people like me being represented by the first minister down in Portsmouth."

She said her father would have thought the motion "disrespectful to all veterans, to all armed service personnel".

"I will never forgive you for doing what you've done on this day, today."

As we've been reporting in the last half hour, the Welsh parliament is holding a confidence vote in the country's first minister.

Labour's Vaughan Gething - who has only been in post for seven weeks - has been seen in tears as opposition parties debate his future.

He broke down as Labour chair Vikki Howells paid tribute to him.

The vote was called after concerns were raised about a £200k donation to his leadership campaign from a company owned by a man previously convicted of environmental offences.

Opposition party members have also accused Mr Gething of misleading the COVID Inquiry over deleted messages.

And Plaid Cymru withdrew from a cooperation deal it had with Labour.

The motion of no confidence was tabled by the Welsh Conservatives.

A debate is under way on the Senedd ahead of a vote of confidence in the Welsh first minister, Vaughan Gething (see previous post).

Sir Keir Starmer was asked by broadcasters if Mr Gething - who is the leader of Welsh Labour - should resign if he loses the vote.

But the national Labour leader did not answer the question, instead labelling the vote "game-playing by the Conservatives, with [another party] Plaid [Cymru] playing along as well".

"What Vaughan Gething wants to do is to deliver for the people of Wales. And I think people in Wales want him to deliver for them. So that's where his priority is and that's where my priority is."

By Tomos Evans, Wales reporter

Senedd members have begun debating a motion of confidence in First Minister Vaughan Gething.

Introducing the motion tabled by his party, Welsh Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies said it was "not a gimmick".

"This was talked of prior to the general election," he said.

"It is about judgement, honesty, and transparency."

Leader of Plaid Cymru, the pro-independence party, denied the motion was "tribal party politics".

"We must be different to Westminster, not only in words but in deeds too," he said.

"Today, we, these benches, are acting in what we firmly believe in the interests of the people of Wales."

But chair of the Welsh Labour group in the Senedd, Vikki Howells, said the motion was "politics at its worst" and was a "cynical Tory gimmick".

"With the Tory party tanking in the polls...it's no wonder that they will do anything, anything at all to try and shift the spotlight from their own record of abject failure," she said.

Faiza Shaheen, who was deselected as the Labour candidate forChingford and Woodford Green, has announced that she will still stand at the general election - but as an independent.

She was selected by local party members to be their candidate, but on Tuesday last week, the party's ruling National Executive Committee confirmed they would not be endorsing the economist and author.

It came after she allegedly liked a series of social media posts that downplayed antisemitism accusations.

Brent councillor Shama Tatler was chosen instead.

Ms Shaheen resigned her Labour Party membership yesterday, accusing the party of a "hierarchy of racism", and saying she had been "penalised for describing my experiences of Islamophobia".

Announcing her bid to stand as an independent, she said she "reached this decision following hundreds of messages from people in my community, who say there are no options left for them".

She said voters "feel disenfranchised by Labour's decision to remove me and feel it would be impossible for the party to win here without a local candidate".

She claimed that "many local people think Labour has handed a winnable seat to the Conservatives for another five years", and she wants to "show that there is a progressive alternative to both parties".

Ms Shaheen stood for the Labour Party at the last election in 2019, and she came second to Tory heavyweight Sir Iain Duncan Smith, losing to him by just over 1,000 votes.

The other candidates standing in the seat are:

• Chris Brody, Green Party;
• Josh Hadley, Liberal Democrats;
• Yousaff Khan, Workers Party of Britain;
• Paul Luggeri, Reform UK;
• Iain Duncan Smith, Conservative Party.
  

A huge row has broken out since last night's debate about Rishi Sunak's claim that Labour will raise everyone's taxes by £2,000 comes from a "dossier".

While many experts - including Sky's economics and data editor Ed Conway - say the claim is dubious, the Tories are 100% behind the figure.

Meanwhile, Labour has been saying the Tory plan to get rid of national insurance will cost £46bn and is unfunded - but the PM and chancellor insist it is only an ambition, not a pledge for the next parliament.

So, Sir Keir Starmer was asked by Sky News political correspondent Serena Barker-Singh if this is becoming a dirty campaign, with both leaders using similar tactics.

The Labour leader stood by his position, saying: "The chancellor of the exchequer has said abolishing national insurance is their policy - his words."

He went on: "By contrast, all of Labour's plans are fully costed, fully funded. They don't involve tax rises for working people."

'The PM lied about our plans'

Moving to last night's debate, Sir Keir said voters saw "a bright light on the character of the prime minister" because "when his back was against the wall" he "lied" and "knew he was lying".

The Labour leader added he does not make that accusation "lightly", but said: "He lied about our plans, he lied about the boats, and he lied about waiting lists.

"That's why the choice at this election is even more stark today than it was yesterday."

Pushed by Serena on if he wants the tone of the debate to be calling each other liars, Sir Keir said: "No, I don't. I want the whole campaign to be conducted without lies.

"I think that's a question that really needs to be put to the prime minister."