General election – latest:Tory MP defects to Labour as Starmer ‘dominant’ in poll

Rishi Sunak insisted he was not attempting to undermine the independence of the Bank of England with comments he made about low interest rates to the Times.

Asked about the remarks made in an interview with the newspaper, Mr Sunak told reporters: “No. I didn’t do that at all.

“What I said was the governor (Andrew Bailey) himself had said he was optimistic that we were heading in the right direction and I agree with him, because we are heading in the right direction.

“The best way for interest rates to come down, which is of course an independent decision made by the Bank of England, is that we get a grip of inflation.

“That is why I am pleased that inflation has come down from 11 per cent, effectively back to normal, just over 2 per cent, as part of an economic plan that is working.

“The economy is growing, wages are rising, energy bills are falling and that is why I am confident that if we stick to that plan, people can have confidence that there is a secure future ahead of us.”

She’s been called one of “Blair’s babies” – and, given Georgia Gould’s political pedigree, it’s not hard to see why.

How many other thirtysomethings can claim they were at Downing Street – waving a flag and wearing a “Things Can Only Get Better” T-shirt – when the former prime minister walked into No 10 in May 1997?

Or that they appeared, as a babe in arms, at a political rally in 1987 (the arms in question being those of Neil Kinnock)? Or that their closest ally and mentor is none other than Alastair Campbell, with whom they have holidayed since the age of five?

Sinn Fein has announced it will not run candidates in four constituencies in Northern Ireland in the General Election.

The party’s director of elections Conor Murphy said it would not be standing in East Belfast, North Down, South Belfast and Lagan Valley.

He said he was encouraging voters in those constituencies to back “progressive parties, who will reject Tory cuts and Tory pacts”.

Mr Murphy said: “We need every constituency fighting back against that and we have decided to give the best chance in those four constituencies to those progressive and inclusive candidates who can win.

“It was not an easy decision for Sinn Fein to make but we believe it is in the best interests of society here in the north.”

Labour has criticised the Government for allowing Army numbers to fall below its target figure for the first time.

Shadow defence secretary John Healey said “our forces can’t afford five more years of the Tories”, after Ministry of Defence (MoD) personnel statistics showed soldier numbers dropping below the 73,000 target.

The Government’s defence plans include reducing the size of the regular Army from a commitment of 82,000 troops to 73,000 by 2025 – down from 97,000 a decade ago.

A Tory parliamentary candidate has said “excrement” was put through the letterbox of her constituency office.

Katherine Fletcher, who is standing for re-election in South Ribble for the Conservatives, said the act was an “attempt to bully me”.

She added that a volunteer discovered the substance and police are looking into the matter.

In a video posted to X on Thursday, Ms Fletcher said: “Today the police are at my office because somebody has put excrement through the letterbox. One of my volunteers had to find that this morning.

“Now, I understand that women get more than their fair share in political environments, but this attempt to bully me will not work because it is not the decent or right thing to do. I’m working hard for South Ribble. I’ve delivered loads – I want the opportunity to do more. And so to the bully that did this: not the right person.”

A £31 million package to boost security measures for politicians – including providing MPs with a dedicated police safety liaison – was introduced by the Government in February.

It came amid heightened tensions caused by protests around the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza.

Justice minister Mike Freer, who is not standing at the General Election because of threats to his safety, said the extra cash was “not actually going to the root cause” of why people were targeting MPs.

Ms Fletcher, who served as transport minister and minister for women under Liz Truss in 2022, has represented the South Ribble constituency in Lancashire since 2019.

In a statement hitting out at Labour insiders, the former candidate claimed there had been numerous examples of how she had been singled out for unfair treatment.

The blocked Labour candidate has announced she will challenge the party’s decision to deselect her from the candidates list in the courts.

In a statement, she has accused Labour of “dragging her name through the mud” to satisfy a “factional agenda”.

She said: “This campaign of prejudice, bullying and spiteful behaviour has finally been rewarded by Labour’s NEC [national executive committee] and my name has been added to the list of those not welcome in the candidate club. And it is no surprise that many of those excluded are people of colour,” she said in a statement.

“I have come to the inescapable conclusion that Labour, far from being a broad church encompassing different views, has an ingrained culture of bullying, a palpable problem with black and brown people, and thinks nothing of dragging a person’s good name through the mud in pursuit of a factional agenda, with no thought of the impact on committed members’ mental health and wellbeing.”

Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour appeared to make a clear statement about the pro-Palestinian activists in his party, particularly on the far-left, with the selection for target seat Chingford and Woodford Green, The Independent’s political editor David Maddox reports.

The seat is currently being defended by former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith.

Last night, Muslim pro-Gaza leftwinger Faiza Shaheen was ditched as Labour’s candidate, having fought the seat in 2019.

Ms Shaheen had courted controversy by liking tweets that were anti-Israel and led to accusations of antisemitism.

Just 24 hours later, the party selected Shama Tatler, a member of the Jewish Labour Movement, which was attacked by supporters of former leader Jeremy Corbyn.

Currently, there are no Muslim Labour candidates in east London.