General election latest: Greens make election pitch as Starmer denies PM caught him out (2024)

While other party leaders have been giving speeches - Sir Ed Davey has been having a bit more fun.

The Lib Dem leader went to Frome in Somerset where he went down a Slip N Slide with his party's candidate in the constituency.

More seriously, Sir Ed is unveiling his party's plans to for a mental health professional to work in every school, as data shows that 336,886 children are on mental health waiting lists.

Watch Sir Ed on the slide here:

By Tomos Evans, Wales reporter

Plaid Cymru has said "no more to ignoring Wales at Westminster" as the party launched its general election campaign.

The pro-Welsh independence party's leader, Rhun ap Iorwerth, said it was "time to kick the Conservatives out of power”"

But he also said Labour - who are in government in Wales - had taken the country "for granted".

"For too long, Wales has been overlooked at Westminster," told supporters at the launch in Bangor.

"Plaid Cymru says no more to austerity. Plaid Cymru says no more to empty promises.

"Plaid Cymru says no more to narrow-minded nostalgia and we say no more to ignoring Wales at Westminster."

The leader was joined by Liz Saville Roberts, the Dwyfor Meirionnydd candidate, and Llinos Medi who is standing for the party in Ynys Mon.

He said Plaid Cymru would "fight for Wales, day in, day out" and would offer a "real Welsh alternative".

Mr ap Iorwerth claimed Wales's voice at Westminster was being "diluted" after the number of Welsh constituencies was reduced from 40 to 32.

"We will not allow Plaid Cymru's voice to be silenced," he added.

"The message is clear, if you do want change, and goodness knows I do, think about how best to bring about that change."

Labour's "safety first" campaign has been overshadowed by "internal wrangling" about which candidates will be able to run in the election, says our political correspondent Tamara Cohen.

A public war of words over Diane Abbott's status as a potential candidate also remains unresolved, she says.

While it's "par for the course in politics" for certain candidates to be favoured by a party leadership, Labour has "gone further" with Ms Abbott, who is one of its best-known politicians and the first black woman MP, she says.

Other left-wing candidates "closer to Jeremy Corbyn's politics" being told they can't run "has seemed to many Labour MPs to increase the self-inflicted wound of having this battle over Diane Abbott", Cohen says.

The battle, which looks like it won't be resolved until next week, is "still very much on" despite Sir Keir Starmer's "warmer tone" towards her today, she adds.

After his campaign launch in Wales, Sir Keir Starmer spoke to broadcasters, and was asked if he is blocking left-wing candidates from standing.

It comes after an Lloyd Russell-Moyle, who was poised to content Brighton Kemptown, was suspended from the party last night following a complaint.

Faiza Shaheen, a candidate selected by local members in Chingford and Wood Green has also been removed by the National Executive committee.

And there continues to be uncertainty about the future of Diane Abbott.

The Labour leader replied: "No. I've said repeatedly over the last two years... that I want the highest quality candidates - that's been the position for a very long time."

On Ms Abbott, he repeated that "no decision has been taken to bar her".

He praised her as a "trailblazer" who overcame "incredible challenges" and "carved out the path for others to come into politics".

"And she did all that whilst being one of the most abused MPs across all political parties."

Green Party co-leaders Carla Denyer and Adrian Ramsay are speaking at the party's campaign launch, taking place in Bristol.

Ms Denyer welcomes the election being called, declaring the party is "ready" and "excited" for the campaign.

She tells the gathered activists: "We've got something to offer that no other party has - real hope and real change."

Mr Ramsay says the election is "historic" because the polling is "clear" that the Tories are going to lose, and hits out at the "chaotic and disruptive" governance of the last few years.

Ms Denyer also hits out at Labour, say people are "not offering that change", and are "disappointed by the way Starmer has backtracked on his promises of green investment, his weak offer on housing", and "more privatisation" of the NHS.

"Labour is failing to offer the real change needed," she argues.

"We have the practical solutions to the cost of living crisis, building new affordable homes, protecting our NHS from creeping privatisation, and cleaning up our toxic rivers and seas.

"That's why it's so important that when Labour form the next government, they are pushed beyond the timid change they are offering."

Mr Ramsay says their goal is to "elect at least four Green MPs" at this election - up from just one.

They start unveiling their key pledges, including pushing for reform of the tax system, building homes "for the right price in the right place", cleaning up the UK's waterways, ensuring a strong NHS, and stopping the "backsliding" on tackling the climate crisis.

Ms Denyer says voters are "excited that they have a genuine choice", saying the "incremental change Labour have put on the table just isn't going to cut it to get this country back on track".

The Green Party campaign launch is also under way this morning in Bristol.

Caroline Lucas, who is making a speech at the launch, calls it the most "ambitious campaign ever".

She says it was the "privilege of my life" to have been elected four times as a Green Party MP for Brighton Pavilion.

Ms Lucas says the election will see the Conservatives "shown the door" by voters.

"We think this is good news," she says, adding: "But what would be even better news would be that when a Labour government is formed, that government was pushed to be bolder and braver on everything from housing to the NHS to the accelerating climate crisis."

"That would happen by having more Green MPs in parliament," she says, saying the party is offering "bolder politics" and "real change".

Sir Keir Starmer has just delivered a speech in Monmouthshire in South Wales to launch Labour's general election campaign.

Here is what he said, as he said it (this post was updated live):

• The Labour leader opens by praising a voter who spoke just before him who is switching from the Tories to Labour, saying it "vindicates" the work of the last four years;
• He says "Wales has been waiting for this general election for a very, very long time", and as has the Labour Party;
• He rejects the notion that Sunak was laying an "ambush" by calling the vote early, and says: "He didn't catch us";
• Sir Keir reiterates his message of "change" and "national renewal", and appeals to families and businesses who are struggling to "rebuild Wales" and the whole country by voting Labour;
• He turns to Port Talbot where thousands of workers are facing the prospect of job losses in the steel industry, telling Rishi Sunak: "Go and look those people in the eyes, as I've done, and you'll see their anxiety about the damage that's being done by a government that doesn't have a plan, that's too divided";
• "I will fight for every single job that they have there, and the future of steel here in Wales," he declares;
• "Imagine what could be delivered in Wales" with Labour governments in the Senedd and in Westminster, he says;
• Sir Keir acknowledges that achieving his missions will be "difficult", but argues that he has done "difficult" work in previous roles, and says Labour "will never shy away" from the work that's needed, discussing at lengthhis "first steps for change";
• In closing, Sir Keir says this is "a change election where we can stop the chaos and division, we can turn the page and rebuild Wales and the United Kingdom together".

Shadow Welsh secretary Jo Stevens is next to take the stage.

She says she is "hugely proud" to be in the position, and adds that Labour is "back in the service of working people".

Wales is "brimming with potential" and punches "way above [its] weight" in culture and sport, she says.

She then jokes that "unlike Rishi Sunak" she knows who is playing in the Euros this year- referencing a gaffe by the prime minister last week in which he asked Welsh voters if they will watch the football tournament, even though Wales did not qualify.

Ms Stevens says her country has been held back by "14 years of chaos and incompetence" at the hands of the Tory government.

She says Labour's first steps, which the party is launching today, are the "antidote".

"If you want to see the economy grow after years of stagnation, if you're struggling to pay for your food and your energy bills, if you want an NHS that is fit for the future and opportunities for your children, if you want safe streets and secure borders, then our changed Labour party is proudly for you," she says.

There is now a "once in a generation opportunity" to deliver a Labour government "at both ends of the M4," she says, calling it "the prize we fight for".

Next to speak at Labour's Welsh campaign launch is the shadow foreign secretary, David Lammy.

He tells the gathered activists: "The first time I ever left the inner-city constituency of Tottenham, I was nine years old, and it was Wales that I came to.

"I can't convey how wonderful it is to be here again with Keir Starmer and Vaughan Gething - it means a lot."

Mr Lammy says Britain and the world face the same challenges, visible through "organised crime gangs that exploit the vulnerable" in Wales, across the UK, and across Europe.

"The numbers of people crossing the Channel on small boats has surged under the Tories, while tens of thousands remain in asylum hotels, permanently in limbo with no prospect of removal due to the government's failed illegal migration bill."

The shadow foreign secretary explains that the level of illegal migration "takes more than £3bn off our overseas aid budget, which would stop them coming in the first place".

He describes the Rwanda scheme as a "shameless gimmick" - something which is greeted by applause from the audience.

"This will never, ever deter organised crime," he declares, and makes the case that only Sir Keir Starmer and the shadow home secretary, Yvette Cooper, "have a plan to smash the gangs and prosecute serious organised crime".

"Labour will stop the chaos, bust the backlogs, and rebuild our broken asylum system," he declares, touting Labour's plan to create a new Border Security Command and end hotel use.

Mr Lammy praises the achievements of the Welsh Labour government, and says much more could be done with a Labour government in Westminster.

Welsh First Minister Vaughan Gething is greeted with applause as he takes to the stage.

The Welsh Labour leader, who is facing a Conservative-tabled motion of no confidence in the Senedd next week, says "this is the moment we have been waiting for".

The 4 July election represents a moment where "we can unleash Wales's full potential," he says.

Mr Gething says it is "a moment when hope and history rhyme, and the UK can once again be led by a prime minister and a party that believes in public service".

He criticises what he calls 14 years of "economic vandalism" and "chaos" under the Conservative Party, saying the Tories have "treated politics as a game" rather than "a route to opportunity hope and security".

"Rishi Sunak and the Tories will never stand up for Wales," he tells the crowd.

He says the Tories have blocked Welsh Labour from delivering change "at every turn over the last 14 years".

Mr Gething then lays out six policies introduced by Labour to make Wales a "stronger, greener and fairer country" - including protecting free prescriptions and rolling out universal free school meals.

"Just imagine how much more we could achieve with Keir and a UK Labour government," he says.

"More chaos with the Tories, or a new start with Labour."