Election – live: Nigel Farage faces laughter as he is told he uses ‘slew of racists’

Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch has said prospective Reform UK voters are “good people” who “don’t know who they’re voting for” as she addressed former Tory voters less than a week before the General Election.

Ms Badenoch, who is running for re-election in the redrawn North West Essex seat, told The Times she still believed the Tories could win the election but it was “going to be a hell of a fight”.

She said: “What I am asking those people who are Reform voters, or considering voting Reform, is that you are good people, I know that you feel some disappointment with our party, but don’t let these people who claim to be like you get in.

“They are not like you all. They are a totally different thing.”

Ms Badenoch continued: “I really want Reform voters to know that we’ve heard you. We understand. But you need to come back to the Conservative Party.”

Shadow defence secretary John Healey said Nigel Farage needed to “get a grip of his own party” and tackle racist and homophobic activists within Reform UK.

He told Sky News: “To some extent, I see him fuelling a row over this Channel 4 film to distract, really, from the fact that there are officials and there are candidates right at the heart of the Reform party, that have been responsible for racist, anti-gay, and other deeply offensive statements.

“And it’s for Farage to take action on them. And in the end, the culture and the standards of any political party are set by the leader and Nigel Farage wants to be seen as a leader.

“He needs to get a grip of his own party and he’s failing to do that at the moment.”

He compared the situation to the “very similar challenge” faced by Sir Keir Starmer in tackling the “antisemitism that had been allowed to fester in parts of the Labour Party”.

“He did that and that’s the responsibility of any leader of any political party”.

Parliament “always has the opportunity” to re-examine the rules on betting for politicians, according to Rishi Sunak.

On whether politicians should be allowed to bet on their own elections, the Prime Minister told broadcasters: “I think the Gambling Commission is the body that is rightly placed to investigate any wrongdoing, I’ve been crystal clear that they should do that and they should make sure that anyone who has broken any rules should face the full consequences of the law, I will ensure they’re kicked out of the Conservative Party.

“In parallel with that, we’ve conducted our own internal inquiries when we’ve been made aware of things and taken action to suspend two candidates.”

Mr Sunak said “we have a set of rules that govern gambling” before adding on betting by politicians: “It’s not something I would do, the rules that govern MPs’ conduct and behaviour is something that Parliament decides and committees decide, and clearly that’s something Parliament always has the opportunity to look at in the future.

“But right now the priority should be the Gambling Commission ensuring that no-one has broken the rules. If anyone has broken the rules and cheated, they should face the full consequences of the law.

“We’ve made sure that we’ve taken action and suspended candidates, and I will boot anyone out of the Conservative Party who is found to have broken those rules.”

The Independent has launched a brand new WhatsApp Community, bringing you the latest news on the General Election as the campaign unfolds.

Never miss a big story as our dedicated politics team will keep you informed on the latest breaking news, exclusive features, gripping interviews and must-watch videos.

You can expect breaking news alerts, exclusive poll results and campaign updates, cutting-edge opinion from our commentators and Premium news analysis from our award-winning journalists.

For more details on how your data is used, our privacy policy, community guidelines and more, click here.