ITV News

From showbiz to SW1: The celebrities running to become your MP this general election A musician who's headlined Wembley, a double Olympic gold medallist and a man who became famous on TV because the nation liked watching him... watch TV, are just some of the celebrities standing in this week's General Election. With just days to go before the British public heads to the polls, the stakes are rising for parliamentary candidates hoping to become MPs on Friday - some of whom already know a thing or two about being in the public eye. Celebrities are no strangers to using their platform to raise awareness of socio-political issues and this election has been no different, with the likes of Presenter Carol Vorderman campaigning to oust the Tories and The Undertones' frontman Feargal Sharkey lobbying to protect England's sewage-ridden waters. Read the full story on the ITV News website: https://lnkd.in/eZrxyVNZ

Boris Johnson makes surprise speech at Tory rally in last-minute bid to sway voters Boris Johnson made a surprise appearance on the General Election campaign trail on Tuesday night, telling a Tory rally: "Don't let the Putinistas deliver the Corbynistas". “When Rishi asked me to come and help of course I couldn’t say no,” the former prime minister said. “We’re all here because we love our country.” Johnson spoke at a Conservative campaign event at London's National Army Museum before Rishi Sunak arrived to deliver his speech, and was greeted by cheers, claps, whistles and chants of “Boris, Boris, Boris”. Read the full story on the ITV News website: https://lnkd.in/e7gDNSeD

Labour and the Tories should scrap their fiscal rules and deliver on levelling up, economist says The Tories swept to power in the last election on the back of two key promises. Boris Johnson made “getting Brexit done” and “levelling up the UK” central parts of his election campaign, which penetrated the Labour heartlands and delivered the Conservatives a thumping majority. But Andy Haldane, chair of the government’s Levelling Up Advisory Council, said progress on tackling regional inequality in the last parliament was disappointing and that Brexit “got in the way” of achieving it. Read the full story on the ITV News website: https://lnkd.in/eq4g7KXx

Inside Portugal's groundbreaking wildfire prevention strategy It is just after nine in the morning and the dusty track hair-pinning its way up into the mountains of the Serra De Cabrera is deserted. The air is heavy with heat, but after a week of rain the slopes around us are lush and dotted with wildflowers. It is a country that still bears the scars, both physical and psychological, from its worst disaster in decades, back in 2017. We have come to these mountains to try to find one of the newest weapons being deployed here against the threat of fire: Garrano, a breed of semi-wild horses. Read the full story on the ITV News website: https://lnkd.in/ddZuUZrq

Gambling Commission 'investigating others linked to election betting scandal' The Gambling Commission is investigating other individuals linked to the Conservative Party or government who bet on the July election, I understand, in a widening scandal that is undermining Rishi Sunak’s general election campaign. After the Tory candidate and ex-PPS to Sunak, Craig Williams, placed a £100 bet on a July election, the booking giant Entain, owner of Ladbrokes and Corals, notified the Commission. Entain made the disclosure to the Commission because Williams as an MP, before parliament was dissolved, was classified as a 'Politically Exposed Person' in relevant law. Read the full story on the ITV News website: https://lnkd.in/es9i5b-s

'Predatory' texts and groping: The women claiming sexual harassment by food delivery drivers The sun had already set when Lauren* went to track down her takeaway. It was not unusual for delivery drivers to get lost while looking for her house - a small boat docked along a canal in east London.  Just a few feet away, under a bridge, she spotted two men wearing what appeared to be Deliveroo jackets and the company's signature green backpacks. She had just approached them when she said the men grabbed her and violently pushed her into the wall.  “I had two black eyes, and my nose was bleeding, and they just shoved their hands down my trousers and just touched me,” she told ITV News. Read the full story on the ITV News website: https://lnkd.in/eKpfYSG7

It's another hold but the Bank of England signals a cut in August is on the cards No one cuts during an election campaign. The Bank of England is politically independent and determined to be perceived as being so. Had it moved today, the decision to lower the cost of borrowing would have been pounced on and used by the parties in the tussle for votes. Happily for the Bank, yesterday's inflation data provided the justification for it to sit on its hands. Read the full story on the ITV News website: https://lnkd.in/eW2ZPfP7

The mum of missing teenager Jay Slater says she regrets encouraging her son to go on the holiday to Tenerife, and is currently in a "living nightmare" as the search for him continues. Read more: https://lnkd.in/e37RT6CR

The Second Sight investigators who helped uncover the Horizon scandal: Forensic accountants Ron Warmington and Ian Henderson exclusively told ITV News about the "most difficult case" they have ever worked on. Read more: https://lnkd.in/e5EiYQSN

Sunak vows to fight for 'every single vote' as Farage declares Reform UK 'the real opposition' Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said the Conservative Party will "fight for every single vote" after a recent poll put Nigel Farage's Reform UK ahead of the Tories. Speaking at the G7 conference in Italy, Mr Sunak said the July 4 vote "was the only one that mattered" as he was asked why Tory voters seemed to be turning to Reform UK. A YouGov poll - commissioned and published by the Times newspaper - released on Thursday found Reform UK is now polling at 19%, to the Conservatives' 18% in a "crossover" moment between the two parties. Other opinion polls released this week still have Reform UK behind the Tories. Read more on the ITV News website: https://lnkd.in/eCHS4yvJ