The Political Fourcast Channel 4 News

Rishi Sunak has apologised and admitted it was a “mistake” to leave D-Day commemorations early, but many in the Conservative Party are already furious with the prime minister and Labour’s Keir Starmer has said he “has to explain” the decision.  
So why did he do it? Having spent the campaign so far reaching out to the very voters who hold respect for history and veterans so dear. 
Is this the moment the game is up and closing the gap on Labour becomes unrecoverable? Nigel Farage is already out there saying it shows Sunak isn't patriotic. With me Conservative Home’s Henry Hill, Boris Johnson’s former director of communications Guto Harri and Labour’s Jonathan Ashworth. 
Produced by Calum Fraser, Rob Thomson, Nick Jackson and Annie La Vespa
 

Devastating polling, the return of Nigel Farage and more talk of defections - it was almost looking like a truly nightmarish week for Rishi Sunak, but then came the TV leaders debate with Keir Starmer and the Conservative’s claim that a Labour government will raise taxes by £2,000 per household.
Keir Starmer failed to effectively deny the Conservative attack line until the second half of the debate and called it a lie. 
Today, Labour are again saying it is a lie and the Treasury have distanced themselves from it - but, perhaps, as the old saying goes, a lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has got its shoes on.   
Two weeks into the election campaign, are we entering a new dirtier phase to this campaign? 
Joining me in the Fourcast studio, Labour's shadow attorney general Emily Thornberry, the Conservative's Home Office Minister Chris Philp, and pollster Luke Tryl from More in Common.   
Produced by Shaheen Sattar, Calum Fraser, Rob Thomson, Nick Jackson and Silvia Maresca
 

Reports that Labour are set to bar Diane Abbott from standing in the general election have sparked outrage, with the veteran MP accusing Keir Starmer of purging the party’s left wing and alienating voters. 
But is the Labour leader and his inner circle willing to lose left-wing voters, if it means they can concentrate on winning over disaffected Conservatives and bringing back Labour supporters who were put off by Jeremy Corbyn?
This week, Rishi Sunak has made a slew of policy announcements - national service for teenagers, cutting so-called “Mickey Mouse” university courses, and a tax giveaway for pensioners - this has left many wondering if the Tories have totally given up on young voters.
Meanwhile, Liberal Democrats leader Ed Davey was pictured falling - or jumping - off a paddleboard in Lake Windermere, but can the party make a splash across the country or is it just about a few target seats?
In this episode of The Political Fourcast, Krishnan Guru-Murthy talks about all this with the Liberal Democrats’ deputy leader Daisy Cooper, former Conservative Universities minister, Lord Johnson, and Meg Hillier, who was Labour Chair of Parliament's Public Accounts Committee and has been the MP in Diane Abbott’s neighbouring constituency for 20 years.
Produced by Calum Fraser, Silvia Maresca, Shaheen Sattar, Rob Thompson and Nick Jackson.

Campaigning is underway after Rishi Sunak’s shock decision to call a snap general election - and the decision by Nigel Farage not to stand as a candidate for his Reform UK party might play to his favour - yet many are still puzzled by his decision. 
The Conservatives are twenty points behind in the polls and even the prime minister recently admitted he’s unlikely to win. So why go now? And why in the rain?  Does he have something up his sleeve? He says Labour don't have a plan. Do they? What are the issues, and who are the people that will decide this election? 
To talk about all this and more on The Political Fourcast we’re joined by Conservative MP and former Levelling Up minister Dehenna Davison, Labour’s former Culture Secretary Ben Bradshaw and pollster Luke Tryl.
 
Produced by Silvia Maresca, Calum Fraser, Shaheen Sattar, Rob Thompson and Nick Jackson.
 

Are Labour and the Conservatives already prepping for the election? 
Both Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak are certainly behaving like they are.
The Labour leader launched his first steps to change Britain, but will that help the party on the doorstep? And this week saw more culture war issues being flagged by Conservatives. Rishi Sunak wrote about his horror at disturbing gender ideology being taught in schools as the government brought in new guidance and rules banning classroom teaching about contested gender identity issues.
To talk about this, on The Political Fourcast we're joined by Caroline Nokes, the Conservative Chair of Parliament's Women and Equalities Committee, and from Labour, the Former Culture Secretary, Ben Bradshaw, who is stepping down at the next election.
 
Produced by Silvia Maresca, Annie La Vespa, Rob Thompson and Nick Jackson.
 

For the second time in a fortnight, the Conservatives have been dealt a jaw-dropping blow - another MP has defected. This time, it is Dover MP and rightwinger, Natalie Elphicke, who crossed the floor moments before Prime Minister's Questions, to join forces with the opposition.  
 
The move has certainly sparked anger and confusion for both Labour and the Tories, and Keir Starrmer is being grilled by members of his own shadow cabinet over why he accepted Elphicke into the party. 
 
Defections are a rare occurrence in politics, so what do the past two in two weeks tell us about Rishi Sunak’s ability to deliver at the next general election? 
 
In this episode of The Political Fourcast, we speak to the SNP’s deputy leader in the Commons Mhairi Black, who’s announced she will stand down at the next election. And former Education Secretary Justine Greening, who had the Tory whip withdrawn after opposing Boris Johnson over Brexit in 2019. 
 
They talk to us about why an MP might make the decision to defect from their political party, if a defection signals a political shift, and whether the UK needs political reform away from a first past the post system. 
 
Produced by Silvia Maresca, Shaheen Sattar, Rob Thompson and Nick Jackson.