UK general election LIVE: Reform UK leap above the Conservatives for first time in the polls as Nigel Farage claims he is 'real' opposition to Labour while Rishi Sunak insists 'we're only halfway through' campaign

Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorweth has admitted that most Welsh people 'aren't convinced' about the argument for an independent Wales.

'I would argue the move [towards independence] is there,' he told 5 Live, arguing the current situation is similar to the years running up to the 2014 Scottish referendum.

He made the case for Welsh independence and said it was an opportunity to forge its own relationship with the EU.

'We should be building the closest possible relationship with the European Union,' Mr Ap Iorwerth said.

Shadow Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds has hit back at criticism over the Labour manifesto and says it is a 'genuine prospectus for change'.

'If you are putting forward things that can't be delivered, that will only increase cynicism in British politics,' Mr Reynolds said.

Asked about a suggestion published in The Guardian that Labour's proposals amount to a 'downbeat manifesto for a downbeat nation', he told Sky News: 'I would really strongly disagree on that because what you see in the Labour manifesto is a set of proposals for genuine change that would make a real difference to people's lives.'

Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth has said his party has a 'Wales-wide' message.

Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, he said he has been to every Welsh constituency in the first three weeks of campaigning, adding: 'I believe my message is relevant to all parts of Wales.'

Mr Ap Iorwerth said Labour doesn't have the 'political renewal' or 'refreshing of ideas that we need'.

He said as leader he wants to show he is 'serious about our message being a Wales-wide one.

Boris Johnson has thrown his support behind Conservative MP and long-standing ally Simon Clarke for the seat of Middlesborough South and East Cleveland.

'Just saying how passionately I hope that Simon Clarke will be re-elected for Middlesborough South.

He's been such a crucial part of the whole levelling up agenda in Teeside, the free ports, bringing back steel ports to the area, and helping to save the airport.

'And it's vital that we keep Simon Clarke there to stop Ben Houchen being simply surrounded by Labour MPs.'

He also said Mr Clarke had been 'heroic' in helping the former PM get elected and 'getting Brexit done'.

Appearing on Nicky Campbell's Five Live show a few minutes ago, Nigel Farage refused to say how many seats he believes Reform will win in the general election.

He said: 'I have no idea. I tell you what, we are going up by one percentage point a day. We have got momentum behind us.

Up next on the show is Plaid Cymru's Rhun ap Iorwerth.

The Tory and Labour election battle buses are not taking to the road on Friday but campaigning continues.

Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves and shadow business secretary Jonathan Reynolds are meeting top bosses for breakfast to drum up support for Labour's manifesto.

Leader Sir Keir will face a grilling from BBC journalist Nick Robinson in the latest Panorama election interview to be broadcast on Friday evening.

Chief Secretary to the Treasury Laura Trott will attack Labour's plans at a press conference in London.

Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting will promote Labour's mental health offer during a visit to a men's mental health facility, after warning there is a crisis in mental illness that is keeping people out of the jobs market and costing the country billions.

Elsewhere, Lib Dem deputy leader Daisy Cooper will visit the east of England, as her party promotes its plans for a national food strategy.

Social media users last night once again targeted Penny Mordaunt's hair after the Tory was grilled in a brutal election debate.

The Leader of House of the Commons was torn into by Nigel Farage in another miserable evening for the Tories in which they slipped behind the Reform leader's party in an opinion poll for the first time.

At the start of the seven-way TV debate Mr Farage gleefully boasted Reform had overhauled the Conservatives to become the opposition to Labour.

Some viewers, though, were once again distracted by Ms Mordaunt's hair and couldn't help but notice it had less volume than last week's bouffant style during the BBC debate.

One felt the deflated look mirrored her performance on the stage, while another jibed that ITV had saved £400 in hairspray.

Last night's shock YouGov poll which showed Reform pulling ahead of the Conservatives will be an unwelcome end to a pretty dismal week for Rishi Sunak.

It put the Tories on juust 17 percent of the vote, with Reform ahead on 18 percent.

Meanwhile as is often seen in election campaigns, the gap to the top narrowed slightly, with Labour on 37.

The Lib Dems are projected to receive 14 percent and the Greens seven percent.

It's worth noting these are only the projected vote shares, and not seat counts.

Nigel Farage has described Adolf Hitler as 'hypnotic in a very dangerous way' after reiterating his admiration for Vladimir Putin as a "political operator".

The Reform UK leader offered his view on the public speaking abilities of Nazi Germany dictator Hitler when asked about him during a live BBC phone-in.

Mr Farage, challenged about his previous remarks praising Russian president Mr Putin as an operator, told BBC Radio 5 Live: 'Yeah, but not as a human being.'

He added 'You can recognise the fact that some people are good at what they do even if they have evil intent.'

Asked if Hitler was good at what he did, Mr Farage replied: 'What, as a public speaker? What do you think? Clearly, hypnotic in a very dangerous way.'

A Tory minister has ruled out making any kind of electoral pact with Reform.

Treasury minister Bim Afolami rejected suggestions that the Conservatives should consider striking an election deal.

Asked if the Tories would consider a deal, he told Sky News: 'No, no. It's an election.

Listen as Nigel Farage sets out his ambition to become the 'opposition voice' as head of the Reform party.

Introducing a cap on adult social care costs by October next year is part of Labour's plan if they win the election, Wes Streeting has insisted.

The pledge did not appear in the party's manifesto when it was published on Thursday.

Adult social care charging reforms - including an £86,000 cap on the amount anyone in England has to spend on their personal care over their lifetime - had been due to be implemented by the Conservative Government from October 2023 but were delayed by two years.

Shadow health and social care secretary Wes Streeting was asked whether he could make a firm commitment to bringing in the cap in October 2025.

He told BBC Radio Four's Today programme: 'That's the plan, as things stand.'

Rishi Sunak has insisted that voting for Reform UK would be 'handing Labour a blank cheque' as he played down a major opinion poll showing Nigel Farage's party overtaking the Conservatives.

The Prime Minister emphasised that 'we are only halfway through this election" and the choice between the Tories and Labour will "crystallise for people between now and polling day'.

He told reporters at the G7 summit in Puglia: 'We are only halfway through this election, so I'm still fighting very hard for every vote.

'And what that poll shows is - the only poll that matters is the one on July 4 - but if that poll was replicated on July 4, it would be handing Labour a blank cheque to tax everyone, tax their home, their pension, their car, their family, and I'll be fighting very hard to make sure that doesn't happen.

'And actually, when I've been out and about talking to people, they do understand that a vote for anyone who is not a Conservative candidate is just a vote to put Keir Starmer in No 10.'

A bombshell poll for the Times conducted by Yougov revealed last night that Reform is polling one point ahead of the Tories.

At a fiery debate last night, Nigel Farage, head of Reform, told Penny Mordaunt of the Conservatives: 'A vote for you is actually now a vote for Labour.'

The Leader of the House of Commons pushed Conservative claims that voting for Reform on 4 July would make it easier for Sir Keir Starmer to become PM.

Just prior to last night's

ITV debate, a YouGov survey for The Times put Reform up two points to 19 per cent, with the Conservatives unchanged on 18 per cent.

The symbolic moment of Reform moving ahead of the Tories for the first time is a shattering blow to PM Rishi Sunak with just three weeks until the general election.

Good morning and welcome to MailOnline’s live blog covering everything on the election this Friday.

We’ll bring you all the latest news and updates as the parties take to the campaign trail around the country, and everything from Rishi Sunak’s visit to Italy for the G7.