General election – live: Rishi Sunak on campaign trail after rumours of ‘day off’ as Gove leads Tory exodus

The prime minister has joked that he avoided catching pneumonia when he gave his rain-soaked statement outside 10 Downing Street in which he announced the 4 July election – but admitted he was not sure what state his suit was in.

“That’s our tradition, the prime minister, in the big moments, they call the election and they go out there. I thought, come rain or shine, it’s the right thing to do,” he told veterans.

“But no pneumonia yet, my suit on the other hand... I’m not quite sure what state it will be in when I get back down to London.”

Rishi Sunak was meeting veterans at a community breakfast in his Yorkshire constituency:

Rishi Sunak has been spotted in his North Yorkshire constituency this morning, after reports he was going to have a ‘day off’ from the campaign trail.

The prime minister had been due to take a step back on Saturday following his disastrous election launch earlier this week, according to newspaper reports.

But as the first weekend of the six week campaign got underway, the prime minister has been meeting with his constituents in North Allerton.

Exclusive: The boss of a childcare firm backed by Rishi Sunak‘s wife and hosted at a Downing St reception has said she is backing Labour:

The exodus of prominent Tory MPs such as Michael Gove and Dame Andrea Leadsom is not unnatural, a minister has insisted, amid speculation that Conservatives are quitting Parliament in fear of imminent electoral defeat.

Bim Afolami, whose seat of Hitchin and Harpenden has had a waning Tory majority in recent years, said the party was “pretty confident here” and denied it had crossed his own mind to stand down before 4 July.

It comes after housing secretary and long-serving Cabinet minister Mr Gove cited the “toll” of public office following a political career spanning nearly 20 years.

A post-war record of 78 Conservative MPs have stepped down, surpassing the previous high of 72 who quit prior to Labour’s 1997 landslide.

Mr Afolami told Times Radio: “Look, it’s not unnatural if you’ve got people who served for 20, sometimes 30 or 35 years in Parliament in their 50s or 60s coming to retirement or indeed retiring completely, that they choose to bring their political careers to a close. I think that’s fine.”

Rishi Sunak is set to go to a campaign event in Yorkshire after completing a whistlestop two-day tour of the four home nations.

The prime minister is due to meet veterans in his constituency on Saturday morning but his plans for later in the day are not clear.

Treasury minister Bim Afolami denied the Prime Minister was “taking the day off” from campaigning.

Asked whether the PM was “taking the day off” from the campaign trail, Mr Afolami told Sky News: “It’s not right. He’s going to be campaigning in Yorkshire.”

The Times reports that Mr Sunak is readying himself to “double down” on the Conservatives’ stalled Rwanda deportation scheme by using the Tory manifesto to announce ambitions for similar schemes with other countries.

The Conservatives have gained one point in the first YouGov poll since Rishi Sunak called a general election, putting them at 22 per cent to Labour’s 44, with Reform UK also gaining two points to hit 14 per cent as Sir Keir Starmer’s party falls by the same margin.

Andy Street, whose loss in the West Midlands mayoral race dealt a severe blow to Rishi Sunak, is “assessing his options”, a spokesperson has said.

Natasha Clark of LBC reports claims that the Tory politician – whose departure in May drew crossparty tributes – is “seriously weighing up” a bid to become an MP, and could stand in Solihull.

It comes as Mr Sunak seeks to fill the gaps left by a mass exodus of Tory MPs, with more standing down than at any point since the Second World War.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has called for his constituents to “vote Labour” as the Lib Dems target his seat at the general election.

Speaking at a charity event at Lancaster House on Thursday, Mr Hunt joked that he could endorse tactical voting, but only in his own Surrey constituency.

“Vote Labour in Godalming and Ash where I’m dealing with those b******s, the Lib Dems,” he said.