Rishi Sunak warns voters backing Nigel Farage will hand Labour victory at election

Rishi Sunak warned voters considering giving Nigel Farage their backing at the election they will put everything they value at risk.

After the ex-Ukip leader made a dramatic late entry into the contest by taking over Reform and announcing he will stand in Clacton, the Prime Minister laid out the stark reality of backing the insurgent party.

He told the Daily Express progress on tackling the small boats crisis will be lost, punishing green penalties will hit hard-pressed families and taxes will rise because a vote for anyone other than the Conservatives makes a Labour victory more likely.

He said: “One of two people is going to be Prime Minister on July the fifth, Keir Starmer or me.

“A vote for anyone who is not a conservative just makes it more likely that Keir Starmer is going to end up in number 10.

“So for people who are considering who they want to vote for, think about the issues that you care about.

“If you care about stopping the boats and bringing down legal migration, who is more likely to do that, because I've already got the boats down by a third.

“And I'm the one who's got people detained and flights ready to go to Rwanda in July.

“Keir Starmer is not going to do any of that. He’s going to cancel those flights, release everyone and offer an amnesty.

“If you care about netzero and getting there in a way that prioritises our country's energy security and doesn't land the families with thousands of pounds in extra costs, I’m the one that's going to deliver that, not Keir Starmer.

“I’ve made the change on our approach to net zero, Keir Starmer is going to reverse those changes and ban north sea oil, it is going to be bad for our country's energy security and is going to put costs off for people.

“And if you are somebody who wants to lower taxes, that's what I'm about.

“We're now cutting people's taxes by 900 pounds for everyone in work and cutting taxes for pensioners with a triple lock plus.

“Keir Starmer is going to put up everyone's taxes. That's what the Labour Party did. He's got £2,000 pounds worth of tax rises and he needs to be straight with people about which taxes are going up. We know there's gonna be a retirement in tax, but there's plenty of other taxes coming to.”

Just a week and a half after ruling himself out of the race, Mr Farage staged a shock u-turn to put not only his name on the ballot paper in Clacton but to also take over leadership of the party.

He had previously insisted that six weeks was not long enough to organise a campaign and set out his intention to help his friend Donald Trump in the US presidential race.

But Mr Farage, who has tried seven times to be elected to the Commons, said he had felt a “terrible sense of guilt” over the weekend and decided to change his mind.

At a press conference in London, Mr Farage said: “Difficult though it is, I can’t let down those millions of people, I simply can’t do it, it’d be wrong.

“So I have decided I’ve changed my mind, it’s allowed you know, it’s not always a sign of weakness, it could potentially be a sign of strength.

“So I am going to stand in this election.”

The announcement is a set back for the Conservatives, who fear losing support to Reform.

Mr Sunak was also hit with more difficult polling that suggested the Tories will lose a host of Cabinet figures on election day.

But Mr Sunak vowed to come out swinging with a bold plan against a silent Labour party that is hoping to sneak into No 10.

The Prime Minister warned voters Sir Keir Starmer has “no ideas” to put before them in the battle for the nation's future.

And cricket-loving Mr Sunak joked he “aspires” to the bazball technique that turned around the England team after they were told to stop being cautious and start batting without fear.

Speaking to the Daily Express ahead of the first big television clash with the Labour leader on Tuesday he said: “I'm a big cricket fan. We've had a difficult few years as a country, for sure.

“But I think it's fair to say that the conditions have improved, the pitch has improved and now we can play some shots.”

Mr Sunak said he will come out swinging because he is excited, optimistic and ambitious about the country's future.

“I think we really have turned the corner,” he added. “I know it's been tough for everybody.”

“But you can see that our plan is now working inflation from 11% back to normal, our economy growing faster than France, Germany, and the United States.

“Wages growing faster than prices for almost a year.

“I know there's more to do and people are just starting to feel the benefits of that.

“And the choice in this election is to build on that progress. And that's exactly what I want to do.

“I want to play those shots. I want to transform the country with a new form of national service, spread opportunity for young people with more apprenticeships, protect pensioners, with the triple lock plus, ensure the safety and security of women and girls with today's announcement, that's what I'm excited to deliver.

“That's the future so those are all the shots I want to play now that we've got through a difficult period.”

When pressed on whether he was now the bazball PM after playing a straight bat through the years of economic turmoil, he replied:“Yes, it’s been difficult for everyone for the last few years and my priority when I got this job was to restore economic stability.

“Whilst I know people are only just starting to see and feel the benefits of that, it's clear that we have turned a corner and things are looking at inflation back to normal, the economy growing at a healthy pace, wages rising, energy bills falling so now is the time to consider our future.

“And I'm ambitious for our future. I'm so proud of everything our country has achieved. And now I want the country to look forward with confidence and with a renewed sense of pride in Great Britain and to know that they're going to have a more secure future under the Conservatives and under my leadership.”

As the Prime Minister hit the campaign trail in Oxfordshire yesterday (MON) he warned voters:

* A cross in the box for Nigel Farage’s party, Reform, will make a Labour government more likely and the small boats crisis becoming worse.

* Keir Starmer’s party is stuffed with anti-nuclear frontbenchers that would put the country’s security at risk.

* Labour will revert to picking pensioners’ pockets by raiding their workplace funds and dragging them into paying income tax for the first time in history on state payouts.

Brimming with energy, Mr Sunak told how he is enjoying criss-crossing the country speaking to voters and revealed the string of big announcements he made last week have hit home with members of the public, particularly plans for national service for 18-year-olds.

He said: “I'm thoroughly enjoying myself. I'm just enjoying being out and about talking to as many people as possible in every part of our amazing country.

“And I'm also enjoying the fact that we've got really bold ideas that I can talk to people about and demonstrate to them the choice of this election, whether it's modern form of national service, the triple lock plus 100,000, new apprenticeships, closing down rip off degrees or today's announcement on protecting women and girls.

“These are all bold ideas. People are engaging with them, and they're responding really positively to them.

“And they're seeing that there is this contrast in this election, we are the ones that got a plan, we’re the ones that are taking bold action and that’s how you deliver a secure future for everyone.

“And in contrast, people are struggling to name a single idea that they have heard from the Labour Party and there's no plan there's, no idea.

“The only certainty you have with Labour is that they're going to put up your taxes and people are starting to worry about that.”

Mr Sunak challenged Sir Keir to a face-to-face TV showdown every week of the campaign, but the Labour leader has only agreed to take part in two.

Ahead of the ITV clash tonight, Mr Sunak was in a confident mood, insisting he is “good”.

Viewer will get to see “who's talking about the future and who is talking about the past” he added.

Mr Sunak said national service is a big idea and “everyone's talking to me about it”,.

“There is nothing comparable from the Labour Party that you've heard so far in this election and that is before we get onto tax, and that's the thing that people should be really worried about, particularly pensioners.” he added.

“I've made sure that we protect the triple lock and that’s why the state pension is going up by 900 pounds this year.

Mr Sunak said that Sir Keir Starmer’s refusal to match the triple lock plus protecting state pensions from income tax means “for the first time in history pensioners will be paying tax on the state pension”.

“It's the same always with Labour, they will come for your pension,” he said.

“People remember Gordon Brown's £100 billion pound raid on people's pensions, the 75 pence increase and now Keir Starmer’s refusal to match our triple lock plus.“And Rachel Reeves refusal to rule out going after and taxing workplace pensions.

“They are coming for Britain's pensioners, they always have and they will do it again.”

As Mr Farage became the new Reform party leader, Mr Sunak warned voters that backing Reform will lead to a Labour government.

He said: “One of two people is going to be Prime Minister on July the fifth, Keir Starmer or me.

“A vote for anyone who is not a conservative just makes it more likely that Keir Starmer is going to end up in number 10.

“So for people who are considering who they want to vote for, think about the issues that you care about.

“If you care about stopping the boats and bringing down legal migration, who is more likely to do that, because I've already got the boats down by a third.

“And I'm the one who's got people detained and flights ready to go to Rwanda in July.

“Keir Starmer is not going to do any of that. He’s going to cancel those flights, release everyone and offer an amnesty.”

Mr Sunak promised a “more secure, more united, more prosperous” country under his leadership.

“But he warned the world is more dangerous than it has been at any point since the Cold War, which is why he is increasing spending to 2.5% of national income.

“Keir Starmer has not backed that pledge, Labour will not increase our investment in defence.

“Perhaps even worse than that, the deputy leader of the Labour Party and the shadow Foreign Secretary both voted against our nuclear deterrent, the ultimate guarantor of our security and I can tell us doing this job how important it is when you're thinking about our country's security that we have that nuclear deterrent.”