General election latest news: Sunak pledges to restore national service as Streeting aims to turn around NHS

The UK goes to the polls in July after Rishi Sunak announced the date of the next general election, but many high-profile MPs will not face the electorate after deciding to stand down.

Housing Secretary Michael Gove and former Business Secretary Andrea Leadsom have become the latest Tory MPs to announce they will not stand in the next election, with the number of Tory MPs deciding to stand down hitting a new record of after war.

In his letter to voters, Mr Gove spoke of the negative consequences of public service, saying it was time to let a new generation lead after a political career spanning almost 20 years.

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John Swinney said the SNP would oppose the twin threats of austerity and privatization, as his party campaigns on public services.

The SNP will look to focus on investment in the NHS and other public services during the next week of the general election campaign.

The Prime Minister visited several Scottish constituencies on Saturday as part of the SNP's first national day of action.

He said the Conservatives and Labor had both embraced austerity.

Mr Swinney said: “Ensuring the NHS remains in public hands will be one of the defining debates of this general election and the SNP will do everything in its power to protect Scotland from the privatization agenda and creeping budget cuts supported by Westminster parties.

I am deeply alarmed by the comments made at Westminster on the health service and I promise the people of Scotland that the Scottish Government and the SNP will play no role in this.

The former prime minister has a series of trips planned over the coming weeks that he will not cancel, ranging from conferences to personal vacations.

The Telegraph reports that this was all arranged in advance before the general election was announced, with Mr Johnson categorically ruling out running in the next election.

The Prime Minister said: “This is a great country, but generations of young people have not had the opportunities and experience they deserve and there are forces trying to divide our society in this increasingly uncertain world. .

I have a clear plan to solve this problem and secure our future. I will introduce a new model of national service to create a shared sense of purpose among our young people and a renewed sense of pride in our country.

This new compulsory national service will provide life-changing opportunities for our young people, giving them the chance to learn real-world skills, do new things and contribute to their community and our country.

Sir Ed Davey will launch the Liberal Democrats' battle bus campaign on Sunday with a 'Save the NHS' message in a blue-walled marginal seat.

The UK's fourth party has put health at the heart of its platform in the run-up to the July 4 general election, targeting traditionally conservative areas in southern England.

Sir Ed will say Tories have left hospitals with dangerous crumbling roofs and sewage flowing into wards as he pledges in manifesto to introduce a rolling 10-year repair program for the NHS estate .

The Conservatives said the Liberal Democrats would simply make way for a Labor government like the one that has already failed the NHS in Wales.

Flight logs showed Rishi Sunak flew on Saturday aboard a helicopter owned by a millionaire Tory donor to travel from his home constituency in North Yorkshire to London.

The Prime Minister made two low-key campaign stops during the day, after Labor accused him of hiding out in his mansion when reports emerged that he was planning to take the day off.

Sunak first had tea with a small group of veterans at a pub in his North Yorkshire constituency for a 20-minute stop, before returning to London to meet voters at Wimbledon.

He traveled aboard a helicopter owned by entrepreneur Richard Harpin, which he has used in the past.

Sir Keirs' party called the announcement a desperate and unfunded commitment and pointed out that Lord David Cameron introduced a similar scheme, the National Citizen Service, when he was prime minister.

Lord Cameron's announcement had no component relating to the armed forces, instead encouraging young people to take part in activities such as outdoor education-style courses as part of his Big Society initiative.

A Labor spokesperson said: “This is not a plan, it is a review which could cost billions and is only necessary because the Conservatives have reduced the armed forces to their smallest size since Napoleon.

Britain has had enough of the Tories, who are running out of ideas and have no plan to end 14 years of chaos. It's time to turn the page and rebuild Britain with Labour.

Eighteen-year-olds would be forced to carry out a form of national service if the Conservatives are re-elected in the July 4 general election, Rishi Sunak has announced.

The Prime Minister said Britain has generations of young people who have not had the opportunities they deserve, saying the radical step would help unify society in an increasingly uncertain world.

In the future, 18-year-olds will have the choice between full-time placement in the armed forces for 12 months or one weekend a month for a year as volunteers in their community, the Conservatives said.

In a pitch apparently aimed at older voters, the party said this could include help for local fire, police and NHS services, as well as charities tackling loneliness and supporting isolated older people.

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Labor has radical plans to overhaul relations with the EU, but is unwilling to talk about it for long. fear of alienating Leave voters, especially in the red wall. (The Liberal Democrats, burned by their opposition to Brexit in 2019, now speak vaguely of one day reintegrating into the single market).

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The exodus of prominent Tory MPs like Michael Gove and Dame Andrea Leadsom is not abnormal, a minister has insisted, amid speculation that the Tories are leaving Parliament over fears of imminent election defeat.

Bim Afolami, whose seat of Hitchin and Harpenden has seen a Tory majority decline in recent years, said the party was quite confident here and denied entertaining any thoughts of withdrawing before July 4 polling day.

It comes after Housing Secretary and long-serving minister Mr Gove spoke about the negative consequences of the civil service, saying it was time to let a new generation lead after a political career spanning almost 20 years.

A post-war record 78 Conservative MPs resigned for the summer election as the party languished behind Labor in the polls, surpassing the previous record of 72 who resigned before Labor's landslide in 1997 .

Speaking to Times Radio on the Saturday morning show, Mr Afolami said: Look, it's not abnormal if you have people who have served for 20, sometimes 30 or 35 years in Parliament in their 50s or in their sixties and who are approaching retirement or even retiring completely. choose to end their political career. I think that it's good.