London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Aug 20, 2025

Johnson and Corbyn make last pitches of campaign

Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn are focusing on Brexit and public services in their final hours of campaigning.

In their last interviews with the BBC ahead of Thursday's poll, Mr Johnson repeated his main pledges, saying: "Only if you get Brexit done [can you] move the country forward."

Meanwhile, Mr Corbyn said there was a "greater understanding" from the public that the country "cannot go on with underfunded public services".

The polls will open at 07:00 GMT.

Both leaders held their final rallies in London on Wednesday night.

Other party leaders also travelled the country on the last day before the election to win support from undecided voters.

Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson said votes for her party could stop Brexit, adding: "Our country can be better than what Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn are trying to say is the only way forward."

The SNP's Nicola Sturgeon said a vote for her party was a vote to stop further cuts to public services and to "stop Scotland being dragged out of the EU against its will".

Nigel Farage warned against Mr Johnson's deal to leave the EU, calling for voters in Leave seats to back his Brexit Party.

And Green Party co-leaders Sian Berry and Jonathan Bartley urged voters to make it a moment of political reckoning on the climate, saying their party would make sure proper action was taken to meet carbon emission targets.


'Amazing agenda'

Talking to the BBC's political editor Laura Kuenssberg, Mr Johnson said he thought the election result would be "very close", and that "every vote counts".

Asked if he deserved to win, he said: "I do think that we have the best programme for the country, we have an amazing agenda. We want to unite and level up across the country."

Mr Johnson said the Conservatives' plans - including a law to ensure extra funding for the NHS every year and 20,000 new police offices - were "fantastically ambitious".

He added: "We can achieve all of these things. But we can't if our politics is paralysed by Brexit. We have to move it forward."

Asked about his reaction to the photo of a sick boy who had to sleep on the floor of a hospital due to a lack of beds, Mr Johnson said: "Obviously I think that anybody who experiences a bad time in the NHS has my full, full sympathies.

"We've all been there and anybody who has had a bad experience in A&E will know exactly how that family feels, and that is why I want to concentrate on getting cash into the NHS, taking the country forward."

But he reiterated that "only if you get Brexit done [can you] move the country forward".

Speaking at his final rally in London, Mr Johnson there was "24 hours to break the deadlock".

He said the Conservative government would "make sure we give our children and grandchildren the future they deserve in this country".

Mr Johnson ended by saying: "Let's get Brexit done and take this incredible country forwards together."


'Incredible message'

Also speaking to Laura Kuenssberg, Mr Corbyn said he had a "hunch" that the polling experts - who have predicted a solid leader for the Conservatives over Labour - "may just have got it wrong".

"We have travelled all round the country and the enthusiasm of our party's supporters working together to get out there with our message is incredible - and I think that message is getting through," he said.

"I think the support is growing and there is a greater understanding that we cannot go on with underfunded public services and a government that has not been straightforward with us on Brexit or the trade talks with the USA."

Asked about candidates who have expressed concerns about negative feedback on the doorsteps - including a leaked recording of shadow health secretary Jon Ashworth casting doubts on Labour's chances in the poll - Mr Corbyn said: "You show me a candidate at any election that isn't worried from any party.

"Being a candidate means you get worried. But I tell you what, we are going to win this thing."

If there is a Labour government on Friday morning, Mr Corbyn said the first thing he would do was "deal with the worst levels of poverty in Britain" - namely the homeless - saying: "Something must be done very quickly, very urgently and that is what we are going to do."

Also holding his final rally in London, Mr Corbyn said the country was "literally at a fork in the road".

He told supporters there had "never been a clearer choice" in British history than at this election, and that his party would redistribute wealth and power "in a way that's never been seen before".

Mr Corbyn concluded with a poem, saying: "My guitar is not for the rich. No, nothing like that. My song is of the ladder we are building to reach the stars."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Called Viktor Orbán: "Why Are You Using the Veto"
Horror in the Skies: Plane Engine Exploded, Passengers Sent Farewell Messages
MSNBC Rebrands as MS NOW Amid Comcast’s Cable Spin-Off
AI in Policing: Draft One Helps Speed Up Reports but Raises Legal and Ethical Concerns
Shame in Norway: Crown Princess’s Son Accused of Four Rapes
Apple Begins Simultaneous iPhone 17 Production in India and China
A Robot to Give Birth: The Chinese Announcement That Shakes the World
Finnish MP Dies by Suicide in Parliament Building
Outrage in the Tennis World After Jannik Sinner’s Withdrawal Storm
William and Kate Are Moving House – and the New Neighbors Were Evicted
Class Action Lawsuit Against Volkswagen: Steering Wheel Switches Cause Accidents
Taylor Swift on the Way to the Super Bowl? All the Clues Stirring Up Fans
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Apple Expands Social Media Presence in China With RedNote Account Ahead of iPhone 17 Launch
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Cambridge Dictionary Adds 'Skibidi,' 'Delulu,' and 'Tradwife' Amid Surge of Online Slang
Bill Barr Testifies No Evidence Implicated Trump in Epstein Case; DOJ Set to Release Records
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
The CEO Who Replaced 80% of Employees for the AI Revolution: "I Would Do It Again"
Emails Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Character.ai Bets on Future of AI Companionship
China Ramps Up Tax Crackdown on Overseas Investments
Japanese Office Furniture Maker Expands into Bomb Shelter Market
Intel Shares Surge on Possible U.S. Government Investment
Hurricane Erin Threatens U.S. East Coast with Dangerous Surf
EU Blocks Trade Statement Over Digital Rule Dispute
EU Sends Record Aid as Spain Battles Wildfires
JPMorgan Plans New Canary Wharf Tower
Zelenskyy and his allies say they will press Trump on security guarantees
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Escalating Clashes in Serbia as Anti-Government Protests Spread Nationwide
The Drought in Britain and the Strange Request from the Government to Delete Old Emails
Category 5 Hurricane in the Caribbean: 'Catastrophic Storm' with Winds of 255 km/h
"No, Thanks": The Mathematical Genius Who Turned Down 1.5 Billion Dollars from Zuckerberg
The surprising hero, the ugly incident, and the criticism despite victory: "Liverpool’s defense exposed in full"
Digital Humans Move Beyond Sci-Fi: From Virtual DJs to AI Customer Agents
YouTube will start using AI to guess your age. If it’s wrong, you’ll have to prove it
Jellyfish Swarm Triggers Shutdown at Gravelines Nuclear Power Station in Northern France
OpenAI’s ‘PhD-Level’ ChatGPT 5 Stumbles, Struggles to Even Label a Map
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
High-Stakes Trump-Putin Summit on Ukraine Underway in Alaska
The World Economic Forum has cleared Klaus Schwab of “material wrongdoing” after a law firm conducted a review into potential misconduct of the institution’s founder
The Mystery Captivating the Internet: Where Has the Social Media Star Gone?
Man Who Threw Sandwich at Federal Agents in Washington Charged with Assault – Identified as Justice Department Employee
A Computer That Listens, Sees, and Acts: What to Expect from Windows 12
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
UK has added India to a list of countries whose nationals, convicted of crimes, will face immediate deportation without the option to appeal from within the UK
Southwest Airlines Apologizes After 'Accidentally Forgetting' Two Blind Passengers at New Orleans Airport and Faces Criticism Over Poor Service for Passengers with Disabilities
Russian Forces Advance on Donetsk Front, Cutting Key Supply Routes Near Pokrovsk
×