London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, May 13, 2026

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
The Great Western Exit: Why Best Citizens Are Fleeing the Rich World [PODCAST]
The New Robber Barons of Intelligence: Are AI Bosses More Powerful Than Rockefeller?
The End of the Old Order [Podcast]
Britain’s Democracy Is Now a Costume
The AI Gold Rush Is Coming for America’s Last Open Spaces [Podcast]
The Pentagon’s AI Squeeze: Eight Tech Giants Get In, Anthropic Gets Shut Out [Podcast]
The War Map: Professor Jiang’s Dark Theory of Iran, Trump, China, Russia, Israel, and the Coming Global Shock [Podcast]
Labour Is No Longer a National Party [Podcast]
AI Isn’t Stealing Your Job. It’s Dismantling It Piece by Piece.
Lawyers vs Engineers: Why China Builds While America Litigates [Podcast]
Churchill’s Glass: The Drunk, the Doctor, and the Myth Britain Refuses to Sober Up From
Apple issues an unusual warning: this is how your iPhone can be hacked without you doing anything
Kennedy’s Quiet War on Antidepressants Sparks Alarm Across America’s Medical Establishment
The Met Gala Meets the Age of Billionaire Backlash
Russian Oligarch’s Superyacht Crosses Hormuz via Iran-Controlled Route
Gunfire Disrupts White House Correspondents’ Dinner as Trump Is Evacuated
A Leak, a King, and a Fracturing Alliance
Inside the Gates Foundation Turmoil: Layoffs, Scrutiny, and the Cost of Reputational Risk
UK Biobank Breach Exposes Health Data of 500,000, Listed for Sale on Chinese Platform
KPMG Cuts Around 10% of US Audit Partners After Failed Exit Push
French Police Probe Suspected Weather-Data Tampering After Unusual Polymarket Bets on Paris Temperatures
CATL Unveils Revolutionary EV Battery Tech: 1000 km Range and 7-Minute Charging Ahead of Beijing Auto Show
Crypto Scammers Capitalize on Maritime Chaos Near the Strait of Hormuz: A Rising Threat to Shipping Companies
Changi Airport: How Singapore Engineered the World’s Most Efficient Travel Experience
Power Dynamics: Apple’s Leadership Shakeup, Geopolitical Risks in the Strait of Hormuz, and Europe's Energy Strategy Amidst Global Challenges
Apple's Leadership Transition: Can New CEO John Ternus Navigate AI Challenges and Geopolitical Pressures?
Italy’s €100K Tax Gambit: Europe’s Soft Power Tax Haven
News Roundup
Microsoft lost 2.5 millions users (French government) to Linux
Privacy Problems in Microsoft Windows OS
News roundup
Péter András Magyar and the Strategic Reset of Hungary
Hungary After the Landslide — A Strategic Reset in Europe
Meghan Markle Plans Exclusive Women-Focused Retreat During Australia Visit
Starmer and Trump Hold Strategic Talks on Securing Strait of Hormuz Amid Rising Tensions
Unofficial Australia Visit by Prince Harry and Meghan Expected to Stir Tensions with Royal Circles
Pipeline Attack Cuts Significant Share of Saudi Arabia’s Oil Export Capacity
UK Stocks Rise on Ceasefire Momentum and Renewed Focus on Diplomacy
UK to Hold Further Strategic Talks on Strait of Hormuz Security
Starmer Voices Frustration as Global Tensions Drive Up UK Energy Costs
UK Students Voice Concern Over Proposal for Automatic Military Draft Registration
Rising Volatility Drives Uncertainty in UK Fuel and Petrol Prices
UK Moves to Deploy ‘Skyhammer’ Anti-Drone System to Strengthen Airspace Defense
New Analysis Explores UK Budget Mechanics in ‘Behind the Blue’ Feature
Man Arrested After Four Die in Channel Crossing Tragedy
UK Tightens Immigration Framework with New Sponsor Rules and Fee Increases
UK Foreign Secretary Highlights Impact of Intensified Strikes in Lebanon
UK Urges Inclusion of Lebanon in US-Iran Ceasefire Framework
UK Stocks Ease as Ceasefire Doubts in Middle East Weigh on Investor Confidence
UK Reassesses Cloud Strategy Amid Criticism Over Limited Support Measures
×