From Reuters

We’re jetting over to the UK this week for the latest national election in this year’s global roll call. And what an action-packed campaign it’s been since Prime Minister Rishi Sunak surprised many by calling the general election just over a month ago.

From the rain-soaked announcement to an insider gambling scandaland the entry of popular Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage, you can follow all the twists and turns on our UK Election microsite. 

The opinion polls predict a record defeat for Sunak’s Conservatives on July 4, after 14 years in government, with the Keir Starmer-led Labour Party expected to comfortably win a large majority.

AI is again a feature of an election campaign, but with a new twist: voters in one English town are being given the chance to elect what is billed as the world’s first AI lawmaker. “AI Steve” is the alter-ego of businessman Steve Endacott, who plans to build a party of AI candidates.

And those stunts? Most campaigning politicians try to avoid embarrassing crashes and slips. Not Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey. He has so far fallen off a paddleboard, screamed on a rollercoaster, splashed down a waterslide and tackled an assault course. For a glimpse of his exploits take a look at the work of our intrepid photojournalists on the campaign trail.

Coming up NEXT:    

• Reuters NEXT APAC, July 9. Our inaugural NEXT summit in Asia takes place in Singapore.
  
  Speakers include Singapore Minister for Communications and Information Josephine Teo, DBS Bank CEO Piyush Gupta, Singapore Exchange CEO Loh Boon Chye, Alibaba Vice-President Kaifu Zhang, Google CTO Chief Partner Renee Lo, CDL CSO Esther An, Grab CTO Suthen Thomas Paradatheth and MUFG Asia CEO Masakazu Osawa.
  
  The one-day event will bring together around 350 people, while the livestream of the World Stage will reach millions more. To join viewers from around the world, register here.

CYMI: 

• European Central Bank Chief Economist Philip Lane told us in aReuters NEXT Newsmaker (June 17) that the ECB should persist in restraining economic growth, given ample inflationary pressures. Watch video of the event, hosted by our partner LSEG, here. 
• Constellation Energy CEO Joseph Dominguez said in a Reuters NEXT Newsmaker (June 11), the company is considering new nuclear plants for unprecedented data centre power demand. Watch the video here. 

Related reading: 

• UK general election 2024: How does it work and what’s next?
• Key issues to know about in UK election
• What are UK political parties offering to voters?
• Starmer vs Sunak: How Britain’s parties are addressing immigration concerns
• Hong Kongers embrace politics in UK, but some still fear Beijing
• Billionaire UK political donor switches allegiance to back Labour
• Bank of England keeps rates at 5.25% ahead of UK election