Johnson and Corbyn Set to Go Head-To-Head: U.K. Campaign Trail

(Bloomberg) --

With six days before U.K. voters go to the polls, Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn will this evening go head-to-head in one of the most important debates of the election campaign.

Johnson wrote to Corbyn ahead of the debate, accusing him of trying to “fiddle” the result of the second Brexit referendum he wants by allowing EU nationals to vote. With Labour still trailing the Conservatives in the opinion polls, Friday's debate could be one of the final opportunities to close the gap.

Must Read: Britain's Brexit Election Is Now a Referendum on Jeremy Corbyn

For more on the election visit ELEC.

Coming Up:

• 9.30 a.m. Corbyn will give a speech in central London.
• 8.30 p.m. BBC prime ministerial debate in Southampton.

Polls:

• Betting odds show a 71% chance of a Conservative majority, according to Ladbrokes.
• The Tory lead is now below 10 points, according to the BritainElects poll tracker.
• Here's a summary of recent polls.

Catching Up:

• BBC interviewer Andrew Neil attacked Johnson for refusing to be interviewed by him, accusing him of avoiding scrutiny.
• Labour's Treasury spokesman John McDonnell said his party would try to govern without a formal arrangement with other parties in the event of a hung Parliament.
• Officials are getting ready for a boom from the extra paperwork needed to keep goods moving across borders after Brexit.
• Johnson laid out his plan for his first 100 days in office. He refused to accept taxes would rise under the Tories, at odd with his own manifesto costings.
• The Jewish Labour Movement published its submission to the Equality and Human Rights Commission's probe into antisemitism in Labour.
• Four Brexit Party Members of the European Parliament quit the party to campaign for Johnson's Brexit deal.

The Markets:

• The pound traded at $1.3163 at 6:50 a.m. on Friday.
• Traders are hedging against a fall in the pound after the election.
• From Bloomberg Intelligence: U.K. Election Primer: Britain's Economic Future Held in Balance

To contact the reporter on this story: Jessica Shankleman in London at jshankleman@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net, Adam Blenford, Chris Kay

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