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General election 2024 live: Leaders to hit the campaign trail as Michael Gove steps down - BBC News General election 2024 live: Leaders hit the campaign trail as Michael Gove steps down - BBC News
(32 minutes later)
Treasury minister Bim Afolami has denied that Rishi Sunak is "taking the day off" from campaigning amid reports that the prime minister was taking a step back from partaking in public events. On the topic of Michael Gove's departure, we can now bring you a bit more from inside the party about how his departure is being received.
"It's not right. He's going to be campaigning in Yorkshire," he tells Sky News. Treasury minister Bim Afolami has insisted it is "not unnatural" for Tory MPs - including high-profile figures like Michael Gove - to be quitting weeks ahead of the general election.
When asked for specifics about what Sunak had planned for the day, including what events he would be attending, Afolami replied by saying: "I don't know what he's got planned but I know he's campaigning in Yorkshire today." He told Times Radio it is normal for people "in their 50s or 60s coming to retirement or indeed retiring completely, that they choose to bring their political careers to a close".
The Guardian reported earlier that Sunak would retreat from the campaign trail today and spend the day at home in his constituency and in London. Afolami says he had not considered standing down himself, saying the Tory party is "pretty confident" of winning in his Hertfordshire seat, where he has a majority of under 7,000.
"The Lib Dems are strong but, you know, we're confident that we'll hold the seat and we'll beat them," he adds.
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