Election news
- SNP launches manifesto - see main policies
- 'The plan is working': PM welcomes fall in inflation
- Sunak 'sorry to hear' voter thinks he is 'pound shop Farage'
- Minister admits Starmer could 'walk into Downing Street'
- YouGov and Sky to reveal major poll at 5pm
- Sky News Daily:'We need an adult conversation about migration'
- Live reporting by Tim Baker
Expert analysis
- Rob Powell:PM makes defence a key line of attack
- Jon Craig:Poll and defection are double trouble for Tories
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Key policies from SNP manifesto launch
The SNP's manifesto has been launched by party leader John Swinney.
No costings were provided alongside the 32-page document titled "a future made in Scotland" - and it's important to note many of the main policies would rest with the Westminster government.
Here they are:
- To deliver independence via a second referendum;
- From there, rejoin the EU - delivering freedom of movement, access to workers from the bloc, and re-entry to Erasmus;
- End 14 years of austerity and tackle the cost of living crisis by reversing the £1.3bn Westminster cut to Scotland's capital budget;
- Protect the NHS from privatisation and boost funding by £10bn;
- Demand an immediate ceasefire in Gaza;
- Scrap the two-child benefit cap;
- Demand the devolution of employment rights, new borrowing and taxation powers, and the ability for Scotland to have its own migration system, including scrapping the Rwanda scheme;
- Support the abolition of the House of Lords;
- Give WASPI women full, fast and fair compensation;
- Ban zero-hours contracts and fire and rehire;
- Decriminalise drugs for personal use and introducing a framework to allow supervised drug consumption facilities;
- Protect pensions by maintaining the triple lock and move to deliver a wellbeing pension;
- Scrap the Trident nuclear deterrent;
- Increase maternity pay and increase leave to a year;
- Defend free university tuition in Scotland;
- Replace first past the post with single transferrable vote, scrap voter ID, and reduce the voting age to 16;
- Restore foreign aid budget to 0.7%;
- Raise military recruitment age to 18.
PM makes defence a key line of attack
Rishi Sunak spoke to reporters while guzzling a Twix (his second of the day apparently) in the visitor centre of the Sizewell B nuclear power plant on the Suffolk coast.
The second half of the campaign has been marked out by a constant focus on tax from the Tories, and more specifically accusations about what Labour would do if they got into power.
That was on show again today, but the prime minister also tried to reinforce a dividing line on defence – accusing Sir Keir Starmer of "undermining" the UK's security.
"If Keir Starmer is elected one of the first things he will do is head off to a NATO summit having cut British defence spending from the planned increases I've announced," he said.
"I think that sends exactly the wrong message both to our allies, but also to our adversaries like Putin and like the North Koreans."
It comes after Vladimir Putin signed a defence deal with Kim Jong Un, which you can read more about below:
Like many of the jibes thrown around in this campaign, the PM's facts are disputed by Labour – who say they will match the 2.5% of GDP defence commitment but only "when economic conditions allow".
Mr Sunak was also asked about his predecessor Boris Johnson apparently jetting off on holiday rather than playing more of an active role in the campaign.
He said he was "grateful" the former PM had been "supporting the Conservative Party" and regularly warning about the "risks of what Starmer would do in government".
Given it's Mr Johnson's 60th birthday, Mr Sunak also added a brisk "happy birthday".
'What might go wrong?' Sunak visits nuclear power station
Rishi Sunak has been visiting Sizewell B today, a nuclear power station in Suffolk.
He toured the facility, sometimes donning protective gear.
At one point, the prime minister was talking to apprentices while looking at a simulation control panel.
"What's an example of something that might go wrong?" Mr Sunak asked.
PM welcomes falling inflation - and plays down highest day of Channel crossings this year
Rishi Sunak has welcomed inflation falling back to the 2% target - one of the goals he set himself in early 2023.
He said the fall in inflation was a "very positive step" that "shows the plan we put in place is working".
The prime minister added Labour would "whack taxes up for everyone", while he would cut them.
Responding to the fact 882 people crossed the Channel in small boats yesterday - the highest total since late 2022 - the PM saidthere would always be some days "worse than others".
Again, he said the election was a choice between him and Labour, advocating for the Rwanda plan first proposed in April 2022.
Starmer 'will walk into Downing Street' if polls are right, minister admits
Tory minister David TC Davies has been speaking to The Sun about his party's election chances.
The Wales secretary does not paint an optimistic picture.
"People are really quite concerned at the moment and not at all happy, there's no great optimism out there," he said.
"And I feel for everyone and I think we're going to get it in the neck, all of us, as a result of that."
He says he and the Tories "can't hide" from the opinion polls suggesting the party could be on course for a historic defeat.
While "they never get it 100% right", the minister does admit "they're clearly pointing at a large Labour majority".
"Keir Starmer will walk into Downing Street," he added.
"I'm sorry about that. We've got to do more to get our message across."
'Serious investors' getting behind Labour, Starmer says
While the SNP was launching its manifesto, we caught up with Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer.
He reiterated his focus on "growing our economy" and bringing investment into the UK "to create wealth and the jobs of the future".
It comes after Labour won the backing of John Caudwell, a businessman who was one of the Tories' biggest donors in 2019.
"These are serious entrepreneurs and investors who know that the most important thing is how you invest and grow your economy," Sir Keir said about his party's growing list of business backers.
Lives won't 'suddenly get easier' after inflation news
He also said people were getting fed up with hearing that government saying "everything is fine" with the economy in the wake of this morning's inflation data release.
He told broadcasters in Wiltshire: "Inflation is now down to where it was three years ago. That doesn't mean that for many people life's suddenly got easier.
"So, yes, it's back where it was three years ago, but that doesn't mean that prices are coming down, it doesn't mean that mortgages are coming down."
'Shocking' number of people crossing Channel
Sir Keir also said the number of people crossing the Channel in small boats was "shocking" - on the day it was reported more than 12,000 people had made the journey so far this year.
"It's record numbers, and this was Rishi Sunak's pledge to the country 18 months ago, he would stop the boats," he said.
"The way to bring this down is what we would do, which is to set up a border security command to smash the gangs running this vile trade."
What's the point in voting SNP?
It's pointed out to Mr Swinney that the SNP has not delivered on its promises on independence, Brexit, climate change and other things.
He is asked what is the point in voting for them.
Mr Swinney turns the question to point at the Labour Party - who he is talking about as if they will win the general election.
He says they are no change from the Tories who have been in power for 14 years - and that the SNP represents the change that Scotland needs.
Why are pro-independence voters turning away from the SNP?
Our political correspondentTamara Cohen is next up to ask the SNP leader a question.
She asks why polls are showing that pro-independence voters are turning away from the SNP ahead of this election.
John Swinney says there are two reasons for this.
"One is that the SNP have had a tough time for the last wee while," he says, while the second is that people are desperate to get the Tories out of power.
"People are absolutely desperate to get rid of this awful, awful Conservative government and [because of that] they are considering voting Labour," he says.
He warns those voters: "Be careful what you wish for."
SNP won't rule out tax rises - but accuses Labour of planning spending cuts
A second question concerns whether the SNP will raise taxes.
"We've taken some hard decisions in the Scottish government - we've increased tax on higher earners so we could invest more in our public services," says Mr Swinney.
He doesn't address tax rises in a potential next SNP government directly.
He then attacks Labour.
"People need to be really aware of what are the consequences of voting Labour," he says.
"Voting Labour in Scotland will get you spending cuts and that will be a disastrous outcome from the election."
SNP leader vows to 'embark on negotiations' for another referendum
The BBC asks Mr Swinney whether the SNP winning a majority of Scottish seats could lead to independence.
In response, the SNP leader says the best way to secure independence is through a referendum.
He says the "obstacle" to this is the "intransigence" of the House of Commons.
Mr Swinney again points to the 2021 Holyrood parliamentary election as being the mandate for his party to negotiate independence - rather than the referendum held in 2014.
The SNP won 47.7% of the vote in 2021.
If the SNP gets a majority of Scottish seats, Mr Swinney says his party will "embark on negotiations" with the UK government to "turn the democratic wishes of the people of Scotland into a reality".
Asked how people can vote to say they want Scotland to stay in the UK, Mr Swinney says the 2021 Holyrood election should be respected instead.
He does not say how someone could democratically disagree with the SNP in a way that the party would recognise.
