General Election LIVE: 'The marriage is OFF!' Farage rejects plea from Suella Braverman

Labour plots energy drink crackdown as Streeting slams Sunak on health

Labour has pledged to ban under-16s from buying high-caffeine energy drinks if it wins in July.

Sir Keir Starmer slammed the sale of drinks containing more than 150mg of caffeine per litre to under-16s as "not justifiable or acceptable", adding: "We'll stop it. I will always take the tough decisions necessary to keep our children healthy."

While Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting took aim at the PM, saying: "Rishi Sunak is too weak to stand up to his party and protect children's health.

"He crumbled in the face of opposition from his MPs and sacrificed his landmark Smoking Bill.

"The Tories have stood idly by as children go to school wired on the equivalent of three shots of espresso from these toxic drinks. It stops them sleeping and damages their mental health... How on earth do we expect children to learn with that in their system?

"It's time for change. Labour will end the sale of dangerously high caffeine energy drinks, provide 100,000 extra child dentistry appointments and mental health support in every school."

The party has said it expects drinks like Coca-Cola to fall below the caffeine per litre limit - but a 500ml can of Monster Energy would exceed it.

National trading standards would be expected to enforce the policy.

Conservatives won't win by lurching to the extreme right, Tobias Ellwood says

Tobias Ellwood has said he would not welcome Nigel Farage into the Conservative Party and described the Reform Party’s strategy as "playing on the anger and blaming others" as he also hit out at a candidate who said the UK should have been neutral against Hitler.

The former chair of the Defence Select Committee also sent a warning to colleagues saying that political parties do not win when they move to the extremes of the political spectrum.

Speaking on GB News, Ellwood said: “There are some fundamentals here that are misunderstood. No party on the left or right wins elections when they move to the extremes, which is what is being suggested here. Jeremy Corbyn illustrated it with Labour.

“When our party looks united, looks focused and governs from the centre right, as our history shows, going back to Disraeli, Baldwin, Churchill, Thatcher as well, and indeed, David Cameron, harnessing the talents from all wings of the party, light blue and dark blue, our appeal goes way beyond that party base, and we gain general support across the country and we win.

“In UK politics, 25 per cent plus 10 per cent does not equal 35 per cent... Adding the poll numbers of the Conservatives and Reform does not give you a winning formula, as you’ll haemorrhage votes from the middle ground.

“Conservatism is about leading the nation, not dividing it. It's about finding solutions to our challenges, not playing on the anger and blaming others.

“It's about promoting a strong, secure Britain that steps forward into harm's way to defend our values.

“It certainly is not about appeasing adversaries, as Reformers suggested today, suggesting Britain would be better off if it had taken Hitler up on his offer of neutrality.

“What an insult to the generation that we've actually just taken our hats off and said thank you to the 80th anniversary; Churchill must be turning in his grave.”

PM doubles down on D Day exit apology - 'find it in your hearts to forgive me!'

Rishi Sunak has again urged Britons to forgive his early D Day departure following a spate of condemnations from politicians and the public alike.

The PM had said his itinerary for D Day events had been set "weeks ago" and he had attended other events with veterans, including in Portsmouth.

But he left the commemorations in Normandy early in order to film an interview with ITV - which is still yet to see the light of day.

Sunak left posing with fellow Western leaders Joe Biden, Emmanuel Macron and Olaf Scholz in the hands of Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron - and his departure set up an open goal for electoral rival Sir Keir Starmer to pose for a key photo-op with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Speaking to the BBC as part of its Panorama interviews with party leaders ahead of the July 4 General Election, the PM said: "Well, the last thing that I wanted to do was cause anyone any hurt or offence or upset, which is why I apologised unreservedly for the mistake that I made.

"And I can only ask that I hope people can find it within their hearts to forgive me and also look at my actions as Prime Minister to increase investment in our armed forces, to support our armed forces, but also to ensure that veterans have a minister sitting around the Cabinet table with unprecedented support to make this the best country in the world to be a veteran as a demonstration of how deeply I care about this community and what they’ve done for our country."

Farage takes aim at Greens amid Reform row over candidate's Hitler comments

Nigel Farage has said all parties were bound to have controversial election candidates amid a row over comments made by Reform contender Ian Gribbin about Adolf Hitler.

Gribbin, the prospective candidate for East Sussex constituency Bexhill & Battle, had said pre-war Britain should have "taken Hitler up on his offer of neutrality" - comments which a Reform spokesman said were not "endorsements, just arguing points in long distance debates".

He had also reportedly said women were the "sponging gender" and should be "deprived of health care", for which he was heavily criticised - but the spokesman said "his tongue is so firmly in his cheek one should be able to spot it from 100 yards".

When questioned on Gribbin's remarks, Farage said: "They've got a bigger problem in the Green Party. They've had to suspend 20 of their candidates for putting out pretty vile antisemitic tweets.

"Here's something, I think every party will suffer because it was a snap election. We've put in place a good vetting programme, but we've run out of time."

Party chairman Richard Tice added: "We're really pleased with all candidates. When people do inappropriate things, say daft things, then of course we'll look at it and investigate it and that's what we do."

But Veterans' minister Johnny Mercer slammed Gribbin's comments as "shameful", adding that they showed "a shocking lack of judgment".

Mercer said: "These comments ignore the millions murdered by the Nazis in their bid for European domination and the ultimate sacrifice paid by the men and women who stood up to Hitler in our darkest hour.

"Misusing appeasement to justify Nazi apologism is disgraceful and comments like this are deeply troubling coming from a political party."

GB News has approached the Green Party for comment.

READ THE FULL STORY ON GRIBBIN'S COMMENTS HERE

Tory MPs CAN defect to Reform UK after election, says Farage

Nigel Farage said he would give Tory MPs the chance to defect to Reform after the party secures an "electoral beachhead" on July 4.

When asked about what is likely to happen to the Conservatives if they lose the election, the Reform leader said: "If you think that the last four years has seen the Conservatives engage in a very public civil war, I would suggest to you that after the election that they are going to lose heavily, you ain’t seen nothing yet.

"I can’t even imagine the level of recrimination that the level is going to descend into.

"Therefore the answer is quite straightforward.

"Once we have established the electoral beachhead for Reform in the House of Commons then of course I will say to Suella Braverman and Robert Jenrick we would love to have you in our party, we look forward to it very much indeed."

Reform is now the 'challenger for Labour', says Nigel Farage

Reform UK leader, Nigel Farage has ruled out an electoral pact with the Conservatives.

He said: "Yes, we’ve got a long way behind in London. Yes, we’ve got a long way behind in Scotland, but actually in significant parts of the country we are now the challenger for Labour.”

He added: "We’re closer to a very big breakthrough than some of those disreputable opinion polls in yesterday’s Sunday newspapers tried to imply. I have written to Professor Green, head of the British Polling Council, and I very much hope that the polling industry becomes honest.

"Otherwise, I’ll have a fight with them, like I had a fight with the banks last year, I can’t wait. It’s up to them, it really, really is."

When asked about a potential coalition with the Tories, Farage said: "How can we have an electoral pact with Robert Buckland? What are you talking about? It isn’t going to happen.

"And anyway, why would either of us want to do an electoral pact with a party that we gave a very, very clear run into, back in 2019 in that December election, and was betrayed. Not just us, but millions of people who put their faith in them. That is a great story, but it ain’t gonna happen."

Britain is 'skint', says Farage - Reform UK announce economic policies

Richard Tice said Reform would increase the threshold at which people start paying income tax to £20,000.

The party also promise to lift the VAT threshold for small businesses from £90,000 to £150,000.

Farage's party plan to raise the threshold for paying income tax to £20,000.

Chairman Tice said it will be paid for by overhauling the Bank of England.

Speaking at a press conference in London, Farage said: "We need to face up to one or two realities. We are skint. And it is getting worse.

"And at some point in time we may even have trouble issuing gilts, issuing government bonds unless the market sees that we have got some solutions.

"And that is why the only way out is growth and I think what Richard has just set out, in particular putting up the tax threshold to £20,000 would be a very, very big step in the right direction."

'Rebuilding relationship' with EU 'will take time, unfortunately', says Ed Davey

GB News' Christopher Hope asks the Lib Dem leader about whether the ultimate goal is to re-joining the EU.

Sir Ed Davey said his party is pro-European and "you should work with your partners".

He added: "Rebuilding relationships is going to take time, unfortunately."

Davey did not confirm whether the party would re-join the EU.

Lib Dems promise to REVERSE Brexit in General Election manifesto

The Liberal Democrats have promised to reverse Brexit in their General Election manifesto.

The party says it would "aim to place the UK-EU relationship on a more formal and stable footing by seeking to join the Single Market."

SEE THE FULL STORY HERE.

Lib Dems KEY announcements - NHS and social care are ‘in crisis’

Sir Ed Davey, the leader of the Liberal Democrats has unveiled his party's manifesto.

This year’s manifesto is titled For A Fair Deal.

Here are the key announcements:

• Britons will be entitled to a GP appointment within seven days, or within 24 hours for urgent cases
• Better access to dentists and pharmacists
• Introduction of an NHS-style free social care
• Reinstating adequate bereavement support for parents who lose a partner
• "Fixing" the "broken relationship" with Europe - Having UK "back at the heart of Europe"
• Care workers will be provided with a new, higher minimum wage and launching a new Royal College of Care Workers
• Crack down on second homes - allow local authorities to increase council tax by up to 500 per cent on second homes
• Transitioning from a first-past-the-post electoral system to a proportional representation model

Manifesto is 'carefully costed', says Liberal Democrats leader

Sir Ed Davey says his "114-page document" has been "carefully costed".

Plans by the Lib Dems have been branded a "manifesto to save the NHS".

Davey pledges £9.4 billion package for NHS and social care after opening with emotional story as a carer

Sir Ed Davey opens his speech with an anecdote about looking after his mother who was battling cancer.

"When she died, I never called myself a young carer, I never thought of myself that way. I was just looking after my mum," he said

"It has been truly overwhelming over the past week or so to have the incredible messages I've received from people who've heard me talking about my experiences caring for my mum when I was a teenager," he says.

"Your message just means so much to me… caring has been in the shadows for far too long. And I'm proud that as a party we have brought it into the light."

Liberal Democrats leader Sir Ed Davey launches manifesto

Sir Ed Davey has started his speech ahead of his party's manifesto announcement.

Sunak squashes rumours he may quit as he vows to carry on until last day of campaign

Rishi Sunak has vowed to carry on “until the last day of this campaign” as he attempts to draw a line under the fallout over his D-Day decision.

The Prime Minister said he will not stop “fighting for the future of our country” when asked about rumours that he might quit ahead of the General Election on July 4.

He has been spotted back in action campaigning in West Sussex this morning.

"People are gonna say what they’re gonna say,” Mr Sunak told reporters on the campaign trail when asked about the rumours.

"I am very confident in the actions that we’re putting forward for the British people.

"I’m confident they will deliver a more secure future for people. There are lots of people who want to write me off, write this off, say this campaign or the election is a foregone conclusion.

"They’ve been saying that, by the way, ever since I’ve got this job, right? Not since this election campaign."

Douglas Ross issues statement on resignation 

Douglas Ross is set to stand down as leader of the Scottish Conservatives after the general election.

In a statement, he said: "I have served as MP, MSP and Leader for over three years now and believed I could continue to do so if re-elected to Westminster, but on reflection, that is not feasible.

"I am committed to fighting and winning the Aberdeenshire North and Moray East constituency. Should I be given the honour to represent the people and communities of this new seat, they should know being their MP would receive my complete focus and attention.

"I will therefore stand down as Leader following the election on July 4th, once a successor is elected. Should I win the seat, I will also stand down as an MSP to make way for another Scottish Conservative representative in Holyrood.

"My party has a chance to beat the SNP in key seats up and down Scotland, including in Aberdeenshire North and Moray East. We must now come together and fully focus on doing exactly that."

READ THE FULL STORY HERE.

Rishi Sunak takes swipe at Labour with new election ad - 'Labour will cost every working family £2,094'

Labour Shadow Schools Minister unable to say when schools could see 6,500 extra teachers

In an interview with GB News, Cat McKinnell was asked if schools would get them in a single year or over the course of the next Parliament.

McKinnell replied: "Obviously, the revenue will be raised on an annual basis, but we want to see 6,000 more teachers generally in our state school system.

"We've seen that the Government are missing their recruitment targets year on year for teachers filling the places that they need to within our state system.

"We need to see an injection of activity to ensure that we have the teaching workforce we need.”

She continued: "The other side of this is we need to make sure that schools are places where teachers want to work, that they're an attractive place to be, that children want to be as well.

"And so making sure that we have sufficient workforce will also stop so many teachers leaving. We see a large problem with retention as much as recruitment. We want to see that across the board."

Policing Minister grilled over Sunak going into 'hiding' over weekend amid D-Day debacle

Ellie Costello has challenged Chris Philp on whether the public will see Rishi Sunak today after the Prime Minister went into "hiding" over the weekend.

Speaking on GB News, he said: "I'm not sure about hiding - I don't know what his schedule is today - but I expect him to be out and about, meeting voters and journalists somewhere up and down the UK.

"I'm sure we'll see him energetically bouncing around on the campaign trail."

Douglas Ross to STAND DOWN as leader of Scottish Tories

Douglas Ross is to stand down as leader of the Scottish Conservatives after the General Election, he has announced.

Labour U-turns on plan to bring back pension lifetime cap

The Labour party has deserted plans for a tax raid on pensions in a U-turn estimated to be worth £800 million.

Shadow chancellor, Rachel Reeves has abandoned a pledge to restore the lifetime allowance - which capped the amount people were able to save into their pensions tax free.

Labour said the money set to be raised by the policy was not included in its spending plans, so will therefore not be required to find the cash elsewhere.

However, the Tory party claim it is a growing "black hole" in the party’s finances.

Farage is NOT asking to join Tory party, Conservative minister says

Policing minister, Chris Philp has said that Nigel Farage is not asking to join the Conservative party.

"Nigel Farage is running against the Conservatives in this election and by doing so he risks letting Sir Keir Starmer into Downing Street," he told the BBC.

"He is not asking to join the Conservative party."

When asked whether he would welcome Farage into the Tory party, Philp said he is "not getting drawn on hypotheticals".

Next government must reduce state-run services or increase taxes to maintain departmental spending levels, warns economic research institute

The next government will likely raise taxes, increase borrowing or "get lucky" with the economy, the director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies has said.

Both Labour and the the Tories say they will not raise income tax, National Insurance and VAT.

Paul Johnson said that the public finances and forecasts indicate around £18 billion in spending cuts will be necessary over the next five years.

He told the BBC: "It is worth saying that [£18bn of cuts] is not a prediction about what will happen, that is simply what the arithmetic of the budget numbers implies.

"I don’t think that is what will happen. I think one way or another the next government will find a way of avoiding that, either by increasing taxes or by increasing borrowing above what they are planning or possibly just by getting lucky.

"It may be that the economy turns out better than we expect and £18 billion, in a sense, isn’t a huge number in the context of more than £1 trillion of public spending each year."

Lib Dems pledge 'big plan' to 'save the NHS'

The Liberal Democrats’ manifesto will include a plan to "save the NHS and social care", the party’s deputy leader said.

She said the party is promising a £9 billion boost for the social care system.

"We believe that that plan is going to require an additional £9bn per year and we’re going to get that money by taxing the big banks and billionaires," she told Sky News.

She added that £4bn will come from reversing a tax cut given to big banks and the other £5bn will be generated from reforming capital gains tax.

Policing minister 'shocked and disappointed' with Rishi Sunak over D-Day decision

Chris Philp said he was "shocked and disappointed" with the Prime Minister when he heard the Prime Minister had left Normandy early.

But added that Rishi Sunak’s apology for leaving the D-Day commemorations was "sincerely felt".

"It is fairly rare, I think you would agree as a journalist, to see a senior politician apologise so quickly," he told Sky News.

"So I think it was really sincerely felt because he is someone who has really backed veterans."

Labour to convert empty classrooms into 100,000 new childcare places

Unused primary-school classrooms will be turned into an extra 100,000 childcare places, under Labour plans.

Sir Keir Starmer said a shortage of childcare means parents are being held back in their careers and children were "starting school already behind".

The proposal will be funded by its VAT raid on private schools.

Suella Braverman insists Tories will need to 'work together' with Reform 'in the future'

Former home secretary, Suella Braverman has called for the Conservative Party to work with Reform UK leader Nigel Farage "in the future".

Farage has ruled out a deal with the Conservatives in this election.

"We need to, in the future, to find some way to work together because there shouldn't be big differences between us," Braverman told The Times.

"I would welcome Nigel into the Conservative Party. There's not much difference really between him and many of the policies that we stand for."

Liberal Democrats to announce manifesto today

Deputy Leader, Daisy Cooper say the Lib Dems are focusing on pumping more money into the health service.

She said the party's manifesto is a "bold plan", which will be funded by "taxing the big banks".

"The money could boost GP numbers by 8,000 and improve the access crisis to dentistry," Cooper told the BBC.