Political parties resume general election campaign
- Published
General election campaigning will get back under way nationally on Friday after a three-day pause following the Manchester bombing.
Conservatives, Labour, Greens and the SNP say they will restart low-key local campaigning on Thursday before resuming national events the next day.
UKIP's Paul Nuttall will be launching his party's manifesto on Thursday.
Theresa May will not be taking part in Friday's events as she will be in Sicily for the G7 summit.
Buckingham Palace has confirmed there will be a minute's silence at 11:00 BST on Thursday to honour the victims of the suicide bombing in which 22 people, including children, were killed.
Announcing Labour's plans, leader Jeremy Corbyn said: "The British people are united in their resolve that terror will not prevail. It will not prevent us going about our daily lives or derail our democratic process.
"Resuming democratic debate and campaigning is an essential mark of the country's determination to defend our democracy and the unity that the terrorists have sought to attack."
Paul Nuttall says people cannot be 'cowed... by those who wish to do us harm'
All the major parties suspended national campaigning after Monday's bombing at the Manchester Arena.
Local Labour activists did some low-key campaigning on Wednesday, such as delivering leaflets, but nothing which involved contact with voters.
Mr Nuttall, who is a UKIP Member of the European Parliament for the North West of England said everyone was "horrified by the horrific events that took place in Manchester" and it had been "right and proper" for political parties to suspend their election campaigns "for a short period as a mark of respect to those who lost their lives or suffered appalling injuries".
"But we cannot be cowed or allow our way of life to be undermined by those who wish to do us harm," he said.
"These people hate the way we live, hate our freedom and hate our democracy.
"The best response we can make is to ensure that the democratic process continues and therefore I have decided that we must to go ahead with the launch of the UKIP general election manifesto tomorrow.
"For those who say that nothing must change, but then complain, it is by prolonging the disruption to normality that we allow the terrorists to win. Politics has never been more important, politicians must deal with these issues."