Following on from last night's Question Time election special, representatives from the five most prominent political parties in Wales will tonight trade blows in a live televised debate.

Hosted by Bethan Rhys Roberts, the debate will be broadcast live on BBC One Wales, Radio Wales and online, at 19:00 BST.

It will feature Welsh Labour leader and First Minister Vaughan Gething, Conservative and Wales Secretary David TC Davies, Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth, Jane Dodds for the Lib Dems and Oliver Lewis for Reform UK.

• You can read more on what to expect during the debate here

Image source, BBC/Reuters

Jenni Davidson
Scotland senior politics reporter

Scotland’s Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes will be calling for a cut in VAT for tourism and hospitality businesses when she visits a community shop in Glasgow for the SNP this morning.

The intention to introduce a lower rate of VAT for businesses in those sectors is set out in the SNP’s manifesto - although it doesn’t specify what that lower rate would be.

Ahead of the visit, Forbes said hospitality and tourism businesses had been battered by the Covid pandemic and are still being battered by Brexit - and it was time Westminster gave them a break.

Cutting VAT would be a “win-win-win” for hospitality, tourism and the wider economy, she added.

Sam Hancock
Live reporter

It may well be Friday but with 4 July (polling day) less than two weeks away, don't be fooled into thinking the election campaign is winding down for the weekend.

On the day after a Question Time Leaders' Special, which saw Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Labour leader Keir Starmer, Lib Dem leader Ed Davey and Scottish First Minister John Swinney grilled by audience members, we've got lots to bring you.

Manifestos: Welsh Labour and the Welsh Conservative Party will both launch their manifestos today, with Sunak due in Wales for the latter.

Campaigning: Starmer will be in Scotland, Davey in Yorkshire and Norfolk - and we should also see Deputy Scottish First Minister Kate Forbes out and about in Glasgow.

Interviews: As well as this morning's media round, which Labour's deputy leader Angela Rayner will take part in, the next in Nick Robinson's series of BBC Panorama interviews with party leaders will air this evening. It's with Reform UK's Nigel Farage.

So, another busy day but myself and colleagues will bring you everything you need to know as the day progresses.

Impassioned Question Time audience puts leaders on the spotpublished at 06:17 British Summer Time 21 June

06:17 BST 21 June

Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent

Did it change the course of the election? For all the campaigns, that’s the question that really matters in the aftermath of the Question Time Leaders' Special.

With the caveat that it’s often hard to tell as the embers from the event are still dying, the answer is probably not.

But there were still moments of intense political energy over the two hours, not least because of the politically engaged, forthright and often impassioned audience who gave none of the four leaders an easy time.

First up was Sir Ed Davey. For much of the campaign his eye-grabbing stunts have been taken as a successful way to grab attention for his campaign’s core messages on health and care. But within minutes they were turned against him, wielded as an accusation of un-seriousness.

John Swinney was by far the newest party leader taking part. But he is far from new to politics. Funnily enough the legal turmoil which has engulfed senior SNP figures was something of a theme. He did his best not go there, repeatedly pivoting to defend the SNP’s actions as a government.

Sir Keir Starmer had moments of difficulty, especially over his past support for Jeremy Corbyn.

After an extremely difficult 24 hours for the Conservatives, Rishi Sunak bounded on to the stage with pep in his step. But the brutal reality of his position was exposed instantly.

• Read my analysis in full here

The BBC's Adam Fleming was watching the debate from the spin room in York where he was joined by Chris Mason and Alex Forsyth.

Sit back and listen to their impressions of the debate on Newscast.

Sam Francis
Political reporter

On Question Time, Starmer said his predecessor Corbyn would have made a "better prime minister" than Boris Johnson.

He was pushed on his previous support for Corbyn, whom he eventually expelled from the Labour Party following a row over antisemitism and who is now standing as an independent.

During the 2019 election, Starmer said Corbyn would make a “great prime minister" but when asked about it last week said he had been “certain” Labour would lose that election.

Asked why voters should trust him – and why he had praised his predecessor in 2019 - Starmer said Corbyn "would be a better prime minister" than "what we got - Boris Johnson, a man who made massive promises and didn't keep them".

• Read more on this story here.

Sofia Ferreira Santos
BBC News

Allegations that Tory insiders were betting on the election date and moments from last night's Question Time are all over the papers this morning.

The Financial Times reports on what they call a "flurry of bets" as four people linked to the prime minister are being looked into over allegations of bets on the date of the July election. The i says the controversy has derailed the Tory campaign "amid fears that more names will emerge".

The Daily Telegraph features a cartoon by Matt showing a door-to-door campaigner above the caption: "I'm your Tory candidate. I bet you a tenner that you're not going to vote for me."

The Daily Mail leads with Starmer's "extraordinary" comment on Question Time that Corbyn would have made a better prime minister than Johnson.

The Guardian reveals that former Tory minister Chris Skidmore has said he will vote Labour in July, accusing the prime minister of politicising the climate crisis.

Andrew Tate is back in the headlines as the Guardian reports that Farage praised him as "an important voice" to "emasculated" boys, in a podcast in February.

And Labour will not impose VAT on private school fees before 2025, the Times reports, as it "wouldn't be the right thing to do" so close to the start of a new academic year.

• Read more on what the papers are saying here.

Sam Francis
Political reporter

Sunak said he was "incredibly angry" to learn of allegations that Tory insiders were betting on the election and promised to "boot out" anyone found to have broken gambling laws.

Four people linked to the prime minister are being looked into over allegations of bets including the Conservative Party’s director of campaigning, Tony Lee, and a police officer in Sunak's close protection team.

Two Tory election candidates - Laura Saunders and Craig Williams - have confirmed they were being looked into by the Gambling Commission.

Asked about the cases on Question Time, Sunak said he was "incredibly angry, incredibly angry, to learn of these allegations".

Speaking to the audience he said: "It's a really serious matter - it's right that they're being investigated properly by the relevant law enforcement authorities.

"The integrity of that process should be respected.

"But what I can tell you is if anyone is found to have broken the rules, not only should they face the full consequences of the law, I will make sure that they are booted out of the Conservative Party."

• Read more on this story here.

Hello and good morning as we resume our live coverage of the general election campaign, which moved up a gear last night when the leaders of the four main parties took some of their toughest questions during the Question Time Leaders' Special.

Over two hours, Rishi Sunak, Sir Keir Starmer, Sir Ed Davey and John Swinney faced voters in a debate which grew passionate at times, with two words that kept cropping up: mistakes and trust.

Sunak said he was "incredibly angry" to learn of allegations that Tory insiders had been betting on the election and promised to "boot out" anyone found to have broken gambling laws.

Pushed on his previous support for Jeremy Corbyn, whom he expelled from the Labour Party following a row over antisemitism, Starmer said his predecessor would have made a "better prime minister" than Boris Johnson.

Reaction to the four men’s performances is still coming in and we will be interviewing top officials from both the Conservatives and Labour on Breakfast and Radio 4’s Today programme.

This evening, you can watch Reform UK's Nigel Farage being interviewed as part of our Panorama election series, in a programme which will air at 19:00.

Stay with us throughout the day as we bring you the latest campaign news and our take on all the parties’ pledges.