UKIP immigration spokesman John Bickley says the Conservatives can't even control none-EU migration "which we're supposed to have total control over".

"Are they incompetent or were they deliberately misleading voters when they promised to bring net migration down to the tens of thousands? Probably both I think," he says.

A UKIP government would appoint a migration control commission to oversee the process of bringing net migration down to zero and introduce an Australian-style points system to grade applicants.

But some commentators, including the Telegraph's political correspondent., consider what this means in practice:

Here are the latest images from inside the Lib Dem battle bus as it crosses the border from Cumbria into Scotland.

The good news is leader Tim Farron appears unscathed after his recent stumble (and slight lurch to the right we couldn't help but notice) live on television.

Image source, PA

Image source, PA

Image source, PA

UKIP will fight this election on a commitment to zero net immigration over the next five years, Paul Nuttall announces with a flourish.

"UKIP must be there, not only as the guard dogs of the Brexit that we fought so hard for, but also as the country's insurance policy," says party leader Paul Nuttall, who's currently giving a press conference.

Image source, Getty Images

So there's an election on, but are you registered to vote?

Well, you can check by contacting their local electoral registration office using the Electoral Commission's website, external.  

If you're not registered, you need to do so by 22 May.

People in England, Wales and Scotland can register to vote online, or download the forms to register by post,, external from the government's website. Voters in Northern Ireland use a different form that is returned to their local Area Electoral Office.

A quick precis on the top lines so far today:

• Third time lucky for the Conservatives perhaps? A commitment - never met, of course - to reduce net migration to the tens of thousands was in the 2010 and 2015 general election manifestos and it looks like it's going to be in 2017's too.
• Tory Nadhim Zahawi says Theresa May has "a laser-like focus" on meeting it this time.
• No more adverts for unhealthy food during X Factor or Britain's Got Talent if Labour win power.
• Shadow health secretary Jon Ashworth says the odd McDonalds is OK - and indeed, his own kids pester him for one regularly - but a ban on advertising before the watershed would "send a strong signal" that too many children eat unhealthy food too often.
• Jeremy Corbyn needs to get round the table and talk to the Greens and Lib Dems about how they can get together and beat the Tories in certain seats, according to Green co-leader Caroline Lucas.
• It'd be "one in, one out" to Britain in UKIP got its way - leader Paul Nuttall is talking immigration today.
• And Lib Dem leader Tim Farron is taking his battle bus to Scotland - with only a slight stumble on the way, external.

We brought you news earlier the Lib Dem bus was in Scotland. Well here's the latest - leader Tim Farron has had a stumble.

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

Some ministers, including Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, say foreign students should be excluded from the net migration numbers because most tend not to stay permanently and they make a big contribution to the economy. 

"Students are very important but it's a spurious argument," Conservative Nadhim Zahawi says.

"Theresa May is not interested in fiddling the figures or spinning the figures for a day or two.

"She's serious about wanting to meet these targets. This is her manifesto and... that is what she is committed to."

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

Emmanuel Macron's economic adviser has said the new French president will not want to punish Britain in Brexit negotiations. 

Jean Pisani-Ferry said no one wanted a hard Brexit and made it clear there was a mutual interest in keeping the prosperity that exists. He said President Macron would be tough but would not want to punish.  

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

"Targets are important and the prime minister quite rightly understands that." 

So says Nadhim Zahawi - Conservative candidate and a member of the foreign affairs select committee until it was recently dissolved for the election - who gives his backing to a fresh commitment to getting net migration down to the tens of thousands.  

"In any organisation you have to have targets, some are easier, some are much tougher but without targets the organisation thinks, well, the leader doesn't care," he says.

"Theresa May has a laser-like focus on this." 

Image source, Getty Images

No election campaign is complete without a battle bus (plus slogan) tour of the UK, and today the Lib Dems are taking theirs to Scotland.

Leader Tim Farron intends to use the platform to call on major employers to monitor ethnic diversity in the workforce better.

He says the Equality Act's requirement for collecting data on the level of female employment and the gender pay gap should be extended to ethnic minorities. 

This would require companies with more than 250 staff to monitor and publish details of employment and wage differentials focusing on gender, ethnic minority status, and LGBT levels.

Mr Farron is making a campaign push through Scotland after insisting the Lib Dems could pick up "scores" of seats in the General Election.  

Image source, Reuters

We might be focused on 8 June, but of course, France elected a new president yesterday and Theresa May was quick to congratulate him.

According to No 10, in a phone call with Emmanuel Macron on Sunday evening, "the prime minister said that she looked forward to working with the new president on a range of shared issues, with the UK and France's unique partnership providing a strong foundation for future co-operation."

"The leaders briefly discussed Brexit and the prime minister reiterated that the UK wants a strong partnership with a secure and prosperous EU once we leave."

The PM is looking forward to meeting Mr Macron at the upcoming Nato and G7 Summits, the spokesman added.

Image source, AFP

A few snippets from the morning papers. The Sun reports , externalthat "a decorated war hero will take on pacifist Jeremy Corbyn" in the fight for the seat of Islington North. 

"Army Captain James Clark, awarded a Joint Commanders Commendation following his 2012 bravery in Helmand Province, will battle to overturn the peacenik’s 21,194 majority on June 8," the paper reports.

Writing in red top rival the Daily Mirror,, external Kevin Maguire says "the calamity for Labour... is that Theresa May was beatable".  

"The odds are the Cons will win again under an electoral system that exaggerates Parliamentary majorities, as it did for Labour’s Tony Blair. But a majority of MPs isn’t the same as the majority of voters, and a landslide in ­Westminster is often just a tremor on the ground."

Image source, Getty Images

In his election manifesto, Emmanuel Macron described Brexit as a "crime" that will plunge Britain into "servitude"  

But the new president of France may not necessarily mean bad news for Britain leaving the EU.

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

Ex-Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith has been giving rapper Eminem a run for his money this morning. 

No further comment needed.

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

Image source, Getty Images

Following on from Caroline Lucas's comments on the idea of a progressive alliance, Jon Ashworth was asked if Labour would enter into discussions with the Lib Dems and Greens about potentially standing candidates aside in some seats to avoid splitting the anti-Tory vote.

"No," Jon Ashworth says flatly. "Because we're a national party and we have a responsibility to give every part of England, Scotland and Wales the chance to vote for a Labour candidate."

"Politicians who try to do these back room deals, never come out of it well, he adds.