BBC Breakfast

The Green Party wants “a ratification referendum” on the terms of Brexit, co-leader Jonathan Bartley says.

Someone will have to sign off the deal, he says, and why shouldn't it be the public rather than MPs?

Mr Bartley believes that the referendum must include the option to remain in the European Union.

Theresa May has made a number of "mistakes" already in Brexit negotiations, he goes on, for example using foreign nationals "as bargaining chips", so who knows what'll happen in the next two years.

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

It's the richest and wealthiest students who in the end will benefit from these changes because they won't have to pay their fees back, the Today presenter suggests. Those more disadvantaged students who don't earn enough won't repay them.

Labour's Angela Rayner replies: "They do pay them back depending on what income they get. You're trying to twist that...

"Whether they pay that debt back or not, they're saddled with it, hanging over their head. If you've ever had any kind of debt you know how that feels."

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

Labour's Angela Rayner is now on the Today programme.

How much extra is it going to cost to bring forward the policy of scrapping tuition fees to 2017 from 2018?

She replies by saying the policy will be £9bn annually as stated in the manifesto, adding: "We believe that's a small amount to pay."

That's not what I asked, says John Humphrys, what about this extra year? The London School of Economics says £7.5bn - it's actually £11bn by the time you add in the return of maintenance grants too.

"It won't, it's just one year..." she says, disputing the figures being put to her. "People keep doing this, they keep flying figures around as if Labour are not costed."

Ultimately accepting that all in, the cost will be £11.2bn, she says "that extra money is within the overall costings we have".

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

Emma Hartley, head of campaigns at the Electoral Commission, says a large number of people are applying to vote at the last minute.

Age and population mobility are the biggest factors when looking at who isn't voting - under 34s and those who've moved home in the last year are least likely to be registered, she tells Today.

Simon Wooley, director of operation Black Vote, says if black people did vote in much greater numbers, "we'd change our world... there are so many marginal seats, the black community could decide".

Places like Derby, Chester and Ealing could all be hugely influenced by black voters, he goes on.

But they feel politicians are very distant, he says, and people think "they don't look like us, don't sound like us and don't have plans to change the sort of inequalities we face."

• Theresa May will be heading to Wales for a campaign visit
• Also in Wales, First Minister Carwyn Jones will be launching the Labour manifesto
• Kezia Dugdale will be doing the same in Scotland
• Jeremy Corbyn will be in Hull for a campaign rally
• The Lib Dem battlebus will start in Manchester before transporting leader Tim Farron to London
• The Green Party of England and Wales is to launch its manifesto in London
• UKIP leader Paul Nuttall will also be campaigning in the capital

Today also sees the start of that much anticipated election fixture - the Andrew Neil grilling. The prime minister is first in the hot seat, with Paul Nuttall, Tim Farron, Nicola Sturgeon and Jeremy Corbyn appearing later in the week.

BBC Breakfast

At the end of her interview, Angela Rayner is asked about Jeremy Corbyn's views on the IRA.

She replies: "I think it’s a bit of a dead cat because at the moment the Conservatives know they’re on the rack because they’re trying to bring in the dementia tax...

"Jeremy has been absolutely clear, he condemns the bombing by the IRA."

In case you're not familiar with the "dead cat strategy", it refers to the introduction of something dramatic or shocking in order to divert the agenda away from a more damaging topic...

BBC Breakfast

Labour's shadow education secretary Angela Rayner says people coming out of university now face debts of up to £44,000 - a "gut-wrenching" sum, as she describes it, which "hangs over them" for years to come.

She says that by getting the top earners to pay "just a little bit more", Labour can "stop our young people from going through that hell of having that much debt".

This morning a former Lib Dem pensions minister is warning that the Tory plans could be derailed by councils.

Sir Steve Webb says there is already a "lottery" in the way councils use an existing deferred payment scheme for care funding.

Some councils in England had not signed any agreements to let people defer their payments, while in other areas more than 100 agreements had been signed.

Sir Steve said: "It is clear that there is already a lottery as to whether people facing significant care costs can exercise their legal right to defer their payments under the existing system.

"The government will need to investigate very quickly why the present system is not working properly, otherwise there is a danger of building a new system on very shaky foundations."

Image source, Science Photo Library

The big election row over the weekend concerned Conservative plans to overhaul the social care system. In a nutshell, the party wants to include the value of someone's home when deciding how much they must pay towards care at home - but allow them to pay after they die.

Critics are calling it the "dementia tax", arguing it is unfair that someone with dementia would have to pay for their care while someone with another disease, cancer say, would not.

The Tories say the changes ensure fairness across the generations and various ministers defended them on the Sunday interview circuit. Boris Johnson said he understood people had "reservations" and a consultation would be held to iron out the details.

This tussle isn't going to end any time soon...

Norman Smith
Assistant political editor

Labour might want to talk about tuition fees, but many of the headlines this morning concern Jeremy Corbyn and the IRA. He was pressed six or seven times in an interview yesterday to condemn the Republican group, but he repeatedly declined to do so. Instead, he drew a sort of moral equivalence between their actions and those of loyalist terrorists and the British state.

In a way that's not breaking news - he's always been open and candid about his views, he's always opposed British military actions in Northern Ireland, he's always had close ties with many in the Republican movement.

But in the context of the election it's an absolute gift to the headline writers. Moreover, it does cause problems for Labour candidates on the doorstep because it gets wrapped up in wider issues of patriotism and put alongside his stance on Trident, Syria, not singing the national anthem and so on.

Also, finally, it gives the Tories the chance to pull the agenda back from the rather wobbly reaction to their social care plans and back onto their favourite subject - the issues, as they see them, with Mr Corbyn as a potential prime minister.

Image source, PA

Labour says it would bring forward its pledge to scrap tuition fees to include students starting university in England this autumn if it wins the election.

The party also says students part-way through their courses would not have to pay for the remaining years.

The party had already pledged to abolish fees from 2018, but says it now wants to extend the pitch to teenagers currently sitting A-levels to encourage them not to defer.

Jeremy Corbyn said Labour would "lift this cloud of debt and make education free for all".

The Tories said more students than ever from disadvantaged backgrounds were getting into university. Both they and the Lib Dems have said they would leave the current fee levels unchanged.

The Labour leader speaks to Newsbeat in the first of a series of interviews with party leaders ahead of the general election.

Image source, PA

The clock is ticking down on the deadline for registering to vote in the 2017 general election.

Eligible voters have until 23:59 BST to register online through the official website, external.

More than two million people have joined the register in the month since Theresa May revealed there would be a snap election on 8 June.

The Electoral Commission has warned that about seven million people across Britain who are eligible to vote are not registered.

Five reasons why you should vote

General election: what you need to know

Hello and welcome to another day on the general election trail. The sun is shining in Westminster, and we're raring to go with all the day's political news and analysis.

The row over the Tories' plan for social care continues, while Labour is making a direct pitch to those who'll be voting for the first time on 8 June with an offer on tuition fees.

The nurse who questioned Nicola Sturgeon during the Scottish leaders' debate caused a lot of chat about a previous appearance on Question Time alongside a man said to be a Tory councillor.

An account which seemed to be hers replied: I was invited back tonight because I didn't get to ask my question on the previous show - I'm not married however I'm looking!

The BBC's Nick Eadley later tweeted, external: BBC confirm nurse not married to Tory councillor.

Labour is highlighting its manifesto pledge to abolish tuition fees in England in a last-minute push to get students to register to vote.

Anyone wanting to vote on 8 June must register by 23:59 BST on Monday 22 May.

Electoral Commission data shows more than two million people have applied to register to vote since Theresa May announced the election on 18 April.

Shadow education secretary Angela Rayner said: "If students sitting their A-levels now want a say on their future they need to register to vote before [Monday's] deadline and vote Labour on June 8."

A Conservative spokesman said: "There are now more students from disadvantaged backgrounds getting into university than ever before. But if Jeremy Corbyn is in charge of our Brexit negotiations, all of this will be under threat."