Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

Conservative Party chairman James Cleverly says no deal remains the "default setting" in forthcoming trade talks with the EU, as far as the government is concerned - but that is not what Boris Johnson wants.

He says: "Ultimately, the default setting has always been no deal.That is not what we want."

"The prime minister has demonstrated, as have the EU, that when you are focused and both trying to get a good outcome, it can be done."

Image source, Getty Images

Parliament has broken up and the election campaign is under way. But what does that mean and how is it organised?

Here are our answers to a couple of the questions we have received from readers:

Do MPs still get paid during the election period, and do they have to do any work?

MPs are no longer MPs once Parliament is dissolved. They are ordinary members of the public with no special privileges. That is because every seat in the House of Commons is now up for grabs.

However, they continue to receive their salary, external, currently £79,468 a year, up to and including polling day.

They are under no obligation to do any work during this period and their parliamentary passes are locked out. But they can keep abreast of urgent casework via parliamentary email.

Is the number of MPs stepping down at this election higher than usual?

The number of MPs who decide to retire or stand down from Parliament before a general election varies widely.

By Tuesday evening, 66 MPs had indicated that they will not be seeking re-election this time.

This compares to an average of just under 86 MPs who stood down at 10 previous general elections, beginning in 1979.

More of your questions answered here

BBC Breakfast

The Lib Dems say they will take legal action against ITV after the party's leader Jo Swinson was left out of a televised election debate.

The first head-to-head election debate between Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn will take place on 19 November.

ITV has previously defended its decision, saying it will hold a live interview-based programme to allow other parties to comment on the debate.

On Tuesday, Ms Swinson told reporters that the party had been taking legal advice over her exclusion.

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

James Cleverly says Commons leader Jacob Rees-Mogg had "caused a huge amount of hurt and distress" with his comments on Grenfell Tower.

The Conservative Party chairman said no one could "credibly" know what decisions those "trapped" in the tower faced that evening. "I don't think anyone could think through the circumstances or the decisions we would make."

He said: "Jacob recognises that what he said was wrong and caused a huge amount of hurt and distress.

"He has apologised unreservedly and I do think that is the right thing for him to do."

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

Image source, PA Media

Laura Kuennsberg says it has been a “tricky start” to the Conservative campaign after the fallout surrounding Jacob Rees-Mogg’s comments about Grenfell Tower.

The party also faced criticism for a Twitter post by the party which appeared to be edited to make Labour's Brexit Secretary Sir Keir Starmer appear unable to answer a question on Brexit.

Our correspondent says a cabinet minister told her on Tuesday that if the Tories can stick to the core message ‘they’ll be OK’ – something she says they definitely didn’t manage to do yesterday.

“The Conservatives would love to be talking about their all-singing, all-dancing official campaign launch that’s happening later today and Boris Johnson going off to the palace to tell the Queen that Parliament has been dissolved,” she says.

She compares election campaigns to pouring concrete, saying “it takes a while to set”, adding that the first few weeks are important but a single day won’t set the tone for the whole campaign.

David Shukman
Science editor, BBC News

Image source, PA Media

Could this be the UK's first general election where climate change plays a defining role?

Usually it's issues such as the economy or crime or the NHS that dominate the campaigns.

And this time Brexit is bound to be the most acute question facing politicians and voters.

But some recent polling has revealed a potentially significant shift elevating the environment to one of the top priorities. Read more here

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon says the demand for a second referendum on Scottish independence will become "irresistible" if the SNP "wins" the general election.

The SNP leader said resistance to allowing Scottish voters to choose for themselves would "crumble" in the face of such a result.

She says she wants a referendum in 2020, adding: "If we win this election the demand becomes irresistible."

Ms Sturgeon said Labour was already "pretty much conceding" it could not stand in the way of a second independence vote and added: "I suspect it won't be too much longer until we see the Tories struggle to maintain that argument as well."

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

Labour's Diane Abbott has denied that members of the shadow cabinet are ready to campaign for Remain no matter what deal Labour brings back from Brussels if it wins the next election.

Shadow chancellor John McDonnell and shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer have both signalled their support for Remain during a second referendum.

She said: "I don't think anyone has said they will vote for Remain, come what may.

"What we will do is negotiate a better deal and have a referendum on that better deal and Remain for people to vote."

BBC Breakfast

Conservative Party chairman James Cleverly has defended a Twitter video post by his party which appeared to be edited in order to make Labour's Sir Keir Starmer appear unable to answer a question on Brexit.

Tory MP Johnny Mercer later apologised for the post, external, saying it had "inexplicably been doctored".

But speaking on BBC Breakfast on Wednesday, Mr Cleverly said the video was "lighthearted" and that the party had also posted an extended clip of the interview., external

"It was obviously a humorous, satirical, short-form video that we (the Conservative Party) posted," he said.

He added: "What we were showing - in a distilled, palatable way - is the fact that the Labour Party's position on Brexit is in the words of Jean-Claude Juncker 'unrealistic'."

Image source, PA Media

Parliamentary candidates and their teams have been given advice by police to help them remain safe during the first December election in almost a generation.

It comes as female candidates such as Labour's Tracey Brabin and Liberal Democrat Luciana Berger both ruled out canvassing alone in the dark.

Assistant Chief Constable Garry Cann, the lead on elections for the National Police Chiefs' Council, told the BBC: "It is right to say that these things usually pass off without significant incident and we have no particular reason to think it will be any different this time but we of course want people to look after their own safety."

He suggests canvassers, which include many volunteers:

• Work in pairs
• Make sure they have a charged mobile phone
• Let someone know where they are

Professor Sir John Curtice
Polling expert

Image source, Getty Images

The UK will go to the polls next month because of disagreements in the House of Commons about Brexit.

But to what extent will the country's exit from the EU be at the forefront of voters' minds? And will the outcome give us a clear indication of what most voters next want to happen about Brexit?

There are three ways we can address this question. Find out more here

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

Labour's Diane Abbott says Jacob Rees-Mogg showed an "arrogance" with his comments on Grenfell Tower.

The Leader of the House of Commons has been criticised for saying it would have been "common sense" to flee the Grenfell Tower fire, ignoring fire brigade advice.

But the shadow home secretary said: "There was one staircase. What were they meant to do? Run out of the building with firefighters running up the same staircase?"

She said some residents had called emergency services a host of times during the fateful evening in 2017 and were told to stay put.

"It reflects an arrogance about Jacob Rees-Mogg that is not going to help the Tories at this election."

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

Green Party co-leader Jonathan Bartley says its £100bn-a-year investment in a "Green New Deal" would be far cheaper than the "trillions" a climate emergency could cost.

The party will kick off its election campaign in Bristol later with a pledge to borrow £91bn and raise a further £9bn via corporation tax to invest in decarbonising transport and "retrofitting" insulation in homes.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "We know we have to get those gas boilers out of homes and it has got to be made possible for people to do that and replace with low-carbon technology."

Asked about the cost involved, he said: "It will save us a hell of a lot of money in the long run. The climate emergency, if it comes to fruition, does not bear thinking about in terms of the cost of trillions to the economy. It will pay for itself in the long run."

BBC Breakfast

Nigel Farage says the general election is "a great time to press the reset button" but Boris Johnson has made it impossible for the Brexit Party to form a Leave alliance with the Conservatives.

The Brexit Party leader told BBC Breakfast that Mr Johnson was “stuck with his new EU treaty and it doesn’t work”.

“I’m saying to Mr Johnson, ‘stop pretending that your so-called deal means we leave the European Union because we don’t’.”

He said the deal locks the UK into the EU and would cost a fortune but he said if Mr Johnson “pressed the reset button” he would support him fully and the Conservatives “would win the election”.

BBC Trending

Image source, Getty Images

The election has begun. And so has the online misinformation. We unpicked one story about the Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson.

How was it spread across social networks by an Italian in Wales, a freelance writer, a barman and a pro-Brexit campaign? Find out here

The fallout from Jacob Rees-Mogg's comments about Grenfell Tower continues this morning.

Tory MP Andrew Bridgen has apologised "unreservedly" for his defence of Mr Rees-Mogg.

He had told the BBC yesterday that Mr Rees-Mogg's comments were "uncharacteristically clumsy", but added "Jacob is a leader, he's an authority figure".

"What he's actually saying is that he would have given a better decision than the authority figures who gave that advice."

Mr Bridgen tweeted this morning saying what he said was "wrong and caused a great deal of distress and offence".

Laura Kuenssberg
BBC political editor

Image source, AFP

The day before the election campaign starts in earnest, a bucket of cold, hard reality was chucked over any Tories around the place who thought they might be able to set the terms of the debate, or control exactly what will happen in the next six weeks.

The man in the pinstripes who charms some Brexiteers stumbled into the first hideous mistake of this election campaign.

Jacob Rees-Mogg may have apologised for his insensitive remarks about what happened at Grenfell Tower.

But it is toxic for the Tories, playing straight into familiar accusations about the party that they can't understand, and therefore cannot seek to represent, ordinary people for whom life is sometimes a struggle.

Read more from Laura