Good morning, welcome to our live election coverage.

There's still more than 12 hours to go until this evening's televised debate, which will be staged at the MediaCityUK studios in Salford.

So with time to kill, why don't we run through the morning's other political stories:

• The Green Party of England and Wales will become the first party to launch its election manifesto later - with a pledge to reach net zero carbon emissions in the UK by 2030.
• The Conservatives have pledged that adults who murder children will face life in prison without parole if the party is elected in December.
• Labour has promised to increase the number of wildlife and rural police officers in a bid do more to combat fox hunting, hare coursing and other wildlife crimes.
• The Liberal Democrats say putting a penny on income tax will allow the party to spend more on the NHS if they get into power

Image source, Getty Images

Head-to-head. Face-off. One-on-one. PM v challenger. Johnson v Corbyn.

Tonight at 8pm is the moment when the election campaign really kicks into gear for many people with the first live televised debate.

The two leaders will appear in an hour-long show screened live on ITV.

And it will just be those two protagonists after the Liberal Democrats and the SNP saw their legal challenge rejected by the High Court.