Summary

  • Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn go head-to-head in a live debate on ITV

  • They clash over Brexit and the NHS

  • The monarchy and trust in politics also feature prominently

  • The leaders of the smaller parties are interviewed separately in a follow-up programme

  • The Tories are criticised for rebranding their press office Twitter feed as a fact-checking service during the debate

  • Earlier, the Greens launched their manifesto with a pledge to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2030

  1. General election 2019: Who are the candidates?published at 13:55 Greenwich Mean Time 19 November 2019

    Michael Neville, from Bradford, and John Williams, from Wakefield, used the BBC's Your Questions Answered to ask for details of which candidates are standing in next month's election.

    A total of 3,322 candidates have put their names forward - they're all now listed here.

    Polling stationImage source, PA Media
  2. Greens want "huge" cut in private sector NHS involvementpublished at 13:46 Greenwich Mean Time 19 November 2019

    More analysis on the party's manifesto...

    Hugh Pym
    BBC News Health Editor

    Empty hospital bedImage source, Getty Images

    The Green Party is earmarking £6bn a year of the money raised from its tax policies to increase the NHS budget in England above existing plans.

    Labour has committed to a similar annual increase by 2023/24, but the Green policy would kick in immediately and run till 2030.

    But predicting what the NHS will need a decade from now is anyone's guess.

    The party wants a "huge" reduction in private sector involvement without saying quite how much will be retained (for example by using private hospitals for routine surgery).

    There is also a push for devolution of healthcare to local communities. But there can be wide variations in quality in different areas, so removing national level scrutiny may not always be in the best interest of patients.

  3. 'Absolutely zero' chance of missing trade deal deadline, says PMpublished at 13:37 Greenwich Mean Time 19 November 2019

    Peter Saull
    BBC Radio Nottingham Political Reporter

    Boris Johnson says the chances of the UK coming out of the Brexit transition period without a trade deal in place are “absolutely zero”.

    In an interview for BBC Local Radio, he is reminded of his insistence that the chances of a no-deal Brexit on 31 October were “a million to one.”

    He says the chances of a “no deal” at the end of next year were “absolutely zero".

    "Look, people said I couldn’t get a deal... look what we did, it’s ready to go," he says.

    Would he rather "die in a ditch" or extend the transition period? Mr Johnson says: “it’s not going to be extended, there’s no need to do so.”

  4. Swinson warns of bizarre fake squirrel abuse storypublished at 13:31 Greenwich Mean Time 19 November 2019

    A red squirrelImage source, PA Media

    We're all on alert for fake news intended to sway the votes of the public - but it appears Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson has been the victim of one of the more bizarre fabrications.

    Posts designed to look like news stories claiming Ms Swinson had abused squirrels were shared thousands of times last week by pro-Brexit groups.

    Speaking to LBC, external, she says: "I do think it's worrying because it has echoes of what we've seen in other elections.

    "Particularly when you think about fake news and the technological possibility for deep fakes, where videos can be faked."

    Researchers at First Draft, a non-profit organisation which fights misinformation, say the false story originally circulated among a small number of pro-Labour accounts on Twitter.

    That was followed by a post on the website Medium, claiming to be from a Miranda Joyce of the Milngavie Times - though neither the publication or the journalist exist.

    The fake piece was posted by 36 different groups on Facebook over the weekend, most of them pro-Brexit, generating 4,000 total interactions. It was shared to a potential audience of 540,000.

    It has since been removed.

  5. Reactions to Boris Johnson in the boxing ringpublished at 13:22 Greenwich Mean Time 19 November 2019

    There's been a variety of reactions to the prime minister stepping into the ring on his latest stop on the campaign trail.

    Asa Bennett of the Daily Telegraph points out the similarities to a Brexit Party campaign stop last week.

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    Meanwhile, Metro Deputy news editor Joel Taylor compares Mr Johnson's technique with Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson who has also stopped by a boxing ring during the campaign.

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    Reuters' political correspondent Kylie MacLellan points out that Jeremy Corbyn is the only major party leader left without a boxing photo shoot.

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  6. Analysis: The Greens promise an economic revolutionpublished at 13:20 Greenwich Mean Time 19 November 2019

    Faisal Islam
    BBC Economics Editor

    The Green Party manifesto envisages a revolution in how the economy functions, spending over a trillion pounds over the Parliament.

    This is clearly a massive amount of money, but reflects dealing with the "climate change emergency" by attempting to rapidly take the fossil fuels out of the economy.

    A carbon tax will apply to all oil and gas extraction and also to the use of petrol, diesel and aviation fuels, raising consumer prices. Frequent flyers will face a levy. Petrol and diesel cars will be phased out by 2030.

    The manifesto focuses on the new jobs in new clean and green industries, but clearly under these plans many jobs will be lost in currently carbon-intensive sectors - from manufacturing to automotive to aerospace.

    The party also proposes replacing most benefits with a "universal basic income" of £89 per week for everyone, with extras for families and pensioners, at a cost of £86bn a year.

    Petrol pumpImage source, Getty Images
  7. Boris Johnson in boxing ring warm-up before tonight's TV debatepublished at 13:17 Greenwich Mean Time 19 November 2019

    The prime minister practised his boxing skills in a campaign stop today, producing some images likely to catch the eye of many a newspaper picture editor. You can watch the video to see how his moves shape up.

    Media caption,

    General election 2019: Watch Boris Johnson in boxing ring

  8. How much would Greens' tuition fees pledge cost?published at 13:16 Greenwich Mean Time 19 November 2019

    Branwen Jeffreys
    Education Editor

    The big offer from the Greens to young people is their promise to scrap university tuition fees.

    The cost to cover a single undergraduate year group during their whole time at university costs about £9bn.

    There's also a promise to write-off existing debt for graduates who have paid fees of £9,000 a year or more. The outstanding debt for these graduates is estimated by economists at about £33bn.

    Labour has also committed to scrapping tuition fees.

    Education is fully devolved to each part of the UK.

  9. Labour: Companies must 'pull their weight' against climate changepublished at 12:59 Greenwich Mean Time 19 November 2019

    On the day the Green Party of England and Wales launched its manifesto - pledging "to decarbonise every single sector of the economy by 2030"- shadow chancellor John McDonnell said companies must "pull their weight alongside government" against climate change.

    Mr McDonnell said that companies "not taking adequate steps" under a Labour government would find themselves delisted from the London Stock Exchange.

    He explained that this would be done by amending the corporate governance code.

  10. Analysis - The Green's big spend on climate changepublished at 12:56 Greenwich Mean Time 19 November 2019

    Helen Catt
    Political editor, BBC South East

    It's no surprise that the centrepiece of the Greens' manifesto is this big pledge on climate change, but the scale of it does far outstrip what we've heard from other political parties so far.

    The party's talk of spending £100bn each year on tackling climate change is a much bigger sum than the Liberal Democrats, for example - which recently pledged to spend £100bn on climate change and the environment over a five-year period.

    So, why this big spend?

    Because the Greens want to vastly accelerate how quickly action on climate change is being taken.

    They want to get the UK to net zero carbon emissions by 2030 - two decades earlier than the current government target of 2050.

    It's worth saying that that 2050 date was set by the independent advisory committee on climate change as the earliest credible one to be reached.

  11. Your Questions Answered: Educationpublished at 12:54 Greenwich Mean Time 19 November 2019

    Your Questions Answered logo

    Confused by the latest election developments? Got a question about polling or policy? Or is there anything else you'd like us to explain?

    Send your questions to BBC News via the form on this page and we'll do our best to answer them.

    Today we have been answering questions specifically about education, like this one from Karen Exley in York:

    Q - Following the publication of the report on tuition fees, would a future Conservative government cut the fees and when? - Karen Exley, York

    A - A recent government-commissioned review of university tuition fees in England recommended they should be cut from £9,250 to £7,500.

    But Prime Minister Boris Johnson has not yet confirmed whether he will go ahead with lowering fees.

    You can read more questions on education here

  12. Analysis: How would Greens achieve their targets?published at 12:52 Greenwich Mean Time 19 November 2019

    Roger Harrabin
    BBC environment analyst

    All major parties promise strong action on the climate, but the Greens are the most radical by far.

    The Conservatives, for instance, passed a law obliging the UK to halt virtually all greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. This monumental task would reshape the economy and affect many people. The Liberal Democrats are even more ambitious, with a 2045 target.

    But the Greens go even further. They say emissions must be eliminated by 2030 - and they will spend £100bn a year on the task.

    It would mean petrol and diesel vehicles being replaced within a decade. Gas heating boilers would be switched for, say, hydrogen. All homes would be well insulated and all emissions from industry avoided or captured and stored in rocks. People would eat less meat, drive less in smaller, cleaner cars and curb flying.

    The Committee on Climate Change, which provides independent advice to the government, says 2050 is the earliest credible date for achieving net zero emissions for most sectors of the economy.

    However, the Greens say risking climate catastrophe is not a credible option.

  13. Reality Check: Greens' energy efficiency pledge is 'an ambitious goal'published at 12:41 Greenwich Mean Time 19 November 2019

    Reality Check

    The Green Party of England and Wales has promised to get 10 million homes to the top energy rating within 10 years.

    This is an ambitious goal.

    The average rating is D. Very few homes get the highest A rating, which is what the Green Party is aiming for.

    In 2018, just 3,080 out of 1,376,991 "dwellings" on the register in England and Wales had an A rating - just 0.22%.

    The Greens are particularly interested in fixing existing buildings. When you take out new-builds, there were 1,131,068 existing dwellings put on the register last year.

    Of these, just 557 had an A rating - 0.05%.

    The Greens call this plan "a deep retrofitting", which along with better insulation in every home, will cost £24.6bn.

    Cooking on a hobImage source, Getty
  14. The Green Party's key policies explainedpublished at 12:34 Greenwich Mean Time 19 November 2019

    The Green Party co-leaders

    The Green Party has launched its 2019 election manifesto, called If Not Now, When?

    The document sets out the policies the party stands for and aims to pass into law should it win the election.

    The full document, which is available here, , externalruns to 92 pages and contains scores of pledges.

    Read our rundown of the key policies here.

  15. Labour taking Indian-heritage voters for granted?published at 12:22 Greenwich Mean Time 19 November 2019

    BBC Politics Live
    BBC2's lunchtime political programme

    Labour is putting forward one candidate of Indian heritage in the 2019 general election across its 39 safest seats.

    That is not going down well in the Leicester East seat, home to a large Indian community, where Keith Vaz is not seeking re-election.

    Politics Live reporter Greg Dawson spoke to people of Indian heritage about “strained” relations with the party they have traditionally supported.

    Media caption,

    General election 2019: Labour's lack of Indian heritage candidates

  16. What are the Greens offering on education?published at 12:15 Greenwich Mean Time 19 November 2019

    Branwen Jeffreys
    Education Editor

    Green Party manifesto launchImage source, Reuters

    BBC education editor Branwen Jeffreys has been taking a look at the Green Party's manifesto, external and its key pledges on schools, university and childcare.

    She says the party is promising £4bn a year more in school funding - "for context, the Conservatives plan £7.1bn more a year by 2023".

    They want to abolition higher education tuition fees at a cost of £9bn and to write off the debts of all students, which will cost "a lot more".

    "There’s a big battle over childcare in this election," she says. The Green Party says it will fund 35 hours of free childcare for kids aged 9 months and older - a similar policy to the Liberal Democrats.

    The Greens also want to scrap Ofsted inspections and "centrally imposed testing regimes" like primary SATS. Labour and the Lib Dems also want to reduce testing and replace Ofsted.

    On private schools, the Greens say they will remove their charitable status and charge full VAT on fees. "This is one to watch with Labour later in the week - will they go further?" she asks.

  17. Boris Johnson to step into the ring with Jeremy Corbynpublished at 12:11 Greenwich Mean Time 19 November 2019

    Nick Eardley

    You may be wondering why our punchy political correspondent Nick Eardley is hanging out at a boxing club today..

    It's Boris Johnson's latest stop on the campaign trail but our reporter pondered whether there was a deeper meaning behind the choice of venue.

    "I just wonder if this is something to do with the symbolism ahead of that head-to-head debate with Jeremy Corbyn tonight. I suspect we’ll see some shots later this morning of Boris Johnson in that gym behind me," he predicted while speaking on the BBC News Channel.

    And then...

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  18. Where Brexit Party and the Greens agreepublished at 12:06 Greenwich Mean Time 19 November 2019

    They don't agree on too much but Nigel Farage and the leaders of the Green Party have spoken out on the same issue today - their desire to see an end to the first-past-the-post voting system.

  19. We can't go back to 'rotten' way of politics, says Faragepublished at 12:02 Greenwich Mean Time 19 November 2019

    Nigel Farage

    "I understand the sense of Brexhaustion," says Nigel Farage, the Brexit Party leader.

    "We’ve had enough of all this and we’d rather get it done. But getting it done is one thing, getting it done properly is another."

    He says the Brexit Party needs to elect MPs to hold Boris Johnson to his promises.

    "If we don’t get the Brexit Party voice in Westminster it becomes very easy for promises that have been made to be forgotten."

    But he says major reforms to the political system are needed, such as changing the first-past-the-post voting system, stopping postal vote fraud and ending the "absolutely corrupt" honours system.

    He says the House of Lords should be abolished and replaced with elected representatives.

    Voters should also have a mechanism to call referendums on major issues and have a written constitution to ensure their wishes are carried out, he says.

    "Having an election and going back to the rotten way of doing things is not the way forward," says Mr Farage.

  20. Farage says the election campaign is failing to inspirepublished at 11:52 Greenwich Mean Time 19 November 2019

    Nigel Farage

    Nigel Farage is speaking at a campaign in Peterborough, setting out his goals for political reform.

    He was preceded by Brexit Party MEP Claire Fox who acknowledges "some voters feel disenfranchised" by the party standing down candidates for the Tories, but says it was "brave" under the current electoral system.

    "What do you think of it so far?" Mr Farage asks about the general election.

    "Rubbish" the audience says, - clearly fans of Morecambe and Wise and their famous catchphrase.

    Mr Farage predicts that there will be a low turnout because the election campaign is failing to inspire the general public.