BBC News Channel

BBC political correspondent Iain Watson is in Sheffield for tonight's programme and says audiences will be looking out for three key things during the leaders special.

"Viewers will be looking at how the party leaders perform when they are asked direct questions from an audience rather than a head-to-head like we've already seen," he says.

"I think we're also looking not so much for trading policies - Boris Johnson will want to talk about getting Brexit done, Jeremy Corbyn about public services - but rather we're looking for compentence and character.

"Can we trust you to spend wisely? Can we trust you to be running the country?

"The other thing to look for is, if we end up with a hung parliament then the role of the Lib Dems and the SNP could be crucial. What would their deal be?

"A UK-wide audience will be very interested to hear the red lines of the other parties."

Supporters of Jeremy Corbyn have turned out to support the Labour leader ahead of tonight's BBC Question Time special in Sheffield.

Corbyn-backing group Momentum tweeted a photograph showing a large crowd of supporters outside the University of Sheffield venue.

Image source, PA Media

A former Labour MP who quit the party in a row over Jeremy Corbyn's leadership has offered his personal backing to Conservative candidate Philip Davies, the BuzzFeed News website reports., external

Ian Austin, the ex-MP for Dudley North, quit Labour and became an independent in February before standing down from Parliament and advising voters to back Boris Johnson earlier this month.

According to Buzzfeed, Mr Austin writes of Mr Davies: "I would encourage everyone across the Shipley constituency - including those who have always voted Labour - to vote for Philip".

Sheffield, which is hosting tonight's programme, is a city and metropolitan borough in South Yorkshire.

The city is the third largest English district with a population of 575,400 in mid-2016, according to Sheffield City Council, external.

It grew rapidly during the industrial revolution.

The city is home to two universities: the University of Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam University.

There are six constituencies within the Sheffield City Council area:

• Sheffield Central
• Sheffield, Hallam
• Sheffield, Heeley
• Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough
• Sheffield South East
• Penistone & Stocksbridge

You can find the results of the 2017 general election in those areas here.

In the same interview, the PM was asked about the plight of orphaned British children in Syria and whether he could commit to them all being brought back.

He said: “The situation in Syria is very difficult and very dangerous but I think it’s been a great success that some orphaned children have been brought back.

"But I think it would be over-optimistic frankly to say that we can do it in every single case. The military, the logistical difficulties involved are very considerable but what I’ve said is that where the government can help that it should help. “

Asked how he was preparing for tonight's leaders' Question Time special, Boris Johnson said: "I’m looking forward to getting my message across – on levelling up the country, in infrastructure and education, in the health service."

Pressed again on his preparation, the PM only repeated that he was looking forward to appearing on the programme.

Iain Watson
Political correspondent

The four party leaders will be making their pitch to the nation.

Rather bizarrely for a general election, they’ve actually managed to agree on something – the order of service.

Jeremy Corbyn is going to be first up, then the SNP’s Nicola Sturgeon, followed by the Lib Dem’s Jo Swinson, and finally Boris Johnson.

As well as being very careful about what they say, they’re going to have to quite literally watch their step because previously a political leader stumbled on a programme just like this a few years ago. (That was Ed Miliband in 2015).

This is a particularly challenging format. It’s one that puts the audience in charge - 150 of them designed to be representative of the British public as a whole.

And they’ll be putting their questions directly to the politicians. From past experience, they can sometimes really put them on the spot.

Difficult questions from the audience, or a poor performance, and who knows, perhaps the shape of the general election over the next three weeks may be changed.

The leaders of the Conservative Party, the Labour Party, the SNP and the Liberal Democrats will take part in tonight's Question Time leaders' special debate.

Hosted by Fiona Bruce in Sheffield, the Question Time special will go on air on BBC One at 7pm for two hours and you can watch it live online, too, and listen to it on the radio.

Each leader will take turns answering questions from the audience for 30 minutes, with Labour's Jeremy Corbyn going first.

The SNP's Nicola Sturgeon will go next, then Jo Swinson, leader of the Liberal Democrats, with Conservative leader Boris Johnson speaking last.

As is usual on Question Time, the politicians will answer questions directly from audience members, with follow-up questions from Fiona Bruce as necessary.

You can read more the programme's format in our guide here.

SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon and Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson have been pictured arriving in Sheffield for this evening's Question Time leaders' special.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

With 7pm drawing closer, it's time to turn our attention to tonight's Question Time special.

The leaders of the Conservatives, Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the SNP are preparing to be grilled by audience members in Sheffield.

[More details on how to watch the programme here.]

As we build up to the show, we'll be bringing you some further information on Sheffield and showing you photographs of the preparations.

Audiences for Question Time shows are generally selected by the production team to reflect how people in the country have voted, and are usually local to the venue - because some episodes are filmed in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

In this case, as the BBC aims to represent audiences across the UK in one show, some may been invited to travel from further to ensure there are sufficient supporters of all the parties present.

BBC Wales News

Former Prime Minister Tony Blair has warned that what he calls the "Brexit nightmare" will not be over if the Conservatives win next month's election and take the UK out of the EU on 31 January.

On a visit to north-east Wales, Mr Blair - Labour's longest-serving Prime Minister - said: "I think the British people are being told… that if you vote Conservative on 12 December then the Brexit nightmare ends, and it obviously doesn’t.

"The moment you leave on 31 January you then go into the next Brexit negotiation, which by the way is going to be much tougher than the last one. And I think when people find this out they are going to be shocked and angry and this is reality.”

Mr Blair was also asked his thoughts on Jeremy Corbyn's chances of becoming prime minister, and whether he honestly believed Mr Corbyn should be prime minister.

He told BBC Wales: “My differences with Jeremy are well-known - there’s no point in going back over them again and I’m not going to do that in the middle of an election campaign.

But you can read the polls as well as I can."

He said people have to ask themselves if they wanted to end up with a Conservative Party led by Boris Johnson "who in my view is unreliable, ending up able to do what they want on Brexit, including no-deal”.

Jessica Parker
BBC political correspondent

Nigel Farage has consistently painted his party as anti-establishment, and today he talked about plans to challenge institutions that he claims are out of touch. That includes abolishing the House of Lords – a body he sees as being stuffed full of political appointees that he has often criticised.

Another idea that may raise an eyebrow or two in Whitehall would be getting civil servants to actually sign an oath of neutrality. The Civil Service would already describe itself as being a politically neutral body.

The proposal to allow a nationwide referendum, if five million registered voters call for it, could also have huge democratic implications. The government would be handing the public enormous power to bring forward national votes on binary, single issue debates. And as we know referendums can lead to pretty seismic political change…

Read more: Brexit Party: 12 key policies explained

SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon has been answering some questions at Doncaster train station as she makes her way to the BBC Question Time special in Sheffield. [She has the second slot, so will be on BBC One from 7.30pm].

She says she has been "doing some prep on the train on the way down" from Scotland but says there’s only so much she can do ahead of programmes like this because you don’t know what questions you’re going to get asked.

"So we’ll see how it goes," she adds. "I’m looking forward to it."

Asked what question she would ask Jeremy Corbyn and Boris Johnson, she says she would "throw a challenge out to both of them" and ask them why they won’t share a platform with her.

"I was struck - during the ITV debate between the two of them – that they were quite happy to talk about me quite a lot, about the SNP, but neither seem willing actually to come and debate me.

She jokes: "We’ll all be in the same studio tonight so we could just get together!"

Kevin Peachey
Personal finance reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Political parties of all colours have come a cropper on housebuilding targets. They are almost never met. So the Brexit Party has avoided them.

Instead of putting a number on how many new homes it wants built, it has some relatively broad pledges to "accelerate the pace of development".

They include simplifying the planning system, particularly on previously developed "brownfield" sites, and giving more flexibility to builders.

These ideas are not particularly new, but they have been notoriously difficult for anyone in power to fulfil.

It may be telling of the party's priorities that this issue is left to last on its "contract with the people".

Housing is devolved so this policy would only apply to England, although Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland would also benefit from any extra funding.

Read more: Brexit Party: 12 key policies explained

BBC Radio 5 Live

Adrian Chiles is speaking to small business owners in Norwich on BBC Radio 5 Live. The traditional industries in the area are mustard and shoe manufacturing, but now insurance and retail are among the big local employers.

Matt Legon is the managing director of Gnaw chocolate. The company started eight years ago, and now sells to 22 different countries. The raw materials come from Europe, but most of their suppliers are contracted within the UK.

Matt said the EU is a "vital market" for them.

"The thought of having no trade deal is concerning and something we’re trying to mitigate our risk against.”

“Even with the Conservatives, they’re saying a year transition period – it’s not long enough.”

Matt said an increase in corporation tax, as proposed by Labour, wouldn't work for him: “I appreciate this view that businesses should pay their way, I've got no problem with that at all... I think there’s this view that every small business owner is rich and rolling in money and it really frustrates me.

“We pay more tax than I earn as a salary, and that’s crazy.”

Andrew Nelstrop is the owner of The English Whisky Company - they sell all over the world.

He doesn't think Brexit will have much impact: "It won’t faze us that much... regardless of the outcome because most of our exports are non-EU."

“I voted Leave in the hope that whoever was leaving the party at the time would create some rules to help the nation and its business, but I am not convinced that any leader at the moment is willing to change the rules that much.”

Andrew said he is "probably a Tory", but does have "socialist leanings" - he likes the idea of renationalising water and mail services, "but I don’t think as a nation we can afford it, and I don’t think that [Jeremy] Corbyn and his team are the right people to be leading the nation."

He said for his staff, big issues like the future of the NHS are not the immediate priority, "what bothers people more is paying the rent, paying the fuel, getting to work."

Amber Wykes owns Amber Bell Tents Glamping - which has four sites across Norfolk.

“The demand was already there – I was in the right place at the right time," she said. "

We get families coming to stay that are pretty time-poor – they want to kick back and enjoy the weekend in the wild, that’s who we’re marketing to."

Amber said you need a lot of "grit and determination" to start a business, "you’re on your own. You have to have focus and vision and be very determined."

Her current concern is for her children, “I’ve got teenagers and they’re going off to university next year - I am not sure where that money is coming from in our household.”

Henry Late owns the Book Hive - an independent book shop in the centre of Norwich. He started the shop 10 years ago, and then set up a publishing company.

“Despite a lot of the reaction to Labour’s manifesto yesterday, that’s where I will be voting. I am hideously against leaving."

Henry said he doesn't agree with the Liberal Democrat policy on Brexit: “I think that would be ridiculous and would anger an enormous amount of people.

“At the moment, all we can hope for is compromise and choosing the best from a bad bunch.

“Brexit is overwhelming everything else, and I totally understand why, and yet the other points announced in the manifesto by [Corbyn] seem to be pure Corbyn… he is offering something very, very different.

“I despair about everyone’s Brexit opinions to be honest.”

Have your say: Text 85058 / @BBC5Live, external

Clive Coleman
BBC legal correspondent

The Brexit Party's plans would mean a move towards a US-style system where senior judges are subject to confirmation hearings, where their views are scrutinised by elected politicians.

There has always been a great reluctance to introduce such a system in the UK. However, since the early 1980s, there has been a significant rise in something known as judicial review.

This enables an individual or group to ask a court to determine whether a decision taken by a public body, including ministers, is lawful or not. There is now almost no area of government decision-making that cannot be subject to scrutiny by judges.

Many regard judicial review as a critical democratic check on the abuse of government power and a way of ensuring that no-one, including ministers, is above the law.

However, some feel that judges - unelected and unaccountable - are now too involved in political decision-making. And if that is to be the case, more should be known about their political views.

Read more: Brexit Party: 12 key policies explained

David Sillito
Media and Arts correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

The Brexit Party has pledged to phase out the BBC licence fee. But what do you replace it with?

Advertising is one solution, but that would have a huge impact on other commercial broadcasters competing for ad spending.

Direct government funding would still be a compulsory charge and could be seen to undermine the BBC's political independence.

Another alternative is a Netflix-like subscription. But the challenge is how to introduce a paywall and stop people watching and listening to the BBC's many TV and radio channels.

Turning the BBC into a subscription service would also fundamentally change what the BBC provides. Large parts of the BBC would disappear.

However, TV licence fees are being phased out where they exist elsewhere in Europe - Norway and Denmark are replacing their licence fees with systems funded by taxation.

But Switzerland voted to keep theirs - in a referendum.

This policy would apply to the whole of the UK.

Read more: Brexit Party: 12 key policies explained

Chancellor Sajid Javid has attacked Labour's economic plans, saying "businesses are petrified about what a Labour government might mean for them”.

Earlier, shadow chancellor John McDonnell defended Labour's tax policies, denying that raising corporation tax would lead to wage cuts or higher prices.

Speaking on a visit to a manufacturing company in Hastings, Mr Javid said: “The only way to help people, to reach out, grab the opportunities, is by having a strong economy - and Conservatives can provide that."

He was also asked about comments by Home Secretary Priti Patel earlier this week, when she said it wasn't the government's sole responsibility that food bank use had risen in some areas of the country.

Mr Javid replied that government had a "huge responsibility to make sure people are better off", adding that he was pleased more people were employed than ever before and wages were rising faster than inflation under the Conservatives.

"These are all good things but they don’t happen by accident," he said.

"You need a government in charge that knows what it’s doing, that can work with business, that can invest in skills, that can invest in infrastructure."

Branwen Jeffreys
Education Editor

Image source, Getty Images

The interest rates on student tuition loans have long added to the sense of injustice graduates have about their debt.

Few realise until their first statement arrives the April after graduation just how much interest they were charged while studying for their degree.

For this year's students, that means 5.4% - far above the cost of government borrowing. Getting rid of the additional interest above RPI would reduce the loan balance on graduation by £3,000, according to Institute for Fiscal Studies analysis two years ago. After graduation, the interest rate currently varies according to your income.

The Brexit Party wants universities to incorporate an obligation to protect legal free speech, but they already have a legal requirement to protect freedom of expression.

It would also abandon any push to get 50% of young people into higher education.

Student finance is devolved so this would apply to England only.

Read more: Brexit Party: 12 key policies explained