Hugh Pym
BBC News Health Editor

Comments by Nigel Farage about encouraging the use of private health insurance to help take the pressure off the NHS led to speculation about what this might mean for the service.

The manifesto states though that the NHS must remain a publicly owned, comprehensive service, free at the point of use and with privatisation ruled out.

There is no mention of a role for insurers or any long term aspiration to encourage the better off to save for private healthcare.

Interesting policies include 24-hour opening for GP surgeries and broadening training for nurses and midwives without the need for a degree. But there are no costings to underpin those specific measures.

Healthcare is devolved so these policies would apply to England only.

After his speech Mr Farage took some questions from journalists and was asked whether he planned to remain leader of the Brexit Party if it failed to win any seats in the election.

Mr Farage replied by saying he was "more than happy" to call it a day after the 2016 referendum but decided to launch the Brexit Party after watching with "growing dismay" at how Brexit was unfolding.

“I am absolutely committed to the complete reform of our political system," he said, adding that he will continue to campaign "for years to come" on the policies he set out today.

Image source, PA Media

It's been a busy morning on the election campaign trail. Here's a quick re-cap of what's happened so far:

• Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage launches the party's manifesto, which he describes as a contract with voters. Key policy pledges include capping immigration at 50,000 people a year and scrapping the BBC licence fee
• Plaid Cymru launches its manifesto, with policies including a £20bn "green jobs revolution" and a second EU referendum
• Labour shadow chancellor John McDonnell hits back at criticism of his party's policies. He says the Institute for Fiscal Studies assessment that Labour's plans are "not credible" is wrong
• The Conservatives focus on housing with a promise to increase stamp duty for foreign buyers of property in England. The party says the policy will boost home ownership
• Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson says she could still be moving into 10 Downing Street on 13 December. "I think we're doing really well," she tells reporters in Glasgow

Mr Farage finishes his speech by saying without his party "there will be no genuine Brexit".

"We have already changed the face of British politics and we now want to lead the next phase - which is a political revolution that puts the ordinary people first," he says.

Mr Farage now moves on to the Brexit Party's immigration policy - his party is making a pledge to cap permanent immigration at 50,000.

He says the country is suffering a "population crisis" as a result of policies since the 1990s and that the impact of this has been seen on public services.

Moving on to the NHS he denies Labour's claims that his party wants to privatise the UK's health service or that US President Donald Trump wants to "buy it".

He adds that the NHS does need more funding and the issue should be "depoliticised".

The Liberal Democrat leader, Jo Swinson, has been confronted for “enabling” austerity and betraying students.

While campaigning in Glasgow, she was approached by a student who said: “I know people who have suffered so much – it breaks my heart”.

“People are dying because of austerity – do you know that? Because of the Lib Dems enabling that?”

He added: “It’s just not good enough, Jo, it’s just not good enough.”

“I’m a student here in Scotland…. Look at what the Lib Dems did, you betrayed students. I don’t think people will ever forgive you for that”.

When the Liberal Democrat leader in Scotland, Willie Rennie, questioned him on Brexit, he replied: “The Lib Dems are blocking any chance of solving Brexit. Labour has the best chance of solving Brexit”.

Ms Swinson said ending “constitutional chaos” was her main campaign message. “We’ve had eight years here in Scotland, talking about independence and then Brexit”.

She described Boris Johnson and Nicola Sturgeon as “the terrible twins of division and chaos”.

“The Liberal Democrats want to stop all of that - stop Brexit, stop independence - so that we can get on making people’s lives better and have a brighter future.”

BBC Radio 5 Live

BBC Radio 5 Live's Adrian Chiles is broadcasting live from Norwich this morning. He's been speaking to people in the city centre - how are they feeling about the election?

Jason runs a fruit and veg stall at the market.

"I'm a blue through and through," he said, "if we went Labour, I think we'd take a backwards step again, I really do.

"He [Jeremy Corbyn] will spend money he hasn't got."

Colin is a visual artist who was having a coffee in a cafe next to the market. He told Adrian he will be supporting Jeremy Corbyn although he doesn't agree with all of Labour's policies.

"We can't allow liberal capitalism to go on the way it is," he said, "because the gap between rich and poor is getting far too great."

Colin grew up in Norwich and said he'd seen the city change: "If you had told me there would be beggars on the street... I'd never have believed you. But it's almost become the norm now and that's pretty disgraceful."

Listen to live coverage on BBC Sounds.

Have your say: @BBC5Live, external / Text 85058

Mr Farage is now setting out some of his party's economic policies.

“We are the party for small businesses and small people," he says.

He promises to lift the regulatory burden on small businesses and argues leaving the EU would contribute to this aim. He vows to introduce a £10,000 allowance for every UK company before they have to pay corporation tax.

Mr Farage says his party would also save money by scrapping the HS2 high-speed rail project as it would only benefit a "few thousand people".

Setting out some of the other reforms the Brexit Party is proposing, Mr Farage says citizens should be able to call referendums on key issues if there is a "fundamental disconnect" between what is happening in Westminster and the rest of the country.

He says the Supreme Court also needs reform and political guidelines to work from so "no referendum in the future can be said to be not legally binding".

He goes on to criticise the BBC, saying it has "become an anachronism" in the modern age of streaming.

The Brexit Party would phase out the licence fee, Mr Farage says.

Image source, PA Media

Meanwhile, Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson says she may still have the chance to move into 10 Downing Street.

Speaking at an event in Glasgow, Ms Swinson says: "Not a single vote has been cast. This is an election and people get to choose, so it's absolutely possible. "People can choose better than Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn."

Commenting on the campaign so far, she adds: "I think we're doing really well. We're out on doorsteps and seeing what's happening in our seats across the country. We've got lots of opportunities to get our message out."

Mr Farage says Brexit is the "beginning not the end" of "a much-needed revolution".

"We are the party of the new radicals," Mr Farage says.

He tells the audience the voting system is "hopelessly out of date" and promises to reform the postal voting system, which he says is open to abuse through fraud and intimidation.

He also criticises the way appointments to the House of Lords are made, saying it "borders on corruption".

Mr Farage adds that the House of Lords is "no longer fit for purpose and needs to go".

Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage is beginning his speech in London, where he is setting out the party's election policies.

Mr Farage begins by saying his party is not launching a "manifesto" because "a word association test with manifesto gave the word lie", adding that there have been too many "broken promises" in past election campaigns.

Image source, PA Media

While campaigning in Stoke-on-Trent, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn responds to criticism from the Institute for Fiscal Studies which described his party's spending plans as "not credible".

Mr Corbyn says: "95% of the British public will not pay any more in tax at all.

"The richest 5% will pay a bit more and the biggest corporations will pay more.

"We have costed it very, very carefully, produced a very full costings through our grey book, and the information is all there and out there - 95% will not pay any more."

When asked how he can reassure the public Labour's plans are feasible, Mr Corbyn says: "We've costed it through - the needs of this country are enormous."

Earlier, John McDonnell explained to the BBC why he thought the IFS had "got it wrong".

Brian Meechan
BBC Wales business correspondent

Many in the rail industry think it was a mistake to emphasise shorter journey times as the main benefit of electrification.

Electrification is expensive, which left some wondering whether spending billions to save minutes on journeys was value for money.

But electrification allows bigger trains to be run on lines. They can be more frequent and more reliable. Overall more passengers could travel on the services.

The trains themselves are more environmentally friendly and more travellers might be encouraged to use public transport rather than cars.

Businesses have long pushed for rail electrification in areas where demand justifies the cost.

As with all major infrastructure projects, electrification requires a skilled workforce which will mean overcoming the current skill shortages.

Criticising Labour's record in Wales Mr Price says the party is "the opposite of real change" and "not the solution to our problems" but "in many ways the source of our problems".

He's making a reference to the title of Labour's manifesto - “It’s Time For Real Change”.

Finishing his speech Mr Price says Plaid Cymru would bring about "a Wales and a world that’s cleaner and safer and fairer and better".

Mr Price says his party will invest in social housing because too many young people are "trapped in expensive rented accommodation".

Plaid Cymru will introduce a national housing company which will borrow against rents to build public rental housing in Wales, he says.

It will have a "firm target" of achieving 20,000 new homes over the first five years, he adds.

Owain Clarke
BBC Wales Health Correspondent

Unlike the healthcare on the NHS, social care is not usually free.

At the moment some people aged 65 and over will get help towards their costs, but others can pay in full. And social care is delivered by a mixture of bodies - councils, private bodies and third sector organisations.

This policy was one recommended by a commission set up by Plaid Cymru to think about radical solutions to a growing problem - namely the impact of an ageing population.

• Q&A: Social care in Wales

The commission estimated the cost of the policy would be an extra £247m a year, which it described as "eminently affordable" - but the truth is nobody really knows at what the final price tag would be.

In a report commissioned by the Welsh Government last year, economist Gerry Holtham suggested an income tax of between 1% and 3% could be used to fund elderly social carein Wales.

What's clear is having adequate social care is important for the future of the NHS, as when care is lacking people end up in hospital - increasing the strain on a health service that's already struggling.

Mr Price is now setting out his party's plans for social care and public services.

He promises "a new vision of care from the cradle to the grave", with free social care at the point of need.

He says his party will also recruit more doctors and nurses and an additional 1,600 police officers in Wales.

Sarah Dickins
BBC Wales Economics Correspondent

Plaid Cymru is promising a £15bn Welsh Green Jobs Revolution paid for by the UK government increasing capital investment for 10 years and Wales getting its share of that.

It would also ask the Treasury to allow the Welsh Government to borrow £5bn and use both funding sources pay for "tens of thousands" of new green jobs.

Plaid Cymru promises publicly-owned full fibre broadband by 2025 - five years earlier than Labour - and said it would build 20,000 green social homes and spend £5bn making homes more energy efficient and reduce fuel poverty.

For too long Wales has been "behind the curve", Mr Price says.

“Now we can become the world’s leading edge."

He says Wales can lead the way in building tidal lagoons and offshore wind farms.

The party is promising a "green jobs revolution", creating thousands of jobs as part of its plans to tackle climate change.