Norman Smith
Assistant political editor

Labour sources dismiss Boris Johnson’s pledge to recruit 50,000 more nurses in very colourful language, saying it is not credible as to recruit 24,000 nurses costs £1bn.

And yet Boris Johnson has set aside only £879m to recruit 50,000 more nurses.

Somehow the sums don't add up.

Image source, Getty Images

We're all having a read through the 59-page Conservative manifesto which has just been published online here, external.

It confirms there will be no changes to the Hunting Act - meaning fox-hunting will not be brought back under a Tory government.

There are no mentions of grammar schools either - but there are plenty of mentions of the party's election slogan "get Brexit done" - 23 in fact.

If you weren't able to tune in earlier, here's a flavour of the Tory party manifesto launch in Telford.

Faisal Islam
BBC Economics Editor

The Conservative Party manifesto saw no rabbits out of the hat, no huge tax cuts, or rises, and no big ticket new spending item.

It has been designed as a "steady as she goes" manifesto - a modest effort which is the equivalent of a rather low key Budget.

By design, the tax and spend numbers are smaller than those of the Liberal Democrats and, especially, Labour.

They have space to do a lot more within the government's new borrowing rules.

But Chancellor Sajid Javid and Prime Minister Boris Johnson want to keep a tight ship.

There will be a little bit more spending and a bit more tax too. But it amounts to less than 1% of the size of the economy.

The big picture is several billion a year of extra spending, but not several tens of billions.

Sean Coughlan
BBC News, education correspondent

Image source, PA Media

If the pollsters had found a new demographic called School Run Mum and Dad, then the childcare policy from the Conservatives could have been invented for them.

While Labour and the Lib Dems are offering blockbuster, multi-billion, universal childcare policies for pre-school children, the Tories are targeting the type of parents struggling to find affordable childcare to fill the gaps between work, school hours and the long summer holidays.

It’s a much more strategic offer, aiming to create 250,000 extra childcare places during the holidays for primary school-age children, which would only be about 5% of that age group. It would cost £250m per year for three years, with £250m for capital costs.

Much of this would be delivered through schools – and if the phrase “wrap-around” childcare seems familiar, it was a policy of the Tony Blair era, with its pre-austerity expansion of breakfast clubs, after-school clubs and holiday clubs.

In practical terms, it will also depend on schools being able to make their premises available over the summer holidays.

Hugh Pym
BBC News Health Editor

Image source, PA Media

Most of the Conservatives' manifesto pledges had been pre-announced - but a key new policy is to add 50,000 more nurses to the workforce in England by 2023.

This is from a level of just under 300,000 full time equivalent posts now.

The main vehicle for doing this is through reintroducing maintenance grants of between £5,000 and £8,000 a year for nursing students.

The scrapping of these grants in 2017 was controversial and was followed by a fall in the number of applicants for nursing degrees.

So the pledge by the Conservatives to bring back the grants is something of a U-turn.

But the Conservative policy will not involve fees for nurses being scrapped and a return to the pre-2017 policy of free tuition.

The 50,000 figure is reached by including foreign recruitment and policies for better retention of nurses.

Labour's promise to recruit 24,000 nurses is based just on higher numbers in training. It's achieved, according to the party, by reintroducing free tuition fees and maintenance grants.

Alison Holt
Social affairs correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

Despite Boris Johnson’s promise on the steps of Downing Street to fix adult social care and subsequent indications that he has a plan, the manifesto contains little more than the guiding principle that no-one will have to sell their home to pay for care.

As things stand, few would call these details an ambitious plan but the Conservative pledge to urgently build a cross-party consensus on future care will be welcomed.

The system is already at breaking point, and experts warn the extra £1bn a year promised for the next five years won’t be enough to prop it up.

Not least because the money will be shared with equally overstretched children’s services.

The Tory calculation appears to be that it's best to say as little as possible rather than risk being tripped up by an issue that cost them dearly at the last election.

BBC News Channel

Out into the foyer now, and challenged on the absence of detailed social care policies in the Conservative manifesto, former Cabinet minister Nicky Morgan says: "It is a complex and difficult issue."

"We're only going to solve this issue if we build a long-lasting cross-party consensus, because reforming social care is a long-term thing."

Ms Morgan, who is not standing for re-election, says Boris Johnson and Health Secretary Matt Hancock "absolutely" intend to solve the social care crisis.

The alternative, she claims, is to do "what other parties are doing which is to spray around totally unaffordable, unachievable promises they have no hope of implementing at all."

As we said earlier, Boris Johnson was asked by our political editor Laura Kuenssberg whether the country could trust him with a majority, after he broke his promise that the UK would leave the EU on 31 October.

He replied that it was the "prevarication, procrastination, dither and delay" of the last three years on Brexit that had undermined politics.

Watch the full clip below.

Norman Smith
Assistant political editor

The overarching message delivered today by Mr Johnson was "Let's get Brexit done".

He had great fun talking about how Jeremy Corbyn was going to negotiate "this elusive deal".

But the core defining message of this manifesto - and of Team Johnson in this election campaign – is the one he has underscored again and again.

Norman Smith
Assistant political editor

Leaving the conference hall, Boris Johnson urges we hacks to "read the manifesto!"

Fortunately, that shouldn't take us too long at 59 pages with lots of pictures...

Wrapping up his party's manifesto launch, Mr Johnson says: "This is going to be a very, very important election" and "very very close fought".

He says his party must "make our case respectfully and humbly".

And finally he reiterates the party's election slogan, saying he wants to "get Brexit done" and "unleash the potential" of the UK.

That's it from the launch... now on to the analysis.

Mr Johnson is asked about the controversy over the Conservative Party Twitter account changing its name to "factcheckUK" during ITV's election debate last week. Does this undermine trust in the Tory party, he is asked.

He replies by saying, "the Twittersphere is not really my province".

"But what I can say is I’m informed that Labour have some sort of operation which is very similar to this," he adds.

Labour has a Twitter account - @The_InsiderUK - which says it "fact-checks" claims made by the opposition.

He then tries to deflect the question by moving back to Labour's Brexit policy.

When it comes to facts, he says, the fact that voters really need to know is what Jeremy Corbyn's position is on whether he supports leaving the EU.

Norman Smith
Assistant political editor

Boris Johnson declines to give a cast-iron pledge to come up with a clear plan for social care by the end of the next Parliament.

Instead, he reiterates the desire for cross-party consensus and ensuring people don't have to sell their home.

Norman Smith
Assistant political editor

As we've just told you, Boris Johnson has been explaining his thinking on taxes.

His audience applauds enthusiastically. Seems the Tories are prepared to stomach the dropping of key tax cutting pledges.

Gordon Rayner from the Daily Telegraph asks if Boris Johnson is taking traditional Tory voters for granted.

"First of all, I haven't lost any of my tax cutting zeal, just so you know," Mr Johnson says.

"We believe in cutting taxes. But I think at this particular juncture when people... want to see spending on the NHS now, I think it is right to focus our tax cuts on the people who need them most."

He is also challenged to name the date that the UK will leave the EU.

Mr Jonhson says if the party is "lucky enough" to get a majority, then there is a deal "ready to go". "Just add water," he jokes.

"We can then get the whole thing completed in a matter of days if not weeks and we're out by January 31."

Boris Johnson is then asked whether he will maintain troop levels - with the questioner pointing out that this is not included in the manifesto, as it was in 2017.

Mr Johnson replies by saying: "We will not be cutting our armed forces in any form."

He says a Tory government would also protect veterans from vexatious cases against them.

“Our attitude is to support and protect our armed forces," Mr Johnson says, arguing this is in "sharp contrast" with the Labour party.

Norman Smith
Assistant political editor

So only big new announcement in Tory manifesto is the pledge to recruit 50,000 new nurses.

But I have to say I'm a little confused how this is going to be achieved given Boris Johnson is spending £6bn less in real terms than Labour, but plans to recruit twice as many nurses.

It's our political editor Laura Kuenssberg's turn to ask a question.

"You won the leadership of your party by making a big promise on Brexit that you then broke, despite saying the buck stopped with you.

"Now you're trying to win the country with a whole list of promises and significant extra spending. Do you accept that beyond this room and beyond your party it's a big leap of faith for the country to trust you with a majority?"

In response, Mr Johnson says that it was Labour, the SNP, and the Lib Dems who decided to vote against the government's plan to leave the EU.

"The biggest issue at this election is really whether people have any confidence in politics anymore."

The "prevarication, procrastination, dither and delay" of the last three years had undermined politics, he says.