Image source, Getty Images

Child poverty risks reaching a record high under the Conservative Party's plans for benefits, according to a new report by the Resolution Foundation.

The Conservative election manifesto does not propose changes to existing benefit policy, the think tank - which focuses on people on lower incomes - said.

It found, as a result, relative child poverty could reach a 60-year high of 34% by 2023-4.

A Tory spokesman said there were 750,000 fewer children in poverty since the party came into government.

They added: "We know we must continue to make every effort on this issue and our manifesto sets out how we will use the tax and benefits system to do this."

Under Labour's plans, which include around £9bn of extra social security spending, the foundation forecast there would be some 550,000 fewer children in poverty compared with Conservative plans.

You can read more on child poverty and why it has proved a hard nut to crack for successive governments here.

Throughout the 2019 general election campaign, the BBC wants to answer your questions about the issues that matter most to you.

Crime and policing is one of the areas that people have said they are most concerned about.

The BBC's Sarah Corker has picked out some of the key issues - police numbers, knife crime and prisons.

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The internal Labour row over anti-Semitism has being going on for three years.

The issue is long and complicated, so we suggest you read our full guide.

The story involving the Chief Rabbi and Labour comes on the same day that Jeremy Corbyn unveils a number of proposed measures in its "race and faith manifesto", including:

• Changing the law to include attacks on places of worship as a specific aggravated offence
• Working with social media firms to combat the rise of anti-Semitism online
• An independent review into the threat of far-right extremism and how to tackle it
• Reviewing the national curriculum to ensure it teaches about racism, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, xenophobia and black history, and to continue education about the Holocaust
• Ensuring coroners services meet the needs of faith communities, with "out of hours" services to ensure quick burials when required, allowing some Jewish and Muslim families to bury loved ones in accordance with their religious practice

National Education Union joint general secretary Mary Bousted welcomed Labour's "set of joined-up proposals to proactively tackle racism".

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby - head of the Church of England - has made a statement in the last hour or so in response to the Chief Rabbi's criticism of Jeremy Corbyn. See below...

Mr Welby says "parties must make it an absolute priority to offer positive reassurance and avoid anything that increases the perception of fear".

Responding to the Chief Rabbi, Labour spokesman said Mr Corbyn was "a lifelong campaigner against anti-Semitism and has made absolutely clear it has no place in our party and society, and that no-one who engages in it does so in his name".

"A Labour government will guarantee the security of the Jewish community, defend and support the Jewish way of life, and combat rising anti-Semitism in our country and across Europe."

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

Image source, AFP

The Chief Rabbi is not the only one making a surprising intervention in the election today. Michael Heseltine - a former deputy prime minister - is urging people to vote Liberal Democrat if there's not an Independent Tory MP to vote for.

The peer, who supported Remain during the EU referendum, has previously said he backed the Lib Dems over Brexit.

Mr Heseltine, who was expelled from the Tory party in May, says Brexit is the "overarching issue at stake" in this election and he "can't support people who are going to make this country poorer and less influential".

He called Boris Johnson's approach to Brexit "preposterous", saying: "We’re in for another year of uncertainty and a possibility of a no-deal exit at the end of it. That’s the reality if Mr Johnson gets an overall majority."

Lord Heseltine is referring to the fact that if the UK leaves the EU in January, it currently has until the end of 2020 - the end of the transition period - to work out a trade deal with the EU.

The Tory manifesto rules out any extension of the transition period beyond that point.

Lord Heseltine defended his position, saying the prospect of Jeremy Corbyn becoming prime minister was not a reality, with the polls suggesting Mr Johnson is on course to win a majority “to pursue a policy which I believe is utterly disastrous".

The BBC is broadcasting from Pembrokeshire today - the latest in our series of election specials. Ahead of the visit, our colleague Jon Kelly looks closely at the two marginal seats there.

Carmarthen West & South Pembrokeshire constituency was held by the Conservatives by just over 3,000 votes in 2017. Across the Milford Haven waterway, the Preseli Pembrokeshire seat was last claimed by the Tories with a wafer-thin majority of 317 over Labour.

Martin Bashir
BBC religious affairs correspondent

This is a sweeping and unequivocal condemnation of Labour's leadership, its treatment of Jewish parliamentarians and its handling of allegations of anti-Semitism.

It's also highly unusual for such an intervention by the leader of a religious denomination during a general election campaign. The Chief Rabbi has pastoral oversight for a large proportion of people who identify as Jewish in the United Kingdom.

Last week, the Archbishops of Canterbury and York appealed to voters and politicians to "honour the truth" and "challenge falsehoods", but there was no specific criticism of individual candidates nor their party leaders.

But the Chief Rabbi's article asks if Jeremy Corbyn is fit for high office and calls on voters to consider what the result of this election "will say about the moral compass of this country?"

Last year, three Jewish newspapers, - The Jewish Chronicle, The Jewish News and The Jewish Telegraph - published exactly the same front cover on 25 July - arguing that a Labour government under the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn would prove "an existential threat" to British Jewry.

The Chief Rabbi, in this highly critical column, is saying much the same.

Image source, PA Media

Here's some more on the criticism of Labour from the Chief Rabbi, who has claimed the party is not doing enough to root out anti-Jewish racism.

Writing in the Times, external, Ephraim Mirvis asked people to "vote with their conscience" in the general election, saying "a new poison - sanctioned from the very top - had taken root" in the party.

In the article, the Chief Rabbi - who is the spiritual leader of the United Synagogue, the largest umbrella group of Jewish communities in the country - says raising his concerns "ranks among the most painful moments I have experienced since taking office".

He claims "the overwhelming majority of British Jews are gripped by anxiety" at the prospect of a Labour victory in the election.

He has been a persistent critic of Labour's response to anti-Semitism allegations, calling the party's claim that it had investigated all cases of anti-Semitism in its ranks a "mendacious fiction".

Jeremy Corbyn says Labour is tackling anti-Semitism by expelling members.

A Labour spokesman said: "We are taking robust action to root out anti-Semitism in the party, with swift suspensions, processes for rapid expulsions and an education programme for members."

Labour will launch a "race and faith manifesto" later, which aims to improve protections for all faiths and tackle prejudice.

Here's a quick look at some of the main stories making the headlines first thing:

• The UK's most senior Jewish leader - the Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis - condemns Labour's handling of anti-Semitism, and, writing in the Times, he also questions Jeremy Corbyn's fitness to lead the country
• Mr Corbyn will set out his policies for tackling anti-Semitism when he launches his race and faith manifesto later. The party says children will also be taught about injustice and the role of the British Empire as part of the national curriculum
• Former Conservative deputy PM Lord Heseltine urges members of his party to vote for the Lib Dems, or former Tory MPs who are standing as Independents. Lord Heseltine, a long-standing critic of the Tories' pro-Brexit stance, was expelled from the party in May after saying he would vote for the Lib Dems in the European election
• In a BBC interview, Nicola Sturgeon insists Scotland could rejoin the EU "relatively quickly" if Brexit happens and there is another independence referendum

• Plaid Cymru's Adam Price struck a similar note in his BBC interview, saying he wanted Wales to rejoin the EU as an independent country if the UK leaves
• And nearly three million people have applied to register to vote in the past month, according to government figures - the deadline for those of you yet to do it is tonight

Hear Adam, Chris and Laura explain the Conservatives' nurses pledge via the medium of cupcakes.

Listen here or via the BBC Sounds app.

It's wet, it's dark, but we're here... so good morning and welcome to our live coverage of all the twists and turns on the campaign trail with just over two weeks until polling day.

There have been some significant interventions in the election overnight, with the Chief Rabbi criticising Labour’s record on dealing with anti-Semitism and ex-Tory deputy PM Lord Heseltine telling voters not to vote Conservative.

We’ll bring you all the details and reaction to those stories.

And if you've not registered to vote yet, you'd better get a move on. The deadline is midnight tonight.