Summary

  • Nicola Sturgeon launches SNP election manifesto

  • She accuses Boris Johnson of being "dangerous and unfit for office"

  • Jeremy Corbyn produces documents he says prove the NHS is "on the table" is trade talks with the US

  • In a BBC interview earlier, he conceded those on lower incomes could pay more tax under Labour

  • Boris Johnson apologises for Islamophobia in the Conservative Party

  • Former Tory grandee Lord Heseltine campaigns with the Lib Dems and attacks the Tories' "get Brexit done" message

  • The country goes to the polls on 12 December

  1. Breaking down the SNP manifestopublished at 12:44 Greenwich Mean Time 27 November 2019

    Policy 6: Tackle the climate emergency

    Kevin Keane
    BBC Scotland environment correspondent

    Demand the UK government matches Holyrood's climate change targets.

    While some parties have been throwing around new dates for achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions, the SNP has not. But then the ink is barely dry on Scottish legislation which set 2045 as the new target year.

    Instead it commits its MPs to push the new UK government into helping Scotland achieve that target through accelerating the deployment of carbon capture, usage and storage - a key technology for tackling the 'climate crisis' - and matching Scotland's 2032 date for all new cars to be electric.

    It also wants taxation reformed to support "greener choices", like making our homes more energy-efficient.

    But the SNP insists Brexit must not be allowed to derail the train carrying us towards net-zero. And - unsurprisingly - suggests that the key to going even further in addressing climate change is... independence.

  2. Patel 'bans interviews' on West Yorkshire visitpublished at 12:43 Greenwich Mean Time 27 November 2019

    Home Secretary Priti Patel is in Brighouse on the campaign trail.

    But despite the Conservatives inviting BBC's Look North television crew, our reporter on the ground says they were asked to stop filming and interviews were banned.

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    The Yorkshire Post's Westminster correspondent, Geri Scott, says her newspaper wasn't even told the home secretary was coming, external or invited to the event.

  3. Tory candidate wants PM apology over Muslim women remarkpublished at 12:41 Greenwich Mean Time 27 November 2019

    Boris JohnsonImage source, AFP/ Getty Images

    Parvez Akhtar says he can no longer remain silent over Boris Johnson's comments about Muslim women.

    Read the whole story.

  4. Gardiner defends 'dig' reaction to anti-Semitism questionpublished at 12:40 Greenwich Mean Time 27 November 2019

    BBC Politics Live
    BBC2's lunchtime political programme

    Barry Gardiner on Politics Live

    Labour's Barry Gardiner is asked about his reaction to ITV's political correspondent Libby Wiener, who asked a question about anti-Semitism at his party's press conference on the NHS earlier.

    Mr Gardiner asked her whether, external she had a question about the NHS, adding: "Or was that just an opportune moment to get a dig in about something else?"

    He tells Politics Live: "We were there to discuss the NHS and trade deals. I was very happy for her to ask a question about anything she wanted to alongside the NHS and trade deals

    "But you will notice she asked a question only about that and then sat down.

    "If you look at other journalists, they had also asked about anti-Semitism. That was fine."

    Challenged that he does not get to decide what journalists ask, Mr Gardiner replies: "Indeed. But I asked her if she also wanted to speak about what we were discussing."

  5. How can you vote as a mental health patient?published at 12:35 Greenwich Mean Time 27 November 2019

    Media caption,

    Voting inside a Mental Health Unit

    When Louise Evans was admitted to a psychiatric unit, she thought she had lost her right to vote.

    Her parents used to be councillors so she had always been politically aware.

    But being voluntarily treated for paranoid schizophrenia she thought she was too unwell to cast her ballot.

    So, she was was surprised to find out most mental health service users can vote.

    Find out more about.

  6. Breaking down the SNP manifestopublished at 12:34 Greenwich Mean Time 27 November 2019

    Policy 5: Increase parental leave

    Up the provision of paid leave for both parents and promote encourage dads to take more time off

    All the parties are making some kind of offer to new parents. The SNP's goes further than most.

    Nicola Sturgeon says its offer would be a "game changer"- a new 12-week use-it-or-lose-it period of "daddy leave".

    Parents are currently entitled to convert up to 50 weeks of their 52-week maternity leave to shared parental leavebut take-up by dads has been "stubbornly low". The SNP is offering to extend this to 64 weeks with 12 weeks ring-fenced for fathers to encourage them to take the time off with their new babies.

    In addition it is offering to increase statutory pay and introduce stronger protections against redundancy for new parents.

    How the SNP could introduce this is open to question. Parental leave is covered by employment law and this is decided by Westminster, not Holyrood, so the SNP would need to win the support of other parties or introduce a private members' bill to deliver this proposal.

    Analysis by Lucy Adams, BBC Scotland social affairs correspondent

  7. US companies don't like UK drug pricing systempublished at 12:31 Greenwich Mean Time 27 November 2019

    Analysing Labour's documents 'reveal'...

    Hugh Pym
    BBC News Health Editor

    The key issue at the heart of this is that American drug companies do not like - or most of them don't anyway - the British system where there are regulators, one in England, one in Scotland, who can hold down the price of drugs and say 'this is actually all that we think is value for money.'

    So the prices these companies get is less in the UK than it is in the American healthcare system. They want that on the table in future trade talks.

    There are implications in these documents that suggest that sort of thing is on the table, but there's a firm denial from Boris Johnson that for his part anyway, they're open to negotiation.

    Read our full story.

  8. Breaking down the SNP manifestopublished at 12:26 Greenwich Mean Time 27 November 2019

    Policy 4: Tackle the drugs crisis

    Reevel Alderson
    BBC Scotland Home Affairs correspondent

    Devolve drug classification powers to Holyrood

    Scotland has a drugs death crisis. There is an escalating number of drug deaths in Scotland - in 2018 a record total of 1,187. The death rate in Scotland is the worst in the EU and three times higher than the UK as a whole.

    The SNP has voiced frustration that some radical solutions cannot be explored. At present, drugs policy is reserved to Westminster under the 1971 Misuse of Drugs Act. The SNP manifesto wants the power to allow a consumption room in Glasgow where users could inject or smoke their own illegal drugs. But this has been put on hold because the Home Office refused permission for Scotland's senior law officer, the Lord Advocate, to grant legal protection for it.

    The SNP argues the proposal would connect hard-to-reach users with drug treatment services and help cut the death toll among older addicts. It's a high-profile pledge but they acknowledge it's just one part of an issue that will require long-term action.

  9. Labour's Gardiner: Corbyn has apologised over anti-Semitismpublished at 12:24 Greenwich Mean Time 27 November 2019

    BBC Politics Live
    BBC2's lunchtime political programme

    Barry Gardiner

    Shadow international trade secretary Barry Gardiner is asked why Mr Corbyn did not apologise after the chief rabbi's remarks on anti-Semitism last night.

    He has, replies Mr Gardiner.

    "Last year you will remember he even did a video when he said 'I'm sorry for the hurt that has been caused to many Jewish people, we've been too slow in processing this.'"

    Mr Gardiner adds: "Tell you what baffled me. It seemed that the way in which it [the interview] was set up was simply - 'so you won't apologise, you won't apologise'.

    "I think what Jeremy was clearly trying to do was to get across, this is what I've done. I've actually changed the system.

    "What he was apologising for in the first place, back in August last year and before that in 2017, was the fact the Labour Party has not dealt with this process properly, we haven't done it quickly enough.

    "And what he was trying to explain last night I think, was actually he has changed the process. It is now speeded up, it's four times faster, there's twice as many lawyers doing this."

  10. Breaking down the SNP manifestopublished at 12:18 Greenwich Mean Time 27 November 2019

    Policy 3: Scrap Trident

    Jonathan Beale
    BBC defence correspondent

    Get rid of the UK's nuclear deterrent and spend the money on public services

    The SNP has long called for the removal of Britain's nuclear armed submarines from Scottish waters. Nicola Sturgeon has recently stated it would be a red line for the SNP if it were to back any Labour government.

    Jeremy Corbyn, too, has long been an opponent of nuclear weapons, but official Labour Party policy(restated in its manifesto), external- like that of the Conservatives - is to support the renewal of Trident.

    The Liberal Democrats say they'd keep Trident but reduce the nuclear posture of round-the-clock patrols with three instead of four submarines. The trouble is that the Westminster Parliament has already given the green light to build four new submarines to carry the Trident missiles at a cost of £35bn. That work is already well under way.

    The SNP still believes scrapping Trident would free up tens of billions of pounds to strengthen conventional forces and to spend on hospitals and schools.

    But critics of the SNP position warn that scrapping Trident would hit the local economy on the Clyde where the submarines are based. They also argue it could jeopardise Britain's position as a recognised nuclear power and permanent member of the UN Security Council.

  11. Corbyn's BBC interview 'pretty uncomfortable viewing'published at 12:16 Greenwich Mean Time 27 November 2019

    BBC Politics Live
    BBC2's lunchtime political programme

    Helen Lewis, the Atlantic

    The panel on the BBC's Politics Live are reacting to Jeremy Corbyn's interview with the BBC's Andrew Neil last night - and in particular, Mr Corbyn's refusal to apologise to the chief rabbi's criticism over anti-Semitism.

    Helen Lewis, from the Atlantic, said it was "baffling" that Mr Corbyn took a "testy tone" in last night's interview - which is something he "really worked on" in the last election.

    She adds that the anti-Semitism row has become "so partisan", with an "instant knee-jerk response to say, 'look the Conservatives have an Islamophobia problem'".

    "I've been researching a piece on this for the Atlantic. Talking to people in things like the Jewish Labour Movement... and they say to me, I agree with the manifesto, I'm on the left, but as soon I say there's a problem with anti-Semitism it's taken as 'it must be an attack on Corbyn'."

    Meanwhile, Katy Balls, the Spectator's deputy political editor, called the interview "pretty uncomfortable viewing".

    "The fact he wouldn't apologise to the chief rabbi was potentially very damaging," she thinks.

  12. Facebook's alternative media worldpublished at 12:14 Greenwich Mean Time 27 November 2019

    Illustration of woman on mobile in the bath

    Stepping away from TV debates, press conferences and manifesto launches for just a moment, BBC Trending has been speaking to people running alternative media on Facebook.

    Working from living rooms and even bathtubs around the UK these volunteer activists run Facebook pages that attract millions of likes, comments and shares. And they don't necessarily trust the mainstream media.

    The BBC's Joey D'Urso and Marianna Spring say these sites aren't trying to change people's minds but to "rally the troops, spread lines of attack and get people to pitch in - online, or maybe even offline".

    They conclude that on social media there is also a higher chance of misinformation or misleading stories spreading quickly. But many people perhaps feel these alternative Facebook pages represent them more than a newsroom in a city miles away.

  13. Breaking down the SNP manifestopublished at 12:13 Greenwich Mean Time 27 November 2019

    Policy 2: Hold indyref2 in 2020

    Philip Sim
    BBC Scotland political reporter

    Ask the UK government to give the Scottish Parliament the power to hold a referendum next year on independence

    Precisely nobody will be surprised to see support for an independence referendum in the SNP manifesto. To be clear, the party already believes it has several mandates for a new poll, but hopes that a big win on 12 December will really cement its case.

    This is because the big question about indyref2 is how it comes about. Nicola Sturgeon wants an agreement with the UK government before holding a vote, but has seen theConservatives rule this out completely, externalandLabour say it wouldn't be on the table in the "early years" of a new government., external

    If Ms Sturgeon is to get a referendum on her 2020 timetable, something needs to give - and she wants the result of this election to send a big message to both potential prime ministers about "Scotland's future being in Scotland's hands".

    Can Nicola Sturgeon deliver Scottish independence?

  14. Breaking down the SNP manifestopublished at 12:11 Greenwich Mean Time 27 November 2019

    Policy 1: Stop Brexit

    Douglas Fraser
    Scotland business & economy editor

    Keep Scotland in the EU by supporting a second Brexit referendum with Remain on the ballot paper

    About a third of Scotland's million Leave voters at the Brexit referendum in 2016 were also supporters of Scottish independence. However, Nicola Sturgeon has come down firmly in favour of the UK remaining within the EU, or re-joining it if Scotland becomes independent.

    At Westminster, the party's MPs have backed moves towards another Brexit referendum, so long as Remain is an option on the ballot paper. That remains the position in the current election's manifesto. If it comes to a choice for MPs between revoking Brexit and "no deal" with the European Union, the SNP says it would back revocation.

    In addition, Brexit is being seen by the SNP as such a big change to the UK constitution that it warrants another vote on Scottish independence or indyref2 as it is known. Even if Brexit is thrown into reverse the SNP will still use any leverage it has after this election to secure indyref2, arguing that the Brexit "chaos" will continue for years.

  15. In pictures: Day 22 of the election campaign so farpublished at 12:09 Greenwich Mean Time 27 November 2019

    Scotland"s First Minister and National Party (SNP) leader Nicola Sturgeon gestures during the party"s manifesto launch in Glasgow, BritainImage source, Reuters
    Image caption,

    Nicola Sturgeon launches the SNP's manifesto in Glasgow with a clear "stop Brexit" message - she's just wrapped up in the last 10 minutes

    Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks with Patient Andrew Hall as he visits West Cornwall Community Hospital, in Penzance, CornwallImage source, PA Media
    Image caption,

    Boris Johnson speaks with a patient as he visits a hospital in Penzance

    Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn holds an unredacted copy of the Department for International Trade"s UK-US Trade and Investment Working Group report following a speech about the NHS, in Westminster, London.Image source, PA Media
    Image caption,

    Jeremy Corbyn holds up a copy of government documents detailing trade deal negotiations between the UK and US

    One of four poster vans that are set to tour Liberal Democrat/Conservative marginal seats at their unveiling in Smith Square, Westminster.Image source, PA Media
    Image caption,

    The Liberal Democrats launch poster vans which will tour marginal seats - spot the faces of Nigel Farage, Boris Johnson and Donald Trump

  16. Sturgeon questioned about Labour oil and gas taxpublished at 12:07 Greenwich Mean Time 27 November 2019

    Jeremy Corbyn's manifesto contained a promise of an £11bn one-off tax on oil and gas firms - he said it was to help workers move into low-carbon jobs.

    It was also, though, to make energy firms “pay their fair share for the costs of their destruction”, he said.

    Oil and gas make up a significant part of Scotland's economy and while Nicola Sturgeon has made commitments on moving towards greener forms of energy, our political correspondent says it could be a tricky area in any hung Parliament scenario.

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  17. Sturgeon challenged over SNP fracking leafletpublished at 12:04 Greenwich Mean Time 27 November 2019

    Ms Sturgeon is also asked about an SNP leaflet which accused Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson of accepting a £14,000 donation from "a fracking company".

    A court has ruled the statement on the leaflet was false in substance, materially inaccurate and defamatory.

    Asked whether she thinks the leaflet was misleading, Ms Sturgeon says she does not, adding that the SNP's lawyers had set out this case in court.

    However, she says that the SNP "respect the judgement of the court".

    She adds that Ms Swinson "has a record that she needs to be prepared to defend” and “she seems a bit sensitive when it’s raised”.

  18. Tory candidate: Boris Johnson should apologise for Muslim women commentspublished at 12:01 Greenwich Mean Time 27 November 2019

    Elsewhere, the Conservative candidate for Luton South, Parvez Akhtar, has called on leader Boris Johnson to apologise for comments he made about Muslim women.

    In August last year, Mr Johnson was accused of Islamophobia after saying Muslim women wearing burkas "look like letter boxes".

    Mr Akhtar says in a statement: "The Conservatives have a blind spot when it comes to Muslims."