Tom Symonds
Home Affairs Correspondent

The shadow transport secretary Andy McDonald says the Conservatives’ offer today of a new system for state aid "sticks in his throat".

He says the Conservatives have failed to save a steel works in his Teesside constituency despite having a number of ways to intervene while Britain remained a member of the EU.

“The Tories sat on their hands and used state aid as an excuse,” he says during a visit to Nottingham.

Mr McDonald dismisses suggestions Labour has changed its election tactics to focus on leave voters.

He says they are a "distraction technique" and the party is focusing on its core message.

“We’re facing an existential threat as a result of climate change and our people have been threatened with austerity since 2010.

"We can’t continue down this road of poverty wages, homelessness and all that goes with it.”

He also says a Labour-negotiated Brexit deal would give him "solace" but the final decision should be for a new referendum.

State aid is financial assistance given by the government to companies or other organisations that has the potential to distort market competition.

It's now two weeks until we will know the results of the election, and all the campaigning will be over.

For now though, it's still day 24 of the campaign - although it's been a relatively quiet morning on the campaign trail for the main party leaders.

Image source, PA Media

Image source, PA Media

Image source, PA Media

At a press conference earlier today, Gisela Stuart, the former Labour MP who led the Vote Leave campaign, revealed she was backing the Conservatives in the upcoming election.

BBC Politics Live
BBC2's lunchtime political programme

Green Party deputy leader Amelia Womack has played down how her party is performing in the polls.

She says they are "taking votes from all of the parties at the moment".

She adds: "The climate emergency is at people’s doors. We know that if we invest now, it will cost less to tackle it than if we leave it."

Asked why the Greens are doing so badly in the latest polls, she says: "We’ve done badly in the polls when we’ve gone on to win big."

She accepts that has never happened in a general election, saying the first past the post system is difficult to battle, but she adds that they have done well in council elections.

That's one question we didn't think we'd be hearing in this election campaign.

To celebrate Tina Turner's 80th birthday, the latest episode of Brexitcast played a game of guessing whether quotes were Tina Turner lyrics or lines from party manifestos.

Image source, PA Media

During the election campaign period we are profiling the main party leaders.

Here's our latest on Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage.

Just joining us now? There's plenty to catch up on after a busy morning on the campaign trail.

• Boris Johnson tells a press conference he's "very confident" the UK will be able to get a new free trade agreement with the EU by the end of 2020. He adds the Tories would introduce new rules to take effect after the transition period, including a new state aid regime to help industries in trouble
• The fallout from last night's TV debate on climate change has continued. After criticism of his failure to take part, the PM tells LBC Radio he has done "plenty of debates" and told Channel 4 "ages ago" that he would not be attending its event
• SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon also makes a radio appearance, telling Radio 4's Woman's Hour that she’s hoping for a hung Parliament in the general election, but dismisses suggestions that the SNP could prop up a Conservative government
• Meanwhile, during a BBC Q&A, Green Party co-leader Jonathan Bartley says his party made moves to work with Labour - for example with electoral pacts in seats - but they got "no reciprocation whatsoever"
• Jeremy Corbyn's party are launching their "regional manifestos" today for each area of England. Each manifesto will outline plans for individual regions and the pledges include a number of transport projects
• Earlier, the Scottish Lib Dems launch their election manifesto, saying they are the only party committed to "stopping Brexit and stopping independence"

Earlier, in an interview with LBC, the prime minister refused to confirm how many children he has. The panel on Politics Live discuss the question:

With just under two weeks to go until the big day, the parties are assessing their campaigns. How are they looking?

Here are the views of our correspondents on the campaign trail.

Image source, Reuters

That's it for the press conference in London from Boris Johnson, who was joined by Conservative colleague Michael Gove and ex-Labour MP Gisela Stuart.

• Mr Johnson said he's "very confident" the UK will be able to get a new free trade agreement with the EU by the end of 2020
• The prime minister said a re-elected Conservative government would take "immediate steps" to introduce new rules to take effect after the transition period is due to finish at the end of 2020. These would include a new immigration system, a new state aid regime to help industries in trouble, scrapping VAT on sanitary products and promoting a "buy British" rule for public bodies to help farmers.
• He said a new law to implement the withdrawal agreement - the Brexit "divorce" deal - would be brought back to the Commons before Christmas if the Conservatives won a majority at the general election.

One of the questions for Boris Johnson at the press conference is about Jacob Rees-Mogg, leader of the House of Commons.

"What's happened to Jacob Rees-Mogg... is it all over for Jacob?" the journalist asks, perhaps referring to Mr Rees-Mogg's lower profile in the election campaign.

Earlier this month, Mr Rees-Mogg was criticised for saying it would have been "common sense" to flee the Grenfell Tower fire, ignoring fire brigade advice.

Responding, Mr Johnson says: "Jacob Rees-Mogg and the rest of the cabinet are to the best of my knowledge in very good health and fighting hard right now for re-election."

As figures from the seven major UK parties prepare to hold a live debate on the BBC this evening, here is a look at the impact of televised showdowns of the past.

Who gained from the glare of TV scrutiny, and what lessons can be learned from past performances? Watch below.

The big message from this press conference is that the "only way to get Brexit done" is to vote for the Conservatives.

"If we don't get this over the hurdle now, Brexit will not happen, let's be clear about that," says ex-Vote Leave chairwoman and former Labour MP Gisela Stuart.

Meanwhile, Michael Gove - who famously said in 2017 that colleague Mr Johnson was not capable of leading the country - adds: "Boris as prime minister and as foreign secretary has done everything he can to get us out of the European Union."

Mr Gove also asks whether there is a question from Channel 4 News, which prompts some laughs following the row over last night's leaders' debate hosted by the broadcaster.

Answering the question about no-deal preparations - and whether they will end - Mr Johnson says: "Actually I think they were thoroughly useful... useful in getting the deal we did."

He says the no-deal preparations "convinced the EU that we were earnest" in our threat to leave with no deal and "were the right thing to have done".

Mr Johnson adds the preparations will remain as they are, and will not be dismantled.

Host Nick Robinson is already in place ahead of tonight's TV election debate - featuring politicians from seven major parties - which is kicking off at 19:00 GMT.

How can you watch it?

In the UK, it will be broadcast on the BBC News channel and on iPlayer from 19:00 to 20:30 and streamed live on the BBC News website, where you can also follow the latest reaction and analysis here on our live page.

There'll also be a half-hour preview programme starting at 18:30 and an hour-long programme live from the "spin room" afterwards, with reaction from specialist correspondents from the Reality Check team.

It will also be broadcast live on BBC Radio 5 Live. You can listen live here or on the BBC Sounds app.

Outside the UK, you can watch the programme streamed live on the BBC News website and on BBC World News from 19:00-21:00 GMT.

Reality Check

Boris Johnson has said that after Brexit: "We will back British industry by making sure we can intervene when great British businesses are struggling."

It is true that the EU takes steps to limit the amount governments can support their industries.

But within the EU, the UK ranks very low down in the amount it spends on state aid, spending 0.4% of GDP (the total value of everything produced in the economy), compared with 1.3% from Germany and 0.8% from France.

So EU single market rules are not the only thing limiting state aid.

After Brexit, the UK would still be bound by World Trade Organisation rules, which allow countries to take sanctions against other countries that are spending too much on supporting their domestic industries.

You can read more in this Reality Check from May, when the government decided not to put any more money into British Steel.

The BBC's John Pienaar asks whether people can believe Boris Johnson's pledge that he will not extend the Brexit transition period beyond the 31 January 2020 deadline?

The Conservatives promise to negotiate a trade deal with the EU next year, and have confirmed they will not extend the period during which they have to strike this.

Mr Johnson replies that he is "very confident that we can get a deal with our friends and partners" by the end of the transition period.

"We got a fantastic deal done in three months when people said it was impossible," he says.

He is also asked whether he is running scared by refusing to commit to an interview with the BBC's Andrew Neil.

Mr Johnson replies that he is here submitting "happily" to Mr Pienaar's interrogation.

Mr Pienaar is one of several journalists asking questions to Mr Johnson at the press conference.

During this election campaign, the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme has organised a series of election blind dates between two people from across the political divide.

The latest episode sees former darts player Bobby George, who backs Boris Johnson, meet Australian drag queen Courtney Act, who would vote Lib Dem.

They have never met before - but can they put their differences aside? Watch below.

Boris Johnson is now speaking, telling the audience about his Brexit deal and plans for the UK after it leaves the EU.

"Every single Conservative candidate at this election has personally pledged to their constituents that they will back my deal," he says, adding a Tory majority will ensure that his deal will be passed.

He then outlines some of the party's pledges from what he calls their "transformative" manifesto.

"We are a great country and we can be greater still," he says.

Ex-Labour MP Gisela Stuart, who is a Brexit supporter and chaired the Vote Leave campaign, has strongly criticised her former party led by Jeremy Corbyn.

"I became a Labour MP in 1997... and I was lucky enough to represent some of the most resilient, generous and fair-minded people in the country," she says.

"For many, Labour represented the hope of better and fairer Britain... But that has changed."

She says she is "devastated by the rise in anti-Jewish racism" and the values Labour now holds.

Ms Stuart says while she still thinks of herself as Labour, "this is no longer the Labour Party that I and many others joined".

She says she will not be voting for Mr Corbyn in this election and officially backs Boris Johnson.

"Put Brexit at risk with Jeremy Corbyn, or get Brexit done with Boris Johnson," she says.