Summary

  • Boris Johnson says a leak of sensitive documents on UK-US trade, suspected to have links to Russia, should be investigated

  • Jeremy Corbyn claims the papers show the NHS is up for sale and their release was in the public interest

  • The two leaders went head-to-head in a live TV debate last night

  • They clashed over Brexit, the NHS, and the terms of future trade deals

  • Labour are today pushing their plan to electrify the entire UK bus fleet

  • The Conservatives are pledging a £550m investment in grassroots football

  • The Liberal Democrats are focusing on initiatives to boost small businesses

  • In Scotland, the SNP say there are five days left to stop five more years of Tory rule

  1. Farage answers 'most difficult question'published at 11:34 Greenwich Mean Time 7 December 2019

    We don't have any pictures to show you yet, but Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage is back on the campaign trail this morning after cancelling an apperance at a defence rally in Westminster last night.

    He's in the Labour-held Sedgefield, County Durham, wearing a hard hat and protective glasses as he visits a factory specialising in aluminium, stainless steel and super duplex fabrications.

    When asked by a worker who he trusts most out of Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn, Mr Farage says: "Do you know something, that's the most difficult question I've been asked."

    "I've known Boris on and off for 25 years, and he is a likeable, entertaining personality. Would you absolutely trust him? No."

    The Brexit Party leader adds that Mr Johnson's top line in the campaign - to "get Brexit done" is an attractive line but has its problems.

    "The idea that somebody's going to wave a magic wand is very appealing, and if it was true I would support him 100%," he says.

    "But it's not. If he passes the withdrawal agreement unamended, we go into three more years of agony. It will be Brexit in name only, but we'll still be stuck with all the European rules and regulations, with no say whatsoever and with a huge bill."

  2. In pictures: Corbyn heads for a coffee shop in Barrypublished at 11:30 Greenwich Mean Time 7 December 2019

    Jeremy CorbynImage source, Victoria Jones/PA Wire
    Image caption,

    Jeremy Corbyn and his Labour Party battle bus in Swansea, at the beginning of a day of campaigning around Wales

    Jeremy Corbyn makes cup of coffee as he campaigns in Barry, south Wales on December 7, 2019Image source, Getty Images
    Image caption,

    First stop, a coffee shop in Barry, where Mr Corbyn got behind the counter

    Jeremy Corbyn with Welsh Labour leader Mark Drakeford in a coffee shop in BarryImage source, Victoria Jones/PA Wire
    Image caption,

    There to join in the fun, Welsh Labour leader and First Minister Mark Drakeford

  3. UK-US trade dossier leak 'linked to Russia', says Redditpublished at 11:00 Greenwich Mean Time 7 December 2019

    DossierImage source, Getty Images

    Away from the main campaigning, questions about the origins of leaked documents detailing UK-US trade talks are continuing.

    The online message board Reddit has now said they were posted on its site by an account linked to a campaign "originating from Russia".

    In a post on Friday, external, the site said it had suspended 61 accounts that were part of a co-ordinated effort.

    The papers had their first wide burst of public attention when unveiled in the election campaign by Jeremy Corbyn.

    The government said it was "looking into the matter".

    Read our full story here.

  4. Morgan defends PM's answer on how to punish liarspublished at 10:45 Greenwich Mean Time 7 December 2019

    Media caption,

    Boris Johnson: Lying politicians should be made to 'go on their knees'

    Back to last night's debate, and one of the questions posed by an audience member was what punishments politicians should face for lying during a general election campaign.

    You can watch the leaders' answers in the video above.

    Culture Secretary Nicky Morgan has this morning defended Boris Johnson’s answer that lying politicians should "go on their knees".

    Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme she said it was a “light-hearted” response after an “intense” debate, and denies he was making a joke out of a serious topic.

    Pushed by the BBC’s Mishal Hussain, who said the question “goes to the absolute heart of trust in politicians”, Ms Morgan said that if people don’t like what politicians have to say, they don’t have to vote for them. “That is the ultimate accountability,” she said.

    “It was an important moment of the debate but there are lots of other important issues,” she said.

    She added on BBC Breakfast that the “biggest breach of trust” by Parliament was that it has not delivered Brexit.

  5. What are the leaders up to today?published at 10:40 Greenwich Mean Time 7 December 2019

    Corbyn Swinson Sturgeon Johnson

    It’s the final weekend of general election campaigning so unsurprisingly we’re expecting a flurry of activity from the leaders of the political parties.

    Prime Minister Boris Johnson will be campaigning in north-west England today, while Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is visiting several locations in Wales, including holding a rally in Swansea.

    Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson is planning on visiting a tennis club to highlight her party’s policies on tackling child obesity and promoting healthy lifestyles, and later, a record shop to tie in with measures proposed to boost small businesses.

    While SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon will be in north-east Scotland, campaigning against what she calls the “damage” that would be done in the event that Mr Johnson had five more years in No 10.

  6. Campaign dynamics 'unchanged' after debatepublished at 10:29 Greenwich Mean Time 7 December 2019

    Our political correspondent reports...

    Ben Wright
    BBC political correspondent

    The Conservatives know that this debate was a significant hurdle in the election diary.

    They needed to clear that hurdle without making a mistake or fluffing it - and I think they'll be satisfied by last night's performance by Boris Johnson.

    I thought it was a fairly restrained debate. It wasn't that bruising - the two contenders didn't really go for each other. They both just concentrated on getting their core messages out.

    For Boris Johnson, that message is Brexit - and he managed to crow-bar it into his answers on pretty much every subject.

    Jeremy Corbyn too was quite effective in asking Mr Johnson about how realistic his timetable is for trade deals with the EU and with the US.

    So both sides feel that there is still all to play for.

    In itself, I don't think the debate changed the campaign dynamics very much at all.

  7. How many people watched the BBC debate?published at 10:22 Greenwich Mean Time 7 December 2019

    Jeremy Corbyn, Boris Johnson and Nick Robinson on BBC debate set

    A total of 4.42 million viewers watched the Conservative and Labour party leaders debate on Friday, according to figures released this morning.

    An average of 4.09 million viewers tuned into BBC One to watch the head-to-head debate, with an additional 0.33 million viewers watching on the BBC News Channel.

    The five minute peak for the Election Debate was 4.5 million.

    In comparison, the ITV debate last month, which featured leading figures from the UK's main political parties, had an audience of 6.72 million, rising to 7.34 million after seven days of catch up.

  8. What conditions would SNP have to make Labour deal?published at 10:09 Greenwich Mean Time 7 December 2019

    Today Programme
    BBC Radio 4

    More from the SNP's Kirsty Blackman on Today earlier.

    She said although her party has “concerns” about some of the Labour Party’s policies, it wouldn't rule out striking a deal with them to help to form a government.

    “If we have a situation of there being a minority Labour government, we would expect them to pick up the phone to us,” she said.

    Nicola Sturgeon has previously said Jeremy Corbyn should not "bother picking up the phone" to ask for the SNP's help unless he backs an independence vote.

    Ms Blackman said Mr Corbyn would also have to "talk about removing nuclear weapons from the Clyde" and increasing NHS funding if he were to secure the SNP's support.

    She said the allegations of anti-Semitism in the Labour Party are “hugely concerning” – but would not stop her party from striking a deal with them.

    “We need a situation where there is somebody to temper that,” she said. “We can put a huge amount of pressure on them… to properly tackle this issue.”

    She also points out that the problem isn’t just a Labour Party one – and Conservative candidates have also been suspended due to alleged anti-Semitism.

  9. SNP says lack of trust in Tories is winning them votespublished at 10:02 Greenwich Mean Time 7 December 2019

    Today Programme
    BBC Radio 4

    The leader of the SNP, Nicola Sturgeon, will be campaigning in north-east Scotland today to - her party press office tells us - "set out evidence demonstrating the damage five more years of Boris Johnson will do and which show his premiership will have a nasty sting in the tail just for Scotland".

    Kirsty Blackman, the SNP’s deputy leader at Westminster, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that the idea of Mr Johnson getting a full parliamentary term is making people decide to vote for her party instead.

    She says of people she's talked to on the campaign trail, “nobody trusts him” – including some Conservative voters.

  10. 'It doesn't have to be the red or the blue team'published at 09:59 Greenwich Mean Time 7 December 2019

    Sam Gyimah

    While on the Today programme, Mr Gyimah responded to questions about the Liberal Democrats losing popularity in the polls during the course of the campaign.

    He said "third parties... tend to get squeezed” in general elections because of, for example, being excluded from TV debates between the two biggest parties (like the one last night).

    “We are a multi-party parliamentary party – it doesn’t have to be the red or the blue team," Mr Gymiah said.

    When he appeared on BBC Breakfast a bit later, Mr Gyimah repeated the same opposition to the idea that the "red-blue fight" is the "only choice”.

    He added that in the seats his party is targeting, the Lib Dems are taking votes off both the Labour and Conservative parties.

    “We are still very much in a position where we can stop the madness of either a hard Brexit or a hard left government," he said.

  11. Brexit is a 'gamble' for the future of businesspublished at 09:42 Greenwich Mean Time 7 December 2019

    Today Programme
    BBC Radio 4

    The Lib Dems have unveiled a series of measures which they say will boost small businesses – including by bringing in a new “start-up allowances” to support business owners in their first few weeks.

    The party says it has new analysis which shows that almost a million businesses have closed in the last three years.

    Sam Gyimah, the Liberal Democrats spokesman for business, has been doing the media rounds this morning to spread that message.

    He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme the “uncertainty” of Brexit is the main “negative impact” that’s led to these businesses closing.

    The “big macro story” affecting British business is that the Conservatives and Labour are going to “gamble with our future” through Brexit, he added.

  12. Saturday's papers: 'Weary TV debate' and 'hysterical bias'published at 09:30 Greenwich Mean Time 7 December 2019

    Debate on BBC

    Many of the papers lead with reaction to the BBC's two-way debate between Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn last night.

    For the Sun, the debate's highlight was Mr Johnson criticising Mr Corbyn's neutral position on Brexit, external.

    For the Mirror, the Labour leader "came out on top" as he "skewered" the PM over the NHS, external.

    But for the Telegraph, the hour-long debate was "weary", external and "anything but a Christmas cracker".

    The Times reports that "senior media figures", external have accused broadcasters of sounding "hysterical" by "attempting to embarrass party leaders into doing interviews".

    It quotes the former ITV boss Lord Grade and the Channel Five founder David Elstein as criticising editorial decisions made during the general election.

    Take a look at all of the front pages here.

  13. Compare where the parties stand on the big issuespublished at 09:17 Greenwich Mean Time 7 December 2019

    With five days to go until polling day, you may want to use the weekend to get to grips with what the various parties are promising.

    If that's the case, you can use our general election manifesto guide to compare the parties’ top priorities and election pledges on issues including Brexit, education and the NHS.

  14. This morning's headlinespublished at 09:12 Greenwich Mean Time 7 December 2019

    Polling stationImage source, Getty Images

    Last night Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn clashed over Brexit in a head-to-head leaders’ debate.

    You can take a look at our write-up of the programme here, or check out the five key things we learned from the debate, see the leaders’ on-air claims fact-checked, and read our political editor Laura Kuenssberg’s analysis from the night.

    Also in the news, the Conservative Party have announced money for grassroots football as well as attacking Labour’s plans for a new “land value tax”.

    While Labour has said it wants to make the entire UK bus fleet electric by 2030 with a £4bn investment.

    Meanwhile the online message board Reddit has said leaked documents detailing UK-US trade talks were posted on Reddit by an account linked to a campaign "originating from Russia".

    And new figures show record numbers of people have registered to vote in Scotland.

  15. Wakey wakeypublished at 09:05 Greenwich Mean Time 7 December 2019

    Waking upImage source, Getty Images

    Welcome to today's live coverage of the general election.

    It’s the final weekend of campaigning before polling day on Thursday 12 December.

    Stick with us for all the latest updates, analysis and debate helping you to decide how to cast your vote.