The Spectator's political editor points out a very practical effect of the story recently broken by website Guido Fawkes.

The shadow health secretary should be front and centre of Labour's messaging on the NHS in the run-up to polling day, but probably can't be now because all the questioning of him will focus on those remarks about his boss.

Read our write-up here.

Image source, Reuters

The Conservatives have been quick to respond to the leaked recording from shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth, in which he said Labour's election prospects were "dire" because of a combination of Jeremy Corbyn and Brexit.

Mr Ashworth says he was just "joshing", but Tory Party chairman James Cleverly says it was "an honest and truly devastating assessment" of Mr Corbyn's leadership "by one of his most trusted election lieutenants".

He adds: "If even Corbyn's closest political allies think he is unfit to be prime minister, why on earth should voters be expected to put their trust in him and them?"

As we mentioned earlier, Mr Ashworth said his comments were "banter".

On Monday, it was the prime minister who found himself in the spotlight, remember, for his reaction to an image of a sick child, shown to him by an ITV reporter.

Labour and the Lib Dems accused him of not caring about the NHS and those affected by "under-funding".

Nick Triggle
Health Correspondent

There is lots of talk about hospital bed numbers as the general election enters the final days.

Bed numbers have been dropping since the 1980s as more can be done out of hospital, and patients need to spend less time in hospital when they are admitted.

In the late 1980s there were 180,000 beds, now there are around 100,000.

It has been at this level for four to five years. Some people have argued the NHS does need more, but the biggest problem is that there are 5,000 patients stuck in beds when they are officially ready to be discharged but can’t be because there is no care available in the community.

Also, last winter there were more than 20,000 beds occupied by patients for more than a fortnight. Some will need to be there but undoubtedly not all.

A bit more on that leaked recording. In it, Jon Ashworth, Labour frontbencher, is asked by a friend whether “it would be as bad as I suspect” if Jeremy Corbyn got into power.

Mr Ashworth appears to reply: "I don’t know, on the security stuff, I worked in No 10, I think the machine will pretty quickly move to safeguard security (I mean the civil service machine). But it’s not going to happen! I can’t see it happening!”

Asked by the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire whether he believes Mr Corbyn is a threat to national security, Mr Ashworth replies: “No of course I don’t,” repeating his claim that he was only joking with a friend.

Our assistant political editor Norman Smith suggests the leak could have an impact on the campaign...

So that story we mentioned... Shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth has defended a leaked recording - in which he apparently said Jeremy Corbyn becoming prime minister was "not going to happen" - as "banter" with a friend.

In the recording, published by political website Guido Fawkes, Mr Ashworth reportedly says Labour's election prospects nationally are "dire" because of "a combination of Corbyn and Brexit".

Mr Ashworth was appearing on the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme to talk about the NHS but was confronted with the story.

He says he made the comments to someone he thought was a friend, whom he describes as a Tory activist.

He says he was not being serious but "joshing" with the friend after he suggested the Tories' lead was narrowing.

“Of course I said it, but I’m winding him up," he tells the programme.

Image source, Reuters

Jeremy Corbyn is addressing crowds in Lancashire, talking NHS in particular. The BBC's political editor is watching the supportive crowd.

Meanwhile, there's a Labour story breaking back at Westminster which we'll bring you more on imminently...

Earlier, Love Actually star Hugh Grant, who has been on the campaign trail with some Lib Dem and Labour candidates, appeared on the Today programme.

He gave his reaction to Boris Johnson's attempts to recreate one of the scenes from the film. You can watch that below...

As we head into the final stages of this election campaign, let's take a look at what the parties have been doing on social media. Last night Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn both posted pop culture-inspired videos.

Mr Johnson’s video shows him emulating the famous Love Actually scene which sees Andrew Lincoln hold up placards to Keira Knightley, declaring his love.

Our BBC digital elections reporter Joe Tidy says the video is doing well, with more than one million views on Twitter - but he points out that it's not exactly original. Labour candidate Dr Rosena Allin-Khan posted her own campaign video, external "Election Actually" on 22 November.

Meanwhile, Mr Corbyn posted a video called "Mean Tweets with Jeremy Corbyn", with the Labour leader reading out critical tweets about himself, in the same style as US late-night chat host Jimmy Kimmel.

Our digital election reporter says this is also performing strongly with more than 1.5 million views on Twitter, and 700,000 on Facebook.

He says these videos show the parties are changing strategy slightly and are willing to take risks to get some last-minute votes.

Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage hit back at Boris Johnson's claim his Brexit deal is "oven ready", saying it will take the UK into years of negotiations.

Watch above or here.

What happens when two people from across the political divide are brought together for dinner?

To find out, the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme has organised a series of "election blind dates" for the general election campaign.

Owen Jones is a Guardian columnist and vocal supporter of the Labour Party.

Nimco Ali is an anti-FGM campaigner. She says she is undecided on how she will vote in this election, but doesn't want a Corbyn majority and is campaigning for some Conservative candidates.

Image source, Getty Images

It's the penultimate day of campaigning, and if you're still undecided, we have guides to each party's manifesto to help you understand their policies.

Labour are promising another referendum on Brexit, the nationalisation of key industries such as the railways and water, and increased funding for the NHS.

You can read our guide to the Labour Party manifesto here.

During the election campaign we've looked closely at the main party leaders, their stories and what makes them tick. With polling day less than 48 hours away we want to give you the chance to read them again.

In this piece, our political correspondent Jonathan Blake profiles Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson. From teenage campaigner to coalition minister and now, in her words at least, a candidate for prime minister - find out more about her journey.

You can also read our pieces on the other leaders here:

• Jeremy Corbyn
• Boris Johnson
• Nicola Sturgeon
• Nigel Farage

Away from the campaigning we've just had the latest set of economic data from the Office for National Statistics and the picture is not terribly cheery.

The UK economy failed to expand in October as official figures revealed zero month-on-month growth, although there was improvement on the decline in gross domestic product (GDP) seen in August and September, when it fell by 0.2% and 0.1% respectively.

The BBC's economics correspondent Dharshini David says the fall in manufacturing output may be due to a slackening after previous Brexit-related stockpiling.

But whatever the drivers, she adds, industry is very much under pressure, with output still more than 6% down on the pre-financial crisis peak.

Norman Smith
Assistant political editor

It was always Labour’s intention for the NHS to dominate the agenda for the remaining election period, but obviously the story yesterday of Jack - the four-year-old boy left to lie on a hospital floor - has added determination on Labour’s part to hammer home their message.

They are today publishing a dossier detailing a whole load of serious risks they claim patients are facing as a results of the endless austerity as they see it.

They point to documents they have obtained from various NHS trusts. All this, they say, is a result of years and years of under-funding of the NHS.

It’s difficult to say how much impact the row over Jack will have. It’s possible it will just ebb away as a story even though Labour are determined to keep on the front foot.

Also, it’s slightly awkward for Labour now that Jack’s mother has come out and said she doesn’t want any more publicity about her son.

However, if there had been any sense in the Johnson camp that they were heading to a fairly easy victory, yesterday would have been an almighty wake-up call.

• After addressing activists in Bolton and appearing on BBC Breakfast this morning, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn will embark on his last major campaign tour of the election starting in Pendle in Lancashire

• Nicola Sturgeon will campaign in several constituencies, focusing on the issue of pension injustice and the so-called 'Waspi' women, who the SNP have pledged to compensate. She'll then appear on the BBC Scotland debate for party leaders in Scotland at 20:00.
• Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson is campaigning in Bath and North East Somerset. The party's Brexit spokesman, Tom Brake, will also unveil their final poster campaign, urging Remain voters to back the Lib Dems.
• Amelia Womack, deputy leader of the Green Party, will address a crowd of members and activists, as well as students, in London to talk about their tuition fees policy.
• Nigel Farage is holding a press conference - the Brexit Party's final media event of the campaign.
• Boris Johnson will be campaigning this afternoon in Staffordshire. After touring a local business, the prime minister will take questions from the media as well as staff. He'll then campaign in North Wales followed by a rally later

Less than 48 hours to go until polls open, it's a busy day:

• Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn insists NHS funding is a "political issue" when asked whether his party is using a photo of a sick four-year-old boy sleeping on a hospital floor as a "political football"
• It follows criticism of Boris Johnson over his response to the photo - he initially refused to look at the image when shown it on the phone of an ITV reporter. Justice Secretary Robert Buckland says sometimes "you are suddenly sprung with something and it’s difficult to know exactly what is happening" but says the PM did subsequently express "sorrow and regret" for the family
• Mr Corbyn also addresses the suggestion that some Labour candidates are finding voters do not want to support him personally, telling BBC Breakfast "it's not a presidential election, it’s a parliamentary election"
• Mr Johnson will try to return the focus to Brexit later when he uses a speech to warn there is a "clear and present" danger of another hung Parliament if Conservative voters don't turn out on Friday
• But Nigel Farage says he's deeply disappointed that the signals from Boris Johnson about his plans for the UK's long-term relationship with the EU after Brexit appear to have changed. The Brexit Party leader says the Tory leader seems keener on a close relationship with Brussels than he previously promised

• Later this evening, the leaders of the main parties in Northern Ireland and Scotland will take part in two separate BBC TV debates

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

Image source, PA Media

Every election campaign a few celebrities enter the political fray and this time actor Hugh Grant is one of them.

He told Today earlier he has got involved in campaigning in this election because he feared the UK was “staring into an abyss”.

The Love Actually star, who supports remaining in the EU, has joined some Lib Dem and Labour candidates in knocking on doors to canvass for votes.

He said: “I wouldn’t say I’m doing it as an actor, I’m just doing it as a British citizen, as someone who has lived here for 59 years and loves my country.

“I’ve got five children now and I’m in a panic. I think this is a general election not like any other I’ve seen.”

He said he was advocating tactical voting because the electoral system meant the UK could get a Boris Johnson government and a hard Brexit - even though a majority might be against it.

He denied that tactical voting could result in Jeremy Corbyn getting a majority but said his hope was that there would be another Brexit referendum.

During the election campaign we've profiled the main party leaders in detail, and with polling day looming we want to give you the chance to read them again.

In this piece, the BBC's deputy political editor John Pienaar looks at the Boris Johnson story. At an uncertain and unstable time for British politics, for the economy and for the country’s place in the world, Conservative Party members chose a leader who defies almost every norm, so who is he really?

You can also read our pieces on the other leaders here:

• Jeremy Corbyn
• Jo Swinson
• Nicola Sturgeon
• Nigel Farage

BBC Breakfast

Finally, Mr Corbyn was asked whether, as the oldest first-time prime minister in 150 years, he has the "health and stamina" to serve a full term.

"Absolutely," he insists. "I’m very healthy, very fit, very active and I’ve travelled more than any other party leader in this election," he says, adding that he also eats porridge every morning.

And time for a light-hearted last question - Mr Corbyn is asked when he will have time to do his Christmas shopping.

“Well, that’s a bit of a problem isn’t it because I might be awful, awful busy after Friday," he says.

“There’s always a jar of jam isn’t there," he jokes - a reference to his fondness for making his own jam.