Summary

  • It's the final day of campaigning, ahead of Thursday's general election

  • Jeremy Corbyn works his way through six constituencies offering a "vote for hope" and attacking Tory "negativity"

  • Boris Johnson travels from West Yorkshire, through Wales and to London, insisting the Tories are the only party who can "get Brexit done"

  • Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson also tours Remain-supporting seats, urging voters to back her candidates to stop Brexit

  • The SNP's Nicola Sturgeon makes her final pitch in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Stirling and Dunbartonshire

  • Nigel Farage reaches out to Labour Leave voters and warns of the holes in Mr Johnson's Brexit deal

  • Plaid Cymru and the Greens also drive home their key messages

  • Polls will open at 07:00 GMT on Thursday and close at 22:00

  1. Corbyn makes 82nd stop on campaign trailpublished at 16:35 Greenwich Mean Time 11 December 2019

    Jeremy CorbynImage source, Getty Images

    Jeremy Corbyn has made his latest campaign stop in Dinnington, South Yorkshire, where about 200 Labour supporters were gathered outside Dinnington Resource Centre.

    He told the crowd it was the 82nd constituency he had visited in the campaign, saying there were still a "few more places to go" with a few hours left.

    The Labour leader said he was pleased to see a banner for the Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign, which is calling for answers about the police operation during the miners' strike at the Orgreave plant in 1984.

    He said: "A Labour government will open a public inquiry into Orgreave." This is a pledge that Labour has made before.

    In 2016, former Conservative Home Secretary Amber Rudd ruled against an inquiry into the events during the miners' strike, where thousands of pickets and police officers clashed at the coking plant.

    As well as chants of "Oh, Jeremy Corbyn", the Labour leader was also greeted by a rainbow in South Yorkshire.

    A rainbow and an umbrellaImage source, PA Media
  2. Final day of campaigning in picturespublished at 16:28 Greenwich Mean Time 11 December 2019

    Boris Johnson pulls Christmas crackerImage source, Getty Images
    Image caption,

    Boris Johnson joined staff to pull a Christmas cracker at a wrapping paper factory in south Wales

    Labour supporters in Dinnington, SheffieldImage source, PA Media
    Image caption,

    Labour supporters in Sheffield were in a festive mood as they waited for Jeremy Corbyn to arrive

    Nicola SturgeonImage source, PA Media
    Image caption,

    Nicola Sturgeon was also in high spirits as she visited a community greengrocer in Edinburgh

    Jo Swinson and Rose ZinfandelImage source, Getty Images
    Image caption,

    And Jo Swinson met drag queen Rose Zinfandel on a visit to Wimbledon, south-west London

    Nigel FarageImage source, Reuters
    Image caption,

    Things were also looking Christmassy in Hartlepool, where Nigel Farage was out campaigning

  3. Watch: Farage fears 'sell-out' Brexitpublished at 16:20 Greenwich Mean Time 11 December 2019

    Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage's main campaign visit of the day was in Doncaster, where he told supporters the country would be "back in crisis" over Brexit by May next year if the Conservatives win a majority in the election.

    A few weeks ago Mr Farage stood down his candidates in seats the Tories' won in 2017 - but he's been much colder about Boris Johnson's Brexit deal in recent days.

  4. Lib Dem president defends party policy on trans rightspublished at 16:12 Greenwich Mean Time 11 December 2019

    BBC Radio 5 Live

    Speaking on The Emma Barnett Show earlier, Liberal Democrat president Baroness Sal Brinton defended the party's policy of reforming the Gender Recognition Act to make it easier for trans people to legally transition gender.

    She said "We support very much the consultation document the government had earlier this year.

    "But it’s not a casual thing, I mean, somebody who wants to transition, by the stage they get to talking about that, they may well have sought advice, they may well have seen their GPs. If you talk to people who have transitioned, it’s a long and difficult journey."

    When pressed by host Barnett Baroness Brinton said the necessary procedures were in place to protect the safety of vulnerable people in cases where that was relevant.

    "In women's refuges and… women’s prisons there are very clear safeguarding rules and assessments about anybody coming in.

    "In the prison community there are very clear guidelines that need to be followed when someone decides to transition and asks to be moved to a prison of the other gender."

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  5. Watch: The Polish restaurant which doubles as a polling stationpublished at 16:05 Greenwich Mean Time 11 December 2019

    Damian Wawryniak won't be able to vote himself on Thursday but the Polish restaurant he owns in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, will be playing host to voters - because it is also a polling station.

  6. Listen: Emma Barnett speaks to four partiespublished at 15:58 Greenwich Mean Time 11 December 2019

    BBC Radio 5 Live

    Emma Barnett Gets Answers logo

    Earlier today, Emma Barnett spoke to representatives from the four biggest parties on her BBC Radio 5 Live show.

    Guest included Labour's policing minister Louise Haigh, Conservative business minister Nadhim Zahawi, Liberal Democrat president Sal Brinton and SNP deputy leader in Westminster, Kirsty Blackman.

    If you missed it, click here to listen on BBC Sounds.

  7. Swinson meets drag queen on campaign trailpublished at 15:50 Greenwich Mean Time 11 December 2019

    As part of her tour of marginal constituencies, Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson has been meeting drag queen Rose Zinfandel in Wimbledon, south-west London.

    She also held a rally at the first LGBTQ venue in the area.

    Jo Swinson meets Rose ZinfandelImage source, PA Media
    Jo Swinson meets Rose ZinfandelImage source, Getty Images
    Jo Swinson meets Rose ZinfandelImage source, EPA
  8. Barnier says Brexit will not get done by 2021 - reportpublished at 15:43 Greenwich Mean Time 11 December 2019

    Michel BarnierImage source, EPA

    The Independent is reporting, external that it has obtained a leaked recording of the EU's chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, saying that Brexit trade negotiations can't be finished within 11 months.

    Boris Johnson has said that if he wins the election, the UK will fully exit the EU by December 2020.

    But in the recording Mr Barnier tells a private meeting that the UK's 11-month timetable to wrap up trade talks by 2021 is "unrealistic" and suggests negotiations will drag on until long after the end of next year.

    The Independent's Europe correspondent, Jon Stone, says the comments were made in a closed meeting of MEPs in Brussels this week.

    Labour's Andrew Gwynne has responded by saying that Mr Johnson is "playing the British public for fools".

    He says: "He’s hiding in fridges to dodge interviews precisely because his fake Brexit slogans can’t stand up to scrutiny, just like his empty words on the NHS."

  9. 'Every candidate thinks they're going to lose at this point'published at 15:36 Greenwich Mean Time 11 December 2019

    Vicki Young
    Chief Political Correspondent

    Speaking of losing, it's the point in the campaign where everyone is incredibly nervous. If you speak to any candidate, they all think they're going to lose at this point.

    One said to me if he walks along the street and sees a poster up from another party, he thinks there's been a surge from the other party that he hasn't detected.

    Amongst the Conservatives I think that nervousness is partly because they've had this consistent poll lead, but nevertheless they know there are so many seats where it's incredibly close and actually, it's very difficult to judge.

    Just a few thousand votes in these places can make all the difference between quite a substantial majority or back to where we were: a hung Parliament.

  10. What happens if Boris Johnson loses his seat?published at 15:29 Greenwich Mean Time 11 December 2019

    Stanley Johnson, a member of the public, and Boris Johnson take a selfieImage source, Andrew Parsons/ I-images
    Image caption,

    Boris Johnson's dad (left) has often been spotted alongside his son on the campaign trail

    Speaking of Boris Johnson, what happens if the Conservatives win the election, but he loses his seat?

    He's defending a majority of 5,034 in Uxbridge and South Ruislip - the smallest of any sitting prime minister since 1924.

    Let's start by saying no incumbent prime minister has ever lost their seat at a general election, but some have come close and several leaders of the opposition have.

    The UK doesn't have a written constitution, so there's also no specific rule which says the prime minister has to be an MP.

    Robert Hazell, professor of politics at University College London, gives the example of Sir Alec Douglas Home, who led the country from 1963-1964.

    Sir Alec was a member of the House of Lords when he became prime minister but then gave up his earldom.

    In the 20 days between him leaving the Lords and getting in a seat in the Commons by winning a by-election, he wasn't a member of either House.

    But Prof Hazell says it's "harder to answer the question how politically acceptable that might be nowadays".

    "I'm talking about something that happened just over 50 years ago, in a more deferential age."

  11. PM tells festive Brexit 'joke' at Christmas cracker factorypublished at 15:23 Greenwich Mean Time 11 December 2019

    Boris Johnson helps package up wrapping paperImage source, PA Media

    Boris Johnson's campaign has taken a festive turn with a visit to a wrapping paper and Christmas cracker factory in south Wales - which is said to supply Christmas crackers for the Queen herself.

    The prime minister joined staff in pulling crackers - he didn't get much of a response to the first joke he read out, asking: "What can you make that cannot be seen? The answer is a noise."

    But there was a few laughs when he asked: "What can you get done by Christmas? Brexit."

    Chortle, chortle.

    Boris Johnson holds a Christmas crackerImage source, PA Media
  12. Election blind dates 2019: Watch the full seriespublished at 15:16 Greenwich Mean Time 11 December 2019

    Election blind dates composite image

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

    The BBC's Victoria Derbyshire has done just that during this campaign - with entertaining and thought-provoking results.

    Watch all the dates here.

  13. Parties launch dozens of Facebook ads in final hourspublished at 15:10 Greenwich Mean Time 11 December 2019

    Update from the BBC digital election team...

    Facebook logoImage source, Getty Images

    Dozens of new ads were launched on Facebook yesterday by Labour, the Conservatives, the Lib Dems and the Brexit Party.

    The Tories are targeting specific seats, telling voters living there that theirs is one of 12 needed by the party to get a majority. They are also targeting opponents by name - one of those is Andrew Gwynne, Labour candidate for Denton & Reddish.

    Labour have stuck to NHS campaigning for the most part, including more on the image of the sick four-year-old boy who had to sleep on the floor of a Leeds hospital.

    The Lib Dems have continued to use the same messaging and designs that they started a few weeks ago. Our team says their ad campaign seems the least varied in terms of content.

    The Google ad library was updated yesterday with the following advert totals:

    • Conservatives - 201
    • Lib Dems - 120
    • Labour - 68
    • Brexit Party - 2
    • Alliance Party of Northern Ireland - 1

    The total for the Conservatives includes two YouTube banner ads, each costing up to £25,000 but reaching 3.5 million people each time.

  14. Electoral Commission reveals voting software errorpublished at 14:59 Greenwich Mean Time 11 December 2019

    Some people who are not on the electoral register have been “wrongly informed” they can vote tomorrow due to an IT error, it has emerged.

    The Electoral Commission said a “small number” of people had been affected by the problem, understood to relate to software supplied to some local authorities by the IT firm Civica.

    The watchdog said it was working with the councils concerned to ensure the people affected were contacted and given the right information.

    It said “only those eligible and correctly registered will be able to cast their vote on polling day”.

    The BBC has contacted Civica for comment.

  15. Isn't a winter election cold enough?published at 14:51 Greenwich Mean Time 11 December 2019

    Former Conservative turned independent candidate David Gauke tweets his reaction to the footage from ITV's This Morning of Boris Johnson on the campaign trail, where the prime minister turned down speaking to a reporter and instead walked into (or hid inside, depending on your view) a fridge...

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    Mr Gauke has become an unlikely social media start during this election with his irreverent and lighthearted campaign.

    For instance, following the prime minister's parody of Love, Actually, he attempted his own with former cabinet minister Amber Rudd.

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  16. 'There's no point in having principles if they exist in a vacuum' - Steve Cooganpublished at 14:44 Greenwich Mean Time 11 December 2019

    The World at One
    BBC Radio 4

    Comedian Steve Coogan campaigning in Lewes last weekImage source, Getty Images
    Image caption,

    Comedian Steve Coogan was campaigning in Lewes last week

    Comedian and actor Steve Coogan has been speaking to the BBC about tactical voting - he's been touring South East constituencies urging people to "vote smart and box clever" to keep the Conservatives out of power.

    "I think people realise that this is a very peculiar election," he says.

    "I would never do this any other time but it feels like it's a unique time in British history, where normal party allegiances need to be put to one side for the good of the country."

    Coogan, whose most famous role is as radio DJ Alan Partridge, believes most of the country do not want a Boris Johnson government and has campaigned for both Lib Dem and Labour candidates.

    "At the moment we're in a situation where we have to stop ourselves being pushed off a cliff. And that goes for whoever you vote, Tory, Labour or liberal. I agree, there are no ideal leaders at the moment."

    So why is he advocating tactical voting?

    "I would say unfortunately there's no point in having principles if your principles exist in a vacuum. You need to be in a position where you can implement or influence governments to implement things based on the principles and ethics that you adhere to."

    Steve Coogan surrounded by Lib Dem supportersImage source, Getty Images
    Image caption,

    Steve Coogan joined the Lib Dem election candidate in Lewes to urge people to vote tactically

    One last question, would Alan Partridge have voted for Brexit?

    "Yes he would," Coogan says. "Because Alan is like one of those people who are very confident - there's lot of people in government actually who are very like Alan Partridge. They're super confident and not that well-informed."

  17. Latest headlinespublished at 14:38 Greenwich Mean Time 11 December 2019

    What's happened so far today?

    Party leaders are dashing from key seat to key seat today, trying to rally supporters and win over a few last-minute waverers.

    Here's a recap on what's been happening:

    • Boris Johnson has arrived in south Wales, his latest stop, where he is visiting a Christmas cracker factory. Earlier, there were more opportunities for campaigning metaphors, with the prime minister making an "oven-ready pie" in Derbyshire - to represent his Brexit deal. But his pledge to "get Brexit done" isn't a simple as the slogan suggests - as BBC Reality Check explains here.
    • The prime minister's first stop of the day - delivering milk in Leeds - went less smoothly, when he was confronted by an ITV journalist asking whether he would fulfil his promise to do an interview for Good Morning Britain. His head of press responded angrily with an expletive, while Johnson himself escaped into a fridge with his staff.
    • Jeremy Corbyn started the day in Glasgow before travelling south to Middlesbrough, where he told supporters his party's message was one of "hope".
    • But 15 former Labour MPs have urged voters not to back Mr Corbyn, citing his record on anti-Semitism and "extremism". The group includes several outspoken critics of the leader, such as Ian Austin and Louise Ellman.
    • Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson has been speaking to activists in Tory-held Remain-supporting seats, saying the last hours of the campaign are "vital" for winning over undecided voters.
    • SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon, who has been campaigning in Edinburgh, urged Scottish voters to back her party, saying that supporting others "risks helping the Tories". We look at the potential for tactical voting in Scotland here.
  18. Corbyn does Johnson impersonationpublished at 14:30 Greenwich Mean Time 11 December 2019

    JEremy CorbynImage source, PA Media

    A bit more from earlier and that Jeremy Corbyn rally in Middlesbrough.

    He addressed Boris Johnson's assertion that he was going to be build 40 new hospitals, and - in keeping with the at times lighter tone of the day - Mr Corbyn did an impersonation of Mr Johnson (complete with hair-ruffling) mumbling that he's "not really sure" about the location of the new hospitals.

    Mr Corbyn's point was that the promise of new hospitals was "a complete piece of dishonesty".

    "To him, telling the truth, telling an untruth, it all becomes some sort of vague mirage that moves one day to another."

    As our correspondents have been pointing out, Labour is pushing hard this message that Mr Johnson cannot be trusted in the final days of the campaign.

    Our BBC Reality Check colleagues have looked closely at the 40 hospitals figure here.

    And here is a broader look at the parties' NHS promises.