Mark Easton
Home editor

Some listeners will be excited this morning at the prospect of a new government with a new mandate to deliver great policies for Britain - but I think that group is a minority.

My sense is that the nation’s mood reflects the weather.

It’s cold, it’s dark, it’s damp. People are pulling on their hats, gloves and scarves to protect themselves from some pretty unappealing political prospects.

There is a lot of cynicism out there. I’m sensing that the public don’t really believe what the parties are saying. They don’t think that they can deliver on their promises and pledges.

Right at the beginning of the campaign, I remember a woman saying ‘I want this election to be about hospitals, schools and climate change but it’s not going to be about that, it’s going to be about Brexit.'

And that’s probably true. Despite all the best efforts of the parties and the media, in the end it could well come down to that really big question over Brexit.

I'll be interested to see what happens with turnout. Is that lack of enthusiasm for the offer available going to result in people staying at home, or do people see this as a massive juncture for the country?

The big question is - have people lost faith in politics?

Image source, PA

Jeremy Corbyn has now arrived at his first campaign stop of the day. There's definitely a bit of Michelle Obama-esque "they go low, we go high" about Labour's messaging this morning.

Shadow chancellor John McDonnell did it on Breakfast and Today earlier, and now both Mr Corbyn and Labour's Scottish leader Richard Leonard are doing it too.

Guardian Scotland correspondent Libby Brookes is watching...

BBC Breakfast

Back to Michael Gove again - he was also asked about Boris Johnson's leadership credentials - and what had changed since 2016, when the pair were both running to be Tory leader, and Mr Gove said his opponent could not provide the leadership needed for the task ahead.

“It’s three years on since that and what’s changed is that Boris Johnson, as prime minister, has secured a good Brexit deal for this country", as well as starting work to invest in public services and tackle climate change, Mr Gove replied.

Mr Gove was also challenged over whether Boris Johnson had empathy, given his reaction to a photo of a sick four-year-old boy who had to sleep on a hospital floor.

“The prime minister is someone who has deep empathy and profound sympathy with people who are facing difficult circumstances and my heart goes out of course to the parents whose son was ill and needed care," he said.

That is why it is "critically important" to unlock extra investment, more doctors and nurses and new hospital facilities for the NHS, he added.

Speaking of the NHS, what do the various party promises really mean? Find out from our health correspondent here.

Polls open on Thursday at 07:00 GMT and close at 22:00 GMT. After that the results will come flooding in.

We want to make sure you can follow what's going on so urge you to check out this piece.

Questions include what is a majority? How do we calculate turnout? What is meant when a party wins, holds or gains a seat? What is an exit poll and seat forecast?

It even explains things like all the acronyms we throw about, so do have a look.

BBC Breakfast

Appearing on BBC Breakfast, cabinet minister Michael Gove is challenged over whether he believes the Conservative campaign has been "toxic", with accusations of misleading, edited videos being shared on social media and criticism of the Tory press office Twitter account being renamed "fackcheckUK" during a TV debate.

Mr Gove deflects the question by saying the "biggest source of disaffection with our political system at the moment is the failure to get Brexit done” and deliver on the 2016 referendum result.

Presenter Louise Minchin tries again, but gets a pretty similar answer.

She then asks whether he is proud of how the Tory campaign has been run.

He replies: "Yes. Because I think in this campaign we need to concentrate on the big questions and I think that your viewers and the voters recognise that the essential question facing our country is who should be prime minister."

Image source, PA Media

Jeremy Corbyn's first stop of this packed final day is in Glasgow - and some hardy, dedicated souls are already there waiting for him.

We'll bring you more on what he has to say when we have it.

Image source, PA Media

Earlier we brought you some pictures of Boris Johnson doing a milk round in west Yorkshire. Another one to add to the "odd election activities" list.

Anyway, he's since been speaking to reporters, where he says the election "could not be tighter", with a "real risk" of another hung Parliament.

Mr Johnson says the Conservatives are "fighting for every vote".

“We cannot have more drift, more dither, more delay, more paralysis for this country," he says, adding that Labour's policies would be an "economic disaster".

"We have got to move forward. We have a fantastic agenda for the country, we can get Brexit done. We've got a deal that's ready to go”.

Ah "Get Brexit Done"... snappy slogan, but what does it mean? Is there really a snappy path to leaving the European Union under the Conservatives - or indeed, anyone? No - find out why in our piece.

Laura Kuenssberg
BBC political editor

Back on road again today for the leaders’ last push. There feels like there’s been a real mismatch between the nature and conduct of the campaign and the scale of the choice. It’s a huge moment for country, but we’ve heard SO many times voters saying they don’t like “either of them”.

People’s thinking is really dominated by the two big characters in the campaign and no-one is making it to No 10 on a surge of anything like enthusiasm.

People seem fed up of politicians telling them how divided they are - most people have been quite rightly getting on with their lives while Westminster has torn itself apart.

The frustration Tories hoped to capitalise on is real, but there are doubts all over the place about whether Boris Johnson is the answer to that. However, beyond his strong core support there seems to be less appetite for Jeremy Corbyn to take it on. There is a massive generational split though.

Smaller parties haven’t punched through as some predicted, although they will still have a huge impact, and there are a vast number of local factors at play, of course, too.

Anyway, enough musing for now. Suffice to say this is an incredibly tight contest in LOTS of places. In 48 hours we might be waiting in a freezing Downing Street for Mr Johnson to return with a majority, or about to enter a frenzy of hung Parliament talks which could propel Mr Corbyn into power.

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

After his appearance on BBC Breakfast, next up for John McDonnell is the Today programme.

The shadow chancellor is pressed on Jeremy Corbyn's suitability to prime minister, with some reports suggesting he is unpopular with many voters on the doorstep.

“I think people trust Jeremy Corbyn, they certainly can’t trust Boris Johnson and that’s been exposed in this overall campaign," Mr McDonnell says.

However, he adds: "Politics and the Labour Party isn’t just about one individual, it’s about a whole range of ideas and addressing those ideas about what people are confronting in their daily lives.”

On the issue of trust, the leaked recording of Jonathan Asworth appearing to criticise the Labour leader again comes up.

Mr McDonnell repeats Mr Ashworth's explanation that the conversation, with a former friend and Conservative activist, was "banter".

“It says more about this so-called Conservative friend than it does about Jonathan Ashworth," he says.

“That’s the nature of Conservative politics now… I think it’s dishonourable, it’s gutter politics."

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

Polling expert Sir John Curtice says there have been two trends in the polls during this campaign - but they have effectively negated each other.

The Conservative vote is up - but so is the Labour vote, with the Brexit Party and Lib Dems being squeezed by both parties.

"The net effect on the Conservative lead has been effectively zero," Sir John says.

While polls suggest the Conservatives are most likely to get an overall majority they are not guaranteed to do so, Sir John says, adding that there is "quite considerable variation between pollsters".

The risk for the Conservatives is that a relatively small drop could quite easily knock a significant number of seats off a Tory majority, he explains.

For more on the latest opinion poll trends, check out the BBC's poll tracker.

BBC Breakfast

Back in the warm of Westminster, we are hearing from Labour's shadow chancellor John McDonnell - who's asked about his colleague Jonathan Ashworth.

Yesterday, the shadow health secretary was forced to apologise to his party after criticising Jeremy Corbyn in a secret recording by his Tory activist friend.

"As he said later he was winding his Conservative so-called friend up," Mr McDonnell says, adding that Mr Ashworth's remarks were "banter".

"There has been dirty tricks in this campaign - of fake news, fake websites, lies and smears."

He says this has to stop and everyone has to "move on".

Mr McDonnell says he spoke to his "good friend" Mr Ashworth last night and told him "chin up, these things happen to everyone".

"Labour’s campaigning has been a positive one and a message of hope," he adds, but there's "no doubt" that "a number of constituencies are tough" for his party.

He says the "most important thing now" is to get people out to vote.

Image source, PA Media

Along with Sebastian Payne of the FT, the BBC's own Alex Forsyth is also on the doorstep with the Conservative leader, who's playing milkman.

She says he made a delivery to Debbie and Mark Monaghan in Guiseley, West Yorkshire.

Mrs Monaghan opened the door to the PM and waiting press pack, saying "so nice to meet you prime minister," before adding: "What you doing up so early?!"

The prime minister said as well as delivering the milk, he’d "deliver 20,000 new police officers and Get Brexit Done".

Boris Johnson has started early out on the road this morning.

Politicians like to talk about delivering things - political promises usually, but he's been delivering milk - yes, you read that correctly - to homes in West Yorkshire.

The FT's Whitehall correspondent was among those watching...

We want you to have all the information you need to make an informed choice when you go to the polls tomorrow. That's why we've got a guide to each party's key manifesto promises.

Seeing as we just heard from Adam Price, here is Plaid Cymru's.

It includes a commitment to another EU referendum, a pledge to spend £20bn on a "green jobs revolution" and an offer of free social care at the point of use.

Here are some other manifesto guides for you to peruse too:

• Labour
• Conservatives
• Lib Dems
• Greens
• SNP

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

Image source, Getty Images

Trust has been a big theme of this election campaign - and on its final day, Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price is calling for a new law which would make lying by politicians a criminal offence.

He tells BBC Radio 4's Today programme the UK has been "engulfed" by "an era of post-truth politics" which is "corroding trust" in political institutions.

While trust in politicians has always been low he says "mistrust is now attaching itself to the entire political process".

Challenged over whether his support for another referendum is undermining trust in politicians among Leave voters, Mr Price argues Brexit "is very relevant to the issue of political lying", citing the controversial claim from the Vote Leave campaign that the UK sends £350m a week to the EU.

Another good way to catch up on Tuesday's events is the latest episode of Electioncast.

This one has a rom com theme to it... well, sort of.

Listen here or via BBC Sounds.

Labour's Jonathan Ashworth was forced apologise after criticising Jeremy Corbyn in a secret recording and we had another attack of the bees...

The BBC's Helen Catt looks at what happened yesterday.

As you might expect, this morning’s front pages are dominated by politics - taking a final opportunity to push the messages of their favoured parties.

The Guardian reports that Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn are embarking on a frantic 24 hours of campaigning, with both sides insisting the general election result is in no way a done deal.

The Matt cartoon in the Daily Telegraph picks up on one of the campaign's underlying themes. It features a voter saying: "I've told every candidate that I'm voting for them. This election is all about honesty and trust."

"Britain's future down to the wire," is the front page headline in the Daily Mail, which, like many of the papers, has been poring over the latest polling evidence.

Read more here.

Party leaders will be touring the country today in a final attempt to promote their key messages ahead of Thursday’s election.

All the details are in our main story but here’s a quick summary of what we’re expecting:

• Jeremy Corbyn will begin in Scotland before heading to the north-east of England - where the Tories are targeting Leave-voting Labour seats - to appeal to undecided voters. He will repeat pledges on funding for the NHS, expanding free childcare and lowering transport fares, arguing that Labour offers a “vote for hope”.
• Boris Johnson is expected to start the day doing a milk round in west Yorkshire before touring the country to stress key Tory pledges on investing in the NHS, raising the number of police officers, bringing in a new immigration system and, of course, his promise to “get Brexit done”.
• Meanwhile Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson will call on people to back her candidates to prevent Mr Johnson getting a majority – and stop the UK leaving the EU.
• Ms Sturgeon - who took part in a BBC debate with other Scottish leaders on Tuesday evening - has published an open letter calling Boris Johnson the "greatest danger to Scotland of any Tory prime minister in modern times". BBC Reality Check has fact-checked last night’s debate here.
• The Brexit Party will also be on the road, campaigning across the north of England.
• Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price will use the last day of the campaign to publish a draft law which would make lying by politicians a criminal offence.