Jeremy Corbyn has criticised the Liberal Democrats for their role in a government that he said had led to "too many Daniel Blakes" in the UK. 

Speaking at a rally in Dumfermline, Jeremy Corbyn said Ken Loach's film about the impact of unemployment and benefit sanctions on one family was a "reminder" to voters about Tim Farron's party and its coalition deal with the Conservatives. 

"Let us not forget that between 2010 and 2015, it was a coalition government and their collaborators were the Liberal Democrats," he said. 

"They are as culpable as the Tories. They legitimised the attack on working people and we should never, ever forget their role in an austerity agenda that penalised the people of this country, rather than the spivs and the speculators who crashed and burned our economy in the first place." 

Earlier today, Mr Farron said his party was the only choice for a "decent, functioning opposition".

Image source, Sky

Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale party has admitted the party is facing "tough odds", but given her full backing to Jeremy Corbyn.

Speaking at a rally in Dunfermline, she called on supporters to "kick out this no good, lousy, morally bankrupt government" by voting Labour in Scotland.  

"Friends, we have asked so much of you as our party members over these past few years and I know it has not been easy," she said. 

"From the referendum in 2016 to the general election and into the Holyrood elections, our party has faced some pretty tough odds. 

"But there is one thing we can be sure of, why we are fighting and what we are fighting for. The stakes at this election could not be higher."

She welcomed Mr Corbyn to the rally and said if he was prime minister, there there would be "no bedroom tax, no rape clause and no driving this country off a cliff with hard Brexit".

Image source, PA

The Green Party wants the £110bn being spent on renewing Trident nuclear weapons to instead go towards the NHS. 

The party's co-leader, Jonathan Bartley, said their policy would see £3.6bn a year put into the service - enough for 85,000 nurses, midwives and other health staff.

"Our plan is to provide a kiss of life to the NHS," he said. "Trident is a waste of money and will make us unsafe."

Mr Bartley launched the spending pledge at St George's Hospital in Tooting, south London, where his 14-year-old son Samuel had an operation on his spine cancelled four times last summer. 

 "It's much-needed investment in the NHS," he added. 

After her speech at the STUC today, Nicola Sturgeon told BBC News the SNP would be the only real opposition to a Conservative government.

But the leader of the Scottish Tories, Ruth Davidson, said only her party could hold off the SNP's demands for a second referendum. 

"Nicola Sturgeon is going to use all means possible, including this election, to try and further hurry for a second independence referendum," she said. 

"The last time Jeremy Corbyn was in Scotland, he said a second independence referendum was absolutely fine with him. 

"People across the country don't want it and they want someone to stand up and say no. That is what me and my Conservative team will do." 

The government's petitions website will be closed during the general election campaign as Parliament will be dissolved. 

Read more about what happens to them below. 

Image source, PA

Crowdfunding for this surprise election seems to be the method of choice for a number of candidates around the country trying to raise cash.

Labour have asked for pledges towards their campaign in Bexhill and Battle, the Lib Dems are trying it in Eastbourne and Willingdon, and the Green Party is going for a crowdfunder across the whole of the UK. 

It has been done before by the Greens in the 2015 election, both in Brighton, which they won and Lewes, which they did not. 

Could this be the new way to fund campaigns in the future? 

Radio 4's Broadcasting House

The empty chair has hit the news after calls to run the TV debates even if the prime minister does not show up alongside her rivals.  

Carry On actress Fenella Fielding sums up the prospect with the poem "Oh Empty Chair" on BBC Radio 4's Broadcasting House.  

Leave.EU chief Arron Banks is not, after all, going to stand in Douglas Carswell's old seat of Clacton. After a meeting with local UKIP activists, he has just announced:

Mr Banks, who has donated to UKIP but recently said his membership had been suspended, had said he would contest the seat when Mr Carswell quit the party. But Mr Carswell has since announced he will leave Parliament at the general election.

Image source, Houses of Parliament

The Brexit debate is going to loom large in the coming weeks - so here's a guide to what the different parties are promising on the issue Theresa May wants the general election to focus on.

Official figures suggest that the number of children in poverty in Scotland has jumped to 260,000.

Ieuan Wyn Jones was previously in Parliament between 1987 and 2001.

Reality Check

Image source, Reuters

Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, speaking to the Scottish Trades Union Congress in Aviemore, has told delegates: “EU legislation currently guarantees important rights: paid leave, working hours, maternity pay.” 

It is correct that some UK employment law comes from the EU, and it is not yet clear how much of it will be amended in the aftermath of Brexit. 

Thousands of EU regulations will be transferred into UK legislation under the Great Repeal Bill, and the government has said any substantive policy changes would be dealt with by new laws scrutinised by Parliament. 

Last year, in the run up to the EU referendum, Reality Check looked at the connection between UK and EU employment law.

Radio 4 PM

We're not entirely sure we approve of the idea of election-free zones, but here's the poet and comedian Pam Ayres kicking off Radio 4 PM's slot dedicated to absolutely no General Election news. To hear more non-election stuff on the wireless tune in to Radio 4 at five to six... 

Image source, Getty Images

Sarah Olney, the Lib Dem MP for Richmond Park, says she hopes her party will consider not standing a candidate against the Green Party's only MP.

Ms Olney, who won her seat in a by-election last December, backed a call made by party colleague Sir Vince Cable, who wants Lib Dems in Brighton Pavilion to support the Green co-leader Caroline Lucas, who he says is "a good progressive".

Speaking at a rally in Vauxhall, Ms Olney said: "I agree with Vince and I don't know what our plans are for Brighton Pavilion.

"But I'm a good friend of Caroline Lucas's and I think she's a very positive presence in the House of Commons. I don't want to see any other parties taking votes from her."

The MP said there was "scope with individual seats and individual party members" to do the same elsewhere, but she was wary of "too much collaboration" as "ultimately voters should have the choice".

The Green Party did not stand against Ms Olney when she was elected last year, urging its members to vote for her. 

Former Plaid Cymru leader Ieuan Wyn Jones explains why he is seeking to return to Westminster 16 years after stepping down as an MP.

House of Commons
Parliament

Northern Ireland Secretary James Brokenshire opens second reading of the Northern Ireland (Ministerial Appointments and Regional Rates) Bill.

The bill provides for the setting of a Northern Ireland Regional Rate, enabling household bills to be issued in their usual cycle of ten monthly payments. 

The rate for 2017-2018 will be increased in line with inflation. 

The also seeks to remove the present legal barrier to the formation of an executive, enabling any deal reached between the parties in the coming weeks to be implemented.  

It depends on "the will to make progress", Mr Brokenshire. 

SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon warns of the "high price" of voting for the Tories, saying the party has been taken over by hardliners.