Summary

  • Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn urges young people to register to vote and "step up for Britain"

  • Theresa May makes her first election campaign visit to Scotland

  • European Union leaders agree a joint strategy for Brexit negotiations

  • UKIP leader Paul Nuttall confirms he will stand in Boston and Skegness

  • General election due on 8 June

  1. Nuttall: 'I don't think I would stand down'published at 11:20 British Summer Time 28 April 2017

    Paul Nuttall is asked about where he will stand for election, but again he refuses to say where. 

    He is also asked if he will stand down if he fails to win a seat and UKIP gets no MPs. 

    "I don't think I would because I think UKIP has a fantastic future ahead."

  2. Nuttall pledges to replace House of Lordspublished at 11:19 British Summer Time 28 April 2017

    At his party's campaign launch, UKIP leader Paul Nuttall says the party would tackle the "repulsive practice" of FGM and reaffirms plans to ban the burka.

    He speaks of the party's plans to reduce immigration, saying it has led to a stagnation in wages and has been bad for community cohesion. 

    Mr Nuttall also pledges to remove the "antiquated" first past the post voting system with a "fair and porportional" system where "every vote matters". 

    He says the House of Lords should be replaced with an elected chamber. 

  3. Slower growth down to uncertainty - Labourpublished at 11:18 British Summer Time 28 April 2017

    Asked about the latest GDP figures, showing growth has slowed, Shadow Brexit Secretary, Sir Keir Starmer said: “It's a cause for concern and I think the biggest cause for concern is the uncertainty. 

    "Lots of businesses are saying to me we need greater clarity from the government, what's its position really on no deal, what's its position on transitional measures. 

    "Labour has said we must have transitional measures so that businesses have got time to adjust their businesses," said the Labour MP on a campaign visit to Morley, in West Yorkshire.

  4. UKIP committed to 'rebuilding beleaguered armed services'published at 11:13 British Summer Time 28 April 2017

    Paul Nuttall also pledges to slash the foreign aid budget and redirect money from it to the NHS. 

    He also says the party is committed to rebuilding the "beleaguered armed services" and would put more "bobbies on the beat". 

  5. Nuttall: 'We're only half way through the war'published at 11:12 British Summer Time 28 April 2017

    UKIP leader Paul Nuttall says he believes the UK is only "half way through the war" on Brexit and says the party will field candidates throughout the country. 

    He confirms that he has told local branches to "step aside" in constituencies where "real Brexiteer" Conservatives are standing. 

    Mr Nuttall says this will help ensure the "kind of Brexit we voted for".

    He describes this as a Brexit where borders are controlled, where trade deals can be signed all over the world, where a "divorce bill" is not paid and where "real democracy is returned to the UK". 

  6. UKIP will act as 'backbone' for Brexit dealpublished at 11:11 British Summer Time 28 April 2017

    Paul Nuttall

    Mr Nuttall says he is not convinced the Conservatives will get the deal the country wants. 

    He says Mrs May is "backsliding" on promises over issues such as immigration and has not ruled out paying a "huge divorce bill" from the EU. 

    He says UKIP will act as the government's "backbone" on a Brexit deal. 

  7. Cobyn accuses May of 'hiding from public'published at 11:06 British Summer Time 28 April 2017

    Theresa May and Jeremy CorbynImage source, Reuters/PA

    Labour has accused Prime Minister Theresa May of "hiding from the public" and delivering "heavily stage-managed soundbites" to the cameras.

    The party claimed party workers and activists were "shipped in and staff and the public were excluded" at an event attended by Mrs May on Thursday at a community centre in Leeds.

    In contrast, Mr Corbyn claims to have been "campaigning across the country at public events, meeting people to find out their concerns and hopes".

    "Theresa May is hiding from the public; she won't take part in TV debates and she won't talk to voters. Refusing to debate Labour in this election isn't a sign of strength, it's a sign of weakness," Mr Corbyn said. 

  8. Nuttall: Election 'flagrant opportunism'published at 11:05 British Summer Time 28 April 2017

    Paul Nuttall is launching UKIP’s general election campaign this morning.

    He says he did not expect the election. He says the election has been called for “cynical reasons” and is to protect the Conservatives and “not for the good of the country”.

    He says the election is "flagrant" opportunism motivated by the Tory lead in the polls.  

  9. Chancellor says economy is 'resilient' after growth slowspublished at 10:53 British Summer Time 28 April 2017

    Philip HammondImage source, Getty Images

    Chancellor Philip Hammond has insisted “the British economy is resilient”, following the latest GDP figures showing growth has slowed.

    He said the economy is set to grow by 2% this year and said employment was at a “record high”.

    He would not comment on whether the Tories will drop the commitment not to raise income tax, VAT or National Insurance, merely saying the Conservatives were the party of lower tax and a Conservative government would “carry on driving down taxes for working people”.

  10. Sadiq Khan withdraws Garden Bridge supportpublished at 10:48 British Summer Time 28 April 2017

    London Garden BridgeImage source, Heatherwick Studio

    London Mayor Sadiq Khan has withdrawn his support for a plan to build a bridge covered with trees and shrubs across the River Thames.

    Mr Khan wrote to the Garden Bridge Trust saying he could not provide the maintenance guarantee needed for planning permission to be granted.

    The letter follows a meeting between the Garden Bridge Trust and City Hall.

    A review of the project said £37.4m had been spent and it would cost taxpayers £46.4m even if it was cancelled.

    Read more here

  11. UK's economic growth slows to 0.3%published at 10:05 British Summer Time 28 April 2017

    People walking in the high streetImage source, PA
    Image caption,

    The services sector, which includes retailing, saw strong growth

    The UK economy grew by just 0.3% at the start of the year - the slowest growth rate since the first three months of 2016, according to official figures.

    The Office for National Statistics said that the slower pace in the January-March period was due mainly to the service sector, which also grew by 0.3% against 0.8% at the end of 2016.

    In the last quarter of 2016, gross domestic product increased by 0.7%.

    Friday's figure is a first estimate and could be revised in the coming months.

    Read the full story here.

  12. Lib Dems urge more housing market interventionpublished at 09:56 British Summer Time 28 April 2017

    Today Programme
    BBC Radio 4

    HousebuildingImage source, PA

    John Shipley, the Liberal Democrat housing spokesman, has been discussing the party's pledge to end homelessness.

    Lord Shipley told the Today programme the party plans to do this by building more housing - including more social homes for rent - adding that the government needs to intervene "far more" in the housing market.

    Among the ways he suggests the party would achieve this are:

    • Councils should be encouraged to build more homes and be able to borrow more 
    • More homes should be built off-site, such as prefabs
    • Grants should be offered to clean up contaminated brownfield land

  13. Twitter users celebrate Ed Balls Daypublished at 09:52 British Summer Time 28 April 2017

    People have taken to Twitter to mark "Ed Balls Day" - named in honour of the former shadow chancellor. 

    Not surprisingly a number of them feature some of his more interesting dance moves on the last season of Strictly Come Dancing.

    Ed Balls Day is celebrated on Twitter each year on 28 April to mark the day in 2011 the former Labour minister tried to search the social media network for articles mentioning his name but instead tweeted his own name in error. 

    You can read more about Ed Balls Day here

    This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on Twitter
    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    Skip twitter post

    Allow Twitter content?

    This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    End of twitter post
    This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on Twitter
    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    Skip twitter post 2

    Allow Twitter content?

    This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    End of twitter post 2
  14. Stadium row Tory MP decides not to seek re-electionpublished at 09:36 British Summer Time 28 April 2017

    David MackintoshImage source, Art Conaghan

    An MP facing deselection after being criticised over his role in a loan to a football club will not stand for re-election.

    David Mackintosh, Conservative MP for Northampton South, announced his decision ahead of a local party meeting where his candidacy was expected to be opposed.

    The BBC reported millions of pounds of public money loaned to Northampton Town FC appeared to have vanished.

    The MP has denied any wrongdoing.

    Read the full story here.

  15. Rachel Johnson to tell Marr about defection to Lib Demspublished at 09:26 British Summer Time 28 April 2017

    Editor of Andrew Marr Show tweets...

    This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on Twitter
    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    Skip twitter post

    Allow Twitter content?

    This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    End of twitter post
  16. PM sticking to script after Mugwamp questionpublished at 09:26 British Summer Time 28 April 2017

    Boris JohnsonImage source, PA

    The election campaign took a surreal turn when the prime minister insisted on shoehorning one of her party's most repeated slogans in her reply to a question about an insult used by Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson against Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. 

    Asked by BBC Radio Derby if she knew what a mugwump was, Theresa May responded: "What I recognise is that what we need in this country is strong and stable leadership."

    You can read more about that from the BBC's political editor here

    And you can read more about why the Conservatives keep saying "strong and stable" and why politicians repeat slogans by clicking here

  17. Listen: Councils will have more house building powerspublished at 09:02 British Summer Time 28 April 2017

    Today Programme
    BBC Radio 4

    The Housing Minister has said councils will be given more powers to build houses. He said the proposal had already been put forward in the government's white paper on housing. 

    Gavin Barwell defended his party's record on housing saying the Conservatives were taking concrete action to fix the "broken housing market".  

  18. Lord Carlile: 'Copycat element' in terror eventpublished at 08:58 British Summer Time 28 April 2017

    Today Programme
    BBC Radio 4

    Media caption,

    Terrorism legislation reviewer Lord Carlile on public circulation of terror suspect photo

  19. Barwell: 'Greenbelt land is precious'published at 08:55 British Summer Time 28 April 2017

    Today Programme
    BBC Radio 4

    It is put to Tory housing minister Gavin Barwell that the government is doing "more of the sorts of thing you've done before", and instead it should look at the state building homes and freeing up greenbelt land. 

    Mr Barwell says councils should start building housing again and the government is going into joint ventures with local builders to develop state-owned land.  

    He is asked about freeing greenbelt land, but he says there is a "huge" amount of land that can be developed on that is not greenbelt. 

    "Greenbelt land is precious, people value it very highly," he adds. 

  20. Tories defend record on housingpublished at 08:40 British Summer Time 28 April 2017

    Gavin BarwellImage source, PA

    Conservative minister Gavin Barwell has been defending the government's record on housing on the Today programme, after Labour pledged to build one million homes over five years if it wins the election. 

    Mr Barwell admitted not enough homes are being built but said the government had addressed the issue in a white paper.

    And the latest annual figures showed 190,000 homes were built, "highest for some years".