Summary

  • Theresa May launches stinging attack on EU

  • She says they are trying to affect UK election

  • Followed dispute over Brexit 'divorce bill'

  • Corbyn says May trying to distract attention from economic failure at home

  • Parliament has now been dissolved

  • The general election is on 8 June

  1. MPs' views on N Ireland executive/UK government coordinationpublished at 11:15 British Summer Time 1 May 2017

    Commons committee tweets...

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  2. Watch: A guide to party leaders 2017 v 2015published at 11:03 British Summer Time 1 May 2017

  3. Sophie Cook aims to become UK's first trans MPpublished at 10:59 British Summer Time 1 May 2017

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  4. David Cameron kicks back in his new shedpublished at 10:45 British Summer Time 1 May 2017

    David CameronImage source, Graham Flack

    Amid all this electioneering, you may be wondering what has become of Theresa May's predecessor David Cameron?

    Turns out, he's been sitting in a shed.

    But not in an Arthur Fowler from Eastenders "I stole the Christmas club money" kind of way. Mr Cameron's rather more salubrious version is actually a shepherd's hut which cost £25,000. 

    The rustic cabin on wheels, which is situated round the back of the Cameron's country home in the Cotswolds, is lined with sheep's wool to keep the former prime minister warm when he is writing his book in the hut, and is decorated in paints from the upmarket Farrow & Ball range whose "Mouse's Back" colour adorns the exterior.

    There's no word yet if Osborne & Little, the wallpaper and fabric co-founded by George Osborne's Dad, has provided curtains.

  5. NHS Confederation calls for share of GDPpublished at 10:18 British Summer Time 1 May 2017

    The NHS Confederation wants the UK's political parties to set aside a proportion of the country's income on healthcare.

    BBC News health editor Hugh Pym tweets:

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  6. Leaders head north and south for Bank Holiday campaigningpublished at 10:08 British Summer Time 1 May 2017

    There is no rest for the political party leaders on this Bank Holiday Monday.

    Prime Minister Theresa May is campaigning in the North West today while Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and the Lib Dem's Tim Farron are both in London. 

    On the subject of Bank Holidays, one of the Labour Party's promises is to introduce four more if they get into power, adding to the current eight days people currently enjoy. 

  7. Watch: How to register to vote on 8 Junepublished at 09:55 British Summer Time 1 May 2017

  8. The art of the electionpublished at 09:55 British Summer Time 1 May 2017

    Cornelia ParkerImage source, Getty Images

    Cornelia Parker has been named as the official election artist. It is her job to observe the whole process then, after we all vote on 8 June, produce a piece of art in response.

    The former Turner prize nominee, who is the fifth artist to hold the role, has produced work such as "30 Pieces of Silver", "The Maybe" and "Cold Dark Matter: An Exploded View".

    Will her election work be entitled "The Strong and the Stable", or perhaps "For the Many not the Few"?   

  9. Probability of Brexit talks failure is 50%, says Junckerpublished at 09:30 British Summer Time 1 May 2017

    Theresa May and Jean-Claude JunckerImage source, Getty Images

    Twitter is abuzz with a damning report in German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) about last Wednesday's meeting between Prime Minister Theresa May and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker. 

    In what it claims is the "inside story", FAZ says that Mr Juncker departed the meeting saying: "I leave Downing Street ten times more skeptical than I was before." 

    He put the chances of failure in the negotiations at "over 50%". The report also claims that Mrs May expressed the view that she did not owe any money to EU member states. 

    Mr Juncker concluded that Mrs May "is living in a different galaxy and is delusional", the paper says.

  10. Don't forget the local electionspublished at 09:23 British Summer Time 1 May 2017

    UK Polling Station

    Political leaders' main focus may be the general election on 8 June but for many party foot-soldiers the more immediate battle is for control of town or county hall. 

    On Thursday 4 May, elections are held in 34 councils in England, all 32 local authorities in Scotland all 22 councils in Wales. 

    Plus, in six areas in England, voters will get the chance to choose one of the newly-created "combined local authority mayors". 

    Full details, including how to vote, here.   

  11. Tony Blair's legacy 20 years onpublished at 09:16 British Summer Time 1 May 2017

    Tony BlairImage source, Getty Images

    "A new dawn has broken, has it not?"

    With these words, spoken to a cheering crowd of supporters as the sun rose over London's South Bank, Tony Blair ushered in the first Labour government in 18 years.

    It was a typically snappy Blair phrase, yet also slightly hesitant, as if he could not quite believe what he had just done.

    Blair was, by all accounts, a nervy companion on election night, refusing to believe he was on course to a stunning victory even as it was becoming obvious to all around him.

    He did not share the euphoric mood of supporters. "I was scared," he later wrote in his memoirs.

    It was a Labour landslide of historic proportions, handing Blair a Commons majority of 179, although the collapse in the Tory vote made it appear more dramatic. John Major's Conservatives had won more votes in 1992 - 14,093,007 - than Blair's 1997 total of 13,518,167.

    But none of that mattered to the ecstatic crowd at the Royal Festival Hall, as Blair sketched out, in vague but confident terms, his vision of a modern, united country fit for a new millennium. A country for the "many not the few".

    Did Blair achieve his goal? Read the full feature

  12. Reform 'high stakes' primary tests, MPs urgepublished at 09:12 British Summer Time 1 May 2017

    Child at schoolImage source, iStock

    Children's education in England is being skewed by the use of high-stakes tests taken by 11-year-olds as a school league table measure, say MPs.

    Annual test results should be replaced in the tables by a three-year rolling average to "lower the stakes", says the Commons Education Select Committee.

    The current system has led to a narrow curriculum and "unnecessary stress" on pupils and teachers, argues the report.

    Last year, new tougher tests for 11-year-olds saw passes drop sharply.

    Read more here.

  13. Gig economy workers need 'full rights'published at 09:12 British Summer Time 1 May 2017

    UberImage source, Getty Images

    Workers at companies such as Uber and Deliveroo need full rights and not "bogus" self-employment status, MPs have said.

    Self-employed status leaves workers vulnerable to "exploitation", the Work and Pensions Committee, external concluded after an investigation into the issue.

    It criticised Uber's policy of charging sick drivers the costs of organising cover as an example of bad practice.

    Uber said the vast majority of its drivers were happy with their terms.

    Read more here.

  14. Labour promises to clamp down on landlordspublished at 09:11 British Summer Time 1 May 2017

    Rented homeImage source, Getty Images

    Labour has pledged to clamp down on unscrupulous landlords if it wins the election by introducing of new legal standards for rented homes.

    The party has promised a "consumer rights revolution" for renters, through which landlords who fail to meet the "tougher" minimum standards could be fined up to £100,000. in England if it wins the general election, with the introduction of new legal standards for rented homes.

    The proposals include requirements for safe wiring and appliances, freedom from damp and general good repair.

    However, the Conservatives said the plan could increase people's rent.

    Read the full story here.

  15. Social media giants 'shamefully far' from tackling illegal contentpublished at 09:11 British Summer Time 1 May 2017

    OnlineImage source, Getty Images

    Social media giants Facebook, Twitter and YouTube-owner Google are "shamefully far" from tackling illegal and dangerous content. 

    A report by the Home Affairs Committee found that hate speech, terror recruitment videos and sexual images of children all took too long to be removed.

    It called for a review of UK laws and stronger enforcement around illegal material.

    The report also suggested that the next government should consider making the sites pay to help police what people post.

    Read more here.

  16. Sunday recappublished at 17:38 British Summer Time 30 April 2017

    It has been a busy day of political stories, with Prime Minister Theresa May giving her first television interview of the election campaign. 

    Here's a recap of the day's main stories:

    • Theresa May said a Conservative government would not raise VAT if she wins the general election
    • Jeremy Corbyn pledged to plug a £3bn hole in school finances in England
    • Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron described himself as a "bit of a Eurosceptic" despite his party's pro-EU stance  
    • The Conservatives announced plans to protect pensions from "unscrupulous" bosses if they win the election
    • Labour launched a 20-point plan to end the "rigged economy" in the workplace  
  17. Cameron and his luxury shedpublished at 17:36 British Summer Time 30 April 2017

    David Cameron with his shedImage source, GRAHAM FLACK

    He's no longer the prime minister, but he is the owner of a lovely new shed. 

    In one of the more unusual stories of recent days involving politicians, it has emerged that David Cameron bought a designer garden shed - said to cost £25,000 - and he plans to write a book in it. 

    However, he said his children have other ideas about how to use it - they want it to be a playroom. 

    Read more

  18. Watch: Corbyn wants 'low taxes for low earners'published at 17:01 British Summer Time 30 April 2017

    Media caption,

    General Election 2017: Corbyn 'wants low taxes for low earners'

  19. Police given more time to quiz Westminster suspectpublished at 17:00 British Summer Time 30 April 2017

    Khalid Mohammed Omar AliImage source, Getty/AFP

    Police have been given more time by the courts to question a terror suspect arrested in Whitehall.

    Khalid Mohammed Omar Ali, 27, was arrested near Parliament Square on Thursday in a counter-terrorism operation.

    Mr Ali was detained by armed police near the Houses of Parliament.

    Police said he can be questioned until 4 May. 

  20. Corbyn pledges to end education funding gappublished at 16:31 British Summer Time 30 April 2017

    Jeremy CorbynImage source, Getty Images

    Jeremy Corbyn has pledged to plug a £3bn hole in school finances in England.

    The Labour leader's promise that education would be a spending priority for his party came at a head teachers' conference in Telford.

    He hinted that he would use corporation tax to pay for the extra spending commitments but said specific details would be in Labour's manifesto.

    Read more