With just under five weeks to go, the Electoral Commission has advised expats to register sooner rather than later to ensure the don't miss out.

To have your say you must have been previously registered in a UK constituency within the last 15 years.

Overseas voters should apply to register online, external by 23:59 BST on 22 May. 

Once registered, expats can vote by post, by proxy, or in person if they will be in their UK local authority area on polling day.

As of December 2016, the number of registered overseas voters was at an all-time high of almost 264,000

The Guardian

There's a nice titbit in the Guardian as part of their report on Conservative aspirations to win northern seats, external.

The reaction of 87-year-old Joan Bedson when the local Tory candidate knocked on her door in Bolton: 

Image source, Reuters

How do I register to vote? When will the manifestos be published? Why are we even having this election?

For the answers to those sorts of questions and many more, check out our essential guide.

Image source, PA

Writing in the New Statesman, external, Alan Johnson recalls his time as health secretary under former prime minister Gordon Brown.

He says one morning Mr Brown was half listening to Radio 4's Today when he heard Alan Johnson would be interviewed in the prime 08:10 slot.

"There were no announcements on health to be made, no emergencies to respond to. What was I playing at, Gordon demanded to know. Was this insubordination? Spontaneity? A leadership bid?" Mr Johnson wrote.

After a number of "frantic" calls between the BBC and Alan Johnson's media adviser at the time, Chris Norton, they were able to explain the situation to Downing Street.

BBC correspondent Alan Johnston was being interviewed on the programme about his kidnap ordeal in Gaza where he was held captive for 114 days.

Image source, Jane Nightingale

A few days ago we brought you the news that Ed Miliband had been pictured mowing a voter's lawn on Tuesday as he hit the campaign trail in Doncaster. 

Well, according to the Sunday Times,, external all was not as it seemed. Far from it being a case of helpful-politician-helps-member-of-the-public, it seems the constituent in question was "angry" to have been used for a "set-up" by his PR team.  

"He couldn't start the machine, I had to help him," the paper quotes her as saying.

"It was rubbish. I'm not even a Labour supporter. If it had been David Miliband it would have been absolutely fine."

Another recap on the main lines from the day:

• Shadow chancellor John McDonnell sets out plans to increase income tax for those earning more than £80,000 - all those below that, he says, won't pay more
• He suggests those above the threshold will be "pleasantly surprised at the modesty" of what will be demanded of them - apart from "the 1% at the top". They, he hints, may get their own even higher rate to pay
• Mr McDonnell also discusses Marxism and what there is to learn from Das Kapital
• Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt admits the NHS had "a very tough time" after the 2010 election as public finances were constrained, but he insists there is more money around now - including to fund new commitments on mental health
• Mr Hunt and others in his party again stress Theresa May is the "strong" leader needed to make Brexit a success
• Norman Lamb, for the Lib Dems, suggests the mental health promises are "built on air" and have no new money behind them
• The Lib Dems commit themselves to keeping the pensions "triple lock" but would scrap winter fuel allowance for better-off pensioners
• Nigel Farage says UKIP will survive - for the next couple of years at least, while they make sure Mrs May doesn't "backslide on Brexit"

The Mirror has picked up on the comments, external we brought you earlier from Home Secretary Amber Rudd on immigration.

She "refused to commit to the controversial Tory commitment to reduce immigration to below 100,000", the paper says, and "indicated the Tories might row back from their long-held pledge".

The paper also notes that "Ms Rudd made a clear break with cabinet colleagues by refusing to commit to taking international student numbers out of the immigration figures."

Boris Johnson and Philip Hammond have both expressed support for the idea, arguing students tend not to stay permanently and bring valuable income to the UK.

BBC Sunday Politics

The Conservative candidate for Spelthorne in Surrey, Kwasi Kwarteng, said John McDonnell was going down the "old hard-left playbook" of higher taxes.

He told Sunday Politics London many people across London aspire to earn the £80,000 figure.

Mr Kwarteng: "I don't think anyone in London is going to benefit from those kind of policies.

"I think we've said that we are not going to raise VAT and we'll have to wait until we see the manifesto to see what our policies are.

"But, the John McDonnell route, the Marxist route is not going to work for anyone."

Mr Kwarteng said claims that Labour could be the party of low taxation were "nonsense".

Image source, Getty Images

The Sun has picked up on a line from Emily Thornberry's, external appearance on Peston on Sunday earlier.

Lamenting the "presidential" nature of the election campaign, the shadow foreign secretary said: "There is no alternative vision that the Tories are offering. 

"It is not good enough for people to simply say 'I like Theresa May's hair' or 'I like that shade of blue'. Politics is not about that, politics is about how you change people's lives."

The Sun calls her "sneering" and says it's "a stunning attack on the public".

Image source, PA

"Tim Farron is the most under-rated politician in the UK today" - so says former Liberal Party leader David Steel., external

"In 2005 he defeated a right-wing Tory MP by just 250 votes. At the next election in 2010 he jumped to a 12,000 majority, much of which he retained in the debacle in 2015," he goes on.

Lord Steel predicts that his party will see gains on 8 June, "especially when the prospect of an unassailable Tory majority sinks in".  

Now for the big one - Bethan Lewis assesses the mood of the parties after the council elections in Wales.

We mentioned earlier that John McDonnell had hinted at possibly introducing two tiers of higher taxes under a Labour government.

Well, listening back, it was a pretty strong hint.

On the impact of his plans on people earning £80,000 or more, he said: 

Image source, PA

The Green Party has made a formal complaint to the BBC over its local election coverage, arguing the broadcaster breached its fair coverage guidelines by focusing too much on UKIP and not enough on the Greens.

It says the party fielded "a record number of candidates... and 40 Green councillors were elected, compared to UKIP’s one". 

Co-leader Jonathan Bartley said: "The Green Party is making gains across the country - from the Orkney Islands to the Isle of Wight - and it’s only fair we’re given proportionate coverage by our national broadcaster."

The World This Weekend
Radio 4 programme

It's put to Emily Thornberry that people earning more than £80,000, especially if they live in London, don't feel rich.

"I understand that, but the true arithmetic of it is that people who are on that sort of income are in the top 5%," she says.

We do need to spend more on public services and that money has to be found somewhere, she adds.

The World This Weekend
Radio 4 programme

Emily Thornberry says Labour does want to win over former UKIP voters. 

We need to tell them "a Labour government would be looking after them", she says on The World This Weekend.

Moving on to talk about Theresa May's claims this week that European politicians and officials are trying to interfere in the general election, Ms Thornberry is scathing.

"She was either paranoid and delusional or she was simply being manipulative." 

The World This Weekend
Radio 4 programme

Image source, Getty Images

Party chairman Sir Patrick McLoughlin tells The World This Weekend the Conservatives aren't specifically targeting UKIP voters, but are looking to pick up support from all quarters. 

And he seems confident Theresa May is their biggest asset, especially when it comes to Brexit - he uses that word again, "strong".

"She can change her mind, but she's also a great negotiator," Mr McLoughlin adds.

Image source, AFP

Here's a reminder of some of what Home Secretary Amber Rudd said on Pienaar's Politics earlier:

Will there be a 'tens of thousands' target for net migration? "It's not going to be identical to the last one.... we've got a lot to think through to work out what's the best way to deliver on our priorities. My personal view is we need to continue to bring immigration down. I want to make sure that we do it in a way that supports businesses, you know we're ending freedom of movement when we leaving the European Union. So the situation from the last manifesto... has changed so it’s right that we look at it again. But we are going to have to wait until the manifesto comes out."

On barista visas When asked what she thought of the proposal that young EU migrants could come and work in hotels and coffee shops for a few years and leave again she said:  "I've got an open mind" and it's "something we'll look at along with lots of other suggestions".

On plans to publish firms' foreign worker proportions: "Well that was never the proposal. It was about a consultation to look at whether we needed to do that. We will continue to find the best way to make sure that we nudge companies towards looking more towards UK employees and to investing and training them."

On excluding students from the net migration target: "I have to say, not really because the answer is the numbers that we look at are the net numbers if we have a system where students who come in also leave unless they go to graduate level jobs, then it doesn't impact because they net each other out as long as we have an effective system where students come and they work here if they get graduate level jobs, or they leave and go back. It's a complete red herring to talk about taking students out of those numbers and it making a big impact." 

Further to our analysis a short time ago from Joe Lynam, he's had word from HMRC on the respective tax takes from the top and bottom of the income spectrum.

The top 5% of earners (Labour's target group for tax rises) already account for 47.1% of all income tax paid in the UK, according to the Revenue. 

The poorest half of the country pay 9.9% of all income tax.

We've seen all politicians come up with all sorts of ways to mingle with the public during election campaigns, but this is a new one. Lib Dem leader Tim Farron has been taking part in the Kendal Colour Dash - a 5km charity run in which participants have coloured powder thrown at them.

We think the man, arms aloft, in the middle of the first picture is Mr Farron... then you'll see him mid-hill (on the left) and at the summit (on the right).

Image source, Pool

Image source, Pool

Image source, pool

BBC Radio 5 live

Image source, AFP

John Pienaar: "I guess a lot of people would sympathise with wanting to leave some of that theatre and pantomime behind. And after all, on the evening of your win, why on earth, Andy, would you be posing with Jeremy Corbyn, you know, with a crowd of Labour supporters, when you could perfectly happily be taking a glass of well-earned champagne with your friends and family?"

Andy Burnham: "We told Jeremy's office earlier in the week that I wouldn't be at a rally because we had a very clear schedule of events that were going to take place through the day."

John: "Yeah, better things to do, of course."

Andy: "That included, actually, a brief visit to thank my campaign supporters, and who wouldn't do that - the amount of work they've done is amazing - but it was a brief visit there and I went on. And as you will see, yesterday morning, John, I appointed my deputy mayors, Sir Richard Leese and Baroness Beverley Hughes, two very serious appointments, and obviously I was making the necessary arrangements for that obviously immediately when I was elected."

John: "Sure, and of course you've got things to do and people to say thank you to. I guess, Jeremy Corbyn must have been fantastically disappointed not to have you there with your arm around him giving him that endorsement. But I guess that's how it goes, isn't it? Just tough." 

Andy: "I've made it clear, John, and actually to be honest with you, it's what I was saying a moment ago - I'm glad to leave this kind of trivia behind - 'was I at a rally, was I not at a rally, what does that mean' - to be honest that is all totally meaningless to me - I'm fed up with all of that."

John: "What, campaigning for a Labour victory in the General Election?"

Andy: "No, and I will be… I was out yesterday in fact in Oldham campaigning for Jim McMahon, Debbie Abrahams. I will be at the party's national campaign launch on Tuesday. But yes, I've been elected as mayor of Greater Manchester. The public of Greater Manchester were right to expect that I would get on with the job that they've just given me."