This evening we've been hearing from voters on BBC Question Time.

The panel has been asked what should be done about sewage spills and water companies struggling to stay afloat. A reminder, according to the Environment Agency, there were 3.6 million hours of sewage spills in 2023, compared to 1.75 million hours in 2022.

Tim Montgomerie, Conservative blogger and commentator, says the water sector needs to be nationalised, adding it's time for water companies' shareholders to "pay the price".

"They've enjoyed a great windfall and it's time now to be nationalised and sold again potentially in the future to owners who'll actually manage them properly," he says.

Mark Spencer - the minister for environment, food, and rural affairs - says the Conservatives' plan is having stronger regulation and more inspectors in the Environment Agency.

He adds that all water companies have committed to investing £60bn over the next 25 years in water infrastructure., external

In September 2023, the House of Lords blocked the government's plan to relax restrictions on water pollution to encourage housebuilding in England. Environmental groups said at the time that the move would have meant more polluted waters.

Adam Fleming and Chris Mason are joined by Nick Watt and Dharshini David to discuss the first day of the general election campaign.

Listen now.

Earlier we heard from unemployed voters in Blackpool on voting in the general election.

Henry is also unemployed in the Lancashire town and is training in construction with the hope of getting a job in the industry afterwards.

The 20-year-old left care in 2022 and said he'd "absolutely love" for Rishi Sunak to live on his universal credit income.

He told BBC Radio 4's PM programme he believed the system didn't care about unemployed people.

"I definitely think that there are politicians who do care about the people and want to change things, but unfortunately for the rest of the other politicians, that's not their agenda," he said.

Politicians are being grilled with questions from the public on BBC Question Time.

One voter asks the panel where her taxes are going and about the government taxing millionaires and billionaires.

Labour MP Bridget Phillipson says there needs to be a fairer tax system, adding that Labour would make changes such as ending the non-dom tax status and tax breaks for private schools.

“Working people are facing record tax bills at the moment, taxes are at a record high, so we do need a fairer system, but we also need to make sure the UK is competitive for businesses to come and invest,” she says.

Deputy Liberal Democrat leader Daisy Cooper says her party doesn’t believe in taxing ordinary people during a cost of living crisis.

“We’ve said those big companies should be paying a lot more to pay for our public services.”

SNP 'out of touch' with Scots, says Sunakpublished at 21:35 British Summer Time 23 May 2024

21:35 BST 23 May 2024

David Wallace Lockhart
Political correspondent

Image source, Reuters

The prime minister has accused the SNP of being “out of touch” with Scots on his first visit to Scotland of the election campaign.

Rishi Sunak accused the party of having an “obsession” with independence that was a risk “to the integrity of our union”.

Speaking on a visit to Nigg Port near Inverness, the prime minister said it had been a “difficult few years”, but the “economy has turned a corner” and people were starting to feel the benefits.

He conceded that things were still “very difficult for people in Scotland right now”, but pointed the finger of blame at Scottish income tax rates set by the Scottish government.

The prime minister insisted it was the right time for an election despite Scottish school holidays, and denied only taking English holidays into account.

Rishi Sunak told the BBC he would champion all British teams at the Euros, but had grown up supporting England.

Our colleagues on the BBC Radio 4 PM programme have been taking stock of the public mood from unemployed people in Blackpool.

Mick has lived in the Lancashire town for four years and says he's thinking of moving back to the south of England for more opportunities.

"Being out of work for a long time does make you depressed... it just drives you down."

He says he hasn't voted since the 2016 Brexit referendum because he thinks parties make promises that they break when they get voted in.

Sharon hasn't worked for 15 years due to health conditions, which she says has affected getting a job.

"It would have to be something I could do when I feel well enough to do it," she says.

She says she won't vote in the general election and that she's happy with her life.

Earlier today, Transport Secretary Mark Harper spoke to the BBC about the Tories' plans after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak accused Labour of not having a plan.

Harper claims inflation came down because his party had a plan to "get the public finances under control before we cut taxes" and "make some tough decisions" about public sector pay to lower inflation, adding that it resulted in industrial disputes.

"It was the right decision and it's those sorts of decisions that delivered low inflation yesterday," he says.

He was also asked about the fate of HS2, a new high-speed railway being built between London and Birmingham, which has seen the northern section to Manchester and Leeds scrapped and work on a new station at Euston paused.

Harper concedes that the project has had its "challenges". When asked if he could guarantee that under a Conservative government that it would go to Euston station, he says "yes".

"We've got a clear plan to deliver that using the private sector," he says.

Labour is setting out to “under-promise and over-deliver”, Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary tells the PM programme.

Wes Streeting says Labour has specific commitments - that their manifesto will explain and set out how to fund - but, he says, they also have "a vision for a reformed country, a different way of working and a partnership between government, businesses, civil society and all of us as citizens to turn our country around from where it is today.”

Streeting adds that the fact Labour is setting out to “under-promise and over-deliver” is a sign of the “respect we have for the voters”.

He also acknowledges that a lot of people will be looking at the coming elections with cynicism about whether politicians can be trusted, which his party wants to address.

“In addition to setting out an ambition to rebuild our country, we’re also setting out an ambition to rebuild trust in politics as a force for good again, which is why we have been really disciplined and really careful in the promises that we have made and will make to make sure they are promises we can keep and promises we can afford,” Streeting says.

Parliament will be prorogued tomorrow, but what does that mean?published at 20:20 British Summer Time 23 May 2024

20:20 BST 23 May 2024

Harry Farley
Political correspondent

Since the election was announced, we've been hearing a few terms like "wash-up" and "prorogued" but what do these terms mean exactly?

Well, by calling the election, government will wrap up tomorrow, Friday, and the official term is prorogued.

But before that can happen, there's lots of government legislation that was in the process of going through parliament - the House of Commons and the House of Lords - when the election was called.

What that means is that for the bills to go through, Labour essentially have to agree to pass them without opposing them, as any sort of debate would take up time.

Having spoken to Labour and Conservative MPs today, there is a desire on both sides for certain bills to go through.

For example, the legislation for compensation for the infected blood scandal.

The bill to quash the convictions of those affected by the Post Office's Horizon scandal also had support from both parties and was passed earlier this evening.

There's also the Finance Bill which includes measures that were announced in the most recent Budget.

But that leaves some other prominent bills up in the air such as the legislation to end no-fault evictions as well as reform on leaseholds. Another significant bill is the smoking ban, which has yet to become law.

Susan Hulme
Parliamentary correspondent

The Post Office Offences (Horizon System) Bill has been passed by Parliament.

It means that sub-postmasters will have their convictions quashed tomorrow, Friday, after the bill gets Royal Assent from the King.

The legislation does not, however, cover Scotland, which has a separate legal system.

Senior Tory MP Sir Michael Ellis is the latest to announce he will not be standing for re-election, in the wake of the general election being announced.

The MP for Northampton North, and former attorney general, says in a statement , externalthat it is an "extremely difficult decision" not to stand again.

Ellis says it is the right time for a new candidate to try to win the vote to represent the seat, adding, "I hope to find other ways to continue public service".

He joins several other MPs who announced today they will be standing down at the general election.

Image source, UK Parliament

We’re going to take a closer look now at the statement from Conservative MP James Grundy who, as we reported a little earlier, has announced he is not seeking re-election on 4 July.

The MP for Leigh in Greater Manchester says the political climate has changed, and politicians, their families and staff are increasingly seen as "fair game for abuse, threats of violence or even death threats.

"This not healthy for our national politics and needs to change, and with that in mind I have decided not to seek re-election."

Susan Hulme
Parliamentary correspondent

The government has announced that the House of Lords will debate the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill tomorrow, Friday.

It means the bill may become law before the dissolution of Parliament.

Before that, the Lords are expected to agree to the Finance Bill, and several backbench bills which have nearly reached the statute book.

Sunak wraps up trip to Scotland but there's a long campaign to gopublished at 18:42 British Summer Time 23 May 2024

18:42 BST 23 May 2024

Nick Eardley
Political correspondent, reporting from northern Scotland

We've just finished up a whistle stop tour of Great Britain with a trip to the Port of Nigg, in the north of Scotland.

Rishi Sunak is meeting a few members of staff and some Scottish Conservatives.

The events we've been at haven't involved random voters - the man and woman in the street. All the events have been tightly managed by the Conservative Party.

But the PM's first full day of campaigning has been about trying to get on the front foot and set the agenda.

He had a key advantage. As the man who knew when the election campaign was coming - he had time to put a plan together for the first 24 hours. He didn't have control over the weather in Downing Street - but since then he's been able to hit the ground running.

It's not all been plain sailing. The PM has had to admit today his Rwanda plan won't see planes taking off before the election.

And there is a long campaign to go. Events often get in the way in election campaigns. A lot will happen in the next six weeks - and nobody can control it all.

More now from Farage, who has been speaking to the BBC.

It's put to him that his critics may say he is not standing because he does not want to fail to win a seat for an eighth time.

"Shall we just grow up," Farage says, claiming he only "stood once for Parliament" because "UKIP was a pressure group that stood in elections" and describing his electoral performances in positive terms.

A reminder, Farage has stood for the UK Parliament unsuccessfully seven times, most recently for South Thanet in Kent in the 2015 general election.

Later in the interview he questions whether there is "really much difference now between the Conservative and Labour parties", saying "on virtually everything they agree".

"Britain needs reform in every area," he says, insisting he has influenced the debate from outside Westminster in previous years, and adding that if millions of people vote Reform there are lots of ways that can bring about change.

Asked how many seats he expects Reform UK to win, he says he has "no idea", saying "let's see how the next few weeks plays out", and adds: "I do expect them to get representation in Parliament."

Reform UK founder and honorary president Nigel Farage has told the BBC he was "wrong-footed" by the announcement of an election in six weeks' time.

Asked why he is not standing, Farage says: "The problem is, six weeks is such a short period of time to fight a parliamentary constituency and promote the cause around the country.

"And, you know, I think Rishi Sunak has wrong-footed an awful lot of people, myself included. Just, it's not long enough to do it. It's as simple as that."

He goes on to say he will be "100% behind" Reform UK leader Richard Tice, and will be "campaigning all over the country".

In a statement published this morning, Farage also suggested his priority would he helping Donald Trump in his campaign to regain the White House.

Image source, UK Parliament

Several more MPs have announced today they will be standing down at the general election.

Transport minister Huw Merriman is one of them. The Conservative MP for Bexhill and Battle, in East Sussex, says he will not contest his seat on 4 July.

Work and pensions minister Jo Churchill, Tory MP for Bury St Edmunds, has also announced today that she will not be standing at the election, as has deputy Commons speaker Dame Eleanor Laing, Conservative MP for Epping Forest, and fellow Conservative James Grundy, MP for Leigh in Greater Manchester.

On the Labour side, veteran Kevan Jones, MP for North Durham and a former minister, has also announced today that he is standing down at the election, as has Labour MP for the Wigan constituency of Makerfield, Yvonne Fovargue.

Following the prime minister's announcement of a 4 July general election, Holly Lynch, the Opposition deputy chief whip, said yesterday that she would not be standing.

They join more than 100 MPs who had already announced they would not be seeking re-election.

Did strikes stop the government meeting NHS wait list target?published at 17:40 British Summer Time 23 May 2024

17:40 BST 23 May 2024

Image source, Getty Images

Let's take you back to a moment from earlier this morning, when Rishi Sunak was pressed about cutting NHS waiting lists, which as a reminder, is one of five priorities he set out in January 2023.

“The NHS have published data showing that if it wasn’t for the industrial action, they would have fallen by almost half a million and we would have met the pledge," the prime minister said in response to the question about not delivering on that pledge.

If you look at the NHS data for the overall waiting list, external, it has gone up by more than 300,000 treatments since Sunak promised to cut it in January last year.

The NHS analysis that Sunak was talking about relating to strikes suggests 430,000 such treatments were deferred due to industrial action., external

BUt health think tank the King’s Fund points out that it’s not quite as simple as subtracting one figure from the other.

They point out that we can’t say for sure if all of those procedures would have gone ahead without industrial action.

They also point out that there have been changes to how the waiting list is measured, which has reduced the numbers.

It's been a busy first day of election campaigning for all the main parties in the UK, so let's take a look at what's been happening:

• Rishi Sunak appeared on BBC Breakfast this morning, where he confirmed that flights to Rwanda - removing migrants who cross the Channel in small boats - would not set off before the election. Flights would take off if he is elected as prime minister, he added.
• He kicked off his first full day of campaigning at Derbyshire, where he said he decided to call an election because economic stability was returning
• At a rally in Gillingham, Labour leader Keir Starmer said it was "time to turn the page" and accused the Tories of making a “mess” of the economy

• Reform UK founder and honorary president Nigel Farage confirmed he will not stand as a candidate at the general election, saying that “now is not the right time”

• Liberal Democrats' deputy leader Daisy Cooper told Sky that the party had ruled out another Conservative coalition
• Reform UK leader Richard Tice said his party would stand candidates in 630 seats in the election and confirmed that he personally would stand in Boston and Skegness
• Sunak's anti-smoking bill seems unlikely to make its way through Parliament by tomorrow evening - when MPs and Peers pack up for the election
• Deputy Commons Speaker Dame Eleanor Laing announced she would not seek re-election