The first weekend of the general election campaign is drawing to a close, and so we'll also be pausing our coverage . Here's what we've learned so far over a busy first few days:

• The Conservatives have pledged to introduce a mandatory scheme for 18-year-old's requiring them by law to complete community work or apply for a selective number of places on military training courses
• Home Secretary James Cleverly told the BBC no one will be sent to prison for refusing to take part in the programme, while Labour shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves dismissed the policy as a "gimmick"
• Reeves also told the BBC Labour will not increase income tax or national insurance if the party wins the election on 4 July
• Sir Keir Starmer has also given a clear signal votes for over-16s will be in the Labour manifesto
• Lib Dems leader Ed Davey outlined two key policies for his party: investments in primary care and social reforms to support people out of hospital

There will be much more to cover over the coming weeks, but rest assured that we'll be right here bringing you all the latest news and analysis throughout.

This page was written by Sean Seddon, Vicky Wong, Seher Asaf, Jennifer McKiernan and was edited by Johanna Chisholm and Emily Atkinson. Thank you for joining us.

The national service plan is sitting well with Toriespublished at 15:53 British Summer Time 26 May

15:53 BST 26 May

Rajdeep Sandhu
Westminster Correspondent, BBC Scotland's Nine

With clear, easy to understand policies like this one on national service, most people make up their minds quite quickly.

From the Conservative MPs I've been speaking to (as a reminder, they are still MPs until next week), it seems to have gone down quite well.

Any concerns about lumbering public services, like the NHS and the police, being stuck with grumpy teenagers who don't want to be there are quickly batted away with remarks about the plan providing good experience for young people, which MPs say will also help in securing future jobs.

One Tory stressed you'd ideally want "cooperation rather than compulsion".

It's not surprising the opposition parties aren't enthusiastic for a variety of reasons, as they've mainly been pointing out the changes to military troop numbers and budgets under the Conservatives.

There may be new ideas and promises being thrusted by all parties in this campaign, but don't expect any outbreak of compliments between political parties.

Jennifer McKiernan
Political reporter

A junior defence minister dismissed plans of national service just three days before the PM made this a central plank of his election campaign, it has emerged.

On Thursday, armed forces minister Andrew Murrison responded to a question , externalConservative MP for the Wrekin Mark Pritchard asked about whether the reintroduction of national service had been assessed.

Responding, Murrison said there were no plans to do so "in any form" because it could "damage morale... motivation and discipline".

He said: "If potentially unwilling National Service recruits were to be obliged to serve alongside the professional men and women of our Armed Forces, it could damage morale, recruitment and retention and would consume professional military and naval resources.

"If, on the other hand, National Service recruits were kept in separate units, it would be difficult to find a proper and meaningful role for them, potentially harming motivation and discipline.

"For all these reasons, there are no current plans for the restoration of any form of National Service."

Today, as home secretary James Cleverly helped launch the election pledge for mandatory national service, he made clear that nobody would go to prison for refusing to take part in the national service plans and "nobody will be compelled" to serve in the military.

He also made clear the military element would involve only 30,000 placements, with the rest being community service, including with the NHS, police and fire services.

Image source, UK Parliament

Elsewhere on the campaign trail in South Cambridgeshire, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey unveiled his party's "Yelllow Hammer 1" ‘battlebus’.

The Lib Dem leader addressed young people while standing in front of bright yellow bus, while he also took aim at the Conservative Party's policy on national service, calling it "patronising and wrong".

At the unveiling, he also outlined two key Liberal Democrat policies: investing in primary care in people’s local area - including more dentists and GPs - and social reforms to support people when they come out of hospital and when they need care.

The Liberal Democrat leader is known for colourful campaign stunts, which have so far included a large hourglass with the slogan "time is running out for Rishi Sunak", posing with activists dressed as dinosaurs with the banner "make this Conservative government history", and knocking down a blue wall with a mallet.

Image source, Reuters

Let's take you over to West Yorkshire, where we've just heard from Rachel Reeves.

The shadow chancellor largely repeated comments she made on Laura Kuenssberg earlier - including ruling out increases in income tax and national insurance, no return to austerity, and a commitment to increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP "as quickly as possible".

She also repeated her comments that the Conservatives' national service plan was "an expensive gimmick".

Reeves told campaigners that she is “under no illusion about [the] scale of the challenge” she faces if she becomes chancellor.

“With me all of our plans will be fully-funded and fully-costed, I will never play fast and loose with the public’s finances,” she says.

As a reminder, while on Kuenssberg earlier, the shadow chancellor was pressed specifically about how the party planned to fund its policies, and while she said she did not want to make any cuts to public funding, she did not rule out some spending cuts.

Image source, Tik Tok

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has made his debut on the social media platform TikTok to address criticisms of his plans to re-introduce national service for all 18-year-olds.

“Sorry to be breaking into your usual politics-free feed, but I’m making a big announcement today, and I’ve been told that a lot of you already have some views on it," the prime minister says.

In true TikTok fashion, the 50-second video is peppered with emojis and "swish" sound effects accompanying Sunak's quickfire delivery.

“So first thing: no, I’m not sending everyone off to join the Army. What I am doing is proposing a bold new model of national service for 18-year-olds," he says.

He then repeats that young people will also be given the option of doing 25 days with non-military organisations and volunteering with local communities. These tasks could include delivering prescriptions and food to elderly people or helping with search and rescue.

“This will give all young people valuable life skills,” he says.

The video was posted this morning, shortly after opposition party leaders began sharing their reactions to the plan that some have since called a "desperate gimmick" and "removed from reality".

Andrew Rogers
BBC Newsbeat reporter at Big Weekend, Luton

Aaron, another festival-goer at the Big Weekend today, is sharing some of his immediate feelings about the national service plan announced last night by the Tories.

He says he thinks a lot of people would want to participate, but concedes that the plan could also face big backlash.

“You’re being forced to do something, and not a lot of people like to be forced to do something. We live in a free country," he says.

Other young people at the festival say they do like the idea of helping out the Army, including 19-year-old Summer.

“The Army isn’t doing too well with recruits," the 19-year-old says, adding that "it would be good to get a lot more".

Summer says she supports the policy and wouldn’t have minded participating in the proposed national service when she was 18, as at the age she didn’t know what she wanted to do.

Andrew Rogers
BBC Newsbeat reporter at Big Weekend, Luton

We’ve been getting reaction to the Conservatives’ national service plan here at Radio 1 Big Weekend.

Plenty of the festival-goers here in Luton here to see acts like Sabrina Carpenter, Olly Alexander and Coldplay are - or will soon be - 18.

That includes Yasmin, who is here today with her mum. She’ll be voting for the first time in this general election and is sceptical of the Conservatives' plan.

“I think the new generation coming up is free willed and wants to make its own path,” she says.

Earlier this morning, the home secretary said his party’s plan would help young people break out of their bubbles and make new friends.

“I don’t disagree with that,” Yasmin says, but she thinks that volunteering shouldn’t be made mandatory.

The Conservatives' plans to re-introduce national service have dominated coverage this morning.

Here is a round-up of some of the reaction to the proposal from across the political spectrum:

• Labour: Appearing on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves called the plans a "desperate gimmick", insisting there were "no viable means of funding it"
• SNP: Deputy leader Keith Brown, a former Royal Marine, called the plans a sticking plaster, adding that proper investment is the answer to boosting recruitment in the armed forces
• Liberal Democrats: Defence spokesperson Richard Foord accused the government of "decimating" the armed forces with "swingeing cuts to the number of our regular service personnel"
• Green Party: Co-leader Carla Denyer said it was "removed from reality", adding that young people need access "to meaningful jobs that pay well - not military conscription"
• Plaid Cymru: Westminster group leader Liz Saville Roberts said the plan was “bonkers”, and accused the Conservatives of scrapping investment in the futures of young people
• Reform UK: Party leader Richard Tice dismissed the pledge as "so desperate"
• Conservative: Defence secretary Grant Shapps said those who take on national service will "gain incredible opportunities", while Education Secretary Gillian Keegan praised the “bold action"

Over to the south east now, where Rishi Sunak has been meeting and greeting voters, joined by his wife Akshata Murty.

His latest campaign appearance comes after he announced plans to re-introduce mandatory national service if he wins the upcoming general election.

The PM said the policy would help unite society in an "increasingly uncertain world" and give young people a "shared sense of purpose".

Here's a few snaps from today's visit:

Image source, Reuters

Image source, PA Media

Image source, PA Media

Image source, PA Media

Would knife crime be down if you excluded London?published at 12:42 British Summer Time 26 May

12:42 BST 26 May

Earlier on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, she showed James Cleverly figures stating that knife crime in England and Wales was up by 7%.

The Home Secretary responded that “if you take Labour-run London out of the equation, then that figure would be down”, and he pointed his finger down.

He wrote a letter to the Mayor of London in January making the same point – saying that if London was taken out of the figures, there would have been a slight overall reduction in knife crime in England and Wales.

It was true then for the year to the end of September 2023, but since he wrote that letter, the figures for the whole of 2023 have been released, external, and it no longer seems to be the case.

Knife crime in England and Wales was up 7% in 2023, while it was up 22% in Metropolitan Police areas, external. In England and Wales excluding London, it was up by 3%, according to the Office for National Statistics.

But for statistical reasons, those official figures exclude Greater Manchester Police areas, so we can’t say for sure.

Dharshini David
Chief economics correspondent

The shadow chancellor has laid out pledges of spending injections for some services and tax changes. But how soon might a budget happen if Labour won?

During her appearance on Laura Kuenssberg's programme, Rachel Reeves repeated that there’d be a “fiscal lock”.

This means any significant and permanent tax and spending changes would require a full accompanying forecast from the independent Office for Budget Responsibility, the OBR.

For that, normally, the OBR needs ten weeks notice.

And it is not allowed to scrutinise the plans of a party while it’s in opposition.

So even if the OBR started an initial broader evaluation of the economy now, it would still likely need many weeks after the election to comprehensively incorporate and evaluate those policies, if Labour is to follow through on its commitment for a full process.

Are living standards lower now than they were at the start of Parliament?published at 11:46 British Summer Time 26 May

11:46 BST 26 May

Speaking a little earlier on BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves claimed: “It will be the first Parliament ever where living standards are lower at the end than they were at the beginning.”

The independent Office for Budget Responsibility, which does the government’s forecasting, uses a measure called Real Household Disposable Income (RHDI) per person to measure living standards.

It predicted in March that RHDI would not recover to the level it was, external at the end of 2019 (when the last election was) until 2025-2026, which will be in the next Parliament.

That is two years sooner than it was expecting when it made its previous forecast in November.

According to the figures, which go back to 1955, there has been no Parliament since then that has had lower living standards at the end than at the start.

We're about midway through the day, and so it's worth revisiting our questions from earlier that we were going to try and answer about the national service plan.

The Tories haven't set out how it will work. Instead, they say they will establish a public inquiry tasked with coming up with the details of how the scheme would function.

Here's a summary of some of the finer points we do already know:

• The number of military placements under the scheme would be 30,000. At any given time, there are roughly three quarters of a million 18-year-olds in the UK
• The number of volunteering days needed to complete national service requirements will be 25 over the course of a year
• The military placements will be "selective" and reserved for "brightest and best"
• They will cover logistics, cyber security, procurement and civil response operations
• While the Tories say a pilot for the scheme would be in place by 2025, the full programme could take four or five years after the election to enact

You can read more about what the Tories have said about the plan here.

There's a lot to delve into from this morning's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg - the first episode since the 4 July general election was called.

Let's look back over the key moments:

• Home Secretary James Cleverly said the Conservatives' plan to reintroduce national service would address social fragmentation and get young people "out of their bubble"
• He denied that funding would be cut to pay for the plan

• The next guest was shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves, who said that the government's national service plan was a "desperate gimmick" with no viable funding
• On the economy, Reeves said Labour would not increase income tax if it wins the election
• She later vowed there "will not be a return to austerity" as she refused to rule out some public spending cuts

Under the Conservatives' national service plan, 18-year-olds would have a choice of either joining the military full-time for 12 months, or volunteering one weekend every month carrying out a community service.

Speaking to Laura Kuenssberg this morning, Home Secretary James Cleverly said the plan would address "fragmented society", arguing that too many young people are living in social or digital "bubbles".

Here's more of what he said:

Image source, EPA

For the most part, the questions put to the home secretary this morning were around Rishi Sunak's plans to bring back mandatory national service if he wins the election.

Now, Reform UK has dismissed the pledge as "so desperate".

In a post on X, party leader Richard Tice says the Tories are "putting out unconsidered impractical policy ideas" that the military do not want and did not ask for.

The policy - which James Cleverly said this morning would help young people learn new skills - has come under attack from across the political spectrum.

You can read more about that in our earlier post.

During today's episode of Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves vowed there "will not be a return to austerity" as she was pressed to rule out public sector cuts under a Labour government.

You can watch that moment back here:

How will public funding cuts be avoided?published at 10:23 British Summer Time 26 May

10:23 BST 26 May

Dharshini David
Chief economics correspondent

The shadow chancellor promises a rapid injection of funds into public services to enable recruitment of teachers and bolster medical appointments - but as it stands other areas could still see cuts.

To meet the fiscal rules that either the Conservatives or Labour would apply, the current government has very modest spending growth pencilled in for after the 4 July election.

Strip out protected areas, such as health and education, and the current numbers suggest budgets for other areas - such as local council services and justice - would fail to keep up with inflation.

This would imply cuts of 10% or more in coming years.

Will those be averted? Laura Kuenssberg pressed her on this point, but Rachel Reeves wouldn’t be drawn.

In her final answer, Reeves struck an optimistic note about Labour proving the polls right and winning the election on 4 July.

"We're not complacent, we're fighting for every single vote", she said.

"But for the first time since becoming an MP, I think we're in touching distance of doing this."

And that's all from the shadow chancellor.