Let's bring you some details about the guests who are going to be on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg this morning.

As we just mentioned, Home SecretaryJames Cleverly, who has served in the role since 2023, will be joining Laura in the red seat today. He is expected to answer questions about the Conservatives' plan to introduce national service if they win the general election.

Later in the show, we'll be hearing from Labour's Rachel Reeves. The shadow chancellor of the exchequer has served as the MP for Leeds West since 2010. This week, she's been on the campaign trail, appearing at a grocery store in West London and vowing to fund NHS pledges by tackling tax dodgers.

Sean Seddon
Live reporter

Image source, PA Media

Shortly, Laura Kuenssberg is going to be sitting down with James Cleverly - where she'll be questioning the home secretary about the Tories' plan to bring back national service.

Ahead of that, here are some of the big questions that have yet to be clarified.

• The Tories say the scheme would have legal force - but what sanctions would be in place for people who refused to take part?
• Have senior military officials been consulted and do they support the plan?
• Will people be paid for taking part - particularly in the military element - or will their expenses be covered?
• Most of the funding from 2028/29 onwards would be coming from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, which replaced EU money for community organisations - so what will happen to them?
• Will 18-year-olds in full-time education - particularly those doing intensive degrees like medicine - also be expected to volunteer?

We'll be trying to get some of these answers today. Stay with us and as a reminder, the programme begins at 09:00 BST and can be streamed live by pressing Play at the top of this page.

The fourth day of election campaigning is well and truly underway.

If you, like us, are up bright and early on this soggy Sunday morning, here’s a digest of the latest developments:

• Hot off the press is Rishi Sunak’s new pledge to re-introduce compulsory national service for 18-year-olds if his party returns to power after July’s vote
• Reacting, the Lib Dems accused the Tories cutting troop numbers, while Labour called the plan “desperate”
• Sticking with Labour, Sir Keir Starmer has shared his ambition to lower the voting age to 16 if he wins - a move supported by the Lib Dems
• On the economy, Jeremy Hunt has indicated his party would cut National Insurance and inheritance tax – while his opposite, Rachel Reeves, promised not to "play fast and loose" with public finances
• Meanwhile, Michael Gove and Andrea Leadsom have joined the dozens of Tory MPs who have stepped down ahead of the 4 July ballot
• Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn will take on the party he led for four years in the contest for the Islington North seat
• Finally, Starmer has agreed to debate Sunak on TV as part of the campaign

In the immediate hours after the policy was announced by the Conservatives, the Labour Party responded by saying the national service announcement does not amount to a plan, but rather a "review which could cost billions".

The party says the scheme is "only needed because the Tories hollowed out the armed forces to their smallest size since Napoleon", calling the government "bankrupt of ideas".

Meanwhile Stephen Flynn, the SNP's Westminster leader, has said the only thing Rishi Sunak "is going to mobilise is Scotland's youth against the Tories".

Liberal Democrat defence spokesperson Richard Foord MP has accused the government of "decimating" the UK's armed forces with "swingeing cuts to the number of our regular service personnel".

The party says the money "would be far better spent reversing Conservative cuts to troop numbers".

Image source, PA Media

Some more details now about the Conservatives plan to force all 18-year-olds to carry out a form of national service if they win the next election.

Under the plans, 18-year-olds would be given a choice between joining the military full-time for a year or spending one weekend a month for 12 months volunteering in their community.

It is unclear how many eligible people the Tories anticipate will end up enrolling in the military as opposed to volunteering, or what sanctions will be in place for those who refuse to take part.

The party says it would establish a royal commission - a type of public inquiry - which would establish the details. The pilot for the scheme would begin in September 2025 and is expected to cost £2.5bn a year.

It would be funded by raising £1bn from "cracking down" on tax avoidance, with the rest of the money repurposed from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, a pre-existing package of support for charities and community groups.

In a statement released to the media, Rishi Sunak says the policy would "create a shared sense of purpose among our young people and a renewed sense of pride in our country".

Johanna Chisholm
Live reporter

We're back for the fourth full day of campaigning and since we last left you, there's already been developments that we need to get you caught up with.

Late on Saturday, Rishi Sunak announced that if the Conservatives win the election, the party plans to bring back mandatory national service.

It said 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.

We're going to get you caught up in more detail on that in a bit - but someone who might be able to answer on the government's behalf is Home Secretary James Cleverly, who is conveniently joining Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg later this morning.

Shadow secretary Rachel Reeves, who will also be on the show, is likely going to provide some reaction from Labour about the policy.

But stick with us as we bring you all the latest from the campaign trail.

Johanna Chisholm
Live reporter

Despite it being a Saturday on a bank holiday weekend, the third day of campaigning has proven to be a rather eventful one. But in case you were out enjoying a seaside tipple, you can get all caught up on the latest here.

Coverage on this page is going to be paused, but expect to see us back here bright and early on Sunday morning for more updates and analysis from our correspondents on the campaign trail.

This page was written by Sean Seddon and Seher Asaf and was edited by myself. Thank you for joining us.

Image source, PA Media

We're not even half way through the first weekend of the general election campaign and we've already seen some significant developments.

Here's everything you need to know to get you through the evening:

• Labour says it would like to extend the right to vote to over-16s if it wins the next election - a policy that Lib Dem leader Ed Davey says he's also "welcomed"
• Jeremy Hunt has indicated tax cuts will be part of the Conservative offer to the electorate. The chancellor told the Telegraph cuts to National Insurance and inheritance tax are all on the cards if they win

• Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves says the party would seek to reduce the tax burden on working families while meeting voters in London
• Michael Gove and Andrea Leadsom have joined the exodus of Tory MPs announcing they are standing down ahead of the election
• Sir Keir Starmer has agreed to debate Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on TV as part of the campaign
• Labour will have to take on expelled former leader Jeremy Corbyn, who is standing as an independent in Islington

Image source, PA Media

Earlier this morning, Sir Keir Starmer confirmed that his party would like to see the voting age lowered so that 16 and 17-year-olds could cast ballots across the UK in general elections.

As a reminder, in Scotland and Wales, over-16s can already vote in devolved national elections, as well as in local elections, while the vote is restricted to over-18s in England and Wales.

Sir Ed Davey is now echoing those calls while out on the campaign trail this afternoon in Winchester, saying that he welcomes Labour's pledge.

Davey adds that the Liberal Democrats have "long supported votes at 16" but says that he believes there needs to be "bolder" reform within the political system.

What Sunak and Starmer have in commonpublished at 16:03 British Summer Time 25 May

16:03 BST 25 May

Laura Kuenssberg
Presenter, Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg

Image source, PA Media

Has it been a shaky start to Rishi Sunak's general election campaign?

"Damn right!", to use the man himself's phrase - although he was talking about whether he would win.

Has his rival Sir Keir Starmer's election begun smoothly? I'd say, "Damn right!" to that too.

But both men know there is an awful long way to go before a single vote is cast - and perhaps that's because they have some things in common.

They have other things in common too.

Both leaders inspire unusual loyalty among their teams. They are often praised by those who work with them as being warmer than they appear on camera: staffers describe them as decent family men, who take their jobs incredibly seriously and work incredibly hard.

They became MPs in the same year - 2015 - after successful careers in other fields.

The Labour leader's first job was clearing stones from fields on a farm, before studying law and reaching the top of that profession.

The Tory leader helped his mum in her pharmacy, but his first paid job was a waiter in a restaurant, before university and then a highflying career in finance.

• Read my full story here

Andrew Rogers
BBC Newsbeat reporter at Big Weekend, Luton

As political leaders have been hitting the campaign trail across the country, young people have been flocking to BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend in Luton.

We caught up with some teenagers in the audience who gave us their immediate reaction to Sir Keir Starmer's comments about possibly lowering the voting age.

Megan, Sophie, Liv, Izzy, Gracie and Caitlin - all 16-years-old - say they would "100%" vote if they had the chance, the group tells BBC Newsbeat.

"I think we should, because [at] 16, you do a lot of things, so you have your own mind."

"If you're old enough to do your exams - and old enough to get a job - you should be old enough to vote," they agree.

The group agrees that they don't think they get taught enough about politics at school, and feel they instead have to rely on getting most of their information from the internet and TikTok.

They also agree that younger voters are more likely to influenced by parents.

Image source, Reuters

Earlier today, Labour's shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves was heard explaining how she would manage the economy if her party wins the election on 4 July.

We haven't seen Jeremy Hunt, the man she wants to replace in 11 Downing Street, on the campaign trail so far this weekend but he has given an interview to the Telegraph, external.

He says if Rishi Sunak is successful at the ballot box this summer, the Conservatives would continue to cut National Insurance - which they've already reduced twice this year.

Hunt also suggests that he would seek to reduce taxes for people earning between £100,000 and £125,000 and says he "hoped" the next Tory government would be able to cut inheritance tax.

The public finances are under strain and whoever is elected will need to carefully balance how much the government spends against how much it brings in.

• Read more about Hunt and Reeves battle over tax cuts in this election here

It has only been four days since Rishi Sunak confirmed a general election will be held on 4 July, and there's still a long way to go yet.

Technically speaking, the campaign hasn't even officially started - that only happens when Parliament is dissolved - but try and tell the parties that.

Crucially, you've also got plenty of time left to register to vote. Here are the key dates you need to know.

The UK hasn't had a July election since 1945 and the timing means the campaign will clash with some other high-profile events.

Political parties will be vying for your attention against football, festivals - and possibly even a spot of good weather.

Jenni Davidson
BBC Scotland senior politics reporter, reporting from Glenrothes

On the first weekend of election campaigning, SNP leader John Swinney has been in Glenrothes in Fife meeting party activists.

His key campaign message centred around what his party views as the need to unite against austerity.

He says it had been a “punishing and damaging process” and had undermined public services, adding that he believes the SNP was the only party in a position to influence Westminster against austerity.

Elsewhere, Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross visited a railway station in Brechin, where he delivered the message that his party's campaign "to beat the SNP and end their obsession with independence is going full steam ahead".

While Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer hit the campaign trail in the West Midlands, his shadow chancellor was back in London and was saying Labour has "no plans" to increase income tax or national insurance if she is installed in the Treasury after the election.

Rachel Reeves was asked about the party's economic plans during a visit to an Iceland shop, where she chatted to staff about the changes they have seen among customers due to the cost of living.

Asked about inflation, Reeves has said the Conservatives had left the economy "exposed" to energy price inflation because of a lack of "resilience" in the economy on their watch.

Her comments came after the Institute for Fiscal Studies - an economics think tank - warned the state of the public finances is hanging over the election campaign "like a dark cloud" and called for an "open and robust" conversation about pressures on spending and taxation.

Reeves said all of the commitments made by Labour so far are fully costed and wouldn't require extra borrowing or tax rises across the board.

She said she "wants taxes on working people to be lower" but would not make "promises about taxes I can't keep".

"I'm under no illusion about the scale of the challenge I will inherit if I become chancellor", she added.

Harry Farley
Political correspondent, reporting from West Midlands

Here in Stafford, where Sir Keir Starmer has been campaigning throughout the day, I asked him earlier about his plan for workers' rights.

That is because there has been a row going on about Labour’s policies on things like zero-hours contracts, parental leave and sick pay. Many unions have accused Labour of watering down their proposals.

And then earlier this morning, Labour re-branded their plans from a "New Deal for Working People" to "Labour’s Plan to Make Work Pay".

For the general secretary of Unite, one of the largest trade unions in the UK, she put her reaction bluntly: “The again revised New Deal for Working People has more holes in it than Swiss cheese.”

When I put this to Sir Keir Starmer, he denied Labour had watered down their plans.

“We have come to an agreement with the trade unions on the new deal for working people,” he tells me.

“There’s been no watering down. This is the most significant set of protections for a generation.

It’s also something which I think employers and good businesses would say, ‘looking at the detail of it, this is what we’re doing in good businesses’," he says.

Starmer adds that he believes, at its core, “we need is to make sure everybody is protected".

"That is about the basic dignity of people at work which really matters."

Image source, PA Media

Let's take you down to the south now, where Liberal Democrats leader Sir Ed Davey is on a campaign visit to Chichester, one of the coastal cities in West Sussex that his party is hoping to win in the region.

During his visit, he was asked about the significance of Michael Gove stepping down ahead of the general election. He says it was a sign that the “Conservatives are giving up” and that they were in a “mess”.

“The Conservatives have governed the country so badly,” he adds, saying “we are much more ambitious than some of the other parties” and that politics in the country is “broken” and “needs to be changed”.

Elsewhere, Reform UK leader Richard Tice has been out on the campaign trail.

Tice says the party have not been caught out by the unexpected election announcement, telling supporters he "won a few bets, a couple of pints of Guinness" on there being a summer poll.

He says Rishi Sunak has "bottled it" by calling an early election because the Tories are "sinking" in the polls while Reform gain support.

Tice says the party will put immigration, law and order, NHS waiting lists and "making work pay" at the centre of its general election campaign.

Labour likely to spend more time in Conservative held areaspublished at 12:49 British Summer Time 25 May

12:49 BST 25 May

Harry Farley
Political correspondent

I’ve been speaking to Sir Keir Starmer here at Stafford Rangers Football Club.

This is exactly the sort of area where Labour need to win back voters on 4 July. When we were filming with him, he was keen to make sure the stadium name was in the background – presumably so locals watching at home knew he was in their neighbourhood.

There are certain parliamentary seats known as "bellwethers". That means they typically vote for an MP from the party that wins the election. And Stafford is one of them.

Labour insiders are open about their campaign plan which is not focused so much on how many votes they win, but where they win them.

Starmer will not spend that much time in areas like big cities, which they tend to win anyway, even if that means losing a bit of support there. Labour’s hope is even if they lose some votes in cities, they will still win those seats.

Instead they will spend their time and energy on places like this, and other Conservative held areas, around the country.

So for the next six weeks we can expect to see a lot ofStarmer popping up in exactly this kind of constituency – Conservative currently, but which Labour think they can win.

Image source, Reuters

Keir Starmer has confirmed he wants to lower the voting age to 16.

Voting rights have already been extended to some under-18s in several countries, including Austria, Argentina and Brazil. In Germany, 16-year-olds can vote in local elections and, as of this month, in European elections.

In Scotland and Wales, over-16s can already vote in devolved national elections, as well as in local elections. Over-16s also have the vote in local elections in Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man.

However, the vote is restricted to over-18s in all elections in England and Northern Ireland.

The Liberal Democrats and Green Party have also previously supported the move, while the Conservatives have traditionally opposed it.