We can break off from Rachel Reeves in the East Midlands now, to return to Nigel Farage's speech in Dover.

After taking pops at Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer, Farage said the word "invasion" was appropriate to describe the thousands of migrants crossing the Channel in small boats.

"I said that I thought unless something dramatic was done, that there would be an invasion. Now, of course, for using that word, I was called all the names under the sun," he told the Reform UK news conference.

"I've campaigned on this issue over a four-year period and I have to say to you, frankly I was ahead of the curve on this, I was right.

"I'm an issues campaigner above all. Nobody was talking about it when I started, but you're all talking about it now."

For context: In 2023, 29,437 people crossed the English Channel in small boats. That was a drop from the 2022 total of 45,755, which was the highest number since figures began to be collected in 2018. See more detail in the chart below.

He goes on to claim that the UK is moving into "sectarian politics with women completely excluded", saying there is a "small but worryingly growing number of predominantly young men in this country, adopting radical views, views that aren't just un-British, but views that frankly are extremely anti-British".

"You might have noticed that Angela Rayner yesterday was campaigning in her constituency, begging, begging a group of Muslim leaders to please vote Labour, you will have noticed not a single woman in the room," he says.

"So we're moving into an age in our inner cities and towns, I'm afraid, I'm worried to say, of sectarian politics with women completely excluded."

Reeves ends her speech by saying it is time to "turn the page on chaos and decline" and "start a new chapter for Britain".

"Labour is ready", she signs off.

She's now taking questions from journalists - and first up is the BBC's economics editor Faisal Islam.

He says Labour don't seem to want to match the Tories' pledge to raise the tax-free pension allowance, which would mean pensioners would not risk paying income tax on their state pension in the coming years.

Reeves responds by saying the scheme is a "desperate gimmick".

"The only reason that pensioners are looking for the first time at paying income tax on their basic state pension is because the Conservatives lost control of the economy," she says.

She says she wants taxes to be lower, but will not commit to that until she knows she can.

Reeves is now listing off a stream of policies, most of which we've heard before.

She says Labour would publish a business tax roadmap within six months of being elected, and would cap corporation tax at its current level - the lowest rate among G7 economies, she says.

Reeves says the government would work with the private sector to bring investment back to the country "to create the jobs of the future, drive down bills and create energy independence of Britain".

She acknowledges it will require hard work and harder choices but she says she's "ready for it".

Iain Watson
Political correspondent

Rachel Reeves once again says everything in the forthcoming Labour manifesto will be fully costed "no ifs and no buts".

And that’s why the Conservatives are trying to make that as difficult as possible.

A Labour government would inherit the multi-billion pound cost of the infected blood scandal.

If the party were to match the latest Conservative pledge on pensions, another couple of billion or so would have to be found - though both main Westminster parties seem to put some store on clamping down on tax avoidance which somehow all previous governments seem to have failed to fully do...

Throughout this speech, Reeves has repeated that a vote for Labour is a vote for stability, and vows to never let the "disaster" of Liz Truss's mini-budget happen again.

Reeves says she can be trusted with taxpayers' money because she cares about working families, and they're the ones who suffer if their money isn't look after after properly.

The 45-year-old shares a few memories of her upbringing in south-east London, recalling her mother sitting at the kitchen table looking carefully through bank statements and receipts "line by line".

She says the challenge for any would-be chancellor is to "bring that attitude to our pubic finances", making sure that every spending commitment in the manifesto is properly accounted for.

Reeves says she wants to remind voters that she isn't one of those politicians who "thinks the private sector is a dirty word or a necessary evil", and points out that she worked in financial services before her political career.

She says she want to lead "the most pro-growth, pro-business" Treasury the UK has ever seen.

Referring to the letter of endorsement signed by 121 chief executives and entrepreneurs earlier, she says Labour is now being recognised as "the natural partner of business".

Iain Watson
Political correspondent

Image source, PA Media

Don’t worry - the aircraft engine isn’t switched on…

Rachel Reeves is addressing headwinds, though.

While acknowledging global pressures, Labour's shadow chancellor has been arguing that the current government has handled them less well than many major economies.

And she is also attempting to suggest the short-lived premiership of Liz Truss (who gets mentioned in every major Labour speech) was not an aberration but more typical of Conservative "chaos".

A word Labour politicians have been using until blue (or red) in the face during the campaign.

We're still listening to Labour's shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves, who is giving her first major speech of the campaign.

She continues attacking the Conservatives' record in government, and cites experiences of working people who are struggling.

"The Tories are insulting the intelligence of millions of people like these forced to deal with consequences of their failure," she says.

She says there has been 14 years of chaos and decline under Conservative governments, and taxpayers are being asked to "pay more and more, and getting less and less" in return.

Reeves says Rishi Sunak wants voters to think his plan is working and now is not the time to change course - and that many problems in the UK economy are global ones.

But she says: "The reason we have been harder hit than many comparable countries... can only be explained by the choices made by Conservative governments here at home."

She says Sunak repeatedly omits to mention that the rise in inflation began "on his watch" as chancellor and that it peaked "on his watch" as prime minister.

Reeves, who is speaking from a Rolls Royce factory near Derby, says one of the great privileges of her job is travelling across the country and meeting business leaders who give her hope.

She tells the audience Labour is a changed party who businesses want to work with.

And she repeats the line that the election is about choosing between continuing chaos with the Tories or stability with Labour.

Back in the East Midlands, Labour's Rachel Reeves is being introduced by Emma Woods, one of the 121 business leaders who signed the pro-Labour letter we reported on earlier.

Woods, the former chief executive of restaurant chain Wagamama, says her "trust" that Reeves is the right choice for chancellor is fundamental to her support for Labour.

Image source, Pool

In Dover, we're now hearing from Nigel Farage, who begins by saying this general election campaign has got off to "the dullest start I can ever remember in my entire life".

He denounces the leadership styles of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak ("he looks like a frightened rabbit") and Labour's Keir Starmer ("no energy, no optimism, no substantive policy"), before going on to say he is disappointed not to be vying for a seat as a Reform candidate.

"I did have a six month plan that would have had me finding a seat and campaigning around the country. I felt in six weeks that I couldn't simply do both," he says.

Iain Watson
Political correspondent, reporting from the East Midlands

An industrial background in the East Midlands for Rachel Reeves’s speech.

She'll be emphasising her commitment to economic growth, which means she can claim to increase public spending without any extra tax rises beyond what’s already been announced.

She'll be up any moment.

We've a busy hour coming up, with shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves and Nigel Farage, the honorary president of Reform UK, giving separate news conferences.

Both are due to start at 10am and we'll bring you key lines from each right here.

You'll also be able to tune in by tapping the Play button at the top of this page.

Let's hear from the Liberal Democrats now, who say all domestic burglaries should be attended by the police and properly investigated.

“Too many families now feel unsafe in their own homes because this Conservative government has decimated frontline policing for too long," party leader Sir Ed Davey says.

Information the party has obtained shows that in 2023, 76% of burglaries went unsolved in England and Wales.

But Tory policing minister Chris Philp has rejected the Lib Dem accusations, saying it's "another cynical statement" from the Lib Dems who "do not have a plan".

He adds: "A vote for the Liberal Democrats is a vote for Sir Keir Starmer and the Labour Party. The reality is that the Conservatives are taking tough action on crime, driving down burglaries by 55% since 2010."

For context: In December, new policing guidance said officers should prioritise attending the scene of a domestic break-in within an hour of the report.

Image source, Reuters

Finally, Reynolds is asked about the future of Diane Abbott and whether she'll be allowed to stand as a Labour candidate at the upcoming election.

"I can't give you an answer on that," he says, but is pressed for his "opinion" on the situation - rather than information.

"I genuinely have no additional information," Reynolds repeats, but says he and others are keen to see the situation resolved.

For context: Abbott was suspended as a Labour MP 13 months ago after suggesting Jewish, Irish and Traveller people were not subject to racism "all their lives". There's more on the party's investigation into her comments here.

During his interview on the Today programme, Reynolds is asked by the BBC's Emma Barnett whether he identifies with the term "socialist".

"Yes, I would describe myself as a Christian socialist in the best traditions of that [term]because that's about putting people first and to do that, you've got to have a set of policies that will deliver for people," he responds.

Put to him that former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, and current Labour leader Keir Starmer, have also described themselves as socialists - which may confuse voters - Reynolds says he thinks voters care more about what their politicians want to do.

"I think it's the best tradition of the things that have been delivered in the UK, whether it's the national parks or the NHS, have come from people with a similar background to mine," he says, adding that the economy has tended to grow more strongly under those kinds of politicians.

This morning's guests are continuing to come in - it's now the turn of Jonathan Reynolds, who's speaking to the Today programme.

Asked about the Labour-backing letter, signed by 121 business leaders (see our last couple of posts), the shadow business secretary says working with big businesses is "absolutely what is required for the economy to grow more strongly than in the last 14 years" under the Conservatives.

Labour's proposals are largely about benefitting working people, he goes on, adding that a future government needs to secure more business investment, get better productivity and stronger economic growth.

"The stagnation we've seen in the last 14 years ... is what we've got to break out of," Reynolds says.

One of the 121 business leaders and entrepreneurs who've endorsed Labour is Jimmy Wales, the American-born co-founder of Wikipedia

He explained why on Radio 4's Today programme, saying: "You can’t get growth going when you’ve got a completely shambolic government, so I’m thinking it’s time for a safe pair of hands."

But Wales, who has been living in the UK for more than a decade, says that he has not always been reassured by Labour. Asked whether he backed the party when Jeremy Corbyn was the leader, he says: "I thought he was appalling."

But twice referring to current party leader Keir Starmer by his first name, he says he has had ongoing discussions with Labour's leadership and is now "very convinced", adding: "They're not going to veer off into something mad. They're going to run the country in a sensible way."

Faisal Islam
Economics editor

In other news, dozens of business leaders have signed a letter endorsing the Labour Party’s economic plans ahead of the 4 July general election, saying it is “time for a change”.

In a letter published in Tuesday's Times newspaper, 121 founders, CEOs, and former leaders at a range of financial services, retail and manufacturing firms say Labour has changed and “wants to work with business” on long term growth.

It comes as shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves is due to deliver her first major speech of the election campaign to business supporters, including some former Conservative backers in the East Midlands later.

Ahead of the 2015 election, 100 corporate leaders endorsed the Conservatives.

One of those, Malcolm Walker - the founder of supermarket chain Iceland - will now endorse Labour instead.

• Read more on this here