Mel Stride finishes his interview on BBC Breakfast by talking about another newly-announced policy by the Conservatives - national service.

Asked what the Tory campaign is doing for young voters, as well as older ones, he says the service is a real opportunity for young people to get the experience that they wouldn't otherwise have.

"To build friendships, to build skills, to build confidence" and give young people "resilience" to go forward in their lives," he says.

Stride is challenged by the BBC's Sally Nugent, who points out that it was his Conservative government that froze the tax threshold in the first place.

"Yes indeed, that was because we went through a very difficult time paying £400bn to get us through the Covid challenge and also the high inflation that came because of the war between Ukraine and Russia," he responds.

The freeze means more people are paying higher rates as their pay goes up. The current trajectory would also see the basic state pension liable for income tax in the coming years.

Stride says the new "Triple Lock Plus" policy would mean "millions of pensioners paying less tax", to which Nugent reminds him that in an interview a year ago he called the triple lock policy "unsustainable".

I was talking about the "very long-term" economic outlook when questioned a year ago, the work and pensions secretary says, adding that this current policy is a “fully-funded and fully-costed tax cut for pensioners”.

Image source, BBC Breakfast

We're now hearing from Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride, who's promising that millions of pensioners will pay less tax than planned - if the Conservatives win the election.

He tells BBC Breakfast that the Tory plan for an increase to tax thresholds for pensioners is "fully funded" and will meet fiscal rules. Cutting tax for pensioners is "very important", he says.

Stride also responds to Labour's description of this scheme as "desperate", calling it "very disappointing". He argues that Labour would be prepared to see millions of pensioners paying income tax for the first time - because they're not matching the policy outlined today.

We've a bit more for you now on the Conservatives' newly-announced pledge to raise the income pensioners receive before they're taxed.

Paul Johnson, director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), says it's worth remembering that the policy is "a reversal of a tax increase" - proposed by the Conservatives.

This means that the allowance will not rise at all in line with inflation in the next three years, Johnson tells Radio 4's Today programme, so "half of the cost of this is simply not imposing the tax increase that was previously proposed".

Asked if the UK can afford the scheme, the boss of the of the leading economic research group says its overall cost is £2.5bn by the end of the next Parliament - "not a very big number" in politics, he jokes - but that policy promises are already beginning to add up in the lead up to the election.

There is "very little headroom" against the fiscal rule that Chancellor Jeremy Hunt set himself, Johnson adds. Headroom refers to how much leeway or buffer the government has within its self-imposed fiscal rules to cut taxes or increase spending.

Iain Watson
Political correspondent, on Labour's campaign bus

It’s an early start on the Labour campaign trail as we head to the East Midlands.

We're joined by Jonathan Ashworth, shadow paymaster general, who's handing out a dossier denouncing Rishi Sunak’s national service policy.

It poses more than 50 questions and claims that 18-year-old England players could be withdrawn from the Euros and u-21 tournaments if the policy was in force.

Labour’s initial opposition to the policy was more muted - "uncosted" (though in part it would be paid for from the Shared Prosperity Fund) and "desperate", but clearly it hasn’t gone down well with the focus groups so they are upping the ante.

Nick Eardley
Political correspondent

The big policy pledge of the day is the from the Conservatives - to increase the income pensioners can receive before they are taxed.

The idea is to stop a situation where the basic state pension would be liable for income tax.

It’s worth highlighting that it was Rishi Sunak and the Conservatives who froze income tax thresholds. That has set up the situation where the state pension is set to be higher than the tax free sum pensioners can earn.

It’s also worth pointing out that something similar existed in the past and was scrapped by former Conservative chancellor George Osborne.

But the Tories are making a direct pitch this morning to older voters, who were less likely to benefit from recent cuts to National Insurance because that applies to people in work. Older people are also more likely to vote so they’re a key constituency for the parties.

You will hear the prime minister say today that this sets up a choice for the election, with the Conservatives guaranteeing the basic state pension would not be liable for income tax.

Labour aren’t matching that pledge at the moment - saying instead that it’s "desperate" and the Conservatives have lost economic credibility.

Pensioners are to get a tax break worth £2.4bn a year if the Tories win the election, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is announcing today.

The Conservatives have promised to raise the tax-free pension allowance, saying the proposal would be worth £275 a year to each pensioner by 2030. Under it, the state pension would always be below the tax-free threshold pensioners.

The tax cut is expected to be funded through an earlier unveiled plan to raise £6bn each year, by the end of the next Parliament, by clamping down on tax avoidance and evasion.

Sunak says the scheme shows the Conservatives are on the side of pensioners. But Labour have called it a "desperate move from a chaotic Tory party".

Several of Tuesday’s papers focus on Rishi Sunak's pledge to save older people from paying tax on their state pension.

Writing in the Daily Telegraph, external, the chief financial secretary to the Treasury, Laura Trott, argues that pensioners would "never" pay income tax under the Conservatives.

The paper says Tory strategists hope the policy can win back pensioners who have become disillusioned with the party's record in recent years.

The Financial Times says the plan is likely to be well-received , externalby many Tory MPs, after criticism from the party ranks about the prime minister's plans to revive national service for 18-year-olds.

The Times leads on the endorsement of Labour by 120 business leaders, external, who say that a “new outlook” is needed.

The Mirror reports that the shadow chancellor, Rachel Reeves, will today accuse Sunak of gambling on an early election, claiming that his economic plan is failing.

• Read more from Tuesday's papers here

Anna Lamche
News reporter

Image source, Jade Marie Carnaje

Eighteen-year-old Jade Marie Carnaje, an air cadet, said the national service plan was overall a "good idea".

"The benefits to young people outweigh the cons," said Carnaje, from Dagenham, east London, who goes to air cadets twice a week. "It’s definitely something that has changed my life."

But she questioned why the government would spend an estimated £2.5bn on the scheme. She said: "The main issue in my mind is: why now, amidst so many economic concerns in this country?"

Samir Qurashi, from Camden in London, said he was worried the scheme would "hit working class young people the most".

"A lot of 18-year-olds are working in order to fund our lives - including myself," he said, adding the requirement to work one day a month unpaid could limit weekend earnings. "I need the money," he said.

• Read more here

Image source, PA Media

If your Bank Holiday was less politics and more barbecue, we've got you - here's what you might have missed:

• National service: The most headline-grabbing announcement from the Conservatives was that they'd be bringing back national service for 18-year-olds if they were re-elected. It wouldn't be conscription, but the teenagers could choose between a year-long military service (paid) or 25 days of voluntary work in the community. More here. Rishi Sunak called it a "bold" move that will "foster a culture of service" but Labour's Keir Starmer called it a "gimmick"
• Starmer speech: The Labour leader gave his first major speech of the campaign, saying he could be trusted because he had "changed this party permanently". He urged people to trust him to deliver economic stability and protect national security. Sunak said people needed "bold action, not waffle". More here
• Sunak on campaign trail: The PM visited Chesham United football ground in Buckinghamshire, where he joined in football training drills, before heading to a garden centre in Berkhamsted. He also told supporters in Amersham that Labour was wrong in wanting people to believe the general election was "a foregone conclusion"
• Tax rises? Labour also said there will be no rises in income tax or National Insurance if it wins the general election - but some spending cuts have not been ruled out. Her opposite number, Jeremy Hunt, has said he wants to cut National Insurance in the future

Francesca Gillett
Live reporter

It's coming up to a week since the election was called - and the campaign is now truly under way.

Today the parties are back at it, this time heading to the Midlands.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will likely be wanting to talk about his fresh pledge to pensioners - that he'll raise the tax-free pension allowance if the Tories win the general election.

The economy is also likely to be the focus for Labour, whose shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves is heading to the East Midlands for her first major speech of the campaign.

She'll likely be wanting to talk about the letter signed by more than 120 business figures, published in The Times, which says Labour has changed and “wants to work with business” on long-term growth.

We are now pausing our live coverage of the election campaign, but will be back in the morning with plenty more.

Until then, you can find all the latest on the general election right here.

Thank you for joining us today, and please join us again tomorrow.

The first Monday on the campaign trail is now drawing to a close, and so is our live coverage.

Before we go, here's your quick catch-up of how it went:

• Prime Minister Rishi Sunak joined in football training drills alongside young players in Chesham, before heading to a garden centre in Berkhamsted
• Opposition Leader Keir Starmer delivered his first major speech of the campaign in West Sussex, then met with business owners at a cafe in north London
• The Tory's proposed national service scheme has been top of the agenda for Sunak, who described it as a "bold" move that will "foster a culture of service", and announced stipend payments for the scheme's military service
• Labour, however, described it as a "teenage Dad's Army", as Starmer set about introducing himself to voters, detailing his small-town upbringing in Surrey
• Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats launched their Scottish election campaign in North Queensferry, with a focus on dental treatment
• Five outgoing Labour MPs – Barbara Keeley, John Spellar, Virendra Sharma, Kevin Brennan and John Cryer – announced their decisions not to stand at the election
• Outgoing Tory MP Lucy Allan quit the party after she endorsed the candidate for Reform UK

Here's a moment from earlier when Rishi Sunak made the case that Labour is wrong in wanting people to believe the general election was "a foregone conclusion".

Sunak also told Conservative supporters in Amersham that there was not a single new idea in Keir Starmer's campaign speech today.

Watch the clip below to hear what the prime minister said.

In the latest edition of Electioncast, Adam and Chris discuss Keir Starmer’s first major speech of the general election campaign and the latest on Rishi Sunak’s plan to bring back national service for 18-year-olds.

Listen now and everyday on BBC Sounds.

Image source, PA Media

Whilst a lot of attention understandably falls on the Conservative against Labour race for who is most likely to form the next government, many other smaller parties are also vying for influence.

The third largest party can have considerable influence over parliamentary priorities, especially if an election results in a minority government or a narrow majority in the Commons.

Liberal Democrats leader Ed Davey is optimistic his party can overtake the Scottish National Party as the third largest party, which comes with several benefits in Westminster.

Among these is more public money for administration costs and a guarantee of two questions to the prime minister at PMQs each week.

This morning, Davey launched the Lib Dems' Scottish campaign today in North Queensferry, Fife.

"I believe we can make gains here in Scotland just as we're going to make gains against the Conservatives in England," he said in his speech earlier.

The party has spent almost a decade in fourth position, following the SNP's landslide 56-seat rout in 2015 and the Lib Dem disintegration following five years in coalition.

Image source, House of Commons

John Cryer has become the latest outgoing Labour MP to announce that he will not stand at the general election.

Cryer is was the MP for Leyton and Wanstead and had been chair of the Parliamentary Labour Party since 2015.

In his announcement, external, Cryer says he wants to spend more time with his young children, and anticipates an "extremely busy and demanding" future ahead for the next government.

Election campaigns are often rife with rumour and gossip - and one of the most prominent to emerge in recent days is a claim that Rishi Sunak has planned a move to California if he loses the election.

Former Tory minister Zac Goldsmith was the latest figure to buy into it in a post on social media platform X, external earlier today.

But in a new interview with ITV, external's political editor Robert Peston, Sunak dismisses the claim as "simply untrue".

He reiterates that he is committed to staying in the UK.

"This is my home, I mean my football team [Southampton] just got promoted back into the premiership," the PM adds.

The Conservatives dominated many of the early campaign headlines with the announcement of a new plan for all 18-year-olds to take part in some form of national service, if they win the general election.

Participation would be required by law and cost £2.5bn a year when it is fully rolled out.

There would be two options:

• Community volunteering: One weekend every month volunteering with organisations such as the NHS, fire service, ambulance or search and rescue

• Military placements: Applying for one of up to 30,000 “selective” military placements for teenagers deemed the “brightest and the best” in areas like logistics, cyber security, procurement or civil response operations over a year-long period

At the moment we don't have any detail about exemptions for those who can't take part for medical reasons. It's also not clear if 18-year-olds in full-time education or employment would be forced to take part or if they could defer the scheme.

This is not a voluntary scheme, but no-one would go to prison if they refuse. There would be non-criminal sanctions for people who refuse.

Read more about the proposed scheme.

Image source, Reuters

Former West Midlands mayor Andy Street says he will not be a candidate for the Conservative Party in the general election.

Street was elected as the first mayor of the West Midlands in 2017, but lost the role in the most recent local elections to Labour's Richard Parker.

In his announcement, external, Street says he had considered a bid for Westminster, but ultimately decided the role of MP "has never been for me".