We've just heard from Alba leader Alex Salmond - now let's turn to his former party, the SNP.

New first minister and SNP leader John Swinney admits his party has had "a tough time" in recent weeks, following the resignation of Humza Yousaf. But he says the party is "focused" on its core message.

"We've had austerity, Brexit, and the cost of living crisis inflicted on Scotland," he says, adding that all are a "product of Westminster and a Tory government".

Swinney - speaking from Dumfries & Galloway, the constituency of Scotland Secretary Alister Jack who's standing down in this election - goes on:

Turning now to Scotland, former first minister Alex Salmond may be a campaign veteran but this is his first general election as leader of Alba - which he describes as a "young, fledgling political party".

Speaking in front of the V&A museum in Dundee at the launch of Alba's general election campaign, the ex-SNP party leader says independence supporters have "become disillusioned by the SNP's lack of progress to independence" and these are the people who should vote Alba rather than abstaining or "wasting their vote with the Labour party".

"We say that each and every election should be a mandate for Scottish independence. Not waiting for a referendum that Westminster is unlikely to give, not begging Sir Keir Starmer for a referendum," he says.

"We’ve got 20 candidates around the country. Now, that’s not bad for our first ever Westminster election but that argument has to be introduced to the people of Scotland, because the strategy of waiting for a unionist party to grant us a referendum or going off to the Supreme Court in London - that’s a dead-end strategy."

We've mentioned a few times today that Labour is ahead in the polls, so let's take a look at how things stand:

The graph above shows the standings over the past 12 months up until Saturday, which is the latest data we have.

We can see that Labour is ahead of the Conservatives by 21 points, having widened the gap slightly in the last month or so.

Those two parties are the frontrunners, but we can also look at where everyone else stands:

Image source, .

The polls are a survey of people's intended vote when the July election rolls around.

So, when we say that Labour is ahead by 21 points, we mean that 21% more people say they intend to vote Labour over those who say they will vote Conservative.

Because the polls don't survey everyone in the country, it would be wrong to say they indicate exactly how an election will play out. But, it can be useful to give a sense of how public opinion is trending.

• You can read more about the polls and where the data comes from here

Image source, PA Media

We've been focusing this morning on political leaders and their campaign promises. But when - and what - is the election?

Last week, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the general election would take place on 4 July.

The general election is to elect Members of Parliament - or MPs - to the House of Commons.

The UK is divided into 650 areas, called constituencies, and each of these elects one MP to represent local residents at Westminster.

Most candidates represent a political party, but some stand as independents.

On election day, registered voters aged 18 or over in each constituency vote for their preferred candidate in their local polling station. Some people vote by post in advance.

Under a system called "first past the post", the candidate who gets the most votes becomes the MP for that area - and when a party wins a majority of seats in the country, it forms the government (if no party wins a majority, it gets trickier).

You can find out more details, including your constituency, by clicking here.

Veterans minister Johnny Mercer says there has been a "predictable reaction" to the Conservative's national service policy from "the usual quarters".

The former British army officer described the "negative reaction" to it as "absolutely daft" in a video posted on X, external.

He says the policy "gives young people an opportunity to serve" and that the military part is a "tiny part".

Mercer says it will particularly benefit areas with "left behind kids".

As Ione Wells just reported, we're expecting to hear from Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in the Home Counties this afternoon.

While we wait, Sunak - and the Conservative Party - have responded to Keir Starmer's speech in West Sussex this morning.

"It's genuinely remarkable how someone can use so many words to say absolutely nothing," the party says.

"Our country needs bold action, not waffle," adds Sunak on X.

Ione Wells
Political correspondent, on the Conservatives' campaign bus

I’m spending the day today on the Conservative Party campaign bus.

Now, it’s not actually yet the so-called battle bus - the one that will eventually be noticeable from a mile away with Conservative Party branding.

That’s expected to be ready later in the week.

We’re on our way to join the prime minister on a visit to the Home Counties – areas around London that have traditionally been Tory heartland seats.

They are, however, now prime targets for the Liberal Democrats as well as Labour.

Some Tory "big beasts" have seats in the south east of England including Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, Education Secretary Gillian Keegan and fellow cabinet minister Michael Gove (who is standing down).

Opposition parties are hoping to achieve a so-called "Portillo moment" – when Labour defeated Conservative cabinet minister Michael Portillo as part of Tony Blair’s election win in 1997.

The prime minister will be keen to argue today that voters should "stick with the plan" - a key message of his campaign so far.

We said in our last post that a Tory minister has, this morning, distanced himself from his party's national service plans. Well, BBC Radio 5 Live has been hearing from some of the young people the policy could affect.

Abigail, aged 13, from Aylesbury says the proposal has "confused" young people: "There’s a lot of talk about it on social media already, and I just think that it does scare quite a lot of people ... people are just like 'oh… are we going into another war?

“People are just confused about it, because it’s not [communicated] to us very well."

Abigail, who would like to be a lawyer, says she isn't interested in signing up for a stint in the armed forces, though she knows "quite a few people who probably would enjoy that".

She says lots of young people already volunteer, adding she's sceptical about the plan to make community work mandatory: "It sounds more like a chore than volunteering."

Hannah Miller
Political correspondent

Image source, PA Media

The minister of state for Northern Ireland has distanced himself from his party’s plan to introduce a form of national service for 18-year-olds - a policy that made headlines over the weekend.

Steve Baker suggests he had not had a say in his party's policy, writing on X: "This proposal was developed by a political adviser or advisers and sprung on candidates, some of whom are relevant ministers."

On his own website, Baker adds:

The party says a Royal Commission would look at the details of how to implement the policy - such as how it applies to young people in Northern Ireland.

As we mentioned earlier, the Liberal Democrats are launching their Scottish campaign today.

In front of the Forth Bridge, leader Ed Davey says voters north of the border have been doubly let down by the Tories at Westminster and SNP at Holyrood.

He says his party's local champions would focus on access to NHS dentists, the local environment, providing decent housing and good schools for every child as well as high-quality health care where and when it was needed.

The Lib Dems could become the third party again in Westminster, Davey says, ahead of the SNP.

Image source, Reuters

We've just heard Keir Starmer deliver his first major speech of the general election campaign - he spoke about his upbringing, how it's shaped his politics and where he believes Labour can succeed if in power.

Here are they key points:

• He talked about his childhood in Oxted, Surrey, and his family's constant fear of not being able to pay the bills and falling into debt
• Sunak's newly-proposed national service scheme was described as "desperate" and compared to a "teenage Dad’s Army" (the scheme is for 18-year-olds and is explained, in full, here)
• The importance of economic, border and national security was emphasised - Starmer accused the Tories of not believing in those principles anymore
• In terms of policies, he repeated promises - if elected - to launch a new border security unit to crack down on small boat crossings and set up Great British Energy, a public sector energy company

• He also promised Labour would recruit 6,500 new teachers and 13,000 more police officers, and ensure 40,000 more NHS appointments a week
• On the Israel-Gaza war, he said he was "shocked" by the overnight attacks in Rafah and - if prime minister - he'd implore Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu to "stop"

Starmer says he's not opposed to outsourcing processing to other countries - and the system has been deployed successfully in the past by several other countries dealing with mass immigration.

But, he says, there is a difference between processing people in another country and "simply deporting them" there.

The government's Rwanda scheme has already cost "an absolute fortune", he says, adding that only one person has been sent so far "and they were paid to go". Starmer then repeats his claim that Sunak spent £600m on a scheme he doesn't even believe in.

That's the end of Starmer's Q&A - stay tuned for a round-up of the key points we heard from his speech.

Starmer is asked about his policy of allowing 16- and 17-year-olds to vote.

If you can work, serve in the Army and pay taxes, you have the right to be able to pick the leader of the country, he contends.

He is also asked about not scrapping tuition fees and if he can rule out further rises in tuition fees.

Starmer says he is prioritising the NHS. "We have done the sums, we can't have both." That is the political choice Labour is offering the electorate, he adds.

As a reminder, Starmer supported scrapping tuition fees when running to be Labour leader.

Asked to address small boat crossings across the English Channel, Starmer says a Labour government would succeed where the Conservatives have failed.

He shares his plan for creating a border security command, which he says will work together with other countries to clamp down on gangs putting asylum seekers on the boats.

He describes his previous work as a prosecutor, when he dealt with terrorist groups and had them taken down. "If you can break a terrorist gang up, you can break these gangs up," he says.

Starmer adds that he will give the command additional powers akin to counter-terrorism powers to tackle this problem.

Katie Hunter
Scotland correspondent, North Queensferry

The Liberal Democrats have chosen a scenic backdrop for their Scottish election campaign launch, overlooking the Firth of Forth.

We’re waiting for Sir Ed Davey and Scottish leader Alex Cole-Hamilton to arrive in North Queensferry.

The party’s focus today is on dental treatment. Health is a devolved issue in Scotland but that won’t stop all parties here talking about it at this Westminster election because polls suggest it’s a top priority for voters.

The rain has stayed away so far…no guarantees it will stay that way, though.

Keir Starmer's now finished taking questions from journalists - but we're going to keep bringing you the last few. Stay with us.

Starmer is asked if he would support a version of the PM's plan for national service.

He replies that the idea is "desperate" - and he doesn't think it will work.

He goes on to claim that military experts think the idea will take away from military resources. He says that he thinks the Army is now smaller than at any time since the days of fighting Napoleon.

Image source, PA Media

Starmer is asked what his response would be if he were prime minister to the overnight attacks by Israel on refugee camps in Gaza - and what he would be telling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

"Stop," Starmer says.

He adds that those scenes are "horrifying" and made worse by the fact that the people hit were in "a safe zone with women and children and families that have already fled a number of times".

The Labour leader repeats his call for a ceasefire, for hostages to be released and aid to come into Gaza. He says the only solution is a two-state solution and the recognition of a Palestinian state.

"I was shocked by what I saw overnight," he says, adding any human being would be.

The second question comes from the BBC's political editor, Chris Mason, who asks Keir Starmer - having led the Labour Party for years - whether it's too late to be introducing who he is to voters.

"I don't think you can ever repeat enough who you are and what you stand for," Starmer replies, adding it's important to repeat his story and his background - and to explain how that has "shaped me and shaped my thinking".

He highlights economic instability, saying he knows the impact it has on working people.

Starmer lists examples of families having to choose between paying their mortgage or having another child, and says he understands what that feels like.

"I knew when I was growing up what it was like not being able to pay the bills."

Starmer is now taking questions from journalists - we'll bring you those, and his answers, next. Remember you can also watch live by tapping Play at the top of this page.

The first question asks about Tory claims that he is "too weary" and "too tired" and "not tough enough" for the campaign that lies ahead.

Starmer laughs and says his political rivals are increasingly desperate, saying the Tories are "rummaging around in their toy box, coming up with national service".

He says Labour has a plan for the elections and the country, and that they have worked on it for four-and-a-half years.

"I realise that’s a strategy they [the Conservatives] might not recognise," he says.