The shadow education secretary, who's been talking to the Today programme, is now asked about the potential "£30bn hole in public finances" - as predicted by the Institute for Fiscal Studies - and what taxes Labour will increase to fund their pledges.

She says the lack of growth back into the economy, and the "abysmal record" over the last 14 years, is part of the reason there is not enough money for public services and why people are facing "the highest tax burden in modern times".

Pushed on whether Labour will actually cut taxes, Phillipson says the taxes workers are faced with "are too high" but the party has to be "up front about the challenges we face".

"Our public finances are in a total mess," she continues, pointing again to "14 years of stagnant wages and low growth". She also highlights the tenure of Liz Truss, saying the former prime minister "crashed the economy and people are paying more every month on their mortgage because of a direct consequence of the reckless and cavalier approach she took".

Image source, Reuters

It's put to Bridget Phillipson that Unite's general secretary Sharon Graham has said Labour's workers' rights plan risks becoming “a bad bosses’ charter” - and has “more holes in it than Swiss cheese”.

Phillipson tells the Today programme that the party has been “going through a process of consulting all our trade unions" and knows, from talking to businesses, that “they are on board” with Labour's vision.

Phillipson now moves on to workers' rights in the UK.

She says Labour would ban "exploitative zero hours contracts" - but not zero hours contract altogether. She says people can "expect some security in terms of the hours that they are being paid for".

Phillipson adds that Labour wants to end the practice of "fire and rehire" - but does not commit to scrapping it altogether because there could be "exceptional circumstances".

"We want people to have more security and more dignity at work," she says - but adds that new employees should have some sort of probationary period when starting a new job.

Image source, PA Media

We're hearing from Labour MP Bridget Phillipson now, who's asked by Radio 4's Today programme whether she thinks it's a good or bad thing that the number of children applying for private schools has, according to the Independent Schools Council, dropped by the largest proportion in 13 years.

Philipson says where children are sent to school is a parental choice - but that her instinct is it's linked to the "economic chaos" created under the Tories.

Asked how much money Labour has allocated to the subsequent increase in the number of pupils in state schools, Philipson says Labour's policy will raise £1.3bn - and that private school fees have increased "massively".

Private schools are "way beyond the reach" of most people, she says, adding that if she were education secretary she would focus on increasing investments in state schools and add to the number of teachers and additional support for both pupils and teachers to "keep them in the classroom".

Hannah Miller
Political correspondent

There's no let-up in the general election campaign for the main party leaders.

We’re expecting a speech from Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, this morning. If you’re someone who thinks "I don’t know what Starmer’s about or whether Labour’s really changed", then it’s a speech that’s aimed at you.

He’ll be trying to admit there are people who still have many questions about the Labour Party, but take on some of those questions and say that he personally has changed the party to a point where he argues it is now ready to serve the country.

The Conservatives, who have said this speech doesn’t say anything, are facing a bit of a tough reception for their national service announcement - after it emerged that only last week one of PM Rishi Sunak’s defence ministers had dismissed quite a similar idea because they thought it could have an impact on resources.

The party stresses that this version could involve volunteering rather than just necessarily joining the military.

The Lib Dems are out and about too. They’ve got a launch in Scotland.

So it might be bank holiday Monday, but all the parties are still very much competing to get their message across.

Last up, Anne-Marie Trevelyan tells the Today programme that PM Rishi Sunak has clearly set out how National Service will be paid for.

He's allocated £2.5bn towards the end of the Parliament, when this would be enforced in full, £6bn that the government will get back from tax fraud and a further £1.5bn will be allocated from the Prosperity Fund, she says.

"I hope very much that others will see the benefits of this," she says. "We need our young people to understand and be part of our communities and the incredible country that is the UK."

Trevelyan is challenged on accommodation standards for serving members of the armed forces, and asked how this will be affected by incoming National Service recruits.

Are you telling those people our priority now is for finding accommodation for 30,000 new recruits? the BBC's Justin Webb asks.

"It's not a matter of prioritising one or the other," Trevelyan replies, insisting the scheme would be an expansion of the early training programme and an opportunity for young people to learn new skills.

Image source, PA Media

We've just been listening in to Anne-Marie Trevelyan, who was asked exclusively about the government's newly-proposed National Service.

Pushed on how many places will be created for military work, Trevelyan says 30,000.

Other young people would volunteer one day a month in the NHS or another public service institution, she tells Radio 4's Today programme.

With the first full of week of campaigning well and truly under way, we're due to hear from some Tory and Labour MPs in the next hour.

On BBC Radio 4's Today programme, we'll hear from Conservative MP Anne-Marie Trevelyan, minister of state for Indo-Pacific, and shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson for Labour.

We'll bring you the key lines right here, so stick with us.

Sean Seddon
Live reporter

One of the biggest political talking points over the bank holiday weekend has been the Conservatives’ plan to require 18-year-olds to take part in some form of national service, if it wins the upcoming general election.

There would be two broad streams of service people could choose from:

• Community volunteering - where one weekend a month is spent volunteering for organisations such as the NHS or critical local infrastructure
• Military training - a year-long “selective” paid placement reserved for teenagers deemed the “brightest and best”, in areas like cyber security or logistics

While it would be required by law that people sign up, Home Secretary James Cleverly said there would be non-criminal sanctions for those who refused.

Labour has labelled the scheme a “gimmick”, while other parties have criticised the government for its record on cutting troop numbers.

You can find out more about this policy here.

Image source, PA Media

As we said in our last post, we’ve already had reaction from the Conservatives to Keir Starmer’s set-piece appearance later this morning.

Richard Holden, chairman of the party, feels the speech "doesn’t say anything".

“Starmer has been Labour leader for four years but has failed to set out a clear plan to secure Britain's future”, Holden says.

A vote for Labour, he adds, would be “back to square one with Sir Keir Starmer and the same old Labour Party”.

Leila Nathoo
Political correspondent

Sir Keir Starmer knows he has limited time to win over those who may know little about him and what the Labour Party is offering, or those who are nervous about switching sides.

In a speech today, he'll say he understands that in this election campaign people will be looking at him personally. After 14 years in which his party has been out of power, he'll be trying to convince voters to once again picture a Labour prime minister.

He'll promise to put country before party, to offer an alternative to what he'll describe as the "endless spinning around" under the Tories.

Starmer will say the foundation of good government is economic, border and national security - and promise to deliver stability and change.

Richard Holden, chair of the Conservative Party, has given his verdict hours ahead of the speech - saying Starmer has so far failed to set out a clear plan for Britain's future.

Image source, Reuters

This morning Keir Starmer will be making a speech aimed at undecided voters.

Opinion polls put Labour far ahead of the Conservatives at the moment, but Starmer will say he knows there are “countless people who haven’t decided how they’ll vote” yet.

He will use the speech to tell those unsure about voting for him that he has “changed this party. Permanently.”

Stick with us and we’ll bring you all the lines from that speech later this morning.

We might be in the middle of a bank holiday weekend, but in general election season that doesn’t mean anything.

Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves promised not to raise income tax or National Insurance, but refused to rule out spending cuts should Labour come into power.

Her opposite number, Jeremy Hunt, has said he wants to cut National Insurance in the future.

Meanwhile the Conservatives outlined their plans to make every 18-year-old take part in compulsory national service.

Labour criticised the plan as "a desperate gimmick" with no viable funding.

Welcome to our coverage of the general election campaign as it enters its first full week.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer is expected to say this morning that "economic security, border security, and national security" will form the "bedrock" of the party manifesto.

Rishi Sunak will later be reinforcing his message that the Conservatives will take "bold action" to deliver "a secure future for the next generation".

Sir Ed Davey will be north of the border launching the Scottish Liberal Democrat campaign with Scottish leader Alex Cole-Hamilton.

Elsewhere in Scotland, SNP leader John Swinney will be on the campaign trail with a variety of his party's candidates.

We'll be bringing you all of the latest updates on this and much more throughout the day from all of the parties so do please stick with us as we report on and analyse what is said.