Summary

  • Labour's deputy leader Angela Rayner says "I don’t see any reason why Diane Abbott can’t stand as a Labour MP"

  • On Wednesday, Abbott told a rally in Hackney that Labour had "banned" her as a candidate

  • Labour leader Keir Starmer said earlier on Thursday that "no final decision" had been taken

  • Meanwhile, former Tory MP Mark Logan tells the BBC he will back Labour at the general election, saying the party could "bring back optimism into British life"

  • On the campaign trail, Conservatives, Labour and Lib Dems have all ruled out increasing VAT after the general election

  • At a Q&A with the public in Buckinghamshire, Rishi Sunak is pressed on his Covid lockdown fine - he apologises

  • The Green Party and Plaid Cymru have launched their campaigns - while the SNP's John Swinney says Westminster is "robbing" young people's opportunities

  • And Reform UK's leader Richard Tice proposes a rise in employers' National Insurance when hiring foreign workers

Live Reporting

Edited by Emily McGarvey

  1. Diane Abbott's friend speaks to BBC after readmission to Labour

    Diane AbbottReuters

    Diane Abbott has been reinstated as Labour MP, the BBC understands, but it is unclear if she will run for parliament in the upcoming election

    We're listening to Jacqueline McKenzie, a friend of Diane Abbott - the Labour MP who was suspended from the party last year. She's speaking to Radio 4's Today programme.

    For context, the BBC understands that Diane Abbott has been readmitted as a Labour MP but it is unclear whether she will stand for the party at the general election.

    The former shadow home secretary was suspended in April 2023 after saying Jewish, Irish and Traveller people do not face racism "all their lives".

    We'll bring you all the key lines shortly.

  2. Another busy day on the campaign trail

    Sam Hancock
    Live reporter

    Hello there, welcome to another day on the general election campaign trail - as MPs and candidates continue to travel the country and convince voters why they should be elected.

    We've sent our overnight colleagues home for a well-earnt rest and a team of us are now in place, in our London newsroom, to bring you live news updates, analysis from our political correspondents and those all-important pictures and clips (cue footage of Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey falling off a paddleboard on Tuesday).

    The latest policies by Labour and the Conservatives have been announced (see our last couple of posts) and we're about to start hearing from party figures on the various morning programmes.

    Out and about today are party leaders PM Rishi Sunak, Labour's Keir Starmer and the SNP's John Swinney - among others. Stay tuned for their appearances throughout the day.

  3. 'Rip-off' degrees targeted by Tories in new pledge

    And for the Conservatives, their policy offering today is that PM Rishi Sunak will scrap some university courses in England and instead fund 100,000 more apprenticeships per year, if they're re-elected on 4 July.

    The party says the scheme would replace the "worst performing" degrees, which it refers to as "rip-off" due to high drop-out rates and poor job prospects.

    In England, the Office for Students can already investigate and sanction a university - for example with fines - if it falls below certain standards.

    But the Tories would introduce a new law allowing the independent regulator to go further and completely close the poorest performing university courses.

  4. Labour promises to hit 18-week NHS waiting target

    We said a little earlier that the policies were continuing to come in - and that today, Labour was focusing on the NHS. Here's a bit more on what they're promising.

    The party has said, if elected, it will meet a key waiting time target for NHS treatment in England within five years.

    The 18-week target covers those waiting for appointments, procedures and operations and hasn’t been hit since 2016.

    An NHS planned treatment waiting list in England currently has more than 7.5 million treatments on it.

    As a first step, Labour says it'll spend more than £1bn on creating more appointments and investing in scanners, plus create an extra 40,000 appointments per week during evenings and weekends.

  5. The Papers: PM to 'axe rip-off degrees' and pensions 'tax battle'

    The front pages of the Daily Express and the Metro

    The Times and the Daily Mail both say that one in eight students could see their courses cut, under Conservative plans to tackle what they call "Mickey Mouse" degrees.

    The papers say Tory modelling has suggested the measures could generate about £910m for apprenticeships by the end of the decade by reducing the number of student loans which are never paid back.

    The Express lists five degrees whose graduates earn the least. They include courses in combined and general studies, performing arts and creative arts and design.

    The Telegraph leads with an interview with Rishi Sunak. He reveals he's recently spoken to Boris Johnson, but he won't say whether the 2019 election winner would campaign for him.

    The front page of the Daily Mirror has the decision by the police to drop their inquiry into Labour's deputy leader Angela Rayner's house sale. It describes this as a fresh blow to Sunak's campaign.

    Read more from Wednesday's papers here.

  6. Why Nigel Farage’s return to the fray matters

    Chris Mason
    Political editor

    Nigel Farage holding a see through umbrella and grinning with the White Cliffs of Dover in the backgroundEPA

    Nigel Farage following a press conference in Dover on Tuesday

    Nigel Farage is one of the most influential politicians of our time. Maybe you love him, maybe you really don’t.

    He has made it his life’s work to disrupt, delight, dismay, horrify, and he reckons he is not done yet.

    We reporters squeezed into an upstairs room of the Royal Cinque Ports Yacht Club, overlooking the English Channel.

    He had already announced that he wouldn’t try to win a seat in Parliament himself at this election, prompting a reporter from The Sun to tease him that he was a chicken.

    He argued that from the bitter experience of more than half a dozen defeats, he had little chance of success without working a seat for months in advance.

    More from Farage's speech yesterday.

  7. What’s the latest?

    Prime Minister Rishi Sunak arrives at a London train station, while on the general election campaign trail. Picture date: Tuesday May 28, 2024. PA Photo.PA Media

    Sunak was seen at a train station in London last night, while on the campaign trail

    Diane Abbott: The veteran MP was reinstated to the Labour Party yesterday, but this morning it’s still unclear whether she will stand as a Labour candidate in the election. Abbott was suspended last year for comments she made about racism.

    Labour: The party has announced a promise to hit a key waiting time target for NHS treatment in England by the end of the next parliament if it wins the general election.

    Tories: The Conservatives say they would close university courses offering what Rishi Sunak has described as ''rip-off degrees'' in England, and instead fund up to 100,000 extra apprenticeships a year.

    Liberal Democrats: They’re launching their general election campaign in Wales, with Ed Davey accusing the government of "taking farmers for granted". He’s pledging an extra £1bn for the agriculture budget, and to re-negotiate overseas trade deals and address worker shortages blighting the sector.

  8. Good morning

    Francesca Gillett
    Live reporter

    It’s now been a week since the election was called, and today the campaigns continue.

    Rishi Sunak is heading to the South West, where he will likely be wanting to push the Tories’ new plan, announced today, to axe some degrees and instead increase the number of apprenticeships.

    Over in the Labour camp, they’re in the West Midlands and planning to focus on the NHS, with a pledge to meet a key target of 18-week waits for treatment within five years.

    And the Liberal Democrats are launching their campaign in Wales, with a focus on the farming industry. We’ll be covering it all and more.