Leila Nathoo
Political correspondent, reporting from South Wales

While on the topic of Labour's economic plans, a bit earlier Sir Keir Starmer had an on the record "huddle" with press reporters.

When asked about the party's tax plans, including on income tax thresholds, he insisted he wouldn’t make promises he couldn’t keep.

“Our plans are all there, they are ready - you’ll soon see the manifesto but there’s no surprises in there.”

Interesting - normally party manifesto launches are big moments of an election campaign.

But Starmer’s comments suggest that those expecting a big reveal or waiting for something they haven’t heard before, could be disappointed.

Labour will know its manifesto - like all others - will be massively scrutinised line by line.

They won’t want anything in there to put their commanding poll lead at risk. So the party may have settled on a ‘less is more’ approach.

Brendan Hughes
BBC News NI political reporter

Image source, PA Media

Let's bring you some news from Northern Ireland where Sinn Féin says it will not run candidates in four constituencies in the UK general election.

The Irish republican party will not contest Belfast East, Belfast South and Mid Down, Lagan Valley and North Down.

Sinn Féin’s director of elections Conor Murphy says they will encourage voters in these constituencies to support “progressive parties who will reject Tory cuts and Tory pacts.

It comes after the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) announced it would not stand in the Fermanagh and South Tyrone constituency, instead endorsing Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) candidate Diana Armstrong.

A full list of candidates standing in all 18 constituencies will be available on BBC News NI when nominations close.

Image source, UK Pool

A short time ago, Sunak delivered his final speech for today to Conservative Party members in Buckinghamshire.

At the event, Sunak told fellow Tories the last few years had been "tough", but told the crowd that "during tough times I've got your back".

He said "our plan is working", adding that Conservatives are the party of "economic stability". Sunak went on to criticise Labour, accusing the opposition of having no ideas but saying they will raise taxes.

But Labour has promised it won’t put up any of the three main taxes - income tax, national insurance or VAT.

Sunak also drew a distinction on how the two parties approach illegal migration, advocating for the "deterrent" approach of the plan to send people who arrive on small boats to Rwanda.

Labour leader Keir Starmer said he will scrap the Rwanda scheme if he wins the next election, and instead use counter-terrorism powers against gangs smuggling people across the Channel.

More now on former Tory MP Mark Logan's decision to support the Labour party in the upcoming general election. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was asked about his move by a reporter.

Sunak was asked if he feels people are losing faith in him - moments after Logan, the Bolton North East MP, said the Tory Party was now "unrecognisable" from the party he joined a decade ago.

The prime minister did not respond.

Image source, Pool

Business continues at Holyrood despite general electionpublished at 18:52 British Summer Time 30 May

18:52 BST 30 May

Douglas Fraser
Scotland business & economy editor

Government goes on in devolved administrations, and while the SNP fights the Westminster campaign, there’s change afoot at Holyrood.

Only three weeks since becoming Deputy First Minister and Economy Secretary, Kate Forbes, is hinting heavily that change is on the way to boost economic growth.

Some may be included in the election manifesto and other shifts in direction are being postponed until after the Westminster ballot due to civil service rules on election "purdah".

Speaking at the Prosper economy forum in Edinburgh, Forbes said the new team at the top of the Holyrood administration is seeking to make changes to housing regulation. As economy secretary, she acknowledged the harm done to private sector investment by the current rent control plans.

With income tax diverging from Westminster, the SNP minister said there will be a further statement "shortly" intended to reduce uncertainty about tax rates, while repeating her view that income tax cannot increase continually.

The Highland MSP also said ministers have been “too glib” about what they call “just transition” from oil and gas to renewable energy, when there is a risk that running down fossil fuels too fast would "cut [the industry] off at its knees".

The Scottish government’s draft energy plan said there should be a presumption against further drilling licences, but there is pressure within the SNP to change that to be more supportive of the sector. The power to issue the licences, however, lies with the Westminster government.

The Conservative party has hit back at former Tory MP Mark Logan - who only an hour ago announced he was quitting the Tories to back Labour at the election.

A Tory spokesperson says: "It's notable that Mark Logan has defected to a party he can't even name a single policy of," adding that the party will select a new candidate for Logan's constituency in due course.

"We wish Mark Logan well with the Labour Party - a party that has no plan for the country and would take us back to square one," they add.

"The people of Bolton North East now have the choice to vote to stick with the plan by choosing bold action for a safer, more prosperous future with the Conservatives, or go back to square one with Keir Starmer and the same old Labour."

Did Labour back the government’s National Insurance cuts?published at 18:30 British Summer Time 30 May

18:30 BST 30 May

Earlier in the day, we heard Darren Jones, Labour’s shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, say on BBC Radio 4 that his party “supported the last two cuts to National Insurance”.

Last year, the government cut the rate of National Insurance (NI) from 12% to 10%, which went through Parliament without needing a vote.

Then, earlier this year the government cut NI again, this time from 10% to 8%.

In Parliament, Labour had said they supported the cut. But when MPs voted on it in March, Labour MPs abstained., external

A Labour spokesperson told BBC Verify they were trying to force the government to come up with costings for abolishing NI altogether, which the chancellor had said he hoped to do.

Jessica Parker
Political correspondent, travelling with the Conservative campaign in Buckinghamshire

While travelling with the prime minister this afternoon, we were able to pick up a few more lines from him about today's news.

On Diane Abbott: Rishi Sunak says he’s “not following every twist and turn” of the Diane Abbott saga.

He says it was the “Labour Party focussed on talking about themselves. I’m focussed on talking to everyone across the country about the choice at this election".

Questions about Abbott and Sir Keir Starmer’s role in the situation were for Labour, not him, he adds.

On tax: The prime minister says he and Jeremy Hunt are “crystal clear” that the Tories will cut National Insurance “when it is responsible to do so".

He accuses Labour of ruling out raising VAT last night “in a panic”.

Andrew Rogers
BBC Newsbeat, reporting from Hackney

Image source, Getty Images

BBC Newsbeat's been in Hackney today finding out what people think about the situation Diane Abbott finds herself in.

You don't have to go far to get a sense of the mood - on the pavement outside Hackney Town Hall someone has written "let Diane stand" in large chalk letters.

Politics student Jay, 17, tells us that, as the first black female MP, Abbott is "held on a pedestal" in the area.

"For her to be treated the way that she is, people aren't going to like it at all," she says.

Abbott was suspended from the Labour party last April following comments suggesting people from Jewish, Irish and traveller backgrounds didn't face constant racism.

Abbott, who apologised, was only reinstated by the Labour party this week. Jay thinks her treatment was unfair and believes many others in Hackney will feel the same way.

"We should do whatever we can as a community to support her," Jay adds.

Image source, PA Media

A bit more now on the Lib Dems' plan to increase taxes on big tech companies to fund mental health professionals for all England's state schools.

The party's deputy leader Daisy Cooper tells BBC 5 Live's drive programme that about half of mental health problems are already established by the age of 14, adding: "We need to get that early intervention to young people."

The tax increase would be "very small", Cooper says, but insists a dedicated mental health practitioner in every school in England could be "transformational" for young people.

She also says burnout is an issue for the NHS, causing recruitment and retention issues, saying the party's manifesto will set out plans to deal with that.

More now on the breaking story that former Tory MP Mark Logan is going to back Labour in the 4 July vote.

Speaking to the BBC's Chris Mason, Logan likened the feel of this election to Tony Blair's 1997 landslide, declaring that it was time to "bring back optimism" into British public life.

It comes after two other MPs - Natalie Elphicke and Dan Poulter - also quit the Tories to join Labour earlier this month.

However, as they defected before Parliament was dissolved for the election, they briefly sat as Labour MPs before standing down.

Chris Mason
Political editor

Former Conservative MP Mark Logan has said he is backing Labour at the next general election, saying the party could "bring back optimism into British life".

In an exclusive interview with BBC News, Logan, who represented Bolton North East for the Tories until Parliament dissolved on Thursday, says Labour has been on a "journey" and now offered "centrist politics".

He adds that the Tory Party was now "unrecognisable" from the party he joined a decade ago.

Logan won his seat with a majority of just 378 in 2019, making it one of the most marginal in the country.

He says his application to join Labour was "going in today".

You can read more on this by clicking this link.

There's been lots happening today with parties out pitching to voters. If you're just joining us, or need a recap, here's the latest:

• In the row about whether Diane Abbott will be allowed to run as a Labour candidate, the party's deputy leader Angela Rayner said she doesn't see any reason why the veteran MP can't stand for Labour
• Abbott said yesterday that she'd been banned from doing so, but Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said earlier today that "no final decision" had been taken
• The Conservatives, Labour and Lib Dems have all ruled out increasing VAT after the general election
• Over in Buckinghamshire, Rishi Sunak was asked about being fined during lockdown by a man whose mother died during the pandemic - he asked the PM: "How can anyone trust you?"
• Labour launched its campaign in Wales, with a focus on fighting for the steel industry
• While over in Bristol, the Green Party of England and Wales launched theirs, saying only a strong Green presence could push Labour to be bolder on issues such as climate change, the NHS and housing
• Wales's pro-independence Plaid Cymru launched its campaign in Bangor, arguing they are the only party putting Wales first
• Reform UK's leader Richard Tice proposed a tax on businesses for employing overseas workers

Plenty more to come, no doubt. Stick with us and we'll keep you up to date.

Image source, PA Media

As we reported a little earlier, the prime minister apologised to a member of the public during a visit to Niftylift in Milton Keynes when asked about his Covid lockdown fine, after he was pressed on whether the electorate could trust him.

After the exchange, PA news agency spoke to the man who asked the question, Nick Fox, who said he was not convinced by Rishi Sunak's reply.

"His apology isn't accepted. I wasn't looking for an apology either," Fox said.

He told reporters he was "not really that surprised" when he found out parties were taking place in Downing Street around the same time his mother, Christine Fox, died aged 66.

Jessica Parker
Political correspondent, travelling with the Conservative campaign in Buckinghamshire

Image source, PA Media

Back in Buckinghamshire, while out on the campaign trail, the prime minister shared with reporters that he’s “sadly eating too many cookies, cakes and Twix.”

“My normal fitness has taken a bit of a knock,” Rishi Sunak tells me. “But I am walking a lot if nothing else.”

Asked if he was missing the Peloton bike, he adds: “I’m busy talking to as many people as possible as my priority at the moment and getting the steps in that way.”

Image source, PA Media

Sarwar says he 'won't turn off the taps' on offshore oil and gaspublished at 16:52 British Summer Time 30 May

16:52 BST 30 May

Douglas Fraser
Scotland business & economy editor

Image source, PA Media

On the campaign trail today, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has sought to reassure the offshore oil and gas industry that his party will “not turn off the taps.

“Oil and gas will play a role in the energy mix for decades to come,” he says.

Labour strategy for Westminster is to refuse new drilling licences by offshore operators, while recognising those granted up until this election, with Conservative ministers accelerating that process in recent months.

Labour’s position has met criticism from the industry and in the north-east of Scotland, which has many jobs dependent on the sector.

In a speech to an economic forum in Edinburgh, including business leaders, Sarwar says Labour is “unashamedly pro-growth and pro-business”.

That includes re-thinking plans for rent controls, to ensure they do not discourage investment in housing.

He says increased income tax on higher earners in Scotland puts “Scotland at a competitive disadvantage”.

Sarwar says Abbott service has to be recognisedpublished at 16:34 British Summer Time 30 May

16:34 BST 30 May

David Wallace Lockhart
Political correspondent, reporting from Edinburgh

Let's take you up to Edinburgh now to catch up with Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar, who is joining some of his Labour colleagues in commending Diane Abbott’s “proud history of service”.

Speaking on a campaign visit in Edinburgh, Sarwar told BBC Scotland news that the Labour party was a “broad church” and that Abbott had been a “trailblazer”.

Despite his comments praising Abbott, the Scottish Labour leader refused to definitively comment on whether she should be a labour candidate, saying it was a decision for the party’s NEC.

UK Labour’s shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson was attending the same campaign event but refused to comment on Abbott’s situation, saying, “there’s a process to go through”.

Phillipson said she had not seen comments from Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner, who earlier today said she couldn’t see any reason why Abbott could not run as a Labour MP.

A tale of two dodgy dossierspublished at 16:20 British Summer Time 30 May

16:20 BST 30 May

We’ve just been hearing from the prime minister about what he claims Labour is prepared to spend should the party win the general election on 4 July.

The Conservatives say Labour’s plans would leave a £38.5bn black hole in government finances, which they work out at about £2,000 per working household.

But there are considerable problems with that figure.

For example, they have assumed that services offered by publicly-owned providers are 7.5% less efficient than outside companies doing it.

And Labour’s figure for the Conservatives' unfunded commitments started at £46bn, then went up to £64bn and now stands at £71bn.

Again, there is doubt about this, in that it includes the cost of abolishing National Insurance. The Tories have said this is an aspiration for the future, rather than a plan for the next Parliament.

So take all of these claims with a pinch of salt. The good news is that before the election, we will get the parties’ manifestos, which will state what they actually plan to spend and how they would pay for it.

Memories of the Downing Street parties lingerpublished at 16:12 British Summer Time 30 May

16:12 BST 30 May

Jessica Parker
Political correspondent, reporting from Buckinghamshire

That was a tricky opening question for Rishi Sunak, by a man who sadly lost his mother during the pandemic in 2020.

Remember, the PM’s here trying to persuade people - essentially - of one thing. You can trust me.

But a question about those infamous Downing Street parties - when Sunak was chancellor - risks undermining that message, and shows that memories linger about a scandal that infuriated the British public.

• Watch the moment Sunak was pressed about his lockdown fine below

A little while ago during Sunak's Q&A in Buckinghamshire, the PM was asked about postcode wars and knife crime.

"We're losing a lot of youngsters to knife crime," a member of the public told Sunak, before he was asked about how plans for national service would ensure children from rival gangs mix in a safe way.

Sunak said national service would keep children "out of trouble" and give them a sense of purpose.

The policy - which has not been enforced yet - was announced by the prime minister last weekend as part of his re-election bid.

He said it would be a very positive thing and deter young people from joining gangs in the first place, as the national service programme would give them a sense of identity.

Image source, PA Media