A final bit for you from this morning's political interviews - and it's more of Labour's shadow Treasury chief secretary Darren Jones.

He's pushed again over whether Dianne Abbott will be selected by Labour to run in her Hackney North and Stoke Newington seat at the election, which he says should be decided by the end of this week.

Asked about Abbott's accusation that Labour had "banned" her from running, Jones tells BBC Breakfast he's not sure who would've told her that.

Is Sir Keir Starmer purging left-wing candidates from the Labour party, he's next asked. Jones rejects this, insisting: "This is not a purge."

He's also asked why former Tory MP Natalie Elphicke was "welcomed" to the party, while Abbott may be unable to stand. Jones says Elphicke is not standing in the 4 July election and Labour has always been a "broad church".

The BBC’s Nick Robinson challenges Cooper that the Lib Dems are telling voters the same thing that Labour and the Tories were saying earlier - that “you can have everything you want without paying a price”.

Cooper says that's not what her party are saying at all and that she set out “very clearly how we'll raise funds to pay for our priorities”, giving as examples:

• Their plans to close the “loophole on the windfall tax”
• Reverse the “£3bn tax cut for the big banks”
• And ask water companies to pay a sewage tax

“There are plenty of ways in which you can raise vital money by increasing taxes on big corporations," she says, adding that this is how a ruling government can ensure Britons get the proper public services it "deserves".

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We're hearing some more from the Liberal Democrats now - hours after they pledged, if elected, to have a dedicated mental health professional in every school by increasing taxes on tech firms.

The party's deputy leader Daisy Cooper tells Radio 4's Today programme the tax would be "peanuts" for the companies impacted and would fund "really vital public services".

She denies it'll damage the British economy by harming investment and says the party will target other big industries like energy and banking in order to raise funds.

Some background: This isn't the first time a party has flirted with the idea of raising money from the US-dominated industry and ran into opposition from the White House.

A 2021 trade spat saw Joe Biden threaten tariffs on UK goods in response to the government's digital services tax. Then last year, the Times reported, external Labour had shelved its plans for higher tech firm taxes because it feared triggering a trade war with Washington.

Andrew Kerr
BBC Scotland political correspondent

As Chancellor Jeremy Hunt outlines his plans in London, the SNP leader will later make a speech to a group of young people to claim that a generation is being “robbed of opportunity” by the Westminster parties.

John Swinney will claim the SNP is the only party that will always put the interests of Scotland’s young people first.

The first minister will highlight that austerity, Brexit and the cost of living crisis are holding back an entire generation of young people in Scotland.

These are the three significant issues frequently raised by the party in this general election campaign - with the SNP saying they offer a genuine alternative with the goal of independence.

However, as the Westminster Parliament is dissolved - debate and argument continues to rage in the Scottish Parliament. Swinney will be under scrutiny at First Minister’s Questions in Holyrood at lunchtime about his handling of the Michael Matheson affair.

He’s the ex-health secretary who notoriously racked up the £11,000 iPad roaming charge bill.

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Nick Robinson puts it to Hunt that it's disingenuous for his party to warn a Labour government would be "risky", given how turbulent recent years under the Tories have been.

Hunt attacks Labour's record and says they "crashed the economy" last time they were in office, and wouldn't be able to grow it this time.

The chancellor ends his morning round of BBC interviews by highlighting the current row over the veteran MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington.

"If Keir Starmer can't deal with Diane Abbott," the chancellor says, "how on earth is he going to deal with Vladimir Putin?"

After repeating his plan to invest £3.4bn in NHS digitisation, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt's asked if he can promise that he will increase the NHS budget - if re-elected.

The BBC's Nick Robinson points out that recent policy announcements by the Conservatives (national service and a tax break for pensioners) may not be a priority for lots of voters.

Hunt says he has a good record on this and that his recent Spring Budget saw £6bn worth of investment into the health service - he also says he's put resources into doubling the number of doctors as capacity is the "biggest problem".

Hunt is now challenged on the fact that all major VAT increases in his political lifetime happened under Tory PMs - Thatcher, Major and Cameron - and asks how the Conservatives can accuse Labour of planning that.

Hunt says voters have a real choice at the coming election between a Conservative government that wants to bring down taxes, and a Labour government that, he says, will not.

He adds the Tories believe Labour will have to raise taxes, because they are committed to £36bn spending, without being clear where the money will come from.

First, Hunt is pressed on his own record - in particular his commitment that he will not raise income tax after the election.

It is put to to him that income tax is already due to go up for many people until 2028 - because the thresholds are being frozen, meaning more people pay more income tax as their pay increases.

Hunt confirms the thresholds will "stay for their allotted time period" - in other words, until 2028.

He commits to not continuing the threshold freeze beyond that date, and says a Tory government would not increase income tax rates beyond current levels.

Hunt repeats his "hope" he will be able to cut National Insurance and his commitment to not hiking VAT.

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It's a busy morning for the chancellor - listen to his interview on the Today programme now by pressing play at the top of the page.

We'll bring you key lines right here as well.

Asked if Labour was "bounced" into committing not to raise VAT by the government's announcement, Jones says they haven’t "been bounced into anything" - and that Labour has been very clear that it wants tax burdens to come down.

“We’ve been consistent in saying we have no plans to increase taxes on working people because it’s the highest it has been for 70 years,” he says, adding he can give a “cast iron guarantee” that VAT, National Insurance and income tax won’t be changing under a Labour government.

The BBC’s Emma Barnett then puts to him that Rachel Reeves had been "careful" about her VAT plans until last night (when the Tories announced this) and asks where the party's real change comes in.

Jones insists Labour's change is "very clear" and reels off a list of commitments, including a willingness to tackle issues around planning reform and skills issues around training to grow the economy. He says all of these are change offers because the Tories are not tackling them.

First, Jones is asked Diane Abbott, who has had the Labour whip restored following a suspension - but last night told supporters at a Hackney rally that Labour had "banned" her from standing for the party on 4 July.

Jones says he feels sympathy for Abbott, but refuses to be drawn on the party's internal process, which he says he is not involved in.

Asked if she should be able to stand, he says "that's a question for Diane" and that she needs to have that conversation with party bosses.

Jones says it would not be a "appropriate" for him to give his personal view, as shadow cabinet ministers don't make decisions about disciplinary matters or candidate selection.

It is put to Jones that Sir Keir Starmer's handling of the situation - which partly overshadowed Labour's campaign in recent says - does not look like good leadership.

Jones points out that a process was taking place behind the scenes, but had to be speeded up because of Rishi Sunak's surprise decision to call a summer election.

Image source, Getty Images

We're now hearing from Labour's shadow chief secretary to the treasury Darren Jones on the Today programme - stay here for all the best lines.

The BBC's Charlie Stayt pushes Hunt, and says the increased mortgage rates that followed former PM Liz Truss's mini-budget have left people unsure of the Tories.

Hunt challenges that, saying living standards have fallen all around the world, and more so in other European countries - so it's not all down to the former PM.

Stayt pushes back again, asking whether Hunt is suggesting that there’s no connection between Truss’s decisions in government and people's interest rate hike.

Hunt says he reversed Truss's decisions - and that rates went up because of “global factors”, saying “most people understand that”.

“Of course the Labour Party would like to say that it’s something a Conservative government did,” Hunt says, adding that the IMF said last week that the “difficult decisions” him and Rishi Sunak had taken had paid off.

He said it was good news for the economy and “that we’re heading for a soft landing”.

Words from the Institute for Fiscal Studies are now put to Hunt, which said that - for all parties - "finances are a dark cloud over the election campaign".

Hunt accepts that the public finances are "challenging".

He says he wants to avoid austerity-style cuts, and he's set out plans to improve efficiency of public services, adding that funds have been put into improving IT systems in the NHS.

Hunt says the Conservative government is "prepared to make difficult decisions" - but when it comes to tax or welfare market, the "Labour Party does not have that willingness".

It is put to Hunt again that Labour has ruled out increasing VAT, National Insurance or income tax - so why does the chancellor say there is ambiguity in Labour's plans?

Hunt repeats the line that Labour "can't make up its mind" and accuses the party of wavering over the issue of VAT this week, before making a decision late last night.

He defends the government's economic record and says Labour is unclear on the "basic economic questions".

First up, the chancellor is asked whether household budgets will be better in five years than they are now, under a Conservative government.

Hunt says he hopes so, and that he can say that his party will not increase income, National Insurance or VAT.

"It's an important commitment," he says, at a time when people struggle with a cost of living crisis.

He then says that voters should be worried about a Labour Party that "can't make up its mind" on the economy - and he says a Labour government would raise taxes.

As a reminder - Labour have said they don't plan to increase personal taxes or corporation tax.

The chancellor is now talking to BBC Breakfast - we're expecting to hear more on the government's pledge that the Tories won't increase VAT after the election.

Labour and the Lib Dems have since matched that promise.

Stay with us as we bring you the key lines from his interview - you can also tune in by tapping Play at the top of the page to listen live.

We've just been hearing from Paul Johnson, who is director of the economics think tank the Institute for Fiscal Studies.

He has long said that whoever is chancellor after the next election will face a very difficult financial situation - and has called for openness about the scale of the challenge.

Johnson repeats that warning on Radio 4's Today programme, and says promises from Labour and the Conservatives on not raising major taxes will make spending cuts inevitable - unless money can be found through other means.

Both of the two largest parties have ruled out hiking national insurance, income tax or VAT - the "big three" ways governments raise money to fund public services.

And so Johnson says chancellors might look to so-called stealth taxes, and he points to the current freeze on income tax thresholds an example, which he says amount to a tax rise for many people.

He goes on: "The more you say you are not going to do X, Y and Z, the more you are pushed into these slightly more niche, often less transparent, sometimes less economically efficient areas."

Johnson also warns the next chancellor could face a worsening economic outlook in the autumn - saying the forecasts the government relied on this year now appear "optimistic".

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Tice is then asked about an interview Reform's honorary president Nigel Farage gave to The Sun, in which he appeared to be open to a conversation with the Conservatives about an electoral pact.

The Reform leader says the "reality is there are no deals with the Conservatives", prompting BBC's Emma Barnett to ask - so why is your honorary president saying that?

Tice responds it's just banter and a "bit of fun".

"The reality is we are doing no deals with the Tories, they have betrayed Britain," he says.

When asked what he's more afraid of - Rishi Sunak or Keir Starmer as prime minister - Tice says both are a "nightmare".

We're continuing to bring you some of this morning's interviews - next up is Reform UK leader Richard Tice who's asked about his party's policy on illegal immigration on Radio 4's Today programme.

He says neither of the two main parties "have a credible plan" on small boats crossing the Channel and describes the Conservative's Rwanda scheme as a "farce".

Reform has said it would physically intercept people in the Channel and escort them back to France, which it says the UK has the legal right to do. Tice also accuses France of failing in its obligations to prevent deaths at sea and says its government is "aiding and abetting criminality".

Put to Tice that he will need to negotiate with France, he accepts there will be a "hard discussion" but says Reform's plans do not require its government's cooperation.

Asked how he plans to do that, having previously called French President Emmanuel Macron a "ghastly little man", Tice says "being nicey nicey and diplomatic isn't going very well".

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