The latest in the row over whether Labour will allow Diane Abbott to defend her seat at the election is covered for a second day in several of Friday's papers.

The Daily Express reports that the row about the treatment of veteran MP Diane Abbott has "exploded", exposing "divisions at the very top of Labour"., external

The paper says Sir Keir Starmer was "openly challenged" by his deputy, Angela Rayner, who said Ms Abbott should be allowed to stand for the party at the election.

In an interview with the Guardian, Ms Rayner denies that left-wing candidates are being banned , externalfrom standing.

A poll carried out for the Financial Times suggests that most voters expect their taxes to go up, external, regardless of which party wins the election. Read more from Friday's front pages here.

Nick Eardley
Political correspondent

Labour is focusing today on its plans to set up a public energy firm called Great British Energy. It's part of their big plan to increase the amount of clean energy in the UK - and improve domestic energy security.

Their press release says: "Labour pledges that Great British Energy will cut energy bills for good, as families face threat of £900 annual energy price spikes under Tories."

Let's deal with Labour's claims about the Conservatives first. The figure is an unlikely one. It's based on a similar price shock like the one we saw after Russia invaded Ukraine. That was not normal.

It seems unlikely that there will be another spike of the same magnitude soon - it's definitely not something you could assume is going to happen.

The broader point Labour is making is that the UK is vulnerable to changes in global gas prices. That's a legitimate argument - the Office for Budget Responsibility has made a similar point, external in the past about gas prices causing more of a price shock in the UK than many other countries.

Labour meanwhile is claiming it will reduce bills by £300 for families.

I asked Labour how they arrived at the figure and they pointed to research by think tank Ember., external

It concluded the UK could generate 98% of electricity from clean sources - and that would mean significant savings in bills. Labour accepted that target when I put it to them.

That's a big increase from just now - low carbon electricity was 61.5% of UK generation in 2023, external.

It would require a lot of investment in infrastructure for renewable energy.

It would take time and money - Labour are looking towards the end of a five year parliament for the reduction in bills

Image source, Getty Images

Labour is today announcing that it would make a start on creating green energy projects across the country within months, if it won the general election.

The party plans to create a publicly-owned company, Great British Energy, headquartered in Scotland, should it win the July poll.

Party leader Sir Keir Starmer says the scheme would cut energy costs, by setting up a publicly-owned company to invest in domestic power sources.

But the SNP has said the project would "destroy Scottish jobs and investment", suggesting it could cost 100,000 Scottish jobs.

More here.

The policy announcement from the Conservatives today is a crackdown on fly-tippers and disruptive social housing tenants. They want to dock points from fly-tippers' driving licenses and evict tenants who repeatedly engage in anti-social behaviour.

Repeat fly-tippers currently face up to five years in prison and an unlimited fine, but new plans could also see low-level offenders face driving penalties.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said his is the only party with "a clear plan to ensure safety, security and prosperity in your local community".

Currently only 20% of fly-tipping investigations end in a fine. The Lib Dems accused the Tories of "legalising littering", and Labour accused the Conservatives of "empty words", pointing to the government's own fly-tipping statistics.

Read more here.

Welcome to another day of general election coverage, as we approach the end of the first full week of the campaign.

Not that the week is winding down though. As you'd expect, the parties have another busy day (and probably weekend) of events ahead.

Here in the London newsroom, us on the overnight team are looking through the parties' event schedules and latest policy announcements, which we'll bring you very shortly.