As we just reported, Nigel Farage has declared his intention to stand in the general election. Here's more of what he said just before that surprise announcement:

Farage says "something fundamentally wrong" in politics at the moment.

The centre of gravity in political debates has "moved to the left" since David Cameron took over as prime minister in 2010, he says, adding that he believes the "political class is more detached" from ordinary voters.

And he believes this upcoming "election is over", "Labour has won", he says, and the number of seats the Conservatives get is "irrelevant".

"Nothing will change, things might get slightly worse".

Nigel Farage confirms he'll stand in the election for Clacton, Essex.

"I have decided, I've changed my mind, it's allowed you know," he says.

A full list of candidates for all constituencies will be available on the BBC News website when nominations have closed on Friday.

Speaking after Richard Tice at a Reform UK press conference in London, Nigel Farage says this election campaign is the "dullest" he has seen.

He says the tax burden is a concern, adding that "our people are getting poorer" – and that the Tories and Labour are not the solution.

He says mass immigration will continue regardless of which party is in power, while crime and fear of crime worsen.

The new leader of Reform UK says the country is in "moral decline" and "we have forgotten who we are as a country".

Richard Tice says he has invited Nigel Farage to be leader of Reform UK, to which he says Farage has accepted.

The BBC's Lucy Manning has doorstepped Nigel Farage as he is on his way to his news conference.

"Are you standing?", she asks him.

"Well, we’ll find out in a moment," Farage replies.

Lucy Manning asks him why he has changed his mind.

"Who says I have?" is the reply.

"You said ten days ago you wouldn’t stand."

"Do you ever change your mind?" Farage responds.

We are expecting to hear from Nigel Farage shortly. Stay with us for all the latest and watch live by pressing the Play button at the top of the page.

Helen Catt
Political correspondent

The Wantage Town FC Under 14 & Under 15 girls have been quizzing Rishi Sunak.

Among the questions, what he’s doing for girls’ sport (more money), what music he likes (he’s getting into country music apparently) and…..his Nando’s order: “Half chicken, medium, with chips and broccoli”.

“It’s good broccoli,” he says.

BBC Radio 5 Live has been speaking to some voters about the issues that matter the most to them. Here's what they had to say:

Jess, in Matlock, voted Lib Dem in 2019 but is undecided this year:

Jess urges politicians to "stop making my country worse" and says climate change is a “silent” issue this election. "We’re choosing to ignore it," she says.

Jeff, living near Luton, voted Tory in 2019, and is also unsure who to vote for this year:

Jeff says the housing crisis is the big issue, noting that "hard-working people can't afford a roof over their heads".

Lee, in Leicester, was previously homeless, but now lives in a hostel. He voted Tory in 2019, and will vote Reform on 4 July:

Lee says a lack of support ahead of his heart surgery left him struggling to get around. "Those at the bottom of society are treated like an inconvenience,” he says.

If you want to get in touch with BBC News to tells us about the issues you care about, click here.

Lorna Gordon
Scotland correspondent

Image source, PA Media

The SNP's leader, John Swinney, has accused the Conservatives of being on the “warpath” and of using – he claimed – “any excuse they can to erode the powers of the Scottish Parliament”.

His comments were in response to the Conservative's proposal to refine the Equality Act to include biological sex.

Swinney was insistent this was not a move to clarify the law in a reserved area, but instead an attack on devolution which he claimed had been going “on for years” under the Tories. It was, he said, “another example of the Conservatives undermining devolved powers”.

Last year, the UK government intervened to stop the Gender Recognition Reform bill which was passed by a large majority in the Scottish Parliament and which would have lowered from 18 to 16 the age someone can legally change their gender in Scotland.

Read more about the changes being proposed for the Equality Act here.

Image source, PA Media

Rishi Sunak has laughed off a Lib Dems photobomb of him during a campaign visit a little earlier in Oxfordshire.

The prime minister was sitting out by the river on a visit to a rowing club in Henley on Thames when a boat carrying Lib Dem deputy leader Daisy Cooper and supporters went past.

Apparently seeing her opportunity, she returned shortly afterwards to hold up orange party placards.

Sunak gave a droll response on social media, saying: "Classic Lib Dems, always selling voters down the river."

Cooper responded to a clip of the moment on social media platform X with some playful emojis.

Image source, Reuters

Labour's deputy leader Angela Rayner has denied that her comments about Diane Abbott last week forced Keir Starmer to decide whether the veteran MP could stand as a Labour candidate in the election.

Abbott last week claimed she had been banned from defending her Hackney North and Stoke Newington seat for Labour.

At the time, Starmer denied Abbott had been barred and said a decision hadn't yet been made on the veteran MP's future in the Labour party.

On Thursday, deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner increased pressure on Starmer, by saying she didn't "see any reason why [Abbott] can't stand".

Abbott has since been told she is "free" to stand at the next election.

Rayner says now that Starmer "believes in processes and there was a process that had to be followed, that Keir wasn't involved in".

She adds that the Labour leader has "always respected" Abbott, and "we both believe that her 37 years of service has been incredible".

Today, BBC News has launched “Your Voice, Your Vote” – an invitation for you to help us shape our content and inform our journalism over the next five weeks.

And, immediately, a thank you. Lots of you have already been in touch to tell us about the issues you care about in this election.

From climate change to pensions, mental health to education, there have been a range of subjects raised.

Do keep them coming over the next hours, days and weeks. We welcome everyone’s views, not only on issues but also on what you’d like us to explain, as well as where you’d like us to report from and why.

To read more about this new initiative and to get in touch, click here.

Image source, Reuters

Former defence secretary Ben Wallace says Labour and the Conservatives have "hollowed out" the country's defences over decades in government.

He adds that "governments don't want to pay for defence".

"My point is it's much better to be a medium-sized military but properly formed with air defence, with electronic warfare, with the ability to actually move your brigades than boast about numbers," he says.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has committed to a "nuclear deterrent triple lock", and Conservative leader Rishi Sunak pledged in April to spend 2.5% of the country's national income on defence.

Wallace tells BBC Radio 4's World at One he thinks spending on defence should be 3% of GDP by 2030.

Image source, PA Media

Image source, PA Media

Veterans Minister Johnny Mercer says "you can't believe a word" Keir Starmer says about defence, after the Labour leader earlier reaffirmed his party's ambition to increase defence spending to 2.5% of gross domestic product (GDP).

Mercer criticises Labour for not saying when they would be able to spend 2.5% on defence, and for planning to repeal the Northern Ireland Legacy Act.

"If you're serious about nuclear deterrent, serious about defence, serious about veterans, I think voting for Labour is extremely dangerous, extremely risky," he adds.

He says Labour is talking a "load of rubbish" when they say the UK is less safe because of the Conservative government, although he accepts there have been "challenges", including around accommodation.

The Conservative frontbencher points to Starmer's former support of Jeremy Corbyn, and says the "idea a leopard can change its spots" so that Labour would be tough on defence is "taking the general public for fools".

Mercer also says Labour's plan for a defence review if elected was a "coward's way out".

Labour is "committed" to increasing defence spending to 2.5% should it win the general election, says the party's shadow minister for veterans, but it will "do it when we can", and not immediately.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's World at One, Steve McCabe says Labour will first conduct a review into defence spending.

The party wants to "look at all the services and make sure that we arrange them in a way that best deals with the threats we currently face", he says.

Current arrangements in the armed forces are "not fit for purpose", he adds, saying the country needs to make sure "they are properly equipped" in the future.

The first televised leadership debate of the general election is set to take place this evening between Scottish party leaders screened by STV.

SNP leader John Swinney, Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar and Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton will take part in the 90-minute clash.

The Scottish Greens have said the decision to exclude them from the debate is "outrageous" - the party doesn't have any Scottish seats at Westminster but it does have MSPs at Holyrood.

An STV spokesperson said it was comfortable the election coverage - including the debate - meets guidelines set by TV regulator Ofcom.

A separate election debate on BBC Scotland will be held on 11 June. It will feature five party leaders, with either Patrick Harvie or Lorna Slater representing the Greens.

Lorna Gordon
Scotland correspondent

John Swinney has been visiting a dairy in Bridge of Allan this morning. He’s been talking about the challenges and opportunities facing Scottish businesses with the company’s staff.

It’s a little over 30 miles from the green fields here to Faslane on the Clyde, where Britain’s nuclear deterrent is based.

Swinney tells me that he believes the Trident nuclear weapons system is “a false economy” because it will, he says, “never be used”. He argues it provides “no useful security to the UK".

Swinney says the SNP’s position is that Trident is "immoral".

Swinney says voters need “honesty” from the Conservatives and Labour, and that he believes it is not possible to keep the country safe without more investment in conventional weapons.

You can read more about Trident here.

The Liberal Democrats' deputy leader Daisy Cooper has photobombed the prime minister during a campaign visit in Henley on Thames.

This morning’s visit was at the famous Leander rowing club, which boasts the Olympian Sir Steve Redgrave among its best-known members.

Whilst Rishi Sunak was being filmed on his visit talking the club's members, Daisy Cooper and a group of Liberal Democrat campaigners sailed behind him on the River Thames on boat waving Lib Dem-branded placards.

It's unclear if Rishi Sunak saw the Lib Dems, but as the boat passes, it appears people off-camera momentarily catch his attention and he says "oh gosh, we'll keep going, ok" and continues his conversation.

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has called for talks on nurses' pay to take place immediately after the election.

Acting general secretary Professor Nicola Ranger made the call today in her keynote speech at the college's annual congress.

The NHS Pay Review Body had been expected to report to the Department of Health and Social Care by the end of May.

The union has warned that if negotiations don't take place after the election, the pay award could be delayed until September when parliament sits again.

RCN members in the NHS in England have been formally in dispute over pay, terms and conditions since last year. They have not been balloted for strike action in the last 12 months.

As well as a "substantial" pay rise for nursing staff, the union also wants an end to patients being treated in corridors, safety-critical staffing ratios, changes to immigration law to allow families to remain united and protections for staff raising concerns.

Sunak was also asked about how much he fears Nigel Farage might announce later that he's standing in the election.

Sunak said: "On 5 July, only one of two people will prime minister, either Keir Starmer or me. A vote for anyone who's not a Conservative candidate is a vote to put Keir Starmer in No10."

Image source, UK Pool

Rishi Sunak has denied the Conservative's policy announcement on biological sex was about stoking culture wars.

"What's clear today is that there is a lack of clarity in the law and that's risking the safety of women and girls. So we've announced the bold action that we would change the Equalities Act that sex means biological sex," he says.

"What that will do will mean providers of single sex services and single sex spaces will be able to protect women and girls and ensure their safety and security."

Asked why the Conservatives hadn't done this in the 14 years they'd been in power, he said: "This builds on the incredible progress we've made in this truly evolving area".

Conservative Central Office had tweeted "we know what a woman is, Keir Starmer doesn't", but the prime minister said it wasn't about stoking culture wars.

"It builds on our track record of treating these issues sensitively and with compassion as of course we should, but ensuring that our laws are right, our guidance is right, to protect the safety and security of women and girls and the well-being of our children," he adds.