Alicia McCarthy
Parliamentary correspondent.

Image source, PA Media

Tonight’s TV debate will see the first head-to-head clash of this election campaign between Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer.

Ahead of that confrontation, Labour has chosen to put its energy policy at the top of its agenda today.

The party says the UK needs to be a lot less reliant on fossil fuels from overseas. They argue that using energy from countries like Russia is a big security risk that leaves the UK vulnerable to global events - such as the huge spike in prices that happened when Russia invaded Ukraine.

Instead, Labour’s promoting its plan to create a new body called Great British Energy - paid for by a beefed up windfall tax on existing big energy firms.

The party says the change will add up to investment in cleaner, greener, domestically generated power, that will be not only cheaper for bill payers but also less likely to be buffeted by events around the world.

• The new Reform UK leader, Nigel Farage, said net migration - the difference between numbers arriving and leaving - should be reduced to zero
• Farage said the UK should admit far fewer unskilled immigrants, adding: “We simply as a country cannot go on with an exploding population in the way that it is"
• Home Secretary James Cleverly set out his party's new plan to get the Migration Advisory Committee to recommend a cap on migrant visas, and for MPs to vote on it every year - but he wouldn't commit to a net migration number
• It was put to him that net migration had increased substantially under the Conservatives, even more so since Brexit, but Cleverly blamed "unprecedented events" since then - and said the party has made changes to bring migration down
• Labour said the Tories' proposed cap on work and family visas was "meaningless" because the party had trebled net migration since the last election
• Lib Dem leader Ed Davey has been speaking about his party's plan to provide free personal care for adults, and said he wants carers to have a special, higher minimum wage
• And - speaking after the first leaders' debate in Scotland - the SNP's Shirley-Anne Somerville was pressed on whether her party supported new oil and gas exploration. She said she party would work with the sector for a "just transition" to net zero emissions

We've also heard from polling expert Sir John Curtice this morning.

He's asked on Radio 4's Today programme about that YouGov poll which suggests Labour could be on course for its biggest election victory ever - with 422 seats, compared to 140 for the Tories.

Curtice explains that the poll came out with a similar estimated vote share that other polls have produced.

However, he adds, under our electoral system geography is "crucial". What this poll claims is that support for the Tories is falling "much more heavily" in the constituencies they are trying to defend than in constituencies where Labour or Lib Dems are the current holders.

It's a pattern, he says, which also emerged through the local elections this May and last May.

He adds that there are arguments about how far this will go - but that there's "plenty of evidence" from real votes and ballot boxes to indicate that this process is happening.

Pat McFadden, Labour’s national campaign coordinator, was asked on BBC Breakfast earlier about a new poll that shows Labour is set to win a record number of seats.

He says his team are pushing all that aside as not a single vote has yet to be cast.

He says Labour is ignoring the "external noise and the polls" as "you're asking for people to place their trust and confidence in you and in a democracy, that's an awesome thing to do".

Earlier on BBC Breakfast, we heard from Pat McFadden, Labour’s national campaign coordinator, talking about how Sir Keir Starmer is preparing for the tonight's head-to-head debate with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

"He's looking forward to it," says McFadden, adding that Starmer is going through all the possible subjects that might come up.

McFadden says tonight's debate, the first in a series of televised debates, is a "key moment".

"This is a big moment...he's (Starmer's) going to take his case for change for the country directly to millions of people."

Asked if Starmer might trip up on possible left-field questions, like when Sunak asked voters in Wales about the Euros, McFadden says that's unlikely to happen.

"I don't think he'll be tripped up on a question about football," saying that Starmer is a keen football fan.

Migration is coming down - but remains huge by historical standardspublished at 08:54 British Summer Time 4 June 2024

08:54 BST 4 June 2024

Nick Eardley
BBC Verify

At the weekend, Labour promised to bring down net migration if they won power (that’s the number of people coming in, minus the number going out).

Today, the Conservatives are pledging an immigration cap (without setting a number).

It's worth bearing in mind the context for both of these pledges.

Net migration to the UK is huge by historical standards. In 2022, under the Conservatives, it reached a record high of 764,000. The Conservatives point out it came down 10% the following year. But that is a reduction from the highest level ever - and it's still a very high number itself.

It's widely assumed that net migration will drop in the next few years – partly as student visas run out.

The government has also tightened up the rules for dependants coming into the country – and increased salary thresholds. Experts say early data suggest policy changes are having an impact on reducing numbers further.

Dr Madeleine Sumption from the Oxford Migration Observatory told the BBC at the weekend: "I'd expect net migration to fall substantially regardless of who wins the election."

So in that sense the prime minister argues "the plan is working". Migration is likely to come down - albeit from record high levels.

But Labour is also accurate when it points out net migration has increased significantly under the Conservatives.

Dominic Casciani
Home and legal correspondent

The Conservatives' immigration cap proposal reverses a decision the party took in government, when it reformed the immigration system as part of Brexit.

Back in 2018, the Migration Advisory Committee recommended the then cap on skilled workers should go.

That’s the same body the party says would be asked to recommend a new cap, if Rishi Sunak is returned to Downing Street.

What did that group of top academics tell the government six years ago?

“[The cap] creates uncertainty among employers and it makes little sense for a migrant to be perceived as of value one day and not the next which is what inevitably happens when the cap binds,” it said in its report, external.

“A cap may be viewed as important as part of a political strategy to provide an impression that the system is under control but it is important to recognise that it has an economic and social cost.

“We believe that if the Government wants to reduce migration numbers it would make more economic sense to do so by varying the other aspects of the scheme."

In December 2020, the government removed the cap as it introduced a new post-Brexit skilled workers visa. Since then, the Home Office has had complete control over how many visas are issued, external.

Andrew Kerr
BBC Scotland political correspondent

Image source, PA Media

Oil and gas was a significant issue that featured at the beginning of the first televised political debate in Scotland last night.

In the STV programme, the SNP leader John Swinney claimed Labour were not planning a "just transition" and that could result in a Thatcherite-era "wasteland" for the industry.

That was echoed by the Scottish government minister Shirley-Anne Somerville on BBC Radio 4's Today programme earlier.

Labour have said they could create 70,000 new jobs.

The SNP have been in government for 17 years - and Somerville was repeatedly asked, like John Swinney was, if new oil and gas exploitation would be permitted.

She said the impact of new fields might be subject to a climate compatibility test.

Somerville added that her government was currently reviewing energy policy - but the civil service advice is that can't be published during the election period.

But she was questioned why the party itself couldn’t answer the question – and that’s something the SNP’s opponents will continue to press them on.

Cleverly is now asked if his message to his Tory party colleagues is "don't panic" amid a new poll that shows Labour is set for a landslide victory.

He replies that having been party chairman, and "irrespective of what the opinion poll numbers are", he is telling his party members to "knock on doors, talk to voters, listen to what they say, explain our position and keep campaigning right up until 10 o'clock on the 4 July.

"That is the advice I gave in 2019, that's the advice I'm giving now."

Cleverly is asked whether there's a danger right now that the prime minister looks like the captain of the Titanic.

He responds by saying that voters should look at the proposals the Conservative Party is putting forward and compare those with the alternative.

He says the Tory plan has brought down inflation, put 20,000 new police officers on the streets and is committed to the Trident nuclear-weapons system among other things.

In these "difficult, challenging, unpredictable times", he asks people to look at the detail of the Tory plan and compare it that of Labour - the other party that might form the next government.

Home Secretary James Cleverly is now asked about whether the Conservatives would consider leaving the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), an idea that it has considered in the past.

Cleverly says the UK is a “law abiding nation” but that ultimately it needs to take control of its borders and it will always prioritise this.

When pressed if the Conservatives will make plans to leave the ECHR as part of their manifesto, Cleverly says he won’t pre-empt its contents.

He is asked again about Reform UK and its new leader, Nigel Farage, who says the UK should leave the ECHR.

Cleverly says Reform UK will not be part of any new government and that the “choice at this election is not anything Reform UK will put forward”.

A bit of context: The ECHR is a treaty which sets out the rights and freedoms people are entitled to in 46 signatory countries and is overseen by the European Court of Human Rights.

The court has nothing to do with the European Union - it is part of a separate organisation called the Council of Europe, which was set up after World War Two.

Cleverly continues to say that Labour has consistently opposed the Tories' border control measures.

The BBC's Nick Robinson puts it to him that if a party repeatedly promises to do something and is in office for 14 years, "you will not be listened to on your immigration promises unless you explain why you have failed so far".

Robinson adds that the Conservative party only promises to reduce migration "when you feel the heat" from parties such as Reform, but listen to businesses when in power.

Cleverly says that their new policy aims to make sure they balance the interests of competing arguments because "of course, there is an economic impact on migration but also a social policy impact".

After attacking Labour for not putting a number on migration policies this weekend, will you put a number on net migration? Robinson asks him.

Cleverly doesn't answer directly but brings up his party's policy instead, saying their aim is to bring the numbers down.

Cleverly is challenged over his pitch to voters to reduce immigration, and he's asked why the Conservatives have not reduced the numbers when they have been in power for 14 years.

He says for most of the time the Tories have been in government, we were in the European Union, which he says prevented them from limiting the numbers.

It's put to him that the numbers went up after the UK left the EU, and Cleverly says that since leaving, "we have gone through a series of unprecedented events".

This includes people leaving the UK and then returning due to Covid, as well as the offer to Ukrainian refugees, and Afghans and people from Hong Kong, he adds.

He says they took measures in government to bring down the numbers and adds that Labour opposed them.

We're now hearing from Home Secretary James Cleverly and election expert John Curtice on the Today programme.

Earlier this morning Cleverly appeared on BBC Breakfast to talk about his party's new policy on capping visas for foreign workers.

You can watch the coverage live by pressing play at the top of the page.

Image source, Reuters

Sticking with Ed Davey's interview on BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

It's put to the Lib Dem leader that for those looking for an option away from the Conservatives or Labour, polling suggests many are now looking at Reform UK.

Davey says he's "really confident" about his party's chances, saying he thinks they will win "quite a large number of seats" and he doesn't think Reform UK "is going to win very many at all".

The interview moves onto the Lib Dems penchant for visual stunts - so far Davey has been down a waterslide, ridden down a hill on a bike and fallen in a lake whilst paddle boarding.

"Let me let you into a secret," he says, "they only tell me a few hours beforehand."

He says his party is "having fun", and he says they need to take the concerns of voters seriously and communicate their ideas, but adds "don't take yourself too seriously".

Image source, PA Media

A little earlier we heard from Lib Dem leader Ed Davey on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, talking about his party's policy on carers.

Davey - himself a carer for his disabled son, and who also cared for his ill mother when he was younger - is pledging free personal care for adults in need, including the elderly and disabled.

He says he wants to pay carers an extra £2 an hour above the national living wage, "a special minimum wage for carers".

He says investing in care would help the NHS, and says a shortage of healthcare workers has seen the Conservative government allow large numbers of people from abroad to do the work.

"I respect those people, and they are a doing a good job, so I'm not being against them," he says, but he asks people to "imagine a world where we really valued carers in our own country", saying one way of doing so would be to improve pay.

Cleverly is now asked about Nigel Farage's decision to run in the general election.

First, he claims ex-leader Richard Tice has been "squeezed out", before saying Reform cannot form the next government - rather, it is a choice between the Conservatives and Labour, he says.

A vote for Reform will "open the door" to a Labour government, he claims.

Cleverly is further pushed on the Tories' record on immigration and the 10,000 people crossing the Channel in small boats this year.

Cleverly says they are committed to bringing the numbers down, but that countries across the globe are finding it challenging to control increasing immigration numbers.

"This is why the Rwanda scheme is so very important as a deterrent, something that Labour party has said they would take off the table, so they will have nowhere to send people from Syria or Iran," Cleverly says.

Image source, .

Cleverly is now asked about net migration levels, which are now three times higher than they were in 2019.

The home secretary is asked why the public should believe his party after 14 years of promising time and time again to bring down migration.

Cleverly points to other factors he says have affected the figures. For most of that time, he says, the UK was a member of the European Union and therefore had to abide by freedom of movement.

He adds that there were also "unprecedented events" such as the Covid pandemic which saw people leave but then return.

The pause on overseas students during Covid and their return later has also been a factor.

Cleverly then highlights says visas given under special circumstances for Afghans, Ukrainians, and British nationals from Hong Kong, have "distorted the figures".

Home Secretary James Cleverly is now on BBC Breakfast.

Talking about the Tories' new plan to cap migrant visas, he says there are benefits to migration, mentioning that his mother migrated to the UK.

But he says, like all policies, there is a cost to migration and that his party's policy will look at balancing the benefits and costs.

Cleverly says that "for the first time" they are going to get the migration advisory committee to look at benefit and cost levels and then issue a cap on the number of visas for that year.

Why is it suddenly possible to manage a cap, he is asked, when he previously said it would be hard to do so.

"We're committed to bringing numbers down", Cleverly says, adding it is not easy to manage immigration but that one of the aspects they have control over is work visas, which is why they will set a cap on them.