Lorna Gordon
Scotland correspondent, in Edinburgh

The UK government is taking a “hostile approach” to migration, according to John Swinney.

The leader of the SNP says he “completely rejects” what he describes as the “anti-migration” policy of Labour and the Conservatives.

Swinney says Scotland has low unemployment and a shortage of people to undertake jobs in areas such as social care.

He argues the country “shouldn’t be putting up the barriers, as Labour, the Conservatives and Nigel Farage are all prepared to do".

Do Lib Dem care costings add up?published at 13:14 British Summer Time 4 June

13:14 BST 4 June

Let’s take a closer look at the Lib Dem pledge to offer free personal care to older or disabled people at home.

It would cost £2.7bn a year by 2028-29 and would be fully funded by reversing tax cuts given to big banks, the party claims.

A similar pledge was made back in March 2023, external, when the Lib Dems said it would reverse government cuts to the bank surcharge (a tax aimed at banks’ profits) and the bank levy (a tax on banks’ balance sheets).

Despite the party setting out how it would fund the policy, the Nuffield Trust – an independent think-tank – says the amount “looks to be inadequate”.

Defending the sums, Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey says the policy also would save the NHS “up to £3bn or more” from fewer hospital stays.

This is based on a 2019 report by the Institute for Public Policy Research, external. It estimates free personal care could generate savings of up to £2bn per year, rising to £3.3bn by 2031.

Alex Forsyth
Political correspondent

I’ve just been inside the ITV studio where tonight’s first head-to-head TV debate between Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer will take place.

It’s a smart set, the podiums ready on a slightly raised platform surrounded by strip lights and the slogan “Sunak v Starmer”.

The chairs are laid out ready for a live audience of 80-100 people, some of whom will get the chance to put their questions to the two party leaders.

You might wonder why there’s a lot of hype around these TV debates, but they can matter.

Sometimes they produce pivotal moments in election campaigns - you might remember David Cameron and Gordon Brown saying “I agree with Nick” during the 2010 election debates, which boosted the then Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg’s profile.

They can also influence the mood of a campaign, and they provide the chance for important scrutiny of the policies of the two men vying to be the next prime minister of the UK.

Joe Pike
Political investigations correspondent

Diane Abbott has told the BBC she will "definitely" stand as Labour's candidate in Hackney North.

Her comments came just minutes after the party's ruling National Executive Committee (NEC) approved its list of election candidates.

"Oh yes. I'm definitely going to stand," she says.

When asked how she felt she had been treated by Labour leader Keir Starmer in recent months, Abbott did not respond.

Helen Catt
Political correspondent, reporting from Kent

Image source, PA Media

Home Secretary James Cleverly has denied his party will tack to the right to counter a threat from Nigel Farage and Reform UK.

Speaking to broadcasters earlier, he said that Conservative policies were based on their "assessment of what is in the best interest of the British people".

He said: "Our motivation is driven by the needs of the British people, not by someone who's a very, very good media performer, I've no doubt at that at all, who clearly couldn't restrain himself when the thought that Richard Tice would be getting the TV slots that Farage clearly feels are rightfully his."

Answering questions from journalists about Farage, he said that he had been "very, very clear in his aspirations: he wants to hurt the Conservative Party. That is not the same thing as serving the British people."

He also suggested that Reform was being used by Farage, saying "if you are the third political party to be used as a vehicle to promote his media work, you'd be a bit bruised. If I was Richard Tice, I'd be fuming but that's up to them".

Lorna Gordon
Scotland correspondent, in Edinburgh

Unlike at Westminster, business at the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh continues.

This means John Swinney has to juggle the day job heading up the Scottish Government and also answering questions at Holyrood, with his role campaigning as leader of the SNP.

He’s been at the weekly Scottish cabinet meeting this morning, and this afternoon he’ll be travelling to take part in D-Day commemorations.

In between - with his SNP campaign hat on - he is here in Newhaven visiting a nursery in the constituency of Edinburgh North and Leith.

It’s a seat the SNP have held since their landslide win at the 2015 general election, when they won 56 out of 59 Scottish seats.

And it’s the kind of seat Labour will want to win back if they are to overtake the SNP in the number of Scottish MPs at Westminster.

Image source, PA Media

Lucy Manning
Special correspondent, reporting from Clacton-on-Sea, Essex

Image source, PA Media

Nigel Farage has launched his campaign to become the next MP for Clacton after his U-turn yesterday.

He called it “the most patriotic town in Britain”.

He promised he wouldn’t give them “woke politics” and claimed that he would liven up Westminster politics and “stand up for the little guy”.

He spoke about gender ideology, immigration and Brexit.

There were some shouts of "we love you Nigel" as a few hundred people gathered to hear him by Clacton Pier. There were also a few who told him he wasn’t local, and knew nothing about Clacton.

Farage told the crowd he hoped having a national figure as their MP would put Clacton on the map.

“Send me to Parliament to be a bloody nuisance,” was his message.

He was mobbed by supporters and closely followed by the media as he walked back up the road.

• The BBC News website will have a full list of candidates in Clacton after nominations close on Friday

Image source, PA Media

Ed Davey is now asked about the cost for his social care plan, which he says will total £3.7bn - £2.7bn of which is made up of personal care costs. The remaining will fund the extra pay for care workers.

He says this will be funded by reversing tax cuts to big banks.

When asked if the Liberal Democrats have done their sums correctly when it comes to the cost, Davey says he's happy to engage with people over them.

He adds that the party wants to be "cautious and conservative" when it comes to its financial estimates.

Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey, who is campaigning in Cheadle today, tells reporters that the issue of personal care is an issue close to his heart, sharing that he had to look after his mother when she was ill and now after his disabled son.

He says that social care is under pressure, that millions of families in the UK need more support but that it's also about the people who work in the care sector who need to be looked after and that's why his party is putting forward a pledge to increase their wages.

"If we do that we rescue our NHS," Davey says, adding that "it's on its knees" because there has been no investments in personal care which would help relieve pressure on the NHS.

The Lib Dems are pledging to make day-to-day care for adults in need, including the elderly and disabled, free in England.

Currently only those with an income and assets under £23,250 get help with the costs of care at home or in residential and nursing homes in England – the least generous system in the UK.

The Lib Dems say they would introduce free personal care – a similar system to the one that operates in Scotland.

It would cover costs like nursing care and daily support, including hygiene and medication, for older and disabled people with high needs.

Those needing residential care would still have to contribute towards their accommodation.

The party also wants to tackle the shortage of care workers by introducing a carer's minimum wage, at a rate £2 above the standard minimum wage.

The Lib Dems say their plans for care would be fully funded by reversing tax cuts offered to big banks in recent years, but independent experts suggest the potential costs of this policy are likely to be higher.

• You can read more here.

Damian Grammaticas
Political correspondent, reporting from Cheadle, Greater Manchester

Image source, PA Media

The Lib Dems' attempt at an eye-catching moment today was Sir Ed Davey with a giant blue Jenga set.

It wasn’t quite a blue wall, but the analogy kind of works.

They want you to know their focus is firmly on knocking bricks out of the "blue wall" to bring it crashing down, as they hope to capture blue Conservative seats.

Sir Ed’s team say this is all a very deliberate strategy.

They are competing with the bigger Conservative and Labour machines to get their message heard by voters, and they think it’s working.

Even political rivals they say are starting to ask, "What’s your surprise you have planned today?"

The risk of course is that while trying to look fun people remember only the frivolous bits and not the substance.

Image source, Reuters

While party leaders have been keen to stress how much they are enjoying getting out on the campaign trail, one candidate has offered a slightly more candid perspective.

Johnny Mercer, a minister in the Cabinet Office, posted a video on social media impersonating the usual upbeat mood candidates attempt to project, only to drop the act and say, more frankly, "it's pretty hard going".

He says it's raining, people are tired and even swears as he refers to the day before, but he says he will keep going, before returning to his campaign messages.

Mercer is standing for Conservatives in the Plymouth Moor View constituency - a full list of candidates will be available on the BBC News website when nominations close on Friday.

Joe Pike
Political Investigations Correspondent

Image source, PA Media

Labour's Barking candidate Darren Rodwell has been removed from the list of election candidates being approved by the party's National Executive Committee (NEC) this lunchtime.

The decision follows BBC reports into his conduct.

An internal process into allegations concerning Rodwell is underway, the BBC understands.

The NEC will likely make a decision over who will be Labour’s candidate in the seat in the next 48 hours.

Darren Rodwell has been contacted for comment.

Net migration has fallen but context neededpublished at 11:34 British Summer Time 4 June

11:34 BST 4 June

The Conservatives are claiming they cut net migration by 10% last year, and that their existing visa restrictions will mean 300,000 fewer people are eligible to come to the UK.

It’s correct that net migration fell by 10% in 2023.

Office for National Statistics estimates suggest net migration in the year ending December 2023 was 685,000 - down from 764,000 in the year ending December 2022.

However, this was largely due to a major drop in the flows of people coming to settle in the UK from Hong Kong and Ukraine via humanitarian routes, not the government’s visa measures which only came into effect only in 2024, external.

The claim that those new visa restrictions - such as restricting the ability of care workers to bring dependants - will reduce inflows by 300,000 is based on Home Office analysis, external of the migrants who came in 2023 and would not have been eligible to come today.

But it does not necessarily follow that overall migrant inflows will fall by 300,000, as people could potentially come by other routes.

More now from Home Secretary James Cleverly, who is campaigning in Kent today.

Speaking to reporters, he denies that giving the Migration Advisory Committee a role in setting the level of the proposed visa cap amounts to passing the buck to a quango.

He says it's about having a "balanced assessment" of both the advantages and costs of migration.

He compares the plan to the process for voting on the budget, saying: "The government takes analysis, it makes policy and it is tested in a vote in Parliament.”

You can see more detail on what the Conservatives are proposing in the previous post.

The Conservatives are vowing to cap the number of migrant visas, reduce the number each year for five years, and to give MPs a vote on annual limits.

The cap would limit the number of work or family visas but would exempt temporary work routes, such as seasonal agricultural workers.

The party is not saying exactly how many visas should be allowed each year, but for the first time it would give MPs a chance for an annual vote.

So how would it work?

• If returned to government, the Conservatives say they will ask the independent migration advisory committee to provide a recommended level for an annual cap
• They say the remit given to the committee will be to bring migration down to “sustainable” levels, for it to fall year-on-year over the next five-year Parliament, and to prioritise the economy, considering both the costs and benefits of migration
• The government will then consider the advice and put forward a proposal for Parliament to vote on

Labour said the party is "rehashing failed announcements" made in previous years, and said net migration trebled since the last election.

Starmer is finally asked how he is feeling ahead of the first head-to-head TV debate tonight.

"Very good!" Starmer says, adding he is looking forward to the opportunity to speak directly to voters and to make his argument tonight.

"At the end of the day, it is that clear choice and I think voters will see that tonight. More of the same, we've had 14 years of this and after 14 years nothing is better than when the Tories started."

Keir Starmer is asked if he has spoken to Diane Abbott since she posted a tweet - swiftly deleted - accusing him of "more lies" about respecting her.

He does not answer this but says Labour has "dealt with the Diane Abbott issue" and that he has made his position clear that she is free to run as a party candidate.

Starmer is then asked about the resignation of seven Labour councillors in Slough over the treatment of Abbott among other issues.

"Across the country, we've got brilliant teams out across every constituency fighting for votes in this general election," Starmer says in response.

"We're in good form, we're making a positive argument about the choice before the country."

After chatting to pensioners (see previous post), Keir Starmer has been speaking to the media at a cafe in Bolton.

He's asked about immigration, which he says the Tories have let get "out of control".

He says the Tories are now talking about a cap on migration visas, but the Labour leader says they haven't given a number, saying it's a "cap without a cap".

"It's utter chaos, they've lost control," Starmer says.

When pressed on whether Labour will name a figure for reducing migration, Starmer says he wants immigration to come down but won't name a figure.

He says he wants to to tackle the "central issue" of a skills shortage and "bad bosses" who are undercutting labour standards.

Hannah Miller
Political correspondent, in Bolton

"Where do you sleep?"

Lots of laughs as Pauline asks Keir Starmer where he sleeps.

Visiting a café in Bolton he’s been chatting to pensioners who’ve been invited by the Labour Party to meet the leader.

"That’s a very forward question. Everything is above board, as it should be..." replies Sir Keir.

Pauline tells me she’s impressed, and remarks that Keir Starmer seems a lot more relaxed than he did when he first became leader.

He told another group that while he’s out on the campaign trail his son is doing his GCSEs.

"While I’m doing this, my boy who is 15 is doing his GCSEs. It was maths yesterday."