As we were reporting earlier, Welsh First Minister Vaughan Gething said he wouldn't resign, despite losing a vote of no confidence in his leadership.

Speaking to the BBC earlier, Welsh Labour's Vikki Howells called the vote a "Tory gimmick".

Howells said that opposition parties "refused to pair" when two Labour members of the Senedd did not vote because they were sick.

When challenged that both members had been critical of Gething in the past, Howells said she's sure they would have voted to show confidence in the first minister had they been present.

Gething didn't break any rules over a £200K donation from a man convicted of environmental offences to his leadership campaign, so he shouldn't have to pay it back, she added.Howells also said that Gething couldn't accept a loan from his colleague, fellow MS Jenny Rathbone that's been offered, to pay it back, as it would be a breach of the ministerial code.

However, she added, any money that's not been spent will be donated to "progressive causes".

What do the latest polls tell us?published at 13:00 British Summer Time 6 June

13:00 BST 6 June

Peter Barnes
Senior political analyst

YouGov has published the first poll conducted since Nigel Farage became leader of Reform UK and announced he would be standing as a candidate in the election.

It has Reform on 17%, which is the highest they've achieved in any poll since the party changed its name from the Brexit Party, only two points behind the Conservatives on 19%.

Now, YouGov have generally been the pollster which has been most favourable for Reform. And it's also worth saying that they've made changes to their methodology, which makes comparing this new poll with their previous ones harder.

But it's still a striking result.

Of course, this is just one poll, so we'll need to wait to see if it's a trend that's repeated in others. And it's not enough to have a significant impact on the poll tracker averages. Most other recent polls have shown no significant changes.

On average, Labour retain their commanding position on 44% with the Conservatives 20 points behind. Reform are just ahead of the Lib Dems, with the Greens still on 5% and the SNP on 3%.

• You can read more here.

Image source, Pool

As we reported earlier, the Greens have been launching their plans to "nurse the NHS back to health" by delivering an extra £30bn a year for the NHS in England, as well as £20bn a year for social care, by 2030.

Co-leader Adrian Ramsay has just been outlining more details of the Green Party's pledges - these include:

• Investing £5bn a year to boost NHS salaries
• Restoring £1.5bn of funding for public health budgets, which Ramsay says have been "cut to the bone"
• Spending £20bn on a capital investment programme to improve hospital and primary care facilities
• Ensuring people who need mental health treatments can access them within 28 days
• Introducing free personal care for those with social care needs

How will all this be paid for? Well, Ramsay told Radio 4's Today programme earlier that his party planned to tax the "very richest" people in order to raise "tens of billions" over the next five years. They'd also adjust capital gains and windfall taxes for oil and gas companies.

He says the plans are a "cast-iron Green guarantee for a fully funded, fully public NHS” - and more specific details will be revealed when the party's manifesto is released next Wednesday in Brighton.

Ed Davey may be enjoying the more light-hearted side of the election trail (see our last post and this video that did the rounds), but he's still very much campaigning in the run up to 4 July.

Asked by reporters today about his party's pledge to ensure the legal right for cancer patients' treatment within 62 days from urgent referral, and whether this means people could sue the NHS, the Lib Dem leader says that's right - but it's something the party "wants to avoid".

Instead, he says he wants to ensure that complaints from those living with cancer who aren't being treated quickly enough are addressed.

When asked about the revelation that the Conservative Party accepted a further donation from Frank Hester after he was accused of making racist comments about Labour's Diane Abbott, Davey replies: "I don't know how low the Conservatives are going to go".

Sunak should "hang his head in shame" and give the money back, he says, calling for reform of how political donations work.

Image source, Pool

He's at it again. Ed Davey, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, has been putting his barbecue skills to the test at an event in the Wiltshire town of Chippenham.

Wearing an apron that describes himself as king of the grill, Davey was all smiles. Though we did see at least one sausage go astray.

Over the last few days, Davey's been campaigning on his party's plans for social care, including free personal care for older or disabled people at home.

The Lib Dems have also announced that their manifesto will include the commitment to enshrine the legal right for cancer patients' treatment to start within 62 days from urgent referral.

To the Labour Party now, which is being criticised for spending "eye-watering sums" on legal action against five former members of staff.

The now-dropped case involved two key figures from the Jeremy Corbyn era, and has cost the party at least £1.5m.

The five had strongly denied leaking a controversial report soon after Keir Starmer became Labour leader in 2020.

A former shadow cabinet member - who did not wish to identified - told the BBC the party should have dropped the legal action earlier: "This is a huge embarrassment for the party, which has wasted eye-watering sums which could have made the difference in key seats in this election."

Labour had said previously it was confident of its case.

• Read more on this here

As we've just been saying, it's a relatively quiet day on the general election campaign trail, in large part because some of the big players are in France taking part in D-Day memorial events.

We're covering that live in a separate live page here - but here's a look at what leaders are up to.

Image source, PA Media

Image source, PA Media

Image source, PA Media

Image source, PA Media

Sam Hancock
Live editor

Well, we weren't wrong when we warned earlier that today could be quieter in the world of politics because of D-Day commemorations.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Labour leader Keir Starmer, Scottish First Minister John Swinney and Reform UK's Nigel Farage are among the political figures in Normandy - so it's no surprise there've been less campaign events scheduled.

Still, we've had the odd bit of election-related news, including NHS policies from the Greens and a surprise announcement by Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross that he will in fact stand for a seat in Westminster at the election. He previously said he wouldn't to focus on being an MSP - you can read more on that here.

Thanks for sticking with us so far - we'll continue to bring you the latest, from across the country, as and when we get it.

Back to the Scottish Conservative news conference now, where Douglas Ross - who's been announcing that he'll stand for a Commons seat at the election - is taking questions from reporters.

The BBC's David Wallace Lockhart put it to Ross: "It looks like you've sacked a sick man who wanted to stay as a candidate and put yourself in there.

"Does that not look quite callous?"

The Scottish Tory leader says it was the Scottish Conservative Party management board that made the decision about David Duguid.

They had to look at Duguid's health, he adds, and they had to put his best interests and recovery first.

• Read more about that here

Douglas Ross looks for winnable seat - but he faces discontentpublished at 10:16 British Summer Time 6 June

10:16 BST 6 June

Philip Sim
Scotland political correspondent

Part of Douglas Ross’s decision could be explained by the sweeping boundary changes in the north of Scotland.

The new Aberdeenshire North and Moray East constituency does contain a chunk of the Scottish Conservative leader's old Moray stomping ground - around 25% of it.

With a notional 5% Tory majority, it’s possibly a better prospect for the Tory leader than Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey, which has merged into an area so packed with SNP-voting wards that it is considered an SNP defence for this election.

Indeed this seat is probably the safest on offer for the Conservatives in the north-east, one of their two Scottish heartlands along with the borders.

It will still be a tough contest though, with the SNP keen to retake the area once represented by Alex Salmond.

Given Ross had pledged to focus fully on Holyrood ahead of the Scottish elections in 2026, there will be questions about where his commitments lie.

There will be derision from his opponents, but Ross may also have to contend with discontent in his own group of MSPs if they think he's lining up a longer-term gig in London rather than putting all of his chips behind a bid to become first minister.

• A full list of candidates will be published by the BBC after nominations close on 7 June

Back in Scotland, Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross has formally announced some news that we brought you a little earlier - his intention to seek the Conservative Party nomination for the new Aberdeenshire North and Moray East constituency.

As we've reported already, it comes after the Conservatives effectively de-selected David Duguid as the seat's candidate. Duguid, who's unwell, has been the MP for Banff and Buchan since 2017.

Ross says that over the last 12 hours, he's weighed up the options and discussed it with his family, colleagues and local members.

"The SNP are down - now let’s get them out," he tells gathered reporters, adding that he wants to lead from the front.

We've a bit more to bring you now from Green Party co-leader Adrian Ramsay's interview on the Today programme - after he appeared to distance himself from a maternity and childbirth policy which was on the party's website in April 2024.

The document, which has now been removed, read: "We will work to reduce the number of interventions in childbirth, and change the culture of the NHS so that birth is treated as a normal and non-medical event."

It described C-sections as "expensive" and "when not medically required, risky", prompting concerns on social media.

When challenged by the BBC's Emma Barnett, who says the NHS is trying to take away the stigma of C-sections being non-normal, Ramsay says it's not in the party's manifesto for the next election - adding:

Image source, PA Media

Away from Scotland and as we've been reporting today, the Greens are launching their plans for the NHS - and we've just been hearing them outlined by Adrian Ramsay, co-leader of the Green Party of England and Wales (there are separate leaders in Scotland and Northern Ireland).

His party plans to deliver an extra £30bn a year for the NHS in England, plus £20bn for social care, by 2030 - and he tells Radio 4's Today programme that's because the NHS is in a "desperate situation" and the Greens are the only party being "honest" by saying that to both "defend and restore" the NHS "we are going to need to put in the funding that's needed".

His party's plans are "fully-costed", he says, outlining a proposal for the "very richest" to pay more tax - a 1% tax on assets over £10m and 2% on assets over £1bn would raise "tens of billions" over the next five years, he says.

That would raise at least £16bn, he says, and when challenged over where additional funds would come from, he adds that his party is proposing to equalise taxes on capital gains tax with those on incomes and extend the windfall tax on oil and gas companies. A full breakdown of costings will be included in the Green Party manifesto, he says.

Ross could be playing the political long gamepublished at 09:08 British Summer Time 6 June

09:08 BST 6 June

David Wallace Lockhart
Political correspondent

So why has Douglas Ross U-turned on his pledge to not run again for Westminster?

The Scottish Conservative leader currently has two political jobs, as an MP and an MSP (member of Scottish Parliament), but has spent some time saying he wouldn’t try to stay an MP at the next election.

His current Westminster seat will cease to exist under new boundaries.

This morning he’ll argue these are exceptional circumstances, and with David Duguid no longer a candidate, it makes sense for him to step up to be the candidate in a winnable seat for the Scottish Tories in the north east of Scotland.

However, Ross may well be thinking about the long game.

He currently leads the largest opposition party at Holyrood but polls are suggesting a Labour revival.

When the Scottish parliament has elections in 2026, the Conservatives may well slip to third place. That could even lead to a change of leadership.

Ross may well have considered that hanging on in Westminster keeps more political options open to him in the coming years.

Glenn Campbell
Scotland political editor

Image source, PA Media

Douglas Ross, the leader of the Scottish Conservatives, is set to stand for a Westminster seat in the general election.

Ross is replacing the former Scotland Office minister David Duguid as the party’s candidate in Aberdeenshire North and Moray East.

Duguid, who is unwell, was effectively de-selected as the Conservative candidate yesterday.

Ross was supposed to be standing down from Westminster at this election to concentrate on his job as an MSP and the 2026 Holyrood election campaign.

Continuing his interview with the Today programme, Robert Chote is asked about the claim that Treasury officials have costed Labour's tax policies.

There is a "strange precedent", he says, whereby ministers can ask Treasury officials to cost opposition policies based on the interpretation of their own political advisers.

"I think, and this is a personal view, not one of the Authority, that this was a bad precedent when it started and we would much be better off without it," he says.

The practice "confuses the picture" and "puts the Treasury in a very difficult position", he says, adding: "Both the advisers and the Treasury have played by this rulebook which is long-established, but I think it's a rulebook we could probably do without."

A dispute between Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak has been making headlines over the last 24 hours - and we've just heard the chair of the UK Statistics Authority speaking about it on Radio 4's Today programme.

On communicating statistics to the public, Robert Chote says that in cases where complicated analysis is being distilled into soundbites, it's a good idea to ask if the average person would have a realistic chance of understanding it without have to read several pages of explanatory material.

"The prime minister, ministers, basically said or implied that this had been signed off in total by the Treasury, the Treasury permanent secretary has himself said that that wasn't the case," Chote explains. "And clearly having that in dispute is not great for overall trust in the dialogue and in the debate as a whole."

He says it's not his role to fact-check the number, but: "When you've got people getting the wrong picture about the confidence, the independent verification that goes behind this, then that's not a great place to be."

For context: Sunak said on Tuesday that taxes would rise by £2,000 under Labour, and claimed "independent Treasury officials" has costed the figure. But a letter from the Treasury's top civil servant showed the department distancing itself from the number. The Office for Statistics Regulation - which is the independent regulatory arm of the UK Statistics Authority - is investigating.

Image source, PA Media

Welsh Labour First Minister Vaughan Gething has said he won't resign, despite losing a vote of no confidence in his leadership.

Here's a quick reminder of what happened yesterday in the Welsh parliament:

• 29 Senedd members voted in favour of the motion, and 27 against - two of Gething's Welsh Labour colleagues were said to be too ill to take part
• The vote isn't binding, but puts further pressure on Gething, who's only been in post since March
• The motion was tabled after the collapse of the co-operation deal between Labour and Plaid Cymru
• Opposition parties called for him to go over a £200,000 donation to his leadership campaign from a man convicted of environmental offences

• Senior UK Labour figures, including Keir Starmer, have backed Gething publicly
• Gething, in tears during the debate, is now in Normandy to take part in D-Day commemoration events

A bit more now from Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth, who describes Welsh FM Vaughan Gething's decision not to resign as "damaging" for Welsh democracy.

Wednesday's no confidence vote was as a "solemn day" for Wales, he says, and urges Gething to adopt the "only honourable response" and step down.

Gething - who was at times tearful during the debate yesterday - told Senedd members he was going to "carry on doing my duty" despite losing the vote.

Until last month, Plaid formally supported Wales's Labour government in the Senedd, but Ap Iorwerth describes the situation around Gething as "unprecedented".

Ap Iorwerth, who took over his party in June 2023 after its previous leader resigned over a harassment scandal, rejects accusations he supported the Tory-led effort to oust Gething in order to boost his own political fortunes.

"This isn't playing politics - it's taking politics very seriously," he tells the Today programme.

• Read more about the donation controversy and Gething's response here

Image source, PA Media

We've just been listening to the leader of Plaid Cymru talk to Radio 4's Today programme - Rhun ap Iorwerth says he'd consider backing an attempt to collapse the Welsh government after a vote of no confidence failed to oust Labour First Minister Vaughan Gething.

Yesterday, the pro-independence party backed a Conservative vote of no confidence in Gething following weeks of controversy around a controversial donation to his leadership campaign.

It narrowly passed after two Labour members failed to vote in the Senedd because they said they were unwell.

Despite losing the vote, Gething has refused to stand down and retains the public support of Labour leader Keir Starmer.

Ap Iorwerth tells the programme that another confidence vote, this time on the Welsh government as a whole, is "an option at a time like this". Pressed on whether the party has actively decided to push for that vote, he says "we'll reflect on what happened yesterday" - adding he's "considering the options available".