We're about to pause our coverage - thanks for reading and watching.

Follow our General Election 2024 index for the latest updates until we resume the page tomorrow.

As another day draws to an end on the campaign trail, here are some of the latest developments:

• The Conservatives are expected to pledge a permanent scrapping of stamp duty for first-time buyers on homes in England and Northern Ireland worth up to £425,000
• The shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves hit the High Street to highlight Labour's plans for smaller businesses and the rates system

• The Liberal Democrats pledged to create at least three new national parks
• Lib Dem leader Ed Davey criticised Rishi Sunak over his decision to leave D-Day events early
• SNP leader John Swinney also repeated his condemnation of the move, and Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said it was "unforgivable"
• The prime minister, who has been campaigning in north-east England today, earlier apologised and said leaving the event early was a "mistake"
• The campaigning followed a seven-way BBC debate last night, where parties discussed the economy, armed forces, NHS, immigration and climate policy, among other topics

Jessica Parker
Political correspondent

“What’s going to happen next? Are his trousers going to fall down on stage?” asked one Conservative candidate after a week which saw the prime minister make what’s widely regarded as a major political misstep by departing early from D-Day commemorations.

Speaking to Tories out on the doorstep, there are mixed reports about how far that’s coming up with voters.

Yes, the mood amongst Conservative hopefuls is pretty down overall - one of survival.

“Our entire strategy - what might give us a tiny sliver of hope - is maxing out on the local issues,” another candidate told me.

But several also insist that the dire poll ratings don’t quite match with the conversations they’ve having out on the campaign trail.

“This isn’t 1997,” said another. “There is no love for Labour. But there is an element of Conservative voters saying we might just sit on our hands and I think that’s what will decide this election.”

Georgia Roberts
BBC Scotland political correspondent

The SNP leader John Swinney is doing a whistlestop tour of a number of key seats today, including the razor tight marginal of Mid Dunbartonshire (formerly East Dunbartonshire).

The former Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson famously lost her seat here to the SNP in the 2019 general election by 149 votes. The Liberal Democrats have it firmly in their sights this time round.

But the SNP’s message today seeks to put Labour in the spotlight.

John Swinney today in a letter to Keir Starmer urges him to “be open with voters and admit where the axe will fall” under Labour’s plans for the economy, which the SNP claim will lead to deep public service cuts.

They’re saying this because they say the party are no different to the Conservatives’ tight budget plans on spending.

Scottish Labour say they have a fully costed plan to grow the economy and are in turn today accusing the SNP of “butchering” local government in Scotland and “amplifying austerity”.

Jenny Hill
reporting from the Lib Dem campaign bus

"Hello darling" Maggie said as she was wheeled towards Ed Davey.

It turns out she was addressing the therapy dog at his feet.

Fraser – a "sprocker" – accompanied the Lib Dem leader as he visited a residential care home in Wokingham.

Residents here told us that it is, perhaps unsurprisingly, provision for the over seventies and pensions which are the issues which concern them most at this election – and that’s what will influence their votes.

Julie, whose husband Gerald lives in the home, said that she’d been a Conservative voter all her life but was fed up and looking for a change. She’ll be looking at what parties offer in relation to care.

Mr Davey was enjoying a gentle chat with the residents when a visiting relative approached to ask him the question which many wonder about: if no party wins a majority, would he consider a coalition with Labour?

Mr Davey ruled out a coalition with the Conservatives but, despite repeated questioning, would not commit, saying that he was simply focused on the job in hand.

Daniel Wittenberg
Reporting from the Conservative campaign bus

Image source, PA

Rishi Sunak’s second and final formal visit for the weekend was his longest public walkabout of the campaign so far.

The Conservative leader spent about 25 minutes touring the stalls at the Great Ayton village fete in the North Yorkshire constituency where he is standing.

Most of those attending - especially families with children - were excited to see a prime minister up close. Mr Sunak, who was applauded by local Tory members as he arrived, posed for plenty of selfies and took part in a fairground game of 'splat the rat'.

A woman identifying herself as Chloe- who told reporters she was a GP and had recently joined the Labour Party – did approach the PM with some serious questions about the NHS.

Another woman, who asked the prime minister how he felt about child casualties in Gaza, was encouraged away by his press officers.

After Sunak was heckled at a football ground in Wiltshire on Friday and apologised for leaving D-Day commemorations early, his team seemed extra determined to make sure this encounter went to plan.

You can find a list of all the candidates for Richmond and Northallerton here.

Georgia Roberts
BBC Scotland political correspondent

Image source, PA Media

There’s another Conservative leader being fiercely criticised for their judgement this weekend.

Douglas Ross, the leader of the Scottish Conservatives, is facing serious questions about his leadership over his handling of an announcement that he would stand in the seat of David Duguid, the former MP for Banff and Buchan (now Aberdeenshire North and Moray East under new boundaries), who was effectively deselected.

Ross’ current Westminster seat will cease to exist under new boundaries.

It’s was announced as David Duguid is still recovering from a spinal illness in hospital – but has insisted he’s “fit to stand”.

One senior Conservative told me they thought Ross’ position was untenable.

Today, the Scottish Conservatives are keen to put the row behind them and get back to basics – potholes.

Unlike some of his colleagues, Duguid says he doesn’t think Douglas Ross should stand down as leader after the election.

“He’s taking the fight to the SNP.”

Turning to Rishi Sunak and the D-Day row, Craig Hoy, chair of the Scottish Conservatives, echoes his colleagues down south, telling me Rishi Sunak “made a mistake”.

“He should’ve remained at the commemoration and he didn’t do so. He’s apologised.”

“It’s been a tough week”, he tells me.

A full list of candidates for Aberdeenshire North and Moray East can be found here.

Marianna Spring
Disinformation and social media correspondent

Social media site X has taken action against a network smearing UK politicians, including Labour's Wes Streeting, with doctored clips - removing several accounts and posts.

It comes after a BBC investigation - part of its Undercover Voter project - revealed how a group of accounts had been creating and sharing the deepfake images ahead of the general election.

The accounts then posted misleading comments to bolster the impression the clips were real.

This is the first time X has responded to allegations I have raised with them in more than 12 months. I have contacted them more than a dozen times previously with no response.

Read more here.

Big changes have been made to the political map since 2019. Boundaries have changed and many constituencies will be new or different from the last general election for millions of people.

But the BBC has a handy page where you can find out which constituency you're in, who is standing as a candidate in your area and which polling station you can use to vote.

Click here to find out.

More than three million people tuned in for the BBC's general election debate on Friday evening.

An average audience of 3.2 million tuned in as seven party leaders answered audience questions.

If you weren't one of them, you can catch the highlights here.

Image source, Reuters

Rachel Reeves has told the BBC that Labour will only commit to tax cuts once it can say "where the money’s going to come from".

"I want taxes on working people to be as low as possible," the shadow chancellor told the BBC.

"Under the Conservatives the tax burden has reached its highest level in 70 years. That’s why I've committed not to increase the rates of income tax, national insurance or VAT."

Asked whether, if Labour did maintain the ongoing freeze on tax thresholds, it would increase the burden on working families, she said: "The Conservatives have of course locked in those changes where the tax thresholds are frozen for the next few years.

"I would like to reduce taxes on working people but you have to be able to say where the money is going to come from if you make a pledge and a claim like that.

"The public finances are in a real mess after 14 years of Conservative government.

"I will never play fast and loose with the public finances… I will never make a pledge without saying where the money’s going to come from."

Reeves refused to match the promise, expected in the Conservative manifesto, to get rid of stamp duty for first time buyers of properties costing up to £425,000.

"The problem with the Conservatives is already during the course of this campaign they’ve set out more than £71 billion of unfunded commitments," she told reporters.

"The problem is if you can’t say where the money is going to come from you can’t believe that those promises are going to be delivered," she added.

Aruna Iyengar
Reporting from the Labour election bus

The shadow chancellor hit the High Street in Farnborough today, her aim to bang the drum for smaller businesses and outline Labour's promises.

She was joined by retail guru Mary Portas.

They took in a lunchtime cuppa at a cafe where they met with local business owners, one of whom, a shoe shop owner, said energy costs were a problem for small businesses, and that parking restrictions had made it difficult to get footfall on high streets. Others said high business rates were a concern - something Labour has pledged to overhaul, should it come to power.

Inside the shoe shop the big reveal of the day was that Reeves has a solid footing - sporting size 7.5.

Portas advised David Cameron's coalition government on how to revive High Streets in 2010. She even wrote a White Paper - a policy document produced by the government that sets out their proposals for future legislation - on it. Today she was unapologetic about the switch to Labour, saying the party would breathe new life into the High Street.

You can see the full list of candidates standing in Aldershot (the constituency which covers Farnborough) here.

David Henderson
Political Correspondent, Scotland

Image source, PA Media

This morning, SNP leader John Swinney's election campaign brought him to a theatre and dance studio in Livingston, near Edinburgh.

The SNP has held this constituency since 2015, but for decades it was staunch Labour territory, held by MP Robin Cook.

So much of what Mr Swinney said while he was there aims to win over voters who may be tempted to return to the Labour fold.

For him, the biggest unspoken issue in this election is the prospect of billions of pounds of spending cuts, which he claims are “agreed by the Conservatives, and endorsed by Labour”, which are "coming down the tracks towards us".

Public services, he said, are under enormous strain, and can't take more cuts.

He said Labour and the Tories were guilty of a "conspiracy of silence" - which only the SNP could challenge.

You can see a full list of the candidates standing in Livingston here.

Hamzah Abbas
Reporting from the Lib Dem election bus

Image source, PA Media

We are now at the second location on the Lib Dem's campaign trail today - as has become increasingly common for the party, we have a slightly strange backdrop.

We have arrived in Wokingham, where Ed Davey is playing some mini golf on a dinosaur-themed course.

You can see the full list of candidates standing in Wokingham here.

Adam is joined by Laura Kuenssberg and Henry Zeffman to discuss how the prime minister’s decision to leave D-Day events early could overshadow the rest of the general election campaign. And what might come up in next week’s manifestos?

Listen to the latest episode of Newscast.

Jenny Hill
Reporting from the Lib Dem campaign bus

Image source, PA Media

As Ed Davey smacked tennis balls over the nets of a court in Newbury, two locals stopped to watch – with an unusually critical eye.

Tom and Carrie told us they chair their local tennis club.

Their verdict? The Lib Dem leader was playing "surprisingly well actually. He’s got a pretty good forehand".

Carrie’s due to give birth to their first child in September. For them, one issue dominates this election: "childcare costs, and we’re already looking at nurseries because of how busy they are".

Nearby, an older couple watched Davey as he started a game of doubles with the local candidate.

For them, the election - and the question of who’ll get their vote - comes down to one thing: trust.

"I’m looking for a person and party that will do what they say they’ll do," they say.

You can see a full list of the candidates standing in Newbury here.

Tom Symonds
Reporting from the Conservative campaign bus

Image source, PA Media

Rishi Sunak’s just left a sunny Bishop Auckland where he met volunteers on an allotment taking part in the Big Help Out scheme.

As word got around he was visiting, a crowd gathered, but Mr Sunak ducked into a car and left.

I asked people for their views about his campaign so far.

On the decision to return early from the D-Day commemorations one man said he didn’t care. But most felt it was more likely to have been a failure of government diary planning, than of personal judgement. Mr Sunak hasn’t confirmed why the decision was taken but he has apologised and said it was a "mistake".

His campaigning today will be winding down this afternoon, at the end of a difficult week.

Image source, PA

More now from Keir Starmer, who has been campaigning at a brewery, alongside Dragons' Den star Deborah Meaden.

Asked by broadcasters if the Labour manifesto would include tax cuts, Starmer says there “won’t be any surprises on tax”.

The Labour leader adds: “All of our plans are fully costed, fully funded, none of them involving tax rises over and above those that we have already set out.”

The party's shadow business secretary Jonathan Reynolds spoke to the BBC about Labour's tax plans earlier today.

Like Starmer, Reynolds said there would be "no additional taxes on households under a Labour government when it comes to things like income tax or VAT", but did admit that if his party came to power, "we would inherit the government’s spending plans" which he says include "tax rises".

He gave the example of the personal allowance for income tax which is set be frozen for several years under existing plans, adding he is "candid" they are inheriting those plans, but says "that is not the same as the false claims the Conservative Party have put forward".

Image source, PA Media

Keir Starmer is on the campaign trail in north London today, joined by Dragons' Den star Deborah Meaden.

The Labour leader says he wants to level the playing field between online businesses and those that are "sort of bricks and mortar".

He's particularly focusing on small businesses today and is speaking about his plans to overhaul the business rates system - tax on business properties - and also claims his plans to set up a publicly-owned company called Great British Energy would help lower their bills.

Meaden tells the PA new agency: “I think GB Energy is absolutely brilliant, I think it does everything that I care about."

Image source, PA Media

More now on the row over Sunak leaving D-Day events early, with SNP leader John Swinney saying the prime minister's credibility is "completely destroyed”.

Speaking to journalists on the campaign trail in Livingston, West Lothian, Swinney says it was a "desertion of the international responsibilities of the prime minister", claiming the Tory election campaign is "now utterly in tatters".

A reminder: Sunak attended D-Day events in the UK and in Normandy, but left France before the international leaders event, leaving Foreign Secretary David Cameron to deputise for him. The move sparked widespread criticism, and Sunak swiftly apologised, conceding "on reflection, that was a mistake".

You can see a list of candidates standing in Livingstone here.