Summary

  • Parties are back on the campaign trail, with the Tories pushing a permanent cut to stamp duty, Labour outlining its position on business rates, and the Lib Dems pledging three new national parks

  • Lib Dem leader Ed Davey is in Newbury where he took part in game of tennis, before criticising Rishi Sunak over his decision to leave D-Day events early

  • The SNP leader John Swinney also hit out at the PM's actions, saying they had "completely destroyed" his credibility

  • Sunak has apologised and said leaving the event early was a "mistake"

  • Meanwhile, the PM met volunteers in Bishop Auckland, while Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer was campaigning at a brewery in north London with Dragons Den star Deborah Meaden

  • Saturday's campaigning follows a seven-way BBC debate where parties locked horns over the economy, armed forces, NHS, immigration and climate policy

  • Labour's Angela Rayner clashed with Penny Mordaunt after the Conservative minister repeated the contested £2,000 tax rise claim about Labour

  • The figure was a focus of early interviews on Saturday, with the Tories standing by the figure and Labour again branding it "misleading"

  1. Postpublished at 21:01 British Summer Time 7 June

    Media caption,

    General election 2024: Daisy Cooper promises Lib Dems will 'deliver change'

    Daisy Cooper of the Lib Dems says the UK is "crying out for change and it's not hard to see why".

    She adds every vote for the Lib Dems is a vote for a fair deal, and to deliver change the country "desperately wants" and needs.

  2. Postpublished at 21:01 British Summer Time 7 June

    Media caption,

    We will defend this nation - Mordaunt's closing statement

    For the Conservatives, Penny Mordaunt says the country has come through tough times and a choice is to be made.

    She says you can choose Angela Rayner and Keir Starmer and have "higher taxes", higher bills, have your pension "raided", or stick with the Tories who will "cut taxes and protect your pensions and defend this nation".

  3. Postpublished at 21:00 British Summer Time 7 June

    Media caption,

    General election 2024: 'Stop taking Wales for granted' - ap Iorwerth

    Iorwerth of Plaid Cymru calls for a different kind of positive politics.

    He says the election is a real chance to send Labour a message - to stop taking Wales for granted.

  4. Postpublished at 21:00 British Summer Time 7 June

    Media caption,

    We deserve real hope and real change - Denyer's closing statement

    Continuing the theme, Carla Denyer for the Greens says the Tories are "toast" - but adds that voters deserve better than Labour promising more of the same.

    She says the Greens are on the cusp of breaking through in seats across the country.

  5. Postpublished at 20:58 British Summer Time 7 June

    Media caption,

    General election 2024: 'Vote to put Scotland's interests first' - SNP's Stephen Flynn

    Flynn says the Tories are "finished" so voters in Scotland should consider who will put the country's "interests first".

    He says the SNP would prioritise the NHS, focus on re-joining the single market and delivering on net zero.

    Flynn concludes by saying that, unlike Labour, the SNP would never get comfortable with the "Westminster status quo".

  6. Postpublished at 20:57 British Summer Time 7 June

    Media caption,

    If you want change vote Labour - Rayner's closing statement

    Labour's Angela Rayner begins her final pitch by saying "after 14 years of chaos, it's time for change".

    She says Keir Starmer has changed Labour, and pledges their "fully-costed" plans will bring down NHS waiting times, improve the economy and take control of the UK's borders.

    Driving home her message, she concludes by saying: "If you want change, vote Labour."

  7. Panellists give their closing statementspublished at 20:56 British Summer Time 7 June

    view of the stageImage source, PA

    The panellists are now giving their 30-second closing statements.

  8. Postpublished at 20:56 British Summer Time 7 June

    Flynn says serious knife crime in Scotland is comparatively low, though he also worries for his children. He adds that police numbers are higher than when the SNP came to power.

    He says poverty is a major driver of crime and Westminster has failed many generations of young people who turn to violence.

    Farage says low-level and street-level crime is rapidly growing.

    He brings up old theories about cleaning up New York, where you deal with the small stuff such as people carrying knives, shoplifting, broken windows, you might fix the more serious stuff higher up.

  9. Postpublished at 20:54 British Summer Time 7 June

    Media caption,

    General election 2024: Plaid Cymru leader calls for further devolution of Wales

    Rhun ap Iorwerth agrees that some areas have higher levels of crime - those areas suffering from more poverty, with less hope, where people are more likely to lead criminal lives.

    He says education needs to be looked at but also wants decision making on this issue to be devolved to Welsh communities.

  10. Postpublished at 20:53 British Summer Time 7 June

    Angela Rayner says neither young people or their parents feel safe in their home areas.

    She says this is due to the Conservatives cutting police numbers over the past 14 years, a claim Mordaunt rejects.

    Rayner says Labour would put 13,000 new officers on the streets. She claims that when officers embedded in neighbourhoods they get to know young people and make the area more secure.

  11. Postpublished at 20:52 British Summer Time 7 June

    Mordaunt says, if computer crimes like internet fraud are removed, the Conservatives have got crime rates down.

    She acknowledges there are "hot spots" of crime and claims her party have put more police on their streets.

  12. Postpublished at 20:52 British Summer Time 7 June

    Daisy Cooper says the policing models need to change and we need to get back to a "good old fashioned model of policing" where officers get their intelligence from the ground up.

    Nigel Farage says we know the areas where knife crime is most prevalent, adding that the problem of knife crime won't be dealt with unless we go out and "do what needs to be done".

    "We're scared of our own shadow here," he says.

  13. Postpublished at 20:50 British Summer Time 7 June

    Denyer says the Greens would put more police on the streets, while also tackling some of the causes of knife crime because young people are losing access to services.

    Farage calls for a return to "stop and search", saying it works - which gets applause. And he calls for longer sentences.

    He adds that you can shoplift up to £200 of goods and not be prosecuted, because government and police are "scared" to act.

  14. Analysis

    Rayner and Flynn in bust-up on Labour's energy planspublished at 20:47 British Summer Time 7 June

    Henry Zeffman
    Chief political correspondent

    Angela Rayner and Stephen Flynn just had a bust-up about what Labour’s energy plans might or might not mean for those employed by the energy industry in Scotland.

    But what was most striking about that was it was the first moment that Rayner turned her fire on somebody on stage other than the Conservatives, Labour’s main opponent.

    Penny Mordaunt has, as I said earlier, also tried to avoid being drawn into arguments with the smaller parties, as much as they have attacked her.

  15. Panellists asked about knife crimepublished at 20:46 British Summer Time 7 June

    view of the stage

    The next question is from a member of the audience who has a young son.

    He says he is concerned about knife crime and asks how the parties will make sure he is safe.

  16. Postpublished at 20:45 British Summer Time 7 June

    Penny Mordaunt defends the Conservatives' record on the climate, and says the government will seek to shepherd through a green transition at "a pace that people can afford".

    She once again attacks Labour and its plans for a new national energy company (GB Energy), which she says won't produce any energy itself.

    Rayner rejects the claims, saying it will create new jobs and accuses the Tories of overseeing 14 years of failure on energy policy.

    Again, the two speak over each other.

  17. Postpublished at 20:44 British Summer Time 7 June

    Cooper from the Lib Dems says the Conservatives have moved the goalposts on their targets, adding that a green economy can boost jobs and tackle climate change at the same time.

    Plaid Cymru's ap Iorwerth says nothing is more important than fighting climate change, saying prosperity can be created "hand in hand" with looking after the environment.

  18. Postpublished at 20:43 British Summer Time 7 June

    Stephen Flynn says what Westminster is doing - in terms of climate policies - is a "betrayal of future generations".

    He says the SNP would make the adjustment to a "just transition" to reaching net zero.

    Pressed on what that means for oil and gas in the North Sea, Flynn says there's a "sensible middle ground" that allows us to invest in net zero and protect the jobs of tomorrow.

  19. Postpublished at 20:39 British Summer Time 7 June

    Denyer says she is an engineer and Farage's statements about green energy are "simply untrue".

    The Tories have reneged on net zero, she adds, but Labour have disappointed people too by rolling back on their £28bn climate investment pledge.

    She also calls for a nationwide home insulation programme.

    Rayner, asked about Labour changing its green pledges, replies "we will get there" - but she says that Labour recognises oil and gas are part of the future.

    For context: In February, Labour announced that it will no longer spend £28bn a year on environmental projects if it wins the upcoming general election - blaming the "damage the Tories have done to the economy".

  20. BBC Verify

    What has happened to Army numbers in the UK since 2010?published at 20:38 British Summer Time 7 June

    Party leaders have made various claims about the size of the British army under the Conservatives during tonight's debate.

    Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said: “The Army has shrunk from 100,000 to 72,000."

    This is correct.

    The latest figures, external show 72,510 full-time personnel in the Army as of 1 April 2024.

    In 2010 this figure was about 102,000, external, which is about 29,000 more than today.