Unclear when we'd see regular Rwanda flights, despite July pledgepublished at 14:10 British Summer Time 11 June

14:10 BST 11 June

Dominic Casciani
Home and legal correspondent

The manifesto underlines the plan to send some asylum seekers to Rwanda, adding that there will be a “regular rhythm of flights every month, starting this July”.

It’s possible that the Rwanda scheme could make it through the courts and take off - but it's very difficult to see how a regular rhythm would be achieved so soon:

• Ministers have already delayed the date of the first theoretical flight to no earlier than 24 July
• Judges in London are grappling with around a dozen potentially major legal challenges - all of which could go to the Supreme Court
• On top of that, the UK’s deal with Rwanda only seems to cover, for now, sending 300 migrants - less than half the number who have arrived this month across the English Channel

Official figures show that sending 300 people will mean the UK would pay Rwanda £541m over five years - or £1.8m per transferred individual.

We don’t know how much more the government has set aside if it wants monthly flights to become a reality.

At a glance: The key pledges on the NHSpublished at 14:00 British Summer Time 11 June

14:00 BST 11 June

Alex Forsyth
Political correspondent

We've been picking through the Conservatives' manifesto - launched by Sunak a little earlier. Let's look at some of the key pledges on health:

• Increase NHS spending above inflation every year
• By the end of the next Parliament recruit 92,000 more nurses and 28,000 more doctors in the NHS than in 2023
• Drive up productivity in the NHS – this was something the chancellor talked about in the Budget in March, when he set out a “productivity plan” for the NHS. It includes things like replacing outdated computers, funding technology and using artificial intelligence to free up doctors' and nurses' time
• Move care closer to people’s homes through Pharmacy First (that’s an existing scheme where some treatments are offered by pharmacies that the Tories say they will expand)
• New and modernised GP surgeries and more community diagnostic centres – these are things the Conservatives have already announced

Interestingly, the manifesto also says the Tories would bring forward the bill to eventually ban smoking in their first King’s Speech if they are re-elected.

He ran out of time to get that bill through Parliament because he called the general election.

No detail on improving social housing supplypublished at 13:52 British Summer Time 11 June

13:52 BST 11 June

Michael Buchanan
Social affairs correspondent

Despite more than 1.2 million households on the council house waiting list in England, and record numbers in temporary accommodation, there are no details on what the Conservatives would do to improve social housing supply.

While the party claims to have built a million homes over the course of this Parliament (between 2019 and 2023), just 30,000 homes for social rent were built across England.

They will introduce a “three strikes and you’re out” policy to make it easier for social housing landlords to evict tenants guilty of anti-social behaviour.

The manifesto also promises new “local connection” and “UK connection” tests. It's worth noting the homelessness charity Crisis says 90% of social homes are let to British citizens.

The party also promises to end rough sleeping – a commitment they also made in their 2019 manifesto.

Between 2019 and 2023, official figures show the number of people rough sleeping in England fell by 9%. Figures fell sharply during the pandemic – during the “Everyone In” scheme – but increased by 27% last year.

On housing, Tories offer help to first-time buyers and renterspublished at 13:49 British Summer Time 11 June

13:49 BST 11 June

Kevin Peachey
Cost of living correspondent

There are several housing policies in the manifesto.

Plans include an ambitious building target of 1.6 million homes in England over five years (remember, housing is devolved).

Previous targets on house building have regularly been missed.

'Help to Buy' is the resurrection of a previous scheme to help first-time buyers with the deposit to buy one of these new homes. The key here is delivery of this temporary policy. The criticism of what’s come before is that these schemes have pushed up house prices - primarily benefitting developers rather than buyers.

Then there’s permanently raising the threshold at which first-time buyers pay stamp duty to £425,000 in England and Northern Ireland. The certainty would be welcomed, and the impact would be greatest in London and southern England. About eight in 10 first-time buyers would not pay stamp duty, Zoopla figures show.

Note, there’s no such incentive for existing, older owners to downsize to free up family homes.

For renters, they say they'll eventually ban no-fault evictions, a previously announced policy which has been delayed. There’s a two-year tax-break to allow landlords to sell to existing tenants, but landlord groups say it doesn’t address shortages in homes available to let.

Image source, PA Media

Let's briefly turn to Barnsley, where Reform UK leader Nigel Farage seems to have had an object thrown at him while campaigning on a bus.

He posted a video on X, formerly Twitter, and wrote: "I will not be bullied or cowed by a violent left-wing mob who hate our country".

South Yorkshire Police says it has arrested a 28-year-old man on suspicion of public order offences.

The incident happened as a crowd of Stand Up to Racism protestors interrupted Farage as he spoke from the vehicle.

You can read the full story here.

Scrapping National Insurance for self-employed is surprise of the manifestopublished at 13:32 British Summer Time 11 June

13:32 BST 11 June

Simon Jack
Business editor

The surprise in the Conservative manifesto was the pledge to abolish National Insurance for the self-employed by the end of the next Parliament.

There are over four million self-employed workers in the UK – a number which has grown steadily over the last 20 years – so it is understandable why the Conservatives would want to appeal to a group that has so far not been targeted by Tory cuts in employee National Insurance.

For context: National Insurance is a tax on earnings and self-employed profits. Currently, self-employed people pay what's called class four National Insurance contributions of 6% on profits between £12,570 and £50,270 and 2% above £50,270.

The cut will cost £2.6bn a year – on top of the £6bn a year cost of reducing employee National Insurance by a further 2p.

The prime minister said it will be paid for by a £6bn crackdown on tax avoidance and cutting the welfare bill by £12bn a year by the end of the next Parliament.

Achieving savings of this size are thought to be uncertain at best - and unlikely at worst - by analysts including the leading economic research group, the Institute for Fiscal Studies.

Branwen Jeffreys
Education Editor

The Conservative manifesto repeats a promise to close university courses with the worst outcomes - which the party has previously said might include data on potential earnings post-university.

The regulator in England, the Office for Students, already has powers to intervene. So far it has chosen to work with universities.

Around 2% of courses fall below the quality threshold, a previous estimate by the regulator suggested.

There are some interesting gaps too, nothing on the future of university funding and whether tuition fees will go up. Nor anything further on international students who have become a big source of income for universities.

The party says it will focus on creating 100,000 apprenticeships a year by the end of the next Parliament, however, this would have to be driven by employers. Read more about these plans here.

On climate, the Tories hope to walk a thin linepublished at 13:17 British Summer Time 11 June

13:17 BST 11 June

Justin Rowlatt
Climate editor

The Tories continue to attempt to walk a thin line on climate: they say they'll meet their goal of reaching net zero by 2050 but without what Rishi Sunak called “unaffordable eco-zealotry”.

For context: Net zero means no longer adding to the total amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Not all emissions would need to be zero - gases could also be actively removed from the atmosphere.

The challenge is the Climate Change Committee, the UK’s independent watchdog on climate, has already warned that the UK isn't on-track to meet its ambitious promise to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 68% (compared to 1990 levels) by 2030.

The manifesto says if there is a choice the Tories will always put keeping the lights on ahead of clean energy.

They're adamant there will be no new green levies or charges and promise big new decisions on climate will be put to a vote in Parliament. Local communities will be able to vote on new onshore wind projects and low traffic neighbourhoods.

But at the same time, they say they will accelerate the rollout of renewables - trebling offshore wind, for example - and will approve new small “modular” nuclear power stations.

I've picked over the two main parties' climate policies in more detail here.

Manifesto again promises 40 new hospitals - but it's controversialpublished at 13:12 British Summer Time 11 June

13:12 BST 11 June

Nick Triggle
Health correspondent

The Conservatives have once again committed to building 40 new hospitals in England – mirroring a promise made in the 2019 election manifesto.

This, though, has proved to be a controversial policy. Some of the projects are not new hospitals, but new wings and upgrades to existing buildings.

What's more, the schemes have been beset by problems.

Last year the National Audit Office warned just 32 of the 40 new projects would be ready by 2030.

And then last month NHS Providers, which represents hospital bosses, warned work was falling even further behind schedule with their members paying out millions of pounds in maintaining rundown buildings in the meantime.

Image source, Reuters

If you missed Rishi Sunak's speech, not to worry, here's a quick catch-up:

• Acknowledging the venue - the Silverstone race track - Sunak said "our economy has truly turned a corner"
• He said the government would "halve migration as we have halved inflation and then reduce it every single year"
• On tax, he said the Conservatives would "scrap entirely the main rate of self-employed National Insurance"
• And he said the party would "keep cutting taxes in the coming years meaning that by 2027 we will have halved [employees'] National Insurance to 6%" (from its rate last year of 12%)
• But he accepted "things have not always been easy and we have not got everything right"
• On housing, he said he would abolish stamp duty for first-time buyers on homes up to £425,000
• On the Rwanda migrants plan, he said "all the plans are in place so that if I'm re-elected as prime minister, if we're in government, those flights will go"

• And - answering a question on why the manifesto doesn't pledge to remove the UK from the European Convention on Human Rights - Sunak insisted: "I will choose our country's security over any foreign jurisdiction, including ECHR jurisdiction, every single time"

Housing: Three key points from the Tory manifestopublished at 12:58 British Summer Time 11 June

12:58 BST 11 June

Alex Forsyth
Political correspondent

We already heard a bit about the Conservatives’ housing plans before the manifesto was launched – but we’ve got some more detail.

Housing is a huge issue for many people who are struggling to find somewhere suitable or affordable to live, or trying to manage spiralling rents or get on the housing ladder.

Here’s a few things the Tories say they would do:

• Launch a new Help to Buy scheme to provide first-time buyers with an equity loan of up to 20% towards the cost of a new build home. The party says that’ll mean first-time buyers will be able to get onto the housing ladder with a 5% deposit on interest terms they can afford
• Permanently increase the threshold at which first-time buyers pay Stamp Duty to £425,000- this was revealed before the manifesto launch
• Deliver 1.6 million homes in England in the next Parliament. They say they'll achieve this by abolishing current rules to unlock development, deliver homes on brownfield land in urban areas with a fast-track planning system, ensure infrastructure like GP surgeries and roads is built alongside housing and protect the green belt from “uncontrolled development”

Housing is set to be a key issue in this election campaign, with many of you telling us through the BBC’s Your Voice, Your Vote project that it’s really important to you.

Owen Amos
Live reporter

We've brought you the key lines from Rishi Sunak's speech, plus some snap analysis.

In our next few posts our experts will bring you more lines from the 76-page manifesto itself - and bring you more analysis from our team of specialists.

Stay with us.

Image source, Reuters

The Sun asks whether Sunak's Rwanda migration policy is an "amnesty" on asylum seekers.

Sunak rejects that - saying it's "simply not right".

He says there needs to be a deterrent "to fully solve the problem" and it needs to be clear that if someone arrives illegally they can't stay, and will be removed to a third country.

How many flights - or people - will leave for Rwanda each month under the prime minister's asylum plan, an Express journalist asks. Sunak says that detail has deliberately not been included for reasons of operational security.

It won't just be "one flight", he says.

The next question comes from a journalist from the Daily Mail, who asks if overall taxes would be lower under a re-elected Conservative government.

Sunak replies that the tax burden would be 1% lower every year compared to figures forecasted after the Spring Budget a few months ago.

Challenged on how the PM would fund his policies, in an interview with the BBC's Nick Robinson last night, Sunak said they would all be "fully funded and costed".

Alex Forsyth
Political correspondent

As Sunak continues speaking, we've been poring over the manifesto itself.

There are a couple of pages about immigration - both those who come to the UK legally to live, work or study and those who come to the UK by what the government calls illegal means - which includes those crossing the Channel on small boats.

The Tories have already said they want to get immigration levels down - remember net migration was 685,000 last year - and “stop the boats”.

Here’s some of what the manifesto says they would do:

• Get a “regular rhythm” of flights off to Rwanda every month starting this July until the small boat crossings stop. This has been a centrepoint of Sunak’s plan to try and stop the small boats for some time. He claims it would act as a deterrent
• Stop illegal migrants bringing “spurious challenges” to block their removal, clear the asylum backlog with all claims processed in six months and end the use of hotels to house migrants
• Crack down on organised immigration crime
• Sign further deals - like the one the government agreed with Albania - to return people to their own countries
• Give Parliament a say over safe and legal routes for those in “genuine need” from around the world

Image source, Reuters

A journalist from ITV asks "why should anyone believe you when you say you will cut tax?"

"Simply because we already have," Sunak answers, citing the previous cuts to National Insurance.

He then runs through the other tax cuts he's promised in the manifesto.

The BBC's Chris Mason asks if the manifesto document is a last chance to shift Conservative fortunes in this election.

Sunak says we've "been through a difficult time as a country", but we've now turned a corner.

He says inflation is "back to normal", the economy is growing, wages are rising and energy prices are falling.

Sunak then cites the pledges he's just made on tax, defence, education and energy, saying this is proof the party is taking "bold action" while Labour has "nothing to say" on the problems faced by the nation.

The first question to Sunak comes from GB News. The journalist asks why the Conservatives are not promising to pull out of the European Convention on Human Rights?

Sunak says they are making sure their manifesto complies with international law.

"But I will choose our country's security over any foreign jurisdiction, including ECHR jurisdiction every single time," he adds.

For context: In a televised debate last week with Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, Rishi Sunak appeared to suggest he would be willing to pull the UK out of the ECHR if the Rwanda policy did not work. Read more about the policy here.

Sunak says he isn't blind to the fact people are frustrated with him and the party.

"Things have not always been easy and we have not got everything right," he admits.

But he says the Conservatives are the only party with the "big ideas to make our country a better place to live".

He says Labour offer no solutions to problems and will only make them worse - while claiming a vote for Reform UK or the Lib Dems will allow Labour to "do whatever they want to our country".

He ends his speech by saying the country wants a "clear plan, bold action and a secure future" - and is met with a standing ovation.

Rishi Sunak says he'll cut funding to so-called rip-off degrees and use that to pay for 100,000 high-quality apprenticeships.

You can read more about that here.

And he says national service will help build a more cohesive society so we can be sure we are "on the same side". Read more about those plans here.