Is Labour’s housing promise feasible?published at 14:37 British Summer Time 13 June

14:37 BST 13 June

Mark Easton
Home editor

Labour’s pledge to build 1.5 million new homes in England across the next parliament requires a level of housebuilding not seen since the 1960s.

In the last 12 months, construction started on fewer than 150,000 properties, meaning the government can't get close to the level required to meet the pledge initially.

The last time more than 300,000 homes were completed in a year was 1969 - nearly half of which was council housing.

Historically, private sector housebuilders have only delivered more than 170,000 in a year twice - that was during the housing boom of the early 1970s.

Labour plans to reform the economics and bureaucracy of housebuilding to increase private provision, but the scale of the ambition means they will be reliant on housing associations and local councils.

In the last year, housing associations started construction on 30,000 homes, while it was just 3,000 for English councils.

Charlotte Scarr
Political reporter

Speaking outside the offices of Sevenoaks Conservative Association, Treasury Chief Secretary Laura Trott tells broadcasters Labour's manifesto is a "tax trap".

"It only contains tax rises, no tax cuts," she says, adding the party "have not ruled out taxing your home, your car, your pension".

"Everyone at home needs to be very, very clear that their taxes will rise under Labour," Trott says.

The Treasury wouldn't be drawn on whether Conservative candidate Craig Williams should be suspended following an investigation into a bet he placed on the timing of the general election.

She says: "I know there is an investigation on going so I shouldn't say anymore. I think what's important today is the dividing lines that we are setting up on tax, on immigration, on energy security. What is clear is that the Conservatives have a plan for this country."

Image source, EPA

Rishi Sunak responded to Labour's manifesto by claiming it would "mean the highest taxes in history".

"If you think they’ll win, start saving," he said on X.

Earlier, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt repeated the disputed claim that Labour's plans would result in tax rises of £2,094 for working households over the next parliament.

He described Labour's plans as a "tax trap manifesto".

Watch: Mood in Tory and Labour camps could not be more differentpublished at 13:52 British Summer Time 13 June

13:52 BST 13 June

Our political correspondent Henry Zeffman gives an inside view of the contrasting moods among Labour and Conservative campaigners - watch his 75-second analysis here:

Sara Girvin
Ireland Correspondent

What Labour is offering to Northern Ireland is nothing that hasn’t been pledged before.

There’s an assurance of additional funding for public services.

And there was a nod to the recent political instability of the devolved government at Stormont.

Labour says it will work to ensure stability and is committed to implementing the Windsor Framework - the post-Brexit deal on trading arrangements for Northern Ireland.

There was also a repeat of Labour’s pledge to scrap the controversial Troubles Legacy Act, introduced by the government in an attempt to “draw a line” under the 30-year conflict.

There was an undertaking to discuss Northern Ireland’s fiscal framework too.

That’s the overall range of Stormont’s financial powers, including taxation and borrowing.

Stormont ministers want enhanced borrowing powers and should Keir Starmer become the next prime minister, he can expect financial matters to be at the top of his Northern Ireland inbox.

Are waiting lists soaring, as Angela Rayner claimed?published at 13:47 British Summer Time 13 June

13:47 BST 13 June

Progress on waiting lists has “stagnated”, according to the independent health think tank, the Nuffield Trust.

So waiting lists aren’t currently “soaring” as Angela Rayner suggested when speaking at Labour’s manifesto launch.

Nor are they “coming down” as Rishi Sunak said last night during Sky’s TV debate.

Both can point to versions of the data that support their argument.

Waiting lists now are far higher than they were when the Conservatives came to power in 2010 and higher than when Sunak pledged to reduce them in January 2023.

But they’re lower than their peak last September.

However, the most recent few months don’t show much progress. They've even risen very slightly in the latest figures just this morning - laying bare the challenge for any incoming government.

Image source, .

As we reported a short while ago, we've been hearing from Craig Williams - the senior aide to Rishi Sunak who has admitted that the Gambling Commission are making inquiries after he reportedly placed a bet on the date of the general election.

BBC political investigations correspondent Joe Pike approached Tory election candidate Williams to ask about the bet.

You can watch the exchange here in the 50 second clip below.

• You can see the full list of candidates running in the Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr constituency on this page.

Hugh Pym
Health editor

Labour’s major health commitment, if elected, is to hit the main NHS performance targets in England before the end of the Parliament.

This includes the pledge that at least 92% will on be on the waiting list for planned treatment for less than 18 weeks.

But this will be very challenging and so far the party acknowledges that it has only made a start with allocated funding for more hospital appointments.

The reality set out by the latest figures today is that fewer than 60% are waiting less than 18 weeks and nearly 3.2 million are waiting longer.

Cutting that backlog and ensuring new patients needing appointments and procedures are not stuck for many months will be a big ask.

Some in the NHS will argue that only significant new funding will do the trick.

Justin Rowlatt
Climate editor

Labour says it has chosen a 2030 target for decarbonising the UK’s electricity system “not because it is easy” – a clear echo of President John F Kennedy words as he announced the US plan to go to the Moon.

Some analysts say the target is at least as challenging as the moon shot.

It “would require a policy, planning and investment shift that is unfeasible in the timeframe, and is unlikely to be supportable by existing supply chains and workforce skills”.

That’s from a recent report by Aurora Energy Research, commissioned by the centre-right think tank Policy Exchange.

Others are more optimistic, including Patrick Vallance, the government’s former chief scientific adviser. He wrote in The Times last week “with the right skills, focus, and support it can be done, and done fast”.

It should be noted the Conservative target isn’t far off what Labour is promising – 95% decarbonisation by 2030, 100% by 2035.

Zoe Conway
Employment correspondent

The language in the manifesto around welfare to work is interesting. Especially for what it does not say.

Labour knows that if they get into government, they need to get more people in to the labour market. Around a quarter of working age people currently don’t have jobs and economists warn that’s a threat to economic growth.

But how does Labour achieve this? How much carrot and how much stick? Well let’s look at the language.

They say the welfare system will be underpinned by rights and responsibilities - a very 1990s New Labour thing to say.

They hint at toughness – there will be "consequences" for those who "do not fulfil their obligations".

But what does that mean? They don’t say whether the existing sanctions regime will change.

In fact, while "support" gets several mentions the word "sanctions" doesn’t feature at all.

Simon Jack
Business editor

Labour wants to be seen as the natural party of business with a focus on wealth creation.

But there is some evidence that its charm offensive with business owners has strained relations with old friends - and donors - in the unions.

Responding to today's manifesto launch, Unite General Secretary Sharon Graham explained why one the UK's biggest unions did not endorse it.

"The union’s red lines were broken, in particular on Labour’s revisions to promises on workers’ rights and its insistence on banning licences for new oil and gas exploration in the North Sea without first having a concrete plan for jobs."

Some union leaders fear that in their drive to woo the boardroom, they have drifted too far from their roots on the shop and factory floor.

Sima Kotecha
Senior UK correspondent

Labour says it will put 13,000 more police officers and police community support officers on the beat after “our sense of security has been badly eroded”.

The overall rate of crime in England and Wales is on a downward trend. However, certain offences have increased, such as shoplifting - which has risen by 37% over the past year.

Approximately 20,000 police officers left their jobs between 2010 and 2019. The Institute for Fiscal Studies says overall police budgets fell by 14% between 2010-11 and 2014-15.

However, last year ministers reached their target of recruiting an additional 20,000 police officers, but many of those simply replaced the ones who left.

At a time when morale and retention is said to be at a crisis point, it’s likely to be more challenging to recruit such large numbers effectively.

Alison Holt
Social affairs editor

The Labour manifesto sets out the principles of how the party wants to change the crisis-ridden care system in England, but it steers away from detail.

No mention of a cap, or a limit to the care costs any one person has to pay for support at home or in care homes.

Labour had previously backed the idea, which in theory was due to be introduced in October 2025.

The party says it will work towards a National Care Service, setting national standards for care quality.

The principle will be “home first” to help people live independently. There are also plans for a collective fair pay agreement to improve pay, conditions and training for care staff.

The manifesto says they will build consensus for the longer-term reform needed, but no specific mention of how it will be funded.

David Wallace Lockhart
Political correspondent

When it comes to Scotland, quite a bit of this manifesto is in the weeds of devolution.

Labour wants to "strengthen” the Sewell convention - that's the idea that the UK Government shouldn't legislate in devolved areas without consent.

That convention’s taken a bit of a hammering in recent years, such as during Brexit.

There’s talk of replacing the Lords with a chamber more representative of the nations and regions. But there's no timescale.

There's a repeat of the pledge to set up a Scottish-based publicly-owned energy company. Labour argues this can reduce bills.

They promise an "ongoing" role for oil and gas, but are adamant new drilling licences should stop. This is a big issue in the north-east of Scotland.

A lot of the debate in Scotland has been about whether or not a UK-Labour government will bring in cuts.

The manifesto costings spell out extra cash for Scotland, but Labour also stress their fiscal rules are "non-negotiable".

Some opponents here will claim that spending won’t meet the scale of what’s required to bring about real change.

Josh Parry
LGBT and identity reporter

Labour have pledged to ban conversion therapy, including conversion practices aimed at transgender people.

Conversion therapy, sometimes known as “reparative therapy” or “gay cure therapy” tries to change or suppress someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity.

There’s no detail yet on how a ban under Labour may work - for example, what punishments they plan to use to deter people from carrying out conversion practices, how a ban would be policed or how soon they wish to put it into effect.

Labour have pledged that the law will protect “the freedom for people to explore their sexual orientation and gender identity”.

A ban on conversion therapy was first promised by Theresa May in 2018 but has not yet been made into law after some people raised concerns it could stop therapists and other professionals helping people to explore their gender identity.

Owen Amos
Live reporter

After those breaking lines from Craig Williams, we're returning to our analysis of Labour's manifesto - as a reminder, you can see 10 of the main pledges in this post.

We can bring you now more from Craig Williams - who was an aide to the prime minister in the last Parliament - after he gambled on the date of the next general election.

Williams, who is a candidate in the general election, is alleged to have placed a £100 bet on a July election three days before Rishi Sunak announced the 4 July poll.

The BBC's Joe Pike approached Williams to ask about the bet.

Williams says he won't expand on this earlier statement, but adds: "I've clearly made a huge error of judgement, that's for sure. And I apologise."

He adds: "As I've said, I will not be expanding on that statement. I'm not expanding because it's an independent process. The Gambling Commission are looking at it now. And all I can say was it was a huge error of judgement. A huge error of judgement and I won't be adding to the statement I've already made."

• We'll bring you a clip of the interview soon

Image source, PA

Katy Austin
Transport correspondent

Transport is one area where there are clear differences between Labour and the Conservatives’ plans.

Labour has committed to creating Great British Railways, an overarching body first championed by the Conservative government three years ago but not yet fully realised – although the Tories still say they would go ahead with it.

The difference is, Labour would nationalise privately-run passenger services in England, as contracts expire. It doesn’t plan to nationalise rolling stock or freight companies, and would allow commercial "open access" passenger service providers.

Labour argues its plans would lead to improvements, but private operators say nationalisation would cost the taxpayer more.

The party would go back to the 2030 target for banning new petrol and diesel cars, which Rishi Sunak extended to 2035.

Labour also plans powers for more local leaders and communities to take control of bus services.

The word 'HS2' is absent from Labour's manifesto.

Justin Rowlatt
Climate editor

Labour’s promise not to award any new oil and gas licences in the North Sea is retained, with a manifesto commitment to “ensure a phased and responsible transition in the North Sea”.

Privately Labour officials acknowledge blocking new licences won’t make much difference to UK emissions – after 50 years of exploitation there isn’t much accessible oil and gas left.

What’s more, the party has no plans to revoke the licence awarded in September for the largest remaining untapped oil field – Rosebank, off the Shetland islands.

But Labour insists the policy is an important symbolic gesture - alongside its commitment to stop the proposed new coal mine in Cumbria - that should help restore the UK’s global leadership on climate.

Though the manifesto also says oil and gas production in the North Sea “will be with us for decades to come".

Branwen Jeffreys
Education Editor

One of Labour’s key pledges is to recruit 6,500 more teachers into England’s state schools, with priority given to shortage subjects and areas where it is harder to hire.

In 15 out of 18 secondary school subjects not enough have been recruited into teaching this year. In physics just 17% of the numbers needed started training, in maths 63%.

So will Labour’s plans help fix this?

The party says it will raise the money through VAT on private school fees, leading to protests from middle income parents already squeezed by the cost of living. For some, this feels like a tax on aspiration and hard work.

Around 7% of children attend private fee paying schools, and it is possible a small proportion would have to shift to the state sector.

While fees at the most expensive are £50,000 a year for boarders, the average in the UK is closer to £15-20,000.

Independent economists say the VAT would raise £1.3 to £1.6bn, but also point out that extra cash won’t in itself conjure up extra teachers in a profession where workload is an issue.