Manifesto week
- Tories launching manifesto - watch and follow live from 11.30am
- Another national insurance cut expected - despite Hunt saying two weeks ago it is 'unlikely to change the calculus'
- Politics at Jack and Sam's:The day...of the Tory manifesto launch
- Electoral Dysfunction:How do you recover from a political car crash?
- Battle For No 10:PM and Starmer taking part in Sky News special
- Live reporting byTim Baker
Expert analysis
- Gurpreet Narwan:Echoes of Truss in Reform's economic plans
- Tamara Cohen:Labour takes on enormous childcare challenge
- Politics at Jack and Sam's:The Day... Of the Tory manifesto launch
Election essentials
- Manifesto checker:Lib Dems
- Campaign Heritage:Memorable moments from elections gone by
- Trackers:Who's leading polls?|Is PM keeping promises?
- Follow Sky's politics podcasts:Electoral Dysfunction|Politics At Jack And Sam's
- Read more:Who is standing down?|Key seats to watch|How to register to vote|What counts as voter ID?|Check if your constituency is changing|Your essential guide to election lingo|Sky's election night plans
Could we see a movie star at the Conservative Party launch?
The Tory manifesto is being announced at the Silverstone racetrack later this morning.
Our man on the ground there, political correspondent Darren McCaffrey, says he wanted to go down onto the track today - but he's not allowed.
"We're not allowed to be - because there is also a Hollywood film being filmed here.
"Probably with Brad Pitt.
"So we're stuck in this kind of press room at the moment."
However, Darren does not think Pitt is at the track today.
Conservative manifesto to be launched in under an hour
At 11.30am the Conservative Party will be launching its manifesto at the Silverstone race circuit in Northamptonshire.
A cut to national insurance is expected, among other policies.
These will likely include positions the Tories have already announced - including a form of national service, an increase in the personal allowance for pensioners and recruiting 8,000 more police officers.
Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty arrived at the venue a short while ago.
Be sure to join us - as we keep you updated with all the big announcements.
What is a hung parliament and how does it work?
In a UK election, there are 650 seats in the House of Commons up for grabs.
To win, a party needs at least 326 of them.
But what if no party manages to get there?
It's happened before and - despite the polls projecting a Labour win this time round - it's not impossible it happens again.
Our political correspondent Serena Barker-Singh explains...
Labour confirms plans to ban high-caffeine energy drinks for teens
The Labour Party has confirmed Sky News reporting from February this year that it will ban high-caffeine energy drinks for children aged under 16.
Beverages with more than 150mg of the stimulant per litre will be prohibited from sale to youngsters.
It will not impact drinks like Coca Cola or Lucozade, but would impact energy drinks.
Sky News understands it would not apply to tea or coffee.
It will be enforced in a similar way to alcohol and tobacco requirements.
Wes Streeting, Labour's shadow health secretary, has confirmed the ban will not be extended to adults.
He added: "It's time for change. Labour will end the sale of dangerously high caffeine energy drinks, provide 100,000 extra child dentistry appointments and mental health support in every school."
Read more on Sky's original report from political correspondent Tamara Cohen here:
Poll tracker: Tories hit lowest level since last election, new floor since Truss
Our live poll tracker collates the results of opinion surveys carried out by all the main polling organisations - and allows you to see how the political parties are performing in the run-up to the general election.
As our election guru Will Jennings has pointed out, the Conservatives have fallen to the lowest level of support since the 2019 election - dropping below levels of unpopularity seen during the Truss administration.
Read more about the tracker here.
Electoral Dysfunction: How do you recover from a political car crash?
Ex-Labour adviser Ayesha Hazarika joins Sky's Beth Rigby and former leader of the Scottish Conservatives Ruth Davidson to talk about the latest developments in the general election campaign.
On this episode, they discuss whether Rishi Sunak can recover from his D-Day blunder, the fallout from Douglas Ross's resignation as leader of the Scottish Conservatives, and how the parties are funding their manifestos as they are revealed this week.
Plus, Beth tells us how she is preparing to interview the prime minister and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer at the upcoming Sky leaders' event.
👉Click here to follow Electoral Dysfunction wherever you get your podcasts👈
Email Beth, Ruth, and Ayesha atelectoraldysfunction@sky.uk, post on X to @BethRigby, or send a WhatsApp voice note on 07934 200 444.
Nothing in Labour manifesto requires changes to capital gains tax, frontbencher says
Labour's shadow health secretary Wes Streeting is out for the opposition party today.
He is asked by Kay Burley about the front page of the FT today, which reports investor concerns over a potential increase to capital gains tax under Labour.
Mr Streeting says: "Nothing in Labour's manifesto requires changes to capital gains tax or increases in capital tax."
However, he cannot rule out his party raising council tax if they come to power.
Mr Streeting says the levy has risen "year after year" under the Conservative government because they have passed on cuts to local councils, who have been forced to hike rates.
Pushed again, he says the challenge is to get growth back into the economy - and doing so would provide capital to invest or cut taxes.
After more questioning, Mr Streeting says he does not "want to see people clobbered on council tax".
He adds that all the promises Labour make, they will keep.
Mr Streeting says Mr Sunak will be "lying" if the current prime minister says the Conservative's promises are affordable.
The Day... Of the Tory manifesto launch
Sky News' deputy political editor Sam Coates and Politico's Jack Blanchard with their guide to the election day ahead.
This is day 20 of the campaign. Jack and Sam discuss the Conservative manifesto launch, the Lib Dem and Labour positions on capital gains tax, and the Scottish five-way leaders' debate... featuring a soon-to-be-departing Tory leader there Douglas Ross.
Email Jack and Sam: jackandsam@sky.uk
👉Tap here to follow Politics at Jack at Sam's wherever you get your podcasts👈
Cabinet minister goes on attack ahead of manifesto launch
Mel Stride, the work and pensions secretary, is back on the morning media round today.
It is his third time doing the job in under a week.
Mr Stride does not give much away regarding what the contents of the manifesto will be - although he says that "cutting people's tax" will be "at its heart".
He spends much of the interview with Kay Burley attacking the Labour Party for their spending plans - and repeating the disputed figure about the so-called "black hole" in Sir Keir Starmer's plans.
Sky economics and data editor Ed Conway went into the details of this claim here.
Mr Stride is also asked about the conviction of two 12-year-olds for murder (read more here).
He says the case is "terrible" - and highlights that his party reached its goal of hiring 20,000 new police officers this parliament to return numbers to around pre-austerity levels.
It has now pledged to recruit another 8,000 officers.
The Conservative manifesto launch will be taking place at 11.30 - follow live updates here.
