tonight at ten — sir keir starmer promises economic growth and stability, as he launches labour's manifesto for government. please welcome to the stage, leader of the labour party, keir starmer. applause there were no policy revelations — instead, pledges to provide consistency and steadiness after a turbulent few years. stability over chaos. the long—term over short—term. an end to the desperate era of gestures and gimmicks, and a return to the serious business of rebuilding our country. chris mason will be here with his assessment and faisal islam will be checking if labour's figures add up. also tonight... did you have any inside information when you made the bet?

i made a huge error ofjudgement. an aide to the prime minister tells us he's sorry over betting on a july election — reportedly three days before it was called. all smiles at the g7 with italy's prime minister, where leaders agree the interest on frozen russian assets should be used for ukraine. # once more you open the door. and celine dion on the illness that's kept her away from the stage — and how she's determined to sing again. on bbc london... and stay with us here on bbc news for continuing coverage and analysis from our team of correspondents in the uk and around the world.

good evening. sir keir starmer pledged a steady—as—she—goes government if labour wins the election, as he unveiled the pa rty�*s manifesto. there was an absence of policy surprises, but a promise that wealth creation will be the party's number one priority. among the previously announced details were 40,000 more nhs appointments each week in england, and the recruitment of 6,500 new teachers, as well as the launch of a new border security command to tackle gangs organising small boat channel crossings. sir keir promised not to raise personal taxation or vat, except on private schools. 0ur political editor chris mason has spent the day following the labour leader — and has made it back to the studio. chris. yes, good evening to you. the campaign trail took me to crewe today, and to manchester. my rucksack getting heavier with these things — manifestos. labour's turn today. and they did their thing

at a spot steeped in labour history — the cooperative. the co—op movement was founded up the road from there in rochdale in the 18405 — the co—operative party and labour are sister parties. that cooperative building in manchester is so important to them both. here's what happened when labour gathered for their big moment. the labour movement's past and perhaps its future. it's been a good week for the printing trade, all these manifestos. leader of the labour party... keir starmer was here at the head office of the cooperative almost 18 months ago, to start setting out his vision for government. and, as if to underline there would be no surprises today, he was back again. wealth creation is our number one priority. growth is our core business — the only route to improving the prosperity of our country and the living standards of working people. not everyone in here was convinced. it's the same old tory policies!

point made, it was an early escorted departure for her, as sir keir responded... we gave up on being a party of protest five years ago. the labour leader said his own upbringing meant he understood the reality of many families' lives. i know what it feels like to be embarrassed to bring your mates home, because the carpet is threadbare and the window's cracked. i was actually responsible for that, because i did put a football through it. and he emphasised his promise on tax. we will not raise income tax. we will not raise national insurance. we will not raise vat. that is a manifesto commitment. "hmm, but what about other taxes," i thought? "i'll ask him about that later." and another thing — because there may be some people here today who say, "where's the surprise? "where's the rabbit out of the hat?" to which i say, "if you want

politics as pantomime, "i hear clacton is nice this time of year." laughter. that, a joke at nigel farage's expense. this was keir starmer�*s conclusion. i invite you all tojoin our mission to stop the chaos, turn the page, and start to rebuild our country. thank you so much. right in the thick of it now — let's see who we can grab for a word. rachel reeves, what happens if growth doesn't happen? well, i reject this idea that we can't be any better than we are today. are you going to win? well, no votes have been cast yet, and we're certainly not complacent. we're fighting for every single vote. is there enough in here to excite people? because there's nothing new, is there? this is a serious programme to deliver the change - this country needs. are you going to win? a single vote has not been cast. we are fighting hard for every vote. we take nothing for granted. you've nailed that script, haven't you? delivered itjust like that. plenty here have a message

to deliver, by hand and by bus. next stop, crewe, in cheshire — and that question i want to put to keir starmer. you've been explicit about income tax, national insurance, and vat. what about capital gains tax, fuel duty and council tax? you've not been quite as explicit on those? well, what we've is set out our plans in our manifesto, which is a manifesto full of hope and change for the future... but you're not being specific about those, are you? so the plans in our manifesto are set out — none of them require tax rises over and above the specific ones that we have set out well in advance actually of the manifesto. what is the plan, in those opening weeks and months, if you get the chance to serve? to earn every vote, taking nothing for granted. we'll start the work on 40,000 appointments in the nhs to clear our backlog on waiting lists. we'll start the work on setting up great british energy, setting up our border security command, starting to recruit the 6,500 teachers we need, and starting to recruit 13,000 neighbourhood police.

they are all step one — that will be the day after the election we start on that, sleeves rolled up, hitting the ground running. there is still, though, plenty of road to trundle over in this campaign. polling day is three weeks today. chris mason, bbc news, at the mornflake stadium, in crewe. as we've been hearing, economic credibility is at the heart of labour's pitch to be the party of government. 0ur economics editor faisal islam has been looking at what they've promised, and how those promises will be paid for. faisal. thanks, reeta. the labour manifesto is a pretty modest change to tax and spending, designed to communicate really one thing — that keir starmer and rachel reeves want to be trusted to promote economic stability and run a steady ship. let's take a look at how they say it all adds up. there isjust under £5 billion of new spending. the biggest three items are an extra

40,000 nhs appointments a week at £1 billion, and then several thousand new expert teachers and mental health staff at under £0.5 billion each. add in a raft of other policies — breakfast clubs and dentistry reforms — these really quite small policies, but we get to £4.8 billion. that will be paid for by £7.3 billion of revenue raisers. the biggest ones are a tax crackdown and vat on private schools. so if you look at the giveaways and the takeaways at the same time, there's a difference. leaving this £2.5 billion unallocated in day—to—day spending. that's money they are choosing not to spend on purpose, to send a message of prudence and caution. not included in the figures is the fact labour accepted conservative numbers for an implied squeeze on some areas of public spending, as well as the government's ongoing income tax threshold freeze — a big tax rise. so even as labour promise not to increase income tax, national insurance and vat, look at what happens to the overall tax burden.

that's all the tax paid by every person and company as a share of the economy. that has gone up massively over the past parliament and would head a bit higher than under conservative manifesto plans, actually back at a post—war high. this is a big choice from labour, not to compete on what they say are unfunded tax cuts from the conservatives. what might help here is if the economy recovered much more strongly. the economy might grow better than expected either because we get lucky or because of labour party policies, but we certainly can't be sure of it. so what we really need to understand is what would the choices be if the economy doesn't grow — and i'm afraid we really didn't get a sense of that. there was a sense of we are not going to raise taxes or cut spending, we'll meet fiscal rules, but without additional growth you can't do all of those three things — or at least i can't see how you do it. so in this manifesto, keir starmer squares not putting up

the main rates of tax, investing in the future, not borrowing more and never returning to austerity, by getting the economy to grow faster, with a plan to slash red tape on building homes and infrastructure. but if growth does not materialise, this modest manifesto could end up being a significant straitjacket on a possible labour government. faisal, thank you. so the all—important question — what do voters who deserted labour for the tories at the last election think of their plans? well, the newly formed constituency of newton aycliffe and spennymoor, in county durham, has been created largely from the former constituency of sedgefield — tony blair's old seat. in 2019, many seats in this area were part of the so—called "red wall" — which had been staunchly labour, but which then turned to borisjohnson�*s conservatives. danny savage has spent the day there, finding out whether labour's pledges have changed minds. labour say they are pro—business and pro—workers.

all of our customers are like blue—chip companies, so we've got nissan, amazon... so no surprise then that they were watching what sir keir starmer had to say today, at this manufacturing firm in newton aycliffe. i'm looking for stability and to be honest, from what he said with keeping taxes stable, that gives me the sense of a strong government in terms of to carry on the economy without too much disruption. so provides a good foundation for businesses and business owners to compete with foreign nations for business. we make delicious beer, we make unique beer. nearby, nick smith runs a brewery. he wasn't too moved by labour's plans. i think i'd have liked to have seen a few more bold and brave suggestions from mr starmer. the whole message seems to be that we're better than the alternative, which is the incumbent government. and it is that good enough? well, i think it will be good enough for most people.

he quit being a chemistry teacher to brew beer, so he also has thoughts on the manifesto pledge to get 6,500 teachers into classrooms. my ex—colleagues and friends and family who are teachers, i see their will to teach being sapped and i think 6,500 seems like a drop in the ocean compared to people who are leaving. this beauticians is owned by 28—year—old emily. she's pleased to see a pledge to help first—time buyers. to be able to save for a house it's, you do nothing, you can do nothing and go nowhere if you are really, really trying to save for a house. housing prices are ridiculous in regards to sort of, in relation to wages and stuff like that, i think it's massively difficult. katie is a mum—of—three whose partner is self—employed. their biggest concern as a family? i have an eight—month—old son, i've gone back to work and i'm really struggling to get him into a nursery. labour, in their manifesto, are pledging 3,000 new nursery classes across the country. that's got to be good news for you,

but do you think you will see one in this village? i would hope so. some people we talked to were still uncertain about who they are going to vote for next month. will the labour manifesto win them over? danny savage, bbc news, sedgefield. let's get a final thought from chris mason. we are at the midway point of the campaign, three weeks in, what is your assessment of it so far? three weeks in, your assessment of it so far? three weeks in. three _ your assessment of it so far? three weeks in, three weeks _ your assessment of it so far? three weeks in, three weeks to _ your assessment of it so far? three weeks in, three weeks to you, - your assessment of it so far? three weeks in, three weeks to you, me | your assessment of it so far? ii—ii” weeks in, three weeks to you, me and others will talk about the exit poll and results will be about to come in but what about the three weeks that have just gone? that was the conservative blitz of policies culminating in their manifesto. labour, safety first, nothing sparkling lean you in the manifesto and they were making a virtue of that. no shift in the conservative poll figures, they remain miles behind labour and then the entrance of nigel farage. there's been lots of nigel farage. there's been lots of opinion polls has there always is

in an election campaign and they should be approached with certain caution but one is psychologically interesting tonight and has formed part of the discussion on the latest itv debate, with seven different parties, and nigel farage, leader of reform uk, has been talking about a yougov poll which suggests reform have narrowly overtaken the conservatives. it's within what is called the margin of error so a bit of a pinch of salt, let's see how the next few polls look and if there is a trend but it psychologically matters for the conservatives because so many have feared this moment particularly after nigel farage's decision to run as a candidate and become leader of his party to be much more prominent on debate shows like the one we've had on itv tonight. another observation from that debate tonight. lots of sharp questions being focused at labour, the sense from lots of the parties that labour are the coming power and so deserving of scrutiny. plenty of scrutiny for all of them to come in the next, most important

three weeks of this campaign.- three weeks of this campaign. chris, as alwa s, three weeks of this campaign. chris, as always, thank _ three weeks of this campaign. chris, as always, thank you _ three weeks of this campaign. chris, as always, thank you very _ three weeks of this campaign. chris, as always, thank you very much. - and you can watch an extended interview with sir keir starmer on the panorama interviews with nick robinson, at 7.30 tomorrow night on bbc one and on iplayer. and you can hear more analysis of labour's plan for government on newsnight later. here's victoria. is keir starmer�*s plan ambitious enough for you and who came out on top in the seven way election debate? newsnight is on bbc two, bbc news and iplayer in about 15 minutes, see you then. a former aide to the prime minister says he made "a huge error ofjudgment" when he placed a bet on the date of the election, reportedlyjust days before rishi sunak called the vote. craig williams — who is standing as a conservative candidate — says the gambling commission is making "routine inquiries" with which he is co—operating. joe pikejoins us from

welshpool in mid wales. this part of wales was named after one of william the conqueror�*s big supporters. a thousand years on a different political aide is causing a stir. craig williams does seem to have provoked anger among some of the former tory mps i have been in touch with today. here is what happened when we caught up with him. politics often rewards gamblers. hello, mr williams. joe pike from bbc news. but this bet isn't paying off. did you have inside information when you placed your bet on the election date? i've made a statement. it's an independent process with the gambling commission now. as rishi sunak�*s closest parliamentary aide, he sits behind the pm at pmqs. every time i sit behind him, i try to wear a tie from a different part of montgomeryshire. but what did he know when he reportedly placed £100 on there being a july election, three days before his boss's surprise announcement?

did he know that you were calling a july election - when he laid his bet on that? it's very disappointing news. you will have seen craig williams say it was a huge error ofjudgement. there is an independent inquiry that is ongoing, which is necessarily confidential, as well as independent. you'll appreciate that, given that, it wouldn't be appropriate for me to comment while that's ongoing. and mr williams is not being completely clear. i won't be expanding on that statement. did you have any inside information when you made the bet? i made a huge error ofjudgement. that's for sure, and i apologise, and i will be working in montgomeryshire and glyndwr on the doors now... but did you have any inside information when you placed that bet? as i said, i will not be expanding on that statement. is that because you did have inside information, mr williams? i'm not expanding because it's an independent process. the gambling commission are looking at it now. all i can say is... it sounds like you did know that there was an election coming, and you were perhaps trying to take

advantage of that. i will not be adding to the statement i've already made. do you see why your constituents might feel that looks dodgy? do you have an apology, mr williams? in welshpool, while some seem disappointed... i think it's very foolish. ijust don't understand why he did it, there was no need. ..others are supportive. that is really less important than the things that we're coping with in life. so you'll still vote for him? oh, yeah. the gambling commission is now investigating, because using confidential information to gain an advantage could amount to cheating, which is a criminal offence. joe pike, bbc news, welshpool. and there's a full list of the candidates standing in the montgomeryshire and glyndwr constituency on the bbc news website. leaders at the g7 summit in southern italy have agreed to lend ukraine $50 billion, taken from interest made on frozen russian assets, which the prime minister

called "game—changing". but it's still not clear who precisely is doing the lending. vicki young reports from the summit in puglia. he might consider this welcome respite from the election trail. rishi sunakjoined leaders from seven of the world's richest countries. and at least here there was the guarantee of a warm welcome from italian host giorgia meloni, who boasted that she led the strongest government of all. ukraine has been high on the agenda. president zelensky is here, shoring up support. mr sunak reiterated ukraine's right to self defence in the face of russia's invasion. i've been discussing with my colleagues a game changing package of support for ukraine that would be funded by the profits on seized russian assets. this is something that i and the uk have personally championed and led on for a while now, so it's very positive to see it close to the finish line. it will make an enormous difference.

tonight, the deal, a $50 billion loan, was finalised by the american and ukrainian presidents. put that money to work for ukraine another reminder to putin, we're not backing down. russian assets should be used for defending lives of ukrainians from russian terror and for repairing the damage the aggressor caused to ukraine. if the opinion polls turn out to be right, this will be rishi sunak�*s last appearance at a summit like this. but when he spoke to journalists here, he told us he was energised by the challenge he faced and said he wouldn't stop making the case for a conservative government until the very last day of this election campaign. many of these leaders have watched as their popularity ratings have plummeted. for a couple of days in southern italy, they will try to put uncertainty about their own futures to one side and concentrate on global threats. vicki young, bbc news, puglia.

plaid cymru has also set out its general election manifesto today, offering what it called a "positive vision" for wales. the party's leader, rhun ap iorwerth, said his party would "fight every day" for the billions owed to wales from the cancellation of the high speed 2 rail project. 0ur wales correspondent, hywel griffith, was at the launch in cardiff. no election buying of flowers, i guess? there's a big occasion coming and plaid cymru want voters focused on their finances. it claims wales is being short—changed and needs a new funding model, even though public spending per head here is already higher than the uk average. you want more money for wales. who gets less? of course, this is a uk government decision. as things stand, london gets more than anywhere else within the united kingdom. wales has the need. it needs better public funding than we presently get. i am arguing here for wales

because the needs here are so self—evident. so what would they do with any extra money? the manifesto pledges include recruiting 500 new gps and an extra £20 per week in child benefit. there's also a promise to eventually rejoin the eu. there'd be tax increases too. the message pitched towards traditional labour voters, drawing them towards a nationalist party, careful not to scare them away. in your speech you covered a lot of ground. there was one word was missing. can you guess what it was? carry on. independence. you didn't mention it once in your speech. i had to go to page 42 in your manifesto to find a reference. do you just accept its not a vote winner? well, listen, you're asking me now about independence, because you're talking to the leader of a pro—independence political party. you know, people know that we're in favour of independence. i talk openly about my desire for wales to take the levers of change. not in your speech, you didn't, you didn't mention it a single time. what have you got in your hands there, hywel? page 42, that's where

the independence is. it's our manifesto, which includes independence, because we believe that wales won't reach its potential until we take those levers of change into our own hands. plaid's own destiny depends on persuading people on the doorstep it can make a difference in westminster, notjust in wales. hywel griffith, bbc news. are fake social media accounts influencing the general election? well, allegations about inauthentic accounts distorting the social media conversations are popping up across the online world. bbc�*s disinformation and social media correspondent marianna spring has been tracking down the people behind the profiles posting hundreds of reform uk comments. i've been seeing comments from accounts people are accusing of being fake on my undercover voters social media feeds. these are online profiles belonging to 24 fictional people i created based on analysis from the national centre for social research.

they're based in eight battleground constituencies. i've been looking at the social media feeds of the characters in bridgend. meet gavin, a right—leaning voter in his 60s, 72—year—old eluned a left—leaning welsh nationalist, and lily 18, whose not into politics. lots of comments on political posts recommended to gavin repeatedly say "vote reform uk". while eluned's feed — full of left—leaning content — has been pushed posts from people suggesting the comments that say "vote reform uk" are fake bots. i haven't seen comments repeated in the same way about other parties. so are they bots or real people? i identified dozens of profiles that could look fake — for example with an anonymous username and picture, no followers or real friends, all reposting the same phrases. one was called gen z bloomer. i was able to message the account user but there were holes in their story — they said they were based in the "ainslee england area" and gave me a british mobile number

but didn't answer any of my calls. they said they're a genuine account working with reform uk but a spokesperson for the party said this profile was not connected to them and that they'd been in touch with social media sites about accounts like this. i did find some real people behind these types of comments — like martin. he told me he's just fed up with mps and wants to vote reform. a spokesman for reform uk said they're delighted about the organic growth of online support and said people wrongly think reform uk supporters must be fake. tiktok, x and meta which owns facebook and instagram, all said they don't allow fake accounts. she's one of the world's best known female vocalists, but a year ago, celine dion was diagnosed with stiff person syndrome. it's an autoimmune disease which causes her muscles to spasm, seriously affecting her abilty to sing. 0ur la correspondent, emma vardy, went to meet her. ready? she is one of the most powerful

vocalists in the music industry. but celine dion's announcement more than a year ago left fans wondering whether she would ever perform again. i've been diagnosed with a very rare neurological disorder. i came to meet celine in las vegas where she has been recovering and she described how her vocal problems began on tour. my voice needed to... was struggling, i was starting to push a little bit. for just an example... # the whispers in the morning. i was more doing... # the whispers in the morning. pushing it. you're pushing. despite the warning signs, she had tried to keep the show on the road. these shows were sold out for a year and a half, going around the globe and... i'm going to say to people, "excuse me about my spasm"? 0uch! the condition stiff

person syndrome is an autoimmune disease that causes muscles to spasm. but it can be managed. what are your hopes for performing again? i will have to be rehabilitate vocally. # on my own. celine dion is synonymous with las vegas. her residences here lasted 16 years and were the bestselling series of vegas concerts of all time, and it's here where she says she's determined to make her return. i'm, i'll be on stage. i don't know when exactly but trust me, i will. i will scream it out loud. the timing is unclear, but she's determined that audiences will hear her distinctive and much loved voice again. emma vardy, bbc news, las vegas. celine dion's extended interview with emma vardy can be seen on bbc iplayer from midnight.

the euros kick off tomorrow, with a big game for scotland — they're playing the hosts germany. from munich, here's dan roan. more than a quarter of a century has passed since scotland fans last had the chance to follow their team overseas at a major tournament. in1998, 18 year old, i never had the money, i thought, do you know what? i'll sit this one out and go to the next one. i'm now 46! and there are few bigger fixtures than this. the opening match of the euros against the hosts, three times champions germany, here in munich. look at everybody here and we are going to do it. yes, come on, scotland! unfortunately i've not got a match ticket. you just want to be here? yeah. we'll find somewhere to watch it, won't we? aye. you've heard this song. you'll be spoiling the host's party if you crash this. no, we are the hosts really. have a look about, this is our side. this evokes memories of the opening match of that 1998 world cup.

scotland scoring against mighty brazil, before narrowly losing. again they will be underdogs but after impressing in qualifying, hopes are high this could be the first scotland side to reach the knockout stage of a major tournament. it doesn't get much tougher but it's one we're excited by. we're excited by the challenge, we're excited by what's ahead and if we can perform the way i know we can perform, then i believe we can be the ones that create the history. these fans are hoping to witness what would be one of the biggest wins in the history of scottish football, already enjoying the most easily accessible major men's tournament since 2016, with hundreds of thousands of british supporters expected here in germany throughout the tournament. they sing. and scotland's fans are doing whatever it takes to get to the big game. this afternoon, this group chartering a plane from inverness to make what might be a once—in—a—lifetime experience. dan roan, bbc news, munich.

time for a look at the weather. here's chris fawkes. that opening match looks a dry between scotland and germany over in munich. 0urweather between scotland and germany over in munich. 0ur weather can't be said the same. today we have seen cloud and outbreaks of rain and it has been cool. temperatures four or 5 degrees before average, average is 20 at this time of year but for northernmost areas of scotland, it was quite sunny. this area of low pressure that has been bringing cloud and rain and cold weather for most of the uk will continue northwards. it is a weather system that we will get bored of because it will be with us through friday, saturday, still even into monday. an unsettled weather pattern, stuck in a rut. 0vernight tonight we have rain clearing away from eastern england but a wet night for scotland, the heaviest rainfall in northern scotland, showers to western parts of the uk and longer

spells of rain in