launched its election manifesto. a chance to show what conservatism under theresa may will look like — a manifesto for mainstream britain, she called it. come with me as i lead britain. strengthen my hand as i fight for britain. and stand with me as i deliverfor britain. tackling the growing cost of social care — big changes on the way it's paid for. there we go, darling. free school lunches will go for all but the poorest families, but there's a pledge to spend more on education. fairness across the generations. have pensioners had it too good for too long? i work full—time, pay bills and everything else. i do think the younger generation need that little bit more help. they are not giving us the earth, after all, aren't they? i say, it barely buys a loaf of bread or a jar

of coffee these days. also on tonight's programme... a former tv producer is found guilty of trying to hire a succession of hitmen to kill his wealthy partner. in new york, at least 13 people are reported hurt after a car hits pedestrians in times square. and coming up in the sport on bbc news... the football association will introduce new rules that could see players retrospectively banned for diving or feigning injury from next season. good evening and welcome to halifax, where the conservatives have launched their election manifesto.

by choosing halifax, where labour has a majority of less than 500, theresa may is signalling her determination to show that the conservative party is now the champion of working people — mainstream britain as she put it. so what are the policy highlights? in a sweeping change to social care in england, if you are receiving care in your own home, the value of your house — above £100,000 — will be counted when calculating your contribution. and after 2020 the so—called triple lock on pensions, which guaranteed a minimum 2.5% rise each year, will go. instead it will simply keep pace with average earnings or inflation. once again, there is a commitment to reduce annual net migration to the tens of thousands, together with curbs on some migrant workers. there's a promise to increase the overall schools budget in england by £4 billion by 2022. this was a manifesto which aims

to show how different the conservatives will be under theresa may. 0ur political editor, laura kuenssberg, has been looking through it. 0utside... inside. theresa may says she wants to end political tribes. getting rid of your nurses. i have beena getting rid of your nurses. i have been a nurse for 27 years and we are oi'i been a nurse for 27 years and we are on our been a nurse for 27 years and we are on our knees. the tory manifesto is meant to be a blueprint for what she now calls the mainstream. yet with protesters at the gates, the tories we re protesters at the gates, the tories were whisked in behind tight lines to make their case. with brexit the backdrop, theresa may's ambitions are plainly far wider than that.”

believe that our united kingdom can emerge from this period of national change stronger, fairer and more prosperous than ever before. and i believe we can and must take this opportunity to build a great meritocracy here in britain. let us be in no doubt, it will not be easy. but with discipline and focus, effort and hard work, and above all a unity of purpose, stretching across this precious union of nations, from north to south and east to west, i believe we can and must go forward together. but all that depends on getting the mind—bendingly complicated brexit right. if you were looking for detail on how, it wasn't here today. but all of this depends on getting the next five years right. if we

fail, the consequences for britain and for the economic security of ordinary working people will be dire. if we succeed, the opportunities ahead of us are great. those are, she says, a long—term solution to caring for the elderly. more or less matching labour's promise of cash for the nhs. and new grammar schools. but the same broken target for immigration, few are free hot meals at primary school, and for the tories, who have been in charge already for seven years, pushing back a promise to clear the deficit until 2025. and her finale, back a promise to clear the deficit until 2025. and herfinale, a contentious claim to stand for all. for too many people in britain today, life is simply much harder than many seem to think or realise. they are not ideological, they don't buy into grander visions. they are not fooled by politicians who promise the earth and claim no tough

choices are required. they make those choices every day in their own lives and understand politicians who aspire to lead must do the same. with the right brexit steel secured, my mainstream government will deliver for mainstream britain. my mainstream government will deliverfor mainstream britain. so i offer myself as your prime minister. come with me as i lead britain, strengthen my hand as i fight for britain and stand with me as i deliver for britain and stand with me as i deliverfor britain. and britain and stand with me as i deliver for britain. and with confidence in ourselves and a unity of purpose in our country, let us all go forward together. ovation inside. but anger outside. tories in a mill in yorkshire. he couldn't make it up. up austerity is seven yea rs make it up. up austerity is seven years old. what do you think of the tories coming to yorkshire today. it's a disgrace, laura. they are not welcome. in last six years they are running our industry is down. one of

the tories biggest claims is the tories want to —— is labour and jeremy corbyn want to take this to the 1970s. they want to take a to the 1970s. they want to take a to the 1980s. the 1970s. they want to take a to the 19805. it's the 1970s. they want to take a to the 1980s. it's ridiculous. you are sitting on the manifesto that more families and tory voters will have to pay more for elderly care. many families will lose hot meals for children at school. you are pushing back balancing the books again. and your immigration proposals might cost billions to the economy. when you put that altogether, wouldn't some voters be quite entitled to conclude that adds up to quite a bleak picture? not at all. what in putting forward is a vision for opportunity and prosperity across the whole of the country for the future. i have been clear that there are hard choices that need to be taken. it's making sure we are honest with the public. it's wrapped up honest with the public. it's wrapped up as honest with the public. it's wrapped upasa honest with the public. it's wrapped up as a new honest with the public. it's wrapped up as a new kind of sensible conservatism. but if everyone signed 7 conservatism. but if everyone signed he

conservatism. but if everyone signed up? the entire cabinet has just filed past after the prime minister's speech. nobody will talk to us about whether or not this truly is a new kind of conservatism and whether or not they are all happy about what she just headlined. her pitch is safety first. but there are dangers in her plans. as the prime minister left through jeers and protests, her dream of an end to left and right are seen as a long way off. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, halifax. one of the main aims of the conservative manifesto is to try to tackle the rising cost of social care in england. it says anyone with assets worth more than £100,000 — including the family home — should pay for their own social care, whether it be residential or at home. that payment would be deferred and then taken from the estate after they die. 0ur social affairs correspondent alison holt takes a look at the plans for social care. they are on fire, it's called

burning daylight. at the heart of the crisis in social care that theresa may says she wants to fix, oui’ theresa may says she wants to fix, our real lives. people like this woman and her son alex. she has dementia. what type of flower has thorns? laughter i don't know! roses. it's a rose bush. this was 2014. she had sold her small house in london to pay for residential care that was costing more than £60,000 per year. she was able to walk, hold a conversation, she was able to enjoy a walk around the gardens. right, let's go get a cup of tea. since then she has deteriorated quite a lot. we can have a look at the garden. she has 110w have a look at the garden. she has now essentially forgotten how to walk and she can't really speak very

much. now her care costs nearly £100,000 a year. remember when we we re £100,000 a year. remember when we were living at highfield. every morning i would make you a cup of tea. most is paid by the nhs but the family still has to find nearly £40,000 a year. under the tory plans, she would benefit from being allowed to keep more of her money but would get no help with the huge costs she faces before that.” but would get no help with the huge costs she faces before that. i would like to say that the system is broken at the moment, because if the system was broken then potentially it can be fixed. but having seen it from the inside, i don't think we have a system at all. at the moment in england, people only get council funded help with social care if they have assets and savings of less than £23 , 250. have assets and savings of less than £23,250. the conservatives' planned to raise that threshold so people have 100,000 protected. but for the

first time people who need home care, more like those in residential care, more like those in residential care, have the value of their home included in the calculations. so if you have a house worth £100,000 and no other assets, you would get help with care. but if your assets, including your home, with 300,000, then you would have to spend £200,000 on care before getting council support. it wouldn't mean moving out of your home because deferred payments would mean a cost could be paid from a person's estate after they die. we are saying everyone will have the confidence in knowing they can pass on £100,000 to their children and grandchildren, but there are trade—offs in order to make that commitment. we will be treating people who have care at home in the same way as people who are cared for in care homes. but existing government plans to limit the high costs some people with the greatest needs face would be scrapped. sir andrew deal not wrote

the report that recommended daycare cap. he far enough. the certainty here is that if you have assets in total including the value of your house more than £100,000, then you are basically on your own. play for yourself and to until you get to that level. for most people, the prospect is that if they need social ca re prospect is that if they need social care they will have to pay. for many, the tests of the proposals for social care will be if they help people plan for the future whatever it holds. alison holt, bbc news. there's a pledge to spend an extra £4 billion on schools in england. partly, that will be paid for by scrapping universal free school lunches in the first three years of primary school. the conservatives will commit to replacing the lunches with free school breakfasts for every pupil in every year of primary school. 0ur education editor bra nwen jeffreys reports on the school lunch proposal. there we go, sweetie. waiting for a free hot lunch, but families could face charges

for school dinners with parents of most infants asked to pay. it was his idea to give the youngest free meals. the lib dem policy meant lots of money on new kitchens. now the conservatives say most parents should pay with only the poorest families getting free school meals. it's estimated £650 million a year would be saved by ending free lunches for infants. that could go towards adding £4 billion cash in total for england schools. but that could still mean a 2—3% real terms cut per pupil by 2022. free lunches have been popular, with most parents and children happily gobbling them up. making more parents pay for school dinners is a decision driven by political necessity. there's been growing unease about the pressure on school budgets. many parents have been campaigning, galvanised by plans

for a new funding formula to share out money differently. to sweeten the message, a different offer from the tories. instead of free lunches for the youngest, a promise of free breakfast for all children in primary school, leaving the head here worried about how to arrange that. in principle, great, but that's a significant adjustment to the way that we work and it will need funding. and i would potentially either have to be employing new people or changing everybody‘s contracts to ensure there's enough staff here to manage children from eight o'clock. at pick—up time in solihull, what did parents make of the offer? i think school lunches are more important for children. i don't think it's a very good idea. i have got four little kids and it costs me a fortune to feed all four of them at school. i feel lunches are far better than a breakfast. breakfast is something they should really be having at home before the school day starts.

no one likes giving up a free lunch. parents may feel better if it does end up in school budgets, which even after this will still be under pressure. branwen jeffreys, bbc news. the conservatives set out a number of key economic pledges today on pensions, tax and the deficit. 0ur economics editor, kamal ahmed, has been taking a closer look at the costs of implementing the conservative manifesto. the target of balancing the books and eliminating the deficit has been pushed into the future. the triple tax lock has been abandoned. the promise on how much pensions will rise by, changed. theresa may laid out a new tory prospectus for the country, making it clear that the old approach of david cameron is history. let's start with the tory‘s attitude to borrowing, or "eliminating the deficit" — that's balancing the amount the government raises in taxes with what it spends. last autumn, the chancellor said he wanted to achieve this long—held

tory goal "as early as possible in the next parliament". many economists took that to mean by 2022. today, the manifesto changes that target to 2025. theresa may has given herself room to borrow more if the economy needs it. 0n tax, there has also been a change. in 2015, david cameron promised no increases in income tax, national insurance or vat. only one of those remains — no increase in vat. the rest have been replaced with a rather vaguer "firm intention to reduce taxes" — many now predict national insurance contributions, at least, will rise. and then, pensions. in 2015, the conservatives promised a "triple lock" — that pensions would increase by either the rate of inflation, the rate of earnings growth or 2.5% — whichever was highest. that is now a "double lock" — inflation or earnings will be used,

which could mean lower pension increases if both fall below 2.5%. the conservative leader has given herself more wriggle room on the economy. she can borrow more, tax more and has opened the door to lower increases in pensions. 0ne striking feature of the manifesto, very few costings. mrs may does not want her hands tied. kamal ahmed, bbc news. and our political editor laura kuenssberg joins me now. are we seeing the emergence of something called mayism ? are we seeing the emergence of something called mayism? theresa may doesn't style herself as a full —— philosopher. i think what we have seen is a bit of a political pick

and mix. she has felt liberated enough to junk some of david cameron pass old ideas, liberated enough to resuscitate some old tory ideas that she believes in like grammar schools, she has cut benefits for some pensioners and cut back on free school meals but the other same time she feels liberated enough as a conservative to meddle more in business. some people might think that's a contradiction but for others, and in her view, that's what she believes will work. two big things haven't changed, whether or not this is the birth of a new philosophy. firstly a lot of people are feeling the pinch, the cuts will continue. the system a time of public spending squeezes, even though the government has pushed back the deficit target to 2025. secondly, overshadowing all of this, potential

complications and uncertainties of brexit. manifesto is a solemn contract, and offer to the public, if re—elected theresa may has set herself very big goals. thank you. that's it for now from halifax. later we'll hear the views of voters, but now over to reeta in the studio. a former television producer has been found guilty of trying to hire three hitmen to kill his wealthy partner. the old bailey heard david harris, who's 68 and from west sussex, wanted hazel allinson dead in order to inherit her fortune. here's duncan kennedy. for nearly 30 years, david harris and hazel allinson shared a life together, but harris had a secret and a problem. the secret was ugne cekaviciute, a woman he met in a brothel. the problem was he was broke and couldn't indulge her. so harris decided to try to hire not one, not two, but three hitmen to kill his partner, hazel, and set up life with ugne. hire three separate hitmen to kill your partner,

it all sounds ludicrous, but that's exactly what david harris did. his aim was to get rid of hazel, and get his hands on the £800,000 house here in west sussex. all the hitmen, including number two, duke dean, were innocent. did you get the impression he was serious about getting rid of hazel? he was quite serious about that. that's what he wanted? that's what he wanted. harris told police he was researching a hitman novel like day of the jackal, and wanted to meet a real hitman. the police say the book didn't exist. this was a man who in fact was a very manipulative, conniving and ruthless individual, who approached not one but three individual men and offered them money to have his partner killed. detectives say at the heart of this incredible story was a man driven by greed, lust and fantasy, who thankfully failed three times to carry out his ruthless plan. duncan kennedy, bbc news, in west sussex. emergency services in new york say that 13 people are reported injured

in times square in new york, after a car hit a group of pedestrians this afternoon. —— one person has died and 19 are injured. the driver is in policy custody, and the area has been sealed off. let's join our correspondent neda tawfik, who's at the scene now. what more can you tell us about what happened? the nypd are describing this as an isolated incident. chaos this as an isolated incident. chaos this afternoon was in times square isa cargoing this afternoon was in times square is a car going down the wrong direction on seventh ave ploughed into people in times square. we now believe more than a dozen people are injured and one person has died. the police very quickly after this incident had the driver in custody. he isa incident had the driver in custody. he is a 26—year—old with two previous arrests for drunk driving so they believe that could be the cause of this accident. we know that

the new york mayor and new york governor are in the area getting briefed. the fbi are also part of this investigation. this caused fear in new york, thinking this could be something more nefarious, so there is relief, at least for now. police in cheshire have started an investigation following the deaths of a number of babies at the countess of chester hospital. the inquiry was set up after medics at the hospital expressed concern about the deaths of eight babies betweenjune 2015 and june 2016. it will also review the deaths of a further seven babies, as well as six who became seriously ill during the same period. tributes have been paid to the former first minister of wales and labour mp, rhodri morgan, who has died at the age of 77. he led the welsh government for almost a decade until his retirement in 2009. labour colleagues have described him as a unique populist intellectual and a father figure for wales.

political parties suspended election campaigning in wales today as a mark of respect. the former first minister of wales, rhodri morgan, who has died at the age of 77. let's go back to our main story now, and to george. welcome back to halifax. one of the key themes of the conservative manifesto is fairness across the generations. so, the guarantee of a minimum rise in pensions has gone and the elderly being cared for in their own homes will now see the value of their home count towards the cost of their care — all but £100,000. i've been getting reaction from two generations of voters. a cafe in central halifax and its coffee morning for this group of pensioners. the youngest is 71; the eldest, 90. firstly, are you all going to vote onjune the 8th? all: yes. and maureen, is it time for pensioners to give up some

of their money so that other people can benefit? my house, i thought when it was sold the money would go to my children. £100,000 will go to your children, it's the only the amount above that. above that, yes. how do you feel about that? well, i suppose we can't really do anything about it, can we, if they decide to do it? i don't really agree with it but... i don't want to sound rude but some people might say that's a bit selfish. i don't think so. i've worked all my life. i don't see why i should give to pay for the younger ones. a lot of them don't want to work. but that's not really fair, is it, peggy? yes, it is, because they are living them life of riley. they should live according to their means, like we had. for the last few years, you've known your state pension is going to go up by 2.5%. 0ut there, people haven't had that guarantee. but i mean 2.5%, they're not giving us the earth after all, are they? it barely buys a loaf of bread or a jar of coffee these days.

they all own homes worth more than £100,000, but onlyjust. they don't think of themselves as well off. if more money is needed, ray thinks it should come from the overseas aid budget. i do think this money that is being spent abroad could be used first, for the people in this country. have you always thought of yourselves as conservative voters? all: oh, no. we were all brought up as labour. you still think theresa may is your woman. she's the best one. so, as you've just heard, there is i think, how can i put it, grudging acceptance of the changes theresa may is proposing, but what about the younger generation? what do they think? i work full—time, pay bills, everything else. i do that think the younger generation need that little bit more help. you need money to be able to get educated,

to be able to get a job, to get the good money, and it'sjust not there. nicola, zoe and sophie grew up together. sophie is on maternity leave, but even when she and her partner both worked, life was tough. there's bills to pay and we are already struggling to make ends meet on the wages we have. and now she could face a bill for school lunches. having to pay for school meals willjust be another stress, another bill to pay out. £40 a month, it's a lot of money. so there you have it — the view across the generations. time now for a look at the weather. it's a bit chilly here in halifax. here's sarah keith lucas. we have had some much needed rain across parts of the country but we have not all seen it. there has been glorious sunshine out there too. the

satellite image shows we have a peppering of shower ploughed across many northern and western areas. towards the south—east, more cloud and outbreaks of rain here. we will continue to see this rain moving north across east anglia, east england. some uncertainty about the extent of that rainfall but it looks like northern parts of the country see dry conditions with showers fading away overnight. the touch of ground frost in the most prone spots in the west first thing. sunshine and showers across many parts of the country but in the east we will keep a bit more cloud and outbreaks of rain. just 11 degrees in newcastle under that cloud and rain but elsewhere around 16 degrees in between those heavy showers. during saturday the rain continues to push northwards, sitting across the northern isles of scotland. elsewhere across the country it's another day of sunny spells with scattered showers and temperatures

in the mid teens. through to the second half of the weekend with pressure building from the south, that should squeeze away most of the show was on the day on sunday. not a bad day with the sunshine, still the chance of isolated showers but temperatures up to 20 degrees. more on our website. that's all from the bbc news at six so it's goodbye us in halifax and in london, and on bbc one we nowjoin the bbc‘s news teams where you are. this is bbc news, the headlines: theresa may has launched the conservative election manifesto — saying politicians need to be "upfront" about the issues britain faces. mrs may told her audience in halifax that a strong economy, and delivering brexit, are the biggest priorities, if she's re—elected. come with me as i lead britain, strengthen my hand as i fight for britain and stand with me as i deliver for britain and stand with me as i deliverfor britain. officials in new york say one person has died and 19 people have been

injured after a car hit a group of pedestrians in times square. the driver is in custody but it's not yet clear if the incident is linked to terrorism. donald trump says he's being subjected to the ‘greatest witch—hunt against a politician in american history', after a special investigator was appointed, to examine claims of collusion with russia. police have launched an investigation into an unusually high rate of infant deaths at a hospital in chester. now on bbc news, it's time for sportsday. hello and welcome to sportsday — i'm hugh woozencroft. our main headlines this evening...