50 lots to talk about with our panel... the politicaljournalist, martha gill, and george eaton of the new statesman. let's catch up on the latest developments from the campaign trail... theresa may has laid out her vision to tackle the "great challenges" facing the uk — including brexit, the economy and an ageing society. the conservative party's manifesto includes proposals to change the way social care in england is funded, and to withdraw winter fuel payments from pensioners who are better off. mrs may outlined her policies on social care and public services earlier. the government that i lead would build a briton in which the economy is strong. to support world—class public services. with the most ambitious programme of investment in technology and buildings that the nhs has ever seen. record and fair

funding for schools. real technical education for young people. and, the first—ever proper plan to pay for and provide social care. strong public services do notjust provide security and enhance opportunity. they are vital institutions that bring us all together. theresa may and jeremy corbyn will be absent as britain's political leaders take pa rt britain's political leaders take part ina britain's political leaders take part in a prime—time tv debate this evening. the itv event will see liberal democrat leader tim farron, ukip‘s paul nuttall and the snp's nicola sturgeon lock horns. plaid cymru's leanne wood and green co—leader caroline lucas will also take part in the two—hour show being broadcast from salford at 8pm. the prime minister has refused to take part in tv debates and the labour leader said he would not participate without his main rival being there. atv a tv debate must include the prime minister, the leader of the

conservative party. that would be a proper debate. i made the offer, many times, since the day the election was called. the prime minister said in the last prime minister's questions time, this is the end of the debate, now it is the election campaign. there has to be a debate with the leader's of the party. i'm proud of the labour party and the manifesto for the many and not the few. she should come along and have a discussion. alex salmond spreads the love — the former snp leader has been out glad—handing supporters in edinburgh. and it turns out reporters as well. listen to this exchange with the bbc‘s catreena renton. listen to this exchange with the bbc's catreena renton. hello! are you well? i'm very good. it feels like a long time since i've seen you! i know, i've been missing you! the christian peoples alliance has launched their manifesto in westminster. among their policies are a grant of 10,000 pounds to first—time married couples,

and a further 5,000 pounds for a child born to married couples. but leader sid cordle says their flagship policy is on alleviating poverty: because we, as christians, are running food banks, we understand why people are going and what policies we need to stop it. we want people on disability benefits to not haveit people on disability benefits to not have it taken off them unless they have it taken off them unless they have an alternative source of income. we want people who apply for benefits, the day that they apply, to get benefits. at the moment people have two weights and weeks and we want everyone who is sleeping homeless to have a shot at ago too. we will have free night shelters for all people as long as they are not on drink and drugs —— to have a shelter to go to. so theresa may has launched the conservative manifesto, with a promise to be "upfront and straight" about the challenges facing britain. there are measures to bring down immigration, as well as proposals to increase charges for companies who hire workers from outside the eu. let's take a look in more

detail at the figures, chris morris and the bbc‘s reality check team have been taking a look at some of the all—important numbers behind some of the key pledges. after weeks of hearing about strong and stable leadership, we finally have some details to look out. unlike labour and the liberal democrats, the conservatives haven't so democrats, the conservatives haven't so far released overall costings in a single table. we are working on those. but there are some headline numbers. the tories say they will balance the budget by 2020 to five -- 2025 balance the budget by 2020 to five —— 2025 and will increase nhs spending by a minimum —— 2025 and will increase nhs spending bya minimum of £8 —— 2025 and will increase nhs spending by a minimum of £8 billion over the next five years. let's look at it few more specific policies. social care changes that we have heard about will mean tens of thousands of more families have to pay for social care at home. but eve ryo ne pay for social care at home. but everyone drove retain at least £100,000 of their savings and assets, including value in the family home. it is a policy designed to ta ke family home. it is a policy designed to take account of the fact that we are living longer. the conservatives

wa nt to are living longer. the conservatives want to raise money by means testing the winter fuel allowance. ensuring payments only go to the least wealthy pensioners. this scheme costs about £3 billion per year at the moment. means testing could save about half of that. one revenue raising measure that labour and the liberal democrats have promised is an income in —— is an increase in income tax but not the tories. in this manifesto while there is not an absolute promise in increasing insurance and so on, there is a modest set of proposals which probably will not require terribly much in the way of tax increases. big conservative promise in the camera in years was the triple lock on pensions. under which the state pension rises by the rate of inflation, average earnings, or 2.596, inflation, average earnings, or 2.5%, which ever is highest. theresa may wants to scrap it, losing the 2.596 may wants to scrap it, losing the 2.5% guarantee. that would give the

government more flexibility but it is impossible to say how much money it could save. moving to education, the conservatives want to boost school funding by £4 billion in the next parliament. 0ne school funding by £4 billion in the next parliament. one of the ways they plan on raising that money is scrapping universal free school lunches for infants. replacing them with much cheaper free school brea kfasts with much cheaper free school breakfasts in primary schools. again, the manifesto contains no precise costing for this. immigration policy looms large in conservative plans. they plan to double from £1000 to £2000, the amount that companies have few paid to import highly skilled workers from outside of the eu. we don't really know how much it could raise. the conservatives have reaffirmed their target of cutting overall net migration to less than 100,000 per year. but, there will be a cost involved. the independent 0ffice year. but, there will be a cost involved. the independent office for budget responsibility has estimated it could cost £5.9 billion to cut annual net migration from about

273,000 now, to 185000 by 20 21. that is because of things like a lower tax take a higher proportion of nonworking people in the overall population. that is still a long way short of the £100,000 target. —— the 100,000 target. it will be taken into account in the debate to come and the emphasis is that this is an election taking place in the shadow of the looming brexit negotiations. the negotiations we are about to begin with the eu will not be easy. they will be challenging and at times, they will be tough. in theresa may, britain has a prime minister with the strength to lead britain through these negotiations, and makea britain through these negotiations, and make a success of the future. but the outcome of those negotiations over the next smack yea rs negotiations over the next smack years is deeply uncertain. the ma nifesto years is deeply uncertain. the manifesto reasserts that no deal

with the eu is better than a bad deal —— the next two years. so eu negotiations will probably do more than anything else in the next parliament to determine the health of the british economy and the chance for any political party to put their promises into practice. well martha and george — what are your first thoughts about this manifesto? this manifesto seems to be a massive display of confidence by theresa may, with a big lead in the polls, she knows the right wing papers like the daily mail are really on her side. they will back her no matter how policies. what she has been able to do is risk her core voters, the pensioners and people who want older voters, by scrapping fuel payments, and by taking money away from people's estates to pay for social care. she is now reaching out to other voters on the margins, both on the right, who want to control

immigration. and also on the left. george, how did you see it? what struck me was that this is the most interventionist conservative manifesto we have seen in decades theresa may isn't seeking to overturn the thatcherite settlement in the way that labour's manifesto promised but she is taking a far more sceptical view of the markets and a less hostile view of the state in any conservative leader since the 1970s the in any conservative leader since the 1970s. the energy price cap, representation on company boards, a new generation on council homes, borrowing for investment homes, it's a sharp break from recent conservative traditions. and it struck me, the front cover of the manifesto. in 2015 it was the conservatives, this time it is the conservatives, this time it is the conservative and unionist party. that is their fault title, which mrs may emphasised when she became prime minister, and is a helping hand to

ruth davidson, currently presiding over a big tory revival there. and what do the general public think on that proposed big change in social care funding? we dropped into a day centre in suffolk, which is a popular meeting place for the over 60s, who stop by for a chat over coffee and biscuits to see what they think of the conservatives plans. people who have worked all of their lives are struggling. they are struggling more than ever. a lot of people have had to dig into their savings in order to survive and pay the bills. i cannot understand why all of these financial boffins at the top cannot get it right! we paying a fortune abroad? why did we support the nhs and those in dire straits here who fought the country —— who fought for the country? straits here who fought the country -- who fought for the country? i've worked hard and i want to leave something for my grandchildren and my children. i have four children andl my children. i have four children and i would love to do some thing for them. the social care funding, how big a political risk are the conservatives taking here, do you think? the

biggest risk would have been doing nothing. every analyst, every mp, perhaps only in private, agrees if you do nothing you are heading for an almighty crisis. and the only way to improve social care is to raise more money from voters. the conservatives are giving, in one respect, now you will no longer have to pay any more after you are down to pay any more after you are down to your last 100,000, after 23,000, but they take with the other hand in that home owners and those who have received care in their home will have to pay potentially a lot more. they are means testing winter fuel payments quite aggressively. it isn't a big political risk. they have a big lead in the polls, especially among the over 65 ‘s. it will be interesting to see if it is dented at all, given that labour is looking to maintain the double lock —— the triple lock. if labour cannot pick up more pensioners now, when

can they? who are the winners and losers in that measure? in the social care chain? it is people who have decided to pour all of their money into homeowning, with the hope of handing it on to their kids. now, they are going to see that depleted to fund theircare. they are going to see that depleted to fund their care. before, it hit a point where once you have run through all of your cash, where you get free social care, now it is going to kick in and cut into your home as well. and a question that we posed a moment ago, when we all come to vote for our potential mps, does it matter on their gender? mrs may is our second female prime minister, many women in high profile positions in other parties. in this election, there are more women running for office than ever before. 0verall, about 30% of candidates are women — up from the previous record of 26% in 2015.

after the last election, women made up 30% of mps in the commons. as for ‘all—women shortlists‘. the labour party, lib dems and the snp all approve. the conservatives say they don't see the need. the women's equality party have been telling us why they think female representation in the commons still has a way to go to achieve an acceptable level of equality. some of the old parties, there are senior people in those parties who grew up when there was no sex discrimination act or no equal pay act, and think, what are you complaining about? we passed those laws, or say you don't know, you weren't born. many of us have grown up weren't born. many of us have grown up where there were those acts, and we expect to be treated differently. in many respects we still are not and we want a parliament but represents us properly. how much does it matter to voters, martha? i'm not sure. i think that voters

are, sort of, riled up if they see that there is inequality within a party, and they feel misrepresented. but within a constituency, i do not think voters will particularly mind if they are voting for a man or a woman, it depends on the individual's representation. —— reputation. and then you might have those. violi method that is shown to reliably improve representation is all women short lists. the conservative retorts, and theresa may enjoys teasing. they have had two female leaders. they have had acting with harriet harmon, for labour. but it is hard for the conservatives, i think. labour. but it is hard for the conservatives, ithink. if labour. but it is hard for the conservatives, i think. if they're female representation does not

improve, i think there will be questions. theresa may, why aren't you looking at an all women short list in a moderate form? many of the leaders will be sparring tonight as the leaders debate programme — being broadcast on itv — takes to the air. but, there are two notable exceptions. in the blue corner, theresa may has refused to debate live on tv with her fellow leaders. and in the red corner, jeremy corbyn says he won't be there while theresa may is a no—show. now a lot is made of the adversarial nature of politics, particularly if you watch prime minister's questions every week. so we thought we'd take it a step further, and get four candidates to slug it out in the ring, and fight for their own policies. noel phillips asked a couple of voters if they landed their political punches. in the red corner, hoping to land a punch for his party is the former labourmp and punch for his party is the former labour mp and government minister jim fitzpatrick. for ukip, it is daniel wolfe, on a mission to prove that his party is

still an electoral force. in the blue corner, shaun bailey, a former downing street adviser to david cameron. and on a campaign to overturn the status quo for the liberal democrats, it is keith angus. bell theresa may is calling the election to gain more power and bring brexit through but she is a remain mp. she said she was and you cannot change this for political gain. if she wants to give people a say, why when she and the brexit deal? she gave them a say in the referendum and she knows what they voted for. she is going for a hard and divisive brexit. most people say that the referendum was last year, they want to know... why has £3 billion being wiped off the education budget? why is the health service on its needs? why have we lost so many police officers? if you want to get

people... you want doctors and nurses in the nhs, if you want to train home—grown talent, welcome them from the eu instead of telling them from the eu instead of telling them that they are not welcome. recruitment is at a crisis in the nhs because eu workers will not come here now. why is that? are you proud of that? seven years you've been in power. seven years! and the health service is in crisis in every single year since you have been in power. the last labour government left to power, you left a note telling the country that you spent all of their money. you are punching harder, pack it in. none of what you are saying, you, ukip, orthe liberal democrats... your industrial policy are democrats... your industrial policy a re fa nta sy democrats... your industrial policy are fantasy figures that will drive us are fantasy figures that will drive us into the ground and it does not matter what you want, you cannot pay for it if you don't run the economy well. time is up! the candidates

have had their say, but it is about the voters like natalie and is male, who are yet to make up their minds. it was interesting to hear their opinions. seeing them in the ring individually fighting for their own policies and what they believe them, and what they think they can bring to the party, and why i should vote for them, it made to the party, and why i should vote forthem, it made it to the party, and why i should vote for them, it made it more accessible. it was certainly different! let's talk about that debate. in salford it has two notable absentees. how strange is it going to be, martha? it will be odd with empty podiums. without theresa may and jeremy corbyn. but, ithink without theresa may and jeremy corbyn. but, i think it is a wise decision by both jeremy corbyn. but, i think it is a wise decision by bothjeremy and teresa. if you have ever seen pmqs, prime minister's questions times, neither of them can think on their feet. it

looks like... they have the structure but when you look at what they say there is no content. i think that neither of them do particularly well in debate. but, you know, that is what the voters wa nt to you know, that is what the voters want to see. that is what theresa may has been criticised for on the campaign trail. she met one voter on the trail and it went very badly. she certainly will get some flak on this but i doubt it is going to cause a dent in her polling. because jeremy corbyn is in a more vulnerable position and has criticised theresa may for not debating, he will probably get a bit more damage. we will see five people behind the podium, and not two others. what do you make of it? they need a good night. for a long time journalists said the error of two party politics is over. an opinion poll gives a combined vote share

over 83% for labour and the conservatives. ukip down that 2%, lib dems on 7%, the snp are strong in scotland but are in dangerof losing the snp are strong in scotland but are in danger of losing seats to the conservatives. it interesting that they can capture the imaginations of voters. they are all squeezed by the big two. they will not be tonight. we will keep an eye on that. it's notjust the conservatives who have launched their manifesto today. the yorkshire party have been launching theirs — in wakefield. the party is calling for greater powers for yorkshire. and a halt to the high—speed rail line, hs2 and their leader, stewart arnold thinks they could be the local alternative to the main political parties. there is obviously something going on here. i like to think that we are pa rt on here. i like to think that we are part of the process of putting pressure on them. let's see. i'm hopeful that we can make a breakthrough. up to the north west of england now and there is one issue which has dominated the agenda for the last couple of years — fracking. annabel tiffin has spent

the afternoon in lytham st annes finding out if fracking is a big election issue. fracking, is that a big one for you? it does not matter to you. i think it isa it does not matter to you. i think it is a good idea. really? how would it is a good idea. really? how would it influence, would it influence, how you vote? it won't influence me, i'm not going to vote. we all need this energy from somewhere, don't we? ladies, hello. sorry to interrupt, i know you are having your ice creams. will this possibly influence your voting? possibly. i don't really mind. the people do not wa nt don't really mind. the people do not want the fracking. the council don't wa nt want the fracking. the council don't want it. they've been to court and theyjust overall does and said it does not matter. we will carry on anyway. i think people will vote against the conservatives in this instance because they are pro—fracking and are not listening. for a list of all of the candidates

in your constituency, go to the website. will we see different areas doing different things? you have different voting patterns but at the moment, the conservatives are doing remarkably well everywhere. i think pa rt remarkably well everywhere. i think part of the problem for those with a regional agenda is that issue of brexit, that is the defining one bit is edged out somewhat by the nhs. there is the argument that theresa may will say put your country first, andi may will say put your country first, and i think it appeals to a more national view rather than a regional view. i think it will be quite hard for the smaller parties to achieve cuts in this election. is it right, we would see too much of that? the tories like to believe that people don't care so much about local issues. they ran the local election campaigna issues. they ran the local election campaign a national one. theresa may at the forefront and the brexit message at the forefront, labour like to believe it is local issues that matter and not the leadership. they are not doing very well at the

moment. the lib dems have not really decided whether they are running a national anti—brexit campaign or a local one. i think that they are muddled and that is where they are going wrong. she is not only the voice of the balls. ali price has been taking her election road show ona tourof been taking her election road show on a tour of the uk, asking voters to put one in the box to register their views. she has been asking people in carlisle if the voting age should be reduced to 16? when i was 16, i knew that i wanted to vote, and why. because old people are going to die. do you think 16—year—olds should have the vote? no, i don't. why not? i don't know, when i was 16 i was not mature

enough to do anything. you are knowledgeable enough at that age to knowledgeable enough at that age to know what is going on and have a say around the country and the world. i think it is fair. 18, how come? i've a 12—year—old daughter and ifind it ha rd to a 12—year—old daughter and ifind it hard to imagine by the age of 16 she will be ready to make a decision like that! i'm from scotland, i did polling there 0 like that! i'm from scotland, i did polling there q times and a lot of the younger ones are coming in with their parents now. it is encouraging to see younger ones and coming in voting. where you interested in politics when you are 16? no, just boys! if they are allowed to do a lot of other things at the age of 16, why not vote? they are eligible to get married... we went to gretna green,

actually! i think they mature a lot between the ages of 16 and 18, a lot. and between 18 and 21 even more! that is when you got the vote? yes. do 16-year-olds eat a lot of cheese? yes, it is surprising what children do eat! do you think that 16—year—olds should have the vote? no. we shopped around for people's opinions here in the market, and it seems that if you are 16 going on 17 and wanting a say in the general election, tough. people here think you need to be 18 to have the vote. thank you carlisle! ali price there. their recent time for me to ask you what you were both like at the age of 16! thanks very

much to george eaton and martha gill, that's it from the election wrap. more from the campaign trail again tomorrow night at 7:30pm. we have had some outbreaks of rain around today, but they have been pretty hit and miss with some areas seeing longer spells of sunshine. now we have low pressure that has been moving in from the south. bursts of rain in south—east england and east anglia. that area will be pushing northwards in the evening. we had that rain pushing in across sussex and towards the london region. elsewhere across the country, a good deal of sunshine. this was the scene in west sussex earlier in the day, quite a lot of cloud and outbreaks of rain. contrast that to the skies above northern ireland. we have blue skies, sunshine and cumulus clouds which have produced heavy showers. those showers in northern ireland and scotland, england and wales will

fade away. becoming dry and clear here overnight. chilly as well. that rain pushes slowly northwards through lincolnshire and up towards northumberland too. it is going to be chilly in the north and west first thing. a touch of grass frost in prince bots and some mysterious around as well. some showers in the western isles of scotland at 8am tomorrow morning. much of scotland and northern ireland with a decent start to the day. fresh with sunshine, outbreaks of rain lingering around eastern parts of england tinley western half of england tinley western half of england and in wales it is a dry and bright morning to come. 0n england and in wales it is a dry and bright morning to come. on friday, thatis bright morning to come. on friday, that is likely to get off to a cloudy and damp start in london and east anglia. we could get heavy bursts around the east coast of england. and across the uk, it is another day of sunny spells and scattered showers. the odd rumble of thunder with heavy showers. for example across thunder with heavy showers. for exa m ple across wales thunder with heavy showers. for example across wales and northern ireland, and temperatures 15 or 16

degrees and cool around the east coast. during saturday, we have that area of rain pushing north, sitting across the northern part of scotland through a good part of the day and elsewhere, a return to sunshine and scattered showers. temperatures of 14-18d, scattered showers. temperatures of 14—18d, not a bad day on saturday. if you dodge those showers, have your umbrella on stand—by. then, on saturday, high pressure from the south. that will squeeze a way be show was. less showers around which could be caught on sunday, dry weather, light winds, a present—day. 0n weather, light winds, a present—day. on sunday, temperatures of 20 degrees. goodbye for now. this is bbc news. i'm julian worricker. the headlines at 8.00: 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 deliverfor britain.

at least one pedestrian has been killed and more than a dozen others injured in new york, after being struck by a car in times square. 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 launch an investigation into an unusually high rate of infant deaths at a hospital in chester. rolf harris will be out of prison on bail tomorrow