this is business live from bbc news with ben thompson and sally bundock. so less than 2a hours until britian goes to the polls, so which party has the policies to make voters prosper in a post—brexit world? live from london, that's our top story on wednesday, 7thjune. we'll hearfrom both main parties on how they'll pay for public services and manage the country's finances. also in the programme: australia sees yet another quarter of economic growth, but is 26 years of growth a world record? we will have the details. markets are looking like this across europe as the last day of campaigning gets

under way before the uk's general election. we will have all the details. 100,000 hotel rooms and 20 million visitors. dubai sets its sights high as it prepares for the 2020 world expo. we'll get the inside track from the hotelier hoping to cash in on the building boom. so luxury hotelsment we want to know what's the best perk you got from a hotel. keep it clean. let us know. just use the hashtag bbcbizlive. i dread to think what people will send after that comment from sally. there is just one day to go until voters here in the uk head to the polls for the general election. it's the second national poll in two years after the referendum on eu membership. in light of recent terror attacks, security been a key issue on the campaign trail, but the economy will be a key factor that influences how people vote. and that could be

determined by brexit. minimising disruption to the economy is one of the most divisive issues between the governing conservatives and the opposition labour party. since the 2005 election, you can see how the uk economy has gradually recovered since the 2008 financial crisis. but growth has been slow and unsteady. for many businesses, brexit means uncertainty. the 29th march 2019 is the current deadline for the uk to leave the european union. without a trade deal in place firms in the uk and in the eu face huge disruption. and maintaining growth is critical for the uk's growing national debt. this year it's expected to be 88% of gdp or everything the country produces — which is higher than most developed economies.

in the year to the end of march the government spent $67 billion more than it raised through tax and other revenues. the conservatives say that they'll get this deficit back down zero by the "middle of the next decade". labour says it wants to eliminate the deficit on day to day spending in five years, but will borrow to invest. but the independent economic think—tank the institute for fiscal studies says labour's figures don't add up. that's something we put to shadow chief secretary to the treasury peter dowd. i disagree with the institute for fiscal studies. what we've tried to do in our manifesto is set out what oui’ do in our manifesto is set out what our spending plans are going to be and we've got another document which sets out how we're going to raise those figures. they are set out clearly. it is the most clearly costed manifesto for many years. it is certainly more clearly costed than the conservative manifesto and it is there for all to see and the institute for fiscal studies have had the opportunity to pour over our figures. they disagree to some

extent, but nevertheless we stand by the figures. with me is david gauke who is the uk's chief secretary to the treasury and the conservative candidate for south west hertfordshire which is just north of london. good morning david. now, of course, everybody now in this country is trying to crystallise its thought process on what's been a very swift, but for some, very confusing campaign period. for theresa may she wa nted campaign period. for theresa may she wanted to present a strong and sta ble wanted to present a strong and stable message, but many are saying she has not really delivered a credible picture on what life will be like outside of the european union which was kind of her trump card. what's your response to well, i disagree. clearly, we are going to enter into a period of negotiations. negotiations that begin in ii enter into a period of negotiations. negotiations that begin in 11 days' time. they are crucial for the future of this countriment they are crucial for the economy. and what is

very important is we have the right leadership to go in and undertake that negotiation, to get the best possible dealfor that negotiation, to get the best possible deal for the united kingdom, one that strengthens our economy, makes best use of the opportunities that are created, but also addresses some of the risks that may arise from brexit. it's really, really important that we have the right leadership with a strong mandate to go out there and negotiate that deal. but looking at your manifesto, the institute for fiscal studies, if i can get my words out, says it is extremely light when it comes to the details on the tax and spend proposals as is the labour manifesto. there is a lot of detail in there, but they don't believe it adds up. but in terms of yours, not enough detail? well, the difference, of course, is that we produced a budget in march, signed off by the office for budget responsibility, we set out more detail there in terms of what we are doing and as the institute for fiscal studies have said we build on that approach. it's not a vast

departure from what we've said before in the very detailed budget. what we got from the labour party is a huge wish—list of spending proposals with some very dubious tax increases, dubious in terms of unlikely to raise anything like the revenue that they say in the short—term, they'll clearly fail to get the money, but in the longer term really damaging the capacity of the united kingdom, damaging business confidence and as a consequence, really weakening the economy and that's a huge risk for the british people that they face when they go to the polls tomorrow. you criticised labour for when they go to the polls tomorrow. you criticised labourfor not when they go to the polls tomorrow. you criticised labour for not having detail about how it would fund some of the proposals in its manifesto. the criticism of the conservative ma nifesto the criticism of the conservative manifesto is you can't afford the austerity measures that you're putting in place. that after seven yea rs of putting in place. that after seven years of austerity, already, you can't actually deliver the promised spending cuts. how can people believe that you will deliver what you're saying. 7 believe that you will deliver what you're saying. ? well, if you look at what we have done over the last seven years, we have delivered the spending reductions that we promise that had we would deliver and in that had we would deliver and in

that time, we have got more children going to good or outstanding schools. we have seen crime fall. you know, the nhs is treating more people than it has ever treated before. so i believe that we can continue to deliver the spending plans we've set out. yes, there is more money for the nhs, yes, there is more money for schools. but within the great scheme of things, thatis within the great scheme of things, that is continuing an approach which i think has delivered for the british people, we've got record levels of employment in the uk. we have been one of the faster growing major economies of the last three yea rs major economies of the last three years or so, so major economies of the last three years or so, so i think we can build on that. butjust briefly, david, for businesses whether they be small, medium or large, i mean the situation with europe and leaving is one of their key concerns and they are very concerned about the commitment you've made to net migration of the tens of thousands and what that will do to the labour market, to the skilled workers they're relying on from outside the uk? well, what i would say to they will, look,er‘ not going to end immigration, but it is —— look,

we're not going to end immigration, but we are looking to move to a different model because it is not sustainable. what is important is that we train up our people that we do more on skills, that employers are engaged with that's a key part of our modern industrial strategy so we have got our own skilled workforce so that employers have got the people that they need. all right, david gauke, thank you. the uk's chief secretary to the treasury and a member of the conservative party. and there's plenty more on the uk election on a special section of our website including on the economy and the policies of all the main parties. you can also access via the bbc news app and select election 2017. app and select election 2017 tab. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news: the spanish bank banco popular has been rescued by its larger rival sa ntander from collapse.

santander will payjust one euro for the bank but inject almost $8 billion of fresh funds. banco popular has been struggling since the eurozone crisis of 2012 because of billions of dollars of toxic loans and dwindling cash reserves. the ride hailing app uber has fired 20 of its staff as part of an investigation into sexual harassment and other problems around poor company culture. action is also being taken against other staff. the company launched an investigation in february after former employee wrote a blog detailing what she said was systemic sexual harassment and gender bias at the company. the boss of tesla says that new buyers of its model 3 vehicle will have to wait even longer. it will be the end of next year before they receive their new car. they've each paid a deposit of $1,000 to tesla but the firm has needed to raise funds to prepare for the launch. that's something our correspondent

prejicted would happen! some breaking news coming into it us. some breaking news coming into it us. it is news from iran. state media is reporting two operate attacks in tehran. in the first, gunmen, we're told opened fire inside the iranian parliament. it's reported that several people have been injured. 0ne reported that several people have been injured. one member of parliament told local media that there were four gunmen inside the complex at one point. they were armed with rivals and a peus —— rifles and a pistol. as and when we get more detail what about is happening, we will update you. here's a staggering statistic for you. australia has just reported its 103rd quarter of economic growth without falling into recession. hence the nickname the wonder from

down under! monica miller has the details from our asia business hub. i suppose we're wondering how they have done this. china has a big part to play. it is a long streak, however some economists are questioning whether this is a record and this is why. they say that japan actually experienced better growth between the 1960s and 1990s so that kind of phrase is actually, you know, it's a bit under question at this point. what it means is that australia's economy grew by 0.3%. now, that's modest compared to what they had a quarter ago which was 1.196. they had a quarter ago which was 1.1%. but, you know, exists were having their doubts going into today's announcement and that's because a lot of families in australia really aren't seeing the benefits of this strong economy. they're struggling with low wages and punishing debt. the results should however be a relief to the reserve bank of australia. yesterday they decided to keep their interest

rate at 1.5% where it has been since august because they were worried about lower gdp, we will have to see what happens next session. back to you sally and ben. monica, thank you. we will be back with you for the latest in the region. shares injapan the latest in the region. shares in japan barely the latest in the region. shares injapan barely moved. investors are waiting to see what happens in potentially market moving global events later this week including, as we've discussed, the general election in the uk, a european central bank policy decision and former fbi director james comey‘s senate testimony all due on thursday. there's also a whole load of data from china due this week. tensions in the gulf also not helping oil prices much. in europe it's all eyes on the uk ahead of the general election. the opinion polls all show different outcomes for tomorrow's vote. the pound hasn't been

significantly affected, but is still vulnerable if there's a hung parliament with no clear winner. more on that shortly, but first let's head to the us where michelle has the details about what's ahead on wall street. with economic data light and with politics on the minds of many investors this week, from the uk election to former fbi director james comey‘s testimony before the senate on thursday, unsurprisingly markets are shying away from taking on too much risk. against this backdrop donald trump continues his push this week to spend more on infrastructure. 0n push this week to spend more on infrastructure. on monday you may recall the president spoke of the need to upgrade america's air traffic technology by privatising the system. this wednesday, he will be in cincinnati. trump's economic

agenda from infrastructure to tax reform as well as deregulation proved popular with voters, businesses and with the stock market, but lately fears have grown about just how much market, but lately fears have grown aboutjust how much of his agenda will the president be able to deliver? that's the question on many people's minds, since november last year. joining us isjeremy stretch, head of currency strategy at cibc world markets. good morning. good morning. we are looking at the story of santander rescuing a bank. give us your take. it isa rescuing a bank. give us your take. it is a reminder of the risk out there in europe? this is one of the reasons why europe has been slower in terms of the recovery process because a until of banks in europe have still been rather under capitalised and one of the reasons why this bank was struggling was the fa ct why this bank was struggling was the fact they had almost 37 billion of non performing real estate loans. so

it isa non performing real estate loans. so it is a reminder if it were needed that there are still problems in the banking sector, not just that there are still problems in the banking sector, notjust in spain, but in parts of europe which have been holding back the eurozone recovery somewhat. sepp some reaction to the acquisition of banco popular. this is nick leeson. he says that banks are getting cheaper, banco popular only 1 he says that banks are getting cheaper, banco popular only1 euro. he says this underlines the risk of that banks face and the desperate need to recapitalise. indeed. we have been seeing these problems in the banking sector going back to northern rock in the uk, although we had a liquidity crisis which has been one of the problems for this particular bank. and there are still ongoing concerns. and for viewers in spain, the european commission is at pains to say that their deposits are safe. indeed. that is the message we are getting, that the supervisory

mechanism across europe is doing what it should do in terms of making sure, and guaranteeing that a failing bank is taking over by another one, well funded institution such as santander so that investors will see their deposits maintained. we note that there will be no uncertainty in that context. jeremy is coming back later. two. to us about other stories. —— to talk to us. still to come, build it and they'll come. we get the inside track on dubai's latest building boom — for hotels. as the city prepares for 20 million visitors ahead of the 2020 world expo. you're with business live from bbc news. another day, another house price survey and a week after nationwide reported a cooling of prices, halifax are saying that growth is slowing, too. if we look at the overall figure, prices have gone up

by 3.3% year on year but have fallen by 3.3% year on year but have fallen by 0.2% over the last quarter. there has been a shift. feel like it has been crunching the numbers. he is in our business newsroom. —— theo leggett. this has been pretty consistent. the message coming out of the moment is that the housing market is cooling. if you take that figure of 3.3% growth over the past year, a little more than a year ago it was 10%. this quarterly fall of 0.2% is only the second quarterly fall since 2012. we're seeing that house prices have risen to such an extent in london and the south—east in particular that they are now becoming less affordable, and it is tailing off. that is not the case according to many of the surveys that we have had in the north of the country in particular. those prices are still pretty buoyant. but because of the slowdown in the south, the picture across the

country is that prices are easing off. and what is so interesting is that we get caught up in these numbers. we have to give it a bit of context numbers. we have to give it a bit of co ntext a nd numbers. we have to give it a bit of context and a bit of perspective because there is no point getting caught up on month by month, the overall trend is what we should care about. yes, and the overall trend means you look at the trend year on year, where house prices are rising but not as quickly. 0ver year, where house prices are rising but not as quickly. over the past year, don't forget that we have had a great deal of political uncertainty following the eu referendum vote, we got a general election, and people are not entirely sure what is happening with interest rates. what halifax says is that there is still a relatively short supply of houses, would not that much on the market. interest rates are still fairly low and there is every reason to expect that they will firm up is every reason to expect that they willfirm upa is every reason to expect that they will firm up a bit over the coming months. thanks a lot. we will see you very soon. stay away from the uk election for a few more minutes, anglo—american has named a new

chairman. a big player on the ftse 100. they have appointed steward chambers, who was with a uk ship maker. stewart is on the right—hand side there he is with the boss of softbank. that is some more news. 0ur our top story here, politicians across britain making their last full day of campaign stops before the election. both main parties have been criticised over their plans for the public finances. labour criticised for how it plans to fund some of its manifesto promises and the conservatives under fire for how they will continue austerity cuts. looking at the market is very briefly, don't forget that we have got fact checking and all sorts on

our website. take a look at the ma nifestos our website. take a look at the manifestos and what they promise. the markets in europe are fairly flat, as you can see. there is a european central bank meeting tomorrow, as well as the european election —— uk election. investors remaining cautious. you might think the last thing dubai needs is more hotels, but as the country prepares to hold the world expo intention —— world export to limit exposure in 20205 world export to limit exposure in 2020s says it needs more than 100,000 hotel rooms to cope with an extra 20 million visitors. so as well as building new hotels, the city is expanding existing ones — including the atlantis resort, built on the city's man—made palm island. i met up with serge zaalof, the managing director at atlantis dubai and asked him what's driving dubai's building boom, despite a slowdown elswhere. the good thing about to buy, we have over 20 different nationalities in dubai. if you are successful in europe occupation, it does not

matter what religion or ethnic to see you are, you will be taken seriously. it is a very good society. logistically, they are working on it and it is improving year—on—year. but there is always some instruction happening. it is for the good of the country and the city and the people working here also, and for tourists of course. the last time i was in dubai, i was astonished at how many new hotels we re astonished at how many new hotels were there. so many more hotel rooms. does that worry you? no because we have been talking about this since the 90s. we thought we would be suffering from low occupancy would be suffering from low occu pa ncy rates would be suffering from low occupancy rates but this is not happening. compared to last year, we are happening. compared to last year, we a re 93% happening. compared to last year, we are 93% occupancy. in the old days we had a lot of problems and then the russians started coming, and now we have the chinese and the indians. the germans and french are coming

back. and russia is coming back also. you currently have the atla ntis also. you currently have the atlantis hotel and you are about to expand and open a new one down the road. tell me about that. we are opening at the end of 2019 and we have a very iconic architecture, a bit of a departure from what we have right now. it is very modern architecture. it will be linked by a bridge in the middle and i think that we are going to look at the guinness book of records because we will have 94 swimming pools in the building, between the hotel and the residences. a lot of challenges for the global travel industry at the moment, be that travel bans or people having less money in their pocket. how do you keep people coming to your hotels? we have a lot of attractive offers for our customers. we are very flexible. 0ne thing that is amazing about dubai is that tourism works very closely with

the private sector. the minister of tourism, he calls me every two weeks. this would not happen in any other country. so to buy, they are keeping their hands on it, and it is very effective. the emirates airline reported a big fall in profits last year, does that worry you? no. emirates have dropped rates because they have to, and we have to also. atla nta's have dropped they have to, and we have to also. atlanta's have dropped their rates less tha n atlanta's have dropped their rates less than the competition, and we are doing what we expected to do, the same numbers in 2016. we are beating the budget and we are very happy. but we are not worried about emirates. dubai has a 2020 vision and it is all about getting everybody aligned behind that for the world expo. how important is something like that for all the different parts of the economy to

get behind? the committee for 2020 is meeting with us at atlantis, and we are very much involved in the discussion. it will happen and it will be positive. when dubai does something, it does it well or does not. we are confident it will be a good success. the managing director of atla ntis good success. the managing director of atlantis india by speaking to me about their expansion plans. 100,000 hotel the target by 2020. so we asked you if you had had any incredible free hotel perks, and what was important to you when staying in a hotel. suzy got in touch. she works for alltel because she says, we touch. she works for alltel because she says, we arrange touch. she works for alltel because she says, we arrange for guests to see the on the beach. —— we arranged for a guest to sleep on the beach. they moved the entire room out to the beach. let's reintroducejeremy. he is back with us. the most important thing for you in a hotel? 0bviously why fight is won, and i

think a very good shower is always very useful. —— obviously wi—fi is one. ifind that very useful. —— obviously wi—fi is one. i find that those cards that they use instead of a key, they a lwa ys they use instead of a key, they always many function —— there was not auction. let's talk about qatar because they are looking at the diplomatic spat between qatar and its neighbours. they are trying to count the economic cost as anger continues. it is an interesting story. clearly there is this diplomatic impasse between the powers within the region and clearly thatis powers within the region and clearly that is related berkeley to negotiations or relations with iran, which obviously are a thorny issue for saudi arabia. in the context of qatar, there are real concerns about price pressures and shortages of goods. good to see you. time is tight but thank you for coming in. we are back tomorrow. a busy day ahead of the general election. bye—bye.

a quieter day in prospect after the turbulent weather of yesterday. very wet and windy with damaging gusts of wind across parts of yorkshire, the isle of wight, the dorset coast. we saw gusts in excess of 60mph. this came with that area of low pressure tracking north—eastwards. some rain here for a time. pulling north—eastwards. later in the day we will see another system approaching from the south west but in between, for much of the country and for much of the day it will be dry with spells of sunshine, and strong winds easing down. cloud increasing from the south—west later in the afternoon. eventually we will see rain pushing into devon and cornwall, and western parts of wales. the breeze will pick up but it will not be as windy as we saw yesterday. through much of england and into the east coast, a better

day here. some spells of sunshine. the wind easing down. dry for much of the morning but the rain starting to make its presence felt as we go through the afternoon. 0nce to make its presence felt as we go through the afternoon. once the rain has cleared away from these coast, much of scotland will have a mainly dry day with spells of sunshine, but feeling cool in the brisk north westerly wind. cloud increasing from the south—west later today. rain pushing north—eastwards overnight. quite heavy for a time over the welsh mountains. not quite so much rain getting to south—east england and very little rain pushing into scotland. temperature is holding up otherwise to between ten and 14. still an unsettled day. a band of rain clearing, wishing northwards and eastwards. behind it, some heavy showers. although not much rain reaching easter in england, nowhere is immune from a sharp downpour. in the sunshine, highs of 19 or 20, feeling cool underneath that band of rain. and we are still under the

influence of low pressure as we head towards the end of the week. another system approaching as we head towards the weekend. it looks like the rain will generally be quite showery, so not raining all the time. there will be some spells of sunshine, helping the temperatures up sunshine, helping the temperatures up to 20 or 21 celsius. more typically, 16 or 17. for the weekend, quite breezy with rain at times and also some such. hello. it's 9am. i'm victoria derbyshire. welcome to the programme. well, it's here, the last full day of campaigning in the general election. have you made up your mind yet? let me know either way and who you think you're going to vote for tomorrow and why. we will have all the latest from the main parties as they push for votes up and down the country. last day of campaigning means our last election blind dates where we've been playing matchmaker to well—known faces who are poles apart on politics.

today it's the turn of former labour advisor ayesha hazarika and the snp‘s tommy shepherd. things have changed and they have changed dramatically. you know brexit changes everything. stop banging on about it for a while and talk about the other issues, the really, really important issues. find out more at 9.15am. also, "you need to do it", the text sent by a woman on trial