here's our political correspondent, ben wright.ns a bikes and barrows festival in this lancashire village. and people seem keen to peddle their politics. but the election was not the main concern here in scorton this morning. the different sort of contest was. ready to shoot. the tories are targeting many marginal seats like this in lancashire and their message that brexit negotiations are going to be tough and theresa may is best placed to handle them sits at the heart of their election campaign. but this tough? a german newspaper has published an account by unnamed eu officials of a dinner held last week at no 10 between theresa may and the eu negotiating team. it describes deep disagreements between the two sides. according to the paper, the prime minister and the eu commission presidentjean—claude juncker, seen here before the dinner, clashed over the exit bill britain must pay, the structure of the talks and the prospects of a quick trade deal. apparently, mrjuncker left the dinner ten times more sceptical than he was before h

ben wright, bbc news, hull.et —— incident that has happened at manchester arena. just fill us in, andy moore. there was an ariana grande concept tonight at the manchester arena, an indoor arena that seats up to 21,000 people. there was some sort of incident at the end of the concert. i have seen video taken inside the arena and certainly, there were loud bangs inside. reason. people were panicking and running out, there we re panicking and running out, there were strings inside. we don't know what the bangs were. some people are saying exclusions, gunfire, is others are saying it was just balloons or speakers. we did not know the cause of the incident but we do know from the police that something is happening there. greater manchester police, as you say, talking about some kind of incident at the arena. they say that officers at the scene will provide more information and are urging people to stay away from the area. then we have an update from greater manchester transport police. manchester transport police. ma

ben wright, bbc news. vienna of an iranian television service has been killed.r. they broadcast foreign and western shows in iran. thejeep foreign and western shows in iran. the jeep was reportedly found abandoned and burnt out. the united nations has 36 members of the years cds have been freed from the islamic state group. —— yes cd. they were in captive for nearly three years. —— yazidi. until very recently, bicycle manufacturers in china were struggling for survival amidst the seemingly endless rise of the motor car. but that could be changing — and it's all thanks to the rise of bike share schemes. harvey biggs reports. air pollution is notorious in china's major cities, a problem the country's government is waging a high profile war against. one of the driving factors behind the smog has been cars. but it hasn't always been that way. china was once regarded as the kingdom of bicycles, and for decades, two wheels dominated the streets. but as the country began opening up to the world in the ‘80s and ‘90s, cars began to take over. today, less than 12% of comm

ben wright, bbc news, wolverhampton.r's shadow chancellor, john mcdonnell, is to announce that 95% of workers won't face a rise in income tax, if labour wins the general election. mr mcdonnell is promising his party would not increase income tax in the next parliament for anyone earning less than £80,000 a year. labour is also ruling out any increase in vat or national insurance contributions. the liberal democrats have pledged to increase spending on the nhs and social care — by raising income tax by a penny in the pound. they say it would raise an extra £6 billion and would be ring—fenced in england. scotland, wales and northern ireland would be able to decide how to spend the extra cash. 0ur political correspondent leila nathoo reports. how are you? good to see you. would you pay more to fund more gps, for better mental health services, for a better nhs? the liberal democrats are asking. they have said they will increase all income tax bands by one percentage point to raise £6 billion, ring fenced for health and socia

ben wright, bbc news.eceived the keys to his new home. there was also a mass to welcome the new resident. it's part of a 350 year old tradition, in the town of saalfelden, as bethany bell reports. saalfelden has a new hermit. stan vanuytrecht, a divorced catholic deacon from belgium, has moved into the hermitage, cut into the cliffs. there's been a hermit here for more than 350 years. but this is the first time a non—austrian has taken up residence. the key was handed over at a mass in the neighbouring chapel of st george. he'll live alone hear from april to november each year. but it's not an entirely solitary existence. the hermit is also expected to greet hikers and visitors, something that mr vanuytrecht welcomes. translation: i wanted to enter the monastery because i need silence and contemplation to pray. i was planning to enter one, but then i thought here in the hermitage, i can get both. in the mornings and evenings, silence and time to reflect and contemplate, and during the day, i see many peopl

our political correspondent ben wright reports.losing in on polling day, now with hundreds of new conservative councillors in her ranks. in wolverhampton aerospace factory she the floor with andy street, the new west midlands mayor. i'm taking nothing for granted in the next five weeks, i need support from across the united kingdom to centre my hand and only a vote for me and my team will ensure britain has the strong and stable leadership we need to ensure that we get the best deal for britain from brexit. theresa may needs tory voters to turn out onjune eight which is why she claims this contest could be close but after winning the west midland first metro mayor contest yesterday the tories are clearly confident of turning much of this labour dominated territory blue. and in wolverhampton ascends from some of allegiances shifting. the labour party have let themselves down a lot over the last few years. and i am not very confident in the current leader. i've just got no real confidence in labour at the moment. more confidence in t

ben wright, bbc news, hull. our top story this evening...social care policy. and still to come — the chelsea flower show blooms again. we get a sneak preview. and coming up in the sport on bbc news, russia's given a final warning to address doping or face a total ban from next year's winter olympics in pyeongchang. donald trump has arrived in israel on the second leg of his tour of the middle east and europe. he's meeting israeli and palestinian leaders. president trump has said he wants to reach a deal between them, and said there was a rare opportunity for peace. 0ur north america editor, jon sopel, has been travelling with him. he sent this report. even with his arrival on air force one, a small piece of history was made — the first—ever direct flight between saudi arabia and israel. the two countries have no diplomatic relations. but the self—proclaimed deal—maker has his eye on a much bigger prize — the ultimate deal, he calls it, peace between israelis and palestinians. we have before us a rare opportunity to bring security and stabili

ben wright was listening to the exchanges. this is his report.for wales at westminster. for years labour has ruled the roost here, more than half of the parliamentary constituencies are currently red and this evening it was the first minister of wales arguing labour's case. he was asked early on about the causes of terrorism. i don't agree with you that this would not have happened if it wasn't, if british foreign policy had been different. the gentleman made the point correctly about sweden. this is a war, as they see it, against all those who don't believe as they believe. turkey has been on the receiving end of these attacks. on to brexit. more than half the voters in wales backed leave in the eu referendum. there's a welsh mp in the brexit department, asa a welsh mp in the brexit department, as a minister, actively articulating the case for wales. david jones. it's really important that we get this right. this will set the scene for future generations. i have to say, i've got no confidence whatsoever that having jeremy corbyn doing those nego

ben wright, bbc news, hull.stop supporting what he called terrorists and militias. he said there was a growing realisation in the middle east of the threat posed by iran. and he underlined the strength of the link between the united states and israel, suggesting there was a rare opportunity to move forward with seeking peace between israelis and palestinians. 0ur north america editor, jon sopel, sent this report. even with his arrival on air force one, a small piece of history was made — the first—ever direct flight between saudi arabia and israel. the two countries have no diplomatic relations. he's here on an outreach programme, not that melania trump seemed very interested in that. the self—proclaimed deal maker is after what he called the ultimate deal, peace between israelis and palestinians. we have before us a rare opportunity to bring security and stability and peace to this region and to its people, defeating terrorism and creating a future of harmony, prosperity and peace. but we can only get there wor

ben wright, bbc news, westminster.chief negotiator has no legal mandate to talk about trade ties yet even if the uk which to do so. chris morris has been looking at how the exit bill will be worked out — and what kind of guarantees those living here and on the continent can expect. the first two points will be guaranteeing that the rights of british citizens in the european union and eu citizens in britain and settling accounts before we leave. first, citizens rights, incredibly complicated, involving health care rights, pensions and the welfare of families decades into the future. the biggest problem may be jurisdiction, where those rights guaranteed. the british government says the rights of eu citizens here will be guaranteed under eu law. the eu says that isn't acceptable, michel barnier pointed out today that their rights are guaranteed by the european courts ofjustice and wa nts the european courts ofjustice and wants that to continue. he's as anything else would bejust wants that to continue. he's as anything el

here's our political correspondent ben wright. energy prices have been hot politics for some time. conservatives want to intervene in the market, they say it doesn't work for most people. the prime minister says rip—off energy prices hit people on the lowest income is the hardest. switching to another carrier often brings bills down, but seven of ten households are on standard variable rates, which are usually more expensive. so, the conservatives would give 0fgem the power to impose a price ceiling on these rates. the cap would be reset every six months and conservatives say it would reduce bills by about £100 a year. at a conference last year, theresa may hinted at the move. that is why we markets are dysfunctional, we should be prepared to intervene. where companies are exploiting the failures of the markets, where consumer choice is inhibited by deliberately complex pricing structures, we must set the market right. it is just the right that two thirds of energy customers are stuck on the most expensive tariffs. the conservatives said the price cap would allow competition in the

our political correspondent ben wright was there.t time theresa may and overminute had appeared at the samesen yew in front of the same audience for a grilling in front of the cameras since the election was called. the labour leader had wanted to debate with the prime minister one—on—one, but the tories refused. jeremy corbyn was the first to face the audience, the order decided by the audience, the order decided by the toss of a coin. he was asked about his determination to deal with terror threats. he was also asked about his approach to business. this country is badly divided between the richest and the poorest. you put corporate tax and tax at the top end down, the tuition gets greater. are you happy that so many of our children are going to school with super sized classes? so many of our children are going to school hungry. next it was theresa may's turn and she faced questions over the tory‘s social care policy. so why, prime minister, should we and my generation vote for you? so what happens is, people are paying for care, peo

ben wright is outside so will this feel like the moment the election is restarting after the manchesternk it will feel like the labour and tory campaign is at least today are mobilising again the following the truce last week. senior politicians from both the main parties are turning up now to spin lines and briefed journalists after this event is over. it is not a head—to—head debate, both leaders will take questions both from the audience before their grilled by jeremy paxman. i think the stakes for theresa may and jeremy corbyn are high. the prime minister will be wanting to calm jitters within her own party following confusion about the tories social care policy. there's a sudden imposition of a cap on care there's a sudden imposition of a cap on ca re costs there's a sudden imposition of a cap on care costs just a week ago and i think she will want to try to move the party beyond that and focus the campaign again on leadership and security, on brexit, something that theresa may was campaigning on earlier today, theresa may was campaigning on earliertoday, reminding theresa may was

ben wright, bbc news, westminster.rtain amount of produce and generate, surely one tariff is all that is needed and customers can decide based on customers can decide based on customer service. theresa may has been writing about that in the sun newspaper. in the telegraph, on television tonight, bbc one, 7pm, theresa may and her husband will be doing an interview on the one show. iam sure doing an interview on the one show. i am sure they will talk about energy. shall we talk to chris mason? 0ur political correspondent, in westminster. what do you make of this talk about energy caps, freezers, what is the difference and what is there was me thinking that you two were the double act on bbc 0ne you two were the double act on bbc one that everybody is talking about. yes, jumping on this over themselves tonight. you know that an election is imminent when politicians invade the studio of the one show will stop jeremy corbyn will be on at some stage in the future. energy prices, ifa stage in the future. energy prices, if a l

raise income tax but have so far refused to completely rule it out. 0ur political correspondent ben wrighta big deal to upgrade the economy, john mcdonnell promised not to raise vat or national insurance for anyone, but said the top 5% of earners would pay more. if labour is elected next month, we will guarantee for the next five years, there will be no income tax rises, for all those earning less than £80,000 a year. labour is now the party of low taxes for middle and lower earners. mr mcdonnell said people earning more than £80,000 a year would pay a modest amount more but the rates and details would have to wait for the manifesto. the conservatives have promised not to raise vat but have so far made no matching pledge on national insurance or income tax. today, the tories said labour was going back to the past. this is a clear statement of intent. they want to raise taxes, they want to penalise business, they want to penalise wealth creation and i think they will end up wrecking the economy as they have done in the past. the total amount of income tax raised in 2016 is just over £169 bi

ben wright, bbc news, westminster.rnier has only been given the authority to begin the first phase of these negotiations. he has no legal mandate to talk about future trade ties yet, even if the uk wants to do so. chris morris has been looking at what the initial sticking points are likely to be. the first two points will be guaranteeing that the rights of british citizens in the european union and eu citizens in britain and settling accounts before we leave. first, citizens rights, incredibly complicated, involving health care rights, pensions and the welfare of families decades into the future. the biggest problem may bejurisdiction, where are those rights guaranteed? the british government says the rights of eu citizens here will be guaranteed under eu law. the eu says that isn't acceptable, michel barnier pointed out today that their rights are guaranteed by the european courts ofjustice and wants that to continue. he says anything else would be just an illusion, just a promise. the second point is this single sett

ben wright is here with me. what will the attendance of jeremy ben wright is here with me.is debate and the way it is likely to pan out? well it makes it now much more important for the election, it has even more drama thanit election, it has even more drama than it otherwise might have had. forjeremy corbyn it was quite an obvious choice to make, he did pretty well on monday, he was affa ble pretty well on monday, he was affable and at ease. people thought it was a solid performance and he would have grown in confidence after that. if you are having a bit of swagger, then to seize the initiative of the last minute and bounce the prime minister into appearing, that is a canny tactical move byjeremy corbyn providing of course but it goes well for him and he can remember his figures. then i think this will be a good move for the labour party. it was always going to be tricky for theresa may once he decided to do this. it looks like she is panicking if she attend but if she stays away it looks as if she's frightened. there are seven representatives taking part and for you wher

our political correspondent ben wright reports.ay means a bite and barrows festival in this lancashire village. and people seem keen to peddle their politics. but the election was not the main concern here this morning. a different sort of contest was. ready to shoot. the tories are targeting many marginal seats like this in lancashire. and their message that wrecks that negotiations are going to be tough and that theresa may is best placed to handle them sits at the heart of their election campaign. but this tough? a german newspaper has published an account by unnamed eu officials of a dinner held last week at number ten between theresa may and the eu negotiating team. it describes deep disagreements between the two sites. according to the paper, the prime minister and the eu commission president, jean—claude juncker, seen here before the dinner, clashed over the exit bill britain must pay, the structure of the talks, and the prospects of a quick trade deal. apparently jean—claude juncker left the dinner ten times more sceptical

historic challenge — but said his party was closing the gap on the tories. 0ur political correspondent ben wrightp by step, theresa may is closing in on polling day, now with hundreds of new conservative councillors in her ranks. at this aerospace factory, she toured the floor with the new west midlands mayor. i am taking nothing for granted. i need support across the united kingdom to strengthen my hand, and only a vote for me and my team will ensure britain has the strong and stable leadership we need. theresa may needs tory voters to turn out onjune 8th. that is why she claims this contest could be close. after winning the west midlands first metro mayor contest yesterday, the conservatives are confident of turning this labour territory blue. in wolverhampton, a sense from some of allegiances shifting. the labour party has let itself down over the past few years. i am not very confident in the current leader. i have no confidence in labour at the moment. more confidence in theresa may. jeremy corbyn did not seem down after yesterday's drubbing. his supporters are as fired up as ever. visiting

our political correspondent, ben wright, was listening.the first time theresa may and jeremy corbyn had appeared at the same venue in front of the same audience for a grilling in front of the cameras since the election was called. the labour leader had wanted to debate one—on—one, but the tories refused. jeremy corbyn was the first to face the audience, the order decided by the toss of a coin. he was asked about his determination to deal with terror threats. he was also asked about his view on business. this country is badly divided between the richest and poorest. cutting corporate tax at the top end means division gets greater. are you happy that so many of our children are going to school with super—sized classes? so many of oui’ with super—sized classes? so many of our children are going to school hungry. next was theresa may, facing questions over social care. why, a minister, should we, my generation, vote for you? what happens is people are paying for care, and people are finding they are having to sell their house to pay those care

our political correspondent ben wright is in westminster, when will election campaigning start ain?te all the political parties suspended their campaigns. there have been no rallies or speeches. slowly that will end. ukip is launching its election manifesto tomorrow that they have delayed it for a day but the leader said it was important that the democratic process continued. this afternoon, jeremy corbyn spoke to theresa may saying he worried any further delay to the beginning of the campaign into the weekend risks undermining the democratic process. labour will begin campaigning locally tomorrow and then nationally from friday and the conservatives will do the same. i expect the snp and lib dems will follow suit. the campaign will get going again although i feel it will be different. it will be more restrained and subdued. before any of that happens, there will be a minute's islands across the uk at 11 o'clock tomorrow to honour those who died and remember everybody else who has been affected by the attack. iam being i am being told we have re—established that line to quentin some

ben wright, bbc news.ine mccann, her parents have told the bbc they'll do "whatever it takes, for as long as it takes" to find their daughter. madeleine was three years old when she went missing, while on a family holiday in portugal. speaking to my colleague fiona bruce, kate and gerry mccann say the pain never leaves them, after a decade of uncertainty. every day is another day without madeleine... i think it's just that number. that ten—year mark which makes it more significant i think because it's a reminder of how much time has gone by and obviously ten's a big number. i think that the day and the poignancy of it... we don't tend to go back to the time because it's so draining. but inevitably on anniversaries and her birthday, they're by far the hardest. how different is your life now to what you must have imagined all those years ago? it's a hard one, isn't it, because it's such a long time. i think before madeleine was taken we felt we'd managed to achieve a little perfect, nuclear family of five. w

our political correspondent ben wright reports.ay day means a bikes and barrows festival in this lancashire village. and people seem keen to peddle their politics. the election was not the main concern here in scorton this morning, but it seems brexit will shape how many people vote. the tories are targeting many margins will —— marginal seat. this tough? the german newspaper has published an account by and named eu officials about a dinner held at number ten last week, it describes deep disagreements between the two sides. the paper says the prime minister and the eu commissioner clashed over the exit bill britain must pay, the structure of the talks, and the prospect of quick trade deal. apparently, mrjuncker left the dinner ten times more sceptical than he was before had. the prime minister was in lancashire today on the stump and trying to stamp out talk the fracas with brussels. is the account of the meeting true and has brexit gone off the rails? i have to say that from what i have seen, i think this is russell is gossip, and

our political correspondent ben wright reports.ay means a bikes and barrows festival in this lancashire village. and people seem keen to peddle their politics. the election was not the main concern here in scorton this morning, but it seems brexit will shape we apologise for that, we will come back to that later. the reports of those disagreements between theresa may and jean—claude juncker, the european commission president, appeared in the german newspaper, the frankfurter allgemeine. the journalist who wrote the story, thomas gutschker, says he stands by it. the eu commission has confirmed my reporting, though not on the record. but numerous colleagues have been asking them for confirmation. and i see they have confirmed it. so the problem here may be that the dinner went badly because there was a misunderstanding between the interlocutors. in that respect, it shouldn't come as a surprise that theresa may walked away with a different understanding or impression from that dinner. obviously, that was the case forjean—claude juncke

our political correspondent ben wright is in westminster.ng policy announcements today or campaign announcements. labour going on what they think is one of their strongest hands, the nhs, saying if they win the election on 8thjune they will pause the restructuring of health services in england. it's a controversial issue in many seats and labourare controversial issue in many seats and labour are saying they will pause all that restructuring around a&e and other services. the conservatives going for where they think labour are weakest, on the issue of economic credibility. they have collated the things that labour have collated the things that labour have been saying over the last couple of years about the various things they'd like to spend money on and the tories are launching a poster campaign today arguing if labour win there will be a £45 billion black hole in their sums, that's the bill the taxpayers will have to pay for it all. labour's response, they haven't announced anything yet in the manifesto, they will cost it all and we will s

our political correspondent ben wright reports.ns a bikes and barrows festival in this lancashire village. and people seem keen to peddle their politics. the election was not the main concern here in scorton this morning, but it seems brexit will shape how many people vote. if she gets a majority, which i presume she will, it strengthens her argument, doesn't it? obviously, it will be a difficult time during brexit. if she wants to push through and put through what we need as a country and as a government, she needs the backing and to know that she has the support of the country with her being elected. she's called it because knows she's going to win. so i think she's covering it up with the brexit banner. it wouldn't change the way i was going to vote anyway. which is? labour. the tories are targeting many marginal seats like this in lancashire. their message, that brexit negotiations will be tough and theresa may is best placed to handle them, sits at the heart of their election campaign. but this tough? a german newspaper has pu

ben wright is there. what's going on? i thought this was meant to be queried for theresa may?tion is proving more volatile than many thought it would be there for weeks ago and at that point, theresa may had a 20 plus point lead in the opinion polls but they have tightened, no question about it, don't perhaps seven or eight points in recent polls. that would still suggest a conservative win but not as emphatic as those earlier polls suggested so perhaps the british electorate is looking again at both theresa may and jeremy corbyn, the labour leader, and having a think. it's a strange atmosphere here because this campaign was in full swing up until that dreadful terror attack in manchester last monday. after that there was a pause for almost a week and i think there is a big tv debate which i'm covering tonight here, hosted by sky tv, which will be the first big television debate of this campaign and potentially could be a bit of a game changer. it's the first time that these are me and jeremy corbyn the labour leader are going to be facing questions live on camera from a studi

our political correspondent, ben wright, is at westminster. is what more details do we have?y the key industries are run. labour says since water was privatised in 1989 higher bills have meant a poorer service and they point out that in the last decade water companies have paid their shareholders £18 billion in dividends. labour says if it was to be taken back into public ownership that money could be redirected into a better service and lower bills for households. they say they could come down about 25%. the key question is how much this will cost. when labour's manifesto is published in full tomorrow it will be scoured for proof that their sons had a panic and be paid write thank you. essex police have spent the day searching a block of garages in thurrock for the body of a schoolgirl who went missing 16 years ago. danielle jones was 15 when she was abducted and murdered by her uncle. detectives were told about the garages at the time, but only decided to search them after a new tip off earlier this year. our correspondent robert hall is there tonight. the specialist team m

number 10, which will be broadcast at 8:30pm on sky and channel a. 0ur political correspondent ben wrightr. yes, that is correct. despite repeated calls forjeremy corbyn further to be a head—to—head debate between themselves and theresa may, this is the compromise that the readers have come to with the broadcasters. sky and channel a are broadcasting the debate. also, a bbc question time. this will also be separate. jeremy corbyn will appear on the stage first and answer questions from the audience. jeremy paxman will grow him individually. then it is theresa may's turned to face questions from the audience. she will face questions from jeremy paxman. this will go from 8:30pm to 10p. this is when the will restart after the pause that followed the terror attack. it'll be interesting to see what the tone is, whether it will be more muted and restrained, 01’ will be more muted and restrained, or whether they will be back to their heart attacks against each other. —— their heart attacks. their heart attacks against each other. -- their heart attacks. usage isa other. -- their heart attacks. u

through their courses would not have to pay for the remaining years. 0ur political correspondent ben wright in what used to be hull's old fruit and veg market, jeremy corbyn upped his sales pitch to students. labour had already promised to scrap tuition fees for english students studying at english universities from next year, now he says student starting this year will be free of fees. surely, we should be investing in our future. somebody who doesn't achieve the profession they want — nursing, teaching, medicine in some otherform, engineering, whatever it happens to be, they lose out, but we as a society lose out because we've lost a qualified person. from this autumn, universities in england can charge up to £9,250 a yearfor undergraduate courses, but labour says new students, and those partway through courses, would have free tuition from this autumn. the party claims this policy would cost the taxpayer £9.5 billion a year. but the tories, lib dems and those studying the numbers said the policy would benefit better—off graduates most of all. if you are a relatively low earner, you will

well let's speak to our political correspondent, ben wright, who's been watching that interview.ire and why he became quite a radical socialist, as a young man. why he committed himself then to the labour party through years of backbench toil, never really promoted to the front bench. why he believed in the causes that he did. it was an interesting. he was asked about many things, whether he would quit if he lost this election, a question he sidestepped again as he does. whether he thought that if he lost, the labour party could be in its death throes. he pointed to evidence that he said, justified the positions he was taking, by pointing to the labour membership figures which he says are the largest of any political party in europe. on that front, sidestepping really pressing issues for the party. he was asked about breasts it of course, and whoever wins the next election that will be the dominant issue facing the prime minister. —— he was asked about brexit, of course. this is what he said about his numbers after the election. obviously immigration and free movement is intrinsi

ben wright, bbc news, westminster. 0ur political correspondent chris mason is at westminster.oundabout fortheringay? what is really striking about this idea is, if you are thinking to yourself this morning, this ring is a bit ofa yourself this morning, this ring is a bit of a bell, the answer is yes. here is the labour manifesto from 2015. page 25, we will ensure that bills can fall, but not rise, and we will give the regulator the power to cut bills this winter. the promised to freeze energy bills until 2017. the conservatives say their idea is more subtle, more crafted and nuanced, not as crude. but there are some voices within the conservatives, including i understand around the cabinet table, who suggested to the prime minister that this idea was a little bit too crude. in many senses, it is not very conservative. it is a big intervention in the market. theresa may and others make the argument that they want to be on the side of consumers. they believe this is the right thing to do. i think there is another example, and we saw it yesterday with the prime minister standing

our political correspondent ben wright reports.aid the top 5% of earners would pay more. if labour is elected next month, we will guarantee for the next five years, there will be no income tax rises, for all those earning less than £80,000 a year. labour is now the party of low taxes for middle and lower earners. mr mcdonnell said people earning more than £80,000 a year would pay a modest amount more but the rates and details would have to wait for the manifesto. the conservatives have promised not to raise vat but have so far made no matching pledge on national insurance or income tax. today, the tories said labour was going back to the past. this is a clear statement of intent. they want to raise taxes, they want to penalise business, they want to penalise wealth creation and i think they will end up wrecking the economy as they have done in the past. the total amount of income tax raised in 2016 is just over £169 billion. the top 5% of uk earners, labour's target group for tax rises, paid just over 47% of that, close to £80 bill

ben wright, bbc news.he'd been drinking when he was stopped whilst driving his car in florida yesterday morning. police charged him with being under the influence of alcohol — but the golfer has blamed an unexpected reaction to some medicine he had taken. prince harry will attend the launch of the uk's invictus games team and host his first buckingham palace garden party. the prince will meet the 90—strong team, who will take on the challenge of the paralympic—style competition at the toronto games in september. he's been the driving force behind the invictus games for injured, wounded and sick servicemen and women and veterans. that's a summary of the latest bbc news — more at 9.30. coming up in six minutes, the first in our series of election blind dates, where we bring two people with opposing political views together on a blind date over lunch and they see if there are any areas where they agreed, or sparks generally fly. what happens when they have a glass of wine or two? today, nigel farage and rache

shortly — but first more on that energy pledge from the tories — and our political correspondent ben wrighteen hot politics for some time, and the last election, labour promised a two—year price freeze, now the conservatives wa nt to price freeze, now the conservatives want to intervene in an energy market they say does not work for most people. writing in the sun, the prime minister says prices hit people on the lowest income hardest. switching to another tariff or supplier often brings bills down but seven out of ten households are on standard variable rates which are usually more expensive than other plans on offer. so, the conservatives would give ofgem the power to impose a price ceiling for customers on the standard rates. the cap would be reset every six months and conservatives said it would reduce gas and electricity bills by around £100 each each year. if the wholesale price of gas goes up in world markets, you would expect that to increase. if the price goes down, as it has done in the past, you would expect the price to go down. that is why it is sensible to put it in the hands,

ben jacobs was asking greg gianforte about it. this is a big race. the white house democrats fighting hard. abc's david wright has the story, good morning, david. >> reporter: good morning, george. you know, we talk about covering the rough and tumble of politics. well, normally that's just a figure of speech but in bozeman, montana, not so much, a special election to choose the state's one and only house member. the front-runner now facing criminal charges accused of body-slamming a reporter for asking a tough question. >> rp states that he was assaulted by greg gianforte and he states greg body-slammed him and kicked his arm. >> reporter: overnight montana's republican candidate for congress, greg gianforte cited for misdemeanor assault. >> i'm sick and tired of you guys. >> reporter: he was about to do ab interview with fox news when ben jacobs uninvited came into the room to ask him a question. >> the cbo score. as you know you've been waiting to make your decision about health care until -- >> we'll talk to you about that later. >> yeah, but there's -- if speak with shane please. >> reporter: jacobs capt