Boris Johnson news: Corbyn handed election debate poll boost, as Tories face angry backlash over fake fact checker

Follow events from Wednesday’s day of campaigning as they unfolded

General Election 2019: What you need to know

The Conservative Party faced accusation of misleading the public during a TV election debate after rebranding its official Twitter account as an independent fact checker.

As Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn endured jeers from the studio audience over their answers on Brexit and the NHS, the Tory press office changed its Twitter handle to “factcheckuk” – mimicking independent organisations such as FullFact.

Twitter warned the party that it would take “corrective action” to prevent such behaviour – but foreign secretary Dominic Raab said “no one gives a toss” about the cut and thrust of social media.

To follow events as they unfolded, see our live coverage below

Key Points

• Johnson suggests Tories will offer national insurance cut for workers
• Corbyn won clear victory against Boris Johnson among undecided voters
• Tories condemned over 'dystopian' fact checker during election debate
• ... as Johnson and Corbyn jeered in clash over Brexit and NHS
• Swinson tells voters to reject Labour and Tories who are 'gambling with your future'

[20 November 2019 17:21 · Lizzy Buchan]

Lib Dems only party to stop Boris Johnson and 'cabal of hardline Brexiteers'

Jo Swinson says her party is the only one to stop Brexit and the PM's hardline Eurosceptic followers. She says her party can win a significant number of MPs.

Moving over to the NHS, Swinson says her party would treat mental health in the same way as physical health.

She also says the Lib Dems are the only party with a credible plan to tackle the climate emergency, adding: "We will not leave our children with a boiling planet."

Swinson says schooling is not good enough and pledges to spend a large chunk of the "Remain bonus" - the cash the party believes it will claw back if Brexit doesn't happen - on boosting education.

She restates her pledge for a £10,000 skill wallet for adults to help them continue learning as they advance in their careers.

The biggest investment in the manifesto is for parents, to offer free childcare from 9 months until the child goes to nursery.

Summing up, she says: "Don't let anyone tell you that the best we can get is Boris Johnson or Jeremy Corbyn."

"If you want to stop Boris Johnson and stop Brexit, vote Lib Dems. If you want a £50bn remain bonus to improve your life, vote Lib Dems," she says.

"If you want to work with our friends to tackle the climate crisis, vote Lib Dems. If you want to build a brighter future, vote Lib Dems."

[20 November 2019 17:39 · Lizzy Buchan]

PM's tax plans would amount to 'big cut'

Paul Johnson, director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, told BBC News: "If you were to take this to £12,500 right away that would cost £10 billion - that's a big tax cut.

"Now, the prime minister has suggested he will do it much more gradually than that, so maybe to £9,500 in the first instance. That's still a couple of billion pounds of cost."

He said the prime minister's suggestion that it will save people around £500 is based on lifting the threshold to £12,500, adding: "The initial change would save £70-80 a year. You'd need to go the whole way to save £450 or so."

[20 November 2019 17:56 · Lizzy Buchan]

That's it for The Independent's politics liveblog for the day. Thanks for following!