Experts say Tory tax plans will mostly benefit wealthier people, as minister faces derision for saying government ‘not to blame’ for poverty - as it happened
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Your support makes all the difference.The Conservatives have come under fire on two fronts, after experts said their tax plans would mostly benefit wealthier people and a senior minister gave a interview claiming the government was "not to blame" for poverty.
Labour said the comments from Priti Patel, the home secretary, were another example of the "cruelty" of the Tory government.
As Jeremy Corbyn unveiled Labour's manifesto, the Institute for Fiscal Studies said a Tory pledge to raise the national insurance threshold would predominantly help middle and high-earners.
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Conservatives maintain healthy poll lead
The Tories have maintained a comfortable poll lead over Labour, according to the latest survey by Ipsos MORI.
The poll places the Tories on 44 per cent, Labour on 28 per cent and the Liberal Democrats on 16 per cent. The Brexit Party has dropped to 3 per cent.
However, the other parties are likely to draw hope from a finding that only three in five voters (59 per cent) say they have made up their mind on who to vote for, while 40 per cent say they may still change their mind.
On the topic of polling, this is a pretty astonishing finding from Survation.
According to its latest survey, the Tories are on course to win Labour-Grimsby by a huge margin. That will seriously worry Jeremy Corbyn's team because, if replicated across other Leave-voting areas, it suggests the Tories are on track to win a sizeable majority on 12 December.
The Conservatives have set up a fake website designed to discredit Labour's manifesto.
It comes after the Tories were widely condemned for changing their Twitter account during Tuesday's TV debate to make it look like an independent fact-checking account.
Jon Stone has the story.
Labour takes aim at Boris Johnson over delays to Russia report
Eagle-eyed observers have pointed out that there is a paragraph in Labour's manifesto that seems to be aimed directly at Boris Johnson.
Jeremy Corbyn's party is pledging to remove the power of the prime minister to delay the publication of parliamentary committee reports.
It comes after Johnson was heavily criticised for refusing to release an intelligence committee report on Russian interference in the UK until after the general election.
Labour's manifesto says:
"We will ensure the powers exercised by the security services are proportionate and used in accordance with human rights. We will review the circumstances requiring judicial warrant. We will ensure agencies are accountable and strengthen the powers of the Joint Intelligence and Security Committee. We will constrain the right of the Prime Minister to suppress publication of committee reports."
Labour's Jess Phillips condemns 'misleading' video shared by official Tory account
Jess Phillips has criticised a "misleading" video shared online by an official Conservative account.
The footage posted on the party's Twitter page shows Ms Phillips discussing election manifestos and the fact that parties can find it difficult to deliver on all of their promises, as part of a book tour last month.
IFS raises concerns about Labour manifesto tax rises
Paul Johnson, director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), said it was "quite doubtful" Labour would be able to raise £80bn from tax rises on big businesses and rich individuals.
About half the proposed £83bn tax rise to pay for investment in public services is set to come from a hike in corporation tax.
"Increasing corporation tax by £35-40bn would take us from around the middle of the international corporate tax rate to right towards the very top," Mr Johnson told Sky News.
"Whether you can get this amount of money, either from businesses or from rich individuals, or from the other changes they've got, I think is quite doubtful."
He said the numbers produced by Labour on how much it could take from higher earners were "optimistic but not absurdly optimistic".
"Even if it gets you more money, that can be at the cost of people moving abroad or doing other things to reduce their tax payments. There is a cost to having higher rates of tax, whether that be on individuals or on companies," he warned.
Boris Johnson finds fans in Bedford
The prime minister tweeted this picture from a housing development in Bedfordshire, saying: "Thanks so much for all your support everyone!"
It comes as Johnson tried his hand at bricklaying as he visited a new housing development to announce Tory plans to build a million more homes.
The PM smoothed cement and laid a few bricks on a metre-high wall at a new home in Willow Grove, in Wixams, Bedford.
Mr Johnson remarked that his efforts were "not bad" - before looking back on his work and adding: "Kind of."
A site worker then took a spirit level to inspect the PM's efforts.
Matt Quinn, a bricklaying foreman who helped the PM, said Mr Johnson "wasn't bad" and suggested he was following in the footsteps of Winston Churchill, who enjoyed bricklaying as a hobby.
Corbyn to raise £83bn in extra taxes from big business and higher earners
Labour has set out how it will raise an eye-watering £83bn in new taxes – mainly from the rich and large companies – to prove its ambitious spending plans are fully-funded.
The move, in an exhaustive 44-page document, also piles pressure on Boris Johnson to do the same – after independent experts warned his spending splurge would also require higher taxes.
The party’s general election manifesto also unveiled a one-off windfall tax on oil and gas companies that “knowingly damaged our climate”, expected to raise £11bn, to pay for the switch to green economy.
Tory fundraising massively outstrips Labour's and Lib Dems'
The first donation figures of the general election have been released - and they make grim reading for Labour and the Liberal Democrats.
The Electoral Commission data shows that for every £1 Labour raised in the first week of the campaign, the Tories raised £26.
However, the figures only apply to donations over £7,500, and Labour says its fundraising mostly comes from small donations.
In total, Boris Johnson's party received £5.7m, the Liberal Democrats £275,000 and Labour £218,500.
Brexit Party told to cough up £1m in battle for domain name
The Led by Donkeys campaign group claims it is engaged in a legal battle with the Brexit Party after it bought up the domain name theBrexitParty.com. The group says it is happy to give Nigel Farage the domain - in return for a million-pound donation to the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants...
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