All aboard the Davey rollercoaster
Welcome to the daily ITV News digest direct from the campaign trail. Each afternoon we'll bring you analysis and insight from across the nation as the General Election 2024 gathers pace.
Hi, Chloe Keedy, ITV News Correspondent here, with Sir Ed Davey as he launched the Liberal Democrats’ manifesto. I’m on the party battle bus which is on its way to Thorpe Park.
A theme park might seem a strange location to choose to be grilled on party policy, but one thing we have learned about the Lib Dem leader during this campaign is that he loves a photo opportunity!
Today was all about what his party would do if they were power, and they delivered an agenda putting health and social care at the forefront of their pitch.
So how will it land in the Tory seats the Lib Dems are targeting? Regardless of what the rest of the day brings, the last few weeks of this campaign are sure to be a rollercoaster.
For more analysis on the events of the day, check out Talking Politics, our daily podcast from the campaign live from 4pm on ITVX, hosted today by presenter Nina Hossain, with Political Editor Robert Peston, and Anushka Asthana, our deputy political editor. Or watch on demand on ITVX or where you listen to your podcasts.
Thanks for reading and enjoy some of the best content brought to you by the rest of the ITV News team below.
‘A manifesto to save the NHS'
Health and social care reform is "at the heart" of the Liberal Democrats' General Election manifesto, Sir Ed Davey has said, as he pledged to "transform" British politics.
Titled, For A Fair Deal, the 116-page long party manifesto insists "the Conservatives have got to go" and that "we have shown that it is the Liberal Democrats who can get them out.”
Sir Ed, who has spoken openly about the challenges of being a lifelong carer for his late mother and now his disabled teenage son, said his party would "fix the care crisis" and "repair the terrible damage the Conservatives have done over so many years" to the NHS and social care sector.
You can read more on the key Liberal Democrat pledges here and also watch our report from the manifesto launch on ITVX.
ITV News Economics Editor Joel Hills has been looking at the numbers. He says: “On tax, the Lib Dems may actually end up being bolder than Labour but there are also questions about whether the tax plans are deliverable.”
Read more of his analysis on our website.
Childcare, beat bobbies and reforming finances - elsewhere on the campaign
As the Liberal Democrats launched their manifesto, Labour set out plans to convert unused primary school classrooms into nurseries to create 100,000 extra childcare places in England.
ITV News deputy political editor Anushka Asthana asks just how feasible is it to create that number of places?
Meanwhile, the Conservatives focused on plans to recruit an extra 8,000 neighbourhood police officers. Rishi Sunak made his first TV appearances since the D-Day controversy but could not leave it behind, telling broadcasters: “I hope veterans and others can find it in their hearts to forgive me.”
The prime minister insisted he would finish the campaign, denying speculation over the weekend he could quit.
Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK, outlined his party’s plans to shake-up the economy. They have plans in their “draft contract” for big cuts to public spending and also tax cuts.
Farage “should be welcomed” by the Conservative Party, former home secretary Suella Braverman has said.
In an interview with The Times, Ms Braverman said the Tories are a “broad church”, and should not exclude anyone who wants “Conservatives to get elected”.
See our latest take from the campaign trail on ITVX here.
Second ITV election debate featuring seven parties
ITV has confirmed its General Election multi-party debate will take place on Thursday, June 13 at 8.30pm.
The ITV Election Debate 2024 will be broadcast on ITV1, ITVX, STV and STV Player.
Representatives from the Conservative Party, Labour Party, Liberal Democrats, SNP, Reform UK, Green Party and Plaid Cymru will be taking part.
The debate will be moderated by Julie Etchingham, who was also asking the questions at the Sunak v Starmer head-to-head earlier this month.
What difference do campaigns actually make to how people vote?
Do election campaigns matter? Do they determine the outcome? They must - surely?
Well, no, writes Professor Jane Green, ITV News election anyalst. Campaigns rarely have a big effect on the outcome.
“That’s quite extraordinary when you think of all the hours spent campaigning and all the money spent by parties on election campaigns,” she says.
So why spend so many hundreds of thousands of pounds on TV advertising, social media activity, leaflets, posters and people?
See what Jane has to say here.
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Is voting Green a wasted vote? Co-leader Carla Denyer answers
In the latest of our series of putting party leaders on the spot, ITV News Westminster Producer Lewis Denison quizzed Green Party co-leader Carla Denyer.
The former city councillor accepts she won't be awarded the keys to Number 10 next month but insists the Green Party can get enough support to influence decisions in Parliament.
Ms Denyer answered a range of questions, from cultivated meat to first past the post, sent in to us by social media users. Guess which topic generated a clip seen 1.6m times so far?
To find out follow @itvpolitics on Instagram and TikTok or watch the exchange on our YouTube channel.
Why is Burnley Labour’s No.1 target?
The Conservatives won the Burnley seat from Labour five years ago - electing Burnley's first Tory MP - Antony Higginbotham - in more than a century.
The seat was created in 1868 and currently around 65,000 people are eligible to vote. It is a marginal seat, with a majority for the Conservatives of just 1,352 at the 2019 General Election.
ITV Granada Reports headed to Burnley to test the pulse of public opinion - and it seems everyone wants a change.
You can watch Reporter Zoe Muldoon’s report on ITVX here.
What’s coming up…
Tuesday June 11: The Conservative Party rumoured to be unveiling its manifesto.
Thursday June 13: The Labour Party due to unveil its manifesto.
Thursday June 13: ITV hosts the ‘Election Debate’, featuring leaders or senior figures from most parties - from 8.30pm.
Monday June 18: Midnight deadline for registering to vote.
Tuesday June 19: Deadline for new postal vote applicants or amending existing absent voting arrangements.
And finally … meet AI Steve, your virtual candidate…
Much has been discussed and written about the rise of artificial intelligence.
Now one independent candidate has taken it on to the general election campaign. “AI Steve” describes himself as an "ultra-smart computer" and is standing in Brighton Pavillion.
The man behind the computer, Steve Endacott, lives in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, but says he will use artificial intelligence to be able to speak to constituents 24/7 and create policies.