Page 1, line 1 but will Scotland ever stand alone?
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.
I'm Peter Smith, the ITV News Scotland correspondent currently with the SNP in this election. We've seen a decade of dominance for the SNP in Scottish politics, and if polls are to believed that may now be coming to an end.
This election, the SNP are returning to a tried and tested offering: a vote for the SNP is a vote for Scottish independence.
That's page one, line one of their manifesto today.
In an interview with me today, leader John Swinney has promised that if the SNP gets a majority of seats in this election there will be a referendum in the next five years.
The detail on exactly how he will deliver that is not yet clear.
Swinney needs to convince people he's going to have success where Nicola Sturgeon failed in convincing the next UK Government to give Scotland another referendum.
That's going to be tricky when both the Conservatives and Labour have been clear their answer will be a flat 'no.' You can see more of my interview here.
For more analysis on the day’s events, check out Talking Politics, our daily podcast from the campaign live from 4pm on ITVX, hosted today by News at Ten presenter Tom Bradby, with myself and colleagues Robert Peston and Anushka Asthana. 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.
Surviving, not living - the workers taking second jobs in cost of living crisis
ITV News' Investigations Editor Daniel Hewitt has been exploring the biggest issues impacting people ahead of the General Election.
In his latest piece, Daniel focused on the cost of living and the often crippling impact it is having on people up and down the country.
He met Jamie, a 35-year-old builder from Bridgend, who had just finished a 9-hour shift at 7pm. But his working day was not yet done.
Jamie would shortly be leaving home for his second job - a cleaner at a nearby office block.
“Bills, food, petrol, clothes, school trips, school uniform - everything has just skyrocketed,” the father of one tells Daniel.
While the government has hailed inflation falling to the Bank of England’s 2% target - for many people like Jamie, they’ve yet to feel any benefit.
You can see Daniel’s report on ITVX here.
‘Be careful what you wish for,’ warns Swinney at SNP manifesto launch
First Minister and SNP Leader John Swinney has said a vote for the SNP is “a vote for Scotland's values”, and urged people to reject the “outrageous Westminster power grab”.
Launching his party’s manifesto, Mr Swinney said “people are absolutely desperate to get rid of the Tories”, acknowledging that some are “considering voting Labour”.
He warned voters to “be careful what you wish for, because the Labour party is going to pick up where the Tory party left off with spending cuts”.
Succession star Brian Cox earlier this week accused the SNP “backing off” from Scottish independence. Mr Swinney told the audience at the manifesto launch the SNP does not want “independence for its own sake”.
But he refused to be drawn on what would happen to the independence cause should the SNP lose its majority in Scotland.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak accused the party of only focusing on “constitutional wrangling”, while Scottish Labour’s deputy leader Jackie Baillie said the party was “woefully out of touch”.
Watch the highlights from the launch on ITVX.
ITV News Election Analyst Prof Jane Green has examined why Scotland is such an important battleground this election - see her analysis on ITVX.
Sunak dubbed a 'pound shop Farage' as he hits out at Labour-backing billionaires

Rishi Sunak has been labelled a "pound shop Nigel Farage" in a bruising radio phone-in - as he hit out at billionaires abandoning the Tories.
Callers to LBC radio attacked the prime minister for his behaviour towards the trans community - likening him to the Reform UK leader - and being too rich to relate to food bank users.
And when asked about John Caudwell, Phones4U founder and a former major Tory donor, and Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe who threw their weight behind Sir Keir Starmer’s party, he replied: “They’re two of Britain’s richest men. They can probably afford Labour’s tax rises.”
His day was further complicated by the news that a record near 900 migrants crossed the Channel in a single day yesterday.
Sir Keir later said Caudwell’s switch in support was a “serious” move.
Speaking to journalists on the campaign trail, the Labour leader said: “Look at John Caudwell coming out last night, this is a serious entrepreneur who’s putting his backing behind Labour because he thinks we’re the party of growth and wealth creation that understands how you get investment in.”
Labour’s shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves was also forced to defend the party’s position on the definition of a “working person” amid Tory claims she would raise taxes if she got into No.11.
Deputy Political Editor Anushka Asthana questioned two of Labour’s senior figures on the thorny issue of the two-child benefits cap.
Her report can be found on our streaming platform ITVX or you can read her thoughts on the exchange on our website.
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Sinn Féin won't take up any seats they win - so who will?
As the Westminster parties slug it out for every single seat, it is easy to forget that one party won’t actually take up any of the seats they win, writes ITV News Political Correspondent Carl Dinnen.
That party is Sinn Féin and they are - by poll shares at least - the biggest party in Northern Ireland.
Sinn Féin want a united Ireland and have always abstained from Westminster on principle (although these days they are prepared to sit in the Irish and European Parliaments and the Stormont Assembly).
Michelle O’Neill, the party’s leader in Northern Ireland and now First Minister, says everyone knows what a vote for Sinn Féin means.
Catch up with Carl’s report from Northern Ireland on ITVX.
ITV News finds Reform candidates in offensive Facebook group
Reform UK Leader Nigel Farage told ITV News on Tuesday that a vetting company is to blame for failing to do background checks on his candidates.
His comments come after ITV News uncovered what appears to be racist social media posts by two candidates standing for Reform UK. Four other candidates were part of a Facebook group that regularly features Islamophobic and racist content.
Reform UK said it paid the company Vetting.com around £144,000 to vet more than 400 of its candidates in April - but claims the company failed to return any research.
Vetting.com told ITV News the early election call meant it was unable to complete work in time.
"We do not intend to litigate this in public, and we send Reform our best wishes as they shake up the UK political landscape,” it said.
You can see Political Correspondent Harry Horton’s report on ITVX.
What’s coming up…
Wednesday June 19: Deadline for new postal vote applicants or amending existing absent voting arrangements.
Thursday June 20: Question Time Leaders’ Special to air on BBC1 with Rishi Sunak, Sir Keir Starmer and a representative from the Liberal Democrats and SNP.
And finally… why Newcastle will not be first past the post this time

The question of who will declare a result first has long been a hot topic in the North East whenever a General Election comes around.
For many years, Sunderland’s counters were famously known as the fastest in the country – making the first announcements at every general election from 1992 to 2015.
It has been Newcastle that has taken the title on the last two occasions - in 2017 and 2019. But not this around.
Find out why on the ITV News Tyne Tees website.