General election 2017: Security tight as Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn cast their votes

General election 2017: Local elections take centre stage

04 May

Campaigning for the general election has been considerably quieter today due to the local elections, in which 4,851 council seats are up for grabs across England, Scotland and Wales.

For Theresa May and the Tories, today's vote is a trial run for what they hope will be a landslide victory on 8 June, while Jeremy Corbyn's Labour Party will be anxiously scanning results for signs support hasn't melted in their traditional heartlands.

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Today has also seen former foreign secretary David Miliband dampen speculation of a return to politics.

Asked by Spear's magazine, whether he considered going back to Westminster, Labour's former leader-in-waiting joked: "Come back to Britain, come back to politics… I'd tire much more of people saying, ‘Thank God you've gone away and please stay.'"

But when asked whether he would call himself a retired politician, Miliband replied he was "an ex-politician".

Meanwhile, it looks like we might be hearing "strong and stable" for some while yet as a new YouGov poll revealed merely 15 per cent of the electorate could mention the Prime Minister's mantra when asked to recall an election slogan.

"The message has yet to cut through to everyday people, however, as the majority of people who have heard the slogan are the most politically engaged Brits," say pollsters.

In the same poll, Labour's "for the many, not the few" could be recalled by only two per cent.

There was better news for Corbyn, however. A new study showed high voter registration rates among students, "with more than half currently intent on voting Labour", says The Guardian.

Some 93 per cent of students entitled to vote said they had registered and support for the Tories is low, with May less popular among under-graduates than her predecessor David Cameron.

Corbyn's leadership appears to have boosted student support for Labour, which has risen from 23 per cent in 2005 to 55 per cent in 2017.

But "analysts say that may not translate into votes as many who are concerned about Brexit are considering voting tactically", the Guardian adds.

General election 2017: Tories go for Corbyn as Farron flails

3 May

Campaigning in the general election got under way properly this morning, with Tory big guns Philip Hammond and David Davis picking apart Labour's spending pledges underneath an attack advert on Jeremy Corbyn.

Davis claimed the Labour leader's plans would hit both household and national finances, saying: "Corbyn's many, ill-thought through promises simply don't stack up and could not be paid for. The damage this bombshell would do to the country's finances if Corbyn’s coalition of chaos were given the keys to Downing Street would be disastrous."

However, the duo didn't have it all their own way. Having attacked Labour, Hammond was then challenged to reveal the Tories tax plans, something he failed to do on more than one occasion.

"We will set out our tax and spending plans in our manifesto as the Prime Minister has made clear," he replied.

Today's other big talking point was the heated discussion between Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron and a prospective voter in the south-west.

The interaction "pretty much sums up this election campaign," says Paul Waugh of the Huffington Post. (https://twitter.com/paulwaugh/status/859717688272322561)"Brexit supporter harangues Farron... a lifelong Labour voter who's now voting for May," he adds.

Questioned about the encounter, Farron took the opportunity to wish a happy birthday to his critic – together with a not-so-subtle dig at the Prime Minister.

ITV today announced its Leaders' Debate will air at 8pm on Thursday 18 May, moderated by newsreader Julie Etchingham.

The Conservatives, Labour, SNP, Liberal Democrats, UKIP, Plaid Cymru and the Greens will all be asked to take part.

However, a stand-off looks likely as May has ruled herself out of the show and Corbyn quickly followed suit, saying the PM should debate him. His spokesman also said there was no point in a debate that does not include May.

Meanwhile, Ukip held another policy press conference, this time featuring economics spokesman Patrick O'Flynn, to announce it would cut the foreign aid budget from 0.7 per cent of national income a year to 0.2 per cent while also scrapping the television licensing fee.

"O'Flynn's tone was in keeping with the party's arguably more populist approach," says The Guardian's Paul Walker.