General Election 2019: What you need to know today

• By ITV News Content Producer David Williams

As ever, outside events have come to influence the direction of a general election campaign.

Boris Johnson, who joined in the mopping up after floods in Yorkshire and the East Midlands, will chair a meeting of the Government's emergency committee (Cobra) having been accused by Labour of not doing enough in response.

Jeremy Corbyn had called for the meeting while accusing the PM of underestimating the scale of the "national emergency".

Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson has also altered her campaign plans to focus on flooding, though she and the party may be distracted by the 2019 campaign's latest candidate resignation.

While - away from the floods - Nigel Farage will fend off more calls for Brexit Party candidates not to contest seats.

ITV News will be sharing all the key speeches and campaign appearances as they happen throughout the day as part of our Campaign Live coverage.

Here’s what's in store today:

• Boris Johnson will chair the Cobra meeting to discuss response to severe flooding

• The Conservatives launch a new attack on Labour's spending plans, labelled the 'Cost of Corbyn'

• Labour set out plans for free skills education for adults to retrain

• Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson is set to visit the flooding before attending an evening rally in South Wales

• Discussions are expected to continue in the Brexit Party after the mass candidate withdrawal

What else is making the election headlines today?

• Nigel Farage faces calls not to contest further seats

• Peston: Why Farage needs to destroy Tory candidates in Labour seats

• Labour pledges free education to adults to combat skills shortages

• Lib Dems investigating candidate's alleged tweets

• Papers react to Farage candidate announcement

The view from the campaigns

Paul Brand sums up the Conservative spending attack on Labour.

Libby Wiener examines the key pledges in Labour's pitch to voters on education.

Rachel Younger says the Lib Dems have been sidetracked by the 2019 election's latest campaign resignation over previous offensive comments.

After a defining Monday, Emma Murphy examines where the Brexit Party campaign will go from here.

Calling Peston: The ITV News Election Podcast

Move over Michael Sheen. Stand down Daniel Day Lewis.

Having spent the morning channelling Jeremy Corbyn, Calling Peston's very own Daniel Hewitt explains why he is prime to perform as the star role when Hollywood inevitably comes to make Paul Nuttall: The Movie. But who will play Natalie? Sorry! Leanne. We'll wait and see.

After from all that silliness, comes the straight business of analysing the impact of Nigel Farage's announcement. Who benefits most from his climbdown? Robert Peston explains.

Emma Murphy, who watched the Farage speech in Hartlepool, shares how it went down among Brexit Party members in the room while Paul Brand wonders whether the non-reply he got from the PM (in response to Farage's speech) could actually be very telling.

ITV News Political Reporters Daniel Hewitt and Shehab Khan will be digesting the campaign every weekday - and dial in Robert to get his take on it all.

The Calling Peston podcast will take you behind the scenes of life reporting on the election campaign trail, hearing from our reporters on the road across the country.

Like what you hear? New episodes will appear every weekday afternoon at 5pm. Download it from wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Today's question: Can the polls be trusted?

Avid Calling Peston listeners will have already heard a few minutes of analysis from the British Election Study's Professor Jane Green in Episode Three.

Here is just under 20 minutes of piercing political ponderings and predictions with podcast co-hosts Shehab Khan and Daniel Hewitt in the ITV News digital studio.

In particular, as flagged in Monday's What You Need To Know, she gives a sturdy defence of the accuracy of opinion polls in recent years.

If you really want to understand where we're at heading into the December 12 vote, treat yourself to this enjoyable watch.

Why the parties are gunning for a key win in Hartlepool

As already mentioned, Nigel Farage's headline-making announcement that the Brexit Party will not contest any seats won by the Conservatives in 2017 was made in Hartlepool.

That carries no small significance as it is among a number of key Brexit Party targets after Farage narrowed his aim and declared war on Labour.

But the seat is one of the Conservative's top spots to gain.

So which party is best placed to win the likely three-way race?

This feature draws in all the relevant potential factors.

Plus, as ever, here are your...

• ... answers to the most Googled general election questions

• ... details on how to register to vote or check you're in the system

Catch up on the best of Monday's campaign stories:

• Lib Dems investigating after tweets allegedly shared from candidate's account

• Tory election candidate faces call to stand down over ‘disgusting racism’

• Why PM’s pledge to curb veteran prosecutions is controversial

• Farage says Brexit Party won't contest Tory seats as he targets Labour instead

• Javid refuses to say if full Brexit impact assessment has been carried out

• Thornberry defends Corbyn but faces questions on leader's nuclear stance

• Lib Dems promise £10k for every adult to spend on education

• Boris Johnson pledges to change law to protect veterans if Tories win majority

What's happening away from the election?

Here's what else is making the news today:

• British teenager almost died from lung failure after vaping

• Royal Mail's legal bid to block Xmas strikes reaches High Court

• Hillary Clinton 'wants to hug Meghan' after sexism and racism'

• US ex-president Jimmy Carter taken to hospital after brain bleed

• Bolivian ex-president says he is en route to Mexico as violence in capital grows