General Election 2019: What you need to know today

  • By ITV News Content Producer David Williams

We're in a bit of a days daze today...

Just seven days to go until polling stations open and the Tories have chosen today as the day to outline their plans for the first 100 days if given power.

That includes promises to hold the Queen's Speech on the day of December 19 and "leave the EU" before the first day of February.

The latter pledge was forcefully challenged by Robert Peston in this interview with Boris Johnson yesterday.

It's another busy day on the campaign trail as Labour promises to cut class sizes, Jo Swinson rallies in Edinburgh and Nicola Sturgeon unveils the SNP bus. The Brexit Party big-hitters appear to be taking a rest day.

And 94 days after Edwina Currie tweeted that ITV News Political Reporter Shehab Khan was "gorgeous", the Calling Peston team unites the pair through the podcast medium.

Listen in full below for a very good start to your day.

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

You can follow all the key live events on itv.com/news Credit: ITV News

Here’s what's in store today:

  • Tories unveil their plan of action for the first 100 days of a majority Govt, including post Brexit budget.

  • Boris Johnson will visit the East Midlands

  • Labour announces its plan to improve education standards including capping class sizes at 30

  • Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn will address a rally in Birmingham in the evening

  • Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson will campaign in Edinburgh and address a rally in the city

  • Sam Gyimah will also launch the Lib Dems' Plan For Business in a keynote speech in London

  • SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon will take part in a photo call with the party campaign bus in front of the Queensferry Crossing

Here's what's making Thursday's early election headlines:

The view from the campaigns

Paul Brand examines the key planks of the Tory 'first 100 days' and Queen's Speech.

Romilly Weeks says Jeremy Corbyn will be in his stride on the campaign trail today after finding Julie Etchingham's interview for ITV Tonight (which you can see at 7.30pm on ITV) a trickier affair.

Rebecca Barry reflects on a wretched Wednesday for the Lib Dem leader, who'll hope to be boosted back in her home nation on Thursday.

Emma Murphy says when it comes to the row over fielding candidates the Brexit Party just can't win in this election.

Calling Peston: The ITV News Election Podcast

Shehab Khan and Daniel Hewitt are calling Robert throughout the campaign. Credit: ITV News

As mentioned above, just over three months ago, Edwina Currie tweeted this...

And now producer Lewis Denison has sealed the deal and guest booked the former Tory health minister (and I'm A Celebrity... contestant less we forget) for this very special Episode 21 of Calling Peston.

Cut to 24 minutes in to hear the key exchange and Shehab's succinct post-call reflections.

But you'll then have missed Edwina giving her thoughts on how campaigning has changed since she held a seat from 1983 to 1997 and the abuse endured by today's MPs.

Plus, of course, as the title name suggests Robert was called in for his expertise first, in particular explaining why the margins of errors in the latest polling could lead to wildly different results next week.

ITV News Political Correspondent Daniel Hewitt and Political Reporter Shehab Khan are digesting the campaign every weekday - and dialling in Robert to get his take on it all.

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

The episodes appear each weekday at 5pm. Download it from wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Today's question: What's the impact of women voting differently to men?

There is a particular type of voter parties are monomaniacal about right now with eight days to go, writes National Editor Allegra Stratton.

She is a she; and she is undecided.

The reason the parties may have a sort of Posy Simmonds style caricature of women voters on a white board in campaign HQ or in an algorithm on a laptop is that in 2017 she was more likely to be undecided for a longer time into the campaign and then when she settled, she swung in behind Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour.

If there was a similar dynamic this time around, it could - potentially - be transformative for one or other party.

For our penultimate battlegrounds piece we have been looking at how women vote differently from men (yes they do, stand by for graphs and stats and stuff) and how they make their decision later.

Read what Allegra found out - and watch her full report above.

The Conversation: The ex-mining village feeling 'forgotten' by parties

Elections are often as much about where we’ve been, as where we’d like to go, writes ITV News Reporter Ben Chapman.

For those boarding the Number 21 in Frizington, the experience hasn’t been encouraging.

Unlike the bus, they’ve found politicians to be distinctly unreliable.

This is a former mining village in West Cumbria, beyond the Lake District, over the mountains, and many here have been made to feel as remote as it looks.

Continue reading Ben's report on their conversations and watch them for yourself above.

Don't Mention the "B" Word!

Having brought you the first edition of Don't Mention The B Word, here's the latest entry in the ITV News Tyne Tees election special series.

Steven Stayman, from County Durham, is one of more than 140,000 people in the North East who have been moved onto Universal Credit.

He explains above what he wants the next government to do about the controversial benefits system.

So do the party manifestos help him out?

Plus, as ever, here are your...

Here's the best of Wednesday's campaign stories:

What's happening away from the election?

Here's what else is making the news today: