General Election 2019: What you need to know today

  • By ITV News Content Producer David Williams

It was a stormy Monday for Boris Johnson, but will Tuesday be just as bad?

He'll look to get back to Brexit on the trail but Jeremy Corbyn and Labour are out to hammer home their NHS message in the wake of the PM's criticised reaction to four-year-old Jack Williment-Barr sleeping on a hospital floor.

ITV Calendar Political Correspondent Joe Pike's tweet of the exchange in which Mr Johnson grabs his phone and pockets it has now been viewed by more than 8.5 million people.

It comes shortly after ITV Granada Political Correspondent Hannah Miller went viral with another tough questioning of the prime minister.

Read on for more analysis on how the main parties' digital campaigning has been disrupted by outside events.

With only 48 hours to go the parties are driving home their key messages in the areas deemed critical to their success on Thursday and number crunching, variously revealing the "cost of Corbyn", the cost of Brexit and the cancelling of the costs of a university education.

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:

  • The Conservatives will publish details on what they are calling the "Cost of Corbyn"

  • Boris Johnson will begin the campaign day in Staffordshire before heading to North Wales and North West England

  • Labour will pledge a relentless focus on the NHS in its first 100 days in government as Jeremy Corbyn heads to the North of England

  • Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson will reveal that Brexit is already costing the government £380m-£470m a week

  • Nigel Farage will hold a press conference in London urging Leave voters not to 'waste their vote'

  • Green Party deputy leader Amelia Womack will make an address in central London, promising to write off student debt for all those hit by £9,000 tuition fees

  • Nicola Sturgeon and SNP campaign leader Keith Brown will join SNP candidates on the campaign trail

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

The view from the campaigns

Paul Brand says Boris Johnson will look to reset his campaign after a bruising Monday.

Libby Wiener says the Labour leader is in the box seat as the NHS becomes the dominant talking point in the final days.

Rachel Younger notes the Liberal Democrats have found a damaging comparison figure for the infamous £350 million on the side of the 2016 referendum Leave bus.

Calling Peston: The ITV News Election Podcast

Shehab Khan and Daniel Hewitt have called Robert throughout the campaign. Credit: ITV News

"I've never seen anything quite like it."

Robert reacts to the Boris Johnson phone-grabbing incident and whether one of the "moments of the campaign" will impact on Thursday.

He also analyses other voter motivations, a significant shift by John McDonnell, and the PM's unexpected threat to the BBC licence fee.

Then Shehab and Daniel dial in Mary Nightingale - "the actual presenter of the actual news" - from a Tesco Extra in Wrexham.

What has she learned from travelling the UK meeting voters? Are people too weary for an election? And will she get the meal deal?

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

The Calling Peston podcast episodes appear each weekday at 5pm.

Download it from wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Analysis: What do main parties think will swing your vote online?

The leading parties have adopted different ad strategies over the campaign. Credit: Liberal Democrats/Labour/Conservatives

Polling day looms and the political parties are stepping up their online campaigns to encourage as many voters to back them on Thursday, writes ITV News Trainee Fred Dimbleby. 

What is fascinating about this campaign is that parties have followed very different campaigns online, some staying consistent throughout while others shifted on a daily or weekly basis. 

But, at this late stage, it is fairly safe to assume that the parties have finalised their online strategies.

So what do the leading parties think will swing your vote online?

Find out here.

Also: find out which of the main parties is the only one targeting younger voters on TikTok - it'll surprise you.

Today's question: Could Brexit wrecking ball destroy Labour's Red Wall?

Greetings from our edit van in a carpark next to Doncaster races where we are just finishing our last film of the Battleground series and the campaign – our Red Wall Road Trip, writes ITV News National Editor Allegra Stratton.

For most of our time on the road we’ve been looking forward to this last assignment. We’ve been on the south coast; the northeast coast of both England and Scotland; we’ve been in Kent; the Midlands, East and West; the Lakes and the south west too – over 4,000 miles and too many bacon sandwiches.

There are visceral tussles everywhere you look: the fight for the Union versus Independence in Scotland; the warrior cry of the Remainers who want to overturn Brexit; the good cheer of some young Corbynistas who crave change.

But perhaps the most audacious raid is the Tory assault on the Labour barricade of seats running across the top of England and Wales.

Read what Allegra learned from her last trip and watch her report above.

Plus, dive into all of the reports from the 2019 Battleground series here.

Analysis: Is the tide about to turn blue for the Tories in Wales?

Are we at a tipping point in Welsh politics? asks ITV News Correspondent Rupert Evelyn.

Ordinarily the answer to that question would veers towards a "no" but it’s just possible that when Wales votes on Thursday it will deliver something seismic.

Labour looks set to win in Wales, no change there, but the win might come with some heavy losses.

The latest YouGov poll for ITV Wales and Cardiff University suggests the Conservatives could finish with as many as 16 seats - double the number they achieved in 2017.

Rupert takes a closer look at the numbers and reports above.

Plus, as ever, here are your...

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

What's happening away from the election?

Here's what else is making the news today: