General election live: Reform a point behind Tories in shock poll as Green Party manifesto pledges new taxes on wealthiest

The Green party is set to unveil their manifesto later today where they will pledge to hike taxes for the wealthiest in society and mend “broken Britain”.

By taxing the multimillionaires and billionaires, the party claims they will fund the NHS, housing, transport and the green economy.

Co-leader Adrian Ramsay said the party intends to change the “conspiracy of silence” on taxes by creating a fairer system and asking those “with the broadest shoulders to pay more”.

A programme called the Green Economic Transition has been put forward to upgrade homes across the UK to increase their energy efficiency, which the party said will make them warmer and cheaper to run.

The Greens has previously promised to spend £50 billion per year on health and social care by 2030 and has now committed to protect the climate for future generations and “bring nature back to life”.

Lib Dem Treasury Spokeswoman Sarah Olney has readcted to the latest growth figures saying they show that the Tories have “utterly failed” to deliver on their promises.

Ms Olney added:“As Rishi Sunak’s time as Prime Minister peters out, so does the UK’s economic growth,” she said.

“The Conservatives have utterly failed to deliver the growth they repeatedly promised, instead presiding over stagnation and economic misery for hardworking families across the country.

“The Conservatives’ manifesto shows they simply lack the ambition and vision to get the economy moving again.

“It’s clear for voters across the country that the only way to make it happen is to vote them out of office on July 4.”

According to the Office for National Statistics, the UK economy has recorded no growth in April.

Gross domestic product (GDP) was flat during the month, following growth of 0.4% in March, the ONS said.

The figures present a headache for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who has pegged much of his General Election campaign on a recent record of economic improvement under his Conservative government.

The data comes before the Bank of England makes its next decision on interest rates next week.

Experts have predicted the Monetary Policy Committee is unlikely to lower interest rates without further progress on inflation and a cooling in the labour market.

Economists had projected that GDP would be flat in April, held down by weaker-than-usual retail sales and heavy rain over the Easter period.

It comes after the economy grew by an estimated 0.6% in the first quarter of 2024, pulling the UK out of a small recession at the end of last year.

Grant Shapps has been grilled over Rishi Sunak’s apology for D-Day commemorations “running over” during an ITV interview.

Kay Burley has asked the Tory minister whether the comment shows that Mr Sunak is “tone-deaf” over D-Day.

The defence secretary has defended the prime minister and claimed he wasn’t wrong to miss the event as “they weren’t any British veterans”.

World leaders attended the event to mark a jey joint operation 80 years ago.

He added the PM has supported veterans throughout his administration with the appointment of a veteran minister in his own Cabinet.

The defence secretary is up first and he is now being grilled by Kay Burley on Sky News over the Tory manifesto.

The Institue for Fiscal Studies (IFS) published a detailed response to the Conservative tax plan and said it lacks a spending plan.

But Mr Shapps dismisses the result and claims people were skeptical before and the party “still managed to bring £6.4 billion in tax cuts”.

And says they are now “working in bringin people’s taxes” by “completely scrapping national insurance”. Asked about the tax burden, he claims it will not be higher.

As regular readers know, early mornings kick off with the media round of interviews where political figures ar quizzed live.

Today we have defence secretary Grant Shapps and shadow transport secretary Louise Haigh.

Here’s what we can expect from today:

• Rishi Sunak campaigning in North East Lincolnshire this morning.

• Sir Keir Starmer and shadow transport minister Louise Haigh set out Labour’s plans to bring down costs for drivers.

• Sky News is hosting an election event with Sir Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak in Grimsby this evening.

• Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey is campaigning in Warwickshire this morning and in Surrey in the afternoon.

• The Green party launch their manifesto in an event in Hove.

Rachel Reeves has claimed the Conservative manifesto contains £71 billion of unfunded commitments and could result in “a second Tory mortgage bombshell” as the parties continue to clash over tax and spend.

Labour’s shadow chancellor raised the spectre of former prime minister Liz Truss’s calamitous mini-budget as she held a rebuttal press conference hours after Rishi Sunak launched his party’s General Election policy document.