Now that Rishi Sunak has called the next general election for Thursday 4 July, the nation is preparing for its first polling day since December 2019.

Here's everything you need to know about the general election and how it's going to work...  

Scottish First Minister John Swinney has defended his decision to challenge the sanction ordered against his colleague Michael Matheson.

Mr Matheson drew criticism over a near-£11,000 data roaming bill on his parliamentary iPad.

The Scottish parliament's standards committee backed a 27-day suspension for the MSP.

But SNP leader Mr Swinney said he did not support the cross-party committee’s sanction as one of its members, Conservative Annie Wells, had previously made critical comments about Mr Matheson’s explanation for the bill, which Mr Swinney believes therefore prejudiced the decision.

Speaking to journalists, he said: "I’m not going to have prejudice taken forward in any part of Scottish life, it shouldn’t happen in the Scottish Parliament."  

Flight logs appear to show Rishi Sunak used a Tory donor’s helicopter to travel from his Yorkshire home to campaign in London this afternoon.

Online route data shows a helicopter believed to be owned by millionaire businessman Richard Harpin landing in grounds next to Rishi Sunak’s mansion this morning after previously taking off from an airfield 15 minutes’ drive away in Bagby.

It then flew via Nottingham to Central London.

Rishi Sunak has since been photographed campaigning in Wimbledon and Carshalton in South London – two Tory-held Lib Dem marginals.

It comes after Labour accused the Prime Minister of taking a day off in the first week of the election race.

Conservatives denied that saying Mr Sunak was leading "from the front".

On Thursday and Friday he campaigned in all four nations of the UK, using a plane to visit Wales, the North of Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The Prime Minister then met veterans in his Richmond constituency this morning, but the media had not been made aware of any other visits.

A Conservative source did not deny that Rishi Sunak used a helicopter to travel from Yorkshire but said the London visits were "pre-planned".

"As with literally all campaigns, politicians do canvassing, door knocking, meeting activists and volunteers without media as well as with", the source added. 

 Rishi Sunak has hit out at Labour and said a Keir Starmer-led government would be marked by "uncertainty" and mean a "more dangerous world".

In a lengthy thread on X, the prime minister claimed that Labour "doesn't have a plan".

Expanding on what he said would be the uncertainty of a Labour government, he said: "Who knows what they would do in government? They won't tell us how they would fund any of their policies. They refused to meet our defence spending pledge." 

He argued that an "uncertain future" has consequences.

"Our enemies notice. The world becomes more dangerous as they take advantage of our weakness. This leads to higher prices of food and fuel, as well as a greater risk of attacks against our nation." 

Mr Sunak is referred to his pledge to raise defence spending to 2.5% of GDP, at a time when Russia appears to be on the front foot in Ukraine.

Meanwhile Sir Keir, who has sought to re-establish Labour's security credentials in recent years, has said he wanted to commit to the 2.5% "when resources allow".

Earlier we brought you discussion of Richard Tice's somewhat tenuous links to Skegness in Lincolnshire.

The Reform Party leader is standing to be an MP in the seaside destination, but how well he actually knows the town is an open question.

Here's what he told Sky News:

The UK's water industry is broken, Labour's shadow environment secretary has declared.

Commenting on a potential contamination of London's drinking water, Steve Reed MP said: "Just days ago, a parasite outbreak was making people sick in Devon, now London’s drinking water may not be safe to drink. 

"The Conservatives just folded their arms and looked the other way while water companies pumped a tidal wave of raw sewage into our rivers, lakes, and seas – putting our nation’s health at risk. 

"It’s time for change. A Labour government will put the water companies under tough special measures to end this scandal. We will give the regulator new powers so law-breaking water bosses face criminal charges and see their huge bonuses being blocked until they clean up their toxic filth."

For context: Dozens of people have reported becoming unwell with stomach issues in south-east London, according to the Guardian, and Thames Water has sent samples of water for testing. 

Have rumours of Rishi Sunak's "duvet day" been greatly exaggerated?

The prime minister was spotted out and about in Carshalton in south London, meeting activists on a green and making a speech.

The news was shared by local MP Elliot Colburn and comes in the wake of one of the more bizarre rows of this nascent election campaign.

Earlier today, the Conservatives were forced to deny that Mr Sunak was taking a day off from campaigning just a few days after he announced the upcoming election.

The reports prompted Labour's Stella Creasy MP to post: "Sunak is already in need of a duvet day. Britain is already in need of a different government."

Sharing pictures of the visit on X, Mr Colburn vowed: "We are ready for the fight, and I hope I can count on your support on July 4th!" 

By Gurpreet Narwan, political correspondent

Richard Tice promised the dozen or so people at the Vine Hotel in Skegness that only he could deliver for their community. 

The Surrey-born businessman has tenuous links to the area, however. It wasn’t lost on the audience.

He was asked what he knows about Skegness. Mr Tice responded: "That’s why I’m here to learn…I’ve got lots of farming friends in Lincolnshire."

He says his favourite place to eat is the "Red Lion Wetherspoons opposite the station", although he hasn’t been spotted there just yet.

Mr Tice says he is hoping to "take a flat on the seafront," where he was today campaigning outside migrant hotels.  

 Rachel Reeves swapped spreadsheets for the supermarket earlier as she visited a Fulham branch of Iceland.

She chatted to workers about the cost of living crisis and attacked the Conservatives' approach to the economy.

Ms Reeves, who it seems did not take a turn behind the checkout desk, pitched Labour as the party of "stability and tough spending". 

Speaking to reporters on the visit, she also suggested she wanted to cut taxes for working people, saying they should be "lower," but insisted that "unlike the Tories" she would not make pledges she cannot keep.

Repeatedly pressed on whether she could rule out national insurance or income tax rising if Labour wins the election, the shadow minister said: "I have no plans to increase taxes."

"We've set out the plans that we do have to fund the immediate injection of cash into our NHS and into our schools, but we have no plans beyond that to increase taxes."

Labour has said it would use tax on wealthy non-doms and impose VAT and business rates on private schools in order to fund improvements to public services. 

 With Keir Starmer confirming earlier today that he's in favour of lowering the voting age to 16 - and that it's a Labour priority - it's worth looking around to see how other countries do it.

"Yes, I want to see both 16 and 17-year-olds," the Labour leader said. "If you can work, if you can pay tax, if you can serve in your armed forces, then you ought to be able to vote." 

So where can you vote at 16? 

Well, actually, right here in the UK - for some things.

Scotland and Wales already lowered the voting age to 16 for local elections and in those for the regional parliaments.

In 2014, 16 and 17-year-olds were able to vote in the Scottish independence referendum. 

Further afield, Nicaragua, Isle of Man, Guernsey, Ecuador, Cuba, Brazil, Argentina and Austria all have votes at 16.

A few more - North Korea, Indonesia, Greece, and East Timor - have votes at 17.

While we're on the subject of voting ages, only one country is known to have a maximum voting age.

The Vatican has a rule that the new Pope is selected by cardinals who are below the age of 80.