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.

Why are so many Tory MPs going? Is it because they read the opinion polls and believe their party's time is up and they don't fancy the hard slog and often unrewarding grind of opposition?

There's a famous quote attributed to James Callaghan, during the 1979 general election campaign, shortly before Labour was swept from power by Margaret Thatcher.

"You know there are times, perhaps once every 30 years, when there is a sea-change in politics," avuncular "Sunny Jim" observed shrewdly to his close aide Bernard Donoughue. 

Read more: 

The Conservatives have "failed" on water pollution issues and let big companies "off the hook", Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey has said.

Hitting the campaign trail in Chichester, West Sussex, the party leader said the public are "alarmed" about the damage being done to rivers and seas in the UK.

He donned a red lifejacket (safety first!) on a visit to Birdham Pool Marina alongside parliamentary candidate Jess Brown-Fuller.

In the run-up to the general election, the Lib Dems have unveiled plans to abolish the regulator, Ofwat, and introduce a new one to tackle the sewage crisis.

The party claims its analysis shows water company bosses have received some £54m in bonuses since 2019.

According to the Environment Agency, sewage spills into England's rivers and seas more than doubled in 2023 with 3.6 million hours of spills last year - equal to about 400 years - compared with 1.75 million hours in 2022. 

Rishi Sunak has posted pictures of himself campaigning in Wimbledon today, after holding a breakfast with veterans in Yorkshire.

"It's clear what the British people want - bold action and a clear plan. That's what we will deliver," he wrote on X.

The images come after Labour accused the prime minister of taking a day off from the election trail.

The Unite union has criticised Labour's package of workers rights for having "more holes in it than Swiss cheese".

General secretary Sharon Graham accused the party of watering down its policies after rebranding "Labour's new deal for working people" as "Labour's plan to make work pay".

Reports suggested it could go through a formal consultation process with businesses, potentially toning down the pledges, but Sir Keir Starmer has insisted the package was the "most significant set of protections for a generation".

Ms Graham said: "The number of caveats and get-outs means it is in danger of becoming a bad bosses' charter.

"Working people expect Labour to be their voice. They need to know that Labour will not back down to corporate profiteers determined to maintain the status quo of colossal profits at the expense of everyone else. 

"The country desperately needs a Labour government, but the party must show it will stick to its guns on improving workers' rights."

Elements of the deal include a "right to switch off", a proposed ban on zero hours contracts and stronger employment rights from day one of a new job.

Sir Keir told the BBC: "We have come to an agreement with the trade unions on the new deal for working people.

"There’s been no watering down. This is the most significant set of protections for a generation.

"It's also something which I think employers and good businesses would say, 'looking at the detail of it, this is what we're doing in good businesses.'"

Labour and the Conservatives have been going back and forth since this morning over whether Rishi Sunak has taken a day off from the campaign.

The prime minister met with veterans for breakfast this morning but his plans for the rest of the day have not been publicly confirmed on the first weekend since the election was called.

After Labour MP Stella Creasy said Mr Sunak was taking a "duvet day", a Tory source hit back, insisting he was leading "from the front", having done 51 interviews since the campaign started.

Separately, Conservative minister Bim Afolami pointed to the breakfast in Mr Sunak's constituency as evidence he was on the trail, but now Labour has accused Mr Sunak of "hiding away in his mansion". 

Shadow paymaster general Jonathan Ashworth said: "While Rishi Sunak spends today hiding away in his mansion, Liz Truss is yet again reminding voters that he has no control over his party and desperate Jeremy Hunt is making more completely unfunded promises."

Liz Truss, who was responsible for the 2022 mini-budget, said in an interview with the Telegraph that Mr Sunak should scrap all net zero targets in order to win the election.

"Five more years of the Tories will mean more of this chaos – with the British public left paying the price every single day."

Rishi Sunak is expected to be out campaigning tomorrow.

By Gurpreet Narwan, political correspondent

Richard Tice could only command an audience of about 17 at the Vine Hotel in Skegness, where he is hoping to become an MP. 

It's an inauspicious start.

Reform UK is eyeing up Brexiteers. 75% of people here voted to leave the European Union and people here are among the least likely to regret that decision.

However, Reform is unlikely to overturn the Tories' majority, which stands at about 25,000. 

The polls suggest there's just one point between Labour and the Conservatives but a boost for Reform could deliver that victory to Labour.

It's a pattern that could play out in key hotspots across the country - that's what Labour will be hoping at least.

What are the rules on voter ID?  How does tactical voting work? In what different ways can you cast your ballot?

The countdown to the election is on - and already the amount of information can seem overwhelming. 

We cut through the noise to bring you what you need to know, from registering to vote, to election day and what happens next.

Read on here...