Election latest: Climate protester heckles Sir Keir Starmer at start of manifesto launch; more bad news for PM in latest NHS figures (2024)

Sir Keir Starmer is now up on stage and thanks his supporters.

The Labour leader begins talking but is interrupted by a heckler in the crowds who shouts "we gave up on being a party of protest five years ago" - the heckler is quickly carried out by security.

Sir Keir continues by saying "the pursuit of social justice and economic growth must go hand in hand".

He says he has a "plan to change Britain".

"Today we can lay a new foundation of stability," he says.

Next up to speak at the Labour manifesto launch is the Iceland supermarket boss, Richard Walker.

He says the manifesto "really is" a good one, following "14 years of Tory chaos and underachievement".

"Only Labour can change this country's trajectory of dismal economic performance," he says.

"I really like what I see in Labour's plan to ensure that we invest in the people and infrastructure that we need to put our country on the road to recovery."

Mr Walker says Labour will relentlessly pursue economic growth, while the plans to change the planning system "has the potential to genuinely turbocharge our prospects".

Holding up a copy of Labour's manifesto, the supermarket boss concludes: "It gives me real hope that this can be the start of a better future for all of us."

Angela Rayner, Labour's deputy leader, is up on stage and speaking to the crowd in Manchester.

She says she is "so proud to call this city my home" and "to see so many of you here today".

Ms Rayner says the country needs "change after 14 years of chaos".

"We just cannot afford five more years of high tax, low growth and broken Tory promises," she says.

Labour's plan for growth involves "investment and reform", she says.

"We have changed the Labour Party and with this manifesto we can change Britain," she adds.

She says Labour's plan will "turn the page" and "start a new chapter".

"Today we publish our plan for the change we need to meet the challenges ahead," she says.

"Our chance to end the chaos, turn the page and start a new chapter.

"What we now ask is to make that change a reality."

The Labour Party election manifesto launch is under way in Greater Manchester.

We are expecting to hear from the party's deputy leader, Angela Rayner, the boss of Iceland supermarkets, Richard Walker, and Sir Keir Starmer himself.

The party has promised it will have "wealth creation" at its heart, and they will pitch a potential Labour government as both "pro-business and pro-worker".

A party source told Sky News that the manifesto will be a "slim" document - but we will bring you all the details as soon as we have them.

Watch live on Sky News, in the stream above, at the link below - and follow live updates here in the Politics Hub.

In the next few moments, the Labour leadership will take to the stage to unveil the details of their manifesto.

The party has promised it will have "wealth creation" at its heart, and they will pitch a potential Labour government as both "pro-business and pro-worker".

Here are some photos of the Labour leader and his shadow cabinet holding the document that will be published very shortly - and we'll bring you all the details as soon as we have them.

The leader of Plaid Cymru,Rhun ap Iorwerth, is the final speaker at their manifesto launch.

He says they are there to "set out a vision", and this general election "feels different" to previous ones, saying: "It feels as if more people than ever are left utterly uninspired by what either Labour or the Conservatives have to offer."

The key theme of their manifesto, he says, is "fairness" - and he calls for more money for Wales, and the "the abolition of the Barnett Formula" - the funding calculation which, he claims, "has seen Wales lose out to the tune of billions over the years".

Scrapping it would, he argues, allow much more investment in public services in Wales.

He also argues that Wales should be entitled to more money following Rishi Sunak's decision to scrap HS2, saying Scotland and Northern Ireland have been "compensated" for the decision.

"Wales is owed some £4 billion – just imagine what that could do to transform our public transport network nationwide – buses, roads and railways – connecting our communities and giving our economy that desperately-needed boost," he says.

The Plaid Cymru leader calls on the next UK government to "show you're serious about Wales and resolve the long-standing fair funding issues".

He also argues that the UK should rejoin the European Union, citing "the disastrous consequences of severing ties with the world’s largest trading bloc".

He says Plaid Cymru is committed to scrapping the two-child benefit cap, which Labour has ruled out doing, and increasing child benefit by £20 per week.

More broadly, he wants a "fairer tax system", which would include windfall taxes, devolving the Crown Estate, more investment in the green transition, reversing cuts to business rates support, and a Wales-specific COVID inquiry.

Concluding, he says Labour will win the election, but electing Plaid Cymru MPs will allow them to "influence the change ahead of us" and keep a "Labour government in check".

"I am proud to stand on a platform which offers a positive vision for our country, which offers a real alternative to the increasingly joined up thinking of the two main UK parties – and a platform which gives people the opportunity to vote for fairness, for ambition, and for Wales."

Liz Saville-Roberts, Plaid Cymru Westminster leader, is now speaking and says the Tories kicked things off on Tuesday by offering a "mix of recycled attacks on Welsh democracy".

"Many people have just stopped listening and the rest of us are just aghast," she says.

She says today Plaid Cymru will be publishing a manifesto which stands "in brilliant contrast to Labour's bland offer and their like it or lump it attitude towards Wales".

"We need to elect more Plaid Cymru MPs to force Labour to take notice of our demands," she adds.

"On policing and justice, only Plaid Cymru has evidence-based policy to create safer communities with police officers that truly understand those communities."

She says Plaid Cymru's manifesto is "a manifesto for real change".

Plaid Cymru is also unveiling its manifesto this morning, with the party pledging to "fight for economic fairness" and secure "fair funding" for Wales.

The party say Wales is owed "billions" after HS2 was scrapped, and the funding model is currently not "fair".

They will unveil their plans around protecting devolution, more investment in the NHS, and assistance for families amid the ongoing cost of living crisis.

Watch live on Sky News, in the stream above, at the link below - and follow live updates here in the Politics Hub.

Rishi Sunak has arrived at the G7 summit in Italy - which could potentially be his last as PM.

He was greeted by his Italian counterpart, Georgia Meloni, with whom he is known to get along famously.

Mr Sunak is due to set out details of a £240m aid package that will be provided to Ukraine, to be used for emergency humanitarian aid and to rebuild critical energy infrastructure targeted by Russian bombing, as well as wider reconstruction.

This is not new money, however - it is part of the £2.5bn aid package announced by the PM on a trip to Kyiv in Ukraine earlier this year.

Read more about the package here.