Election updates from this weekend you should know about

Conservatives

Over the weekend, the Tories pledged they would reform the welfare system to stop rising costs. The party say they would save £12 billion a year by ensuring more people currently claiming benefits can get work.

The plan includes a £730m investment in NHS mental-health services and changes to the work capability assessment so that only the most in need qualify for benefits.

The Conservatives also want to scrap national insurance altogether, a plan which Labour have called ‘reckless’, claiming it would cost more than the controversial ‘mini-budget’ proposed by previous PM Liz Truss.

Labour

Focusing their campaign on childcare, the Labour party revealed plans to create 100,000 new nursery places and launch more than 3,300 new nurseries.

The party also said they would protect the triple lock on state pensions, which ensures pensioners receive an amount that reflects rising prices.

But they made a U-turn on reintroducing the lifetime allowance on tax-free pension contributions, ditched earlier this year by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt. Bringing back the lifetime pension allowance would have limited how much untaxed money Britain’s wealthiest earners can build up in their pension savings.

Liberal Democrats

The Lib Dems are the first to drop their manifesto, which was made public this morning.

Among their promises is a £9 billion health and social care package which they plan to fund by reversing tax cuts for banks and closing tax loopholes.

The party say they want to invest in renewables and home insulation to bring down electricity bills and create secure clean-energy jobs. They plan to cut energy bills with an emergency Home Energy Upgrade programme and introduce a National Food Strategy to tackle rising food prices.

In addition to their previously announced plans to offer free school meals for all primary school children, the Lib Dems want to assign every school a mental health professional to support kids living in poverty.

Reform UK

Nigel Farage’s party announced plans to increase the income threshold at which people start paying taxes to £20,000 a year.

If they’re elected, Reform UK also promised to abolish inheritance tax for all estates worth less than £2 million.

Manifesto week

All the parties are due to publish their election manifestos throughout the week. We’ll keep you posted with the latest updates on policies that could affect your money.