Monday briefing: parties deliver final pitches in last stretch of campaign

Good morning. We’re here, the final stretch of the campaign. The country will go to the polls on Thursday, but before that happens, the parties are giving their pitches one final push. We also have the best of non-election news from around the country and the world.

What’s going on?

The Labour party will be focusing on the benefit of its policies to the bank balances of voters, promising the public that a Labour government would put “money in your pocket”.

Amid concerns that Labour has overpromised with a blizzard of announcements during the six-week campaign, Corbyn will focus on the NHS and voters’ finances in the final crucial days of campaigning.

Boris Johnson did an interview with Sophy Ridge on Sky News yesterday, which John Crace described as a “20-minute audio-visual barrage of near constant mansplaining and manspreading”. However, the Tories have been much quieter than the opposition ahead of the vote – as John Harris points out. When they have released plans they have been problematic. Johnson’s proposal of 40 new hospitals has not been costed (although some say it could be as much as £24bn) and his promise to introduce an “Australian-style” immigration system has been criticised. At the odder end of the spectrum is Johnson’s claim that getting Brexit done will lead to a baby boom such as the one that he wrongly alleges occurred after the London Olympics.

Despite these issues, the Conservatives’ message that they will “get Brexit done” seems to have cut through and they still look strongly placed to win the election.

At a glance

• ‘There is a sense of change here’: Glasgow North East drives its own regeneration.
  

• Nigel Farage can still work a crowd, but confusion and tactical errors have put the Brexit party on life support.
  

• The Conservatives, Labour, Lib Dems, Greens and SNP answer questions about the climate crisis.

The day ahead

Boris Johnson will make campaign visits to the east, north-east and south-west of England.

John McDonnell will give a speech in London this morning on Labour’s plans for its first 100 days in government, while party leader Jeremy Corbyn will be campaigning in the south-west of England.

Liberal Democrat deputy leader Sir Ed Davey will be canvassing in Guildford.

SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon will take part in a photocall in Coatbridge, then join her party’s candidate for Lanark and Hamilton East on a visit to the Wallace tea rooms where they will help bake a cake.

Best of the rest

> One person has died and up to 26 are missing after tourists were caught in an eruption of the White Island volcano in New Zealand. The volcano in the Bay of Plenty spewed ash 12,000m into the air after the eruption on the island popular with daytrippers, sparking a huge rescue operation involving seven helicopters. Follow developments with our live blog.

> The Chinese government has ordered all offices and state institutions to remove all foreign computers and software within three years. Chinese-made products will replace the equipment in a blow to US firms such as HP and Microsoft, the FT reports today, as the economic cold war between Beijing and Washington deepens.

> The actor René Auberjonois has died aged 79. He was best known for roles in the TV series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Benson, and the film version of M*A*S*H.

Today in Focus podcast

The Guardian columnist Gary Younge returns to his home town of Stevenage to see how the bellwether constituency views the election. And: Micha Frazer-Carroll asks whether there will be a ‘youthquake’ in Thursday’s vote

Lunchtime read: ‘It’s brutal’ – Leslie Ash on getting her career back

“It’s like the rug being brought up from beneath your feet,” says Leslie Ash of trying to rebuild her career after contracting a hospital infection that nearly killed her. Now 59, the star of Men Behaving Badly and Quadrophenia tells Paula Cocozza about her new venture, her sometimes tempestuous marriage to the former footballer Lee Chapman and her thoughts on #MeToo.

Sport

Anthony Joshua has set his sights on a springtime homecoming fight at Tottenham Hotspur’s 60,000-seat stadium after regaining his WBA, IBF and WBO world heavyweight title belts against Andy Ruiz Jr. Jamie Vardy’s brace ensured Leicester keep tabs on Liverpool at the top of the Premier League. Everything went perfectly as Everton’s temporary manager Duncan Ferguson oversaw a passionate, committed display that bested Chelsea and hauled the club out of the relegation zone. But Everton are investigating reports of homophobic chanting during Saturday’s game and a man was arrested after the Manchester derby for allegedly throwing a lighter at United player Fred. In rugby league, Wigan owner Ian Lenagan has called for transparency, labelling the Rugby Football League’s historical dealings with Bradford Bulls as a ‘festering sore’. In cricket, Vic Marks writes that, without a central contract or ticket to South Africa, Moeen Ali can plot a career path on the lucrative franchise circuit.

Business

Visits to the high street fell by 4.3% in November according to a new survey as heavy rain kept shoppers at home and further depressed the struggling sector. On the markets, shares were up in Asia overnight on the back of strong economic news from the US on Friday. The FTSE100 is set to lift around 0.3% at the pen. The pound is worth $1.314 and €1.188.

The papers

The papers nearly all lead with election news with several choosing the line that Boris Johnson is taking his campaign to Labour-held seats this week. “Johnson to blitz seats in Labour heartlands” says the Times, while the Telegraph has “Corbyn will betray Brexit, says Johnson as he takes fight to Labour’s heartlands”. The Mail goes with “PM blasts Labour Brexit betrayal” and the Express says “Boris: the last chance to save Brexit and Britain.

The Guardian takes a different angle – “Corbyn in last-ditch drive to focus on voters’ finances” – as does the Mirror which says “Desperate” over a picture of a young boy being treated on a hospital floor because of a lack of beds. The Sun also has a one-word headline – “Nightmare” – leading a “special report” into Labour’s policies. The Scotsman has “Labour opens door to deal for IndyRef2 after election”. The FT diverges with “Beijing orders removal of foreign PCs and software”.

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