General election 2017: Theresa May struggles to defend 'dementia tax' U-turn in BBC interview – as it happened

On The Andrew Marr Show yesterday (pdf) Damian Green, the work and pensions secretary, was asked: “Is there any chance at all you’re going to look at it [the social care policy] again?” Green replied:

No. What we said in the manifesto incidentally, just to put that no in context, is that we have set out this policy which we’re not going to look at again.

If May does announce a U-turn, as Sky and the Evening Standard are expecting (and we are not being told they are wrong), Green is going to find himself looking a bit daft.

He will be in the same position as Philip Hammond, the chancellor, who had to drop plans to raise national insurance for the self-employed less than a week after announing them in the budget.

22 May 201706.28 EDT

Jessica Elgot

An anti-fox hunting protester has been arrested as the prime minister’s car arrived in Wrexham ahead of the launch of the Conservative manifesto.

The man, who told reporters his name was Connor, waved a black flag and yelled “this is a fascist state, Theresa May’s police state”. He was then dragged to the ground by police as May’s motorcade swept past.

Blowing a horn, he attempted to move towards the car before he was tackled and pulled away, surrounded by hoards of photographers and journalists.

Two other protesters followed to demand to know the reason why he had been arrested. “This is a peaceful protest, you’ve no right to arrest him,” said one, who told the Guardian his name was Cookie.

“We see foxes killed every day, the ban isn’t enforced, every day just down the road, she doesn’t care about wildlife,” another protester said.

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Sky’s Faisal Islam says the Conservatives’ green paper on social care, due after the election, will include plans for a cap.

He says the Tories do not accept that this is a U-turn - although, given that last week the Tories were ruling out a cap, most commentators will say that’s exactly what it is.

Theresa May is due to speak at the launch of the Welsh Conservatives’ manifesto imminently. She is likely to say more on this then.

George Osborne, the former Conservative chancellor who now edits the Evening Standard, says the government will perform a U-turn over social care, and impose a cap on costs.

Jeremy Corbyn and Tom Watson, the deputy Labour leader and shadow culture secretary, have been in Hull this morning (the 2017 city of culture) to announce plans for a £1bn cultural capital fund.

This is what the party is saying about its plans in a news release.

Labour announces today that a £1bn culture capital fund will invest in ‘creative clusters’ across the country.

Labour will guarantee a creative future for all by:

• Establishing a £1bn cultural capital fund to support our world-leading cultural industries, which have been badly hit by Tory cuts.
  

The fund will be one of the largest arts infrastructure funds ever created. It will give the country’s creative sectors an opportunity to bid for extra funding and help the UK protect its status as a creative and cultural hub in the digital age.

It will protect and invest in live music venues in order to support grassroots and professional music and ensure there is a vibrant music industry in all parts of the country. Labour will review the business rates system and extend the £1,000 pub relief to help small music venues that have been hit by rate rises.

• Ensuring museums and art galleries remain free and invest in our heritage sector, which is central to the identity and economy of local communities across the country.

• Introducing a £160m arts pupil premium for every primary school in England to boost creative education and ensure state schools have arts facilities of an equivalent standard to those available in many private schools.
  

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Bartley says it is disappointing that the Labour and Lib Dem leaders rejected calls for a “progressive alliance”. But in some seats there have been deals, he says. The Green party is ahead of the curve, he says. He says this is only the start.

And that’s it.

The launch is over.

My colleague Peter Walker will be filing more on it soon.

Lucas says, even if President Trump turns his back on the Paris climate change agreement, there is enough support for action against climate change around the world to ensure that the agreement survives.

Lucas says the Greens would not extend the Brexit negotiations.

But the Greens want the public, not parliament, to have the final say on the Brexit deal.

We have seen many Brexit policies unravelling, for example, such as the promised £350m extra a year for the NHS.

Caroline Lucas and Jonathan Bartley, the Green party co-leaders, are now taking questions.

Q: Aren’t your policies similar to Labour’s?

Lucas says they are. Imitation is the biggest form of flattery, she says.

But she says there is a key difference on Europe. Labour would offer the Tories a blank cheque on Brexit, she says.

The Green party is launching its manifesto.

There are details here, on the party’s website.

My colleague Peter Walker is there.