Labour makes NHS pledge as Tories promise new apprenticeships

Summary

1. Today marks one week since the election was called, and the main parties are continuing to roll out pledges in a bid to woo voters
2. Rishi Sunak says he would scrap some university courses in England and instead fund 100,000 apprenticeships a year
3. Labour are setting out how they would reduce the NHS backlog, promising to hit a key waiting time target for treatment within five years in England
4. Keir Starmer and his shadow health secretary Wes Streeting will be campaigning in the West Midlands, while Rishi Sunak is heading to the South West
5. The Liberal Democrats are launching their campaign in Wales with a pledge for an extra £1bn in the agricultural budget
6. Meanwhile it remains unclear whether veteran MP Diane Abbott will stand as a Labour candidate at the election, after being reinstated to the party yesterday following an investigation