of which are linked to inflation. let s put this into perspective because the uk s national debt is at record levels. it owes £2.69 trillion. that is almost the size of the uk economy the so called debt to gdp ratio is around 97.7%. that is a useful guide to how affordable the debt is for a country. the chancellor has pledged to get that ratio down. the uk s far better off than some of its neighbours though italy s debt to gdp is around 140%. but if we look at germany s that s only around 65%. let s get more on this from our chief economics correspondent, dharshini david. she s in the bbc business newsroom here in london. hi. first off, what is behind that figure? hi. first off, what is behind that fiuure? , ., ., ., ., ., hi. first off, what is behind that fiuure? , ., ., ., ., y figure? just one month out of a 12 month financial figure? just one month out of a 12 month financial year figure? just one month out of a 12 month financial year but - figure? just one
spells, although more cloud the further north you are, all the details shortly. it s sunday, june 2nd. our main story. sir keir starmer has pledged to cut levels of legal migration to the uk, if labour wins the general election. in a newspaper interview he set out plans to prioritise british workers and crack down on businesses that break employment laws. the conservatives said no one believed the labour leader was serious about tackling immigration. our political correspondent alex forsyth has the latest. every year, people come to the uk to live, work or study. last year, net migration that s the difference between the number of people arriving and the number of people leaving was 685,000. sir keir starmer, who launched his election battle bus yesterday, has previously said that s too high. now he s promised to cut that number if labour wins the election, though he hasn t said by how much or by when. he told the sun on sunday newspaper read my lips, i will bring immig
final. hello. here in the uk, campaigning is continuing in the run up to the general election on lithjuly. sir keir starmer has pledged to reduce the number of people legally migrating to the country, if labour win the general election. the labour leader said he would introduce new laws to train british workers to plug skills gaps in the job market and strengthen anti exploitation laws. meanwhile, the conservatives have promised to build 100 new gp surgeries in england and boost the number of available appointments if they win the election. nd in the coming hours john swinney, leader of the scottish national party, will formally launch the party s campaign, where he ll argue independence offers the country a better future . our political correspondent ione wells has more on the latest developments. there s a couple of different major announcements today, from labour, there is this pledge from the labour leader, sir keir starmer, to cut net migration. he says that the way the
to the labour party. mark logan who until parliament was disolved last night represented the key marginal seat of bolton north east said things would only get better under labour. but for the labour party itself today things have only got messier when it comes to the confusion over one of their longest serving mps diane abbott. can she stand for the party injuly? we ll try to work out the very latest. we re also on verdict watch we ll have an update from the courtroom in new york as the jury in the trump trial continues deliberating after asking to hear key evidence again. in any general election campaign, there s the agenda the politicians want to stick to. but then there s the unexpected the events which throw the carefully planned programme off track. the events which throw the carefully todays there s been more of that. the events which throw the carefully while rishi sunak was out and about pushing his party s economic plans, one of his candidates who until last