Workers Party of Britain leader George Galloway has said his party could put pressure on Labour from the left in the way Reform UK was targeting the Tories on the right.

Mr Galloway said his party had 500 candidates ready and hoped to stand in most English seats at the general election as well as targeting some in Scotland and Wales.

He said: "We are confident that we're going to be competitive in virtually every race. 

"We will, I think, be short of candidates in Wales and Scotland, but we're quite confident that in the vast majority of seats in England - except those that we've decided not to stand in for political reasons - that we will be on the ballot.

"And so people will not have to choose between Tweedledee and Tweedledum. They'll have a genuine choice. And we think that's our duty to offer that."

He claimed he was in talks with three Labour MPs about defecting.

"Talks were going swimmingly, then not, then back on again. These things take time. 

"I'm hoping to land them, I'm an experienced fisherman, I'm hoping to land them on the riverbank in good time."

Our flagship weeknight politics show Politics Hub With Sophy Ridge will be live on Sky News from 7pm.

The fast-paced programme dissects the inner workings of Westminster, with interviews, insights, and analysis - bringing you, the audience, into the corridors of power.

Sophy will be joined by Labour MP Diana Johnson and former independent inspector of borders and immigration John Vine.

And on her panel tonight will be:

• Political commentator Giles Kenningham;
• Labour MP Dawn Butler.

Watch live on Sky News, in the stream at the top of this page, and follow live updates here in the Politics Hub.

By Adam Boulton, Sky News commentator

We have been warned. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's pre-election pitch to voters this week was to place the nation on "war footing".

On a lightning visit to Poland and Germany, countries redolent of bloody war in Europe, he announced "a completely funded plan" to raise annual UK defence spending to 2.5% of national income over the next five to six years.

Tony Blair flew to the US to deliver one of the defining speeches of his 10 years in power. His immediate task was to persuade a reluctant President Bill Clinton to commit to NATO's defence of Kosovo against Serbian aggression.

He set it in the context of a broader ideology which became known as "humanitarian" or "liberal interventionism".

The contrast in tone is stark between Mr Blair's positive argument for the use of force in some circumstances and Mr Sunak's urgent plea that "we must do more to defend our country, our interests and our values".

Read the full analysis here:

People voting in local elections in England on 2 May will need to provide photo ID.

It is the second year the requirement has been in place - but in 2023, 14,000 people couldn't cast their ballot because they didn't take ID to the polling booth.

There are 22 different types of ID you can use - and if you don't have any of them, you can register for a Voter Authority Certificate.

Here's everything you need to know to avoid being caught out:

Scotland's First Minister Humza Yousaf has resigned – days after he cut the SNP's powersharing deal with the Scottish Greens.

It followed a bitter row over the SNP's climbdown on climate targets as he said the agreement between the parties had "served its purpose".

As a result, his former Green allies teamed up with the Conservatives, Labour and Liberal Democrats to get behind two no-confidence motions, one in himself as leader of Scotland and another regarding the entire Scottish government.

Now attention turns to another SNP leadership contest and what the divisions in Scottish politics could mean for the future of the independence campaign.  

On the Sky News Daily, Matt Barbet speaks to Paul Hutcheon, political editor of the Daily Record, and Shona Craven, from The National, about how the SNP can move on after Mr Yousaf's resignation.

Plus, Connor Gillies, our Scotland correspondent, explains how the leadership election will unfold.  

Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie has told Sky News his party will not be backing a motion of no-confidence in the Scottish government which is due to be voted on tomorrow.

"We've made it clear all along that our issue was with Humza Yousaf and the decisions he made last week that broke trust with not only our party, but everybody who wants Scotland to have a progressive pro-independence majority government," he said.

"That's what we had, and we no longer have that as a result of Humza Yousaf's decisions."

A no-confidence motion in Mr Yousaf was tabled by the Scottish Conservatives last week.

The move came after the first minister ended the SNP's cooperation deal with the Greens and opted to try and pursue a minority government.

But the move backfired and after days of pressure, Mr Yousaf announced he was standing down on Monday.

The no-confidence motion in the first minister has been withdrawn by the Tories as a result.

But the wider motion of no-confidence in the government - which was put forward by Scottish Labour on Friday - is still set to be voted on tomorrow.

The conversation with Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron now turns to Iran, and the idea that there is a "reluctance in government" to move against the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

He says: "All of the things we need to do to put pressure on Iran and to make sure that where they act illegally we can act against them are in place through our sanctions regime we have enhanced.

"We've sanctioned the IRGC in its entirety."

Lord Cameron adds that when he asks law enforcement and police whether the extra step of proscription is necessary: "The answer is no."

"There is a disadvantage, to be frank about it, from proscription, which is it would effectively end diplomatic relations.

"And while our diplomatic relations are pretty terse... we are actually able to have that conversation."

The minister says he wants to be able to have these conversations himself, rather than asking allies to send a message.

"You need at some level those diplomatic relations," he adds.

Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron is appearing before the Lords International Relations and Defence Committee, where the conversation has focused on the conflict in Israel and Gaza.

He was asked about reports of "mass graves" at Nasser hospital, with Palestinians claiming that 283 bodies were found in one location.

Israel has said claims that it buried bodies there are "baseless".

Responding to this, Lord Cameron said the UK agrees "this needs to be investigated".

"It is extremely disturbing."

However, he added: "I'm very nervous about going beyond that because I think with some previous events in this conflict people jump to conclusions too quickly.

"It's had an enormous impact on social media and elsewhere, I think we need the Israelis urgently to get to the bottom of what happened."

Gardai will not be assigned to physically police the border with Northern Ireland, the Irish Department of Justice has said, amid a row over migrants crossing from the UK to the republic.

The department yesterday announced its own expanding role in immigration registration duties would "free up" 100 gardai for frontline enforcement work, including deportations.

But in a statement today it has clarified the work required to make the 100 gardai available for frontline duties would take up to 12 months.

It emphasised the protection of an open border on the island of Ireland was a "key priority to the communities on both sides", but said: "It is not the case that these Gardai will be assigned to physically police the border with Northern Ireland."

It comes after the Irish prime minister insisted the UK must respect an existing arrangement to take back asylum seekers (see 9.19am post).

Simon Harris told Sky News the UK must honour the agreement as a new Irish law is being drafted to ensure the UK is seen as a safe country for migrants despite Rishi Sunak's Rwanda plan.

The prime minister has claimed the increase showed his scheme was working.

This afternoon Mr Sunak's spokesperson said there are "operational agreements" between the UK and the Republic of Ireland but "not a legal obligation" to accept the return of asylum seekers (see 12.33pm post).

Speculation is rife about who could enter the race to be the next leader of the Scottish National Party after Humza Yousaf resigned yesterday.

One name mentioned repeatedly by key SNP figures is John Swinney, the former deputy first minister, but it appears he is still considering his move.

He said today: "I'm giving it all a great deal of thought to make sure that I come to the right decision for my family, my party and my country."

The longtime MSP declined to stand in the leadership race last year, saying it was time for a new generation of SNP members to come to the fore.

Asked what had changed, he said: "Events change, don't they? Nothing ever remains the same.

"What's changed is that my party finds itself in a very different and more difficult situation than it found itself in 12 months ago.

"I would not be doing a service to the many, many, many people who have contacted me, asking me to stand, and if I don't think about this properly, it wouldn't be my style to ignore the representations made to me - I'm someone who listens and addresses the points that are put to me and that's exactly what I'm doing just now."