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Here's what happened on the election trail today

There’s been a lot of talk of U-turns.

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From “strong and stable” to a major party U-turn, here’s a round-up of the day’s election coverage.

Who’s had a bad day?

Stefan Rousseau/PA
Stefan Rousseau/PA

Theresa May struck a defensive tone at the Welsh Conservative manifesto launch in Wrexham. When challenged over an apparent U-turn over a proposed “dementia tax”, Mrs May repeatedly insisted that nothing has changed in the underlying policy.

Party fighting over costings and widespread public outcry has now created a headache for the Prime Minister, who has tried to quell a rare dip in approval ratings.

Her apparent U-turn on details underpinning the policy has, if anything, only caused greater consternation. Her rivals have mocked her for being indecisive, while others have pointed out that the policy targets traditionally Conservative-leaning parts of the electorate, such as higher earners and the elderly.

Who’s had a good day?

Yui Mok/PA
Yui Mok/PA

Tim Farron received a rallying cry from 50 business leaders in a letter to The Times, welcoming his party’s dedication to staying in the European single market after Brexit.

Combined with Theresa May’s wobble over the funding of dementia care, Farron was granted a small foothold in the campaign and immediately used it to apply pressure to the Tory leadership.

Image of the day

General Election 2017
Stefan Rousseau/PA

A man was arrested after protesting against fox hunting as Mrs May arrived at the Welsh Conservative manifesto launch at Wrexham’s Gresford Memorial Hall.

He was later released without charge.

Quote of the day

“Doesn’t this show, really, that you are weak and wobbly, not strong and stable?” – Michael Crick asks the Prime Minister if she thinks the public should be allowed to know how much a cap on adult social care costs should be for dementia sufferers.

Tweet of the day

Theresa May gets a bad write-up from Labour supporter and Second World War RAF veteran Harry Leslie Smith.

What do the polls say?

PA Graphics/PA
PA Graphics/PA
PA Graphics/PA
PA Graphics/PA

The Press Association’s poll of polls has narrowed slightly in recent days, as Labour enjoy a slight Tory wobble over dementia care – up 1% overnight.

Alternative manifesto of the day

Sally Wardle/PA
Sally Wardle/PA

You might have missed it in the noise of Conservative in-fighting and jeers from Labour and the Lib Dems, but Caroline Lucas was also in action to launch her Green Party’s manifesto on Monday.

Among the election pledges put forward, Ms Lucas said the Greens would offer the British public the chance to reject any final Brexit deal, saying: “Yes, there was a vote to leave, but it’s not clear what that ‘leave’ looks like in practice.”

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