Labour has promised pay rises for NHS staff if they form the next government. Arguing that staff shortages in England have become a "threat to patients", the party also pledged there would be no tuition fees for student nurses and midwives. The Tories countered that Labour's economic policies would put the NHS at risk. Health minister Philip Dunne insisted that "only Theresa May" can secure funding for the service "and its dedicated staff".
Today also marked the last Prime Minister's Questions between May and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn for this parliament. Here's some of the reactions from political journalists.
A trio of pro-EU Tories has furiously cut ties with Open Britain over its plans to unseat Brexit-backing MPs, most of whom are Conservative, reports The Independent. Anna Soubry, Nicky Morgan and Dominic Grieve say it is "untenable" for them to support the pro-Remain group after it published an "attack list" of MPs to target, including Iain Duncan Smith. A spokesman for Open Britain said it was "understandable" that political differences become "magnified" during an election campaign.
David Cameron believes a large Tory majority would give Theresa May "more time" to deal with Brexit. Speaking at a tourism conference in Bangkok, the former prime minister said: "It's very good that we are having this election because I think if Theresa May is successful, she'll actually have a larger majority and, potentially, more time to deal with Brexit and its consequences."
Meanwhile, the Green Party says it will scrap tuition fees, bring back maintenance grants and protect students and universities after Brexit. Co-leader Jonathan Bartley said: "Students need a life-raft in the Brexit storm. They are being ignored in the Brexit negotiations, despite having the most to lose. Funding for our universities is under unprecedented threat." The commitments were to be announced during a visit to the University of Sheffield.
Labour vows to scrap 'reckless' Brexit white paper
25 April
Labour will scrap the government's white paper on Brexit and replace it with a new one should Jeremy Corbyn become prime minister in June.
In a speech today, shadow Brexit Secretary Keir Starmer said: "We do not accept that there has to be a reckless Tory Brexit."
He added that if Labour won the election, it would rip up Theresa May's plans for leaving the EU and give EU citizens the right to stay.
"On day one of a Labour government, we will immediately guarantee that all EU nationals currently living in the UK will see no change in their legal status as a result of Brexit and we will seek reciprocal measures for UK citizens in the EU," he said.
In addition, he promised that a Labour government would prioritise the economy over immigration in Brexit talks, although the party accepted that free movement rules had to change, and promised MPs a chance to reject the final deal.
He added: "A Labour approach to Brexit means legislating to guarantee that parliament has a truly meaningful vote on the final Brexit deal."
By promoting a complete overhaul of negotiations, Labour has "dangled the possibility of delaying Brexit" if the deal struck with the EU member states is deemed unsatisfactory by MPs, says The Independent.
Starmer's announcement can be seen as an attempt to cement the party's approach to Brexit, which has so far been perceived as unclear by many, including former prime minister Tony Blair.
Corbyn has been described by the Tories as a "weak leader of a divided party who could not get the right deal for the UK", says the BBC, while credits Starmer with "differentiating Labour's position from the government's to an extent", but warns the statements will "probably not" give voters the clarity they need.
Ukip mocked for veil-banning policy and Labour questioned on Trident
24 April
As we head into the first full week of campaigning before the general election, here is a summary of what has been going on over the weekend and today.
Paul Nuttall has announced Ukip would ban a full-face veil leading to accusations by Green party co-leader Caroline Lucas that the far-right party had embraced "full-throttled Islamophobia". Yet the party was widely mocked, with some journalists asking whether the rules would apply to beekeepers and brides, writes The Daily Telegraph. Nuttall has dodged questions about whether he will run as a candidate in the election.
Yesterday Jeremy Corbyn was pressed on his views on BBC1's The Andrew Marr Show on nuclear weapons and said he did not believe Trident would make the UK safer. Defence Secretary Michael Fallon today portrayed Corbyn as a security risk, saying: "He’s against the nuclear deterrent; would stop building the submarines which we have already started building; he wouldn’t control our borders; and earlier he has even questioned our Nato deployment.” Theresa May, Fallon said, would be prepared to launch Trident even if Britain was not under attack.
Meanwhile Corbyn has announced Labour would introduce four new bank holidays "to give workers they break they deserve", reports The Independent.
Tony Blair has waded into matters, calling on people to support whichever candidate is in favour of a softer Brexit, saying this election was a bigger issue than party allegiance, reports the BBC.
Meanwhile a battle has reared between the Women's Equality Party leader Sophie Walker who is attempting to oust Conservative MP Philip Davies from his Shipley seat.
General election 2017: On the campaign trail
21 April
Party leaders hit the campaign trail today as they attempt to gain the backing of Britons with just seven weeks until the general election.
Prime Minister Theresa May visited her Maidenhead constituency, where she told workers at the GSK toothpaste factory they had to choose between the Conservatives and a "coalition of chaos".
May is said to be hard at work on her manifesto, which is expected to be published in two weeks' time.
The document will offer insight into "the mystery of what May stands for", says Total Politics.
However, those holding out for detailed policy plans from the Conservatives may be disappointed, writes Fraser Nelson in the Daily Telegraph.
May is said to be aiming for "clarity of thought but no laundry list of pledges", Nelson reports, by dramatically reducing the page count from predecessor David Cameron's 120-page 2010 manifesto to somewhere in the region of 25.
The Tory campaign was dealt a surprise blow this morning by the sudden resignation of May's trusted press secretary.
Lizzie Louden, a key member of the Prime Minister's inner circle, handed in her notice after nine months in the post, saying she was "honoured" to have worked at Number 10 but "always intended" to move on from government.
After launching Labour's campaign with a fiery anti-establishment speech in London yesterday, Jeremy Corbyn held rallies in Swindon and Cardiff today.
Corbyn focused his message on the education system, pledging more resources for schools and a reduction in average class sizes, 's Heather Stewart reports.
Angela Rayner, the shadow education secretary, said the current system is "unsustainable", and that the government's preoccupation with free schools has failed to solve the growing crisis of insufficient school places.
Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrat campaign began with the announcement that the party has raised £500,000 in the two days since Theresa May called the snap election. The Conservatives have not revealed their donation tally, but "a similar Labour fund-raising drive is reported to have raised £200,000", the BBC reports.
The Lib Dems are putting Brexit at the front and centre of their campaign as the only major party offering a second referendum on leaving the European Union.
Party leader Tim Farron claimed that dissatisfied Remain voters were "flocking" to join the Lib Dems, with 8,000 new members signing up since Tuesday.
Even so, the party faces an uphill struggle to recover from its decimation in the 2015 general election.
Senior figures, including former Lib Dem leader Paddy Ashdown, have floated the idea of "progressive alliances" with parties like the Greens to keep key seats out of Conservative hands.
Jeremy Corbyn: Tory election landslide 'not a foregone conclusion'
20 April
Jeremy Corbyn has rejected suggestions the result of the June general election is a "foregone conclusion", vowing to "overturn the rigged system".
In his first election campaign speech, the Labour leader said he would defy the predictions of "establishment experts" who foresee a landslide victory for the Conservatives.
Corbyn's first pitch to the electorate was notably light on Brexit.
Instead, the embattled Labour leader "looks set to run an anti-establishment campaign, presenting himself as a champion of the powerless against political and business elites" says the BBC.
In the speech, Corbyn promised to crack down on tax avoiders, improve workers' rights and introduce a £10 minimum wage. "It is the Conservatives, the party of privilege and the richest versus the Labour Party, the party that is standing up for working people to improve the lives of all," he said.
The Labour leader added that dire predictions for his party's election prospects were the result of both the media and the establishment's refusal to accept an alternative vision for British politics.
"We can’t win, they say, because we don’t play their game," Corbyn said, railing against the "cosy cartel" of career politicians and vested interests who had set up a "rigged system" at the expense of ordinary people.
"We will prove the establishment experts wrong and change the direction of this election."
Politics.co.uk editor Ian Dunt and The Guardian's political reporter Jessica Elgot were among the commentators impressed by Corbyn's official start to the election campaign.
However, The Sun's Westminster correspondent, Harry Cole, was unconvinced by the lack of concrete policy details, while BBC Radio 4's Nick Robinson was also wary of a speech he called "long on passion and short on details".
As Corbyn gave his address, news broke that Fiona MacTaggart will not stand for re-election as MP for Slough. MacTaggart, who says she is "losing her passion for politics", is now the ninth Labour MP to announce she will not stand for re-election in June.
Douglas Carswell, the former UKIP MP turned Independent, also announced this morning he would not be contesting his Clacton seat. Carswell said that victory in the EU referendum was his "job done", and urged his supporters to vote Conservative on 8 June.
General election 2017: Theresa May 'a chicken' for rejecting TV debate
20 April
Theresa May has had an uncomfortable start to the general election campaign after every rival party rounded on her for refusing to take part in a televised debate.
Labour's Jeremy Cobryn, Lib Dem leader Tim Farron and SNP deputy leader Angus Robertson all criticised her decision yesterday - the day MPs backed the Prime Minister's motion to call an election for 8 June.
"If Theresa May is so proud of her record, why won't she debate it?" asked Corbyn.
May repeatedly ruled out taking part in live face-to-face debates in a round of interviews, but her position is looking "increasingly isolated", says the Daily Telegraph.
Both Corbyn and Farron are willing to take part, while a Sky poll suggested 64 per cent of the public believe there should be televised debates between party leaders.
May's refusal also puts her on a "collision course" with the UK's two biggest broadcasters, says the paper. Both the BBC and ITV said they will go ahead with televised debates without her.
"Theresa May is not a huge fan of these sorts of encounters and her team think they open up risks that don't need to be taken," Channel 4 News political editor Gary Gibbon said. "So the 2017 general election will make the 2015 one look like 'access all areas' as far as the Tories are concerned.
"Rather than go down the route of pretending they're longing for such things to happen but the logistics might be tricky they've gone for a more open approach: forget it. Don't expect many press conferences either or extended interviews."
A camera-shy party leader is nothing new - David Cameron refused to debate then Labour leader Ed Miliband during the 2015 general election and also shunned arguing live with the main political parties during the EU referendum. "May is taking this tendency to its absolute extreme, asking the public to vote for her despite her refusal to accept reasonable scrutiny," writes Left Foot Forward.
A Panelbase survey reported by the BBC suggested 38 per cent of voters were influenced by the TV debates in the run-up to the 2015 general election, especially reluctant younger and first-time voters.
Such debates "may be positive for democracy" and May's refusal may be seen as "a bit chicken", but with the Tories so far ahead in the polls, "why would she risk it, and give her opponents a formal platform at the same time?" asks the BBC's Amol Rajan.
General election 2017: MPs back 8 June vote
19 April
MPs have voted in favour of Theresa May's plan for a snap general election on 8 June.
After a heated debate in the Commons, the motion passed by 522 to 13, much more than the two-thirds majority needed to prematurely end parliament's current five-year term.
It paves the way for a ballot that could radically change the electoral map less than two years after the UK last went to the polls.
Although Labour and the Liberal Democrats had pledged not to block the motion, the mood in Westminster was far from united.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn seized on May's previous assertions that she would not call an early election as proof she "cannot be trusted".
Speaking during Prime Minister's Questions, he said: "Over the last seven years, the Tories have broken every promise on living standards, the deficit, debt, the National Health Service and schools funding. Why should anyone believe a word they say over the next seven weeks?"
During the debate that followed, Speaker John Bercow was forced to intervene as Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron was heckled with cries of "Yes or no?" after declining to state whether his party would consider entering another coalition with the Conservatives.
May's decision to bring forward the election by three years has been applauded by the pro-Brexit press, who say it is a chance for the Prime Minister to pursue Brexit on her own terms, unconstrained by so-called "Remoaners".
The Daily Express says an early election will bring Westminster in step with the electorate, says rescuing May from the indignity of "commanding a tiny majority among MPs despite having immense support among members of the public".
Analysts predict the Conservatives could win around 100 more seats, mostly at the expense of the Labour Party, Reuters reports.
Several Labour MPs have already announced they will not contest their seats, including veteran frontbencher Alan Johnson.
What happens now?
The next major step is the dissolution of parliament, which must take place on the 25th working day before any vote, which in this instance is 3 May.
Eligible voters must make sure they are registered before 22 May in order to have their say.
Westminster 'stunned' as Theresa May calls early general election
18 April
What the PM said - and how political analysts responded to news of the 8 June poll
Theresa May has announced she is holding a general election on 8 June – three years before the next one was due.
In an "announcement that stunned Westminster," writes the Daily Telegraph, the Prime Minister held a press conference in front of No 10 in which she called for an end to "uncertainty and instability".
May, who had previously denied she would hold an election before 2020, said she had "concluded the only way to guarantee certainty and security for years ahead is to hold this election".
She "signalled that she will put Brexit at the heart of the election debate", says The Times, saying she was acting now because Labour and the Liberal Democrats opposed the government's plans for leaving the EU.
"The country is coming together but Westminster is not," May said.
"Division in Westminster will risk our ability to make a success of Brexit. Our opponents believe because the government’s majority is so small that our resolve will weaken and that they can force us to change. They are wrong."
She added: "We need a general election and we need one now".
Under the 2010 Fixed-term Parliaments Act, May needs a two-thirds majority in the House of Commons in order to hold a snap election.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said his party would agree to an early vote. It will "give the British people the chance to vote for a government that will put the interests of the majority first", he said.
Tim Farron, Liberal Democrat leader, added that the election was a "chance to change the direction of your country".
If the vote passes, parliament will dissolve on 3 May, 25 working days before the country goes to the polls.
Calling an early election was a "smart move", says Nicholas Wapshott in NewsWeek.
The "most likely outcome" will be that the Tories do well, he adds, which will "send a strong signal to [May's] European counterparts that she leads a country wholly committed to the radical course she is taking".
However, says Stephen Bush in the New Statesman, the general public "tend to resent snap elections and turnout may drop".
He adds: "As the Remain coalition tends to vote more frequently than any other, a low poll could advantage the Liberal Democrats.
"That the result is seen as a foregone conclusion by most increases that risk."
Alex Massie in The Spectator believes the general election will first and foremost be a vote on Scottish independence, saying "May cannot win a mandate for herself while then denying a mandate to the party that wins the Scottish portion of this election."
Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon seemed to take on this line of argument by describing May's decision "a huge political miscalculation."