UK election issues

For the Conservatives, the central message is clear — "Get Brexit Done." They have pledged that Britain will leave the EU on January 31. Labour wants to renegotiate a softer Brexit deal, which it would then put to the people in a second referendum with the option of remaining in the bloc. Should the Liberal Democrats win the election outright, that party says it would cancel Brexit altogether.

The National Health Service was established in 1948 as a free-at-the-point-of-service health care system available to all Britons. Labour is pledging to increase spending on the service by 4.3% and Jeremy Corbyn has accused Boris Johnson of putting the service system "up for sale" in any trade deal with the US. The Conservatives strongly deny this and promise to invest more in the service.

The Liberal Democrats of Jo Swinson (pictured, left) were the only party deemed by Britain's Institute for Fiscal Studies to have a sensible economic manifesto. The party is promoting modest tax rises and spending increases. The Conservative Party wants to invest in public services, while also cutting taxes. Labour promises to "rewrite the rules of the economy so it works for everyone."

Crime and sentencing were always bubbling away at the back as an issue in this election, but the London Bridge attack at the end of November put them back up front. The perpetrator of the attack was released halfway through his sentence under a law introduced by the last Labour government. This was seized upon by Johnson, who has called for sentencing to be tougher.

Green Party leader Caroline Lucas is the party's only member of parliament. The party has the most ambitious target on emissions, seeking to achieve zero net carbon by 2030. The Conservatives have the least ambitious target of any major party — to become carbon neutral by 2050. The Lib Dems are aiming for 2045, while Labour is looking at the mid-2030s.

Although a 2014 referendum about whether Scotland should be independent was deemed a once-in-a-generation event, things have changed. The major argument against breaking up the union was that it would leave Scotland outside the European Union. Brexit changed all that. Most voters north of the border wanted to stay in the EU, and now feel they are being pulled out of the bloc against their will.