Election Live - 31 March

Labour's press team have taken to Twitter to give the party's reaction to a letter from 100 business leaders backing the Conservatives.

"No one will be surprised that some business people support the Tories. That's nothing new," says a spokesman.

"The recovery may have reached big firms in the City but it hasn't reached homes of working people. Labour's job is to stand up for them."

More on the letter from 100 business leaders, backing Conservative policy. The tycoons highlight George Osborne's policy of steadily lowering corporation tax to 20%.

"The result is that Britain grew faster than any other major economy last year and businesses like ours have created over 1.85 million new jobs.

"We believe a change in course will threaten jobs and deter investment. This would send a negative message about Britain and put the recovery at risk," says the letter to the Telegraph .

Signatories include BP chief executive Bob Dudley, Prudential chief executive Tidjane Thiam and George Weston, chief executive of Associated British Foods which owns the Primark, Silver Spoon and Ovaltine brands. Sir Charles Dunstone, the chairman of Dixons Carphone and Talk Talk plc, and Duncan Bannatyne, a former star of Dragons' Den also put their names to the letter.

Ed Miliband's zero hours announcement has split opinion.

Paul Kenny, general secretary of the GMB union, said: "At long last the damage of zero-hours contracts is to be addressed. This news will be welcomed by the tens of thousands of people for whom the world of work is a daily lottery."

TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady said: "Exploitative zero-hours contracts are a gift for bad employers who can effectively hire and fire staff at will."

The CBI - sometimes described as the bosses' union - is less impressed with Mr Miliband's policy.

CBI Director General John Cridland said: "The UK’s flexible jobs market has given us an employment rate that is the envy of other countries, so proposals to limit flexible contracts to 12 weeks are wide of the mark.

“Of course action should be taken to tackle abuses, but demonising flexible contracts is playing with the jobs that many firms and many workers value and need.

"These proposals run the risk of a return to day-to-day hiring in parts of the economy, with lower stability for workers and fewer opportunities for people to break out of low pay.”

The Conservatives have hit back at Ed Miliband's plans for a crackdown on zero hours contracts. A spokesman said: "Zero hours contracts account for just one in 50 jobs in our economy, this government has already banned the abusive ones - and all the while Labour presided over zero hours contracts with no safeguards for three terms and 13 years while they were in power.

"The fact is that three quarters of the new jobs since this government came to office are full time – these are families across the country getting into work with the security of a regular pay packet".

‘

Nick Clegg claims the Conservatives have an "ideological fatwa" against new wind farms The Lib Dem leader said the Conservatives had "abandoned" their commitment to green issues. He added: "They appear to have absolutely no interest in the environment whatsoever - in fact some of the most time-consuming battles I have been absorbed with over the last five years are stopping, particularly the Treasury, from tearing up the government's basic commitments to renewable energy and to a sustainable energy policy."

Quote Message: More than a hundred of Britain's leading company bosses, many of them household names, employing collectively half a million people have written a letter to the Daily Telegraph publicly endorsing the Conservatives and their economic policy.

More than a hundred of Britain's leading company bosses, many of them household names, employing collectively half a million people have written a letter to the Daily Telegraph publicly endorsing the Conservatives and their economic policy.

Ed Miliband's big campaigning theme on Wednesday will be zero-hours contracts. He will pledge legislation to ban such contracts for employees who are, in practice, working regular hours in the first year of a Labour government.

And he will seize on David Cameron's admission, in his TV clash with Jeremy Paxman, that he could not live on a zero hours contract. Speaking at one of his People's Question Time events, in Yorkshire, the Labour leader will say:"If it’s not good enough for him, it’s not good enough for you. And it’s not good enough for Britain either.

"These zero hours contracts have become a symbol of the Tories’ failing economy with stagnant wages and falling productivity leaving a recovery which isn’t reaching your front door and a deficit still at Downing Street’s door."

BBC polling expert David Cowling says: YouGov’s first poll, following their Sunday 4% Labour lead, had Conservative and Labour level-pegging on 35%; and TNS had the Conservatives one point ahead of Labour (33% v 32%) with UKIP on 16% - their highest figure in a campaign poll so far. A ComRes poll of 40 Labour seats in Scotland confirmed other national polls, with a 19% swing from Labour to the SNP. There was better news for Labour in two London-wide polls. ComRes had Labour on 46% and YouGov on 45%, with the Conservatives hovering around their 2010 share of 34%. ComRes represented a 5.5% swing to Labour and YouGov a swing of 4%. The Lib Dems were down from 22% in 2010 to 8% now. UKIP continued to underperform in London with around 8-9%; and the Greens will be disappointed that they were on 4% in both polls in a city where they have performed better than average in the past. For a more in depth look check out our poll tracker.

UKIP's national organiser in Wales has stepped down two days into the general election campaign. John Atkinson, who holds other positions in the party, told BBC Wales he needed to reduce his workload. Read more here .

The Scottish Conservatives have put the boot into the Lib Dems, following the latest ComRes poll showing a 19 point swing from Labour to the SNP. The Conservatives are marginally down on 13%, with the Lib Dems on 2%. "This poll confirms even more emphatically that the Lib Dems are finished in Scotland," says a Tory spokesman..

tweets : Worth remembering: 'in every election since 1992 the post-election budget has had big tax rises.' Institute for Fiscal Studies #election2015

tweets: You should be watching Free Speech on BBC Three with @TinaDaheley and @rickedwards1

Norman Lamb tells the BBC 3 Free Speech audience that the way parties are financed currently is "an outrage". The Liberal Democrats, he says, have tried throughout the Parliament to get agreement to limit donations. He accuses the Tories of trying to "buy" seats.

Norman Lamb does not rule out a bid for his party's leadership when a vacancy arises, which he is sure it will at some point. But he tells the 'free speech' audience he would have to think hard about the impact it would have on his family.

Not surprisingly Norman Lamb is getting a hard time over the Lib Dems' broken promise on student fees. He says it was a "big mistake" to make the promise and the party has "taken a hit" - but it was the right thing to do in the national interest. Fees mean "universities will be forced to listen to students about the sort of education they want," he argues.

UKIP's Diane James doesn't agree with Nigel Farage on another issue it seems. The UKIP leader has said he believes the current laws on hand guns should be relaxed. Ms James - who is UKIP's home affairs spokeswoman - says the current legislation should remain in place and should even be strengthened. It does not seem as if she has much influence over her party's leader, points out one audience member.

The UKIP MEP Diane James has said she has "no issue at all" with hearing people speaking foreign languages while travelling on a train. The MEP was challenged on the BBC 3 Free Speech programme about remarks made by UKIP leader Nigel Farage to the effect that he wished he could hear an English voice on the train. Ms James said she had "absolutely no view" about Mr Farage's comments.

Lib Dem MP Norman Lamb is now facing questions from young people.

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tweets: If only the studio audience for Cameron and Miliband had been as lively as the one on @bbcthree 's #freespeech now.

For the course of the general election campaign, BBC Newsnight each evening will be publishing an exclusive Newsnight Index on the likely outcome, based on a sophisticated forecast model. It is produced by Professor Chris Hanretty from the University of East Anglia and his colleagues at electionforecast.co.uk. For more information on how the Index is produced, see here.

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BBCCopyright: BBC

UKIP MEP Diane James is answering young peoples' questions live now.

BBCCopyright: BBC

A general election candidate has faced criticism on social media for telling a woman in a gay marriage that he did not want to hear from her again. Peterborough Conservative Stewart Jackson sent the response to constituent Laura O'Sullivan after she messaged him to say she would not vote for him. Social media consultant Sue Llewellyn said the message was "stupid". Mr Jackson has been unavailable to comment on the exchange. Read the full story here.

David Cameron appears to have contradicted senior Metropolitan Police officers by suggesting the east London schoolgirls who fled to Syria could face criminal charges if they choose to return to the UK. Asked what would happen to the girls, who are thought to have joined Islamic State, should they ever try to return, he told BBC London: "Whoever has gone out to join a terrorist organisation is breaking the law and has to face the consequences of breaking the law.

"We have to let the law take its course in the proper way."

Earlier this month, Metropolitan Police commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe said the Bethnal Green Academy pupils would not face terrorism charges if they came back.

For readers in a hurry .

tweets : The Tories will launch their election manifesto on April 13. #GE2015

The election campaign has been been under way for about 24 hours but some potential voters may not be excited by five more weeks of politics. Daily Politics reporter Ellie Price took the mood box - an unscientific test with a box with plastic balls - to see whether the public thought the campaign and election would make any difference to them. Watch what voters have to say

BBCCopyright: BBC

Some reaction to the latest Comres poll predicting a 19 point swing from Labour to the SNP in Scotland.Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy says the poll shows some improvement for his party but they were not getting carried away. "We are back in the fight but we are still the underdogs. If this poll is repeated on election day it could hand the keys to Downing Street back to David Cameron", he says.

SNP campaign director Angus Robertson said the poll was "welcome" but the party wasn't taking anything for granted. He also claims more SNP MPs will be good for the whole of the UK. "By electing more anti-Tory MPs than Tory MPs we can lock David Cameron out of Downing Street - and put an end to the ideological commitment to austerity which is hurting communities across Scotland and elsewhere in the UK.".

Using alcohol causes violence and crime, unlike cannabis, said the leader of Cannabis is Safer than Alcohol Party (CISTA), which is fielding candidates in the general election. Paul Birch said he would prefer his own adult children to use the drug, rather than drink wine. Watch his interview with Andrew Neil

bbcCopyright: bbc

Plaid Cymru has unveiled its general election manifesto and pledged to be a "very real alternative" to what it claimed was the austerity consensus from Westminster. Leader Leanne Wood spoke about the party's poll ratings compared to UKIP, and its stance over potentially working with a minority Labour government, despite Plaid's refusal to back the renewal of Trident nuclear weapons. She claimed Labour was trying to "frighten people" and said she would not "prop up" a Conservative government. Watch her interview

BBCCopyright: BBC

A poll released tonight suggests a 19 point swing from Labour to the SNP in Scotland. If translated into votes, the SNP would be on course to take 28 of Labour's 40 Scottish seats. .

Appearing live on #BBCAskThis, Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude says one of the biggest priorities for a majority Conservative government will be maintaining the Trident nuclear programme. "There cannot be any higher priority than the security and safety of this nation," he said. "Continuing an independent nuclear deterrent is absolutely essential to that," added Mr Maude, who has served as a minister under Thatcher, Major and Cameron, but is standing down as an MP.

BBC News website reader:

SMS Message: I work in the NHS as a paramedic and I definitely feel hammered over the last 4 years don't feel better off at all. Thank you Mr Cameron.

I work in the NHS as a paramedic and I definitely feel hammered over the last 4 years don't feel better off at all. Thank you Mr Cameron.

tweets:

Quote Message: David Cameron tells Heat magazine “i’m a man, I can’t do two things at once.” Like chop carrots in kitchen while giving interviews?

David Cameron tells Heat magazine “i’m a man, I can’t do two things at once.” Like chop carrots in kitchen while giving interviews?

BBC News website reader:

SMS Message: Labour keep saying they will increase wages, how do they expect businesses to pay for it? An extra £1 an hour per employee on a 40 hour week will cost an employer approx an extra £2400 a year.

Labour keep saying they will increase wages, how do they expect businesses to pay for it? An extra £1 an hour per employee on a 40 hour week will cost an employer approx an extra £2400 a year.

Les:

SMS Message: When deciding retirement age why is geographical location of state pensioners not considered and variable rates applied? My reason for asking is in looking at my primary school photograph of the Glasgow, Shettleston class of 1955 (year 1) only 2% (or 6) are alive in April 2015. Similar in most working class areas in Scotland, meaning no pension yet lifetime payments. Rip-off.

When deciding retirement age why is geographical location of state pensioners not considered and variable rates applied? My reason for asking is in looking at my primary school photograph of the Glasgow, Shettleston class of 1955 (year 1) only 2% (or 6) are alive in April 2015. Similar in most working class areas in Scotland, meaning no pension yet lifetime payments. Rip-off.

Two days into the election campaign and Nigel Farage appears to be taking it easy, writes the BBC's UKIP Campaign Correspondent Robin Brant  There has been no obvious door-knocking, or public events - instead the UKIP leader has been turning up, answering some reporters' questions, and leaving. Perhaps he doesn't want to bore people, or thinks people won't take any notice of the election until after Easter.

A number of "celebrities" have stepped into the political ring today - adding a bit of colour and amusement to debates over health and living standards. The Only Way is Essex star Joey Essex revealed he thought Nick Clegg's party was called the "Liberal Democats", prompting the party to change its logo to a cat. Labour, meanwhile, has been given a boost from the Hobbit and Sherlock star Martin Freeman, who appears in a broadcast to say: “Really, for me, there’s only one choice, and I choose Labour.” But not everyone agrees with Freeman. Sun columnist Katie Hopkins took to Twitter to say she will leave the UK if Labour leader Ed Miliband is elected PM.

Shadow chancellor Ed Balls says he does not ever think he'll be leader of the Labour Party "and that's fine". But in a wide-ranging interview with the Evening Standard, the 2010 leadership contender said he would back his wife, Yvette Cooper, for the top job. "She'd do it brilliantly because she's a class act," he said, but added: "I don't want the issue to arise because I want Ed to win." Mr Balls also revealed that his family made clothes out of curtains when they joined a Sound of Music tour in Salzburg last summer.

Quote Message: You can do four-hour bicycle tours of all the Sound of Music sights. And we not only did it, we made headscarves and neckerchiefs out of an old curtain material, to fully commit to the role. from Ed Balls Shadow chancellor

You can do four-hour bicycle tours of all the Sound of Music sights. And we not only did it, we made headscarves and neckerchiefs out of an old curtain material, to fully commit to the role.

Jeremy Vine  posts on vine: More rehearsals as we warm up the BBC graphics  #Vineonvine#GE2015 ~I dream of green~

tweets:

Quote Message: Just saw pix of me sitting next to Joey Essex at Lib Dem presser this morning - reem #GE2015

Just saw pix of me sitting next to Joey Essex at Lib Dem presser this morning - reem #GE2015

Mind, the mental health charity, has welcomed Nick Clegg's pledge to spend an extra £3.5bn on the issue over six years - and hopes other major parties will follow suit. Mind chief executive Paul Farmer said: "One in four of us will experience a mental health problem each year, so every parliamentary candidate from every party needs to accept and embrace mental health as a key issue for their constituency."

Quote Message: Poor mental health is becoming a national crisis. At a time when demand has never been greater, we know that severe cuts to mental health services, prolonged waiting times and a lack of choice in treatments are making things worse for people living with mental health problems. from Paul Farmer Mind

Poor mental health is becoming a national crisis. At a time when demand has never been greater, we know that severe cuts to mental health services, prolonged waiting times and a lack of choice in treatments are making things worse for people living with mental health problems.

Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls says David Cameron is "a bit of a troll". In a wide-ranging interview for the Evening Standard, Mr Balls claimed "most Tories don't do nasty", but Mr Cameron "has made politics nastier". He said the PM "lashes out in a personal way", and is "not popular with women". "The way he talked to Nadine Dorries, and said 'Calm down dear' to Angela Eagle - it reflects something. David Cameron is a bit of a troll. Look at the Conservative Party and the way they operated on Twitter for the first half of the Parliament, they were very trolling, as in officially trolling. It was a reflection of David Cameron."

tweets:

Quote Message: Micky Ashcroft is 100/1 to be next Tory Leader @LordAshcroft

Micky Ashcroft is 100/1 to be next Tory Leader @LordAshcroft

tweets:

Quote Message: Good on my former boss, @LordAshcroft - others should follow his lead and retire from the Lords. I doubt many will

Good on my former boss, @LordAshcroft - others should follow his lead and retire from the Lords. I doubt many will

tweets:

Quote Message: Retired Lords keep their title and can use the facilities of the House should they wish to.

Retired Lords keep their title and can use the facilities of the House should they wish to.

tweets:

Quote Message: Lord Ashcroft quits the Lords. Right decision. But it’s an outdated anachronism. When 800 more resign i’ll get excited

Lord Ashcroft quits the Lords. Right decision. But it’s an outdated anachronism. When 800 more resign i’ll get excited

tweets:

@nick_cleggCopyright: @nick_clegg

ReutersCopyright: Reuters

Conservative Lord Ashcroft says he is standing down as a UK peer. In a statement, he said that Baroness D'Souza, the Lord Speaker, had mentioned that any Member of the House of Lords who can "no longer contribute meaningfully" should retire. She added that since the House has close to 800 members, "retirement at the right time should be seen as a condition of membership of the House of Lords - a duty as well as a right." 

Quote Message: I agree with the Speaker, and have concluded that my other activities do not permit me to devote the time that membership of the Lords properly requires. Accordingly, I have today written to the Clerk of the Parliaments giving notice of my resignation from the House of Lords with immediate effect.... I will continue my involvement in politics through Lord Ashcroft Polls and my political publishing interests." from Lord Ashcroft

I agree with the Speaker, and have concluded that my other activities do not permit me to devote the time that membership of the Lords properly requires. Accordingly, I have today written to the Clerk of the Parliaments giving notice of my resignation from the House of Lords with immediate effect.... I will continue my involvement in politics through Lord Ashcroft Polls and my political publishing interests."

tweets:

Quote Message: Lord Ashcroft is retiring from the House of Lords. Will many others take advantage of the new right to step down?

Lord Ashcroft is retiring from the House of Lords. Will many others take advantage of the new right to step down?

Alison, Scotland:

SMS Message: Do they think it is fair that Scottish people who own a 2nd property are charged double Council Tax on the 2nd property while the Scottish non-payers of the 25 year old Poll Tax have had their debts written off? Why are these stealth taxes approved by Scot Gov for property owners while those who appear to hate any Westminster gov decisions are allowed off 'Scot Free' with their debts?

Do they think it is fair that Scottish people who own a 2nd property are charged double Council Tax on the 2nd property while the Scottish non-payers of the 25 year old Poll Tax have had their debts written off? Why are these stealth taxes approved by Scot Gov for property owners while those who appear to hate any Westminster gov decisions are allowed off 'Scot Free' with their debts?

Eric, Bradford

Email Message: The main parties need to put their cards (actual figures) on the table or further disillusioned voters will move towards the smaller alternative party.

The main parties need to put their cards (actual figures) on the table or further disillusioned voters will move towards the smaller alternative party.

@nick_clegg/PACopyright: @nick_clegg/PA

BBC picture editor Phil Coomes has compiled the top campaign photos from today so far.

BBC News website reader:

SMS Message: Both major parties say no increase in VAT rate but I have not heard them say they will not add VAT onto goods such as food, childrens clothes etc which are VAT free.

Both major parties say no increase in VAT rate but I have not heard them say they will not add VAT onto goods such as food, childrens clothes etc which are VAT free.

It’s time for your early team of Alex Stevenson and Victoria King to wrap up after another alarmingly hectic day of campaigning. Surely they can’t keep up this pace for another 37 days? Here’s some of the things we’ve learned today:

• The living standards debate is continuing to rage despite new positive economic figures (10.09 and 14.21)
• Plaid Cymru will not prop up a government that supports the renewal of Britain’s nuclear weapons (09.26)
• Nigel Farage does think immigration should be capped after all – his figure is, roughly speaking, 30,000 (12.35)
• Joey Essex thinks Nick Clegg’s party is called the Liberal Democats – prompting an instant name change (11.43 and 15.33)
• The prime minister thinks Harry Styles is the most attractive member of One Direction (06.51)

There is much, much more actually – the only reasonable thing to do is to go back through every single post we’ve written today. And then carry on reading until midnight, of course, in the capable hands of Tim Fenton and Brian Wheeler.

tweets: . @Plaid_Cymru correct, #Wales gets £351 less govt cash per head than #Scotland , but still more than #England . All considerably less than #NI

tweets a link to Daily Mail article :

Quote Message: Camye? Hell yeah! Cameron proud of family link to KimK.

Camye? Hell yeah! Cameron proud of family link to KimK.

BBCCopyright: BBC

Not everyone, it’s fair to say, has been impressed by the Conservatives’ election campaign thus far. Writing in today’s Independent, Steve Richards says David Cameron would have been “taken aback” if he’d been told he’d be fighting this campaign the way he is. “Perhaps he is very slightly taken aback now, which is partly why he inadvertently spoke of his retirement, and performed awkwardly, during the Paxman interrogation,” he writes. Lobbyist Peter Bingle goes much further, attacking the Tories’ broader campaign as “terrible” and “shambolic” in a blog for Total Politics. “Not to win a majority against Gordon Brown was bad enough. Not to win a majority against Ed Miliband, a man who makes Michael Foot look normal, would be unforgivable.”

tweets:

Quote Message: Will #GE2015 election campaign make any difference to voters?@EllieJPrice hears what some say in #bbcdp film: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2015-32132686?ns_mchannel=social&ns_campaign=daily_politics&ns_source=twitter&ns_linkname=news_central

Will #GE2015 election campaign make any difference to voters?@EllieJPrice hears what some say in #bbcdp film: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2015-32132686?ns_mchannel=social&ns_campaign=daily_politics&ns_source=twitter&ns_linkname=news_central

tweets:

Quote Message: How do you register to vote? @ArifBBC has this 2 minute video #ge2015: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2015-england-32079713

How do you register to vote? @ArifBBC has this 2 minute video #ge2015: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2015-england-32079713

There's been lots of economic news today. Here's the lead story written by our business colleagues, featuring analysis from Robert Peston.

writes:

Quote Message: Ed Balls gives speech in graveyard about Labour’s help for small business

Ed Balls gives speech in graveyard about Labour’s help for small business

Lib DemsCopyright: Lib Dems

Election campaigns have a habit of flirting with celebrity... This one is proving to be no different. This morning the Liberal Democrats welcomed Joey Essex into their news conference with open arms. The reality TV star is apparently making a programme in which he learns about politics, and who better to teach him than the deputy prime minister? Although apparently he thought Nick Clegg had the title of 'the Commander' and was actually called 'Nick Leg'. Those mistakes rectified, they seemed to get on like a house on fire. What is more, in an interview with the BBC afterwards the always fashionable Joey Essex revealed that looks-wise Nick Clegg was "alright". For a politician that seems like quite an accolade from one of the perma-tanned stars of the 'Only Way is Essex'.

Mr Clegg watched the video on board the party's battle bus and said it showed Joey to be "a man of taste". One thing did threaten this bromance though... Joey thought the Liberal Democrats were called the Liberal Demo-cats. However, the party have embraced this new view of politics. They've changed the party's name for the day on their website complete with a new feline logo.

Joey might well view that as 'reem'... Whatever that means.

APCopyright: AP

Nigel Farage swept in and out of a blustery press call in the shadow of the white cliffs of Dover. The UKIP leader - helped along by a backdrop of party activists - unveiled a poster attacking the Conservatives' record on immigration, in response to which the Tories said UKIP’s policy was in “chaos”. An initially well-behaved press pack soon descended into a gentle scrum, with Mr Farage directed towards one camera than another for a series of interviews. He announced new target immigration figures, was challenged over his views on migrants with long-term illnesses and set an ambitious timeframe to get immigration down. Then time for a coffee – not a pint – in a local pub before Mr Farage was whisked away again. A picturesque media opportunity, but one that revealed little more about UKIP’s immigration policy other than the obvious fact it’s central to their campaign. The symbolic location, with the shadow of France on the horizon, was deliberately chosen by Team UKIP to keep Britain’s relationship with the continent at the forefront of people’s minds. Although – perhaps ironically – it also caused some mobile phones to switch to French networks in order to function.

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Politicians are getting away with awkward questions about the internet, Baroness Martha Lane Fox said in her Dimbleby lecture last night. "Politicians and business leaders are getting away with all this because you're not asking the tricky questions," she said. "No more about the price of milk - what about the price of broadband?" Our technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones has written a blog about the issue he suggests should be much, much higher up the political agenda as he asks: Will it be a tech election?

bbcCopyright: bbc

The UK state is "relatively large compared to the overall size of the economy" says Mike Jakeman, of the Economic Intelligence Unit. He was speaking to Jo Coburn on the Daily Politics about how Britain shaped up alongside other economies. Watch the interview

tweets:

Quote Message: Guest appearance by @normanlamb #electioncountdownerer"

Guest appearance by @normanlamb #electioncountdownerer"

BBCCopyright: BBC

Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

Today’s papers feature some rather scathing comments from the BBC’s Andrew Marr, who wasn’t very impressed with Jeremy Paxman’s technique in last week’s Battle For Number 10 programme. The ex-Newsnight presenter’s approach is shaped by the fact he is a “genuinely tortured, angry individual”, Marr said. "He looks disdainful and contemptuous and furious with his guests because he by and large is. You can't fake these things on television,” he told an LSE audience. “No disrespect to Jeremy Paxman, but it would have been a lot more interesting had it been head-to-head.” Ed Miliband won audience applause in last week’s exchanges when he told Paxman: “Jeremy, you're important, but you're not that important.”

Election Live reader:

Email Message: Sainsbury's are currently in the process of making 500 staff redundant in the IT departments, and relocating other positions out of London, to Coventry and Manchester (leading to further redundancies for colleagues unable to make the move). Against this, the supposed 480 'new jobs' is a net loss in every sense and is hardly a great example of Cameron's pledge on new jobs being created.

Sainsbury's are currently in the process of making 500 staff redundant in the IT departments, and relocating other positions out of London, to Coventry and Manchester (leading to further redundancies for colleagues unable to make the move). Against this, the supposed 480 'new jobs' is a net loss in every sense and is hardly a great example of Cameron's pledge on new jobs being created.

bbcCopyright: bbc

The Daily Politics' Andrew Neil thinks the campaign has "not started well" for the leaders of Westminster's three largest parties. Watch his daily report

tweets:

Quote Message: Clegg asked lib-lab coalition. "I take a pragmatic approach. It's not about my feelings, whims or wishes. It's about democracy."

Clegg asked lib-lab coalition. "I take a pragmatic approach. It's not about my feelings, whims or wishes. It's about democracy."

BBCCopyright: BBC

Nick Clegg is enjoying himself on the campaign trail at Panasonic in Pentwyn, busily attempting to destroy electronic products. “The thrill of just dropping a tablet into a bucket of water in your testing centre has been very exciting -I never thought I’d do that,” he tells reporters. Mr Clegg backs manufacturing as part of a broader British economy. “If you look at what’s happened over the last several years, things went horribly wrong in the run-up to the crash in 2008 precisely because we over-relied on one Square Mile,” he says. And then our feed goes down. Presumably because someone dropped it in a bucket of water.

BBCCopyright: BBC

While the trade unions might be expected to welcome the prospect of two million more jobs by 2020, they're not impressed with such a pledge coming from the Conservatives:

• TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady (above) says “savage spending cuts” will “suck demand out of the economy”, making it “hard to see” where those jobs will come from
• GMB leader Paul Kenny says “Cameron’s claim completely lacks credibility”
• Shopworkers’ union Usdaw’s leader John Hannett warns that the new jobs will have to “provide people with stability at work and a regular income”

• Mick Cash, leader of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union, says the Tories' pledge is “total nonsense”

Quote Message: The Labour Party has already announced £4bn or £5bn of tax increases. They've announced a £3bn tax increase on pensions, a £1bn tax increase in terms of the mansion tax and they've spent that already, so if they want to do more in terms of the deficit reduction from taxes they've got to do more on the tax side." from Paul Johnson Institute for Fiscal Studies

The Labour Party has already announced £4bn or £5bn of tax increases. They've announced a £3bn tax increase on pensions, a £1bn tax increase in terms of the mansion tax and they've spent that already, so if they want to do more in terms of the deficit reduction from taxes they've got to do more on the tax side."

The Conservative pledge to find an extra £5bn by tackling aggressive tax avoiders has been cast into doubt by the respected Institute for Fiscal Studies think-tank. Its director, Paul Johnson, has told Sky News that number is “very flaky”. "Given the scale of spending cuts they'll otherwise require they must be at least thinking about tax rises," he added. This comes only a day after the IFS called Tory suggestions of a £3,000 tax hike under Labour "unhelpful".

tweets:

Quote Message: How much better off are British households compared with May 2010, after taxes, benefits, interest and inflation? Around 70p per week"

How much better off are British households compared with May 2010, after taxes, benefits, interest and inflation? Around 70p per week"

PACopyright: PA

Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy has pledged to end the need for food banks in Scotland, outlining plans for a £175m anti-poverty fund. “Nothing makes me angrier about the Tory government and its austerity policies, than the sight of children queueing for food hand-outs,” Mr Murphy says. “If it was not for the generosity of their fellow Scots, tens of thousands of people, including thousands of children, would be going hungry tonight."

We've had a slightly muddling few days on Conservative health policy. Over the weekend, via a Sunday Times interview, Jeremy Hunt, health secretary, pledged to meet the budgetary demands made by Simon Stevens, the NHS chief executive. Mr Stevens said that, left unchanged, the NHS would need another £30bn by 2020. But he proposed that if the NHS were given £8bn a year by 2020, the NHS could reform itself, and keep running within that budget.

But, on the Today programme this morning, David Cameron seemed sceptical about the financial commitment. It is worth checking Mr Hunt's small print to see why. Mr Hunt told the Sunday Times that the Stevens plan would be funded, although he noted: “The gap might be more than £8bn, it might be less”. The final figures would, Mr Hunt said, need to be checked over and would be finalised after the election.

Fixing a sum for the NHS budget now would open further questions for the Tories. For example, what is going to happen with defence? What about social care? These are all pretty big areas of policies that are fighting over a tight budget.

So what can we say with certainty? Not much, but I think it’s fair to assume that £8bn is a reasonable working estimate for now of what the Conservatives will end up putting in.

The Rev Richard James, Harrogate, North Yorkshire:

Email Message: I have several disabilities. For many like me the countdown to Polling Day is inaccurate and misleading. We shall already have voted by post. Subsequent party political broadcasts, doorstep literature and offers of lifts immediately become a wasteful irrelevance. If our leaders find it difficult to stand comparison side by side, could their Manifestos be reviewed in a programme alongside each other, please?

I have several disabilities. For many like me the countdown to Polling Day is inaccurate and misleading. We shall already have voted by post. Subsequent party political broadcasts, doorstep literature and offers of lifts immediately become a wasteful irrelevance. If our leaders find it difficult to stand comparison side by side, could their Manifestos be reviewed in a programme alongside each other, please?

BBCCopyright: BBC

Chris Leslie, the shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, offers a moment of striking optimism about the political arts while being interviewed on the BBC News Channel. “You’ve got to expect this from politicians,” he says. “You’re going to get a lot of statistics bandied around.” He is not wrong. But actually this moment of striking openness is all for a political purpose, as he’s targeting the Conservatives’ triumphalism about the economy. “When you look at David Cameron’s pledge in that manifesto in 2010 he promised strong and sustained rises in living standards. Has he really fulfilled that? The answer is no.”

tweets:

Quote Message: Tory job plans are "totally meaningless" – they let company bosses fire workers at will

Tory job plans are "totally meaningless" – they let company bosses fire workers at will

An intriguing follow-up line from our correspondent Chris Buckler, who's with the Lib Dem leader. 

Quote Message: Nick Clegg is in Panasonic now. And he's about to toss pancakes."

Nick Clegg is in Panasonic now. And he's about to toss pancakes."

George Osborne made pizza earlier so perhaps there's a theme developing. We'll keep you posted...

PACopyright: PA

Here’s a bit more from Nick Clegg on his expectations ahead of this Thursday’s TV debate. The last time something like this happened, after all, the resulting "Cleggmania" helped the Lib Dems to a 23% vote share. "Last time nobody really knew who I was so I didn't have that much to lose,” he’s told journalists on the party’s battle bus. “But I've not much to lose this time." He said while there was a lot of froth around the debates, it wasn't a beauty contest and viewers would make up their own minds after listening to the discussion.

Sam Marner, Sheffield:

Email Message: Wish people would stop saying that we have to work on economy first & NHS second, they don't seem to realise that the NHS keeping workers healthy is a huge factor in economic stability. The Government recording marginal economic growth doesn't exonerate it from mass NHS privatisation and an A&E crisis.

Wish people would stop saying that we have to work on economy first & NHS second, they don't seem to realise that the NHS keeping workers healthy is a huge factor in economic stability. The Government recording marginal economic growth doesn't exonerate it from mass NHS privatisation and an A&E crisis.

If we end up with a hung parliament - and few now deny that is not a very strong possibility - there’s a chance we might end up with a minority government rather than another coalition. Such an administration could get quite a lot done, former civil service chief Sir Gus O’Donnell says. Foreign policy can be conducted, departmental budgets can be allocated “in various ways”. The only real headache is winning votes in the Commons. “What you can’t do is big tax or benefit changes, changes to regulations, things which require a change to the law,” he says. “But I stress there are lots of ways you can influence behaviour that aren’t necessarily about legislation. Having smaller amounts of legislation with a strong cross-party consensus might lead to better laws.”

Jamie from Mold, Wales:

Email Message: All this talk of economic progress may be true in cities, bit from rural areas where I'm from unemployment is rising. Very rarely hear about a leader who is interested in the smaller parts of the country.

All this talk of economic progress may be true in cities, bit from rural areas where I'm from unemployment is rising. Very rarely hear about a leader who is interested in the smaller parts of the country.

Malcolm Bruce, the deputy Liberal Democrat leader, rejects UKIP’s claim that it would be wrong to deny EU citizens living in the UK a say in any EU in-or-out referendum. “If they’re resident in the UK they’re already on the electoral register and can vote in European elections, they can vote in devolved administration elections,” he tells The World at One. “In our view it’s perfectly right and proper they should be free to do so."

Who actually gets to vote in an in-out referendum on Europe? According to a newspaper report the Liberal Democrats might only support a poll in a renewed Tory-Lib Dem coalition if EU nationals living in the UK were enfranchised. This, unsurprisingly, has upset UKIP. “I think we’re seeing the lid lifted on the way establishment politics is done in this country,” Patrick O'Flynn tells The World at One. “They’re planning a rigged referendum.” Scroll down in our story on UKIP’sposter launch today for more details.

tweets:

Quote Message: Population is now 64,724,000 (ONS) - two million more than when the Coaliton took power - helps explain growth, productivity, jobs data."

Population is now 64,724,000 (ONS) - two million more than when the Coaliton took power - helps explain growth, productivity, jobs data."

Sri, Ilford, London:

Email Message: I agree with Labour leader that people are worseoff. I live in London, traveling increased year on year by 2-9%, house prices by 9-16% and house renting was gone by 10% but my pay increased by 2.25%. What did the government do to stop this?

I agree with Labour leader that people are worseoff. I live in London, traveling increased year on year by 2-9%, house prices by 9-16% and house renting was gone by 10% but my pay increased by 2.25%. What did the government do to stop this?

tweets:

Quote Message: Ukip's @oflynnmep urges Cameron to rule out Lib Dem calls for 16-year-olds and EU citizens living here to be given vote in EU referendum"

Ukip's @oflynnmep urges Cameron to rule out Lib Dem calls for 16-year-olds and EU citizens living here to be given vote in EU referendum"

James Nixon, Stafford:

Email Message: Cameron, Clegg and the Coalition deserve credit. No one thought it would last, but it did and they really have turned this country around from the brink. Labour simply can't be trusted with the economy. They don't get it - with a strong economy you get a stronger NHS.

Cameron, Clegg and the Coalition deserve credit. No one thought it would last, but it did and they really have turned this country around from the brink. Labour simply can't be trusted with the economy. They don't get it - with a strong economy you get a stronger NHS.

VariousCopyright: Various

Here’s some more details on Thursday’s TV debate to whet your appetite.

• There’ll be enough time for a “proper free flowing debate between the leaders” on four substantial topics
• The politically balanced and demographically representative audience of 200 people has been chosen by polling company ICM
• Around 20% of the audience will be "undecided" voters
• The leaders will be on camera for two long, long hours with just one break to relieve… er… the tension.

And there’s even more of this kind of thing on the ITV website.

George, 15, Farnham:

Email Message: Why not give somebody that is actually well informed and interested in politics the chance to interview Nick Clegg? As the campaign trail gathers in momentum its looking like the party leaders are becoming increasingly successful in alienating the public.

Why not give somebody that is actually well informed and interested in politics the chance to interview Nick Clegg? As the campaign trail gathers in momentum its looking like the party leaders are becoming increasingly successful in alienating the public.

The economic to-and-fro continues on The World at One, now focusing on the welfare budget. Why won’t the Conservatives provide more details? “We have been clear about the principles behind how we will find those savings,” Priti Patel says. It’s about making work pay, she insists. Shabana Mahmood says Labour will look at the link between the “overall health of the economy” and people’s living standards. Both parties have been criticised today for not being open enough about their spending cut plans.

tweets:

Quote Message: Labour's decision to focus on business looks like pre-emptive attempt to limit damage from inevitable Tory-supporting letter."

Labour's decision to focus on business looks like pre-emptive attempt to limit damage from inevitable Tory-supporting letter."

AFPCopyright: AFP

“It’s about working with businesses rather than lecturing businesses,” Conservative Treasury minister Priti Patel says on The World at One. Her Labour shadow, Shabana Mahmood, says “there is a difference between talking the economy down and telling it like it is”. She says figures from the last Autumn Statement showed that “people are simply not earning enough”.

tweets:

Quote Message: Will Trident come up on Thursday night? Will be interesting if it does with three of the leaders on stage committed to scrapping it

Will Trident come up on Thursday night? Will be interesting if it does with three of the leaders on stage committed to scrapping it

BBCCopyright: BBC

“People are not feeling the recovery that we’ve seen in the macro economy,” Labour’s Shabana Mahmood tells The World At One. She agrees with ComRes’ Andrew Hawkins that voter perceptions about the improving economy won’t resonate with voters. “The real problem the Conservatives have on the economy is not economic growth - it’s that too many people in the country outside London don’t feel the benefits,” he says. Treasury minister Priti Patel says it’s “deeply frustrating” that people are “talking down to the British public about the type of work they’re doing… it is not all zero hours”.

APCopyright: AP

Speaking at his latest poster launch in Dover, Nigel Farage accused David Cameron of being "wilfully dishonest" when he promised to bring immigration down to the tens of thousands. Our full story here.

Andrew Hawkins, the ComRes pollster, is on BBC Radio 4's The World at One summing up the state of the economy.

Quote Message: The good news on the economy is not going to do the people who’ve been running the economy for the last five years any harm, but when you ask undecided voters what they think are going to be the most important issues in the election, the economy at best comes third behind the NHS and immigration."

The good news on the economy is not going to do the people who’ve been running the economy for the last five years any harm, but when you ask undecided voters what they think are going to be the most important issues in the election, the economy at best comes third behind the NHS and immigration."

Zak, 20, Southampton:

SMS Message: What a massive insult to the educated young classes by getting Joey Essex involved in politics - something he has no place in. Shame on the Lib Dems; that was a direct insult to our generation.

What a massive insult to the educated young classes by getting Joey Essex involved in politics - something he has no place in. Shame on the Lib Dems; that was a direct insult to our generation.

Lynne Whitehouse, Dartford:

SMS Message: I have just heard that the Liberal Democrats are to spend more on Mental Health. We heard disturbing news that 4,000 psychiatric nurses have left our MH services. Please, can you throw some light on what you think the reasons are for this? I am a psychiatric nurse about to de-register (my mother needs full 24hr care).

I have just heard that the Liberal Democrats are to spend more on Mental Health. We heard disturbing news that 4,000 psychiatric nurses have left our MH services. Please, can you throw some light on what you think the reasons are for this? I am a psychiatric nurse about to de-register (my mother needs full 24hr care).

PACopyright: PA

Chancellor George Osborne had a go at making pizza this morning in Hove - an American Hot to be precise. No, we're not sure why either, but it looks like he was concentrating hard.

tweets:

Quote Message: Daily politics is asking - "Will the election make a big difference or no difference?" Daft question because it depends totally on who wins!

Daily politics is asking - "Will the election make a big difference or no difference?" Daft question because it depends totally on who wins!

tweets:

Quote Message: Just been to yet another health hustings where @Jeremy_Hunt has failed to show up. I make that five so far. #LNS15

Just been to yet another health hustings where @Jeremy_Hunt has failed to show up. I make that five so far. #LNS15

BBCCopyright: BBC

Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood has insisted there is "no way" her party would "prop up" a Conservative government. She also told BBC2's Daily Politics it was "unlikely" Plaid Cymru would enter into a coalition with Labour unless it was prepared to abandon its pursuit of "further austerity" and the Trident programme.

Quote Message: I wouldn't prop up a Tory government. Also I'm not prepared to prop up a Labour government pursuing Tory policies."

I wouldn't prop up a Tory government. Also I'm not prepared to prop up a Labour government pursuing Tory policies."

Phil Brown, Lowestoft:

Email Message: None of the main parties will get my vote until they publish details of their spending and borrowing plans. After the experience of the last five years I suspect I am not alone in being reluctant to 'endorse' policies before I understand fully what they will be.

None of the main parties will get my vote until they publish details of their spending and borrowing plans. After the experience of the last five years I suspect I am not alone in being reluctant to 'endorse' policies before I understand fully what they will be.

SkyCopyright: Sky

Quote Message: David Cameron's got a real problem because he's promised £10,000 of tax cuts and he can't tell us where the money's going to come from. He's promised £12 billion of welfare cuts, but can't tell us where he's going to cut. He knows he's got deep cuts in public spending and he can't tell us what that means for police and defence so he's lashing out. He's using Downing Street to make allegations yesterday which the Institute for Fiscal Studies made clear just didn't add up."

David Cameron's got a real problem because he's promised £10,000 of tax cuts and he can't tell us where the money's going to come from. He's promised £12 billion of welfare cuts, but can't tell us where he's going to cut. He knows he's got deep cuts in public spending and he can't tell us what that means for police and defence so he's lashing out. He's using Downing Street to make allegations yesterday which the Institute for Fiscal Studies made clear just didn't add up."

Norman Robson, Tyne and Wear:

Email Message: Now we have Clegg and Cameron promising to plough billions of pounds into the NHS. They had no mandate to re-organise it in the way they did. The NHS is slowly being wrecked and privatised. They should be ashamed.

Now we have Clegg and Cameron promising to plough billions of pounds into the NHS. They had no mandate to re-organise it in the way they did. The NHS is slowly being wrecked and privatised. They should be ashamed.

Russell Bradley:

Email Message: @liam gibbons – The deficit has an immense tangible effect on our lives. It is currently the number 1 determinant in the level of investment that we can afford to put into our public services and to the degree that the tax burden can be lessened! Politics’ problems are more to do with the ‘soundbite culture’ that dominates campaigns.

@liam gibbons – The deficit has an immense tangible effect on our lives. It is currently the number 1 determinant in the level of investment that we can afford to put into our public services and to the degree that the tax burden can be lessened! Politics’ problems are more to do with the ‘soundbite culture’ that dominates campaigns.

Left Unity chose a squat in Soho in central London for its manifesto launch today to highlight what it calls the "terrible crisis" in housing, our reporter Nick Eardley says. Left Unity has 10 candidates standing on 7 May.

Nick EardleyCopyright: Nick Eardley

APCopyright: AP

Nigel Farage has insisted that net migration to the UK should fall to around 30,000 people a year, in spite of a pledge several weeks ago that UKIP did not believe in an "arbitrary target". The UKIP leader referred to the figure several times at an election poster launch in Dover. He insisted his party's policy wasn't confused after citing a figure of 50,000 several weeks ago. He said UKIP wanted to see a return to what he called "normality" when it came to immigration.

tweets:

Quote Message: Ken Loach says Left Unity is "against the logic of the market". It's failed "in every respect", he says "

Ken Loach says Left Unity is "against the logic of the market". It's failed "in every respect", he says "

Have chatted to a Lib Dem source on the breakdown of the £3.5 billion extra pledged for mental health. The key point is that it is spread over six years ( up to 2020/21) rather than the usual election commitment over five years of a parliament. The amount promised for the next parliament is £2.75 billion, including the £1.25 billion already announced by Nick Clegg and confirmed in the Budget. The Lib Dems argue that they have gone to the year after the next election because spending will have to be announced for that year at some stage over the next five years.

These figures are for England and don’t include the so called Barnett consequentials (the extra amount which will be generated for the devolved administrations).

Gill Rodgers:

Email Message: I say 'thank you' to Cameron, Clegg, Osborne, and Alexander. The last five years must have been politically difficult for them, and yes, it has been financially painful for the majority of us. However, I believe the pain is justified to achieve better things for our futures, and those of our children and grandchildren.

I say 'thank you' to Cameron, Clegg, Osborne, and Alexander. The last five years must have been politically difficult for them, and yes, it has been financially painful for the majority of us. However, I believe the pain is justified to achieve better things for our futures, and those of our children and grandchildren.

tweets:

Quote Message: I'm in the unusual setting of a London squat for the manifesto launch of @LeftUnityUK - featuring director Ken Loach"

I'm in the unusual setting of a London squat for the manifesto launch of @LeftUnityUK - featuring director Ken Loach"

Nick EardleyCopyright: Nick Eardley

David Cameron was at a shiny new digital centre at Sainsbury’s London HQ this morning to press home his theme of the day – the promise of two million more jobs by 2020. His upbeat message will please some in his party who want something positive to offer voters already weary of austerity.

Of course it is companies like Sainsbury’s which create the jobs - not the government of the day. The Conservative argument is that their economic plans are making it happen, by reducing taxes on business, pushing ahead with infrastructure projects and changing the welfare system to try to get people off benefits and into work. Labour say many of the jobs are part-time, low-paid or zero hours contracts. The Tories claim only one in 50 are zero hours and three out of four jobs created since 2010 are full time.

David Cameron undoubtedly has a good story to tell on jobs but he’s making it clear he won’t stop the attacks on Ed Miliband either, insisting that his warnings of the dire economic consequences of a Labour government are “absolutely right".

MD, London:

SMS Message: The Conservatives have played a blinder with the proposed Right to buy Policy for 2.5 million housing association tenants. This will give hard working families a chance to own a property with the discount acting as a deposit. This rewards hard work and will give many a foot up!

The Conservatives have played a blinder with the proposed Right to buy Policy for 2.5 million housing association tenants. This will give hard working families a chance to own a property with the discount acting as a deposit. This rewards hard work and will give many a foot up!

Speaking in Watford, Nick Clegg has been restating his lines about the NHS and mental health. “The Liberal Democrats are the only party saying we’ll balance the books and balance them fairly,” he said. “At the same time invest in the public services and ensure that the NHS gets the £8bn that it needs.” His party is pledging an extra £3.5 billion on mental health. This is spread over six years, not the usual five. And as £1.25bn of it has already been announced, the new money announced only amounts to a further £2.75bn.

PACopyright: PA

No hard hat this time, but Nick Clegg spent some of his morning on a visit to the construction site for the Watford Health Campus in Hertfordshire.

Outgoing Conservative minister Francis Maude will face your questions on the BBC News Channel after 5pm today.

Send your video questions using the #BBCAskThis hashtag, WhatsApp us on +44 7525 900 971, or send via text on 61124 (network charges may apply). Alternatively you can upload your videos here. More details are available here.

BBCCopyright: BBC

BBCCopyright: BBC

Jonathan Portes, director of the National Institute of Economic and Social Research, says today’s figures on living standards “don’t change very much” about the basic facts of the economic recovery. He tells the BBC News Channel that he’s not very impressed by David Cameron’s refusal to spell out exactly where the Conservatives plan on making cuts. “You cannot have a long-term economic plan that talks about £12bn in benefit cuts and then not give any detail about how you’re going to deliver those cuts. That really is a bit dishonest,” he says. Mr Portes calls on Labour and the Liberal Democrats to spell out how they’re going to make public spending cuts, too.

ITVCopyright: ITV

It's OK - your head is allowed to spin a bit as you size up the latest details of Thursday's TV debate. Yesterday we learned the prime minister is going to be stuck on the end in the first televised debate. Now we’ve found out the speaking order for the two-hour ITV programme – and it sees the prime minister (who is podium seven) getting in the last word. Ed Miliband gets the final go at the opening statements. The speaking orders, as with the podium orders, were chosen randomly.

false

Toby Forrest:

Email Message: I consider mental health to be one of the most important issues of current times and it's heartening to see politicians such as Clegg promising to increase funding etc. However, after the debacle over tuition fees last time, can we really trust Clegg or the Lib Dems to keep to any promises they make? It's going to take a lot for the public to trust Clegg or his party again.

I consider mental health to be one of the most important issues of current times and it's heartening to see politicians such as Clegg promising to increase funding etc. However, after the debacle over tuition fees last time, can we really trust Clegg or the Lib Dems to keep to any promises they make? It's going to take a lot for the public to trust Clegg or his party again.

BBCCopyright: BBC

Ed Balls has been making a speech this morning outlining his party’s plan to cut business rates. He highlighted the fact that seven of the 3,500 children’s centres rolled out by New Labour are shutting this morning in Swindon, where he’s speaking. And he’s taken the fight to the Conservatives over the economy, despite today’s news about living standards rising above 2010 levels. “The choice is this: we have David Cameron and George Osborne saying ‘let’s carry on as we are, let’s stick to the plan’. They’re telling people you’ve never had it so good, just let us get on with the job... this is a government that has failed to balance the books despite their promises… if that is as good as it gets then we need change and a better future for our country.”

The Liberal Democrats change their website logo in response to Joey Essex thinking they were called Liberal 'Democats'

Liberal DemocratsCopyright: Liberal Democrats

tweets:

Quote Message: Ed Milliband gets Martin Freeman, Nick Clegg gets Joey Essex. No comment. #GE2015

Ed Milliband gets Martin Freeman, Nick Clegg gets Joey Essex. No comment. #GE2015

We're sure you're enjoying our rolling live coverage - but if you ever want to just get a bite-sized update, don't forget our daily at-a-glance guide to the key stories, newspaper headlines and quotes from the campaign trail. Joey Essex and claims about jobs and the NHS have been keeping us busy so far...

BBC News website reader:

SMS Message: Why do we hold the election on a Thursday and not on a Sunday? Surely you would have a bigger turnout of the electorate because this would give people more time to vote.

Why do we hold the election on a Thursday and not on a Sunday? Surely you would have a bigger turnout of the electorate because this would give people more time to vote.

Thanks for getting touch. There have been studies done into changing polling day from Thursdays but there seems little sign of it happening any time soon. It's an issue we've looked at in our FAQs (apparently one reason for Thursdays originally was to beat payday and ensure people weren't drunk).

The dispute over spending cuts today follows comments by Alan Milburn attacking all three of the big political parties for not being open enough with voters about the true impact of the spending cuts we’re likely to see in the next parliament. In an interview with the Independent newspaper, the coalition’s poverty adviser said it was up to all the parties to demonstrate they have “both the competence and the plans to deliver”. He added: “Detail here may not be the politicians’ friend, but it is the voters’ friend. For both Ed Balls and George Osborne, there is an equal necessity to spell out exactly how they aim to balance the books, not just when.”

Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

BBC News website reader:

Quote Message: How are we better off when the government gives us a rise in state pension then reduces pension credit then a rise in rent and council tax and housing benefit falls? This has made me worse off than last year.

How are we better off when the government gives us a rise in state pension then reduces pension credit then a rise in rent and council tax and housing benefit falls? This has made me worse off than last year.

tweets:

Quote Message: On q of immigration & why 'I' word isn't on @UKIP pledge card @Nigel_Farage tells me 'it's about logic', says controlling borders the issue

On q of immigration & why 'I' word isn't on @UKIP pledge card @Nigel_Farage tells me 'it's about logic', says controlling borders the issue

The Liberal Democrats’ candidate for Vauxhall has become the first parliamentary candidate to disclose he is HIV-positive. Adrian Hyyrylainen-Trett has told BuzzFeed that he deliberately contracted the virus during a difficult period where he faced suicidal thoughts as a teenager and young person. He also described doing the "whole A-Z of drugs and everything in between" and accepted: "Doing that and knowingly searching for ways to get rid of yourself was the worst possible combination." His extraordinary revelations come as the Lib Dem leader, Nick Clegg, launched his party’s mental health policy this morning.

BBCCopyright: BBC

Lib Dem health minister Norman Lamb says the Conservatives are refusing to offer details about benefit cuts. “They’re planning it now, they’re just not telling us,” he tells the BBC News Channel. “This is an election where people make a big judgement about the next five years and it seems to me they have a right to know. Massive cuts from the Conservatives, massive borrowing from Labour - the Lib Dems offer a balanced approach trying to secure both a fairer society but also a stronger economy.”

tweets:

Quote Message: David Cameron "wilfully dishonest" over pledge to get net migration down to tens of thousands says @Nigel_Farage

David Cameron "wilfully dishonest" over pledge to get net migration down to tens of thousands says @Nigel_Farage

Plaid Cymru's manifesto contains plenty of familiar territory but there's no mention of the £1.2bn which is repeatedly referred to by Leanne Wood as the extra funding Wales needs to achieve parity with Scotland. It talks about the creation of an independent commission to resolve funding issues in future.

Elsewhere, there are plans to reintroduce the 50p top rate of income tax. Independence is not mentioned until page 36 out of a 64 page document, and then only briefly.

BBCCopyright: BBC

Nigel Farage is speaking on the coast at Dover for the launch of UKIP's poster on immigration. "What I'm really saying is this: if the public are to trust the politicians then before they even listen to a policy anyone even puts out on immigration there's a basic truth that has to be accepted... we cannot control immigration as members of the European Union," he says. "That gets right to the heart of what UKIP is about as a party." He sounds slightly disappointed that the weather is preventing journalists and campaigners from having a clear view of the continent across the English Channel.

Quote Message: If you want an honest debate about immigration you've got to get a good number of UKIP MPs into parliament from Nigel Farage

If you want an honest debate about immigration you've got to get a good number of UKIP MPs into parliament

tweets:

Quote Message: ITV on #leadersdebate format: each leader has uninterrupted 1minute answer to each Q, before the debate is opened for up to 18 minute debate

ITV on #leadersdebate format: each leader has uninterrupted 1minute answer to each Q, before the debate is opened for up to 18 minute debate

CM, Kent:

SMS Message: I am and always will be a conservative. I would like to see one equalizing move though and its radical. The national insurance threshold should be removed. Then the wealthy would contribute their fair share.

I am and always will be a conservative. I would like to see one equalizing move though and its radical. The national insurance threshold should be removed. Then the wealthy would contribute their fair share.

Plaid Cymru's campaign co-ordinator Lord Wigley denied that the party was failing to match the SNP in building up support. He said the SNP had the benefit of the referendum campaign to gather momentum, and he "had no doubt" Plaid Cymru could do the same. Lord Wigley pointed to the first elections for the Welsh assembly in 1999 when Plaid had been "bumping along where we always have been" before surging to 30% of the vote over a three-week campaign.

BBCCopyright: BBC

Just looking back for a moment at the Plaid Cymru manifesto launch, party leader Leanne Wood said the economy and job creation would be a key priority, especially in providing help for small businesses.

AFP/Getty ImagesCopyright: AFP/Getty Images

Quote Message: Today we've got a hat-trick of good news about the British economy and with 37 days to go [until] the election it's another sign that changing course would put recovery at risk." from George Osborne Chancellor

Today we've got a hat-trick of good news about the British economy and with 37 days to go [until] the election it's another sign that changing course would put recovery at risk."

Mr Osborne's hat-trick is made up of the improved GDP figures, the boost to living standards and today’s GFK consumer confidence stats, which have reached their highest level since March 2002.

Liam Gibbons:

Email Message: All this banging on from all 'mainstream' parties about 'deficit reduction' and other such things that ultimately have no tangible effect on our lives is what puts so many people off politics. The economy should serve the people, not the other way around; we are not commodities.

All this banging on from all 'mainstream' parties about 'deficit reduction' and other such things that ultimately have no tangible effect on our lives is what puts so many people off politics. The economy should serve the people, not the other way around; we are not commodities.

tweets:

Quote Message: Tories have sent an appeal to members to campaign against Farage in South Thanet on Saturday 'including much deserved free drinks'"

Tories have sent an appeal to members to campaign against Farage in South Thanet on Saturday 'including much deserved free drinks'"

writes on Buzzfeed:

Quote Message: Tory MP Who Opposed Same Sex Marriage Tells Gay Voter Not To Bother Contacting Him Again.

Tory MP Who Opposed Same Sex Marriage Tells Gay Voter Not To Bother Contacting Him Again.

ReutersCopyright: Reuters

We haven't heard much from Labour so far this morning, but here's Ed Miliband leaving his house a short time ago. Shadow chancellor Ed Balls will be out and about shortly in Swindon too.

BBC News website reader:

SMS Message: Labour has got it exactly right! Many more people may be in jobs, which have brought down the level of unemployment, but a lot of those jobs are part time, working 10hrs / 15hrs per week! What's that? Could Mr Cameron live on the money from those hours? No wonder the crime rate is going up. Conservatives need to get real.

Labour has got it exactly right! Many more people may be in jobs, which have brought down the level of unemployment, but a lot of those jobs are part time, working 10hrs / 15hrs per week! What's that? Could Mr Cameron live on the money from those hours? No wonder the crime rate is going up. Conservatives need to get real.

Plaid CymruCopyright: Plaid Cymru

The big policy priorities listed under the heading "What Plaid Cymru wants for Wales" on page three of its manifesto are:

• Getting equivalent powers for Wales to those now being granted to Scotland
• Securing an extra 1,000 doctors and more nurses in order to “save and strengthen our NHS”
• Create 50,000 jobs via more public contracts for Welsh companies
• Increasing the minimum wage to a living wage
• Cutting business rates to zero for over 70,000 Welsh companies

B. Wright, Wrexham:

Email Message: Plaid Cymru represent a tiny minority of Welsh people, yet you seem to show them as if they are a voice for all of Wales. I hope you challenge them on where they are getting these extra doctors from and what their policies are for the English speaking majority in Wales. The thought of extra powers for the assembly is scary, the quality of politicians there is not good enough. I live in Wrexham and Cardiff is as remote as Westminster.

Plaid Cymru represent a tiny minority of Welsh people, yet you seem to show them as if they are a voice for all of Wales. I hope you challenge them on where they are getting these extra doctors from and what their policies are for the English speaking majority in Wales. The thought of extra powers for the assembly is scary, the quality of politicians there is not good enough. I live in Wrexham and Cardiff is as remote as Westminster.

Joe Berwick, Milton Keynes:

Email Message: I live in Milton Keynes where my Tory MP has a majority of around 6,000. Due to the ridiculous electoral system that we find ourselves lumbered with in this country I find myself planning to vote Labour simply to try and kick the Conservative out, despite the fact that I am an active member of the Green Party. It seems almost criminal that the Greens can be polling at 7% yet will be lucky to keep hold of our 1 MP.

I live in Milton Keynes where my Tory MP has a majority of around 6,000. Due to the ridiculous electoral system that we find ourselves lumbered with in this country I find myself planning to vote Labour simply to try and kick the Conservative out, despite the fact that I am an active member of the Green Party. It seems almost criminal that the Greens can be polling at 7% yet will be lucky to keep hold of our 1 MP.

BBCCopyright: BBC

Deadlocked red and blue teams, extra time, controlling the dressing room - it’s all there as Match Of The Day’s John Motson explains the big match permutations ahead of 7 May and the hung parliament which could follow. And all in just a minute, too.

tweets:

Quote Message: Plaid manifesto pushes for 1,000 more doctors and 50,000 more jobs"

Plaid manifesto pushes for 1,000 more doctors and 50,000 more jobs"

tweets:

Quote Message: Tories seize on latest ONS figures -growth up to 2.8%; living standards up and consumer confidence at highest for 12 years"

Tories seize on latest ONS figures -growth up to 2.8%; living standards up and consumer confidence at highest for 12 years"

Ms Wood said Plaid Cymru would aim to "rebalance" power and wealth across the UK, away from the financial sector to communities such as those in Wales which needed investment. She said they would also seek parity for Wales with other nations of the UK in terms of funding and devolved powers.

Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood has launched the party's election manifesto in Bangor, saying only they have "Wales' interests at heart". In the event of a hung parliament, she said the party would use "whatever influence we have to bring austerity to an end".

tweets:

Quote Message: Yougov/ITV Welsh Poll Headline Voting Intention Labour 40% Conservative 25% UKIP 14% Plaid Cymru 11% Green 5% LibDems 5%"

Yougov/ITV Welsh Poll Headline Voting Intention Labour 40% Conservative 25% UKIP 14% Plaid Cymru 11% Green 5% LibDems 5%"

PACopyright: PA

After Ed Miliband posed himself the question of whether he was “tough enough” on foreign policy in last week’s Battle For Number 10 programme, and answered it by declaring, “hell yes I’m tough enough”, the phrase has been getting some pick-up on the doorstep. That, at least, is the experience of shadow justice secretary Sadiq Khan in Tooting. “We’ve had a couple of hell yes’s on the doorstep,”he’s told the Total Politics website. “A few people were genuinely surprised at Ed, how good he was. No surprise to us, but they were genuinely surprised.” Labour has shrugged off Tory mockery for Mr Miliband’s use of the phrase by issuing ‘Hell Yes’ t-shirts to raise cash for the party’s campaign.

AFPCopyright: AFP

Let's hear it for the losers - the candidates standing in this year's general election whose prospects of actually getting elected to parliament are simply infinitesimal. We've been speaking to some of them to work out why they do it. "It will be a very lonely experience," Prof Steven Fielding says. Find out what some of the politicians who've been through that have to say about it by savouring our feature.

BBCCopyright: BBC

Plaid Cymru election campaign co-ordinator Lord Wigley welcomes reporters to the party's manifesto launch in Bangor. The party is hoping to hold the balance of power after 7 May and will use its influence to seek parity of funding and powers with Scotland, an end to austerity, and what it calls a "rebalancing" of the UK economy.

PACopyright: PA

A hard-hatted, orange-vested David Cameron a short time ago at Sainsbury's new digital hub. It's under construction - hence the get-up - in central London.

BBC News website reader:

SMS Message: Would be nice if politicians would focus on the future. But they won't. It's like a primary school playground. Don't focus on me, focus on him because he's worse.

Would be nice if politicians would focus on the future. But they won't. It's like a primary school playground. Don't focus on me, focus on him because he's worse.

Today’s figures show that household disposable income - the amount of spare cash you and I have - is up by 1.9%. That will be seized on by Team Cameron to say living standards are picking up, things are getting better. And that will tally with what is meant to be their big pitch today - jobs, jobs, jobs.

Just as the Plaid Cymru launch is about to start, here's their manifesto for you to read at leisure.

Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

Labour isn't particularly impressed by the Conservatives' jobs pledge, suggesting they won't hold much weight with people whose wages are on average £1,600 lower than they were in 2010. "The government's failure on low pay has seen a 44% rise in the number of people paid less than a living wage under David Cameron," shadow work and pensions secretary Rachel Reeves says. “It's time for the Tories to come clean about how working families, children and disabled people will be hit by their secret plan to cut £12bn from the social security budget."

Email Message: Graeme Lowe: A Trident-free world would be lovely, but then a world in which I no longer have to lock my front door would be good too.

Graeme Lowe: A Trident-free world would be lovely, but then a world in which I no longer have to lock my front door would be good too.

EPACopyright: EPA

Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander hasn't wasted any time in responding to today's GDP figures, which have been revised upwards. What it shows is that the Lib Dems' "recovery plan is working", he says.

Quote Message: Handing back control of our economy to either Labour or the Tories in government on their own in this election will put all this hard earned progress at risk. Liberal Democrats at the heart of government are the rock of stability on which this recovery has taken root. from Danny Alexander

Handing back control of our economy to either Labour or the Tories in government on their own in this election will put all this hard earned progress at risk. Liberal Democrats at the heart of government are the rock of stability on which this recovery has taken root.

tweets:

Quote Message: Chancellor got these better GDP figures day early, normal ONS procedure, same thing happened under Labour. Still a small tactical advantage."

Chancellor got these better GDP figures day early, normal ONS procedure, same thing happened under Labour. Still a small tactical advantage."

BBC News website reader:

SMS Message: After the financial chaos Labour left the country in 5 yrs ago, they would be wise to keep quiet on financial matters!

After the financial chaos Labour left the country in 5 yrs ago, they would be wise to keep quiet on financial matters!

tweets:

Quote Message: Spend spend spend! UK households spent highest ever last Xmas- £263.9bn in Q4 2014 exceeding previous high in Q4 2007. @ONS"

Spend spend spend! UK households spent highest ever last Xmas- £263.9bn in Q4 2014 exceeding previous high in Q4 2007. @ONS"

PACopyright: PA

The UK economy grew by 0.6% in the final quarter of last year, revised up from 0.5%, according to official figures. For 2014 as a whole, the UK economy grew 2.8%, revised up from a previous estimate of 2.6%, and the biggest expansion since 2006.

BBCCopyright: BBC

David Cameron, fresh from his round of morning interviews, has travelled over to the new digital centre at Sainsbury's London HQ. It's announced 480 new jobs - a first step towards the Conservatives' promise of two million new jobs by 2020.

Email Message: David Baxendale, Hinckley: I am tired and frustrated of being 'represented' by somebody who doesn't represent this area... How can an MP or candidate stand for election in a constituency where they have never lived and have no intention of doing so, when I am obliged to vote only where I live when I would rather transfer my vote to somewhere it might actually count? I live in a 'safe seat' and because I do not support that particular party I feel that my vote will always be wasted unless I move. Isn't it about time we had proportional representation?

David Baxendale, Hinckley: I am tired and frustrated of being 'represented' by somebody who doesn't represent this area... How can an MP or candidate stand for election in a constituency where they have never lived and have no intention of doing so, when I am obliged to vote only where I live when I would rather transfer my vote to somewhere it might actually count? I live in a 'safe seat' and because I do not support that particular party I feel that my vote will always be wasted unless I move. Isn't it about time we had proportional representation?

tweets:

Quote Message: Following this morning's press conf on NHS-mental health funding, off to Watford now to campaign with the wonderful @DorothyThornhll

Following this morning's press conf on NHS-mental health funding, off to Watford now to campaign with the wonderful @DorothyThornhll

tweets:

Quote Message: @LabourHistory -my fav bit of memorabilia from 1966 election _an unused ballot paper with Wilson& lord sutch £1ebay !

@LabourHistory -my fav bit of memorabilia from 1966 election _an unused ballot paper with Wilson& lord sutch £1ebay !

Twitter / David HansonCopyright: Twitter / David Hanson

Ed Miliband's ability to continue tackling the deficit from within Downing Street - even at a slower pace than the Conservatives - could be endangered by a group of up to 40 left-leaning backbenchers. That's today's big Times story on the Labour party, based on claims from Labour candidate John McDonnell - the leader of the Socialist Campaign Group. Credit should also go to the New Statesman though who had the original interview with Mr McDonnell.

EPACopyright: EPA

Another party leader who’s been on the airwaves this morning is Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon. Interviewed on BBC Radio Scotland this morning, she said Trident was a "red line" for the SNP and that the nationalists would “do everything in our power to not renew” it. The final decision on renewing Trident was delayed by the Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition until 2016.

Quote Message: "Trident is a red line. We will never ever vote for Trident. We would not support anything that was around the renewal of Trident." from Nicola Sturgeon

"Trident is a red line. We will never ever vote for Trident. We would not support anything that was around the renewal of Trident."

tweets:

Quote Message: PM on bullish form this morning - most common phrase in interview, 'I don't accept that'

PM on bullish form this morning - most common phrase in interview, 'I don't accept that'

US satirist PJ O’Rourke has been giving his take on the British election. Here’s a few of his observations:

• Concerns over a coalition are understandable because the mainstream parties might be forced to team up with someone who’s a bit “icky”. That sounds unpleasant.

• Mr O’Rourke likes the idea that David Cameron has to find a constituency like any other MP. “This guy has to go out and get elected in a little district like a congressman. He can’t get too high and mighty.”

• He laughs at the idea that Thanet - where Nigel Farage is running - is a “rough neighbourhood” because “it’s no Baltimore!”

Email Message: Graeme Lowe: The idea of a Tory pact with UKIP is quite ridiculous because UKIP is highly unlikely to have more than a couple of MPs. It is simply an attempt to deflect attention from the far more likely 'disaster' to use Jon Trickett's words, of an alliance between Labour and the SNP.

Graeme Lowe: The idea of a Tory pact with UKIP is quite ridiculous because UKIP is highly unlikely to have more than a couple of MPs. It is simply an attempt to deflect attention from the far more likely 'disaster' to use Jon Trickett's words, of an alliance between Labour and the SNP.

tweets: .@JoeyEssex_ Really nice to meet you this morning. Sorry about the early start! Hope the programme goes well!

@nick_cleggCopyright: @nick_clegg

There is no escaping the fact that, yep, there really is a general election on, because according to Zoe Williams, at the Guardian some of the undeniable symptoms have appeared. From open-mic gaffes to awkward photos with youths, she's been listing the signs that Britain is going to the polls.

Labour candidate Andy Botham, speaking at a hustings in the Derbyshire Dales seat, told his audience: "Yes, I do want to ignore the deficit."

"Yes I do want to ignore it if it means I am putting people into food banks. I do want to ignore it if it means I'm leaving people in rural poverty and rural isolation. Yes, I do want to ignore it if it means that I am making people go into the NHS much quicker than they need to because we can't provide social care. Yes, I do want to ignore if it means I've got to cut bus services, I've got to cut childcare and I've got to cut Sure Start."

PACopyright: PA

Listening intently, the aforementioned Joey Essex.

Email Message: P Goodyer, Suffolk: In any economy or business its all about living within your means and gradual continious improvement. We are seeing that improvement now, being positive about the future is a key message.

P Goodyer, Suffolk: In any economy or business its all about living within your means and gradual continious improvement. We are seeing that improvement now, being positive about the future is a key message.

Plaid's co-operative relationship with the SNP isn't going to be going away in a hurry, Leanne Wood says as the interview wraps up. "We have a lot of common ground," she says. "It makes sense for both our parties to continue working together."

tweets: Fascinated by objection to Trident that "It will never be used." Would opponents be more likely to support it if govt promised to fire it?

GettyCopyright: Getty

Will Plaid negotiate in a block with the Greens in England? To a point, Leanne Wood effectively replies. "Depending on the numbers, if it's in our interests to work with other parties to secure the very best deal for Wales, then we will." She makes clear,, however, there is no way Plaid would ever do a deal with the Conservatives. "There's no way we would support the Tories in government, absolutely not." She adds that Plaid won't back a Labour government that would implement austerity or replace Trident either.

Email Message: Gareth, Belfast: £10 minimum wage. What are the Greens thinking? Average manufacturing business of 50 people would need to pay another £187kpa. Where do they really expect a business to find that?

Gareth, Belfast: £10 minimum wage. What are the Greens thinking? Average manufacturing business of 50 people would need to pay another £187kpa. Where do they really expect a business to find that?

It's the Welsh nationalists' primary interest in their nation which is their best selling point, Leanne Wood suggests. "While MPs from other parties have other priorities, the chief priority of Plaid Cymru MPs will be Wales and securing the best deal we can in terms of power and resources."

BBCCopyright: BBC

And now, as a rather busy morning continues - surely it's not going to be like this for the next 37 days? - it's time for another big party leader interview. Plaid Cymru's Leanne Wood is now being grilled on the Today programme. "We want to end austerity, we want to bring an end to this Conservative government and we want a better funding deal for Wales," she begins.

tweets: Appreciate it's early days but so far all media outings by Tories have been by men. Are they going to let May, Morgan and Greening out?

You get the sense that David Cameron wants to slightly refocus the campaign on this core issue of the economy. He’s going to say today that if you vote Conservative there will be full employment - that is an almighty big claim, and that is where a lot of the argument is going to be today. He was pressed particularly over this idea of taxing disability benefits, too - we are not going to know until after the election the sort of benefit cuts we might face.

PACopyright: PA

Asked about the SNP, David Cameron makes clear he would not seek to come to any kind of agreement with Nicola Sturgeon's party "because they want to break up the United Kingdom". He says working with her "would lead to economic chaos". And Mr Cameron says he hopes it won't be necessary, anyway, because he prefers another option: "I think people would like the clarity, the decisiveness and frankly the accountability they'll get with a majority Conservative government."

Quote Message: Elections are a choice: on the one hand you've got a Conservative plan that's working... or the other is you put it all at risk with Ed Miliband who's opposed every single step we've taken. from David Cameron Prime Minister

Elections are a choice: on the one hand you've got a Conservative plan that's working... or the other is you put it all at risk with Ed Miliband who's opposed every single step we've taken.

Quote Message: The reforms were important and they were right. When you govern, you've got to make choices. from David Cameron Prime Minister

The reforms were important and they were right. When you govern, you've got to make choices.

tweets: "Liberal Democrats. It's a long word. It's got cats in it." Joey Essex tells Nick Clegg

Now the PM is defending Andrew Lansley's NHS reforms. The choice was about taking more out of the NHS bureaucracy, he says, in order to concentrate on frontline care. That, combined with protecting the level of NHS spending. "If you ask people who's got a problem with the NHS... that is the Labour Party in Wales."

The prime minister is especially keen to point this statistic out: "When I became prime minister there were 18,000 people waiting longer than a year for an operation. Today that figure is 400." 

tweets: PM repeatedly falls short of pledging extra £8bn for NHS. Says he will fund Stevens Plan (which could mean more efficieny savings).

AFPCopyright: AFP

"Our vision is a very positive one," the prime minister insists. How about the NHS? Can the Tories commit to spending the extra £8bn the NHS England boss has called for? "We're confident we can achieve the [Simon] Stevens plan in full," David Cameron says, before attacking Labour. "I make no apologies for putting Labour on the table because there is a choice at this election." That choice, he adds, is about who ends up in Downing Street after the next election - "me or Ed Miliband".

tweets: SNP leader @NicolaSturgeon tells #bbcgms her policy is moving towards a position of full fiscal autonomy over time. Not overnight. #GE2015

The PM is pressed about the potential impact of Labour's tax rises, which the Conservatives say will amount to £3,000 by 2020. The IFS though, a respected think-tank, says they will only amount to about £100. The PM says Labour's "different choice... I think will lead to tax rises".

Quote Message: Every step we've taken, every tax we've cut, every spending efficiency we've made... every single thing has been opposed by Labour. from David Cameron

Every step we've taken, every tax we've cut, every spending efficiency we've made... every single thing has been opposed by Labour.

tweets: David Cameron denies "tone wrong" and negative campaign over personal attacks on Ed Miliband @bbcr4today

"I make no apology about putting the danger of Labour putting up taxes squarely at the centre of this campaign," David Cameron says. That's a repeat of a line from his BBC Breakfast earlier this morning - it's clearly the line he's sticking to. "The tone was absolutely right," he says of his Downing Street statement yesterday - and that much-debated £3,000 figure.

AFPCopyright: AFP

David Cameron is now on the Today programme being interviewed by Sarah Montague. Her first question is about his attack on Ed Miliband yesterday - and why it took place in Downing Street yesterday after the PM's visit to the Queen. "We're setting out a very positive vision for Britain," the prime minister insists.

BBCCopyright: BBC

Later today UKIP supporters are heading to the white cliffs of Dover where they’re launching their latest election poster - on immigration, unsurprisingly. Nigel Farage is set to accuse David Cameron of “deliberately making a false promise” to voters at the last general election, when the Conservatives promised to cut net migration from the hundreds of thousands to the tens of thousands. They failed - leading to Mr Farage’s claim that Mr Cameron was “utterly disingenuous” on the issue.

tweets:@politicshome LibDems scuppered Cons referendum bill! How is that consistent with Clegg's support for a referendum!?!?

tweets: I want @JoeyEssex_ to ask a Q here. What does someone from outside Westminster bubble want to know from Nick Clegg?

tweets : Nick Clegg has been a force for good on mental health stigma but the reality is that MH services have gone backwards under the coalition

PACopyright: PA

“We will take an identical approach this time,” Nick Clegg says of coalition talks. On those "red line" negotiating points - which he won’t actually specify - he confirms the place to look are the policies on the front page of the Lib Dem manifesto. These are the policies for which “we will dig our heels in, we will die in the trenches for”, he says. Presumably he doesn’t mean that literally.

tweets: Clegg "ums" when put to him that it's more likely there won't be economic growth post 2017/18 than world ending next wk

PACopyright: PA

Tim Farron, who’s been having a rather rough time of it recently with some attacks from fellow Lib Dems, gets a staunch defence from Nick Clegg - who also makes clear he’s not happy with infighting within his party so close to an election. “Tim and I are old friends, he’s a very valuable colleague,” Mr Clegg says. “I have absolutely no time for personal bickering within my team and it’s certainly not done in my name or on my behalf. In my view Tim is one of the most talented political campaigners in this country. I am absolutely delighted his is one of our heaviest hitters in this election campaign.”

tweets: Nick Clegg on public criticisms of Tim Farron by senior Lib Dems: "I have absolutely no time for personal bickering within my team."

BBCCopyright: BBC

What about the TV debates. Will viewers be saying "I agree with Nick" as they did in 2010? "It will be quite different from my point of view,” Nick Clegg says. There are seven leaders this time instead of three - and whereas the Liberal Democrat leader was new to voters five years ago, now he admits he's rather more of a “familiar proposition”.

In a slightly more serious answer to that economic growth point, Nick Clegg explains that after 2017/18, when the “structural deficit is dealt with”, spending on public services then gets linked with economic growth.

tweets: Nick Clegg's mansion tax seems to have become a "banded high value levy"

PACopyright: PA

The BBC’s Andrew Neil points out that the Lib Dem mental health policy relies on future economic growth - otherwise the money they're hoping to spend just won’t materialise. “You have to operate under certain assumptions,” Nick Clegg replies. “What do I do if the world comes to an end next Tuesday?”

tweets: What would you ask a political leader, if you had the chance to ask them a question? #WhatwhatSaysay

Quote Message: They keep chopping and changing their views on Europe. They changed their mind, they floated one arbitrary date, they changed that... honestly, my head is spinning around what the Conservative position is. Ours has remained consistent throughout. from Nick Clegg Deputy Prime Minister and Lib Dem leader

They keep chopping and changing their views on Europe. They changed their mind, they floated one arbitrary date, they changed that... honestly, my head is spinning around what the Conservative position is. Ours has remained consistent throughout.

tweets: Joey Essex here for Lib Dem mental health presser #GE2015

Nick Clegg is taking questions and explaining more about his numbers on the NHS. He's quoting Simon Stevens, the chief executive of NHS England, whom the Lib Dem leader says wants around £8bn of "upfront support from the government" in addition to savings of around £22bn.

Nick Clegg announces the Liberal Democrats are backing £3bn for mental health services in the next parliament. It's going on the front page of the manifesto, he adds. That's the closest the Lib Dems have come to a "red line" in any coalition negotiations.

BBCCopyright: BBC

Quote Message: We will continue to put mental health front and centre of the national debate.

We will continue to put mental health front and centre of the national debate.

tweets: Eamonn Holmes: You’re high on E’s as it were - economy, Ed... David Cameron: I certainly wouldn’t put it that way

"One in four people in our country will experience mental health problems at some point in their lives," Nick Clegg says. He invites journalists to ponder on that for a bit and points out that one in three children in classrooms aren't being helped with their mental health problems. "What a tragedy, what a waste."

And now Nick Clegg presses Labour to commit to raise spending on the NHS, too. Doing so will help finance more spending on mental health, he says.

BBCCopyright: BBC

Neither Labour nor the Conservatives have committed to the Liberal Democrats' plans to boost spending on the NHS, Nick Clegg says. He launches a scathing attack on the Tories: "George Osborne, Jeremy Hunt - where will the axe fall? Soldiers, schools, social workers? The only people the Tories have said they'll protect are their friends in big business and their friends in big houses." He says the Conservatives aren't being straight with voters, saying they're trying to "pull the wool over their eyes".

Norman Lamb, the Lib Dem health minister, says his party is "leading the case" for mental health as he introduces Nick Clegg to the party's morning press conference. "Thank you all for being here so bright and early," the deputy prime minister says. Ugh! No, really. It's a pleasure.

BBCCopyright: BBC

While Labour lead their campaigning on business rates today, the Tories are claiming they will create two million more jobs in the next parliament. They’re highlighting Britain getting one up on Canada, which has an employment rate of 72.5%. Britain’s equivalent is expected to reach 72.6% in the second quarter of 2015. In the next five years the UK hopes to overtake Germany and Japan, too. It follows David Cameron's call for full employment earlier this year.

Quote Message: Majority government is more accountable... nothing is haggled away. from David Cameron Prime Minister

Majority government is more accountable... nothing is haggled away.

tweets: Cameron notably in Millbank studios today (possibly for the 1st time since 2010?) Big shift from using No10 as backdrop yday

GettyCopyright: Getty

Quote Message: It's good to be grilled by interviewers. from David Cameron

It's good to be grilled by interviewers.

There’s a distinct theme of austerity politics on this morning’s front pages: from comments by Alan Milburn accusing the two main parties of not being open enough about the scale of the cuts to Labour’s scuffles with business, the economy is clearly the dominant topic. Check out all the front pages here .

tweets: Love this!

Diane AbbottCopyright: Diane Abbott

What is fascinating is not what he told us but what he didn't tell us. The number that matters is £12bn of welfare cuts. He's only told us where £3bn of those cuts are coming from. When pressed on it, answer came there none - there will be a lot of interest in just where those cuts will fall.

tweets: Cameron says Tories & Labour committed to £30bn deficit cut: "I'd rather find that in savings than ask for more tax. That's the choice".

One of the savings will come from freezing working-age benefits, David Cameron points out. His principles on welfare, in his own words, are:

• Work should always pay
• The most disadvantaged and disabled should always be protected
• People who've paid into the system and look forward to a dignified retirement should be looked after too

BBCCopyright: BBC

Quote Message: What we're looking for for the next parliament is really half the level of what we've already achieved.

What we're looking for for the next parliament is really half the level of what we've already achieved.

"I will be running very strongly on a record of economic success. We haven't finished the job but we're well down the road," the prime minister says. Won't he specify exactly where all of the Conservatives' planned £30bn of spending cuts will come from? Under the PM's plans £10bn is currently unaccounted for. But he says it shouldn't be a problem. What business or organisation can't find £1 out of every £100 to save?, he asks.

tweets: Bingo. @David_Cameron says Long Term Economic Plan in opening sentence in @BBCNews interview. Took him 61 secs in Downing Street

Next the PM is grilled on another number: the £3,000 which the Tories claim Labour would cost the average working household. The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has said it is "unhelpful". "Because Labour voted for that £30bn [to balance the country's books] and because they believe in half of it being raised in taxes, that is equivalent to £3,000 on every working household," David Cameron explains.

The PM is perfectly happy with his Downing Street attack against Ed Miliband yesterday. "I make no apology for raising the spectre of Labour and taxes," he tells Breakfast. It's important to make the contrast with the Conservatives, he says, who've established spending cuts can be achieved without tax hikes.

"We're building an economy that can sustain these extra jobs," the prime minister continues. He says welfare reforms and investment in infrastructure will help boost the economy, too.

David Cameron is now appearing on BBC Breakfast. He begins by saying "successful British businesses" which are "expanding" will create the 1,000 new jobs every day being promised by the Tories.

BBCCopyright: BBC

tweets: Lib Dems would build eight new prenatal units for expectant mothers with depression if in govt. clegg speaks at 730.

The Conservatives say Labour’s move to win over small firms by cutting business rates means they'll increase corporation tax instead. “You have it now in black and white - Ed Miliband and Ed Balls will whack up corporation tax in their first budget,” David Gauke says. “This would be the first time corporation tax has risen in over 40 years and Labour’s plans could cost 96,400 jobs- it would put people’s economic security at risk.” Labour says its plan would “ensure Britain has the most competitive rate of corporation tax in the G7”.

HeatCopyright: Heat

The prime ministerial face, partially eclipsed by a coffee mug, is gazing out from magazine newsstands today after his interview with Heat. Here’s some things we’ve learned from his chit-chat with the gossip magazine:

• Mr Cameron thinks women are better at multi-tasking than men. Asked whether he listens to music while running, he said: “I’m a man, I can’t do two things at once. Don’t be ridiculous!”
• The prime minister’s limited knowledge of One Direction will be especially upsetting to fans of the boy band after Zayn Malik’s exit. Asked to name them in order of the most good-looking, he said: “I was in their 2013 Comic Relief video – Harry, Zayn, and the other ones.”
• Mr Cameron is a semi-involuntary fan of the Disney film Frozen: “Have I watched Frozen? I have a four-year-old daughter! I can virtually recite it!”

tweets: After @David_Cameron struggled with net migration target fail on c4/sky last week #UKIP leader will call it a 'sham' promise #ge2015

tweets:@UKIP will attack @David_Cameron on immigration weak spot today, with @Nigel_Farage accusing him of 'deliberately making a false promise'

Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

The nationalists will be making the headlines again today. But this time it’s not the SNP: Plaid Cymru is releasing its general election manifesto later. Plaid, which will be part of the nationalist voting block in Westminster that is likely to be dominated by the SNP, is set to call for Wales to be handed similar powers to those now being given to Scotland. It’s also calling for a “rebalancing” of the economy and an end to austerity, as our preview suggests.

tweets: Good to see many of those ex MPs who'd failed to adhere to HoC guidance have now put disclaimers or "candidate" on Twitter profiles #GE2015

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Ed Balls is off to visit a small business today as Labour pushes to prioritise small firms with a cut to business rates. His party is claiming that business rates cost companies an average of £1,500 a year after going up by nearly £3 billion since 2010. It’s a big contrast with the Tories’ corporation tax cuts which George Osborne has progressively reduced throughout the last five years. “This is the right priority when money is tight,” the shadow chancellor is expected to say. “And it will mean that the tax burden on small businesses will be lower with Labour than under the Tories.”

tweets: Update: Con & Lab tied - Latest YouGov / The Sun results 30th Mar - Con 35%, Lab 35%, LD 8%, UKIP 12%, GRN 5%; APP-10 Read more.

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Day two of the campaign, then, and the big themes of today are set to roll on right through polling day. The parties are focusing on the economy and health,as our overnight roundup outlines. But there’s the leadership question to look at, too – David Cameron will be doing the rounds this morning on TV and radio. We’ll bring you full coverage.

Hello and welcome to the second day of official campaigning. Parliament has shut up shop and the battle buses are on the road. It's Victoria King and Alex Stevenson here on the Politics Live team - we'll bring you every speech, spat, policy and press conference. Here's how Monday panned out.