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Live Reporting

Dominic Howell and Tom Espiner

All times stated are UK

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  1. Recap of Saturday's events

    The penultimate Saturday of the election campaign has been a busy one. Here's a brief recap of the main events of the day.

    Labour say rents in the private sector will not go up by more than inflation for three years as part of a package of measures to boost "generation rent".

    The Lib Dems say the party with the "greatest mandate" should be first to begin trying to form a government in the event of another hung Parliament.

    The Conservatives launch their BME manifesto, saying they expect the first Asian or black prime minister to be a Conservative.

    UKIP says business has "nothing to fear" from the UK leaving the EU.

    David Cameron admits to "brain fade" over which football team he supports, resulting in a Twitter storm, His team Aston Villa lose 3-2 to Manchester City.

  2. Union boss to hit out at 'dangerous' UKIP

    Beryl Shepherd, president of the Communication Workers' Union, is to launch an attack on Nigel Farage's UKIP, claiming it is anti-women, anti-diversity and anti the NHS.

    She will tell the opening day of the CWU's annual conference in Bournemouth on Sunday: ''They are no friends of the trades union movement. It is a sobering moment when we hear UKIP supporters trying to endear themselves to the working class and that some people are persuaded by their rhetoric.

    "They are not the party of the working class,'' she will say, branding the party as ''downright dangerous''.

  3. Cable: I want to be Chancellor

    Vince Cable

    Vince Cable has indicated that he would like to take over from George Osborne as Chancellor in any future coalition in an interview in the Mail on Sunday.

    Generally regarded as the most left-wing of Lib Dem Cabinet ministers in the coalition government, Mr Cable is regularly touted as a possible partner for Ed Miliband if the party went into coalition with Labour.

    But the current Business Secretary was critical of Mr Miliband's "very poor judgment" and said he was ready to "stomach" another five years of co-operation with the Tories. But Mr Cable did not rule out a coalition with Labour, saying "I can envisage a scenario in which I would stomach working with the Tories if the situation required. You have to let your head rule your heart."

    In the interview he left little doubt which position he has his eye on in any coalition government: "I'm up for having a substantial role. My prime interest is the economy. There are two economic departments in Whitehall and I've done one of them for five years. I'll leave you to do the maths."

  4. Tory council candidate: I’d never support ‘the Jew’ Miliband

    A Tory council candidate has said she would never support “the Jew” in an apparent reference to Ed Miliband, the Jewish News is reporting.

    Gulzabeen Afsal, who is standing in Derby, made the remarks in a Facebook exchange yesterday, where she wrote: “Just can’t take Mr Ed Miiband seriously!! DC has what it takes to be the future PM.”

    When another user suggested she should show some respect “for the future PM”, Afsal replied: “Nah bro! never ever will I drop that low and support the al yahud [Arabic for Jew] lol.”

    A Conservative spokesman said: “Her comment was offensive and wrong. She has removed it and apologised.”

  5. Lewis: Labour relaunching 'chaotic' housing policy

    Brandon Lewis

    In response to Labour's plan for a real-terms cap on rent rises in the private sector, Conservative housing minister Brandon Lewis accused Ed Miliband of "re-launching a policy that descended into chaos when it was first announced".

    Mr Lewis said: ''Rent controls never work - they force up rents and destroy investment in housing, leading to fewer homes to rent and poorer quality accommodation.

    "Even Ed Miliband's own shadow housing minister admits they don't work. And an SNP-run Ed Miliband government will put our economy at risk, meaning fewer homes and higher rents.

    ''The only way to have affordable rents is to continue to build more homes. Thanks to our long-term economic plan, house-building is now at its highest level since 2007 and we will now go further by building 200,000 starter homes for first-time buyers and extending Right to Buy.''

  6. Independent on Sunday front page

    Independent on Sunday
    Image caption: And finally - the Independent on Sunday gives over its front page to the devastating scenes in Nepal
  7. Scotland on Sunday front page

    Scotland on Sunday
    Image caption: Questions about the SNP's position on a second independence referendum dominate Scotland on Sunday's front page
  8. Sunday Express front page

    Sunday Express
    Image caption: With 11 days until polling day, The Sunday Express suggests David Cameron is to launch a fight to "save Britain"
  9. Mail on Sunday front page

    Mail on Sunday
    Image caption: The Mail on Sunday highlights comments by Theresa May about the impact of a Labour government supported by the SNP
  10. Sunday Telegraph front page

    Sunday Telegraph
    Image caption: The Sunday Telegraph devotes its front page to the unfolding tragedy in Nepal
  11. Sunday Times front page

    The Sunday Times
    Image caption: The Sunday Times suggests the Tories have had a "wobbly weekend"
  12. Sunday's Observer front page

    The Observer
    Image caption: Labour's rent announcement makes the front page of The Observer
  13. New Labour supporter warns against SNP deal

    Sir Charles Dunstone

    Carphone Warehouse chairman Sir Charles Dunstone, a former supporter of New Labour, has warned that an Ed Miliband administration propped up by the Scottish National Party could undermine the economy and hurt Britain's most deprived people.

    Writing in the Mail on Sunday, he also defended his decision to sign a letter to the Daily Telegraph supporting Conservative policy.

    Sir Charles said he backed Tony Blair in 2005 because the former Labour leader understood that a strong and growing economy was needed to pay for a fair and compassionate society.

    But he said he was ''genuinely concerned'' that this view was not shared by the current Labour leadership, and feared that a Labour-SNP government would be ''anti-business, anti-aspiration and pro-spending money we haven't even earned yet''.

  14. Conservative response to Labour rent cap

    Eric Pickles

    The Conservatives have responded to Labour's plan for a real-terms cap on rent rises in the private sector.

    Eric Pickles has tweeted, quoting the Swedish economist Assar Lindbeck: "Rent control appears to be the most efficient technique presently known to destroy a city except for bombing."

  15. YouGov opinion poll

    It being Saturday night, opinion polls commissioned by some of the Sunday newspapers are being released as the presses roll.

    This time it's YouGov, for the Sunday Times, whose figures suggest Labour have a two-point lead over the Conservatives. These are the headlines:

    Lab 34% (-1)

    Con 32% (-1)

    UKIP 14% (+1)

    Lib Dem 9% (+1)

    Green 6% (-)

  16. Labour plan to cap rent increases

    Boards advertising properties for rent

    Labour has just announced plans to cap annual rental increases in the private sector for most tenants for three years if they win power.

    Ed Miliband has said he would act immediately to curb "massive" rent hikes which have forced some people out of their homes.

    Under Labour's plans, to be included in its first Queen's Speech, new tenants would be given the right to find out what their predecessors paid to help them negotiate the "best deal".

    Mr Miliband is expected to flesh out the details of the plan when he appears on the Andrew Marr show on Sunday morning.

    The announcement comes as the latest opinion poll from Survation for the Mail on Sunday has given the Conservatives a three point lead over Labour.

  17. Police investigate Thanet incident

    Police are investigating an alleged incident in South Thanet amid claims that a rosette was torn from a 46-year-old Labour activist canvassing in the Kent constituency.

    It later emerged that a "Stand Up to Ukip" stall in the area had been subject to a similar attack later that day.

    A video of the incident has been passed to the police.

    The Kent seat is one of the most high-profile in the country, with UKIP leader Nigel Farage trying to get elected to Parliament for the first time but facing challenges from both the Conservatives and Labour.

  18. Conservative lead squeezed in poll

    The Conservatives have seen their lead over Labour squeezed to one point, according to the latest opinion poll from Opinium.

    The Tories were down three points to 34% in the Opinium survey for The Observer , with Labour on 33% (up one), Ukip on 13% (unchanged), the Liberal Democrats on 9% (up one) and Greens on 6% (up one).

    .

  19. David Cameron meets Prime Minister of Pakistan

    David Cameron and Nawaz Sharif

    David Cameron met with his Pakistani counterpart today after Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif flew in to the UK to attend the Gallipoli centenary commemorations.

    According to a statement by Number Ten the pair discussed the crisis in Yemen and bringing about a peaceful transition in Afghanistan.

    A Number Ten spokesperson said:

    "The leaders took the opportunity to discuss a number of regional issues, including situation in Yemen and Afghanistan.

    "The leaders set out their support for finding a diplomatic solution to the crisis in Yemen and working with Saudi Arabia to help bring about this transition.

    "Prime Minister Sharif also updated the Prime Minister on Pakistan's work with Afghanistan towards a peace process.

    "The prime minister said that it was in Britain and the wider region's interest to see stability and a close working relationship between both countries."

  20. Cameron insincerity?

  21. Marathon Men

    MPs Marathon
    Image caption: (l-r) Richard Drax, Alun Cairns, Dan Jarvis, Edward Timpson and Graham Evans

    With the finish line of this year's gruelling general election still far off in the distance, five MPs will be exchanging the contest for their House of Commons seats for a different kind of race - tomorrow's London Marathon.

    Four Conservatives are taking part: children and families minister Edward Timpson, Richard Drax, and two Wales Office ministers Alun Cairns and Graham Evans. Labour is represented by shadow justice minister Dan Jarvis.

    In past years the marathon field has included even more MPs - shadow chancellor Ed Balls ran the 26-mile course three times and was joined last year by shadow cabinet colleagues Sadiq Khan and Andy Burnham.

    About 35,000 fundraisers, amateur runners and elite athletes will take part in the 35th London Marathon tomorrow. Forecasters have warned that the 26.2-mile race could be hit by heavy bursts of rain.

  22. Hattersley: Pressure on SNP, not Labour

    Roy Hattersley
    Image caption: Roy Hattersley on the Andrew Marr Show

    Labour's former deputy leader Roy Hattersley has claimed that it will be the SNP, and not Labour, which will find themselves under intense pressure to make concessions in the event of a hung Parliament.

    Rather than holding the whip hand in a hung Parliament, he believes the Scottish nationalists would be in the weaker position because they would be ''decimated'' by voters at the 2016 election to the Scottish Parliament if they were seen to be responsible for bringing down a left-of-centre government.

    In an interview to be broadcast on Sunday on BBC1's Andrew Marr Show the Labour peer advises Ed Miliband not to seek a deal, or offer concessions, to the SNP but instead sit tight and ''dare'' Nicola Sturgeon's party to vote him down.

  23. Farage: Lib Dems will talk to UKIP

    Nigel Farage

    Nigel Farage has said it does not matter if Nick Clegg has ruled out a deal with both the SNP and UKIP, because if UKIP wins enough seats the Liberal Democrats and other parties will want to talk to them.

    Following his speech in north London, the UKIP leader said: ''At the end of the day this isn't about what people think, this is about arithmetic.

    ''I feel the UKIP campaign is strong, I feel we're picking up support in our target areas and if we win enough seats, whatever they've said about us they might just want to talk to us.''

  24. Hammond on Nepal earthquake

    epalese rescue members and onlookers Nepalese rescue authorities gather at the collapsed Darahara Tower in Kathmandu on April 25, 2015

    Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond has issued a statement on the deadly earthquake in Nepal.

    "My thoughts are with the people of Nepal and everyone affected by the terrible loss of life and widespread damage caused by the earthquake," he says. "We are in close contact with the Nepalese government.The British Embassy in Nepal is offering our assistance to the authorities and is providing consular assistance to British nationals."

  25. Farage on #villagate

    UKIP leader Nigel Farage

    Nigel Farage is the latest person to have a dig at David Cameron over the #villagate saga. The UKIP leader says he has a family connection with Crystal Palace but hits out at what he calls "pretend" loyalties.

    "My grandfather was a Crystal Palace supporter, my grandmother was, my eldest son is a season ticket holder, he's there this afternoon, there's a match against Hull today. "Football's not a big part of my life but I don't make pretences about teams I support and then chop and change them."

  26. 'I was busking' - PM

    Christian Benteke and other Aston Villa players celebrating

    The prime minister has been asked about his football team blunder, trending as #villagate on Twitter, in an interview with Sky News's Dermot Murnaghan to be broadcast tomorrow.

    Asked to confirm which team he actually supports, Mr Cameron said: "I've been an Aston Villa fan all my life, I literally opened my mouth and I was going off-piste about the fact that in Britain you can be a supporter of the West Indies, a supporter of Manchester United, and a supporter of Team GB.

    "I was then busking about other things you can support and was ... I don't know what happened to me, it was just one of those things.

    Asked if the mistake was on his script, he said: "No, it wasn't on the script, I was going off-script to add to the examples, and I suppose it is just the campaign.

    "By the time you have made as many speeches as I have on this campaign all sorts of funny things start popping out of your mouth."

  27. #Dollgate trends on twitter

    Nicola Sturgeon

    #Villagate isn't the only story today gaining traction on social media. Following a BBC story last year in which Nicola Sturgeon's sister said she "used to cut the hair off my Barbie dolls" in their childhood, the Sun today had a story that Ms Sturgeon “devilishly hacked the hair” off her sister’s beloved doll and that this was "an early sign of the ruthlessness which has propelled her to the top of Scottish - and potentially British - politics."

    This story contributed to the #Dollgate hashtag taking over a small part of Twitter today.

    Nicola Sturgeon owned up to the deed on Twitter:

  28. Lord Ashdown: No deal with SNP or UKIP

    Paddy Ashdown

    Lord Ashdown, the Liberal Democrats' election campaign chief, has confirmed there will be no "formal deal" with either a party that would "break up the United Kingdom", or take the country "out of Europe".

    The Liberal Democrats, he said, "would not do what the Tories want to do, which is break away to the right and dump £30bn of deficit on the poor and on our public services".

    Neither would they allow Labour "to wreck our economy again". He said the Liberal Democrats would "put the nation first" in order to provide "stable government".

  29. Campaign sidebar

    BBC Radio 4

    The fog of politics, the meaning of austerity, and the secret language of politicians, plus how do those apps which advise people which party is closest to their views actually work? BBC Radio 4's Campaign Sidebar is a quirky, irreverent take on the twists and turns of the election campaign so far, presented by Hugo Rifkind. Click here to listen now.

  30. Cameron's Villa 'brain fade'

    Andy Burnham

    On David Cameron's "brain fade" when he asked people to support West Ham when he is a professed Aston Villa fan, Labour shadow health secretary Andy Burnham said: "I think from an Aston Villa point of view, the news just gets better and better, doesn't it?" Referring to Aston Villa beating Liverpool last weekend to get through to the FA Cup final, Mr Burnham said: "First Wembley, and now this. They will feel that things are looking up for them today."

  31. NHS 'being broken up and sold off'

    Andy Burnham

    Labour shadow health secretary Andy Burnham has said the NHS is being "broken up and sold off" under David Cameron.

    "He's put market forces at the heart of the NHS, and we've got to get back to an NHS that puts people before profits.

    "Nobody gave this Prime Minister their permission to put the NHS up for sale. He promised no reorganisation, he brought forward the biggest ever."

  32. The EU and politicians and media colude - Farage

    Nigel farage

    Nigel Farage said: "There is a consensus amongst our political class, there is a consensus amongst much of our media class, there is a consensus amongst the CBI and many of the big corporate businesses and their view is that Britain needs to be part of a political union run from Brussels and Frankfurt and Luxemburg...I would like to give you completely the opposite alternative argument.

    "You only have to look at the statement that came from HSBC yesterday to be increasingly worried about what the regulatory regime is doing to Britain's financial service industry."

    "For all of you in this industry, it makes little or no difference who gets the keys to Number 10 Downing Street, because all of the rules and regulations that affect your lives and affect your businesses are decisions that will be taken somewhere else, and over which the Biritish government, and British parliament, have no say."

    Adding that he is one of the few politicians who has actually had a job Mr Farage said: "Surely the point about the City, the point about the financial services industry is that we should not allow our politicians and our Eurocrats to denigrate the industry, to paint it out as a handful of people who all make a fortune."

  33. Farage 'concern' on pensions

    Nigel Farage

    Speaking to an investor conference in Islington, Nigel Farage said he had concerns about new pensions freedoms: "I'm also concerned that the change to pension laws - the ability of people now to draw down the total sums in those pensions funds.

    "I'm concerned that a lot of people out there frankly are not sophisticated enough to understand what that means and I am deeply fearful that the scammers and the conmen are going to have an absolute field day at the expense of people who have been prudent over their lives."

  34. 'I don't love wind energy' - Farage

    Nigel Farage

    On the question of energy production, UKIP leader Nigel Farage says:

    "We have fallen in love apparently with wind energy," he says.

    "Now I have to say that I haven't fallen in love with wind energy.

    "I think these giant bat and bird chomping monsters are despoiling England's green and pleasant land and our seascape, but that's purely a subjective comment perhaps from me.

    "But what we have done is we've lumped on now over 10% on our energy bills, and with the future increases that are written into the system that will be 20% by 2020."

    Mr Farage suggests halting the subsidies for wind energy in favour of "the cheapest possible source of energy".

  35. Farage speech begins

    Nigel Farage

    UKIP leader Nigel Farage is giving a speech at a retail investor show in London. He says that the UK national debt now stands at £1.5trn. "They have doubled the national debt in five years - and that if you think about it that does take some doing," he quips.

    "Our debt repayments are already bigger than our defence budget," he adds.

  36. PM on Nepal earthquake

  37. Brown: Black video 'chilling'

    James Cook, Scotland correspondent

    Gordon Brown

    Former Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown has accused the Scottish National Party of a "completely chilling" plan for a second referendum on independence.

    Mr Brown said the SNP candidate for Paisley and Renfrewshire South, Mhairi Black, had "told the truth that Nicola Sturgeon won't admit in public," quoting Ms Black in a YouTube video as saying that the election of SNP MPs would be used to secure another referendum.

    In the video posted on 5 March, Ms Black says the Westminster establishment would not grant Scotland another vote and "if we can send back that many… SNP MPs to Westminster that is the power to twist their arm and to get that other referendum."

    Mr Brown said the SNP wanted to win seats in the House of Commons "not to deliver social justice" but to "deliver the chaos and constant crisis" that would "as she said, force a second referendum."

  38. Labour 'rank hypocrisy' on NHS

    Returning to Labour's claim that the Conservatives would oversee the "stealth privatisation" of the NHS, Lib Dem campaign spokesman Lord Paddick said: 

    Quote Message: "Under Labour, private providers were paid 11% more than NHS providers for the same treatment and their PFI (private finance initiative) deals are still costing the taxpayer #1 billion a year in repayments. The Liberal Democrats put an end to these sweetheart deals, blocked PFI contracts, prevented privatisation of the NHS through the back door and increased NHS funding each year. Now we are the only party with a detailed plan to fund the extra £8bn the NHS says it needs - almost three times more than Labour will commit."
  39. Iain Martin, political journalist

    Tweets :

    Quote Message: Cam would have been better 10 years ago saying he's not much of a football fan. But non-football Britons (most of them) won't care abt slip
  40. Thurrock 'history'

    Nigel Farage

    UKIP leader Nigel Farage said his party could "make history" in Thurrock, Essex, where a poll for former Conservative treasurer Lord Ashcroft suggests the party has a four-point advantage in a three-way race. Conservative Jackie Doyle-Price is defending a wafer-thin majority of just 92 there. According to the poll, UKIP had 35%, with Labour's Polly Billington - a former adviser to Ed Miliband - in second place on 31%, with the Conservatives on 30%.

  41. Balls pokes fun at Cameron

  42. Video: Cameron's football gaff explanation

    David Cameron

    Here's avideoof David Cameron explaining his West Ham/Aston Villa gaffe.

  43. Facts on Cameron's footballing passion

    When he was first elected to Parliament in 2001, David Cameron said he did not follow football, telling the House of Commons in a debate on hooliganism that year: "Many of those who have spoken in the debate or have written about the subject are either lawyers or football fans, but I have to confess that I am neither."

    The first mentions in the national press of Mr Cameron's liking for the club came after he was elected Tory leader in 2005.

    He was reported in 2006 to have written on his blog that he "half-heartedly" supported Villa and could name only three of their players.

    His uncle Sir William Dugdale, who died last year, was the club's chairman from 1975 to 1982.

  44. Who's got the best campaign?

    A survey carried out by pollsters YouGov for the Times suggests Labour's campaign is having more effect on voters than the Conservatives'.

    Some 17% of those questioned said they had seen something in recent days to make them feel more positive about Labour, while 17% said they had seen something negative.

    When asked about the Tories, 13% said they had seen something to make them more positive about the party and 25% negative.

    Asked who was running the best campaign, 26% of the 1,094 people questioned on 24 April named the Scottish National Party, 17% Labour, 14% Conservatives, 9% Ukip and just 2% the Liberal Democrats and Greens.

  45. Villagate

    Gary Lineker

  46. Baby-wait Prince William at Cenotaph

  47. SNP women's pledge

  48. SNP women's pledge

    SNP Leader Nicola Sturgeon has joined female SNP activists and actor and campaigner Elaine Smith in Glasgow to launch the SNP’s Women’s Pledge, the SNP says . The SNP wants to increase free childcare, raise the minimum wage, end zero hours contracts, end the gender pay gap and is calling for a 50:50 gender balance on all boards by 2020.

  49. SNP Glasgow rally

  50. Lord Ashcroft Rochester poll

    Nigel Farage and Mark Reckless

    The Conservatives could seize back the Kent constituency of Rochester and Strood, which it lost to UKIP following the defection of MP Mark Reckless (pictured right) last year, according to polling for Conservative peer Lord Ashcroft. The poll found a three-point lead for the Conservatives in the formerly safe seat, which Mr Reckless won for UKIP in a by-election last November.

  51. 'Invest in safety'

    BBC Radio 4

    The long-term Scottish Green picture on immigration is ultimately to invest in "the safety and long term prosperity of those countries" that people are fleeing from, say Patrick Harvie, co-convener of the Scottish Greens. "Some degree of immigration system is necessary," he says, including an application process for asylum.

  52. Wreath laying

    Cameron

    Having just given his speech about his vision for Britain in 2020. David Cameron now looks sombre as he lays his wreath in remembrance of those who lost their lives fighting in Gallipoli.

  53. Gallipoli centenary

    Clegg Miliband

    There will be a lull in the campaigning for the next few hours as the leaders of some of the main parties come together to pay their respects to fallen soldiers from the battle of Gallipoli. It started with a minute's silence.

    The ceremony is being held to mark 100 years since the battle, which was one of the bloodiest of World War One.

  54. What is the Lib Dem choice?

  55. More on Cameron's 'brain fade'

    BBC's Jonny Dymond at the scene

    How do you do that? The prime minister has talked of his love of Aston Villa.

    He has dressed in the claret and blue strip of Aston Villa while out running.

    So how did he, in the midst of a celebration of all the different national teams that you can support in multi-ethnic Britain, proclaim his support for West Ham?

    The colours are about the same but that’s about it.

    To govern is to choose, as the PM has remarked before. So, which was it, I asked him, Villa or West Ham?

    "A brain-fade" said the PM, rushing back in to the arms of Villa, obviously more than a little embarrassed that his football street-cred had just rushed down the toilet.

    And then, offstage, he gave himself a good kicking, joining the football fans on Twitter who were doing the very same thing.

  56. Greens to roll out chip-fat campaign bus

    The Green Party is going to launch its campaign bus on Tuesday from Bristol West.

    The bus, which was used in 2014, runs on chip fat.

    At the 2010 election the Lib Dems had 48% of the vote in the Bristol West constituency - but the Greens have said they have a chance of winning the seat.

  57. Labour quizzed over NHS privatisation

    Ed Miliband

    Ed Miliband took questions from reporters at the end of his speech. Iain Watson from the BBC says the Lib Dems have accused Labour of "rank hypocrisy" over the NHS because the last Labour government paid private providers for health services. Ed Miliband responds that there is "a huge difference" between what happened under a Labour government which "used the private sector to supplement the NHS and bring down waiting lists" rather than this government's policies "leading to the wholesale privatisation of the NHS".

  58. Cameron mixes up (football) teams

    David Cameron

    Mid-speech Mr Cameron declared he wanted more people to support West Ham, even though he is a well-known supporter of Aston Villa.

    Picked up on the confusion by the BBC's Jonny Dymond he said: "I had what Natalie [Bennett leader of the Green Party] would describe as a brain fade. I'm a Villa fan I don't know what happened to me I must have been overcome with something this morning, but there we are, these things sometimes happen when you're on the stump."

    He then said that voting Liberal Democrat is like the film Forrest Gump.

    "You don't know what you're going to get. They're saying they could be just as likely to support Labour as they would the Conservatives."

  59. 'A really close election'

    Ed Miliband

    Ed Miliband rounds off his speech to party activists in Stevenage with a reminder that it's important for Labour to win the constuency. "This is going to be a really close election. It could come down to a few hundred votes in a few dozen constituencies - and Stevenage is one of those constituencies." He ends with a quip to the Steveage campaigners: "If you've got any DIY that needs doing in the next 12 days, put it off 'til 8 May. Nights out, birthday parties, family weddings: I'm afraid they're all cancelled," before praising their hard work.

  60. 'Opportunity country of the world'

    David Cameron closed his speech in south London by saying he wanted Britain to become the "opportunity country of the world, where you can go as far as your talents will take you."

  61. Miliband pledges 'profit cap' in NHS

    Ed Miliband

    Ed Miliband says that Labour would have a "profit cap on the amount companies can take out of our National Health Service, to make sure always that the money is invested in patients and we put patients before profits." There will be a "strict 2% limit on private patient income... to prevent a two-tier service". Also, in the first 100 days of government Labour would "put before Parliament a bill to repeal the dreadful and disgraceful Health and Social Care Act, which is causing such chaos in our National Health Service" he adds.

  62. Cameron's 'mission' for Britain

    Prime Minister David Cameron, speaking in Croydon, adds: "Our mission is to make sure that as our economy recovers, people from every community share in that prosperity, that we spread it far and wide.

    "Because after all, it doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from, we all want the same thing, a good job, a great education, the chance to get on, the chance to make it."

    He said he wanted to see a 20% increase in number of black and minority ethnic (BME) students going to university, and a 20% increase in the proportion of apprenticeships going to BME apprentices.

    He also said that by 2020 he wanted to see 20,000 more people from diverse backgrounds "striking out on their own" and fulfilling their dreams, he said he wanted to harness "the spirit that turns someone from dreamer to inventor".

  63. 'Two-tier NHS'

    Ed Miliband

    A second term of the Conservatives in government would see "stealth privatisation" of the NHS, Labour leader Ed Miliband says. "NHS patients pushed to the back of longer and longer queues, operations delayed, and an NHS not there when people need it." He adds that the Conservatives would create a "two-tier NHS where you have to pay to get seen".

  64. UK a shining example, says Cameron

    David Cameron

    David Cameron kicks off his speech in Croydon, south London, by saying that half a million jobs have been created in the capital since 2010. "Why this matters so much? Opportunity," he says.

    "I'm not saying that we have solved every problem or tackled every prejudice

    He added that he thought the UK was a "shining example of a country where multiple identities work together".

    "This isn't just about living together it's about thriving together," he says.

  65. 'New danger'

    Ed Miliband

    Labour leader Ed Miliband swings into the main thrust of his speech this morning: "Today I want to tell you about a new danger, and that's the threat of Tory privatisation in our National Heath Service," he says. Under the coalition government, 40% of health contracts have gone to private providers, and private patient income is "up 58% since David Cameron came to power". At the same time waiting lists are rising, operations have been cancelled and A&Es are "overflowing", he adds.

  66. Miliband NHS speech

    Ed Miliband

    Ed Miliband's kicks off with a light-hearted quip at the start of a speech about the NHS in Steveage: "Can I apologise for getting you out of bed quite so early on a Saturday morning?" he says to assembled Labour activists. "I'm sure you're knocking on doors already at this time in the morning," he adds.

  67. Iain Watson, BBC political correspondent

    @iainjwatson

    Tweets: Labour Party activists gather in Stevenage for an Ed Miliband 'campaign stop' #GE2015

    Supporters at Ed Miliband event
  68. Tories 'should not attack Ed' - Lord Ashcroft

    The Independent

    Lord Ashcroft

    One story gaining a lot of interest this morning is the Independent's front page about the former Conservative treasurer-turned-pollster Lord Ashcroft who has accused David Cameron of harming the party's hopes of victory in the general election by focusing its campaign on attacking Ed Miliband rather than setting out a positive vision for the future.

    Lord Ashcroft wrote in The Independent that wavering voters were switching to Labour after seeing how, rather than crumbling under Tory fire, Mr Miliband was showing "a good deal of resilience in the face of some rather unseemly attacks".

  69. 'Flee persecution'

    Patrick Harvie, co-convener for the Scottish Greens, says that Italian-run search and rescue operation that was cancelled last year for migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean should be restarted. "Thousands of people died making this crossing last year," he says. "People have a right to be able to flee persecution, conflict, and poverty, and we need to ensure they have a safe means of doing so."

  70. Lib Dems pledge for military mental health

    Soldiers

    As well as ruling out any deal with the SNP, the Liberal Democrats are also set to pledge £10m for mental health services for military personnel and veterans.

    The party leader Nick Clegg will announce the boost for servicemen and women who are suffering from mental ill health, saying it will help to "serve those who have served".

    The deputy prime minister said it would more than double the money currently available to help veterans overcome problems such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

  71. Cameron 'to be swiftly swapped' for Johnson

    Here's a really interesting story from the Daily Telegraph . If the Conservatives don't get an outright majority at the election, Boris Johnson is being lined up to swiftly replace David Cameron as the leader of the Conservatives, it says. As things stand according to the Electoral Calculus website , no party is headed for an outright majority.

  72. Death threat for Labour candidate

    Anas Sarwar

    Labour candidate for Glasgow central Anas Sarwar has received a death threat on his answering machine.

    The message threatening to shoot the former Scottish Labour deputy leader was left on the machine of his Glasgow office between 8-10 April.

    Scottish Labour said the matter has been reported to police. Scottish Labour deputy leader Kezia Dugdale said: "These types of threats have no place in our society."

    Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy tweeted: "Nobody should have to put up with vile threats like this. @AnasSarwar won't be deterred."

  73. 'Human desperation'

    BBC Radio 4 Today

    Migrants, Italy

    Prime minister David Cameron has sent a naval ship to help in the rescue of migrants in the Meditteranean, but Patrick Harvie, co-convener of the Scottish Greens tells the Today programme that the issue "is not a defence matter, and a military response is wrong-headed". "What we have here is human desperation," Mr Harvie says. "We need to deal with the causes and the consequences of that human desperation."

  74. Private healthcare cap

    BBC Radio 4 Today

    Labour has pledged to drastically reduce the amount of money NHS Foundation Trusts can earn from private healthcare, Health editor Hugh Pym tells the Today programme: "Coalition health reforms in 2013 allowed Foundation Trusts to earn up to 49% of their income from private services... Labour is now proposing a cap of 2% on such work, unless key performance benchmarks are achieved."

  75. Labour and NHS privatisation

    BBC Radio 4 Today

    Labour says the average private patient income for NHS Foundation Trusts was up 58% from the financial year before the last election to the year to March 2014. Health editor Hugh Pym tells the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: "It [Labour] claims leading hospitals have been increasing private work at the same time as some services for NHS patients have got worse, including more cancelled operations and longer waits in A&E."

  76. Papers round up

    If you're just waking up, why not take a few minutes to peruse this morning's papers. Click here for all the front pages and a precis of the main stories.

  77. Brown warning of 'old divisions'

    Gordon Brown is warning of the possibility of a second independence referendum reopening "old divisions" if the Tories win a majority and the SNP gains a large number of seats.

    The former prime minister, who is not standing for re-election as an MP, also urged "patriotic Scots" to reject fiscal autonomy and the SNP and back Labour's plan for full employment in Scotland.

    During a joint event with local Labour candidate and shadow foreign secretary Douglas Alexander at Elderslie Village Hall in Renfrewshire, Mr Brown is expected to say: "I believe that the majority of Scots are like me, both proud patriots and men and women who want real change."

    Gordon Brown
    Quote Message: And we need people to vote Labour because if we end up on May 8 with a host of SNP MPs and a Tory government we will not only be denied real change we need urgently but, as the SNP then demand a second referendum, the old divisions bitterness and acrimony will start again.
  78. Big guns

    Labour is wheeling out some of the big guns in Scotland today. Deputy leader Harriet Harman will meet voters in Glasgow with shadow Scottish secretary Margaret Curran, while former prime minister Gordon Brown will be in neighbouring Elderslie with shadow foreign secretary Douglas Alexander. Ms Harman will launch a consultation on allowing working grandparents to share parents' unpaid parental leave.

  79. Farage: 'Stupid' over back pain

    Nigel Farage

    Politics correspondent Adam Fleming says UKIP has confirmed that party leader Nigel Farage has been suffering from chronic back pain for the whole of the election campaign - in fact, since he was in a light plane crash on the polling day of the 2010 election. In an interview, Mr Farage says: "At the start of the campaign I was in a great deal of pain. It's my fault, I've be stupid, I've not been doing physio, I've not been doing my exercises. I've been so obsessed with the UKIP campaign that I put myself into a position where for a couple of weeks I wasn't really firing on all cylinders, and I think people noticed it... I'm not unwell at all, but I did have neuralgic pain." Mr Farage is having treatment, and he's gone private, Adam adds.

  80. Post update

    BBC News Channel

    Adam Fleming

    Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg is seeking to present himself as "the nice guy in the middle" of UK politics by ruling out propping up a government reliant on the SNP, corespondent Adam Fleming tells the BBC News Channel. Mr Clegg has also given similar red lines over a Conservative and UKIP alliance. Polls suggest that neither Labour nor the Conservatives will win enough seats to form a government by themselves.

  81. Good morning

    Tom Espiner, Politics reporter

    Labour is to continue focusing on the NHS today, and is expected to highlight increased use of the private sector in healthcare, and will claim hospitals prioritise private patients. The Conservatives are to pledge that they will deliver more "jobs, apprenticeships, homes and new opportunities" for people from black, Asian and minority ethnic communities. And expect more comment on Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg's announcement that he would not prop up a government that was reliant on the SNP for support.