Afternoon summary
- Ed Miliband has accused David Cameron of applying to be prime minister and then failing to turn up for the job interview before Thursday night’s BBC leaders’ debate which will only feature the challenger parties.
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Richard Desmond, the Express owner, has announced that he is giving £1m to Ukip. (See 5.50pm.)
This blog is now closed.
Express owner Richard Desmond gives £1m to Ukip
Richard Desmond, owner of the Express newspapers, is giving £1m to Ukip, the Express is reporting.
Here’s an extract from its story.
Daily Express owner Richard Desmond has become the UK Independence Party’s most high-profile donor by handing over £1million to Nigel Farage’s fighting fund.
In a dramatic intervention into the general election campaign, the media tycoon announced that the cash injection towards Ukip¹s drive to win more MPs was a “challenging” gesture to shake up a Westminster establishment that has lost the trust of millions of voters.
And he hailed the massive boost to the election war chest of Mr Farage’s People’s Army as a “Fanfare for the Common Man.”
The cash comes on top of a £300,000 donation given to Ukip last year by Mr Desmond, who also owns the Sunday Express, the Daily Star and OK! magazine.
Last night, the Guardian staged the first of six events at universities around the country, titled You Talk, They Listen – with the subject under discussion in each instance picked by students on campus, with candidates from the parties invited to respond to what they’ve heard. At the University of Sussex, the topic was climate change, with a panel that included professor of energy policy Jim Watson and the Observer’s Lucy Siegle. The only politician to make it was the Green’s Caroline Lucas. You can read more here.
The second event, in Manchester tomorrow deals with higher education and tickets are still available.
Updated
Earlier David Cameron said that Ed Balls’ description of the Treasury note Liam Byrne left for the Tories about there being no money left as a joke was “frankly the most appalling thing I have heard in this election campaign so far”. (See 12.54pm.)
Now Danny Alexander, the Lib Dem chief secretary to the Treasury, has got involved too.
Ed Balls may think it’s funny that Labour left the country with no money but it’s no laughing matter for the millions of people who’ve been working so hard to turn the economy around.
Rather than laughing about the state of the economy under Labour, Ed Balls should be apologising for it.
This is yet another economic gaffe from a party that has no ideas about growing the economy and, left to their own devices, would repeat the many mistakes they made last time.
For the record, here is what Ed Balls actually said. He was speaking in an interview on BBC West Midlands yesterday.
Q: Do you honestly believe that people can trust you? That issue about Labour being safe with the economy has gone away?
Ed Balls: I think people want to know the sums add up. People know that the global financial crisis wasn’t caused by Labour’s spending; it wasn’t Labour’s spending on nurses and doctors which meant the Lehman Brothers investment bank went bankrupt in New York. Liam Byrne’s note was a jokey note, of course the money hadn’t run…
Q: It backfired though, didn’t it?
Ed Balls: Well, look, because David Laws, his successor, decided to make what was supposed to be a private note, public. It was supposed to be a piece of humour. In fact, in that year, the government spend hundreds of billions of pounds, so of course the money hadn’t run out, but there was a large deficit, and we had to get it down, and we needed to get it down in a fair way.
And, while we’re on the subject of Ukip, BuzzFeed reports that the Royal British Legion has described the use of its poppy in an advert for a Ukip candidate as “wholly unacceptable”. The Legion said the poppy, which is sold every year in advance of Remembrance Day, is a registered trademark which should not be used in a political campaign. Ukip has apologised.
Here’s Nigel Farage being interviewed in a mini, insisting he doesn’t regret saying he would stand down in South Thanet if he didn’t win.
This is my Becher’s Brook. There’s a fence there. I’ve got to clear it. If I don’t clear it, life will change.
My own view is that it was a mistake for him, as the Conservatives and Labour seem to be throwing more resource into the seat in a “decapitation” strategy.
Labour’s Scottish secretary Margaret Curran has accused Ruth Davidson of betraying the promises of the Smith Agreement, after this morning’s Scottish Conservative manifesto repeated the plans in the main Conservative manifesto to extend the principle of EVEL to financial matters, including the possibility of setting an English rate of income tax.
Labour leader Jim Murphy has already described this as a “brutal betrayal” of Scotland and the spirit of Smith. Now Curran has denounced the plans, which will block Scottish MPs from voting on English income tax rates when Holyrood gains controls of rates in Scotland.
Although SNP deputy leader Stewart Hosie likewise dismissed the Tory pledge as “ripping up” the Smith agreement, Curran argues: “Scotland is now in danger of being caught in a classic pincer movement between a Tory party that wants to cut Scotland out of the UK budget and the SNP that wants to cut Scotland out of UK taxes. We now have a Tory party committed to an England only tax system and the SNP hell bent on Scotland only taxes.”
Updated
Updated
Christopher Hope was the Telegraph journalist who asked Nigel Farage at the Ukip manifesto launch yesterday why there was only one black face in the document. He was aggressively heckled by Ukip activists at the event, and then abused on Twitter. He has posted this video about what they had to say.
Twitter feedback from Ukippers. Read by me, filmed by @alastairgood for the @Telegraph: https://t.co/xhu4Lt3m3h
— Christopher Hope (@christopherhope) April 16, 2015
Ken Clarke warns Tories against 'silly' pledges and 'blank cheques'
The Conservative grandee, whose government career has spanned three separate cabinets, has delivered a pretty damning verdict on the Tory election campaign so far in the New Statesman.
V good interview with Ken Clarke by @AnooshChakelian here. Says govt failed on balanced economy and living standards http://t.co/lekzAOJ4aW
— Rowena Mason (@rowenamason) April 16, 2015
In an interview with Anoosh Chakelian, Clarke, who is running as an MP for what he says is the last time, has warned his party against wrecking a “very fragile” recovery by being “silly”:
We still have not created a rebalanced, modern, competitive economy, which can start producing sustainable rises in living standards and employment laws, and I think it is the single biggest issue affecting the country at the moment - that’s my genuine view...
We’ve got a very good recovery at the moment, but it’s very fragile and can soon be swept away if we start doing silly things.
Clarke also says:
His party is too right-wing, which has stopped it winning:
No one seems to be able to win elections nowadays. I belong to the Conservative party that usually won elections! Before 1992, the Conservative party had been the national governing party of the country for most of my lifetime. And most elections I fought the Conservative party had won. And now we haven’t been able to win an election for 23 years.
AC: What’s that down to?
Well, it’s become much too right-wing. Which I hope David will continue to seek to redress in coming times.
It will “cost votes” to personally attack Ed Miliband:
The public debate and the media, which is becoming increasingly celebrity culture, rather hysterical, sensational, and reduces the whole thing to theatre. Everybody’s election campaigns are presidential, everything’s attributed to the party leader. What matters is how the party leader eats a hamburger and all this type of thing. I mean, it does switch the public off.
AC: Tories seem to feel it’s beneficial to attack Ed Miliband’s personality...
Yes, with some people yeah. That’s if you buy this notion that it’s all celebrity culture.
AC: Michael Fallon got in a bit of trouble for calling Ed Miliband a backstabber...
Well. I won’t get onto that, but personally I disapprove of personal attacks on your opponents. I’ve never done that. I also think it costs you votes. If either side goes in for personal attacks on the other side.
Updated
Hi. I’m taking over for the rest of the afternoon. And then, after 5pm, I’ll be launching a new blog to cover the BBC challengers debate.
As Francis Perraudin reported earlier (see 9.46am), the Lib Dems are calling for people to vote tactically in 20 Tory-facing seats. Here is the list of 20 seats: St Ives, St Austell and Newquay, North Cornwall, North Devon, Torbay, Cheadle, Hazel Grove, Berwick-upon-Tweed, Solihull, St Albans, Bath, Montgomeryshire, Maidstone, Chippenham, Berwickshire, Watford, Mid Dorset and North Poole, Taunton Deane, Somerton and Frome, and Oxford West and Abingdon.
And this is what Nick Clegg said about them.
If you are a voter in one of those 20 seats which are being contested between the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives, the Conservatives will tell you ‘vote Conservative to keep Ed Miliband out’. It’s a nonsense, because the Conservatives are not going to win a majority anyway.
But the real threat, the one which I don’t think has been considered nearly enough, is this threat - is of a right-wing alliance cobbled together between Ukip, the DUP and the Conservatives. We are the only party that stands between the country and that future.
Cameron addresses PM direct event - summary
The prime minister told workers in Leeds that the open meeting was “his debate” in a nod to tonight’s live TV showdown between the opposition leaders. Cameron, with open collar and sleeves rolled up, didn’t face the sort of grilling he might expect to face at tonight’s BBC debate but was still taken to task over a broad range of key issues. Here’s a summary of what he had to say:
- Asked about his take on the IMF’s gloomy prediction of UK growth over the next five years, which dealt a blow to George Osborne’s manifesto deficit promises, Cameron says the IMF view would be better if they predicted a Tory majority. “The IMF are forecasting, regrettably from my point of view, the IMF are forecasting that I don’t win the election outright,” he says.
- Cameron continues to refuse to even humour the prospect of another coalition, sticking to the line that he is campaigning for a Tory majority and a Tory majority only. “We’re 23 seats short,” he told the workers. “I don’t want another coalition.”
- The prime minister defended the Conservatives recent pledge to extend the right to buy scheme to 1.3 million families in housing association properties. Asked if the announcement was a bid to “buy votes” rather than a genuine policy, Cameron said: “It’s a genuine housing policy.” He then recalled how he felt when he bought his first flat, which the Telegraph’s Matthew Holehouse points out is now worth £1.4m.
"I'll never forget the day I bought my first flat," says Cameron. It's in Notting Hill, now £1.4m, he doesn't add http://t.co/rB0BxVmZLL
— Matthew Holehouse (@mattholehouse) April 16, 2015
- Cameron is asked about regulation of the private rental sector. He says growth of the sector is a “good thing”, but that there are too many short tenancies. He says the Tories have worked with landlord associations to encourage two-year, three-year or longer tenancies. The PM also says there is more to be done on making sure landlords return the full amount of security deposits, rather than docking payments due to hidden charges. “Transparency and rights for tenants are areas we should look at,” he said.
- The prime minister then recapped his party’s proposals for inheritance tax. “There should be inheritance tax in this country and it should be paid by the wealthiest,” he said.
- Finally, Cameron was asked what he will do for the Yorkshire region. He listed some key areas of development which will boost Yorkshire’s economy - improving skills among workers, transport links and continuing to work on the “northern powerhouse” concept.
Updated
Cameron’s Q&A has finished. He seemed to have his stock answers on not planning for a coalition pretty well-polished, and he also seemed to suggest it was the broadcasters that locked him out of tonight’s TV debate, rather than him refusing to turn up.
We’ll post a summary of what he said shortly.
Cameron is asked about regulation of the private rental sector.
He says growth of the sector is a “good thing”, but that there are too many short tenancies. He says the Tories have worked with landlord associations to encourage two-year, three-year or longer tenancies.
The PM also says there is more to be done on making sure landlords return the full amount of security deposits, rather than docking payments due to hidden charges.
Updated
PM says he "didn't get invited" to tonight's debate. Not sure the broadcasters would agree
— James Tapsfield (@JamesTapsfield) April 16, 2015
The first question he takes is on the IMF’s gloomy prediction of UK growth over the next five years, which seemingly blows a hole on George Osborne’s manifesto deficit promises.
Cameron says the IMF is forecasting – “regrettably” – that the Conservatives will not win the election outright, which is why the economic prediction is so gloomy.
PA’s James Tapsfield is there and has posted this video of Cameron:
First question on IMF forecast that deficit target will be missed pic.twitter.com/YBfCRQ6rUl
— James Tapsfield (@JamesTapsfield) April 16, 2015
Cameron addresses PM Direct event in Leeds
David Cameron is speaking now at a PM Direct event in Leeds. He’s looking very casual and summery, without a tie and with his sleeves rolled up in a “get things done” kind of way.
I’ll post a summary of what his says shortly.
Updated
Trick-shot Miliband pots the red
If you read Simon Hattenstone’s big interview with the Labour leader last month (and if not, why not?) you will know that Ed Miliband is something of a pool and snooker fan. And if you still don’t believe it, you should watch this clip posted by ITV’s Tom Bradby, from an interview to be broadcast this evening.
Can #Miliband play pool? The Labour leader had a game with @tombradby whilst discussing politics. #itvtonight 1930 https://t.co/XDGAnC3vof
— ITV News (@itvnews) April 16, 2015
In an audacious cannon off the cushion, Miliband manages to send a red home in a centre pocket. A good omen for Labour’s election chances?
Updated
Our focus group verdict on the manifestos
What do the real voters think now the main parties have launched their manifestos? We have 60 in five key seats on hand throughout the campaign as part of our polling project with BritainThinks. They each have an app and are telling us their view of stories and issues as they crop up.
Below are some of the responses submitted in their daily diaries since the Lib Dem and Ukip manifesto launches yesterday. (Use the arrows on the right-hand side to scroll through the responses.)
Looking for alternative methods of predicting the outcome of the general election? BBC Daily Politics reporter Ellie Price has been in Devon for “political pig-racing” with Hameron, Swiliband, Forage and Pork Clegg.
Snouting around with Hameron, Swiliband, Forage and Pork Clegg as they race to Number 10 in #ge2015 film from #Devon https://t.co/X9pICUJxQj
— DailySunday Politics (@daily_politics) April 16, 2015
Political correspondent Rowena Mason has more on David Cameron’s fury at Ed Balls’ claim that former Labour minister Liam Byrne was joking when he left a note in the Treasury warning there was no money left (see 12.54).
She says:
Speaking from Scotland, Cameron then launched a personal attack on Balls, saying his comments about the Byrne note to the Treasury were “frankly the most appalling thing I have heard in this election campaign so far”.
He claimed Balls was Miliband’s third choice to be shadow chancellor and was frankly “the country’s last choice to be put in charge of this nation’s finances”.
He said: “The note that was left was correct. It said there was no money left. Let us think about the consequences of what we inherited and what we had to do. We had to make difficult decisions, we had to find efficiencies in government spending, we had to put up some taxes.”
Lunchtime summary
- Ed Miliband has accused David Cameron of applying to be prime minister and then failing to turn up for the job interview ahead of tonight’s challengers’ debate (see 12.32). The Labour leader will face the SNP’s Nicola Sturgeon, Ukip’s Nigel Farage, the Green party’s Natalie Bennett and Plaid Cymru’s Leanne Wood in a live contest hosted by David Dimbleby at 8pm on BBC1. However, Cameron declined to take part. Speaking in north London, Miliband said: “I think if you are applying for the job of prime minister, the very least the British people expect is for you to turn up to the job interview.”
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David Cameron has warned that a Labour-SNP partnership after 7 May would amount to a “coaliation of chaos” (see summary at 12.00). The prime minister was in Glasgow for the Scottish Tories manifesto launch. “Together, they pose a clear threat to the future of our United Kingdom,” Cameron said. “A coalition of chaos. The SNP acting as the chain to Labour’s wrecking ball, running right through our economic recovery - and it will be you who pays the price.”
- Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg warned a rightwing alliance of Ukip, the Democratic Unionists and the Conservatives could hold power after the election – a scenario the Liberal Democrats labelled Blukip. “It is a right wing alliance that brings together people who don’t believe in climate change; who reject gay rights; who want the death penalty back; and people who want to scrap human rights legislation and privatise our schools and hospitals,” Clegg said.
Updated
ITV deputy political editor Chris Ship has tweeted some sneak preview pictures from inside the BBC debate studio where the opposition leaders will face off later this evening.
Inside the #bbc debate studio. Where David Dimbleby has 2 fewer names to remember than @julieetchitv pic.twitter.com/xf9qBioESp
— Chris Ship (@chrisshipitv) April 16, 2015
Labour donations four times higher than Tories during first week of campaigning
The Electoral Commission has published details of donations received by political parties and the results might surprise you - Labour received four times more money than the Tories in the first week of the formal election campaign.
We’ve published details of donations received by political parties in 1st pre-poll report worth £2.5m before #GE2015 http://t.co/qW5Yh6axc8
— Electoral Commission (@ElectoralCommUK) April 16, 2015
The Press Association has filed this report:
Labour received nearly four times more money in donations than the Conservatives in the first week of the formal election campaign.
Ed Miliband’s party received £1,887,312 in donations, compared with the £501,850 given to David Cameron’s party between Monday March 30 and Sunday April 5.
Donations to Ukip amounted to £35,416, outstripping the £20,000 given to the Lib Dems, while the Green Party received £8,400.
Updated
Ed Balls has reportedly dismissed the handwritten note left by the former Labour cabinet minister Liam Byrne warning that there was no money left as a “joke”. This has made David Cameron angry and he wants you to know that.
Ed Balls dismissing the note Labour left Britain as a "joke" is a disgrace. My video: https://t.co/WO0I9ZwJsF
— David Cameron (@David_Cameron) April 16, 2015
Updated
While we’re showcasing our videos, in this short film, Guardian columnists Jonathan Freedland and Aditya Chakrabortty discuss the warning from the International Monetary Fund that Britain’s deficit will not be reduced in the next decade.
Updated
John Harris interviews Nick Clegg - video
In the latest in his twice-weekly election road trip series, John Harris has interviewed Nick Clegg in the Liberal Democrat leader’s seat of Sheffield Hallam, and witnesses a surreal political battle. Local students are furious at the Lib Dems over their broken promise on tuition fees; Labour claim to be on the march; and Clegg is accused of ducking public debate. One big question hangs over everything: could the deputy prime minister lose his seat?
Updated
Miliband attacks Cameron for not taking part in tonight's debate
Ed Miliband has uttered an early contender for quote of the day ahead of tonight’s opposition leaders debate: “I think if you are applying for the job of prime minister, the very least the British people expect is for you to turn up to the job interview.”
My colleague Rowena Mason was on the scene in north London when Miliband hit out at David Cameron’s decision not to attend tonight’s televised showdown, and she has filed this report:
Ed Miliband has accused David Cameron of applying to be prime minister and then failing to turn up for the job interview ahead of tonight’s BBC leaders’ debate that will only feature the challenger parties.
The Labour leader will face the SNP’s Nicola Sturgeon, Ukip’s Nigel Farage, the Green party’s Natalie Bennett and Plaid Cymru’s Leanne Wood in a live contest hosted by David Dimbleby at 8pm on BBC One.
However, Cameron declined to take part, having agreed only to do one debate with seven participants on ITV two weeks ago. This meant the broadcaster barred Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg from taking part as well, since he was also from a party of government. Clegg has complained to the BBC about not being invited.
Speaking in north London, Miliband said: “Here’s what I believe: I think if you are applying for the job of prime minister, the very least the British people expect is for you to turn up to the job interview.”
Updated
Nick Clegg has issued a warning over an alliance of right-wing Tories, Ukip and the DUP, which he has dubbed ‘Blukip’ (see playing cards at 10.32 from my colleague Frances Perraudin who has filed this report).
Here’s some of the key quotes from Clegg’s speech, which was delivered in Cheadle:
BLUKIP – a bloc of right wingers from UKIP, the Conservatives and the DUP that could hold the balance of power.
There is a very real danger that Nigel Farage and his friends could hold David Cameron to ransom.
It is a right wing alliance that brings together people who don’t believe in climate change; who reject gay rights; who want the death penalty back; and people who want to scrap human rights legislation and privatise our schools and hospitals.
Here’s a few Tweets from reporters covering the Welsh Labour manifesto launch, including our own Steven Morris.
Labour Welsh manifesto - Owen Smith emphasises there wd be "solidarity" between Labour assembly g'ment + Labour Westminster administration.
— steven morris (@stevenmorris20) April 16, 2015
More devo plans in the @welshlabour manifesto - fracking, energy and transport pic.twitter.com/yyafBY756L
— David Deans (@DeansOfCardiff) April 16, 2015
And now for the big one, £375m extra to come to Wales every year - raised by taxes across UK @OwenSmith4MP says up to welsh govt how spent
— Megan Boot (@meganbootITV) April 16, 2015
Meanwhile, while Cameron made the trip north to join Ruth Davidson for the Scottish Tory manifesto launch, Labour leader Ed Miliband has been campaigning in north London rather than join Owen Smith for the Welsh Labour launch.
Guardian gets behind voter registration drive
The Guardian is today launching a campaign to increase voter registration in the UK, before the cut-off point of Monday 20 April. In an editorial headlined ‘Sign up and be counted’, the paper says:
Despite the huge significance of this vote, millions of citizens are disenfranchising themselves. They have yet to register. And if you don’t register by midnight on Monday, then you won’t be voting on Thursday 7 May.
And in a direct appeal to the section of society least likely to exercise their democratic right …
Students, it’s not even necessary to get out of bed! As long as you have your national insurance number and access to the internet, you can register online atwww.gov.uk/register-to-vote. If you don’t, you will disappear into unrecorded space, a mass whose presence, like the Higgs boson, can be deduced only from the maths.
In an example of the scale of the self-disenfranchisement, reporter Robert Booth spent some time in Apathy Central – otherwise known as Manchester Central, where the constituency’s Labour MP won a 2012 byelection with support of just 12% of the electorate. Here’s a flavour of some of the responses Rob got when he asked people why they don’t vote:
Moss Side, racked with drug-related gun violence in the 1990s and still a poor, troubled area where people are pinched and on edge, is a corner of Britain that seems most in need of political leadership. Wouldn’t voting make a difference?
“Yeah, right,” said Elaine, 56, a volunteer at the Compassion food bank in the basement of the Church of God of Prophecy, which gives food parcels to people whose benefits have been sanctioned. “People are not getting help, and when you’re not getting help you don’t want to vote for anybody.”
“I feel I have been forcibly excluded from participating in politics and the issues that are of interest to me and my children,” said Ray Linton, 58, a former youth worker who has been unemployed for eight years. “They think speaking on TV is all they need to do. Everything is distant now.”
To help readers who want to register but don’t know how – this particularly applies to younger people who have never voted – Guardian’s community co-ordinator Carmen Fishwick has produced this guide to all you need to know.
Wales' first minister Carwyn Jones at the launch of Welsh Labour's manifesto. http://t.co/0s25GyFbhv
— steven morris (@stevenmorris20) April 16, 2015
Welsh Labour launches its manifesto
As Cameron was attempting to woo the Scots, Welsh Labour launched its manifesto in Llandudno. My colleague Steven Morris has reported back.
He says:
The Welsh first minister, Carwyn Jones, promised that a Labour government in Westminster would give hope to the people of Wales after five years of austerity.
Owen Smith, the shadow Welsh secretary, mentioned “solidarity” three times in his introductory remarks. He said a Labour government in London would work on partnership with the assembly administration on Cardiff.
More powers for Wales on policing, fracking and the work programme were promised. An extra £375m a year was pledged for Wales. And a promise to train an extra 1,000 doctors and nurses.
Jones and Smith played down the idea of Plaid Cymru, who have made headlines during the campaign, having a serious impact. They insist it’s a choice between a Labour or Tory PM.
Updated
Scottish Tory manifesto launch - summary
Cameron and Davidson have wrapped up at the Scottish Conservatives manifesto launch. I suspect the prime minister is off for a wee stroll round Glasgow now. Ahem.
In summary, here’s what Cameron had to say:
- The prime minister’s opening remarks laid in to Labour and the Scottish National Party - and more specifically a potential coalition between the two parties. “Together, they pose a clear threat to the future of our United Kingdom,” Cameron said. “A coalition of chaos. The SNP acting as the chain to Labour’s wrecking ball, running right through our economic recovery - and it will be you who pays the price.”
- Cameron then shifted the focus on his track record on holding the United Kingdom together, championing the union with a cross-border embrace. “We’re committed to our United Kingdom – and we would never do anything to undermine it,” he said. Has he already forgotten just how close the Scottish independence referendum was?
- Then the prime minister came over all elegiac with a rousing tribute to Scottish armed forces. “I think of Lord Lovat’s bagpipes on D Day as the troops landed ashore,” he said. I could almost hear the bagpipes myself.
- This led to an announcement that Tories would further expand Combined Cadet Force Units in state schools.
- Cameron then moved to show how his party’s economic plan has benefitted Scotland. “174,000 people back to work. Taxes cut for 2.3 million people. Unemployment down by 56,000.
Scotland growing faster per head than the rest of the UK.” - He closed with a final call for the people of Scotland to back the Conservatives if they back “our UK”.
Updated
Ipsos Mori poll has Labour extending lead over Tories
Labour has extended its lead over the Conservatives in the latest Ipsos Mori phone poll for the Evening Standard, the Guardian’s data editor Alberto Nardelli writes.
Miliband’s party is on 35% (+1 from last month), the Tories are on 33% (unchanged), Ukip have fallen three points and are now on 10%. The Greens are up two on 8% and the Lib Dems are in fifth place on 7%, down one.
Lab lead by 2 in new monthly Ipsos MORI phone poll Lab 35 (+1) Con 33 (nc) Ukip 10 (-3) Green 8 (+2) LD 7 (-1) http://t.co/AsomS1rvTQ
— May2015 Election (@May2015NS) April 16, 2015
David Cameron is still seen as the better leader; however the proportion of voters who are happy with how Miliband is doing his job has risen from 28 to 33% – his best ratings since October 2013.
The poll follows YouGov’s daily tracker, which sees Labour one-point ahead of the Tories, and in the lead for the fourth consecutive day.
The Guardian’s latest projection has the Conservatives and Labour virtually tied. However, an alliance between Labour and the SNP would secure the 326 seats needed for a majority.
All is still to play for, but with just three weeks to go Labour have a marginal advantage.
Now attention turns to tonight’s Challenger’s debate - the key question: will it be Miliband v The Rest, or Everyone v Cameron (who cannot but shout his replies at the TV)?
The prime minister and Ruth Davidson are now taking questions at the Scottish Tories manifesto launch. Answers below are from David Cameron.
Q: Ed Miliband says if you’re turning up for the job of prime minister why don’t you turn up for job interview? This is a reference to Cameron’s absence at tonight’s debate.
A: This was a debate for opposition parties, Cameron says. You will see tonight the potential for a “coalition of chaos”. The way to avoid it is to vote Conservative.
Q: Tory manifesto is offering big giveaways. In face of IMF warnings how can people believe you’ll balance the books? Also Ed Balls says there was money left at end of last parliament.
A: The numbers show Tory plans are practical and achievable and based on track record in Government, Cameron says. Ed Balls claim is worst thing Cameron has heard so far in this election campaign.
Q: Why not offer full fiscal autonomy for Scotland?
A: I don’t want this. I am a true believer in our UK, Cameron says. It’s not just a place on the map, it’s about solidarity and that’s what fiscal union is about.
Q: Chance of a Tory majority at 4%, according to recent poll, shouldn’t you stop believing and campaigning on the basis this will happen?
A: We’re only 20 seats from a majority, Cameron claims. There is only one way from stopping Labour forming Government with SNP is to vote Conservative.
Q: What do you say to people who say the Conservatives were on the wrong side of devolution for a century?
A: Look at the record of this Conservative prime minister in office, Cameron says. Who held that referendum? Who’s worked night and day for devolved Government in Northern Ireland. Who is committed to solving the English question?
Updated
Ruth Davidson on right to buy: "blocked by the SNP, backed by the Scottish Conservatives, a plan for working ppl who want to get on in life"
— Libby Brooks (@libby_brooks) April 16, 2015
Ruth Davidson: "We are a party on the up...a party that's serious about Scotland with a plan onside with the quiet majority" #GE2015
— Libby Brooks (@libby_brooks) April 16, 2015
Davidson's "quiet majority" phrase is direct lift from Alistair Darling's Better Together campaign during #indyref #GE2015
— Libby Brooks (@libby_brooks) April 16, 2015
Updated
David Cameron’s short appearance is over, he’s handed over to Ruth Davidson, the leader of the Scottish Conservatives.
She starts by patting the prime minister on the back for doing such a great job holding the country together and being “good warm-up” act.
David Cameron is obviously, self-evidently, unequivocally, unquestionably, the right man for the job.
Updated
Cameron's autocue in Glasgow. "All of this is about backing the working people of this country" #GE2015 pic.twitter.com/mnGQzR2hNf
— Libby Brooks (@libby_brooks) April 16, 2015
David Cameron in Glasgow: SNP and Labour will form a coalition of chaos #GE2015 https://t.co/IxvQzqHErP
— Libby Brooks (@libby_brooks) April 16, 2015
Cameron launches Scottish Tory manifesto in Glasgow
David Cameron is addressing the Scottish Conservatives in Glasgow.
He has kicked off with an attack on Labour and the Scottish National Party and furthermore the prospect of a Labour-SNP coalition.
He says together the two parties “pose a clear threat to the future of the UK” and dubs a potential alliance between Labour and the SNP a “coalition of chaos”.
Updated
Scotland reporter Libby Brooks is at the Scottish Conservatives manifesto launch in Glasgow where she has her hands on a copy of the document.
Among the pledges - “we will introduce pilots that would bring back alcohol at football”.
Scottish Tory manifesto planted firmly on @JimForScotland territory with pilots of booze at football matches #GE2015 pic.twitter.com/qNhUNBxHkZ
— Libby Brooks (@libby_brooks) April 16, 2015
Scottish Tory manifesto repeats commitment to English rate of income tax #GE2015 pic.twitter.com/WSAjervSf4
— Libby Brooks (@libby_brooks) April 16, 2015
Last but not least...
And finally, the joker card. pic.twitter.com/KrbS8sPwW6
— Frances Perraudin (@fperraudin) April 16, 2015
This is a good laugh. My colleague Frances Perraudin reports that the Lib Dems are giving out ‘Blukip’ playing cards with right-wing quotes from Ukip, Tory and DUP politicians.
Here’s the six of spades.
Six of spades - The NHS is a "60-year-old mistake", Daniel Hannan, Conservative. pic.twitter.com/jyv8KfWZIG
— Frances Perraudin (@fperraudin) April 16, 2015
And the five of spades:
Five of spades - Abortion has "destroyed more viable human life" than Adolf Hitler, Jonathan Bell, DUP pic.twitter.com/oTEEJrBNGq
— Frances Perraudin (@fperraudin) April 16, 2015
Updated
The Scottish Tories appear to be confused as to what they should be doing on May 7, according to Magnus Gardham, political editor of The Herald. Maybe they can ask the prime minister who they should vote for when he arrives at the manifesto launch later this morning.
'Are we voting tactically to keep the SNP out?' First thing I overhear from folk arriving at Scots Tory manifesto launch
— Magnus Gardham (@GardhamHT) April 16, 2015
Labour responds to Telegraph story on election guru David Axelrod's tax affairs
Labour has responded to the Telegraph’s attack on the party’s election guru David Axelrod, who the paper says pays no tax on his “reported £300,000 earnings” in Britain.
However, Labour has said Axelrod, who founded AKPD Media, pays no tax in the UK because he does not live or work here. A party spokesman told the Press Association:
David Axelrod lives in the US, works in the US and pays tax in the US. We pay AKPD Media in the US in US dollars. There is no tax due in the UK.
As Peter said earlier, Telegraph’s attack seems pure tit-for-tat for similar allegations about the Tories’ strategist, Lynton Crosby.
Updated
Hi all, Jamie Grierson here taking over from Peter. We have mini-manifestos coming up from Welsh Labour and that rare breed, the Scottish Tories. I’ll be keeping my eye on them for you and anything else the inexorable election campaign throws our way.
Nick Clegg has been on LBC, not for his own Call Clegg show, but a more traditional interview. I missed most of it – my computer froze midway through – but according to PA Clegg said he would have liked to have taken part in tonight’s TV debate but was barred, by the broadcasters rather than by David Cameron:
The Liberal Democrat leader told LBC radio: “I find it very odd that the debate tonight doesn’t have anybody from one of the parties that have actually been trying to govern our country.”
Mr Clegg said that the broadcasters had said the debate would include representatives of opposition parties, adding: “I have said to them I would like to participate ...
“David Cameron, I know, didn’t want to participate in it, but I don’t see why I should have been denied the opportunity to put the side of the story of what the coalition government has done, even if he didn’t want to.”
Looking ahead to the debate, Mr Clegg predicted: “What you are going to get tonight is you are going to get one guy - Ed Miliband - basically saying ‘for the last half-decade the Government’s been absolutely hopeless, blah, blah, blah’ and all that breathless stuff and remaining completely opaque about how he would balance the books.
“Then you’ll have Nigel Farage saying ‘let’s cut, cut, cut’ and all these loopy things, and a whole bunch of other people saying ‘can we please invent money out of thin air?’. And there’s no-one there saying ‘let’s get real about some of the choices the country faces’.”
Updated
According to the Press Association’s poll of polls, things could hardly be tighter as we enter the last three weeks of the campaign.
.@Conservatives and @UKLabour tied in the Press Association's poll of polls pic.twitter.com/3nGCy3FegN
— Press Association (@pressassoc) April 16, 2015
Another colleague, Frances Perraudin, has been spending more time than strictly recommended with the Lib Dems during the campaign, and has filed this on Nick Clegg’s favourite new invented word, Blukip:
Nick Clegg will today warn of the danger of a ring wing alliance of Ukip, the DUP and the Conservative party, a grouping that the Liberal Democrats are dubbing Blukip.
The deputy prime minister will call for people to vote tactically for the Liberal Democrats to reduce the chance of a minority Conservative government propped up by right-wing parties.
British values of “decency, tolerance and generosity” would be abandoned if Ukip and the DUP propped up a Conservative minority government after 7 May, Clegg will say.
He will repeat the argument central to the Liberal Democrat campaign, that the party would be a moderating force in a coalition with either of the major parties, providing “heart” to a Conservative-led administration and a “brain” to a Labour-led administration.
Nick Clegg will give the speech in Cheadle, a Tory-facing marginal seat currently held by the Lib Dems, which is on a list of 20 seats the party will publish which they say are key to keeping Blukip out.
The party is calling for people to vote tactically for the Liberal Democrats in the 20 listed Tory-facing marginal seats, of which 15 are Lib Dem held and five are held by the Conservatives, in order to keep a right-wing alliance out of government.
“Imagine what Britain could become if the Prime Minister had to bargain with Nigel Farage and his friends for votes,” Clegg will say. “Our public services cut to the bone. Our communities divided. Our shared British values of decency, tolerance and generosity cast aside.”
“Instead of Liberal Democrats holding the balance of power and using it to keep the Government in the liberal centre ground, Nigel Farage and his friends in the Conservatives and the DUP would drag Britain further and further to the right.”
My colleague, Steven Morris, is at the Welsh Labour manifesto launch, where he has chatted to Owen Smith, the shadow Welsh secretary.
Covering Welsh Labour's manifesto launch - here's shadow Welsh secretary Owen Smith on the party's prospects. http://t.co/2Blo4yBkHy
— steven morris (@stevenmorris20) April 16, 2015
It’s been a while since we had a fuss about comments made by a Ukip candidate. The Wolverhampton-based Express and Star has ended the drought by discovering that Steve Latham, standing for Ukip in West Bromwich East, seemingly referred to Islam as “the evil cult of Islam” on his Facebook page.
Latham told the paper the comments referred only to militant Islam.
The National Union of Students has launched a billboard campaign aimed at helping to unseat any MP who went back on a 2010 promise to scrap university tuition fees. That’ll mainly be Lib Dems, then. Here it is.
They lied to us. It's time to vote out the tuition fee pledge breakers http://t.co/P1eCam0R4N #GenerationVote #GE2015 pic.twitter.com/FoXQCR7CwW
— NUS UK (@nusuk) April 16, 2015
Ipsos Mori have a poll out later today. And apparently it’s “definitely worth watching”.
According to @benatipsosmori, today's Ipsos Mori poll is "definitely worth watching" https://t.co/fOPgko3XZm
— TSE (@TSEofPB) April 16, 2015
One story has been mentioned a fair bit in the comments and merits a look-in here: according to the Mirror (and some others), while David Cameron will not be taking part in tonight’s TV debate the BBC will allowing his officials to roam the journalists’ “spin room” giving the Tory verdict on the event.
The Times has been spending some money with YouGov to assess public reaction to the Labour and Tory manifestos, and the headline finding is that neither seems likely to break the election deadlock. Notably, for the Conservatives, the high profile ideas of right-to-buy for housing association tenants and 500 new free schools come at the bottom of a list of what plans voters think are a good idea. For Labour, relatively few are bothered about ending new free schools, or cutting university tuition fees.
If you have access to the Times paywall the story is here, or else the main findings are in this tweet.
YouGov rankings: Tories have single most popular idea but several unpopular ones too. All Lab ideas 50%+ approval pic.twitter.com/U4SpPbEHZA
— Sam Coates Times (@SamCoatesTimes) April 16, 2015
In a couple of hours David Cameron will launch the Sottish Conservatives’ manifesto in Glasgow. The tireless team at PA have some quotes in advance:
We meet here in Scotland in the middle of a massive political fight. We’ve got Labour and the SNP on opposite sides - slugging it out - but if you take a step back they’re really on the same side.
Together, they pose a clear threat to the future of our United Kingdom. A coalition of chaos. The SNP acting as the chain to Labour’s wrecking ball, running right through our economic recovery - and it will be you who pays the price.
There’s only one party left holding the mantle of a strong United Kingdom and a strong economy; only one party speaking above these warring tribes and about what actually matters to working people: and it’s us, the Conservative Party.
PA also have quotes from Margaret Curran, Labour’s shadow Scottish secretary:
The biggest risk to Scotland comes from five more years of David Cameron and George Osborne - a Tory decade of austerity for people across the country.
And the SNP’s deputy leader, Stewart Hosie:
It’s getting clearer by the day that the idea of a strong team of SNP MPs holding real power for Scotland at Westminster - and helping deliver progressive politics across the UK - has David Cameron shaking in his boots.
Updated
Rosa Prince in the Telegraph – currently running that paper’s election live blog and thus virtually a relation – has also done a series of fascinating interviews with retiring MPs. The latest is with Nick Raynsford, who while never quite a household name was a familiar Labour figure in the Commons (with a brief gap) for almost 30 years. He recalls arriving in the chamber and inadvertently sitting in Enoch Powell’s favoured seat:
I remember taking a seat very early on for a debate and I asked whereabouts was it reasonable to sit and was told sit where you like, there’s no reserved seats.
So I found somewhere three rows back in the middle, and felt that was suitably anonymous. I was listening to the debate and then Enoch Powell [the controversial anti-immigration MP] walked in.
He’d by that stage left the Conservatives and was with the Unionists, so he was sitting on the Opposition side and he came up the gangway where I was, looked at me with this absolute look of disgust as if to say what has the cat brought in, and then swept past me and went to sit down further along the bench.
At the next opportunity when we were both in the Lobby I went up to him and said: ‘Mr Powell, I’m very sorry if I offended you by taking your normal seat.’ He looked at me and he said: ‘Young man, there are no reserved seats in the House.’ Of course, constitutionally he was right, but I had been sitting in the place he normally would be sitting.
Updated
More on “Blukip”, the Nick Clegg-coined term which is arguably the least appealing piece of political jargon so far this campaign. (see 7.29am). The Lib Dem leader will expand on the idea in his imminent speech in Cheshire, according to quotes from the address on PA:
Imagine what Britain could become if the prime minister had to bargain with Nigel Farage and his friends for votes. Our public services cut to the bone. Our communities divided. Our shared British values of decency, tolerance and generosity cast aside.
Instead of Liberal Democrats holding the balance of power and using it to keep the Government in the liberal centre ground, Nigel Farage and his friends in the Conservatives and the DUP would drag Britain further and further to the right.
There’s been some inter-party competition recently over who can provide the most subsidised childcare. But if you believe this Times-commissioned poll, people would rather have cheap petrol in their car.
Stop the childcare obsession. @YouGov for @TimesRedBox finds voters prefer tax cuts to subsidies for childcare pic.twitter.com/8IK3T3uP0y
— Tim Montgomerie ن (@montie) April 16, 2015
Clegg denies he will quit if he doesn't secure government role
Nick Clegg has rubbished a report in the Times, quoting unnamed “allies” as saying he will quit as Lib Dem leader after the election if he does not secure a position in government. He told BBC1’s Breakfast (quotes, again, via PA):
I don’t actually read many of these reports, and most of them of course are very, very wide of the mark...
My view is very simple. As a country, we have to finish the job to make sure that we have a strong economy for the future. We’ve got to do it fairly. We’ve got to invest in things like the NHS. That means getting the balance right.
Clegg also reiterated his party’s current favourite message to voters:
I think a David Cameron/Nigel Farage arrangement on the one hand lurching off to the right, or an Alex Salmond/Ed Miliband arrangement on the other hand lurching off to the left, will really jeopardise all the hard work which we need to press on with to balance the books fairly.
Updated
Here’s a look at the set for tonight’s BBC1 debate and... well, it’s much as you’d expect. Five lecterns and a Westminster backdrop.
The BBC debate set, more on @BBCBreakfast soon pic.twitter.com/2vWozqx1f0
— Ross Hawkins (@rosschawkins) April 16, 2015
My colleague, Patrick Wintour, has some extracts from Ed Balls’ speech in the West Midlands later. Here’s an extract:
Ed Balls, the shadow chancellor, will claim the Tories have amassed £25bn of unfunded spending commitments in its manifesto – the equivalent of £1,439 a year for every working household.
In a speech in Birmingham on Thursday, he will make another pitch for Labour as the party of fiscal responsibility by publishing an audit of spending and tax commitments in the Conservative party manifesto. He will say the Tory attitude to unfunded promises shows the need for an independent body such as the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) to examine the pledges of the political parties before the general election.
The Balls pledge comes as Ed Miliband prepares to go head to head with the other opposition parties in a televised “challengers’ debate”. Due to the insistence of the Conservatives, David Cameron will not attend the debate broadcast by the BBC and Nick Clegg will be missing, but the Conservatives are planning to send spin doctors to the so-called spin room to set out their views, a move that has infuriated the Labour party.
Labour officials are asking why Cameron is not willing to attend the debate in person but thinks it is worthwhile to send communications people to denigrate Miliband’s performance.
Nick Clegg has been on BBC1’s Breakfast programme, where he has been talking about NHS funding. He said (quotes from PA):
The NHS does need more money. It’s David Nicholson’s successor, Simon Stevens, who identified this number of £8bn [of extra funding] by the end of this parliament, and he and David Nicholson are quite right to expect political parties to explain how they are going to come up with that money.
The Liberal Democrats have come up with a plan about how you produce the £8bn, which does include changes to capital gains tax which will affect the richest. Is it a challenge? Of course it is, and he is quite right to say that it is...
[Nicholson] was saying that the 8 billion has to be accompanied by a lot of efficiency savings and reforms, as advocated by his own successor, Simon Stevens. Of course that’s going to be challenging. I think everybody accepts that.
Sound the new election jargon klaxon:
Made up political word of the day: Blukip - what Nick Clegg has taken to calling the Tory right, Ukip and DUP.
— David Hughes (@DavidHughesPA) April 16, 2015
There’s going to be a lot of debate today about health funding, given the BBC’s interview with Sir David Nicholson, the former head of NHS England, coming up on the Today programme at 8.10am. Some quotes have come out in advance. Here’s a take from the Press Association:
The former head of NHS England has cast doubt on Tory and Liberal Democrat plans to fund the health service.
Sir David Nicholson said the so-called “Stevens plan” both parties have signed up to, which involves the government injecting 8 billion cash into the NHS while gaining 22 billion from efficiency savings, will be difficult to implement.
Labour is the only main party which has not signed up to the five-year plan drawn up by current NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens, instead favouring a 2.5 billion Time to Care fund paid for by a mansion tax and tobacco levies.
Sir David told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “What the public is being told at the moment is that ‘we’ll give you a bit of extra money and everything will be fine’ and that actually these managers can deliver 22 billion and then everything will be fine.
“So in a sense if they find it difficult to do that and I think most of them will, I think they are going to be blamed.”
Updated
Both Labour and the Lib Dems have new campaign ads. Labour’s is a snappy, YouTube-friendly attack on David Cameron’s record, and in suitably aim-for-the-youth-vote style it was given first to Buzzfeed.
The Lib Dems, meanwhile, have this Wizard of Oz-themed poster, which could have the added tagline, “We’ll work with anyone.”
The Liberal Democrats will add a heart to a Conservative government & a brain to a Labour one #GE2015 pic.twitter.com/HKIH4rauSa
— Liberal Democrats (@LibDems) April 16, 2015
Morning briefing
Good morning again. It’s exactly three weeks till polling day and we’re back for another marathon edition of the 2015 election live blog, taking you right through to late tonight. I’m Peter Walker, here again for the crack-of-dawn stint, before I hand the steering of this finely tuned, gently humming election news machine to its regular owner and registered keeper, Andrew Sparrow. We’d love to hear from you, either in the comments below or via Twitter – I’m @peterwalker99, he’s @andrewsparrow.
After a week so far centred around manifesto launches we have a more varied day today, with the couple of regional mini-manifestos out – the Tories in Scotland and Labour in Wales – ahead of the five-way “challengers” TV debate from 9pm.
The big picture
If we’re taking a broad view then the early story is based around two somewhat contradictory things: continued somewhat furtive eyelash fluttering between the parties as they size up who might join with who in a future coalition; and some increasingly personal media attacks on Labour figures.
Currently showing the most leg to other parties are the Lib Dems, with Nick Clegg and a key lieutenant, David Laws, both indicating yesterday that an in-out referendum on EU membership would not necessarily be a bar to the party backing the Conservatives, making such a post-election deal seemingly more likely.
Here’s the slightly gnomic Laws quote when he was asked if the Lib Dems would block a referendum:
Voters are entitled to know what are the things that are really really important to them that they they would expect to vote for that party to deliver.
What does he mean? Seemingly that while George Osborne’s planned £12bn of new welfare costs could be a deal-breaker for the Lib Dems, a referendum may not,
My colleague, Nick Watt, makes this point about the Lib Dem manifesto, launched yesterday:
Labour and the Tories spent most of the day doing what all parties do when a rival launches their general election manifesto: rubbishing its contents. But behind the scenes, policy brains in the two main parties will be poring over the contents of the 157-page Lib Dem manifesto to find areas of common interest in coalition negotiations if voters choose a hung parliament again.
Also standing by the side of a dancefloor with a coy smile is Nigel Farage, who has openly declared his desire to help the Tories stop a Labour-SNP coalition:
Asked if he and Cameron could “lock out Miliband and Salmond” from Downing Street, he replied: “Well, if that were possible, then we would try and do that.”
Amid all the flirting the right-leaning press is still knocking lumps out of Labour, with today’s front pages showing three fairly personal attacks on the party (for the Telegraph story see the right-hand column):
THE SUN: Red Ed's Downton Secret: We DO have two kitchens..nanny uses the one downstairs #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/0xCr6RpmFe
— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) April 15, 2015
DAILY MAIL: Labour's queen of hypocrisy #tomorrowspaperstoday #BBCPapers pic.twitter.com/Js715Y02Nq
— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) April 15, 2015
TELEGRAPH: Scramble for houses as market shrinks #tomorrowspaperstoday #BBCPapers pic.twitter.com/TpLUUKIz4q
— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) April 15, 2015
These are, I’d argue, more indicators of what is likely to be a pretty tough final three weeks of the campaign rather than significant blows in themselves. I’d not noticed the curious tale of Ed Miliband’s two kitchens being a huge issue last time it was aired, while I’m afraid I simply don’t understand the Mail’s attack on former Labour frontbencher Emily Thornberry. Is it hypocritical to oppose the mandatory, discounted sale of housing association homes when you’ve bought, for full market price, a home a housing association decided it did not need any more?
The Telegraph’s attack on Labour election guru David Axelrod, meanwhile, seems pure tit-for-tat for similar allegations about the Tories’ strategist, Lynton Crosby.
Finally, if you’ve not caught up with it, David Cameron was the subject of the latest Newsnight leaders’ interview. It was followed by Andrew last night and you can read his verdict here.
Today’s diary
Here’s what we know so far:
- 8.10am: The main interview on BBC Radio 4’s the Today programme will be with Sir David Nicholson, former head of the NHS, who is accusing politicians of not being honest about the service’s funding needs.
- 10.30am: Labour in Wales launch their manifesto, helmed by Wales’s first minister, Carwyn Jones.
- 10.45am: David Cameron is at the launch of the Conservatives’ Scottish manifesto.
- Morning: Nick Clegg is due to be in Cheshire to campaign.
- Morning: Ed Balls will make a speech in the West Midlands, with Ed Miliband campaigning in London.
- 8pm: BBC1 election debate, featuring Miliband, Nicola Sturgeon, Nigel Farage, Natalie Bennett and Leanne Wood.
Reading list for the day
The Financial Times (paywall) has as its top story a warning from the International Monetary Fund that for all the election talk of paying down the deficit, whoever forms the next government is unlikely to do so by the end of the decade:
The organisation predicts that tax revenues will fall short of the Office for Budget Responsibility’s expectations and whoever wins the general election on May 7 will be forced to spend more than currently planned, leaving the books in the red.
The assessment from Washington in the fund’s twice-yearly Fiscal Monitor highlights the difficulty of eliminating the £90bn deficit at a time of moderate growth and significant pressures on public spending.
The warning comes as all political parties have suggested they will not raise taxes except for specific projects, are able to spend more on the National Health Service and childcare and will reduce the deficit significantly.
The BBC has one of the more straightforward yet useful pieces of the day – a quick guide to tonight’s leaders’ debate, including why David Cameron, Nick Clegg and the DUP are not taking part. On the latter point is notes:
The Democratic Unionist Party has said its exclusion from the schedule is “outrageous”. Its leadership had previously threatened legal action over its omission, because the DUP has more MPs than four of the parties invited to take part. Rejecting the DUP’s appeal, the BBC Trust said its impartiality was crucial and network TV debates could not include “just one” party from Northern Ireland.
On the subject of guides, my estimable colleague Esther Addley has written a guide to the election for non-British readers:
So whoever wins, we’re likely to see the SNP as part of a coalition government?
This is where it gets complicated. The SNP have said they will never support a Conservative government, so if David Cameron’s party wins the largest number of seats, it would have to work out a way of doing deals with the Lib Dems, and perhaps some of the smaller parties.
Labour, meanwhile, has said it would not form a formal coalition government with the SNP – in part to refute Conservative claims that the party is “in the pocket” of the Scottish nationalists. But the two parties could still work together on a less formal basis.
In the Times (paywall) columnist Caitlin Moran argues, at least half seriously, that some of her female friends have begun “perving” over Ed Miliband. Scoff if you will but it’s on such issues that elections can be won or lost:
Here’s the gossip: three different groups of my female friends — all entirely independent of each other — have recently started perving on Ed Miliband.
Obviously I tend to only know borderline crypto-communists who live on bisexual reserves in north London but, even so, it’s quite notable. Six months ago, they were still having groaning conversations about how unbearably meh-whevs Ed Miliband was, and how Labour would frankly be better off having as their leader a particularly clever cat, a balloon on a stick. There was categorically no fancying of Ed.
But in the past month or so, there’s been a sudden . . . stirring.
On a more trivial note still, no election day is complete without a Twitter spat, and the Huffington Post has documented one involving Sarah Vine, the Daily Mail columnist and wife of Michael Gove, who has taken some social media heat for calling Ed Miliband “a giant arse”.
If today were a song...
In truth, the day is so disparate I was struggling, so I’ve opted for this as a/ it’s a Thursday and b/ it’s by David Axelrod. No, not the Labour election strategist. This David Axelrod is a veteran US composer and producer who, in the late 60s, made several albums of slightly eccentric instrumental rock/jazz pieces. Don’t let the description put you off – it’s a lovely song.
Non-election news story
If you’re a parent of a three or four year old today then you’ll be waiting anxiously for official word about what primary school place they have been given. A shortage of places in some areas is, of course, being used as a political football, but most parents won’t be paying much attention to that today. And yes, I’m one of the parents waiting for news.
