Election 2015: April 16 at-a-glance
- Published
A daily guide to the key stories, newspaper headlines and quotes from the campaign for the 7 May general election.
Debate day
Day in a nutshell
The leaders of five of Westminster's opposition parties take part in the latest live TV election debate - full story here
The former head of the NHS in England has warned the service is facing a "substantial financial problem" which politicians are ignoring in the election campaign
Daily Express owner Richard Desmond gives UKIP a £1m donation
David Cameron has launched the Scottish Conservative manifesto, warning of a "coalition of chaos" involving Labour and the SNP
Nick Clegg, the Lib Dem leader, is warning the government could "lurch to the right" under a coalition between the Conservatives, UKIP and the DUP - dubbed "Blukip"
Ed Balls, the shadow chancellor, is talking about what he says are uncosted spending commitments in the Conservative manifesto
The CPS confirmed Labour peer Lord Janner will not face child sex abuse charges because the severity of his dementia makes him unfit to stand trial
Figures revealed almost £2.5m of donations to political parties were registered in the first week of the official election campaign
The Official Monster Raving Loony Party's leader has said it is losing votes to UKIP
Keep up with all the days events on our live page.
Thursday's newspaper headlines
Reporting on Wednesday's Lib Dem manifesto launch, the Guardian writes, external that Nick Clegg refused to veto a referendum on EU membership
The Financial Times reports, external the IMF saying the next British government will not be able to balance the books by the end of the decade
The Telegraph reports, external that senior Labour adviser Daniel Axelrod pays no tax on his earnings in Britain
The Daily Mail describes, external Emily Thornberry as "Labour's Queen of hypocrisy" for attacking the Conservatives right-to-buy plan, despite renting out a property she bought from a housing association
Key quotes
On Thursday's debate
Labour leader Ed Miliband on David Cameron not taking part: "I think if you are applying for the job of prime minister, the very least people expect if for you to turn up to the job interview."
SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon: ""I am hugely looking forward to this debate, because it is another opportunity to take the SNP's positive message on the progressive policies we believe in to people right across the whole of the UK."
Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood: "I'm looking forward to the opportunity to go in there and put the case again for Wales, but also make clear that we've got a message that will resonate with other communities right throughout the UK, especially in terms of putting the alternative to austerity."
Green leader Natalie Bennett: "I'm very much looking forward to tonight. We went through the last one which I actually really enjoyed. Lots of people were telling me to enjoy it beforehand. I wasn't sure if I would, but I did, and so really looking forward to tonight."
On coalitions
Conservative leader David Cameron: "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."
Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg: "Instead of Liberal Democrats holding the balance of power and using it to keep the government in the centre ground, Nigel Farage and his friends in the Conservatives and the DUP would drag Britain further and further to the right."
Picture of the day
David Cameron may be missing the debate but he had a decent sized audience at an O2 campaign stop in Leeds
Manifesto maker
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