tweets:, external Lord Ashdown says he's an expert in 'cruel and unusual punishments' and they will be used on any lib dem who talks about a 2nd coalition

BBC Radio 4

Also on the World at One, Labour Treasury spokesman Chris Leslie says Paul Johnson's assessment of the £3,000 number "put the nail in the coffin of these totally desperate and made up figures" from the Conservatives.

Image source, PA

BBC Radio 4

Image source, Getty

Conservative Party chairman Grant Shapps defended the £3,000 figure a short time ago on the World at One, after IFS head Paul Johnson said the calculation made the assumption - which Labour denies - that Ed Miliband would balance the current budget by 2017 and raise half the money needed to do that through tax rises. "We've already been told by Labour that they subscribe to £30 billion of consolidation over the next two years," Mr Shapps says. He adds:"All we're saying is this is how it would fall on working people."

tweets:, external @NicolaSturgeon, external 's net approval rating across UK is +7, compared to Cameron -5, Miliband -39, Clegg -47. Will she win Thursday's debate?

Image source, Press Association

From a distance it could be 2010 all over again... Gordon Brown gave a speech a short time ago in Glasgow. He announced that Labour would spend an extra £800 million in Scotland on the NHS, tackling poverty and creating jobs if they're elected.

Anthony Reuben
Head of statistics

More on the Conservatives' claim that under a Labour government, taxes would have to rise by £3,000 per working household in Britain. Well, the figure has been repeated in a Tory graphic and also in David Cameron's speech. And it's become more specific - it's now £3,028 per working family, which puts the total raised by 11.2 million households at £33.9bn. Now, the Conservatives say that Labour has committed to save £30bn a year - half through tax rises and half through spending cuts. Labour denies this and says the figures are made up. If they aren't made up, £3,028 per working household would raise considerably more than the half of £30bn that the Conservatives say they need.

tweets:, external Two of the businesses quoted in FT advert - SCM Direct and Redbus - tell @markabroad, external they were happy to be quoted and back Labour on EU

This was the welcome Ed Miliband and Ed Balls received earlier in the City. Protesters dressed as Alex Salmond, criticising any possible government involving Labour and the SNP.

BBC Radio 4

Paul Johnson, director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, has examined the Conservatives' claim that households would pay £3,000 more in tax under a Labour government. He tells BBC Radio 4's the World at One that the total figure is not an annual one but a figure over four years, which has been divided by the number of working households, rather than all households. "If you simply say it's a £3,000 increase in taxes, I think that's unhelpful," he adds.

tweets:, external (Fair enough for Labour to highlight worried businesses, but must have known we'd do a ring round)

Kellogg's has joined Siemens in voicing disquiet about Labour's advertisement in the FT. A spokesman said: "We were told about this on Sunday afternoon and we were really clear that we are not party political. We were concerned about it." The spokesman said that "eyebrows were raised internally" about the use of the quote. It appears that the company was told about the advert when it was too late to remove the quote, which is from a speech by Jonathan Myers, head of Kellogg's UK and EU operations, made in Manchester in March 2014.

Here's a gallery of some of the images from the fledgling election campaign for you to enjoy over lunch. Ed Miliband, David Cameron, Nigel Farage and some cute animals all feature.

Siemens UK chief executive Juergen Maier spoke to the BBC a short time ago. "I was informed that there was going to be comments and quotes about the position of the Labour Party and the EU and as you know I am very supportive of Britain remaining in the EU," he said. "I'm not saying that they've overstepped the mark. What I'm saying is that we don't want to see our comments attributed to specifically to any one political party."

Daily Politics
Live on BBC Two

If Labour continued to fund the UK's Trident weapons system this would be "a deal breaker on any sort of long-term arrangement" says SNP deputy leader Stewart Hosie, on the BBC 2's Daily Politics.

Image source, AP

Ed Miliband has defended Labour's use of quotes from six of Britain's biggest business leaders to warn about the risks of leaving the European Union. The boss of Siemens has said the party "overstepped the mark". Speaking at Labour's business manifesto launch, Mr Miliband said: "We've simply quoted public statements by these businesses about the place of Britain in the European Union. And I think lots of businesses all around this country are not necessarily going to be supporting Labour or the Conservatives but they do have a very strong view about our place in the EU."

Iain Watson
Political correspondent

Daily Politics
Live on BBC Two

Labour's Pat McFadden faced questions a few moments ago on BBC 2's Daily Politics on the subject of Europe. "Exit from the EU places a major question mark over our trade and jobs," he said. That, of course, ties in with Ed Miliband's message this morning on the threat of a referendum to business. Read more here.

“This election takes place when the world is dangerous and uncertain. We need strong leadership to safeguard our national and our economic security,” says David Cameron. He adds that after the election it will either be himself or Ed Miliband who will be prime minister and voting for the latter would spell “chaos”.

“Britain is back on her feet again,” says the prime minister outside No 10.

"Together we are turning our country around. We must see this thorugh together," David Cameron says.