Summary

  • The leaders of seven UK parties took part in a two-hour live televised election debate

  • It was the only debate of the campaign which will feature David Cameron and Ed Miliband

  • They clashed on a range of issues including the NHS, immigration and the deficit

  • Snap polls taken afterwards gave differing verdicts on the winner

  • There are 35 days until the general election

Live Reporting

Tom Moseley, Andrew McFarlane and Bernadette McCague

  1. Leaders at Media City

    Green party leader Natalie Bennett has been in Manchester all day and she's arrived at the Salford studios for tonight's debate. She'll be kicking off proceedings with the first of the leaders' opening statements.

    Natalie Bennett arrives at Media CityAFP

  2. Sure Start row

    There's been no ceasefire between the parties ahead of the big debate tonight. Labour has been defending its claim that 1,000 Sure Start centres could close under the Conservatives. "Utter nonsense" say the Tories. Here's the story .

  3. Election priorities

    BBC News has been speaking to voters across the country, asking which issues are important to them. Tonight, Myrtle Oke, who moved to Leeds from the Caribbean in the 1950s, says: "I do hope there will be no more cuts in funding, because it does affect each and every one of us." She also hopes for a "good reliable bus service".

    Myrtle Oke

  4. Feathers flying?

    The Mirror Chicken - the newspaper's mischief maker-in-chief - is outside Media City. Local youngsters don't look that impressed.

    The Mirror Chicken outside Media CityAFP

  5. The day in pictures

    BBC picture editor Phil Coomes has put together a gallery of the day's best images, such as this one of Ed Miliband meeting a four-year-old at Bury town hall.

    Ed Miliband meets four-year-old Jennifer Talbot Bagnall at Bury town hallAndrew Yates/Reuters

  6. Victoria Sorzano

    @VicSorzano

    Tweets:

    Watching a drone outside my office window at #MediaCity and seeing pics from drone on TV at same time. Weird. #LeadersDebate

  7. Greens 'upbeat'

    The pre-debate warm-up continues. Green MP Caroline Lucas says party leader Natalie Bennett is feeling "pretty confident" ahead of the televised debate tonight and the party was "feeling very upbeat" about the opportunity to put their policies to a wide audience.

  8. Add to the debate

    Email: politics@bbc.co.uk

    David Richardson:

    I have to be honest in 58 years the only people who knock on my door to canvass are Jehovah's Witnesses.

    Where are all the pollsters and politicians?

  9. Alan Guy

    @AlanGuy_

    Tweets:

    .@Ed_Miliband, @David_Cameron what r chances of sensible dialogue 2night? rather than points scoring, message delivering nonsence #GE2015

  10. Paul Waugh, Editor of PoliticsHome.com

    @paulwaugh

    Tweets:

    Really interesting dynamic in #leadersdebate is 3 female ldrs. Cd be asymmetric warfare:men wary of looking macho even if women hit em hard

  11. Latest seat forecast

    BBC Newsnight Index

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

    For more information on how the Index is produced, see here

    Newsnight Index graphicbbc

  12. Knowing the issues

    Former Conservative leader William Hague says David Cameron knows all the issues "inside out" and is used to debating them on a weekly basis at prime minister's questions. "There's no substitute in these things for knowing what you are talking about," he says.

  13. Jo Austen

    @joausten14

    Tweets:

    Someone at ITV is having a laugh with their choice of hashtag for the debate tonight #GetAnswers #yeahright

  14. Jenga skills

    UKIP's Patrick O'Flynn tells the BBC that - following David Cameron's suggestion earlier that he might need some ju jitsu skills to take on Nigel Farage - the UKIP leader would be "more strategic" and might need some Jenga skills to "find the brick that will send the whole edifice of Cameron cascading to the ground".

  15. Craig Woodhouse, The Sun political correspondent

    @craigawoodhouse

    Tweets:

    This Ed four-shoes thing is weird. Couldn't he choose between the two pairs?

  16. Audience arrives

    Audience members queue for TV debate

    Two-and-a-half hours to go... but the keenest among the audience members are already queuing up.

  17. 'Gutsy' Clegg

    More party figures are in the "spin room" talking up their leaders ahead of the TV debate. Former Lib Dem leader Lord Ashdown says Nick Clegg is "gutsy" and "loves this sort of thing" - as evidenced by his weekly radio phone-in show. While he was the "new boy" last time - now he has the experience of being in government and is "really up for it", Lord Ashdown says.

  18. Summer Bunny

    @SR_Otieno

    Tweets:

    I am actually excited for the debate. #GE2015 . Especially interested in hearing what will go on between Ed and David.

  19. 'Top of his game'

    Outside the ITV studios in Salford's MediaCityUK, Lucy Powell, Labour's election campaign vice-chairwoman, says Ed Miliband is at "the top of his game" and is "up for" the debate tonight. "He's really looking forward to this opportunity... to put forward his plan for the country."

  20. Ryan Curran

    @nufcLoverRyan

    Tweets:

    David Cameron preparing for the #leadersdebate "Long term economic plan. Long term economic plan. Long term economic plan. long..." #GE2015