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

  1. Rainbow coalitionspublished at 09:32

    LBC

    On a scale of one to 10 how grumpy was Gordon Brown when you met him after the last election, LBC presenter Nick Ferrari asks Nick Clegg. The Lib Dem leader says he was "good tempered and perfectly gracious". At one point Mr Brown - who was then prime minister - was very adamant he could create some kind of rainbow coalition, he reveals, but Nick Clegg says he told him it wouldn't work. It wouldn't work this time round either, he adds.

  2. Lib-Lab coalition?published at 09:31

    LBC

    Nick Clegg refuses to be drawn on whether Lib Dem peer Lord Ashdown, a former leader of the Lib Dems, wanted a Lib Dem-Labour coalition back in 2010. He does say the party wanted to explore all available options. But he adds there was never any arithmetical possibility of doing a deal as the numbers didn't add up.

  3. Christian votepublished at 09:25

    LBC

    What can the Lib Dems offer Christian voters? Nick Clegg says he is not a man of faith but his family are. He goes on to say that one of the values central to British liberalism is a belief in treating everyone fairly and giving people the same chance in life. "I think that is a good instinct, because it's all about making sure that where politicians can, politicians and government play a role in giving opportunity to everybody and on the most equal basis possible."

  4. Welcome cuppapublished at 09:24

    Nick CleggImage source, LBC
    Image caption,

    Nick Clegg takes a quick slurp from his mug, in between calls

  5. Voter feedbackpublished at 09:23

    LBC

    I'm going to struggle to vote for you again, Nick Clegg is told by one caller who voted for the Lib Dems in the 2010 election. He's unhappy at some of the measures introduced which "go against your Liberal Democrat values", the caller tells Mr Clegg.

    The Lib Dem leader responds with a defence of his party's record in government. He says what's different about this election, "which will loom large in tonight's debate", is that people are acknowledging "no-one is going to win outright this time either". So you have to choose which party you prefer and which politicians you want working together after 7 May, he tells the caller. The Lib Dems will keep a future government in the centre ground, he adds.

  6. The Spectator's James Forsythpublished at 09:18

    ‏@JGForsyth

    tweets:

    Quote Message

    Voters don’t want a 2nd coalition but they're more likely 2 back a minor party if they think they’ll be a hung parli http://bit.ly/1MDZlz4

  7. Clegg phone-inpublished at 09:10

    LBC

    Nick Clegg is in the hot seat over at LBC radio, where he's taking part in his weekly radio phone-in - and he's facing the wrath of one caller who's accusing him of not answering his question.

    What's it on? The balance of payments deficit. But the Lib Dem leader insists the crucial fiscal issue is ensuring day-to-day spending is paid for, and no borrowing is required, rather than the balance of trade.

  8. Patrick Wintour, political editor of The Guardianpublished at 09:10

    @patrickwintour

    tweets:, external

    Quote Message

    Beyond the Westminster bubble, nobody cares about the TV debates http://gu.com/p/476yg/stw

  9. Bromance over...published at 09.07

    BBC News Channel

    On Election Today, guests Anne McElvoy, from the Economist, and Ian Dunt, from Politics.co.uk, are discussing the debates. Will anyone be discussing anything else today?

    Nick Clegg has a difficult job tonight, says Anne McElvoy. He has to say: yes we have been part of this coalition but there's been a bit of a bitter record there. "It's a long way from that bromance," she says.

  10. Listen!published at 09:02

    BBC Radio 4 Today

    Diana Mather, etiquette and media coach, sounds a note of caution against the leaders being rude, as "it really turns people off" - citing Prime Minister's Questions as an example. They must also listen to what others are saying, she stresses, rather than trotting out pre-prepared lines. First of all, it's good manners, she says, but it will also help them to come across as more natural and passionate.

  11. 'Zingers'published at 08:58

    BBC Radio 4 Today

    Andrew Caesar-Gordon, managing director of media training company Electric Airwaves, says the leaders won't have much time to develop complex arguments in tonight's debate, so they'll be looking to craft soundbites and catchy one-liners, known in the US as "zingers" - as these will be crucial in the next day's coverage.

  12. Iain Watson, the BBC's Labour Campaign Correspondentpublished at 08:56

    @iainjwatson

    tweets:, external

    Quote Message

    En route to 'People's Question Time' in Bury - Labour select the audience but insist it's mostly swing voters #ge2015

    Shot of motorway from Labour's campaign bus
  13. Points ahead?published at 08.54

    BBC News Channel

    On Election Today, YouGov President Peter Kellner looks at the polls ahead of the leaders' debate.

    Can the debate tonight make a difference? "It can make a difference if one of the main candidates does extraordinarily well or extraordinarily badly," he says.

    The instant polls will tell us what people think straight after the debate, unmediated and uninfluenced by any other coverage.

    Subsequent polls, he says, are influenced by the media in the following days. "It could be a game changer," he concludes.

  14. 'Nobody cares'published at 08:51

    The Guardian

    "Apart from the tiny (and profoundly unrepresentative) cross-section of the electorate who are partisan activists and political true-believers, nobody cares [about the TV debate]," writes Andrew Cooper, a Conservative peer and director of polling company Populus, in The Guardian, external. Given that tonight's debate is taking place on the eve of the Easter holidays, he may well have a point there...

  15. UKIP's tacticspublished at 08:39

    BBC Radio 4 Today

    Put to him that UKIP's position is not looking as "rosy" as it did at the end of last year, Nigel Farage says 2014 was a "remarkable" year, but concedes the party has dipped slightly since then. However, he notes that Ofcom has ruled UKIP a major party, and adds: "UKIP will succeed or fail in this general election depending on the number of people who didn't vote in 2010. Can I get those people who didn't vote in 2010 but who agree with me to turn out on 7 May. That's the key."

  16. Nigel Farage on Radio 4 Todaypublished at 08:36

    BBC Radio 4 Today

    Nigel Farage
    Image caption,

    The UKIP leader was questioned by presenter Mishal Husain

  17. 'Weed out'published at 08:36

    BBC Radio 4 Today

    Mr Farage is challenged over the loss of several of his party's election candidates who have got into trouble over inappropriate comments. The UKIP leader contends that when a UKIP candidate says something bad it's a major news story, and claims the same level of scrutiny is not applied to other parties.

    "I'm not saying everyone in the party is perfect - far from it," he says and he explains "we weed out" anyone who does something inappropriate.

  18. Better off?published at 08:28

    BBC Radio 4 Today

    Nigel Farage does not accept the premise put to him that the UK could be poorer with lower immigration. "But if you said to me that if we carry on with current immigration our population hits 75 million, but, we'll all be better off, I'd prefer not to better off and have a country that didn't go to 75 million where young people could aspire to buy houses and British families could get jobs and a different standard of living."

    Some things matter more than money, he adds.

  19. 'Tied up with caps'published at 08:26

    BBC Radio 4 Today

    After further questioning from presenter Mishal Husain, Mr Farage accepts he would like to see 50,000 migrants or fewer coming to the UK each year, "simple as that".

    But the UKIP leader adds: "This whole debate, we've been tied up with caps for five years, it's devalued the debate." What we're not addressing, he adds, is that we have no control over the numbers that settle in the UK all the while we're members of the European Union.