A Conservative parliamentary candidate has defected to UKIP, the party has just announced. Nigel Farage called it "another hammer blow to Tory pretensions in the north of England". Mike Whitehead, who was standing for the Conservatives in the Hull West and Hessle constituency, is a councillor on East Riding Council. He said he was "disgusted" with the behaviour of the ruling Tory group in East Yorkshire and the "wilful refusal" of the Conservative Party to intervene at a national level.

Norman Smith
Assistant political editor

The memo row matters because any suggestion that Nicola Sturgeon would prefer the Conservatives would be potentially devastating for the SNP in Scotland. What I think might have happened is that Ms Sturgeon may have ventured some doubts about Ed Miliband's leadership qualities. That was then reported to the Scotland Office and then maybe over-written, over-interpreted into doubts about Mr Miliband equalling a preference for Mr Cameron.

BBC Radio 4 Today

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Deputy SNP leader Stewart Hosie also told Today that his party did not want a Conservative government. He said: "We are an anti-Tory party, we are an anti-austerity party. We have offered Ed Miliband a deal. We would not prefer to see a Tory government." Asked about the argument that a Conservative government - given its likely unpopularity in Scotland - would boost support for a second independence referendum, Mr Hosie replied: "The arguments for and against independence stand on their own merits. This is definitely not a re-run of the referendum. This is about holding Westminster to account."

BBC Radio 4 Today

Image source, AFP

Speaking a short time ago to Today, deputy SNP leader Stewart Hosie wasn't going to be drawn very far into a discussion about whether Ed Miliband was prime minister material. "Of course one could see him as prime minister. He is leader of the Labour Party and therefore quite conceivably could be," he said. Mr Hosie said it was for the Labour Party alone to judge whether any other one of its MPs would do a better job as leader.

Image source, AFP

Away from matters economic, the row rumbles on about Nicola Sturgeon and a leaked memo which claimed she would prefer David Cameron to be prime minister after 7 May. On Sunday, Scottish Secretary Alistair Carmichael confirmed the memo was written in the Scotland Office, but he denied the leak was embarrassing for the government department, stating "this is the middle of an election campaign, these things happen". Miss Sturgeon, of course, insists she never said any such thing. Read more here.

Image source, Guardian

Those pension changes occupy many of this morning's newspaper front pages. You can read our review here. There are also plenty of pictures of David Cameron feeding a lamb - the 2015 campaign equivalent of kissing a baby.

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Those aforementioned pension changes are explained fully in our story here. In a nutshell, people who are retiring no longer have to take out an annuity to provide them with a regular income. But, of course, there's a lot more to it than that.

Or new tax year at least. Cue new pension rules and an increasingly familiar argument about whether we're better or worse off than we were five years ago. According to the Conservatives, 94% of working households are better off, but au contraire argue Labour. They say working households are £1,100 poorer than in 2010.Read more here.

Here's a quick rundown of the highlights from Sunday, which saw a relatively light day of campaigning for politicians across the divide:

- Chancellor George Osborne told Sky News it was "not his plan" to cut top rate of tax from 45p to 40p

- Lib Dem David Laws told BBCRadio 5 live the Tories had shown “unbelievable cheek” in taking credit for rises in the personal tax allowance

- Scottish Secretary Alistair Carmichael said the leaking of a memo which claimed Nicola Sturgeon would prefer David Cameron to be PM was

- Labour leader Ed Miliband wanted to be seen as a "happy warrior", external in last Thursday's TV debate, according to notes reported by the Sun

- Lib Dem Danny Alexander said he was told by a senior Tory that the Lib Dems were for the workers, and the Conservatives were for the bosses

- Simply Red's Mick Hucknall - once a prominent Labour supporter - said he was now a fan of the coalition