Summary

  • Labour say they would end non-domicile tax status

  • But a video emerges of Ed Balls saying the policy would cost the country money

  • The Tories say the plans are "a shambles"

  • Pupils who fail their Sats tests will have to resit under a future Conservative government

  • There are 29 days until the general election

Live Reporting

Victoria Park, Kristiina Cooper and Rob Corp

  1. Paul Waugh, editor of PoliticsHome

    @paulwaugh

    tweets:

    This is why Lab *not* abolishing non-dom status entirely: cd end up costing more overall."

  2. 'Major embarrassment'

    Norman Smith
    Assistant political editor

    The revelation is a major embarrassment for Labour on the day they unveiled what was meant to be a major manifesto pledge. Ed Balls’ comments contradict what he said this morning as he unveiled Labour's pledge to end the non dom status - he suggested the move would generate hundreds of millions of pounds and possibly as much as £1bn. Mr Balls’ comments also contradict Ed Miliband, who in a speech today will say he does not believe that non-doms will leave the country.

  3. Non-doms: Balls clip emerges

    Ed Balls

    The Conservatives are highlighting a short video clip of Ed Balls talking about the non-domicile tax rules earlier this year. Rather awkwardly for Labour, it features him suggesting the policy they’re now advocating could end up costing the taxpayer. Here’s the full quote:

    I think it is important that you make sure the non-dom rules work in a fair way. I think they were too lax in the past. Both the last Labour government and this Conservative government tightened them up. That’s something I’ll continue to look at. I think if you abolish the whole status then probably it ends up costing Britain money because there will be some people who then leave the country."

    Ed Balls, shadow chancellor

  4. PoliticsHome

    @politicshome

    tweets:

    Nigel Farage says that if "icons of youth" such as Joey Essex can get involved with politics, "perhaps he'll get more people voting"."

  5. Election fuel

    The Mirror

    David Cameron and Samantha CameronReuters

    We’re not the only ones who’ve spotted an important sub-theme of this election: food. The Mirror hasdevoted an entire articleto the contents of the prime ministerial stomach (when you put it like that, it doesn’t sound so pleasant). David Cameron, who spent Tuesday campaigning/munching across Britain’s four nations, gobbled down a scotch-egg, a pie and a fry-up. It follows Mr Cameron polishing off a hot dog with a knife and fork on Monday. The resulting furore hasgot the Washington Post completely baffled, although it explains that food has been politicised ever since Ed Miliband’s own food calamity. “In a post-bacon sandwich world, British politicians have taken it upon themselves to highlight their own normal eating habits,” it notes.

  6. John Stevens, For The Daily Mail

    The Daily Mail

    writes the article:

    Farage claims Cameron secretly using hair dye: Ukip leader says he is 'jealous' at PM's ability to 'reverse the greying process'

  7. Non-doms curveball

    Norman Smith
    Assistant political editor

    What is interesting about Labour’s non-doms policy is it isn’t really about money, because no-one knows how much they’d actually raise. What it’s really about is squeezing the rich - sending out a message to voters that Labour is ready to take on the super-wealthy, it’s not going to back off from them in the way that New Labour did. This policy is a curveball for the other parties. The Tories don’t want to be seen as on the side of super-rich foreigners. So they've moaned about it, but they've absolutely not come out and condemned it."

  8. Reporters overboard

    From Alex Forsyth, UKIP campaign correspondent

    No press allowed on boat with Joey Essex and Nigel Farage. Organisational mess-up meant the two headed off alone with Essex's ITV director and boat crew. Harbour authorities in Grimsby didn't have enough places on the boat or life jackets for any press, even though press pack had agreed to limit numbers with pool arrangements. UKIP's own press officers also weren't allowed on.

  9. Carl Dinnen, political correspondent, ITV News

    @carldinnen

    tweets:

    There are some Non Dom-ish motors outside Ed Miliband's Non Dom speech today. #GE2015

  10. Adam Smith, Westminster producer for ITV News

    @adamtimsmith

    tweets:

    George Osborne arrives for a visit to a Metro Bank. Is he about to announce abolishment non-dom status? #GE2015

  11. David Smith, economics editor of the Sunday Times

    @dsmitheconomics

    tweets:

    Whether non-dom status right or wrong, debate is being conducted as if the annual levy is all they pay in the UK - it is a tiny fraction."

  12. Greens on non-doms

    Natalie Bennett

    Green Party leader Natalie Bennett likes the sound of the Labour Party’s moves on changing the status of non-domiciles - but wants to go much further. Her party would introduce a tax-dodging bill to parliament and levy a wealth tax to ensure “assets as well as income are considered when redistributing resources”. Ms Bennett puts pressure on Labour to remove the so-called Mayfair loophole, which she says allows private equity bosses to dodge up to £700m a year. But she’s keeping an eye on the big picture, too:

    The last four decades have seen wealth accumulate at the top of society while those at the bottom struggle to get by. We need bold policies to ensure that inequality, which even organisations like the IMF and the World Bank identify as an economic threat, is tackled."

    Natalie Bennett, Green Party leader

  13. Danny Savage, BBC's UKIP campaign correspondent

    @dannysavage

    tweets:

    "See you after the election!" Shouts Farage as he and Joey Essex head off for a trip round Grimsby"

    Boat with Joey Essex and Nigel Farage in Grimbsy

  14. Kevin Maguire, Daily Mirror associate editor & New Statesman columnist

    @Kevin_Maguire

    tweets a link to a Grimsby Telegraph article :

    Long day ahead: "One reporter asked Mr Farage if he knew who Joey Essex was, to which he replied: 'I haven’t a clue'”

  15. Letter-writing politics (part 2)

    School pupils

    Not that the Guardian has a monopoly on political letters today. A letter to the Mail from 80 current and former headteachers features a warning that Labour could threaten the coalition’s education reforms. "Any erosion of school freedoms through LA [local authority] or government regulation or overbearing 'middle tier' structures will reduce the capacity of schools to perform well in the future,” the signatories state. "We call on all political leaders to guarantee that all current academy freedoms, including those relating to pay and conditions and the curriculum, will be maintained after the election.” The letter was organised by the Freedom and Autonomy for Schools National Association, which represents self-governing schools and academies.

  16. Patrick O'Flynn, UKIP Economic spokesman

    @oflynnmep

    tweets:

    Wise after event, but when Jim Murphy asked Nicola Sturgeon if she wanted Ed Mil 2b PM someone cd have pointed out he wanted David Mil 2b PM

  17. Letter-writing politics (part 1)

    The Guardian

    NHS hospitalScience Photo Library

    After last week’s letter from business leaders backing the Conservatives’ approach to the economy, now it’s Labour’s turn to benefit from a letter written by 140 senior doctors. Their missive to the Guardian doesn’t have much good to say about the coalition’s impact on the health service. “As medical and public health professionals our primary concern is for all patients,” they write. “We invite voters to consider carefully how the NHS has fared over the last five years, and to use their vote to ensure that the NHS in England is reinstated.” They’re especially critical of the Health and Social Care Act, which Labour has promised to repeal. It is “already leading to the rapid and unwanted expansion of the role of commercial companies in the NHS”, the letter warns.

  18. Ed Miliband, Labour leader

    @Ed_Miliband

    tweets:

    We all use the same roads We’re all protected by our police & armed forces We all rely on the NHS We should all pay taxes by the same rules.

  19. Alex Forsyth, UKIP campaign correspondent, BBC News

    @AlexForsythBBC

    tweets:

    Nigel Farage meets Joey Essex who tells him 'I like your coat' #GE2015"

    Nigel Farage and Joey Essex

  20. Jeremy Cliffe, the Economist's UK politics correspondent

    @JeremyCliffe

    tweets:

    Time will tell but suspect Tories opposing Labour on non-doms like cutting 50p rate in '12: whatever policy merits, optics of doing so dire."