David Cameron is to confirm that the Conservatives would spend an extra £8bn on the NHS in England by 2020
The BBC has been told the Tories' manifesto will contain a pledge to raise inheritance tax to £1 million
The Conservatives are promising 15 million workers three extra days of paid leave to do voluntary work, if they win the election
Labour leader Ed Miliband says the SNP's economic plans would have a "devastating" impact on Scotland
The Lib Dems are pledging help for young people who want to rent to raise a deposit
There are 27 days until the general election
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BBC Daily Politics viewer:
Could your reporters please clarify the position of workers on zero hours contracts re Cameron's announcement of three days paid leave to do voluntary work. I understand Sports Direct employ 15,000 workers on zero hours contracts. Will David Cameron be telling Mike Ashley all these staff can have an extra 3 days leave?
Daily Politics
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In the case of the campaign this week, the "dead cat" appears to have been the rather personal attack on the Labour leader Ed Miliband by Defence Secretary Michael Fallon over Trident.
Spectator assistant editor Isabel Hardman says:
Quote MessageI don't think Michael Fallon was supposed to be giving a speech yesterday. He was supposed to be giving a speech today. He's ended up giving two speeches this week which has been quite painful for him, I think."
Daily Politics
Live on BBC Two
Isabel Hardman, assistant editor of the Spectator, tells the Daily Politics it has not been a good week for the Conservative Party "at all".
She says the way the party reacted to Labour's non-dom tax policy announcement was slow and also ended up with the Tories defending an argument that "put them on the wrong side of public opinion".
The Conservatives then decided to deploy what Ms Hardman calls the dead cat strategy, which she claims is a invention of Tory election strategist Lynton Crosby.
The strategy apparently involves "throwing a dead cat onto the table when you are losing the argument," she says.
Image source, Daily MirrorThere was one other nugget from some of the political polling that came out late on Thursday and overnight. And while it got a brief mention by our colleagues yesterday it probably bears repeating.
That is that Ed Miliband has caught up with David Cameron in the leaders' approval ratings.
In fact, he hasn't just caught up he's ahead of the prime minister for the very first time in five years.
Why does this matter? Momentum, plain and simple. It's basically what election campaigns are all about and if - and it's still a big if - he can build enough momentum, Mr Miliband might just achieve his ambition to move into Number 10.
Late-night viewers will have seen the Guardian's Nick Watt review the political week and election campaign in a film on This Week, where he talked Trident and Europe, with the help of a sheep on a farm. Watch his film
Now Mr Miliband turns his fire on SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon.
He says her commitment to full fiscal autonomy - repeated at Wednesday's Scottish leader’s debates - would mean "an end to the pooling and sharing of resources within the UK" and calls it "one of the significant events of the campaign so far in Scotland".
He says full fiscal autonomy would mean a £7.6bn hole in Scotland’s finances.
He challenges Ms Sturgeon and the SNP to explain “which services will be cut, which taxes will be raised, what cuts will it mean for pensioners in Scotland when they are taken out of the UK pension system.”
Ed Miliband has begun his speech in Scotland.
Mr Miliband has spent most of his speech attacking the Conservative party, saying desperation is becoming the hallmark of the campaign.
Has he deliberately left the attacks on the Scottish National Party to Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy? It would, so far, seem so.
@IainDale
Quote MessageBlogpost: Hosting an Election Debate - how last night's @LBC Women leaders' debate happened and why it worked. http://iaindale.com/posts/2015/04/10/it-shouldn-t-happen-to-a-radio-presenter-24-hosting-an-election-debate …
Labour's leader Ed Miliband and the leader in Scotland, Jim Murphy, are speaking jointly in Edinburgh now.
@marycontrary53
Quote MessagePrinciples are so important in every walk of life. They MUST come before profit or we are doomed. #Election2015
Norman Smith
Assistant political editor
BBC assistant political editor Norman Smith says the reason trade unions have welcomed the Conservative proposals on volunteering is all basically down to the good old law of unintended consequences.
Employees would be able to take three days paid leave to "work for some of the biggest voluntary organisations [in the country] who are, of course, trade unions".
"Not the sort of thing you'd expect to hear from a Conservative government," he says.
Support from some; but the Institue of Directors really isn’t happy about the Conservatives' proposals for volunteering.
Christian May of the IoD tells the BBC’s assistant political editor Norman Smith that having 250 employees doesn’t put a company ”in the realms of the largest employers” and there will be significant costs to firms to provide the extra three days leave.
Quote MessageWe’re almost through the looking glass a little bit in this. You’ve got a Tory government proposing a piece of employment regulation, which has been welcomed by the trade unions and criticised by the Labour party for being a possibly bit costly.
@MattChorley
Quote MessageTUESDAY Gove: “It’s unlikely that we’ll hear the phrase [Big Society]" TODAY Cameron: "Clearest demonstration of Big Society in action"
@paulwaugh
Quote MessageAltho YouGov Scots poll looks disastrous for Lab, their faint hope is cos it was conducted b4 2nd TV debate, things cdve shifted since
There's support for the Conservatives' volunteering proposals from TV star and survival expert Bear Grylls.
Quote MessageAny initiative that encourages people to volunteer is good news. All of us struggle to find extra time and that's why to have firm government support that enables millions to volunteer is a huge step forward towards building solid communities all around the UK."
Image source, PA@chrisshipitv
Quote MessageMichael Fallon tells @RUSI_org event: the Reserve forces recruitment plan (which was way off target) is now 'back on track': 20,480 Reserves
@MichaelLCrick
Quote MessageMiniature pigs David Hameron, Ed Swiliband, Nigel Forage & Pork Clegg ready for Ham Stakes race, Pennywell Farm Devon
Image source, Michael CrickText: 61124
Daily Politics viewer:
The police are now relying heavily on non paid Specials. What is the ratio? For most, being a Special is the only way to become a full time officer but this is by no means guaranteed. We need paid police officers to do this increasingly dangerous job.
Image source, Getty ImagesAnd today, UKIP leader Nigel Farage has given his reaction to that LBC interview, external.
Speaking at Manston in Kent, Mr Farage said: "What she [Diane James] said was that he stands up for his country. He undeniably stands up for his country.
"But I think we've got to a point where he maybe poses us potentially a bit of a threat. Which takes us back to the defence argument.
"Why will no one else commit to spending just 2% of our national income on defence? It seems to me that it's vital that we do so."
The former UKIP general election candidate for North West Hampshire Diane James - she's already a UKIP MEP and apparently withdrew from the general election for family reasons - has shown her admiration for Russian president Vladimir Putin.
On Thursday she told LBC radio: "I do admire him. He is a very strong leader.
"I admire him from the point of view that he's standing up for his country. He's very nationalist."