The Conservatives launch their manifesto, with David Cameron declaring “we are the party of working people”
They promise an extension of the right-to-buy scheme and 30 hours free childcare a week
The Green Party’s manifesto launch calls for action against climate change
It also promises steps to “restore and extend our public services”
There are 23 days left until polling day
Image source, Getty ImagesWe’ve had "Worcester Woman" in 1997 and the "Mumsnet election" of 2010 - sohow will the women’s vote fare in 2015?Is there even such a thing? That’s the question Vanessa Barford’s been looking into as she sizes up this rather significant chunk of the electorate. And now’s a good time to size it up: this is the final general election of the first century since women got the vote in 1918, after all.
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Lewis:
Theresa May is totally shambolic in interviews, she constantly sounds like she's been dragged in as cover at the last minute without being prepped. Though in that respect, she seems to epitomise this Conservative election campaign perfectly: desperately scrambling around and clutching at pre-given sound bites to avoid giving the real answers they know that people ultimately don't want to hear.
@michaelsavage
Quote MessageEarlier this month, 73% councils said current RTB only allows them to replace up to 1/2 homes sold. 12% feared they couldn't to replace any.
Norman Smith
Assistant political editor
Image source, Getty ImagesQuote MessageA blast from the past today, as David Cameron seeks to reach out to working class voters - deliberately reigniting Mrs Thatcher’s iconic right-to-buy policy from the 1980s. And coupled with that, I expect, a pledge to ensure people on the minimum wage pay no tax. Both measures, Mr Cameron will say later today, prove the Conservative Party is the party of working people. It’s not just about housing - it’s also about trying to ignite a Tory campaign that has been a bit dull, frankly. There’s been a sense it hasn't kicked off. The hope of Team Cameron is that this pledge will give them some real momentum."
@SebastianEPayne
Quote MessageWorth noting that extending Help to Buy was the idea of Iain Duncan Smith. Are we seeing a return of compassionate conservatism?
@JamesTapsfield
Quote MessageBoris won't be at manifesto launch today - aptly campaigning in London. But Osborne, Theresa May and Nicky Morgan will speak
@BBCAllegra
Quote MessageNotes on Tory front page: 3 potential successors (Javid, May, Osborne); perfect gender split: 3 + 3. Featuring the BACK of Osborne's head."
BBC Radio 4 Today
Image source, AFP/Getty ImagesA few years back Theresa May talked of the need to end the Conservatives’ “nasty party” record. After some to-and-fro over whether she actually said that - just to be clear, she said other people thought the Tories were not entirely pleasant - Mrs May embarks on a defence of the Tories’ focus on Ed Miliband’s personality. She won’t be drawn on her own leadership prospects, insisting “there’s only one contest and one choice of leader” on 7 May.
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John Sutton Coldfield:
Right to buy. I am 75 and a life long Tory but I always disagreed with this policy. Locally, on a mixed development, a house is currently advertised for sale for £249,950. Therefore a housing association tenant living in an identical property could buy it for £162 468. Disgusting.
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Billy68:
Teresa May says selling 15000 council houses a year will generate £4.5 billion? That's an average of £300,000 a house. Here in Lincolnshire you would be lucky to get a third of that.
BBC Radio 4 Today
The right-to-buy policy will be put into primary legislation, Theresa May says. That means there will be consultation on the proposals to sort out the details. "I think as the result of this policy what we're going to see is more people housed and more people able to own their own home... it's about a Conservative Party that is on the side of working people." Manifesto slogan - tick!
Asked why there's no help for private rental tenants, she says that just because not everyone can be helped doesn't mean no-one should be.
@janemartinson
Quote MessageWhat sort of lunatic would look at chronic lack of affordable homes and think "let's get rid of even more" Hello David Cameron"
BBC Radio 4 Today
Image source, GettyNow Theresa May is on the Today programme as her morning media manifest-ival continues. "We've brought forward a number of ways in which we're saying we do believe in the Conservative Party getting their foot on the housing ladder. We do want to help people get their own home," she says. But how much will the net cost of the scheme be? Housing associations are being compensated by being asked to sell their council housing stock, Ms May explains. When pressed on how confident she is that the move will bring in £4.5bn of cash, she talks about her party's brownfield proposals.
Time for some more polling courtesy of Lord Ashcroft now, who has turned his gaze on seats a little lower down the Conservatives’ defence list. These are constituencies where the Tories ought to be holding on, at least if they want an overall majority. But they’re only ahead in five of these 10 seats.
In Rossendale & Darwen, and South Ribble, they’re tied with Labour. And in Crewe & Nantwich, Finchley & Golders Green and Milton Keynes South they’re three, two and two points behind respectively. This news may come as a bit of a dampener to Conservative supporters celebrating yesterday's Guardian/ICM poll which put them 6% ahead of Labour nationwide.
Quote MessageIn all ten seats, majorities were optimistic about the economy, both for the country as a whole and for themselves and their families. This was not related to Conservative fortunes: the most optimistic voters were in Finchley & Golders Green, which also had the biggest swing to Labour."
Lord Ashcroft, pollster
@mattholehouse
Quote MessageAshcroft poll, released hours before manifesto launch, shows Labour ahead in Thatcher's Finchley seat."
BBC Radio 5 Live
Theresa May has been pressed on BBC Radio 5 Live about what happens to council housing levels as the Conservatives force local authorities to sell off their most expensive properties. “Housing associations will want to ensure they are replacing the stock,” the home secretary says. Won’t there be a time lag, though? Mrs May isn’t entirely clear in her response. What she actually said, verbatim, is: “The way the scheme operates in terms of - obviously the tenant has an opportunity to buy their own home, has to take that opportunity up, and the housing association obviously will be able to as I’ve said because the funding will be released from local authorities’ more expensive homes, will also have that.” Erm, pardon?
BBC Radio 5 Live
Image source, PAThis morning’s 5 live Your Call is with SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon. It’s from 9am, hosted by Nicky Campbell. People can call 0500 909 693, text 85058, tweet @bbc5live or leave a question on Facebook., external
@MattChorley
Quote MessageInteresting that Tory manifesto frontpage includes Morgan and McVey, both in marginal seats. Obv for women in pic"
Image source, GettyThe Lib Dems are having a crack at their own housing announcements today. In particular their big new policy is the idea that the government could directly commission private housebuilding to ensure houses are built at sufficient speed and have proper infrastructure and services. By working with local authorities and builders they could effectively cut out developers. This is a “surprisingly interventionist approach”, one party source has told us. How much would it cost? Um, nothing, the Lib Dems reply - because the idea is the government will get the money back.
@RupertMyers
tweets his thoughts on the Tory manifesto cover:, external
Quote MessageVery 'team of rivals' - more interesting than the Labour cover, but not much. Looks a little corporate"