Image source, PA

Labour has launched its manifesto today – not the big one, that was yesterday, but a document , externalspecifically targeting black and ethnic minority voters. The party is highlighting its compulsory jobs guarantee for those aged 18 to 25 who've been out of work for 12 months, plans to raise the national minimum wage and a cross-government race equality strategy as the highlights of its plan to “extend opportunity and tackle discrimination”.

Mark comments:

If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is. You cannot achieve all of this without raising a lot of money to do it. Tax the rich and they will move abroad, borrow the money and deepen our debt. Its the system that needs changing, Capitalism is rapidly turning into a noose around our necks.

Andrew Johns says:

Nice to see all the people re-enforcing their own ignorant stereotypical opinions of what the Greens stand for. Just because it's a different view to your own doesn't make it lunacy. Plenty of examples through history to learn from, and many experts agree with Green policies. Some countries are even already successfully implementing them.

Andrew:

Elizabeth Truss, the Conservative environment secretary, says today's manifesto shows hers is the "party of working people" - wait, we've heard that phrase before.

Asked about the right-to-buy policy, and specifically what happens if councils can't - or won't - sell their most expensive social housing properties, Ms Truss insists: "This is a policy that works across the country". It's being funded on a "national basis", she says, adding that 15,000 families move out of expensive homes every year.

BBC News Channel

“We’re the only party, really, that’s set out any detail on how we’d actually balance the books and pay for the promises we’re making,” Liberal Democrat Danny Alexander tells the BBC News Channel. “The Tories won’t describe their cuts in detail because they go much further than anyone else wants to go, cutting to the bone in public services.” The Lib Dems would offer £6bn of tax rises, £7bn of measures to crack down on tax avoidance, £12bn of departmental expenditure savings and £3bn on welfare. Mr Alexander, George Osborne’s right-hand-man in the Treasury over the last five years, says the Tories’ manifesto isn’t nearly as convincing because it lacks the same level of detail. 

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Daily Politics
Live on BBC Two

Natalie Bennett faces Andrew Neil on the BBC's Daily Politics. She's claiming that increasing the top rate of income tax to 60% for those who earn over £150,000 will bring in £2bn - but where's the proof? "What we'll talk about is what we're planning, which is a crackdown on tax avoidance," she replies. People don’t decide their lives based on “money”. She says London has a lot to offer in terms of “lifestyle”.

BBC News Channel

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Holly, Leeds:

Here's the Conservative manifesto in full, external  to read over lunch - or whenever you fancy.

Daily Politics
Live on BBC Two

Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood is on the Daily Politics. She isn’t very sympathetic to the idea that senior politicians should be shielded from the public. “I have no bodyguards or security team, and I’m free to go wherever I want,” she says. Nick Clegg got into a bit of difficulty while out campaigning, but that doesn’t seem to have shifted Ms Wood’s view. “I think that’s important for democracy, actually - I think politicians should be available to the public to be scrutinised on their policies.”

Mike Shaw , Leek, Staffordshire:

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David Cameron exits, accompanied by his wife Samantha, who will presumably now be advising him on which Good Life couple she thinks they're most like. Senior Tories stand and applaud as Fleetwood Mac's Don't Stop blasts out on the speakers. As in 'Don't stop thinking about tomorrow' - fairly subtle messaging there.

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And now David Cameron is wrapping up. "Britain is on the right track," he says. He wants to clear the deficit and go for full employment. "Stick with the team and the plan and the vision that will deliver security for working people throughout their lives, throughout our country," he finishes. And that, as they say, is that.

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Image source, PA

Here's the final question, from BBC Newsnight's Allegra Stratton. She's asking David Cameron why he's being so clear on the "nice stuff" and so unclear on the "nasty stuff" - like £12bn of welfare cuts. The Conservative leader says further welfare cuts are the right thing to do - but he doesn't offer any new detail about how that will actually be achieved. Instead he offers a lengthy exposition of the Conservatives' deficit reduction strategy.

On the right-to-buy policy, and the question of whether the government will actually be able to get councils replacing the stock they're going to sell off, David Cameron gets interrupted by applause before he can actually answer the question. In London, he says, some properties have been sold off that have led to a dozen others being constructed.