...a quick reminder of the main stories of the day.

Four of the major parties have not provided "anything like full details" on plans to cut the deficit, the Institute for Fiscal Studies has said .

• The IFS examined proposals from the Conservatives, Labour, Lib Dems and the SNP and concluded that they left voters "in the dark"
• The government received a pre-election boost with official figures showing it beat its target for reducing annual public sector borrowing for the latest financial year
• But Labour accused the Tories of planning "ideological" cuts in the next Parliament
• The SNP conceded its plan to cut the deficit "would take longer to achieve" - because it would invest in the economy.
• David Cameron described the prospect of a Labour government propped up by the SNP as a "toxic tie-up"

• The Liberal Democrats pledged a £150m support package for carers
• And, on St George's Day, UKIP's Patrick O'Flynn joked that the party would have welcomed England's patron saint into the country because of his dragon-slaying skills

William Hague is also talking about the launch of the Conservatives' English manifesto tomorrow. It's the first time they have produced a manifesto - specifically - for England. He says it will set out how the party would implement "English votes for English laws".

Labour's Harriet Harman thinks the Tories are going about things "on the back of an envelope", saying it isn't up to politicians and that there should be a process to decide big constitutional matters.

Unsurprisingly, the SNP's John Swinney (Scotland's Deputy First Minister) doesn't agree with William Hague that it would be a catastrophe for the SNP to hold the balance of power. He says the SNP's top priority is to end austerity and increase public spending.

The Conservative Cabinet Minister William Hague says it would be a "catastrophe" if the SNP holds the balance of power at Westminster. Speaking on BBC's Question-Time he predicts that it would try to turn Scotland against England - and England against Scotland. The SNP wants to win elections to the Scottish Parliament, he says, so it can make the case for another referendum.

Andrew Neil is taking his late-night programme out to meet an audience tonight. He will be joined by Michael Portillo and Diane Abbott on the sofas, while Miranda Green and Kevin Maguire are having a go at a low-budget version of Poldark as they look back over the last week in politics.

Also featuring are historian Andrew Roberts and comedian Hardeep Singh Kohli, looking at nationalism, UKIP’s Suzanne Evans, and The Blondettes as the house band. Desktop viewers can watch on the Live Coverage tab above from 23:45 BST.

Read more about the programme

Question Time is under way on BBC1 with Labour deputy leader Harriet Harman, William Hague for the Conservatives, UKIP's Paul Nuttall, the Green Party leader Natalie Bennett and the SNP's John Swinney.

David Cowling, Editor BBC Political Research has been assessing four polls "sampled amidst the shot and shell of the Conservative campaign to tag Labour as SNP dupes". He says:

• The day began with YouGov’s one point Labour lead (34% versus 33% for the Conservatives).
• Survation arrived in the afternoon with a four-point Conservative lead over Labour who they put on 29%, the party’s lowest rating in the campaign so far.
• In the early evening, Panelbase published their three-point Labour lead (34% versus 31%)
• ComRes appeared last of all with a four-point Conservative lead – Conservative 36%, Labour 32%.

Survation and Panelbase both registered the highest UKIP ratings for some days, 18% and 17% respectively. Intriguingly, the ComRes four-point Conservative lead accompanied their UKIP support at 10%, whereas Survation’s same Conservative lead sat alongside their UKIP rating of 18%.

Here's the Daily Mirror's take on its Survation poll, which shows Labour dropping four points to 29%, external .

A Survation poll for the Daily Mirror puts Labour on 29%. The Conservatives are down one point to 33% while the Liberal Democrats are up three to 10%. Ukip is up one point to 18% while the SNP and Greens are both unchanged on 4%.

Channel 4

Lord Mandelson says Ed Miliband has "way exceeded my expectations".

The former Labour strategy chief and cabinet minister told Channel 4 News: "Miliband has moved forwards. He gained credibility.

"He's exceeded most people's expectations. I suppose in a sense mine as well."

Laura Kuenssberg
Newsnight Chief Correspondent

SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon has told BBC Newsnight she would prop up a Labour government - even if the Conservatives were the largest party by up to 40 seats.

Asked if she would prop up a Labour administration if the party was "10, 20, 30, 40 seats" worse off, Ms Sturgeon replied: "If there was an anti-Tory majority, yes we would offer to work with Labour to stop the Tories getting back into Downing Street."

See the full interview on BBC2 at 22.30 BST.

Gordon Brown says the SNP doesn't want a Labour government and would prefer an "unsuccessful Tory government". In a rousing speech in Kirkcaldy (his former constituency) the ex-prime minister says the SNP hopes the English will vote Green, the Welsh for Plaid Cymru and the Scots for the SNP.

He asks: "When has Alex Salmond or Nicola Sturgeon or any SNP MP advocated a vote for the Labour Party?"

He adds:

Andrew Neil
Daily and Sunday Politics

The Daily Politics is touring the UK talking to voters at 18 locations and asking for their views on the general election - and Thursday's stop was in Northamptonshire. Reporter Giles Dilnot spoke to shoemakers Steve Flint, Brian Baddock and John Essam about what could make them cast their ballot in a particular way. Watch the film

Former Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown is speaking in Kirkcaldy. He says it's a "scandal" that so many families are unable to meet their basic needs, "as a result of punitive decisions that have been made by governments".