Something of a boon this for Chancellor George Osborne and his colleagues. Official figures show government borrowing for the financial year 2014-2015, which ended in April, fell to £87.3bn.

This is fairly significant for a couple of reasons. Firstly it's the second year in a row that government borrowing has fallen below target, which suggests the economy is continuing to improve.

Second, it's the rate at which government borrowing is falling. Last year the government borrowed £98.4bn, so this year's figure of £87.3bn shaves £11.1bn off the previous year's borrowing figure.

Not only that but the borrowing target for 2014-15 has been under constant attack in the past year undergoing several revisions by the Office of Budget Responsibility. The borrowing target had started at around £95bn in the March 2014 Budget before falling to £90.2bn in March 2015.

Expect to hear plenty about the country's economic progress under the Conservatives in the next couple of days especially if next week's economic growth figure is favourable too.

The election could still turn out to be about the economy after all.

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Reality Check

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David Cameron quotes his predecessor, former Labour PM Gordon Brown - something he says he doesn't often do - who has warned that SNP MPs could bring "constitutional chaos".

"For once, Gordon Brown is absolutely spot-on right", Mr Cameron says, though he does not mention Mr Brown's attack on him for allegedly "whipping up English nationalism".

The prime minister insists he cares "passionately" about the Union and it is SNP politicians who want to "drive a wedge" between the countries of the UK.

LBC

Image source, LBC

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg is taking part in his regular weekly phone-in show. He is asked about the refugee crisis in southern Europe and the UK’s response.

The Lib Dem leader says the UK is duty bound under international law to help people who are genuinely fleeing violence and persecution.

Could the UK do more? Perhaps, he says, but even if the UK were to do more of that… could the country absorb all of those people who are fleeing their homes, “which are being bombed to smithereens”. No, clearly not.

"At the end of the day it is Eritreans and Syrians who are fleeing wars raging in their home countries," Mr Clegg says. That’s not a problem that the UK can solve from the outside, he says.

What the UK can do is bear down on the smugglers, alleviate the worst forms of suffering and give huge amounts of aid to those that are being displaced, Mr Clegg adds.

He claims he insisted that the government initiated its Syrian resettlement programme in the face of some considerable resistance in parts of Whitehall.

But at the same time he is reluctant to commit the UK to accepting 14,000 Syrian refugees as recommended by the United Nations special rapporteur.

David Cameron continues a theme which his chancellor has been pushing on the news programmes already today: "We 've got a choice. On the 8 May we can have George Osborne and me back at our desks, working, delivering this plan for Cornwall, or we can have Ed Miliband."

The mention of the Labour leader is accompanied by a few pantomime boos from Conservative supporters.

Mr Cameron claims that "the stakes in this election have just got higher" because "Labour face wipeout in Scotland at the hands of the SNP" and Ed Miliband would need them to become prime minister.

The mention of "Alex Salmond and his crew" brings more boos.

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David Cameron is speaking in Penzance, promising £7.2bn in investment for transport in the south-west of England and a plan to create jobs and fund apprenticeships.

The Conservatives are campaigning hard in this part of the world, which is home to a number of marginal seats.

The prime minister also promises "year-on-year" investment in the NHS: "The Cornish NHS is precious to your families. It's pretty precious to my family. I had a baby right here in Cornwall."

His wife Samantha spent three nights in the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro in 2010 after giving birth to the couple's daughter Florence during a family holiday.

Prime Minister David Cameron sported a more casual look than usual as he arrived in Cornwall this morning (although the red box suggests he may have been doing a bit of prime ministering on the train west)

Image source, Twitter

Naturally, Lorraine Kelly turns to the social media craze known as #Milifandom which has seen Ed Miliband's face photoshopped onto the faces of some famous heart-throbs including Harry Styles from One Direction and David Beckham.

"One Direction have nothing to fear from me," the Labour leader says.

Japery aside, Mr Miliband remarks that the originator of Milifandom is making points about "young people's voice in politics" adding that he is "happy to be the person standing up for young people".

Image source, Lorraine, ITV

Over on ITV, Lorraine Kelly chats to the Labour leader Ed Miliband, having spoken to UKIP leader Nigel Farage and Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg earlier this week.

"I'm enjoying this campaign", says Mr Miliband, "I'm relishing being out there talking to people".

Asked about Labour's woes in Scotland, the party leader accepts there is a "frustration with politics" and over whether anyone can "answer questions about the country's problems". But he again rules out a coalition with the SNP and says there are "big, big, differences" between the parties. "I think the best thing is to fight for a Labour government, a Labour majority," he says.

"People are seeing the real me, rather than the caricature," Mr Miliband responds, after being told an opinion poll suggests he is seen as "weird" and "weak".

BBC News Channel

Labour's Chris Leslie moves to the BBC News channel, where he sets out the ground on which his party wants the election arguments to take place.

"We're wanting to talk about living standards, the cost of living and the NHS," he says, trying to move the debate away from Conservative warnings of a Labour-SNP pact.

"We are very determined to make sure that we get the deficit down," he says, but insists Labour won't "just rely on cuts in order to do it".

Reality Check

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Image source, Good Morning Britain

Rory Bremner makes a big impression on the Good Morning Britain sofa on ITV/STV/UTV, where he admits his Nick Clegg has "never been that good", although his David Cameron is better. He says Nigel Farage "bounces all the time", while he bemoans the loss of William Hague from the Westminster scene.

BBC Radio 4 Today

Labour Treasury spokesman Chris Leslie is on Today, accusing the Conservatives of planning "extreme ideological cuts" to public services.

He claims his opponents want "cuts of a deeper level than any advanced economy".

He also questions George Osborne's ability to balance the books.

BBC Radio 5 Live

It's St George's Day - and UKIP are using the occasion to launch their policy of turning the day into a new Bank Holiday.

"What this is about is putting another day in the calendar that brings people together," the party's culture spokesman, Peter Whittle, tells Radio 5 Live Breakfast.

"We feel that in fact this would be very, very popular and there's been a growing demand for marking of St George's Day over the past few years - but the other parties don't really take it that seriously."

BBC Radio 4 Today

Mr Osborne admits the election is very close but claims the Conservatives have run “a very positive campaign”. He says the choice facing the country has become “clearer and clearer and starker and starker”.

He tells BBC Radio 4's Today:

Image source, PA

Miriam Gonzalez Durantez, wife of Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg, has been on the Good Morning Britain sofa talking about her work inspiring young women.

She was also asked about her revelation from earlier in the week that she has been writing a "secret" food blog with her sons. Ms Gonzalez Durantez confirmed she feared her husband's advisers would "go crazy" if they'd discovered the blog.

She also remarked that it was "sad" she has been living in the UK for 10 years, paying taxes, but is unable to vote in the general election.

And asked if her husband will retain his Sheffield Hallam seat, she said she was confident he would. A full list of the candidates standing there can be found here.

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