BBC News Channel

Labour's shadow housing minister Emma Reynolds is discussing the party's housing policy on the BBC News Channel. She explains that Labour would help first-time buyers by exempting them from stamp duty on homes in England worth under £300,000, and also cites plans to boost the supply of homes.

The move is expected to cost £225m a year, so how would it be funded? By clamping down on tax avoidance by landlords and increasing stamp duty for overseas, non-EU home buyers, Ms Reynolds says. Labour would also increase the charge on people who own properties through holding companies, she adds.

BBC News Channel

Rory Scott, from bookmaker Paddy Power, has been looking into his crystal ball and offers his general election predictions.

The Conservatives will win the most seats and votes but they won't be able to form a coalition, so Ed Miliband will prop up a Labour minority government with the informal support of the Lib Dems and the SNP, he reckons.

He also predicts a few "high profile casualties" on the cards, including Lib Dem Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander and Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy, while Nick Clegg will "just squeak it".

In terms of seats, he forecasts:

• Conservatives 284
• Labour 272
• SNP 50
• UKIP 3
• Greens 1

BBC News Channel

Image source, Fragrance entrepreneur

We mentioned earlier a letter signed by the representatives of 5,000 small businesses backing the Conservatives,

Perfume and cosmetics entrepreneur Jo Malone - one of the signatories - tells the BBC she thinks it will make a difference to the campaign. She says SMEs are producing 1,000 jobs a day as a result of the government's economic policies, "so we have to have our voice heard".

"There's no point moaning about it in two weeks when it's all over," she adds.

Ms Malone reveals that she will be voting Conservative on 7 May, warning that a Labour government would jeopardise the economic recovery.

BBC Radio 4 Today

Image source, PA

This election is unprecedented, says Nicola Sturgeon. We may see voters reject the two-party Westminster system and herald in a new "multi-party, multi-national" politics. It'll be a breath of fresh air for voters across the United Kingdom, the SNP leader predicts.

BBC Radio 4 Today

Challenged over the remarks of an SNP candidate who said a large number of SNP MPs at Westminster will be the rope that the “hung parliament hangs on”, Nicola Sturgeon says she can't be clearer that the party will exercise any influence "positively and constructively" with the interests of Scotland and the UK in mind. It's a hand of friendship, she adds.

Do you want a second referendum as quickly as you can? "No, I don't. I want to make sure that that decision is driven by what people in Scotland want. This election is not about a referendum on independence."

BBC Radio 4 Today

A bit more from Today's interview with Nicola Sturgeon. Why should anyone believe that you have an interest in making the UK work efficiently? That's a very good question, says Ms Sturgeon. It's no secret I want Scotland to be a independent country - but as long as Westminster decisions affect Scotland the SNP has a "vested interest" in pushing for "better politics". She says she is driven by the interests of the Scottish people - not party politics.

Image source, PA

We've seen Joey Essex on the campaign trail and now it's the turn of another The Only Way Is Essex star, Lydia Bright, to meet Ed Miliband. She's part of the @useyourvoice campaign which encourages young people to vote.

BBC Radio 4

If there was a minority Labour government, the SNP would seek to use its influence on a "case-by-case basis" to affect "progressive" change, including an end to austerity. But we would do so positively and constructively, Nicola Sturgeon adds, saying the party doesn't intend to "destroy" or bring down governments.

BBC Radio 4 Today

Image source, Getty

Following on from her last point, Nicola Sturgeon is asked who Ed Miliband would have to speak to in the SNP to do any deal, noting that she is not a member of parliament. "I'm the leader of the SNP and therefore if there are discussions to be had I'll be leading those discussions," she replies.

BBC Radio 4 Today

Ed Miliband has said there would be no deals between Labour and the SNP. Asked whether she would be prepared to vote down a Labour government and cause a second election, Ms Sturgeon says the party will not do anything that puts the Conservatives in power.

She goes on to say the Labour leader can't "deny reality" - and that if no party wins an overall majority they will have to be prepared to "talk to and compromise with" other parties to get their policies through.

BBC Radio 4 Today

Image source, Reuters

Do you expect to have a handle on power after the general election, SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon is asked, as part of the Today programme's leader interviews. I hope that the SNP will wield influence in the House of Commons on Scotland's behalf, she replies.