Campaign countdown - 28 April

Summary

The Conservatives promise another 50,000 apprenticeships paid for by £200 million from Libor fines
Labour announce a 10-point plan to reform the immigration system
Lib Dems demand a stability budget within 50 days of the next government being formed as a red line for any post-election negotiations
BBC2's Daily Politics hosts another election debate - this time on defence and security
One hundred young voters quiz politicians on the cost of living in the final Newsbeat election debate
There are nine days left until the general election

Live Reporting

Pippa Simm, Jenny Matthews and Anna Doble

Savings scepticismpublished at 13:38
The World at One
BBC Radio 4
Paul Johnson, director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, says he’s “sceptical” about the numbers being put forward by the main parties when interviewed on The World At One. He’s particularly unimpressed with their income tax proposals. “We’ve now got to a point where about 44% of the adult population don’t pay income tax,” Mr Johnson says. “If what you really wanted to do was help people on lower earnings, you’d be much better off increasing the point at which they pay national insurance contributions.”
On welfare, Mr Johnson says if the Tories are serious about going ahead with £12bn, they’ll have to cut up to 15% of spending on housing benefit, tax credit or child benefit. Labour’s proposals don’t contain many cuts at all -which means there are “stark differences” between the two parties’ plans.
No shamepublished at 13:37
Daily Politics
Live on BBC Two
Here’s a bit more from Adam Clifford, the strikingly dressed Class War Party candidate, who was on Daily Politics earlier this lunchtime. He says he can see things in the right kind of perspective because he’s educated. But that’s not the case for many. “A lot of people have got a lot of shame about being working class - they’re indoctrinated into thinking ‘the best I can do is become middle class.’" That's all very well, Stanley Johnson says, but why are you dressed like a woman? The answer is accompanied with a first-rate pout: “I’ve got nothing to hide.” Watch his interview again.
On the doorsteppublished at 13:33 British Summer Time 28 April 2015
Newsnight's chief correspondent and presenter tweets...
No specificspublished at 13:29
The World at One
BBC Radio 4
David Gauke sticks to the party line when asked to spell out where that increasingly infamous £12bn of welfare cuts will come from. Is it child benefit, disability benefit or housing benefit, as the IFS suggest? "I would point you towards our track record" he replies.
Can you categorically rule out means-testing disability benefit? "I'm not going to go through a long list of proposals," he replies, but says the Conservatives are not going to "hit disabled people".
Pressed on whether that means it'll be child benefit instead, he says he's "set out the principles" the policies will be based on.
Image source, Conservatives
'Critical point'published at 13:25
The World at One
BBC Radio 4
Conservative Treasury Minister David Gauke is up now - unsurprisingly, he "strongly disagrees" with Mr Balls. It's undoubtedly "a critical point" in the recovery, Mr Gauke accepts, and "we should not be complacent".
'Funny Tory world'published at 13:24
The World at One
BBC Radio 4
"The Tories have looked out of touch on the economy for months and months," Ed Balls continues. Labour's shadow chancellor is then confronted with the IFS findings about his plans to raise the top rate of income tax.
Is it a purely ideological move, he's asked. "It's a funny Tory world isn't it, that you say to people on low incomes, 'we're going to cut your benefits', and you say to people at the top, 'we're going to cut your taxes'."
Mr Balls says he thinks "it will raise more than the £100m" the IFS predicts.
Balls on GDP 'disappointment'published at 13:21
The World at One
BBC Radio 4
Ed Balls is now on The World At One. "It's a deeply disappointing number" - that's his take on the latest GDP figures. "I'm afraid this Tory plan isn't working."
Ed Miliband on his Russell Brand interviewpublished at 13:14
Image source, Getty
Quote Message
I decided that some people were saying the campaign was too boring so I thought it would make it more interesting."
More on Miliband and Brandpublished at 13:10 British Summer Time 28 April 2015
Sophy Ridge, Sky News
Changing sidespublished at 13:10 British Summer Time 28 April 2015
John Stevens, Daily Mail political reporter
Add to the debatepublished at 13:09 British Summer Time 28 April 2015
Text: 61124
If apprenticeship are so important to the Tories, why is the minimum wage for first year apprentices (of any age) less than of unskilled 16 year olds?
Tightening the screws - or nuts, more accuratelypublished at 13:09
Image source, PA
Learning a new skill under the eye of the education secretary - what could be more stressful?
This was Nicky Morgan and George Osborne visiting EPS engineering company in Loughborough.
Time for Class Warpublished at 13:06
Daily Politics
Live on BBC Two
Adam Clifford, a candidate for the Class War Party, is being interviewed on the Daily Politics. Stanley Johnson’s face, it’s fair to say, is a picture. “I embrace working class culture and I think that we’re great,” he says. Mr Clifford predicts a riot. “Working class people know that they’re basically slaves,” he adds. “So let the people rise… I don’t know how violent they’re going to be.” Sounds like trouble.
In or out?published at 13:04 British Summer Time 28 April 2015
The editor of Politics.co.uk tweets...
Add to the debatepublished at 13:04 British Summer Time 28 April 2015
Text: 61124
Daily Politics viewer:
Interview by Andrew Neil with David Hanson (refusing to answer questions on past record) has convinced this life long Labour voter NOT to vote Labour this time!
Engagement strategypublished at 13:03
Daily Politics
Live on BBC Two
David Hanson thinks it was a good use of Ed Miliband’s time to go and visit Russell Brand, as he did last night. “We should try to influence people who have an influence over a section of our community to go and vote,” Mr Hanson says. He sees it as an engagement issue - Brand has encouraged people not to bother voting at all and should be treated like any other disillusioned member of the electorate, Mr Hanson thinks.
Change of focus?published at 13:00 British Summer Time 28 April 2015
The political editor of the New Statesman tweets...
Exit checkspublished at 12@53
Daily Politics
Live on BBC Two
Image source, PA
On exit checks – which Labour scrapped but now wants to reintroduce – David Hanson says his party’s “offer” is to “count people in” and “count people out”. It’s only a smidgin awkward when Andrew Neil quotes a former Labour immigration minister explaining they were scrapped because “they did not contribute to overall effectiveness of overall immigration control”. Mr Hanson says exit checks are “essential to have strong borders”. They’ll be paid for by a small charge on countries who don’t have a visa waiver scheme, he says.
Benefit checkspublished at 12:41
Daily Politics
Live on BBC Two
Labour's shadow immigration minister David Hanson – over a rather crackly telephone line – is being interviewed about his party’s plans to prevent new arrivals receiving out-of-work benefits. Mr Hanson says that the policy covers child benefit, child tax credit and jobseekers’ allowance. It looks rather like it would be possible for EU migrants to claim some in-work benefits – but Mr Hanson doesn’t offer any explanation beyond saying he’s “concentrating” on those three benefits.
Sub-surface churningpublished at 12:37
Daily Politics
Live on BBC Two
YouGov's Peter Kellner tells the Daily Politics he doesn't think this election campaign is resulting in zero change - even if it looks that way.
Quote Message
“It’s not static. It looks static, but underneath the surface a lot of people are churning from one party to another. But they’re cancelling each other out. I wouldn’t rule out anything changing at the last minute.”