"We have got 10 days to go. Every attempt has been made to talk down our expectations, to squeeze the UKIP vote... but people who vote UKIP do so because they believe in what we stand for," Nigel Farage says, as he brings his speech in Hartlepool to an end.

Image source, PA

With a final flourish, Mr Farage says UKIP want to be the biggest party in the north east by 2020.

Darren F: Everyone is focussing on the 0.3% GROWTH in the last quarter and not the fact the economy grew by 2.4% over the last year and will return to 0.7 and 0.8% in the next 2 quarters. Growth is growth!!!

Joe Hawkins, Birkenhead: David Cameron and George Osborne both say the latest figure shows that the recovery is at risk from Labour and external factors, so is Mr Cameron still insisting on good times for all?

Alastair: The flash figures come from the largest companies which are most exposed to currency fluctuations and the slowdown in oil work. When more data is available I expect the growth figure to be revised upward to the level projected by Markit which has proved more accurate of late.

The TUC's general secretary Frances O'Grady reacts to the GDP figures by saying: "The slowest recovery in modern history just slowed down again."

She describes it as "bad news" for jobs and living standards and says Conservative plans for "extreme cuts" after the election risk killing off the economic recovery.

Nigel Farage is discussing the coalition's decision to get militarily involved in Libya. "Libya is now basically a failed state, a conduit for mass criminal human trafficking," the UKIP leader says. He accuses the coalition of "picking up where Labour let off" in starting wars without any planning for the aftermath.

Mr Farage says there'll be discussions in Strasbourg tomorrow about the issue but insists: "We want no part of an EU common immigration and asylum policy".

Nigel Farage has taken to the stage at a press conference in Hartlepool - a seat in which he's set his sights firmly on attacking Labour. He says there's been a dramatic shift from Ed Miliband's party to his own since the campaign started. "We've got some real momentum," he adds.

Image source, Getty

Enfield North Conservative candidate Nick de Bois - whom David Cameron gave an enthusaistic shout-out to during his speech a short time ago - told BBC Radio 5 live Breakfast this morning that the said same Mr Cameron "utterly let down" his constituents over the failure to protect maternity and A&E services at his local Chase Farm hospital.

Nick de Bois - pictured here with Boris Johnson - told presenter Rachel Burden: "In 2008 the Labour government then made the decision - [rival candidate] Joan Ryan was a member of that government - to downgrade the hospital.

"Then along comes my party leader and he said 'this won't happen' and, of course, that utterly let down the constituents in my party as well."

A bit more from the Institute for Fiscal Studies. Labour's plans for a mansion tax imply an average charge of more than £16,000 a year on homes worth more than £3 million, the think tank says. On Conservative plans to raise the inheritance tax threshold on homes to £1m, the IFS added:

Matt, Wakefield:

There's nothing like props to liven up a press conference. Earlier today UKIP's economy spokesman Patrick O'Flynn held aloft a certain salted snack to illustrate his claim that Labour's new 10p rate of income tax doesn't amount to much. It would save a typical taxpayer just 42p a week, he says. "We will be going into those neglected Labour heartlands with a compelling message to working people: under UKIP, no tax on the minimum wage; under Labour, peanuts."

Scott, London:

David Cameron isn’t really doing much in the way of walkabouts in this campaign, but when asked about his reticence he finds at least one way to get in a dig at Ed Miliband. “Unlike Ed Miliband I don’t have to go everywhere with a lectern.” Elaborating on his theme, he calls on all those present to help him “free this lectern” which has been “held hostage”. "Maybe the lectern should be allowed on its own he suggests - he's pictured above apparently picking the lectern up. A career in charades beckons, but then Mr Cameron remembers he's the prime minister and offers a serious answer: “I believe in getting out there, that’s what I’m doing in this campaign and there’ll be plenty more of it."