Farage at European Parliamentpublished at 08:53 British Summer Time 29 April 2015
The Daily Mail political reporter tweets...
Summary
The Conservatives promise a law guaranteeing no rise in income tax, national insurance or VAT before 2020
But Labour say Tory plans would mean cuts to tax credits totalling £3.8 billion
The Lib Dems pledge to offer free schools meals to all children in England
There are eight days left until the general election
Farage at European Parliamentpublished at 08:53 British Summer Time 29 April 2015
Send us your commentspublished at 08:52 British Summer Time 29 April 2015
Email: politics@bbc.co.uk
C. H.:
What's to stop the Tories putting up taxes, and then passing the law to lock in tax rates?
Cockney accentpublished at 08:52 British Summer Time 29 April 2015
The columnist tweets...
Vote swappingpublished at 08:48
BBC Radio 5 Live
There’s a number of websites which have popped up in this election to encourage people to swap their votes in order to get round the first-past-the-post system. Tom De Grunveld is co-founder of one of them - swapmyvote.uk, external - and is explaining to BBC Radio 5 Live how the process works.
“You put in who you’d like to vote for and who you’re prepared to vote for. We try and match you up with someone who’s got the opposite preferences and you meet your voting partner.” Confidence is boosted by the fact that you log-in using your Twitter or Facebook identity. Could party activists get involved? “There’s all sorts of ways people could try and get one over, as in anything in life, but we kind of felt that if you could click through, see your voting partners, see if they’re posting about a particular party a lot and what you think, you get an idea of a real person. We’re seeing some lovely conversations spring up.”
Steve Fisher, associate professor of political sociology at the University of Oxford, says that “in some ways you don’t really need vote-swapping to do tactical voting”. But he adds: “Clearly there are lots of people out there who would rather know someone out there is going to vote for their party instead.”
Have you saypublished at 08:45 British Summer Time 29 April 2015
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Daily Politics viewer:
The election has become silly. They are like old fashioned market traders. What can they find as a next bargain? How much are they taking the tools out of the Chancellor's armoury? I am believing them less and less. How different from years gone by. Then they wonder why people are turned off!
Free school mealspublished at 08:41
Image source, PAThe Liberal Democrats are highlighting their free school meals policy today - under their plans they want to roll out the offer to every school pupil at primary school. This will save parents around £400 a year and cost £610m, with an extra £100m to be stumped up initially to prepare schools. Nick Clegg says the policy will help children concentrate in the afternoon, improving their performance in class. “Liberal Democrats want every child to have the best possible start in life,” he says. “That’s why I want every child to have a hot, healthy school lunch.”
Get involvedpublished at 08:38 British Summer Time 29 April 2015
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Gill:
People in Scandinavia pay higher taxes but get free childcare. Better social security if they hit on hard times and they have best State schools in the world. I would pay more tax to have all this security I bet millions of other ordinary people would if they thought about it. We are sold ideal that tax is bad. It's not. It's insurance.
Backed by Bloombergpublished at 08:37 British Summer Time 29 April 2015
Sky News political editor tweets...
Send us your commentspublished at 08:36 British Summer Time 29 April 2015
Email: politics@bbc.co.uk
Leslie Kane:
The Tories argue that the economy is fragile and is at risk from both global events and their political rivals? Why then would you tie the hands of your chancellor by offering a no tax rise political stunt? Sounds desperate !
Tax and trustpublished at 08:34
Norman Smith
Assistant political editorI can’t recall any government bringing forward a law to stop themselves raising key taxes. But in a way this isn’t so much about tax, it’s about trust. Because politicians of all parties know full well voters don’t trust them. And with good reason, because despite their promises, successive governments have put up taxes.
The danger of course is: what happens if the economy takes a nosedive? Then you have, in effect, tied the hands of the chancellor because he can’t use what is one of the main levers of economic policy.
Political banterpublished at 08:32 British Summer Time 29 April 2015
The Westminster correspondent of the Herald tweets...
Needed inThanetpublished at 08:30 British Summer Time 29 April 2015
The columnist and LBC presenter tweets...
'It's called banter'published at 08:29
BBC Radio 4 Today
Image source, PANow Ed Balls is asked about Ed Miliband's interview with Russell Brand. "It's really important we get interviewed by all sorts of people on all sorts of broadcasts," the shadow chancellor says. But Brand and Mr Balls have exchanged rather tart insults against each other in the past, haven't they? "It's what the young people called banter, I'm told," Mr Balls says. He argues it's OK for Labour to talk to Mr Brand because he has one million YouTube watchers and his views can be challenged by the Labour leader. What a contrast with the current interview. "The cosy cuddly Today programme studio is one thing, but actually to go out there and say 'Russell, you're wrong... don't be cynical...' I think it's all good stuff, let's get it out there!"
Talk to anyone?published at 08:24 British Summer Time 29 April 2015
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Seeking a surpluspublished at 08:23
BBC Radio 4 TodayEd Balls says the "national debt has got to come down" - but this can't be achieved by hitting families with spending cuts. He says Labour is positioned somewhere between the Greens' "no spending cuts" view and George Osborne's determination to eliminate the deficit quickly. "What I say is there's actually a sensible centre-ground position" which combines "sensible tax rises" with spending reductions, the shadow chancellor says.
Cast iron tax pledges?published at 08:21 British Summer Time 29 April 2015
The former Labour spin doctor tweets...
Conservative strategy?published at 08:21 British Summer Time 29 April 2015
The columnist and writer for the Guardian tweets...
'Nine days to go'published at 08:20
BBC Radio 4 TodayWhen will the current deficit be wiped out under a Labour government? By 2019/20 at the latest, Ed Balls says, because his party plans to establish a surplus by then. He accuses the Conservatives of an "ideological desire to get public spending back to a 1930s level". This poses a "profound" risk to economic growth.
Mr Balls then says "we've got nine days until an election" - but... um... isn't it eight?
Get involvedpublished at 08:19 British Summer Time 29 April 2015
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Daily Politics viewer:
Ed Balls seems to have forgotten that the reason that VAT and tuition fees went up is because Labour left a budget deficit in 2010 bigger than that in Greece!
Young voters unimpressed?published at 08:19 British Summer Time 29 April 2015
A senior political correspondent at the Guido Fawkes blog tweet...