Summary

  • David Cameron, Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg each faced the audience in a Question Time special

  • Mr Miliband rules out a Labour coalition or a deal with SNP, while Nicola Sturgeon says SNP MPs will have 'big clout'

  • The prime minister says he has no plans to cut child benefit or tax credits, despite Lib Dem claims

  • Mr Clegg says he's not sorry for his "brave and plucky" decision to enter coalition

  • Plaid Cymru's Leanne Wood hints at a deal with Labour, while UKIP's Nigel Farage says an EU referendum defeat wouldn't 'kill' his party

  • There are seven days left until the general election

Live Reporting

Kristiina Cooper, Tim Fenton, Andy McFarlane and Andree Massiah

  1. Back in the spin room

    BBC Political Correspondent tweets

  2. Swinging by later

    TV political show tweets

  3. Meanwhile in Leeds

    Presenter, BBC Newsnight

  4. More of the same for the FT

    The Financial Times favours a "Conservative-led administration" and is urging voters to back Liberal Democrats in seats the party already holds or where it is the “main challenger”. The paper says the Tories "instincts" on the economy, business and public sector reform are "broadly right".

    In an editorial it states: "At this delicate moment, the best outcome would be a continuation of the 2010 coalition between the Conservatives and Lib Dems."

  5. Scottish referendum mark II?

    Ruth Davidson

    The Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson has been setting out the party's position on a possible further referendum on Scottish independence. That scenario might arise if the SNP won elections to the Scottish Parliament next year - after promising a referendum in its manifesto. Asked if she would advise David Cameron - if he was prime minister - to block another referendum, Ruth Davidson replied: "Absolutely not. "We have and have always believed in self determination and democracy."

    She also urged Conservatives to get out and "evangelise" for the Conservative cause.

    The shy Tory syndrome that Scotland has suffered from before, it shall suffer from no longer."

  6. A worrying poll for Labour?

    Poling analyst and political gambler tweets:

  7. Another arrival in the spin room

    BBC Radio Leeds

  8. Thursday so far

    Tea-time round-up

    David Cameron, Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg are preparing for the BBC's Question Time Election Leaders' Special. They will each, separately, face questions from a studio audience in Leeds. That's on BBC One from 8.00pm.

    In separate programmes, UKIP, Plaid Cymru and SNP leaders will also take questions.

    This morning's claim by Lib Dem Treasury chief, Danny Alexander, that the Tories planned to cut child benefit will doubtless feature.

    You can catch up with all the day's campaigning here .

  9. Child benefit changes

    Political Correspondent at Sky News tweets

  10. No child benefit cuts - Osborne

    George Osborne has again ruled out cutting child benefit should the Conservatives remain in power after the general election. Documents released by the Liberal Democrats suggested the coalition considered further restrictions on the payments.

    The chancellor was asked three times in an interview for BBC Stoke whether his party would commit to not cutting the benefit. He said: "The short answer is yes. This is a three-year-old document that was commissioned by the chief secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander; not by me."

    Pressed again, he pledged:

    No cuts to child benefit. Because what we instead have proposed is that working age benefits are frozen for the next two years. We think that's a more equitable, fairer way of making sure we contain the costs of our welfare system. You can see with us we have delivered more people in work, a welfare system that has got people back to work who were previously unemployed (and) an economy that's continuing to grow.

    George Osborne, Chancellor of the Exchequer

  11. Stopping electoral crime

    Lord AshcroftPA

    Crimestoppers and the Electoral Commission will be working together to fight electoral fraud. Crimestoppers was set up by Lord Ashcroft, the pollster and Conservative peer, 27 years ago. Writing on his website, he says he's "delighted" at the link-up between Crimestoppers and the Electoral Commission.

    Crimestoppers are aiming to crack down on 'treating' (that's paying for food, drink or entertainment in exchange for voting or not voting) as well as multiple voting, registering false information and putting pressure on others to reveal their ballot paper.

    "As with all Crimestoppers' work, we are urging the public to be our 'eyes and ears' and to report any evidence or suspicions that they may have of criminal activity in this field."

  12. Ban please

    Political corr, C4 News tweets

  13. Send us your views

    Email: politics@bbc.co.uk

    Colin Willsher replies to earlier comment by Christian Hollingsworth:

    Don't cool it off a bit Andrew - heat it up even more (if that's possible!)

    I am sure that most viewers get as frustrated as you do when politicians refuse repeatedly to answer the questions you ask, but instead simply repeat whichever mantra the spin doctors have told them to stick to. Such behaviour - and apart from a handful of exceptions - all the parties are guilty of treating voters, undecided or not, with both incompetence and arrogance - shows clearly their contempt for us as reasonably intelligent adults who can recognise the nonsense we are being fed.

    Oh for an honest politician.

  14. Big test for David Dimbleby

    Editor of PoliticsHome.com tweets

  15. More on voting recommendations

    Economics Editor for the BBC tweets

  16. More on Farage cancellation

    Politics Reporter for @BBCNewsbeat tweets

  17. In defence of the spin room?

    Assistant editor, The Spectator

  18. Farage boycott

    Daily Mail political reporter tweets

  19. Invisible women

    The gender equality campaign group tweets:

  20. What happens after the election

    - the procedural stuff