Summary

  • A TV debate takes place among Scottish leaders - the last of the election campaign

  • Nick Clegg says public sector pay rises will be a Lib Dem coalition red line

  • Labour restates its pledge to cut tuition fees to £6,000

  • David Cameron warns against protest votes and says people must choose their 'preferred prime minister'

  • Nigel Farage insists UKIP is growing in popularity and calls Mr Cameron 'desperate' for talking down the party

  • There are four days left until the general election

  1. 'Amazing!'published at 20.51

    In more Ed Miliband news, remember the #milifandom group of his supporters? Well, the founder, a Twitter user who says she is a 17-year-old girl, has said the Labour leader called her for a chat on the phone.

    In a series of tweets, she said: "Just had an amazing phone call with someone amazing and it was amazing. Ed totally just rang me up. He is amazing! Such an amazing amazing guy so amazing I'm so grateful and he is just amazing #VoteLabour."

  2. Give us a hug, darlingpublished at 20.47

    Ed Miliband and his wife, Justine, hug on a campaign visitImage source, PA

    If you thought awkward shows of affection between party leaders and their wives were just reserved for the end of party conference speech, think again. It appears it's hit the campaign trail too. Here's Ed Miliband and his wife, Justine, embracing on a visit to Harrow, London, earlier today.

  3. That's a wrappublished at 20.36

    Wideshot of the debating room

    And that's it - the final Scottish party leaders' debate has come to an end, and the party leaders politely shake hands. The debate may have ended but the party spin machines are sure to be in full flow.

  4. Housingpublished at 20.32

    The panel are now taking questions on housing, which is a devolved issue.

    SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon says the SNP, in the Scottish Parliament, want to build 30,000 homes in the lifetime of this parliament.

    Labour leader Jim Murphy says 95% of all money spent on housing in Scotland is spent on benefits, and underlines what he sees as the importance of regulating rents in the private sector so landlords can't rip young people off.

    Lib Dem leader Willie Rennie agrees with Ms Sturgeon, and says it is important to build hundreds of thousands of homes across the UK.

    But Conservative leader Ruth Davidson criticises the SNP for scrapping the help to buy scheme in housing. But Ms Sturgeon says the scheme "has had its day".

  5. What a backdroppublished at 20.24

    Debate panel
  6. Tactical voting questionpublished at 20.23

    Ruth Davidson

    The four-strong panel are now discussing tactical voting. "I don't agree with it on principle," says Scots Conservative leader Ruth Davidson.

  7. 'Conflating party and country'published at 20.23

    This is the SNP's problem, says the Conservatives' Ruth Davidson, "they try and conflate the country and the party". "Absolutely", Mr Murphy can be heard saying in the background.

    Lib Dem Willie Rennie adds: "If you vote SNP at this election and every election it's for another referendum."

    Ms Sturgeon has a chance to respond, and insists: "Even if we win every single seat in Scotland, it is not a mandate for another referendum on independence."

    "I'm moving on," says moderator BBC political correspondent Glenn Campbell.

  8. Independence referendum?published at 20.18

    Lots of discussion now about the prospect of a future independence referendum (earlier Ms Sturgeon was accused of not giving a straight answer on the SNP's aims).

    Jim Murphy says the SNP has constantly changed its position and, turning to Ms Sturgeon, says surely we can agree that there should be a moratorium for the next five or six years on another referendum on Scottish independence.

    Ms Sturgeon responds by saying the only parties talking about another referendum are these ones. "This election isn't about independence," she insists, "it's about making Scotland's voice heard".

  9. 'Principled stance'published at 20.14

    What if the Conservatives don't win a majority, wouldn't the party be in hock to the DUP and UKIP?

    Ruth Davidson says the Tories only need 23 more seats "and we think we can get that majority".

    We've taken a "principled stance" and said we would not do any deals with any nationalist parties, as we do not want to put our United Kingdom at risk.

  10. 'Cat out of the bag'published at 20.06

    Jim Murphy and Nicola Sturgeon on stage

    Jim Muprhy insists that Labour will not do a post-election deal with the SNP if it falls short of a majority.

    But how will you get a budget passed if you don't win a majority? Mr Murphy turns the question on Nicola Sturgeon - and challenges her to say under what circumstances she would vote against Labour and with the Conservatives.

    Ms Sturgeon says the SNP would not vote for a Labour budget that proposed more spending cuts - saying the party would fight for a fairer deal.

    "The cat is out the bag," declares Mr Murphy. "The SNP are clear that after Friday they are willing to bring down a Labour budget and Labour's Queen Speech."

  11. Smaller partiespublished at 20.00

    The polls show neither Labour nor the Conservatives will win an outright majority on 7 May, which shows voters want smaller parties to be involved in government, says Nicola Sturgeon. They'll have to accept that, she says, adding that either of the two main parties will have to work with others - formally or informally - to get measures through.

  12. 'Mythology'published at 19.57

    Jim Murphy and Nicola Sturgeon are at loggerheads now. Mr Murphy sounds a warning about the SNP's plans for full fiscal autonomy for Scotland, which he says will leave a £7.6bn hole in the budget. This would lead to deep austerity, he says.

    But the SNP leader dismisses it as "mythology" on behalf of a "desperate" Labour Party.

    Lib Dem Will Rennie intervenes to say there are a lot of people in Scotland who are very concerned about the impact of full fiscal autonomy.

  13. 'How dare you'published at 19.53

    Fifteen minutes in and it has descended into chaos. There's clearly no love lost between Ruth Davidson and Jim Murphy. She accuses the Scots Labour leader of "an outright lie" over claims he made on benefit sanctions.

    "He's peddling a falsehood that he knows is fictitious," she says, prompting Mr Murphy's to respond: "How dare you call me a liar."

    It's hard to make out what they're saying now as they're both shouting over each other.

  14. Lots of angerpublished at 19.51

    Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson is challenged over the Conservatives' plans to cut the welfare bill. She says she gets angry that the other parties want to leave welfare as it is. They're happy for people to languish on benefits but I want to see people helped into work, she says. Mr Murphy says he doesn't care that she's angry - because he's angry that food bank usage has increased under the coalition government.

  15. Zero-hour contractspublished at 19.49

    Jim Murphy strays slightly from a question on tax cuts to say his party would abolish "exploitative zero-hours contracts" if it wins power on 7 May.

  16. Even more debt?published at 19.48

    William Rennie takes aim at Nicola Sturgeon, saying her answer to high levels of debt is "even more debt". She has very little credibility on the economy, he says. The Lib Dem plan however will see more investment in public services, he adds.

    Ms Sturgeon contests his assertions, saying the SNP is proposing health spending across the UK should increase by £24bn by 2020.

  17. Are parties understating scale of cuts?published at 19.45

    The first question to the four-strong panel: Are political parties understating the scale of tax rises and spending cuts to eliminate the deficit just to get into power?

    No, says Scottish Lib Dem Willie Rennie. We need to balance books and as early as possible to not burden future generations. But we need to do it fairly, he adds.

    For the Scottish Conservatives, Ruth Davidson also stresses the need to eliminate the deficit now so it doesn't fall to future generations. She lays out how the Tories are proposing to do this.

    Scottish Labour's Jim Murphy says unlike the Tories, Labour will ask the wealthy to pay more to fund a "fairer" Scotland and see an end to "Tory austerity".

    The SNP's Nicola Sturgeon takes a different view on cuts, saying it's time to end austerity.

  18. Debate is under waypublished at 19.35

    Ceiling of venue

    Hopefully you've got your cup of tea (or whatever drink takes your fancy) ready - the debate in Edinburgh has just begun. And what a beautiful venue it's in.

  19. Clegg's fizzpublished at 19:34

    We've got more details on Nick Clegg's tipple at a Kent vineyard, thanks to the BBC's Sophie Long who's been keeping a watchful eye on the Lib Dem leader throughout the campaign. It was, she says, a 2010 vintage sparkling rose with which he toasted the country's new princess. She also noted a change in his tone today to one of optimism and hope (or was that the wine talking?)

  20. 'Labour made tactical error' - Sturgeonpublished at 19:28

    The leaders have arrived at the Edinburgh venue for tonight's debate and are in make-up, says the BBC's Laura Bicker. She says they've had a hefty day of campaigning and the SNP's Nicola Sturgeon has told her Labour made a "tactical error" when they ruled out a deal with her party.