Financial Times

Janan Ganesh, writing in the Financial Times,, external says it's become fashionable to argue that voters are prepared to put a better society, focusing more on wellbeing, ahead of economic growth and personal prosperity - but it's a "myth".

"In that belief lies the eventual rout of this generation of leaders," he says. "There is no evidence that voters are ready to bear a cost to live in their own version of Eden."

Those that do, he argues, are the "retired asset owner" and "too-rich-to-care bohemian", but everyone else is "hair-trigger sensitive to fluctuations in GDP and the way prices relate to wages".

New Statesman

Image source, PA

Speaking of progressive alliances, Nick Clegg would like one too. He's been talking to the New Statesman and says he wants a new "anti-Tory force" in British politics.

He says that if parties of the left and centre-left "just carry on talking to ourselves in our own rabbit hutches" the country will carry on "with this dreary, soulless, almost perpetual one-party domination by the Conservatives".

The teacher shortage in England is meeting a baby boom.

DUP and Alliance could be snapping at each other's heels in East Belfast.

Ben Weisz
Political reporter, BBC Sussex

We recorded our Election 2017 debate last night - you can see it in full on BBC One at 22:45 BST.

And you can join the debate on Twitter, external using #SEVote, external, on Facebook, external or by sending us an email.

BBC Breakfast

SNP deputy leader Angus Robertson is now on BBC Breakfast. He's asked about the idea of his party joining a "progressive alliance".

He says he'd be open to voting with other political parties to "resist the excesses of Tory austerity", but he says there hasn't been a single poll suggesting "that kind of arithmetic is possible".

Therefore, he adds, what he's focusing on is getting as many SNP MPs elected as possible.

"The last thing we're going to see is a Labour government. I'm sorry that it is likely that Theresa May is going to be re-elected as prime minister," Mr Robertson goes on.

He picks out pensioners in particular, as he did on Today, as those most in need of "protection" from the Tories - given the "dementia tax" and end of the pensions triple lock.

Laura Kuenssberg
BBC political editor

A lot of people are only just starting to think about the election and they won't have sat through every bit of the TV event last night.

What they'll glean, though, from snippets and headlines is a sense of how this campaign has changed written on the leaders' faces. Jeremy Corbyn, more comfortable, more assured, with better prepared answers. Theresa May, really having to explain herself.

And in this last stage the vulnerabilities are exactly where you'd expect. For Mr Corbyn it's on issues like security, his personal views on groups like the IRA. And for Mrs May, it's a Conservative prime minister facing tough questions over public services.

Image source, PA

Theresa May will try to bring the focus back to Brexit and the issue of leadership in the West Midlands today.

She'll say that officials in Brussels are "adopting an aggressive negotiating position, which can only be met by strong leadership on behalf of Britain".

"Jeremy Corbyn is in no position to provide that kind of leadership. He has no plan to deliver Brexit, and he has already admitted he would give control of our borders and control of our laws back to Brussels.

Image source, PA

The focus for Labour today - and the reason, in part at least, for Jeremy Corbyn's visits to Mumsnet HQ and the Woman's Hour studio - is childcare.

It is promising to create a "national education service", which would extend 30 hours of free childcare each week to all children before they start school, regardless of family circumstances.

It says the policy would benefit more than 1.3 million children as complex rules currently mean only 40% of two-year-olds qualify while many working parents with three and four-year-old children are missing out.

Image source, PA

• Theresa May will join the Conservative battlebus in the West Midlands to talk Brexit and why she's the person to take the UK out of the EU
• Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is focusing on childcare, and takes to the airwaves on BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour, hits the keyboard in a Mumsnet chat at noon, then heads to the BBC One Show sofa in the evening.
• Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron will be in Bermondsey, a seat his party lost in 2015 and will be hoping to regain.

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

Image source, Reuters

Angus Robertson says a bespoke immigration system for Scotland is "profoundly important".

What would it look like then, he's asked.

In reply, the SNP deputy leader says he wants all of those immigrants already in Scotland to be able to remain, but he seems to reject the suggestion that his party wants immigration to go up.

"We want the opportunity for people to come and to go," he replies.

Mishal Husain tries again to get him to say how many more people the SNP wants to come.

"You're not listening... you cannot predict how many people are going to leave," Mr Robertson answers, arguing that Scotland has traditionally had problems due to emigration so the focus must be on making sure enough people are allowed to stay to meet skills needs.

Five things Jonathan Bartley told Newsbeat about the Green Party's general election plans.

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

Why not do all those things at Holyrood, asks Today's Mishal Husain.

Angus Robertson says some of these sorts of decisions have already been made by the SNP, but the "main economic levers are exercised at Westminster" and this election is about what his party would focus on there.

He says the vote in Scotland is a two-horse race between the SNP and the Conservatives.

Mishal Hussein returns again to ask him why the SNP hasn't raised taxes in Scotland as it has the power to do.

He says again that decisions about Scotland have already been made, but this manifesto is about what the SNP would do in Westminster.

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

SNP deputy leader Angus Robertson is on the Today programme. Where will the £118bn you're promising for public services come from, he's asked.

"It's a question of priorities," he replies, saying he wants "to set the UK on a new fiscal path". It will be very different from the "damaging cuts" the Conseratives would bring in.

Some would come from delaying deficit reduction and some would come from raising some taxes - introducing a 50p rate for example.

"We're choosing a different future, one that looks after the weakest in society," Mr Robertson adds.

Sarah Smith
Scotland Editor

The SNP are going to have a lot of detail in their manifesto on a plan for a "fiscally responsible" way to end austerity.

You might ask yourself why, though, because even if they won every single seat in Scotland, they won't form the government in Westminster so they can't implement this plan. Nevertheless, this is what they think the British economy should look like and it's what they'll go to Westminster and argue for.

On Brexit and the idea of a bespoke deal for Scotland, the SNP say they reckon that if significant new powers were devolved to the Scottish Parliament over things like business regulation, immigration and so on, it would be possible for Scotland to remain part of the single market while also remaining in the UK.

That's probably very unlikely - it was ruled out by Theresa May before the election - but the SNP will still call for it.

On the prime minister, the Times thinks she "showed a firmer grasp of the detail - except, of course, on the piffling matter of her dementia tax cap... - but she was rattled at times". It describes her as being in "headmistress mode".

The Daily Mail says her "march back to Downing Street has been dented in recent days", but she "sought to contrast her touch reputation with Jeremy Corbyn's soft stance on Brexit".

Tuesday's newspapers are full of reaction to the Sky News and Channel 4 programme which saw the two party leaders face questions - separately - from a TV audience and interviewer Jeremy Paxman.

On Mr Corbyn, the Daily Telegraph says his commitment to protecting the UK came under attack after he repeatedly refused to say whether he would launch a drone strike on terrorists plotting to bomb Britain.

The Guardian, though, says Mr Corbyn fought off an interrogation by Jeremy Paxman, and won cheers when he vowed not to let companies bring in foreign workers to undercut British employees.

Read our full paper review here.

After the blockbusters of Brexit and Trump, Americans are not grabbing the popcorn for this UK vote.

Norman Smith
Assistant political editor

Brexit, leadership, the economy and perhaps Jeremy Corbyn are the fundamental reasons driving the Tory lead in the polls - albeit a smaller one than a few weeks ago.

But I think most people feel Mr Corbyn is performing far better in this campaign than people expected.

He was under pressure at times last night over some of his views on subjects like Hamas, the IRA and nuclear weapons, but whatever you think of those views, people seem to accept that they're sincere, long-held views and I think that sincerity factor is probably helping him.

Plus he has grown during this campaign, and even under pressure from Jeremy Paxman, he seemed much more relaxed and good-humoured.

Can he win? I think it's still an extraordinarily long reach but we know from recent votes - the referendum for example - that it would be wrong to make any assumptions.