Summary

  • There are 100 days to go until the General Election on 7 May

  • David Cameron says Conservatives will cut benefits cap and use money saved to boost apprenticeships

  • Ed Miliband sets out Labour's 10 year plan for NHS including longer home visits from social care workers

  • David Cameron tells BBC Breakfast he will do TV debates if Northern Ireland parties are included....

  • ...but he later tells BBC Radio 2's Jeremy Vine he wants them all held before the election campaign begins

  • Rolling coverage from the BBC's political team - beginning with Today and Breakfast through to Newsnight

  • Listen to Today, 5Live, The World at One, PM and Today in Parliament by selecting the 'Live Coverage' tab

  • Watch Breakfast, the BBC News Channel, Daily Politics, BBC Parliament, Newsnight by clicking on the 'Live Coverage' tab

  • You can see the pick of the day's output by selecting the 'Key Video' tab

  1. Chilcot delayspublished at 16:56 Greenwich Mean Time 27 January 2015

    Carole Walker
    Political correspondent, BBC News

    Jeremy Heywood

    Cabinet Secretary Sir Jeremy Heywood has denied he was responsible for delays in the publication of the Chilcot report into the Iraq war and said the enquiry has received every government document it asked for. Earlier this month, Sir John Chilcot said the report would not be published until after the election.

    Sir Jeremy told the Public Administration Committee there had been disagreements between government departments and the enquiry on whether certain very sensitive documents - the publication of which would never previously have been contemplated - should be published.

  2. Pensioners' benefitspublished at 16:46 Greenwich Mean Time 27 January 2015

    Robert Peston
    Economics editor

    Asked about David Cameron's comments on pensioners' benefits earlier today, Chancellor George Osborne would not be drawn in to making a firm pledge. But he said: "We will make commitments closer to the election - the Prime Minister said that on the radio this morning.

    "Some of the big savings that people claim you could find are not there, but if people are asking the bigger question 'do we stand behind people who save?' Absolutely."

  3. 'On the Runs'published at 16:36 Greenwich Mean Time 27 January 2015

    House of Lords
    Parliament

    Gerry Adams and Tony BlairImage source, PA

    Meanwhile, in Parliament, Ulster Unionist peer Lord Empey has asked for confirmation that no "blank" On the Run letters were given to Sinn Fein, to allow them to decide who should receive them.

    Baroness Randerson says she can only tell the House that once this government identified the scheme, they brought it to an end.

    Earlier in the Commons the DUP MP Ian Paisley repeated calls for the government to publish a list of the names of people who received On the Run letters. Have a look at the BBC's guide to the issue here.

  4. Packaging rebellion?published at 16:24 Greenwich Mean Time 27 January 2015

    The Spectator

    Cigarette packetsImage source, Getty Images

    The Spectator's assistant editor Isabel Hardman writes, external that around 80 Conservatives are considering voting against the government's proposal to introduce plain packaging on cigarettes.

  5. Chris Mason, BBC political correspondentpublished at 16:12 Greenwich Mean Time 27 January 2015

    tweets, external: Sir John Chilcot to give evidence to the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee on February 4 about his delayed report into the Iraq war

  6. 1974 once morepublished at 16:09 Greenwich Mean Time 27 January 2015

    Ted HeathImage source, Press Association

    Over at the main page on BBC Politics Online, Julia Langdon explores some of the "uncanny parallels" between the 1974 and 2015 elections.

  7. Look eastpublished at 15:56 Greenwich Mean Time 27 January 2015

    Deborah McGurran
    Political editor, East of England

    Kings College, Cambridge and Clare College, CambridgeImage source, Press Association

    Deborah McGurran, the BBC's political editor for the East of England, looks at how that region can expect to shape the national result in May - and how the parties will campaign for 14 key marginal seats in the area.

  8. Ross Hawkins, BBC political correspondentpublished at 15:41 Greenwich Mean Time 27 January 2015

    tweets, external: Burnham says ambulance service should work "from a default presumption of treatment at home, not hospital" if that's safe.

  9. 'Pandering to UKIP agenda'published at 15:35 Greenwich Mean Time 27 January 2015

    Buzzfeed

    Labour MP David Lammy tells BuzzFeed, external that people in his constituency of Tottenham have contacted him to complain about a new Labour leaflet on immigration they received. The leaflet says Labour will stop people claiming benefits until they've lived in the UK for two years, and mentions frontline staff in public services who can't speak English. Mr Lammy said: "It feels like pandering to me to an agenda set by UKIP. You can't close the door on the world."

  10. Chris Mason, BBC political correspondentpublished at 15:34 Greenwich Mean Time 27 January 2015

    tweets, external: Embargoed until 0001 Wed 28th January: 99 days to go #ge2015

  11. UKIP after Faragepublished at 15:33 Greenwich Mean Time 27 January 2015

    The Huffington Post

    Douglas Carswell and Nigel FarageImage source, Reuters

    Asa Bennett at The Huffington Post talks to UKIP insiders, external about how the party might fare if Nigel Farage steps down as leader - and hears a rather unsympathetic view of Douglas Carswell from UKIP founder Alan Sked.

  12. Live from Westminsterpublished at 15:15 Greenwich Mean Time 27 January 2015

    Palace of Westminster

    The BBC's Democracy Live team continue to bring you live updates of all the debate and discussion in Parliament today. Earlier this afternoon MPs questioned Treasury ministers, while the Lords are focusing on pension schemes.

  13. Nick Robinson, Political Editor, BBC Newspublished at 15:04 Greenwich Mean Time 27 January 2015

    tweets, external: So is Cameron agreeing to or killing TV debates. My blog

  14. The final 100 days - previous trendspublished at 15:01 Greenwich Mean Time 27 January 2015

    Harold Wilson, Robin Day and Richard Dimbleby

    May2015.com looks at, external the final 100 days before each of the last eight elections, to see if any trends emerge that will buoy - or worry - the current party leaders. Two to whet your appetite: support for Labour tends to decrease over the period, while support for "a third party" tends to grow.

  15. 'Snoopers' Charter'?published at 14:55 Greenwich Mean Time 27 January 2015

    House of Lords
    Parliament

    Lord Paddick

    The Communications Data Bill - known at the Snoopers' Charter to its critics - was effectively blocked by Nick Clegg in 2013. On Monday, four Labour, Conservative and Lib Dem peers tried to revive it in the House of Lords, claiming its powers were crucial to help security services keep the UK safe from terrorism.

    A former Conservative defence secretary, former Metropolitan Police commissioner, former Labour defence minister and a Liberal Democrat peer were behind the amendment to the Counter Terrorism Bill. You can watch the arguments here.

  16. Clegg: 'The right balance'published at 14:47 Greenwich Mean Time 27 January 2015

    Deputy prime minister Nick Clegg says his party is going to do "much, much better" than pollsters and critics have predicted.

    In a TV interview, Mr Clegg criticised both the Conservatives and Labour, saying: "You've got the Conservatives haring off to the right now, saying they are going to cut, cut, cut, way beyond what's necessary. You've got Labour saying they are going to borrow more money than is necessary. We, the Liberal Democrats, will cut less than the Conservatives, borrow less than Labour, because that's the way you get the right balance - you create a stronger economy and a fairer society."

    Two polls published overnight gave the Liberal Democrats 7% or 8% of the vote.

  17. Housing benefitpublished at 14:45 Greenwich Mean Time 27 January 2015

    Daily Politics

    Dr Sarah Wollaston

    Conservative MP Sarah Wollaston says she does not support her party's policy on withdrawing housing benefit for young people. Challenged by Lord Ashdown, she says: "That is a policy that I don't actually support", adding that MPs of all parties had policies they did not agree with. You can watch the full exchange here.

  18. 'Sense of powerlessness'published at 14:42 Greenwich Mean Time 27 January 2015

    The Independent

    The Independent's chief political commentator Steve Richards thinks the forthcoming UK election, external will be very different from the recent Greek vote, with one exception - "the voters' sense of powerlessness in the face of distant forces".

  19. Voting prioritiespublished at 14:29 Greenwich Mean Time 27 January 2015

    The Daily Telegraph

    James Kirkup writes, external that if the parties continue to hammer one another on just the economy and the NHS, they risk alienating some voters for whom there are more important issues.

  20. 100 things you should know about the general electionpublished at 14:28 Greenwich Mean Time 27 January 2015

    The Guardian

    Andy Burnham

    Guardian writers share 100 things you should think about before polling day, external, from the marginal constituencies worth watching to whether shadow health secretary Andy Burnham's eyelashes can set voters' "hearts aflutter".