Campaign countdown: 20 February

1. UK government finances showed a surplus of £8.8bn in January, the Office for National Statistics said
2. A Lords report on the Ukraine crisis accused the UK and EU of a "catastrophic misreading" of the Kremlin's mood
3. The Scottish Conservatives held their conference in Edinburgh
4. George Osborne and Boris Johnson unveiled plans for 24hr transport services in 'long term plan for London'
5. There are 76 days until the general election

Goodnight

It's been another eventful day today with leaders from across the political divide taking swipes at one another. Earlier, we saw David Cameron address the Scottish Conservatives in Edinburgh, and use the opportunity to attack Labour as "weak". Meanwhile, senior Labour party figures warned that voting for the SNP risked "another five years of the Tories". And George Osborne and Boris Johnson unveiled plans for 24-hour transport services in "long term plan for London". Away from the campaign trail much of the focus has been on Greece and the eleventh-hour deal it has struck with eurozone creditors. We'll be back with more news, analysis and reaction to all these stories and more with Politics Live on Sunday from 8am.

The Independent's front page

The Independent

The Guardian's front page

The Guardian

Saturday's Daily Mail front page

Daily Mail

'Difficult to stomach'

BBC Newsnight

BBC Two,

Just a snippet more on Newsnight's coverage of the Greece deal tonight. BBC's Athens correspondent Mark Lowen told the programme: "This is a major climb down by Greece make no mistake. It will be hard to sell here. Greece has been backed into a corner, it has had to row back on many of the promises the government made before the election. And that will be difficult for some of the voters here to stomach. The government has had to accept supervision from European institutions, to extend a loan that it fundamentally disagreed with..."

Greece deal - 'crunch time for Europe'

BBC Newsnight

BBC Two,

Newsnight tonight focused on the deal struck earlier this evening between Greece and eurozone nations which extended financial aid for the country. The deal came after five hours of bailout talks in Brussels. BBC economics correspondent Duncan Weldon in Brussels told the programme: "Today really was crunch time for Europe. Greece's existing bailout was due to end in just eight days time, and after that the Greek government itself risked running out of money. And perhaps more importantly without a financial backstop in place people would have continued to pull deposits out of Greek banks."

Tomorrow's Mirror front page

Daily Mirror

Saturday's FT front page

FT

Weekly review of the polls

David Bowers at totalpolitics.com has has carried out a weekly review of the polls, and he questions whether a recent rise in support for UKIP and the Lib Dems should be taken at face value. The average of this week's numbers gives the following for each party: Con: 31.7 (-1.1), Lab: 33.4 (-0.5), LD: 8.1 (+1.0), UKIP: 14.6 (+1.3) and Green: 6.3 (-0.8).

The Sun's front page

Sun

The Times front page

The Times

Saturday's Telegraph front page

The Daily Telegraph

Telegraph

Any Questions - Education

BBC Radio 4

A little earlier writer and political commentator Simon Heffer was met with rapturous applause when he called for the government to "bring back grammar schools" for England.

There are about 24,000 state schools in England - 164 are grammar schools. Mr Heffer said he came from a middle class home but was at school with pupils who had fathers who worked as "bus drivers, lorry drivers, and farm labourers" and they all went on to "get great jobs".

He said: "It's not an exclusive system it's not an elitist system...I envy Northern Ireland for having it and I really hope that England will bring back grammar schools for everybody, wherever they live as soon as possible."

Syria: 'More action needed'

Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper has commented on the story that three east London schoolgirls have flown to Turkey and there are fears they may cross the Syrian border to join the extremist group the Islamic State (IS).

She said: "The idea of 15-year-old British schoolgirls setting off to Syria is very disturbing, and shows that more action is urgently needed to stop young people being drawn into extremism and conflict, and to help families and communities who are trying to counteract extremist recruitment messages.

"Far more needs to be done involving communities, schools and families to prevent young people getting radicalised - including looking at the impact of social media."

Davidson on small businesses

Earlier today Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson gave a speech to Tory delegates in Edinburgh, here's a quick recap of what she said about small businesses....

"Here's the plan we are proposing," she said. "For small and medium sized companies that agree to pay the Living Wage, we'll offer a cut in their business rates over and above any they already get. We won't use public money to prop up pay, but we will cut taxes for small businesses that boost the pay-packets of their workers."

Nigel Farage - UKIP leader

Tweets: Campaigning in Sandwich, this lad had a UKIP placard in his van! Journos thought it a setup, I promise it wasn't!

BBC

Martin Rosenbaum, BBC journalist

tweets: On Week in Westminster Sat11am Radio4, views on 5 yrs in Parliament fm @sarahwollaston @ChiOnwurah @IanLaveryMP @DavidWardMP @RoryStewartUK

Phone records: judicial review

Robin Brant

Political Correspondent, BBC News

More on the government's decision to require judicial review of police requests for access to journalists' records: In his report to David Cameron earlier this month, the interception of communications commissioner Sir Anthony May said police forces should be made to seek a judge's permission when trying to uncover confidential sources. The Home Office has confirmed that a new temporary measure will be introduced under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) which will mean police (or the National Crime Agency or HMRC) are required to seek a judge's permission.

A spokesman for the Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said: "We're glad the Tories have finally found some sense and have at the least agreed to ensure temporary measures are put in place to protect journalist sources...whilst temporary measures are better than none, we will not stop pushing to ensure permanent safeguards are put in place."

Any Questions - TV debates

BBC Radio 4

On Radio 4's Any Questions, DUP MP Ian Paisley Jr. says "the BBC is absolutely wrong - and is on a hiding to nothing - whenever they decide that they can have Plaid Cymru with three members, the SNP with six members on a national broadcast, and say to parties with 8 MPs: you're not going to be included". He adds: "I will be challenged in my seat by a UKIP member, I will be challenged in my seat by a Conservative member - the nation needs to hear the views of all of these parties."

Phone records: judicial review

Robin Brant

Political Correspondent, BBC News

Press Association

The government has agreed to let a judge consider future police requests for information from journalists' phone and e-mail records, after the Conservatives came under pressure from Nick Clegg and other media campaigners. The prime minister agreed to the change two weeks ago, but the government is only now publishing details of how it will be done. It comes after the interception commissioner - who audits requests to access communications - reported that 19 police forces made more than 600 applications to uncover confidential sources in the past three years.

BBC's economics editor Robert Peston

tweets: Greece will present reform programme on Monday - so eurogroup, IMF and ECB can decide whether this comprehensive enough

BreakingBreaking News

Officials say a deal has been reached between Greece and its eurozone creditors over the country's financial bailout. Full story here.

Any Questions, 20:00 GMT

BBC Radio 4

BBC

Join Jonathan Dimbleby and guests on Any Questions tonight at 20:00 GMT on Radio 4, with political debate from Lumen Christi College in Derry/Londonderry, Northern Ireland. On the panel: the former chief executive of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre, Jim Gamble; Sinn Fein MP for Fermanagh and South Tyrone, Michelle Gildernew; writer and political commentator, Simon Heffer; and Democratic Unionist Party MP for North Antrim, Ian Paisley.

More from Green Party leader

BBC

Natalie Bennett, has told BBC London 94.9 that her party want to build half a million new homes across England if they come to power at the general election. She said they wish to fund the homes by removing the mortgage rate relief for private landlords and to end the right to buy scheme, that she called "the privatisation of a public asset".

Bennett: fuel price drop 'not good news'

Getty Images

Green Party leader Natalie Bennett has told BBC London 94.9 it is not good news that petrol prices have gone down.

Asked by Eddie Nestor whether the recent drop in prices was a good thing, Ms Bennett responded by saying, "No, it isn't good news", and went on to say the government needs to cut the amount of money being spent on Britain's roads.

Tory campaign tactics

Conservative Home

Press Association

At Conservative Home, Mark Wallace takes a look at different approaches within the Conservative Party to general election campaigning. He says: "The tricky task in a campaign is not picking between being positive or negative, it's in making the two sit comfortably and plausibly alongside each other. Switching from the promise of sunlit uplands in one breath to predictions of doom and disaster in the next makes you look mad, not persuasive. If there's some divide among Tory figures about which they prefer to do more of, that won't necessarily do the campaign any harm."

Love and politics

The Daily Telegraph

BBC

The pressures of being a politician cost Labour MP Frank Doran his first marriage - but helped him find new love too, he's been telling the Telegraph's Rosa Prince. Mr Doran was first elected to parliament in 1987 but the strain proved too much. "She couldn't quite handle everything that was involved," he explains. When he lost his seat in 1992 he found comfort in fellow Labour MP Joan Ruddock. "[Joan and I] were together when I lost my seat. We've been together now for about 20 years and we married about four years ago," he says. "Because we're both so experienced, we've been here such a long time, we understand all the pressures." He says he's standing down now because he's "old and decrepit".

Speaker's wife's 'horrific ski accident'

Press Association

The Mail Online reports that Sally Bercow, wife of Commons speaker John Bercow, has broken her leg in nine places and faces a 12-week lay-up. Mrs Bercow has previous form in providing colourful headlines, and once entered the Celebrity Big Brother house.

James Cook, BBC News Scotland correspondent

tweets: Interesting reading Conservative lines on #indyref. Cameron: "the question is settled." Davidson: "this isn't over and it hasn't gone away".

May: UK needs 'extremism strategy'

BBC

Home Secretary Theresa May has said authorities need to look at the ideology which drives young people to travel abroad and join extremist groups. Ms May said it was important to look not just at terrorism but "extremism across the whole spectrum". Click here for a video of the Home Secretary talking about the need for a UK "extremism strategy".

On Friday, Metropolitan Police said they believed three London schoolgirls were travelling to Syria via Turkey, to join Islamic State militants.

Royal US trip

AP

The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall are to meet US President Barack Obama during a four-day tour of the US. The White House said Mr Obama will host the royal couple in the Oval Office on 19 March. They will be in the US from 17 to 20 March to "promote the UK's partnership with the United States", Clarence House said. They will also mark the Magna Carta's 800th anniversary during their trip. Read the full story here.

Greece latest

Mark Lowen

BBC News, Athens

Greece government source tells me: "There is no agreement so far. There is only the clear message of the Greek Prime Minister to Donald Tusk (EUCO chair) that if no agreement tonight, he will ask for an extraordinary summit." Read the full story here.

If I were prime minister...

The Independent

Press Association

For each of the final hundred days before the polls open, the Independent has been inviting one contributor to describe what he or she would do as prime minister. Today's candidate is footballer - and Twitter philosopher - Joey Barton. His priority is to "privatise religion": "The state should neither be for or against religion. People will continue to be free to indulge in religion in their own time and with their own money. However, religious people should cease to expect taxpayers to subsidise their particular religious thinking and life styles. We shouldn't waste public money on religion when we can better serve the common good by spending money saved on social housing, the NHS and a pluralist education."

Tory Scottish fortunes

BBC

Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson has told BBC News: "At the last general election here in Scotland [in 2010] we got between four hundred thousand and five hundred thousand votes - the same as the Liberal Democrats and the SNP." Noting the disparity in the number of Commons seats this resulted in for each party, she adds: "Our great strength in Scotland is also our great weakness - our support is spread right across the country."

Apprentices are paid 'exploitative' rates

Some news just in: Apprentices are paid "exploitative" rates and must receive higher wages if the programme is to solve youth unemployment, a report says. The National Union of Students say apprentices cannot afford to travel to their place of work or study, or take time off sick. England's teenage apprentices are entitled to £2.73 an hour - £95 for a 35-hour week. The government is considering raising apprentices' pay by £1 an hour. Get the full story here.

Cameron hits back at Sturgeon

PA

Last week Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon made a speech in London where she blasted Tory spending cuts as "morally unjustifiable". Today, David Cameron hit back at the SNP leader. "I'll tell you what is 'morally unjustifiable', first minister," he said earlier. "And that is racking up more debt than our children and grandchildren could ever hope to re-pay. Passing the buck like every other hopeless left-wing administration in history. "And that's why it will be us - the Conservative Party - who will do the right thing, clear up this mess - and leave Scotland standing taller."

UKIP/Green support

New Statesman

Reuters

At the New Statesman's May2015.com general election website, Will Jennings and Gerry Stoker have an in-depth analysis of the causes for surging support for UKIP and the Greens. "The odds of someone intending to vote Green or UKIP are up to two and a half times higher (and at least 50 per cent greater) if they express distrust in politicians," they write.

Mayoral resignation

Slough Borough Council

Slough's mayor has resigned after attending a court sentencing to support the family of a child sex offender. Shafiq Chaudhry - who serves as a Labour councillor - was in Reading Crown Court on Monday when Esmatullah Haidaree and Azim Ahmed were jailed for sexual offences against three girls. He said he was trying to "support a family torn apart by one man's horrendous crimes" but understood his actions could be misconstrued.

Alan Roden, Scottish Daily Mail political editor

tweets: Tory delegates listening to Taylor Swift and 1D before @RuthDavidsonMSP speech at #scc15.

Andrew Black, BBC reporter

tweets: . @ScotTories leader @RuthDavidsonMSP addressing her party conference - a few empty seats in the hall. #scc15

BBC

Russell Brand: 'World thinker'?

Getty Images

Prospect magazine has a list of fifty nominees for its 2015 'World Thinkers' list. Names familiar to the average punter who follows politics are few and far between, but Russell Brand is on there after a year of politicking and publishing something of a political manifesto in his book Revolution. The magazine justifies his inclusion thus: "Dismissed by his opponents as a clownish opportunist and even a hypocrite due to his own wealth, he is nevertheless the most charismatic figure on Britain's populist left."

Miliband follows Clegg?

PA

Ed Miliband might be following in Nick Clegg's footsteps on tuition fees, Lib Dem blogger Stephen Tall suggests. He points out Mr Miliband said he would "bin tuition fees" when he was campaigning for the Labour leadership, but is now proposing to water the policy down instead. "'It's not the crime, it's the cover-up' originated with Watergate," he writes. "There's a British political equivalent now: 'It's not the policy, it's the pledge'."

Politicians 'can't win'

The Daily Telegraph

Getty Images

Gordon Brown later apologised to Gillian Duffy after he was caught on microphone describing her as a "bigoted woman" in 2010

At the Telegraph, Dan Hodges says: "There is an old political saying that asserts 'the voter is always right'. They're not. They're often wrong. But woe betide the politician who over the next 11 weeks has the courage to point that out." Coming face-to-face with vocal voters in front of cameras, he says, is a situation in which the politician "literally can't win".

Things we've learned today

Alex Hunt and Alex Stevenson

Politics Live early shift

It's time for us to hand over Politics Live duties after a pleasantly busy recess Friday. Apart from the big stories summarised in the key points at the top of this page there have been a few off-beat nuggets...

• The prime minister has confessed to having owned a Bay City Rollers album (see 14:55)
• It's Gordon Brown's birthday today - he's 64 years old (13:30)
• Boris Johnson is more committed to the suit than George Osborne (07:10)
• And… tight underpants are an acceptable excuse for leaving parliament in a hurry (12:13)

Taking you through to midnight - including coverage of Any Questions and Newsnight - will be Dominic Howell and Adam Donald.

West Midlands battlegrounds

One of the more important regions of England on 7 May will be the West Midlands because of the large number of seats where the parties have a real fight on their hands, as the Birmingham Mail's Jonathan Walker has pointed out. His overview of the region's marginal seats reveals just how many different kinds of interesting contests are taking place in Birmingham and the Black Country:

• The Conservatives are targeting Labour in Birmingham Northfield
• The Liberal Democrats' Lorely Burt is on the defensive against the Tories in Solihull
• UKIP could mount a strong challenge in Dudley North, which Labour won in 2010
• And Cannock Chase, currently a Conservative seat, is looking like a plausible Labour gain.

Housing assistance

Ross Hawkins

Political correspondent, BBC News

BBC

The government is to supplement schemes that pay council house tenants tens of thousands of pounds to help them buy homes on the open market. Those in London will be able to claim up to £30,000 if their council takes part, and for those elsewhere in England £20,000 is available

The policy is aimed at freeing up social housing by helping people who want to buy their own home to move out. It will be targeted at tenants who could afford to exercise the Right to Buy their social home but find it difficult to mortgage, or who would prefer to move elsewhere.

The Treasury is allocating £84m to a new fund. Councils in England will be able to bid for the money. Several already run such schemes. Lewisham, for example, will give tenants up to £44,000 to help buy a home.

Only tenants eligible for the Right to Buy - which allows those with five-year tenancy discounts to help buy their home - will be eligible. The policy was one of a series of announcements made by the Chancellor George Osborne this morning. The money was first announced at the Autumn Statement in 2013. For more detail click here.

Next week in parliament

Mark D'Arcy

Parliamentary correspondent

BBC

For a parliament that's supposedly winding down there's an awful lot going on in the Palace of Westminster next week. Here's some of the highlights from Mark D'Arcy's blog:

• Monday sees David Cameron deliver a statement to MPs on the latest developments in Europe. And amendments to the Serious Crime Bill include a bid by over 100 backbenchers to ban sex-selective abortions may also be debated.
• MPs will spend Tuesday rattling through a long list of technical measures - including changes to the rules for the Queen's and Prince of Wales' consent, which is still required for issues affecting the Royal Prerogative .
• Wednesday sees the return of PMQs. Of course.
• On Thursday backbench MPs have secured a debate on compensation for victims of the Equitable Life scandal, while in the Lords peers will scrutinise the Lords Spiritual (Women) Bill allowing the fast-tracking of women bishops into the upper House.
• Friday will see the pursuit of private member's bills from Conservative veterans David Davis and Sir George Young. Mr Davis wants to ensure the Health Service Ombudsman for England and Wales completes all its investigations of complaints within a year. Sir George is hoping to update the Lords' disciplinary system.

Robert Peston, BBC economics editor

tweets: German finance minister Schauble has pulled out of public debate Monday with George Osborne "because of the Greece situation", we are told

Cameron reflects on referendum

A memorable moment in Cameron's speech earlier came when he recollected his thoughts and feelings during the climax of last year's Scottish independence referendum. "I don't know about you but September 18th 2014 goes down as one of the longest days of my life," he said, to laughter from Scottish Tories in Edinburgh. "Some people said we were mad to have that referendum, and I can tell you that as I paced around the room in the weeks before that referendum I think Samantha was probably one of them."

Andrew Black BBC reporter

Tweets: PM concludes to standing ovation: "We've won for Britain before - let's win for Britain again." @ScotTories

Cameron wraps up Edinburgh speech

BBC

The prime minister wraps up his speech with a one-sentence pitch to Scottish voters: "While the others want to break up our home or bankrupt our country, we are the ones who will secure you, your family and Britain a more secure future."

David Cameron on... the Bay City Rollers

BBC

On a lighter note, an important development has been made in the quest to understand the prime minister's musical taste. For David Cameron has confessed to Scottish Conservative delegates: "I did once have a Bay City Rollers album. Never bought the trousers."

'In the end, we'll prevail' - PM

More from David Cameron on criticism of the government's response to the crisis in Ukraine: "What we need to do now is deliver the strongest possible message to Putin and to Russia that what has happened is unacceptable," he said.

He added: "These ceasefires need to hold and if they don't, there'll be more consequences, more sanctions, more measures. We have to be clear that we're prepared to do this for the long-term. Russia should not make the mistake of thinking in any way that America, Britain, France or Germany will be divided or will be weak. We won't - we'll be staunch, we'll be strong, we'll be resolute and in the end, we'll prevail."

PM does not accept criticism over Ukraine

BBC

The prime minister says he does not accept claims that Britain "sleepwalked" into the crisis in Ukraine. A House of Lords EU committee has accused the British government and the EU of a "catastrophic misreading" of the mood in the Kremlin in the run-up to the conflict.

But David Cameron said: "The responsibility for what has happened in Ukraine lies absolutely squarely with Vladimir Putin and Russia. They destabilised and effectively invaded this country."

Mr Cameron said Britain had consistently pushed for sanctions against Russia and had been the first country to call for Russia to be thrown out of the G8.

Applause for shipbuilding

The prime minister's speech to the Scottish Conservative conference continues with what he calls a "big announcement": "It is right here in Scotland the next generation of Royal Navy frigates will be built." The hall greets his words with firm applause.

James Chapman, Daily Mail political editor

tweets: 'Having helping to save the UK on your CV is not bad,' PM tells Scottish Tories. Happily, he was talking about @RuthDavidsonMSP, not himself

'100 new jobs created each day in Scotland'

The prime minister is defending the coalition government's progress on the economy. The one thing he wants Scottish campaigners to remember when it comes to talking to voters on the doorstep, he says, is this: "We have seen over 100 new jobs created each and every day in Scotland since this government has been in office."

David Cameron in Edinburgh

David Cameron is now speaking at the Scottish Conservative party conference in Edinburgh.

The SNP tweets back

The Scottish Conservatives' conference continues in Edinburgh, with MSP Murdo Fraser the latest to attack the SNP. He says the Scottish government is pursuing an "ideologically-driven class war" on the countryside. It follows MP David Mundell earlier suggesting a "weak" Ed Miliband would be subject to "every whim of Alex Salmond's ego". The SNP appear to be relishing the clash, tweeting this graphic based on a YouGov poll carried out at the beginning of the month:

SNP

Lib Dem 'sangfroid'

The Spectator

Reuters

At The Spectator, James Forsyth says the Lib Dems are proving remarkably composed for a party whose poll ratings are so low, and he asks: "What explains this calmness under fire?" Click on the link to see his answer.

Poll warning

A word of caution from Anthony Wells at the UK Polling Report blog. He's wary about the Lib Dem polling the party has been briefing about which we mentioned earlier (see 10:00 entry below). Mr Wells suggests there's a strong "publication bias" which might make Nick Clegg's party look better than it is. "The articles claim that the Lib Dems have done about 100 constituency polls, while it seems journalists were shown results from about a dozen or so, so it is impossible to know how representative this group were, or whether they were cherry-picked to create a good impression of the Lib Dem performance," he says. Reports on the polling have suggested the party is performing especially strongly among women and young voters.

Car parking charges

Thinkstock

The Department for Transport says it's up to the courts to decide whether the RAC Foundation's claims about private parking penalties are correct. The charity has suggested millions of pounds of penalties for car parks on private land could have been charged illegally. A DfT spokesperson said: "Parking in private car parks means that motorists enter a contract with the landowner and the courts must decide if the level of a parking fine is justified should there be a dispute." But parking campaigner Michael Green fears nothing will change if legislation isn't amended. "Plenty of judges have already said that these charges are not enforceable," he said. "The problem is they don't have the power to set binding law. So whenever the parking companies lose in court, they just ignore it."

Sweden considers passport move

BBC Monitoring

Text of report in English by Swedish English-language news website The Local on 19 February: A new law to allow Swedish authorities to confiscate the passports of Swedes who are known to have fought alongside extremists in Syria or Iraq is being drafted by the government. Sweden's Home Affairs Minister Anders Ygeman hopes the legislation will be passed by parliament and put in place by 2016... the move to confiscate passports from known Swedish extremists follows similar strategies in the UK, France and Germany.

Lunchtime latest

Here's a recap of Friday's main developments:

• Public borrowing figures out today have been greeted as "good news" by George Osborne, but evidence of a "failed" policy by Labour and trade unions
• The chancellor joined London Mayor Boris Johnson on the London Underground (very) early this morning before launching the Conservatives 'long-term economic plan for London' at Tate Modern
• A Lords report has criticised the Foreign Office's "catastrophic misreading of the mood" ahead of Russia's aggression against Ukraine
• Peter Mandelson has been urging Ed Miliband to "leave the door ajar" over tuition fees
• Populus' latest poll suggests UKIP is up two points to 17%

Mandelson on tuition fees

Iain Watson

Political correspondent, BBC News

How Ed Miliband pays for his policy of cutting the tuition fees cap from £9,000 to £6,000 a year has proved very controversial at senior levels of the Labour Party, Iain Watson reports on the World At One. Lord Mandelson spoke at Universities UK earlier but insists his speech isn't an intervention aimed at changing Labour's approach. He had this to say: "This is exactly the sort of thing that any party will want to look into in greater depth, and the best place to do that is in government. So whatever the direction of travel, I would say leave the door slightly ajar."

Syrian refugees

BBC Radio 4

Britain should offer to take 5,000 Syrian refugees, MP Mark Pritchard has told BBC Radio 4's World At One. That's a view he accepts may clash with some of his Conservative Party colleagues, but the Wrekin MP insists it is "the right thing to do". He says Britain should be able to distinguish between refugees and economic migrants. "I think we have a proud tradition of taking genuine refugees. We have taken some, I think we should take more," he says. "There are security implications around that, but I think certainly we should be taking more widows, orphans and severely wounded children."

Labour History Group

tweets: A happy 64th birthday to Gordon Brown, Leader of the Labour Party and Prime Minister 2007-10

UKIP up to 17%

Populus has released its latest poll:

• Labour 32 (-1)
• Conservative 31 (-)
• UKIP 17 (+2)
• Liberal Democrats 9 (-1)
• Others 12 (+1)

The fieldwork saw 2,011 people questioned on Wednesday and Thursday this week, Patrick O'Flynn, UKIP MEP and the party's candidate in Cambridge, points out this is UKIP's best performance in a Populus poll. It does nudge Nigel Farage's party into the high teens, rather than the mid-teens. Our poll tracker is keeping an eye on the bigger picture.

'We forgot Russia'

BBC Radio 4

Lord Tugendhat, chair of the Lords' EU committee which has criticised Europe and the Foreign Office for "sleepwalking" in its response to Russia's advance into Ukraine, is elaborating his views on BBC Radio 4's The World At One. "In the past, during the Cold War, the Foreign Office here and in Paris and everywhere else was very focused on the Soviet Union," he says. "There was a highly developed analytical capacity. And then when Russia rather dropped off the radar screen and it was forgotten... that is something which ought to worry us."

Entertaining Claudia

BBC

Until now the cost of the prime minister's hospitality at Chequers had been kept private - but the Cabinet Office has now released a list of David Cameron's guests - with associated costs - for the first three months of 2014. Dinners with 29 guests including the Queen, Claudia Schiffer, Conservative ally Lord Feldman and Marks & Spencer chief executive Marc Bolland cost the taxpayer a total of £1,863, a freedom of information request by the Press Association has revealed.

Bishops v the Times

The Times

The Church of England's involvement in politics continues to be a debating point in the Times, after its bishops united earlier this week to write a letter about the contribution the Church can make in what it called Britain's "almost moribund political culture". The exchange goes something like this:

• On Tuesday the Times leader said the intervention was "unsolicited, disingenuous and in at least half a dozen respects nakedly partisan".
• Yesterday the Bishops of Norwich and Leicester responded with a letter defending the Church for engaging in politics. "Your leader suggests we were wrong to do so," it concludes. "We suspect it would have offered the same analysis of the Sermon on the Mount."
• Today's Times carries a further letter from the Rev Canon Dr Gavin Ashenden, chaplain to the Queen in Jersey. "It is always tempting to harness the authority of Christ for a preferred political programme, as the bishops have done," he writes. "But there is a rule of thumb in the long history of the Church which suggests that the level of political commitment the clergy shows is inversely proportional to their spiritual potency and competence."

Michael Fabricant, Conservative MP for Litchfield

tweets: HMRC say from today married couples and civil partners can apply for an annual tax reduction of up to £212. Is that called 'tax avoidance'?

TUC on borrowing figures

The TUC blames "the poor performance of wages and job quality" for the government's "failed" deficit reduction plans. This morning's public borrowing figures were welcomed as "good news" by the chancellor, but general secretary Frances O'Grady disagrees. "Today's statistics suggest that even their most recent forecast may be missed, with self-assessment tax receipts still down on expectations," she said. Earlier this week the TUC published research suggesting lower earnings growth means the government is collecting £33.4bn less in income tax and national insurance.

Marriage tax break

Getty Images

On his travels today, David Cameron has been talking up the new marriage tax allowance, which will benefit some couples from April depending on how much they earn. The scheme opens for applications today. The BBC story explaining how it will work is here.

Canadian political news in brief

Reuters

A Canadian MP offered one of the most original excuses ever heard for leaving parliament in a hurry - tight underpants. His cut-price and, as it turned out, overly tight underpants made it difficult for him to sit through a one-by-one vote, opposition MP Pat Martin told the bewildered Speaker. But he did made it back in time to cast his ballot. Mr Martin drew applause and laughter from the chamber when he explained his temporary absence. "They had men's underwear on for half price and I bought a bunch that was clearly too small for me. I find it difficult to sit for any length of time." The full BBC story is here.

Scottish football drinking ban

Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy is meeting football clubs and supporters' groups to discuss lifting the ban on alcohol at grounds. The summit, which takes place at Hampden Park, will also hear from the Scottish Football Association.

PA

Mr Murphy, who is teetotal, argues football supporters should not be treated differently from those who enjoy corporate hospitality or rugby fans at Murrayfield, where drinking is permitted.However, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said she is "far from convinced" about lifting the ban, warning against "taking a step backwards".

Coalition chat

Brian Taylor

Political editor, Scotland

Coalition was much on the mind of David Mundell as he opened the Scottish Conservative conference in Edinburgh today. Read my full take on his speech here.

'We won't do a Nick Clegg'

BBC News Channel

Labour's shadow chief secretary Chris Leslie was asked by Ross Hawkins on the BBC News Channel whether it was true that his party had yet to decide how to fund a cut in tuition fees to £6,000. He didn't disagree, adding: "We are being careful about this. We are not doing a Nick Clegg. We are going to make sure we can actually fund promises we make. We are working through the detail and we will announce our solution on tuition fees very shortly."

Labour's Leslie on economy

BBC News Channel

BBC

Labour's Chris Leslie has told the BBC News Channel that the health of ordinary people's finances are key to the economic recovery and he does not share George Osborne's enthusiastic welcoming of the figures revealing a better-than-expected surplus of £8.8bn in January. You can read more on the ONS economy stats here.

Osborne on HSBC (pt 2)

Mr Osborne said prosecutions by HMRC were up "five-fold" after he indicated when he took office that he wanted to see more cases taken to court. He said he had "resourced HRMC accordingly". Mr Osborne also said the government had secured agreement at the G8 for a "fundamental change", which will allow the automatic exchange of information on offshore bank accounts.

Osborne on HSBC

Chancellor George Osborne says it would be wrong for him to intervene in HRMC's investigation into allegations HSBC helped clients avoid tax. Panorama revealed HSBC's Swiss arm had assisted clients, including British citizens, to evade tax. "Obviously, they're very serious allegations because they're allegations around tax evasion, which is illegal," Mr Osborne said. "We have independent prosecuting authorities in this country. I don't think it would be right for the Chancellor of the Exchequer to be directing the prosecution of individuals or individual companies. That's actually been one of the bulwarks of freedom for hundreds of years that the political leaders of the country don't get to decide on individual tax prosecutions."

Unions scorn Tube announcement

Today's announcements from Boris Johnson and George Osborne about more 24-hour rail services in London have been dismissed as a "pre-election stunt" by Mick Cash, the leader of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union. "RMT is not opposed to extended running but there are massive issues on staffing, safety and maintenance which have not been addressed and which would need to be signed off by our reps," he warns. Manuel Cortes, leader of the TSSA rail union, is also critical of Mr Johnson, calling him "desperate and deluded" for outlining plans he predicts will end up being implemented by a Labour mayor. "His night Tube starting in September will lose millions and is not due to break even for another 18 years, and yet here he is, with another back-of-a-fag-packet publicity stunt," he says. The all-night Tube services proposals are part of a six-part 'long term economic plan for London' unveiled earlier this morning.

Salmond the 'puppet-master'

PA

Scotland could get "backdoor independence" if Labour gets into power supported by the SNP, the Scottish Conservatives' only MP is warning. David Mundell, speaking at his party's conference in Edinburgh, says a "weak" Ed Miliband would be subject to "every whim of Alex Salmond's ego". He thinks the former Scottish first minister , if elected to parliament, would become a "self-styled puppet master" in the event of a Labour-SNP deal. Mr Mundell, outlining a "stark and clear" choice for Scotland, added: "With the threat of the chaos of Labour and the scheming manipulative plans of the SNP for backdoor independence this is the moment to step up, to take the fight to those who threaten our country's future."

Programme highlights

BBC Radio 4 Today

In case you missed them earlier - here are three highlights from this morning's Today:

1) Student voters in Wolverhampton - Part of our 100 seats series "Wolverhampton South West: What effect will the student vote have?"

2) Bed blocking - Zoe Conway reports on one hospital where one in seven beds are taken up by patients who don't need to be there

3) Aggression is a necessary human emotion - a lecturer in human evolution explains the use of aggression after Stephen Hawking said he would like to replace the emotion with empathy

Class wars

The Independent

Many believe Scotland is not just important but critical to the outcome of the UK election - so today's story in the Independent about the Labour vote holding up among middle-class voters is of interest to everyone following the wider race. Does this imply an identity shift for Labour? "If there is a direct switch from Labour to the SNP... it's easy to predict a meltdown," one Labour MP is quoted as saying. "In areas where there is, or was, a significant Tory and LibDem vote, the picture is far more complex."

Chris Leslie on borrowing 'failure'

Labour has a very different take on the public finances to George Osborne's "good news" claims. The figures, released just over an hour ago, "show George Osborne has broken his promise to balance the books by this year", shadow chief secretary to the Treasury Chris Leslie says. He suggests delayed bonuses are behind the better-than-expected surplus - and says the Treasury's big problem is that falling living standards have led to disappointing tax revenues in recent years. "This government is now set to have borrowed over £200 billion more than planned," Mr Leslie adds.

Tax break for married couples

The married couples' tax break was one of just a handful of Tory policies that the Lib Dems agreed to disagree about in their 2010 coalition agreement. It might have taken a few years to implement, but David Cameron now wants voters to realise he's kept his promise. "I made a clear commitment to the British people that I would recognise marriage in the tax system - so I am delighted that we're just a little over a month away from it coming into effect," the prime minister says. Today is the first day couples can register for the new marriage allowance, which will save £212 a year for couples where one spouse pays basic rate tax and the other one does not earn enough to pay tax.

'Bin blight'

BBC

Bins have been a long-term issue for Communities Secretary Eric Pickles so it's little surprise that he has welcomed new guidance for builders to avoid "bin blight" when designing new homes. One of the options the National House Building Council Foundation suggests is providing underground bin storage areas. Mr Pickles says: "Far too many of our streets are still dominated by the ugly clutter of unsightly bins, which ruin the look of families' homes and gardens. This common sense guide, backed up by revised planning rules and building regulations, will help ensure that the housing industry raises their game when building new homes."

George Osborne on borrowing 'good news'

Chancellor George Osborne - no doubt rested and refreshed after his late night on the Underground - has offered his response to today's public finance figures, which show January enjoyed the largest monthly surplus since the financial crisis. "Today's good news is further proof that the government's long term economic plan is working," he says. "But in an uncertain world economy all of this progress will be at risk unless we carry on working through the plan that is delivering stability and rising living standards." He says the new stats show the Treasury is "on track to meet our borrowing forecasts and halve the deficit as a share of GDP this year".

Douglas Alexander on Ukraine

BBC

The Foreign Office's "catastrophic misreading of the mood" in the run-up to the Ukraine crisis, as peers have described it in a report out today, has prompted shadow foreign secretary Douglas Alexander to suggest Britain has a broader foreign policy problem. "David Cameron has been responsible for the biggest loss of British influence in Europe for a generation, and this Lords committee highlights some of the worrying consequences of his approach," he says. "As the crisis in Ukraine continues, it is vital that the EU maintain a united approach, and that the UK government play its part in helping find a diplomatic resolution to the conflict."

Lib Dem polling

The Guardian

Women and young voters could help the Liberal Democrats' prospects in May, according to the Guardian. It reports that the party has spent £350,000 on over 100 constituency polls in the last year. And the results are improving morale, as they suggest women and young voters are increasingly switching to the Lib Dems - giving Nick Clegg and co hope they could remain in government after the election, the paper says.

Mandelson on tuition fees

Iain Watson

Political correspondent, BBC News

PA

Labour is expected to announce its tuition fee policy next week, but former business secretary Peter Mandelson thinks his party should put off deciding how to deal with higher education finance until after the election. In an off-camera speech to Universities UK today he'll say: "Of course we have to be concerned about getting the right funding formula but this is best achieved after consultation and patient deliberation and recognising that there will be pros and cons for any approach with no perfect solution available."

BreakingBreaking News

UK government borrowing saw a surplus of £8.8bn in January, up £2.3bn on January 2014, according to the Office for National Statistics. The ONS says that from April 2014 to January 2015, public sector net borrowing excluding public sector banks was £74bn, £6bn lower than the same period in 2013/14.

A&E figures

Accident and Emergency performance in England's NHS hospitals has dipped slightly in the latest weekly figures - with 91.6% of patients being treated or admitted within four hours. The figure for the previous week was 92.9%, and the target is for 95% of patients to be dealt with in four hours. The number of people attending A&Es rose significantly, with 420,000 patients turning up at emergency departments. That was up from 407,000 the previous week. NHS England say these current levels of attendances and emergency admissions are the highest since the peak seen at Christmas. Delayed transfers of care, when patients can't be discharged because no care is available outside hospital, remained level with 4,000 people stuck in hospital beds.

Hung parliament predicted

Conservative backbenchers continue to believe their party can win an overall majority on 7 May, but Oxford University's Steve Fisher and Jonathan Jones disagree. Their latest forecast is that the chances of a hung parliament are up to 86% - and they've got David Cameron's prospects of being able to govern by himself back to 8%. "It is very likely that Labour, the Lib Dems, the SNP, the SDLP, Plaid Cymru and the Greens would have a majority of seats between them (our model gives an 82% chance of some combination of these having the required 323 seats)," they say. "Whether Ed Miliband can convert that into a place in Number 10 remains to be seen." They estimate the chances of a Labour majority now stands at just 5%.

Parking fines

Millions of pounds of parking penalties could have been charged illegally, according to the RAC Foundation. Penalties for overstays in car parks on private land could in some cases be unenforceable in court, barrister John de Waal QC said in a legal opinion for the charity. Read our full story here.

Lower key Farage?

Buzzfeed

AFP / Getty Images

UKIP strategists are keeping Nigel Farage out of the limelight ahead of the main campaign, Buzzfeed's Emily Ashton reports. The party will unleash their leader on the airwaves in the final weeks. But right now they want Farage to pound the streets in a bid to win over the voters of South Thanet, where he's standing for parliament. "He had a camera turn up a few days ago and it prevented him doing any form of campaigning," Chris Bruni-Lowe, the party's head of campaigns, says. "It's important that Nigel wins. A lot of people are saying he's not doing anything but we'll see how it works out on May 8th, whether my approach is the right one. I suspect it will be."

'A truly Soviet image'

BBC

Chancellor George Osborne and London Mayor Boris Johnson have been underground ahead of giving more details of a 'long term economic plan' for London. They seemed to enjoy getting to grips with the maintenance machinery - as the cameras snapped this moment Boris joked that it would make a "a truly Soviet image".

'Look to our guns'

BBC Radio 4 Today

MOD

Today's front pages are mostly preoccupied with the growing threat from Russia, and Sir Andrew Wood - the former British ambassador to Moscow - has just added to the story. "I wouldn't denigrate our forces too much, but it would be prudent to look to our guns," he tells the Today programme. Sir Andrew suggests the fundamental instability of Vladimir Putin's government makes this a "dangerous moment" for the world. "Russia is in a state of frozen anarchy, it's not a proper state," he says. "What they've done in Ukraine is to begin an adventure and they don't know how to end it."

Cable on Labour tuition fees

BBC Radio 4 Today

Further to Nick Robinson's comments below (see 08:35) here's a reminder of what Lib Dem Vince Cable said earlier on the Today programme about Labour's plans to cut tuition fees: "As I understand it, the people advising Ed Miliband and his team are telling him that this is a foolish thing to do because it will either open a very large hole in their budget or it will be funded by quite serious cuts to universities, which is the last thing we want."

Ian Austin, Labour MP for Dudley

tweets: Students @WLV_UNI on @BBCr4today say they won't vote after tuition fees hike. But it's because students don't vote that they do these things

Labour on tuition fees

Nick Robinson

Political editor

I understand that Labour has still not agreed how to finance a cut in tuition fees from £9,000 a year to £6,000 a year even though the policy is due to be announced in a week's time. Peter Mandelson, the former minister responsible for universities, will give a speech later today in which he will warn the universities must be compensated in full for any cut in their income due to a cut in their income from tuition fees. Recently university vice chancellors wrote to The Times to warn about the consequences they could face. This is the argument that has been made by the Shadow Business Secretary Chuka Umunna and Shadow Universities Minister Liam Byrne ever since Ed Miliband signalled in 2011 that he wanted to go into the election promising a cut in tuition fees. However, the party has yet to agree where to find for £1.7 billion a year needed to finance the policy. Sources told the BBC that the process of developing the policy was on-going.

NHS privatisation: Why the fuss?

Nick Triggle

Health correspondent

The words privatisation and NHS together are enough to start a fight in an empty room. But what exactly do we mean by it? And why does the issue make many so angry? London's Cromwell Hospital, run by Bupa, does a good trade in NHS patients at its gamma knife radiosurgery centre. About a third of the patients with brain tumours seen there are sent by the NHS, costing the health service nearly £7,300 a go. But even the most ardent critics of privatisation in England (it tends to be a debate which is focused there) accept this. Why? Because the NHS only has a handful of such units as it hasn't been considered economically viable to open more. So when demand requires the NHS pays for them to be seen privately. Read Nick's full article: NHS privatisation: Why the fuss?

Hospital beds

BBC Radio 4 Today

Bed-blocking, in which NHS patients well enough to leave hospital remain there because there's nowhere for them to go to, is putting severe pressure on the NHS. At one hospital in Southampton, from where Zoe Conway has been reporting for the Today programme, management said one in seven beds are taken up by people who don't need to be there. "We need a wake-up call," says David Pearson, president of the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services. He told Today: "Politicians need to be absolutely clear about what they're going to do about this as we go into the general election."

Scottish Conservatives' Edinburgh conference

PA

In Scotland the focus is on Edinburgh, where the Scottish Conservatives are gathered for their spring conference. Leader Ruth Davidson is to call for a "parent power" shake-up of education and will suggest that school communities should have a new right of opting-out of local authority control. "I can tell you this: in Scotland right now there are parents and communities who would love the chance to run their school, but are being told they can't," Ms Davidson is expected to say. Here's our preview of her speech.

NHS reforms

Science Photo Library

NHS integration, called for by Chris Ham on Today earlier (see below), should be taken even further by giving patients flexibility in how they spend their money, a think-tank suggests today. Civitas' report proposes letting people receiving treatment on the NHS take the money that would have been spent on them to any suitable healthcare provider. "This is one means of challenging the existing 'postcode lottery' where patients have widely differing quality of NHS treatment in different areas of the country," the report's authors write. The debate about the NHS' future continues on the Today programme just before 08:30.

Cable on young voters

BBC Radio 4 Today

Vince Cable says it is unfortunate if young people do not vote as the agenda will then be dictated by older people, especially on areas like housing and jobs. He urges young people to get out and have their voice heard and vote in their own self-interest. He says the "lesson we have got to learn" is that you have to spell out the truth and "tell things as they are".

Student vote

BBC Radio 4 Today

BBC

Today reporter Sima Kotecha has been to the constituency of Wolverhampton South West - a marginal Conservative seat with a student population of 20,000. Among those she spoke to were these students from Wolverhampton University who aren't planning to vote in May. They say it would be "a waste of time" and not make any difference because politicians "never stick to their word". They're angry about the cost of tuition fees which they say has led to them being in a substantial amount of debt at a young age. The National Union of Students say more than 70 percent of students have registered to vote in this year's general election.

Cable on tuition fees

BBC Radio 4 Today

Lib Dem Business Secretary Vince Cable, following on from Sima Kotecha's feature on her visit to Wolverhampton, accepts students were disillusioned after the tuition fee U-turn. He says all parties have broken pledges to students in the past. He says the best thing is to agree that the present tuition fees system isn't going to change and that it is better than the system there before. He says the current system is basically a graduate tax - but explains it is not called a graduate tax because it would not be possible to claim the money back from students living in other parts of the EU.

Today's papers

BBC

The Independent's lead story is on Russia and Nato tensions - but its front page also features a story about Labour's prospects in Scotland that might prove heartening for Ed Miliband. Unpublished doorstep canvassing suggests middle-class voters are proving resistant to the SNP, it reports. You can see a round-up of the rest of today's front pages in our paper review.

Today's papers

BBC

The Daily Mail leads on concerns about Britain's ability to counter potential Russian aggression. It highlights comments from Sir Michael Graydon, former head of the RAF, who told the newspaper: "I very much doubt whether the UK could sustain a shooting war against Russia. We are at half the capabilities we had previously."

Negative campaigning

BBC Radio 4 Today

Attack ads are big in the States - but will they be a big feature of the current election? American strategist Joe Rospars of Blue State Digital, who advised Barack Obama during his 2008 and 2012 campaigns and is now helping Labour, is sceptical. He's told the Today programme the big difference is the amount of money spent in the US, where the expensive strategy of "carpet-bombing people with negative content that isn't very interesting" can pay off. British parties face a "different conundrum of producing negative content that doesn't necessarily go anywhere". In Britain attack ads will have to be popular to make an impact, he suggests.

Today's papers

BBC

The Guardian splashes on the Lords EU committee's report out today. Its criticisms of the western response to Russia's aggression in Ukraine includes the word "catastrophic", which is just asking to be put in a headline.

Today's papers

Telegraph

Here's the first of a few of Friday's papers' front pages. The Telegraph's features a prediction by UKIP leader Nigel Farage that David Cameron will remain in Downing Street after May 7th.

Hospital beds

BBC Radio 4 Today

Part of the pressure on the NHS' A&E departments is the result of delays getting people, often the elderly, out of hospital beds and into care homes or back home. The problem is getting worse, King's Fund chief executive Chris Ham tells the Today programme - there were 23% more beds occupied by people who didn't need to be in hospital in December 2014 than there were 12 months previously. "We need to tackle this problem of delayed transfers. It requires a much more integrated system," Mr Ham says. And what does he mean by 'integrated'? "A single health and social care system - we need to make sure social care is adequately funded and staffed."

100 seats in 100 days: The student vote

BBC Radio 4 Today

The Today programme continues its tour of 100 seats in 100 days, reaching Wolverhampton South West where Sima Kotecha has been sizing up the student vote. Anger at the coalition's tuition fees reform remains palpable, but former Labour education minister Bill Rammell - who is now the vice-chancellor of the University of Bedfordshire - isn't so sure students only vote on the issues exclusively affecting them. "Students by and large have built it [tuition fees] into their assumptions," he says. You can listen to the report, which airs at 07:30, in full here.

Ross Hawkins, BBC political correspondent

tweets: Dress down Osborne - Chancellor on overnight London Underground visit with Boris (who wore a suit)

BBC

Question Time recap 3

BBC

One other big highlight from last night's Question Time was Michael Heseltine's take on Ant and Dec's comments about their disillusionment with Labour. Earlier this week Ant said he didn't know what Labour stood for any more and Dec said he couldn't picture Ed Miliband as prime minister. After initially admitting he was not 100% certain who exactly this duo were, Lord Heseltine ventured some advice. "I can help these people, Ant and Dec," he declared. His suggestion was: "Bash the oil companies, renationalise the railways and tax everybody who's got a big house. It's called 50 Shades of Red. A blockbuster by Ed Miliband".

Internet politics

BBC Radio 4 Today

Who owns the internet? It's a question that's come up again and again over the last year as the EU and US spar over regulation of the big online companies - Google, Facebook and the like. At the weekend, President Obama made his view quite clear - the US owns it, and the EU should back off. It's irked a few on this side of the Atlantic, not least former government online advocate Baroness Martha Lane Fox. She told Today her heart "was broken on so many levels" by President Obama's words. It was "tragic" that he, who should be a "symbol" of the best of the internet, had descended into a "parochial" view and had made a "false statement". She adds that the internet "doesn't work if only one country owns it".

Osborne on Greece

BBC

Chancellor George Osborne was asked about Greece while in the bowels of the Underground early this morning. He said: "What you see now in this stand-off between the eurozone and Greece is the risk of a full-blown crisis which would do real damage to the European economy, and it's a risk to Britain. We need the eurozone to find a common solution and here at home we need to go on working through our economic plan that has kept us safe. Now would be a terrible time to see that plan abandoned because it would put our country at risk."

Tories focus on London

BBC

George Osborne and Boris Johnson were out and about early this morning pushing their 'long-term economic plan for London'. In addition to the announcement on overground trains (see below) the pair are also confirming wifi will be extended to all below-ground sections of the Tube by 2020. There's a commitment to 800 new Routemaster buses a year from 2016. The plan will, they hope, produce what Chancellor George Osborne hopes will be "the greatest capital city on Earth". They're making a big promise: this plan will add £6.4bn to the London economy by 2030 and create half a million new jobs, they claim.

Overnight trains

George Osborne and Boris Johnson will be hoping their announcement later this morning that weekend 24-hour services will begin on London Overground services from 2017 will go down well with voters. The chancellor and mayor are teaming up to announce the Conservatives' latest regional 'long-term economic plan', this one for London.

Question Time recap 2

BBC

Last night's Question Time offered an insight into possible coalition talks in the event of a hung parliament. Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon set out the case for a "progressive alliance" at Westminster - implying, but not actually mentioning, Labour. Separately Liberal Democrat Health Minister Norman Lamb said the prospect of the SNP in government at Westminster "absolutely horrifies me". That seemed a little at odds with Vince Cable's comments earlier this week about a "rainbow coalition".

Question Time recap

BBC

If you missed Question Time last night, you can watch the whole thing back via the 'Live Coverage' tab on this page. Notable moments included Lord Heseltine being asked about Ant and Dec's politics and differing with SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon about Trident. Ms Sturgeon said Labour were not heading for a landslide because they were not offering an alternative. Labour's Caroline Flint rejected that and said the recovery must be for everybody not just a few at the top.

Ukraine report

AFP

The main story this morning is that, a day after Defence Secretary Michael Fallon's warning comments about Russia, the Lords' EU committee has accused Britain and the rest of Europe of "sleepwalking" into the Ukraine crisis. Its report out today is particularly critical of the Foreign Office's expertise in the region, which it says has "diminished significantly". Peers add: "The lack of robust analytical capacity, in both the UK and the EU, effectively led to a catastrophic misreading of the mood in the run-up to the crisis." The Foreign Office has said no-one could have predicted the extent of the Russians' "unjustified and illegal" intervention in eastern Ukraine. You can read our full story on the report here.

Good morning

Alex Hunt

Politics editor, BBC News Online

Hello and welcome to what is shaping up to be another busy day of politics. It may be recess in Parliament and the half term break for many schools, but there's little sign of a let-up in the pace of campaigning as we move closer to the 7 May election. We will bring you all the action, reaction and analysis in text and you'll be able to watch and listen to all the main BBC political programmes on this page, from Today in the morning to Any Questions and Newsnight this evening. Here's how Thursday unfolded.