tweets, external: Observer "gen elec A-Z." Guess what P is for! #pinkbus

tweets, external: The former head of the British Army Sir Peter Wall tells us parties should make election promise to spend 2% gdp on defence #tw2 @1 r4

BBC Radio 4

Image source, Photoshot

Gerald Howarth, a Conservative MP and former defence minister, tells Radio 4's The World This Weekend that with Russia making aggressive movements in Ukraine, and with continuing turmoil in the Middle East, this is "no time to be cutting our defence - and the prime minister at the NATO summit last September castigated other countries for their failure" to meet the NATO target of spending 2% of GDP on defence. Mr Howarth says falling short of this target would be "damaging" to the UK and would diminish this country in the eyes of the U.S., our "closest ally". He adds that "Conservatives believe the defence of the realm is the first duty of government", and it must be a commitment in the Conservative manifesto to meet NATO's defence spending targets. Former Defence Secretary Liam Fox has been made a similar argument on Sky News earlier.

The Daily Mail

Image source, Reuters

Mail Online political editor Matt Chorley reports, external that "the Union Flag is to be plastered across big money projects [in Scotland] paid for by the UK taxpayer in a bid to counter Scottish independence. Ministers will announce tomorrow the plan to brand roads, flood defences and broadband hubs with the message 'Funded by the UK Government' to hammer home the benefits of the 300-year-old union."

The Independent

Image source, PA

The Independent on Sunday's John Rentoul says, external Chancellor George Osborne has an extra £5bn "to play with" in the final few months before the general election - with the Budget outlined on 18 March. He says Mr Osborne could do worse than to emulate then-Chancellor Norman Lamont in 1992, who promised a tax-cut for the low paid ahead of polls opening.

The Liberal Democrats have set out their plan to double the UK's production of renewable energy by 2020 and introduce a Zero Carbon Bill in the next parliament. In a blog post, external, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said: "Our plans are a bold ambition to end Britain's adverse impact on climate change completely, but I believe it can be done within my lifetime." Earlier on Sunday, Ed Davey told the BBC's John Pienaar on 5 Live that he wanted to make the next parliament provide the "greenest government ever".

The Guardian

In the Observer, Andrew Rawnsley writes, external that decisions to offer "sweeteners" to select groups such as pensioners or students "debases the parties and alienates those left out".

Image source, Getty Images

Here at Politics Live we assume all our readers are political junkies, so are up to speed with Nigel Farage's speech in front of a rather threadbare audience last week at the Conservative Political Action Conference in the U.S. state of Maryland. But what did the American media make of the UKIP leader? Politico's Adam B. Lerner has a go at explaining, external Mr Farage's appeal - or lack thereof - to American conservatives.

Sunday Politics

Discussing the so-called "Save Dave" plans reported in today's Sunday Times, external, Isabel Oakeshott says that David Cameron will be "toast politically" if the Conservatives don't win a majority and return him to Downing Street. "I'm sure he accepts that and would not particularly want to cling on", she says.

Sunday Politics

Financial Times columnist Janan Ganesh says there are two "hideous" scenarios for a post-election hung parliament. One is that a minority government is formed that is too weak to function properly, but isn't willing to join with opponents to muster the 66% majority required to repeal the Fixed Term Parliaments Act, and so stumbles on for five years. The other is that a second election is called later in the year that is also inconclusive, potentially leading to a major constitutional crisis.

Sunday Politics

Discussing Green Party leader Natalie Bennett's awkward interview on LBC, external, Financial Times journalist Janan Ganesh warns that a bad interview can be "unrecoverable" for a mainstream politician. Helping David Cameron maintain stature as prime minister is the fact that he "never completely screws up an interview". His fellow panel member - and David Cameron biographer - Isabel Oakeshott corrects him, pointing out that Mr Cameron did have a "car crash interview with the Gay Times while he was in opposition".

tweets, external: Conservative candidate for North West Hampshire Kit Malthouse says he will continue 2nd job if elected: "keeps a foot in the real world"

Sunday Politics

Stephen Timms says the there is a real danger if people vote Green they will let in the Conservatives, and says the Labour Party is looking forward to exposing how the Green Party's "numbers don't add up" in the next few months.

tweets, external: Utterly disgusting that PR machine behind #SaatchiBill is seeking to make political capital by lying & exploiting fears of cancer patients

Sunday Politics

Natalie Bennett says the Greens do not have an open-borders policy, but they celebrate free movement of people within the EU. She says the Greens' focus is on the rights of people who "should be able to be here", such as British people with non-EU spouses, refugees, and international students.

tweets, external: Liam Fox will not be enjoying having to defend the PM on #bbcsp . No love lost, to put it mildly

The Daily Telegraph

The Telegraph is reporting, external that Liberal Democrats have killed off a new law to allow doctors to test new drugs on seriously ill patients without the fear of being sued, despite it passing through the House of Lords. The Medical Innovation Bill, promoted by Lord Saatchi after his wife Josephine Hart died from ovarian cancer, would have allowed doctors to test cutting edge new treatments on patients to help find cures for cancer and other serious illnesses. But Norman Lamb, a Liberal Democrat health minister, has told Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt that his party will not support the bill, effectively vetoing the proposals.

tweets, external: "You said you were as fit as a flea: in my experience, fleas aren't very fit" @afneil tells Nigel Farage. What experience, I wonder?

Sky News

Image source, Press Association

UKIP MP Douglas Carswell - speaking on Sky News - has emphatically ruled our running for the leadership of the party. He was asked if he would stand to take over if he won his seat at the election but Nigel Farage lost in South Thanet. Mr Carswell said: "I will never, ever lead a political party. It would be bad for me and bad for the party." During the same interview he affirmed that "UKIP is absolutely not a racist party" despite a recent poll which found about 44% of the electorate regard UKIP as a racist party.

Sunday Politics

Former Conservative Defence Secretary Liam Fox says the UK should commit to maintaining a defence budget of a minimum 2% of GDP - the NATO benchmark. He adds that a lot of Conservatives would find it difficult to swallow falling short of this target at a time when the 0.7% of GDP foreign aid budget has been ring-fenced. He says the UK reputation as a military ally to the U.S. "took a knock" when parliament in 2013 refused to authorise military action in Syria after the use of chemical weapons there. Not following through on promises "only gives comfort to your enemies" he adds.