BBC News Channel

Shelter's Toby Lloyd has been speaking about cut-price housing plans for first-time buyers. He says the political prioritisation of housing is welcome, but adds: "You just don't solve an affordability crisis by getting rid of affordable housing, which is what this announcement proposes to do."

He said the Conservatives' plans were "a small step in the right direction", but added that cutting the requirement for developers to provide affordable housing meant the policy effectively equated to "taking with one hand, but giving away with the other".

He called for government to "step up to the plate" and provide a "bold" commitment to get the houses needed built.

The Guardian

It used to be the Sun 'wot won it', but according to the BBC's Andrew Neil, the paper's political influence is seriously on the wane. Media commentator Roy Greenslade gives his thoughts on that in the Guardian., external

tweets, external: "Call me Ed", Miliband tells an audience member

Image source, Frances Perraudin

tweets:, external #HeartNews @Ed_Miliband asked about rail renationalisation. Says East Coast was better in public hands "gotta change the system and we will"

tweets, external: Nick Clegg doing mental health phone-in on LBC tonight: will be interesting 2 hear how reconciles concerns w/desire to relax skunk laws

tweets, external: Find out how government has helped people get on the housing ladder #BuildingBritain

Image source, UK Prime Minister

tweets:, external Should we send MPs and peers to East Yorkshire? Join me after 12 to hear more on #bbcdp

Douglas Fraser
Business/economy editor, Scotland

Gordon Brown is starting his final month as an MP with a thundering speech on the economy. It's the only type of speech he's ever done.

He's chosen to do so as Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy also sounds off on economic policy, and just before Nicola Sturgeon re-styles the Scottish government's economic strategy, with a strong flavour of equality running through its 'refreshed' priorities.

The first minister has, incidentally, made her predecessor's Council of Economic Advisers a bit more equal - of 10 members, four are women, seven professors, five non-economists, five based outside Scotland and as many people of Italian parentage as there are Nobel laureates - two of each.

More from Douglas Fraser, our business editor for Scotland, here.

tweets, external: Mili says there's "no bigger priority" for Labour than building more homes

tweets: Another pretty packed house for Miliband in Brighton...

Image source, James Tapsfield

tweets, external: Peter Kellner on why we like migrants but not immigration, external

Image source, Yougov

BBC News Channel

"It's young people who are most affected by this housing crisis," says Labour's shadow housing minister Emma Reynolds. She says her party would give local councils "more power, more flexibility to stop land banking - where developers sit on land - and to directly commission house building in their area". On the subject of Labour's 200,000 homes-a-year target, she adds: "We'd love to get there sooner than 2020 but we don't want to make promises we cant keep."

BBC News Channel

Conservative MP Col Bob Stewart says he agrees with fears raised by US Army Chief of Staff Gen Raymond Odierno on the impact of spending cuts on the UK's armed forces. Col Stewart says he thinks it is "barmy" to consider reducing defence spending when the UK faces the threats it does. He also alluded to "disturbing rumours" that the Army may see further cuts again soon.

General Odierno told the Daily Telegraph further cuts could see British units operating within US ranks, rather than divisions working alongside each other. Col Stewart said the idea was "certainly workable" but would be mean "loss of influence" for the UK.

tweets, external: Tonight on @BBCPanorama I'll be arguing that love is the biggest political idea of all

Our correspondent has also written a piece about the politics of love. You can read it here.

Some more on Gordon Brown's speech in Glasgow on North Sea oil fields later. BBC Scotland writes that Mr Brown will back the idea of public-private ownership deals, saying they could be the solution for those fields that are under threat of being mothballed. More here.

What is the solution to England's housing problem? Do you think any of the parties have the answer? Tweet us your thoughts @bbcpolitics, external or email politics@bbc.co.uk and we'll include some on Politics Live.

Norman Smith
BBC Assistant Political Editor

Affordable housing - or the lack of it - is such a big issue for so many people, and there is huge pressure on the parties to find some credible plans to build more houses.

David Cameron will say this afternoon that the Conservatives would build 200,000 starter homes by 2020. That will be paid for by waiving the fees which developers at the moment have to pay to local authorities and reducing the obligation to build social housing.

There is a political issue here, though, that all three big parties have to face. It's easy for politicians to say at a national level, 'Yes, let's build more houses,' but in the local areas, when it comes to their own constituencies, MPs tend to be much more resistant to development.

Who is the most powerful person in Doncaster? According to the Doncaster Free Press, it's not Labour leader Ed Miliband. The paper has published its "Power List" and concludes the local mayor, a council official and Louis Tomlinson from One Direction are more powerful in the South Yorkshire town than the man who could have the keys to 10 Downing Street come May. The Telegraph has more, external.

tweets:, external The PM about to learn bricklaying

Image source, Ben Sutcliffe

tweets, external: No need to worry, guys, we've fixed it for you.