tweets:, external "Let's criminalize politicians who make resource decisions" Oh, that is different, politicians would say, it is more complicated than that.

Danny Alexander, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, has been talking with the Western Morning News, external' about the Liberal Democrats' prospects in the south-west. Many commentators are focused on the Lib Dems' efforts to limit the number of seats they lose on 7 May, but Mr Alexander thinks the party might be able to make gains. "We are not complacent, but in the South West we have an incredibly strong story to tell," he said. "I think that will see us through, continuing the representation we have. And there are a few places where I think we will sneak a surprise."

Image source, General Boles

It was only a matter of time before the latest Conservative election poster was hijacked... hopefully this one hasn't made you choke on your cornflakes. Some scamp has inserted an Ed Balls-Miley Cyrus chimera into the image with disturbing results. The link, of course, being that Ms Cyrus swung about on her very own wrecking ball in the video for her song of the same name.

The Daily Telegraph

Prof Jay's concerns are reflected in a Telegraph story, external today which says local authorities are expending "considerable intellectual effort" on finding ways to avoid probes into their failures to protect children. The government's Serious Case Review Panel reported: "There is clearly a deep reluctance in some instances to conduct SCRs and the panel has on occasions found the logic tortuous." Children's Minister Edward Timpson, who received the panel's report, said he found its findings "troubling". It comes as David Cameron holds a summit in Downing Street outlining new measures to address the issue, which you can read more about here.

tweets:, external Theresa May, arriving at Home Office in 2010, advised by perm sec to identify 2 key issues. "No. I'm going to focus on everything" @thetimes

The Daily Telegraph

Image source, Reuters

The SNP's polling surge in Scotland, which is posing a serious challenge to Labour's dominant position north of the border, has some troubling implications for the smaller parties - particularly the Scottish Conservatives. Alan Cochrane, writing for the Telegraph, external, suggests many staunch Unionists may be persuaded to vote tactically to stop Nicola Sturgeon's party from making sweeping gains: "Something is stirring in the Scottish political undergrowth and the big parties will have to come up with something better to say to the voters that answers their biggest fear, namely that if they don't vote tactically against the SNP, then they'll be faced by a avalanche of nationalist MPs."

BBC Radio 4 Today

Prof Alexis Jay - whose report looking found at least 1,400 young people in Rotherham had been abused - says a culture change across the country is essential. "There are issues around child sexual exploitation in virtually every community. There's a great deal of underreporting, as we know," she tells the Today programme. What's needed, Prof Jay argues, is an end to the "questionable attitudes" she found in Rotherham - including social workers describing the children as having made 'lifestyle choices'.

But last month's report from Louise Casey, which found that Rotherham Council is still not fit for purpose, suggests the problem remains. "The most disappointing aspect was that having described the culture of denial that continued over 16 years, regrettably Ms Casey reported that was continuing even after the publication of my report," Prof Jay says. She agreed that was an "appalling" state of affairs.

tweets:, external Thanks so much Theresa May for keeping the migration promise so you can break it again if re-elected. We are all most grateful.

tweets:, external Child sex exploitation is going on in "virtually every community" - Alexis Jay @bbcr4today

BBC Radio 4

Prof Alexis Jay, who investigated child sexual abuse in Rotherham, says of David Cameron's plans to punish those who ignore evidence of wrongdoing: "It's not good enough to say, 'I knew nothing.'"

The Times

Image source, Getty Images

Today's Times' splash covers Home Secretary Theresa May's pledge to hang on to the beleaguered bid to cut net migration to the tens of thousands. "I think we will keep the target," she says. "It is important because it is about not just dealing with those coming into the system but also about making sure that those people who shouldn't live here actually leave." The precise words of the pledge in the manifesto haven't been decided yet, Mrs May says, but they will be there - in spite of the fact Downing Street isn't going to go ahead with its plans to block migrants from some European countries.

All the parties are preoccupied by how much media coverage they're getting, so they'll all be paying attention to this Total Politics blog, external looking at analysis from the Media Standards Trust of online political stories from mainstream news providers in recent weeks. Of 1,691 articles featuring the parties set to appear in the seven main parties, here's how many each party appeared in during 16-22 February:

• Conservatives - 73%

• Labour - 56%

• Liberal Democrats - 17%

• UKIP - 17%

• SNP - 8.4%

• Greens - 5%

• Plaid Cymru - less than 1%

The blog's authors, Stephen Cushion and Gordon Neil Ramsay, conclude: "Far from the 2015 general campaign turning into a seven-horse race, the longstanding two-party dominance of Conservative and Labour remains firmly intact."

Image source, Getty Images

Labour's plan to give the vote to 16 and 17-year-olds might help the party win power, YouGov president Peter Kellner has suggested. He's written an article for the Independent, external suggesting this reform and online voting would, together, force the parties to pay more attention to young voters. More students voting could only help Labour given the party's policy of cutting the tuition fees cap to £6,000, Mr Kellner thinks. "Extra votes from them in key marginal seats and Ed Miliband's chances of toppling David Cameron would improve significantly," he adds.

tweets:, external I do agree with #Bercow: Unless there r major works on the Palace of Westminster, it will become unusable. The Palace + Tower Bridge #icons

Norman Smith
BBC Assistant Political Editor

Labour say the government's planned changes to the law around child sex exploitation - including possible five-year jail sentences for public officials who fail to act on suspicions of abuse - do not go far enough.

Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper has called on the government to introduce a specific new offence of child exploitation. Labour are also calling for a new legal duty of "mandatory reporting" which would impose a legal duty to report child abuse. And the party wants compulsory sex and relationship classes in schools.

They have also criticised the failure to tackle the growth in online child abuse. Up to 30,000 people are suspected of accessing online abuse, according to the National Crime Agency, but only 1,000 have been reported. Ms Cooper said: "We need a radical overhaul of our child protection system, but I fear this is a missed opportunity to get all the reforms we need."

tweets:, external Labour attack PM's child exploitation summit as "missed opportunity"

BBC Breakfast

Anne Longfield, who since Sunday is the new Children's Commissioner for England, says today's child sexual exploitation plans are important because a "culture of denial" has seen troubled young girls "ignored" needs to change. She's told BBC Breakfast the government's move to make CSE a crime of 'national priority' will send a clear message - but adds national strategies must filter down to those on the ground like social workers, the police and nurses in schools. "We want to see all local authorities and their partners making this the number one priority," she urges. "The firm message here is that professionals must respond."

BBC Radio 4

David Lammy's claim that the police are neglecting shoplifting and burglary was challenged by Matt Jukes, the Association of Chief Police Officers' national lead on acquisitive crime, on the Today programme. "We've been working hard to make property harder to steal and make stolen property harder to sell," he replies, citing the example of smart phones. Changing the technology, building in kill switches and tackling the market for stolen phones has resulted in 5,000 fewer victims in London alone last year, he says. But Mr Lammy, whose report on the issue for Policy Exchange is published today, external, insists the problem is bigger than it appears. "Neighbourhood policing across Britain has virtually collapsed, that's why there's so much under-reporting," he says.

tweets: , externalToday's Guardian seat projection, external - Tories 275, Lab 271, SNP 51, LDs 27, Ukip 4, Greens 1

BBC Radio 4 Today

Labour's David Lammy has claimed theft, burglary and shoplifting have been "de facto decriminalised". Interviewed on the Today programme after he penned a report on the topic for the think-tank Policy Exchange, the Tottenham MP said people had "stopped bothering going to the police" because of a belief they don't have the resources to tackle it. Ministers say crime has fallen by 20% under the coalition, but Mr Lammy said shoplifting was up by 5% last year. Our story's available here.