The Daily Mail is reporting that Conservatives are worried, external about the possibility of a "super-union" if suggestions that Unite and the PCS union plan to merge are correct. "Half of all civil servants are members of the PCS, which is not currently politically affiliated. If the two unions merged, they would effectively be subsumed into a union which is Labour's biggest financial supporter," the paper says. It claims Conservatives sources want the unions to "come clean" and warns "nothing must be permitted to imperil the perceived impartiality of the civil service".

tweets:, external What a terrible indictment of our country> Child social care "inadequate or must improve in 75% of English councils"

Image source, EPA

Foreign secretary Philip Hammond is unlikely to single out Cage, the advocacy group for those "impacted by the War on Terror", in his remarks at the Royal United Services Institute later. But his speech attacking "apologists" for terrorists is likely to be linked with the organisation after comments by its research director Asim Qureshi, pictured above, last week. Mr Qureshi said intelligence officers' harassment of Mohammed "Jihadi John" Emwazi had contributed to making him feel he "didn't belong in the UK anymore". Mr Hammond's speech, which we've previewed, is set to begin at around 08:45.

The Times

Columnist Rachel Sylvester examines the likely impact of David Cameron's position on the TV debates in today's Times, external. She's not impressed, comparing it to Ed Miliband's bacon sandwich moment because refusing to engage with other parties "risks reinforcing the worst stereotype of the Tories as high-handed 'born to rule' grandees". This is what happens when the Tories adopt a "safety-first campaign", she adds.

BBC Radio 4 Today

Image source, Science Photo Library

Child social care in England is "inadequate" or "requires improvement" in three-quarters of the local authorities inspected by Ofsted, the watchdog has found. Debbie Jones, Ofsted's national director for social care, has been on the Today programme outlining the problem. "What's happening to the children is they're not getting to the services they need at the right time, at the right place," she says. "They're not being protected, not being taken into the care system when they need to be." Ms Jones says spending cuts are part of the problem. "Quality and cost are not absolutely related, but it's important to recognise that pressure, it's there."

What is at risk if the impasse at Stormont over welfare reform can't be resolved? Our colleagues from the Northern Ireland team explain..

Tighter laws to prevent violence against women are set to be approved by AMs after concessions by ministers. Opposition parties in Cardiff had threatened to reject the Violence Against Women Bill unless it forced schools to teach pupils about healthy relationships. Attempts to include a ban on smacking children as part of the bill were rejected last Tuesday. Read more here.

Image source, AFP/getty

Labour is unveiling its housing strategy later - and contrasting it with what shadow housing minister Emma Reynolds is set to call "five years of empty announcements" from the Conservatives. Ms Reynolds will use a speech to the Town and Country Planning Association to outline how a Labour government would "recapture the post-war spirit of building new homes". It features:

• Making tackling the housing crisis a national priority

• Opening up the planning system to help local communities authorise new developments

• Create new "housing growth areas" in which first-time buyers are given "priority access"

Immigration will be as big an issue in Scotland as it is in the rest of the UK - nearly. That's what a new YouGov/BBC poll suggests, anyhow; it found 64% of people in Scotland want immigration reduced or stopped completely, compared with 70% of people in Britain thinking the same thing in February 2014. The poll, conducted by YouGov between 4 and 6 March, asked 1,100 Scottish adults a range of questions on the subject of immigration. More here.

tweets:, external I can assure Mr Goss he shouldn't read anything into our leaders page moving to right & @timesletters to the left

Image source, Other

There's plenty of politics on today's front pages, which you can check out here. Here's some highlights:

• The Times front page, external features the story of a Labour candidate rejecting Tony Blair's £1,000 donation

• The Daily Mail, external splashes with the headline "Police lock up elderly in care crisis"

• The Independent/i, external newspaper lead with research by the Social Market Foundation showing the gap between Britain's richest and poorest is growing

• The Daily Telegraph, external continues its focus on Tory disquiet over defence spending

The Guardian

Image source, PA

Coming up at the end of the Commons day - which, to be honest, feels rather a long way off right now - Gordon Brown will be delivering what's set to be the final speech of a long and distinguished Commons career. His adjournment debate on "proposed reforms to trading relationships with Europe" is previewed in the Guardian., external The former PM warns that leaving the EU "is really the North Korean option - out in the cold with few friends, no influence, little new trade and even less new investment".

tweets:, external Update: Cons lead at 4 - Latest YouGov / The Sun results 9th Mar - Con 35%, Lab 31%, LD 8%, UKIP 14%, GRN 6%; APP -14 More here., external

tweets:, external clear the press have seen through @David_Cameron free schools garbage of yesterday. Shame telly didn't. What wheeze today Dave?

Image source, OFTV

Just a week after the security services faced criticism for the way they treated Mohammed Enwazi, the terrorist known as Jihadi John, Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond is set to deliver a speech later this morning on intelligence at the Royal United Services Institute. He's confronting the issue head on by criticising those who have spoken out against MI6. "We are absolutely clear; the responsibility for acts of terror rests with those who commit them," Mr Hammond is expected to say. "But a huge burden of responsibility also lies with those who act as apologists for them." Read the full story here.

Monday was a busy day. Here's a recap:

• Shadow chancellor Ed Balls said the Conservatives, if re-elected, would actually make a further £70bn of spending cuts, rather than the £30bn they have so far publicly acknowledged. He said it was all but inevitable that the NHS would bear the brunt

• David Cameron spoke of his desire to open 500 more free schools if he holds on to office

• He also said he would not be changing his mind about only appearing in one seven-way TV debate before the election campaign proper gets going

• The issue of defence spending was widely discussed, with neither Labour nor the Conservatives promising to stick to the 2% Nato target

• Nick Clegg and Vince Cable promised that Lib Dem plans, including ring-fencing the science budget, would help make the UK Europe's economic "powerhouse"

• The Northern Ireland assembly is facing "a very serious crisis", in the words of Sinn Féin's Martin McGuinness, after his party blocked a crucial welfare reform bill

Welcome to another day with the Politics Live team, taking you through all the political action and reaction this fine Tuesday. With 58 days to go until the election, Victoria King and Alex Stevenson will keep on top of everything from Today to Newsnight, so you won't miss a thing. Here's how Monday shook down.

As always, do send us your thoughts on the day's news, or the general election campaign as a whole. Email us at politics@bbc.co.uk or tweets us @bbcpolitics.