Here's a recap of some of the main political stories of the day:

• The Lib Dems have promised to help first-time buyers get on the property ladder through a "rent-to-own homes" scheme, if they are in power in May

• The top civil servant at the Treasury has warned staff he will not "hesitate to call in the police" if anyone leaks details from the Budget

• The head of Nato has said he expects Britain to "show leadership" over the alliance's defence spending target

• Ed Miliband joked that his wife would like him to spend more time in the kitchen amid much discussion about their domestic arrangements. It comes after he was filmed by the BBC with his wife Justine in an austere-looking kitchen in their London home

• A Labour government would press ahead with its planned energy price freeze with new legislation within months of taking office, Ed Miliband said.

That's it for tonight folks, we'll be back at 08:00 GMT on Sunday with all the news, reaction and analysis to big political stories of the day.

Image source, PA

Nigel Farage has rounded on the NHS claiming it almost killed him and accusing medics of "incompetence and negligence". The UKIP leader claimed he was "fobbed off by one NHS doctor to the next" who failed to diagnose his cancer and said "without private health care I would probably be dead". In highly personal memoirs, which are being serialised in The Daily Telegraph, he recounts details of his cancer diagnosis and the accidents that left him fearing for his life, revealing he could chose to be registered disabled because his body is badly damaged.

Tweets, external: The Spectator's @IsabelHardman "no one ever has a calm as morning as the politicians pretend there's always an escaped pet"

Tweets, external: Matthew Taylor: "We have group of politicians who at the moment are not at ease with themselves or their message"

tweets:, external Right, bedtime in Brum. Up at half five for @BBCBreakfast, external live reports on Ed Miliband's speech here tomorrow.

Tweets, external: Why Nigel Farage won't back Jeremy Clarkson, external

BBC Newsnight
BBC Two, 22:30

On the "two kitchens" issue of David Cameron and Ed Miliband, Isabel Hardman from The Spectator tells the programme the problem is "politicians are trying to be something they're not". She adds that she knows of no one that has such a calm experience in their kitchen as the Milibands seem to. Tim Stanley leader writer for the Daily Telegraph quips that it won't be too long before he sees a politician on the toilet. "That's the way we are going," he adds.

Image source, Guardian

Tweets:

Tweets, external: Find out why this man is so happy - on #newsnight tonight. @jamesclayton5 will reveal all

Image source, Newsnight

The Daily Telegraph

Mark Littlewood on the Daily Telegraph asks what do the Lib Dems even stand for anymore? He writes, external: "If they do find themselves in power after polling day, it is hard to be at all sure what on earth they would do with it."

Tweets, external: #kensingtonselection It is with great honour that I look forward to representing Kensington in this General Election.

Image source, Twitter

tweets:, external Now THIS is a cool car (no, I'm not auditioning for Top Gear host)

Image source, PA

Lord Ashdown addressed the Lib Dem party conference earlier. Here's a bit more of what he said: "We all know this is a survival election, but not just to maintain a powerful Liberal Democrat force in Parliament, also for something which is perhaps even more important."

He continued: "The decent, tolerant liberal Britain that is at once the quintessence of our national character and the very bedrock of our civilised society is now under threat as never before. Where there was a belief that we were better together, we now face ever more powerful voices which would break us apart - divide our society, break up our countries, smash our links with Europe, move us towards a broken nation which turns in to find enemies amongst ourselves - foreigners, immigrants, welfare scroungers, those with a different religion, fellow citizens we can use as scapegoats to blame for the challenges of a bewildering age."