Politics Live: 13 March

1. Ed Miliband said a Labour government would press ahead with its planned energy price freeze with new legislation within months of taking office
2. Politicians attended service to mark the end of British involvement in the war in Afghanistan
3. The Lib Dems unveiled a new "rent-to-own" housing plan as their spring conference gets under way in Liverpool
4. Justice Secretary Chris Grayling ordered the purchase of a new generation of drugs scanners for prisons in England and Wales
5. Rolling political coverage, from Breakfast news and Today through to Newsnight
6. There are 55 days until the general election

Recap

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.

Scottish Daily Mail

Scottish Daily Mail

The Sun's front page

The Sun

Farage on NHS

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

Newsnight

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

Chris Mason, BBC political reporter

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

The Independent

Tweets: Why Nigel Farage won't back Jeremy Clarkson

Two kitchens revisited

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.

Tomorrow's Guardian front page

Guardian

Tweets:

Newsnight

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

Newsnight

'What would they do with it?'

The Daily Telegraph

Mark Littlewood on the Daily Telegraph asks what do the Lib Dems even stand for anymore? He writes: "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."

Tomorrow's Morning Star

Morning Star

Daily Telegraph front page

Telegraph

Victoria Borwick - New Conservative Kensington candidate

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

Tomorrow's Daily Mirror front page

Daily Mirror

The Times front page

The Times

Nigel Farage

Twitter

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

Tomorrow's FT front page

FT

'A bewildering age" - Ashdown

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."

Ealing Conservatives

Twitter

tweets: @edvaizey gives inspiring speech to @ECATories supporting @AngieBray2015 & a @Conservatives majority. Great turnout!

Jane Merrick, political editor, Independent on Sunday

tweets: Interesting that Victoria Borwick won on first round #kensington

Kensington's new MP?

In case you're wondering what on earth Joe Murphy is going on about, Lady Victoria Borwick, is a deputy mayor of London, a local councillor for Kensington and Chelsea and has just been selected to replace Sir Malcolm Rifkind as the Conservative party candidate for the parliamentary constituency of Kensington.

Joe Murphy, political editor, Evening Standard

tweets: Victoria Borwick wins Kensington

Lib Dem pact with SNP 'inconceivable'

Business Secretary Vince Cable has been talking extensively to the Guardian.

He's stated it would be "inconceivable" for the Liberal Democrats to agree to any post-election deal involving the Scottish National Party after the general election - which would also rule out any potential coalition with Labour given that the electoral maths suggest a coalition with the SNP is the most likely way Labour can form a government.

Mr Cable says it would be wrong to "get into tie-ups" with a party committed to the breakup of the UK.

Does Mr Cable harbour leadership ambitions? He tells the newspaper he still expects to play a major role in the next parliament, either in a future Lib Dem coalition or outside government.

And that's it for Any Questions for the evening.

Right to die

Next up. Following the death of Sir Terry Pratchett on Thursday how do the panel feel about giving individual's the right to die? Suzanne Evans says she doesn't feel they should. Her biggest concern is that there could be abuses of the system and that some people could look for financial gain. Tim Farron says it's "an enormously tricky issue" but that the "bit foggy" law that currently exists is "probably the least worst option".

Jeremy Clarkson

Getty Images

Ken Clark says those who thought that Jeremy Clarkson was "a quiet polite well-ordered chap must have had an awful fright".

Jeremy Clarkson

Next question: Is Jeremy Clarkson an asset or liability? Phil Redmond says there used to be a saying that "what happens on location stays on location". He says he's had to stop "two stars rolling around on the floor" in the past. He says he has dealt with all sorts of incidents as a producer. "For Jeremy Clarkson to turn up two hours late by helicopter... something has already gone wrong," he says.

Mr Redmond points out that making sure the catering is done is one of the most important elements of location shoots especially when your stars "are tired and grumpy". He suggests BBC director general Lord Hall "will sort things out."

Help for the dispossessed

Suzanne Evans says the last prime minister we had that came from a grammar school was John Major, She says more and more politicians come from privileged backgrounds. She says the lack of diversity in parliament is part of the problem with politics today. She adds most politicians have "done a PPE".

Help for the dispossessed

Next question: Is the government made up of warriors of the dispossessed or the opposite? Ken Clarke says if you're a one nation Tory like him then you believe in free market economics but want to spread the benefits of the wealth that is created by that.

He says former education secretary Michael Gove's reforms of the school system have been hugely beneficial to the dispossessed - a remark that draws boos from the crowd.

Tim Farron says such reforms have set education back and that his colleague David Laws "has been like a centre back man-marking Michael Gove".

Discrimination laws

Mr Clarke says most modern democracies have parties that engage in dog whistle politics. "In the US it's the Tea Party, In Greece its Syriza, in the UK we have UKIP," he says. He says such parties want to "stop the world and get off", they come up with simple solutions to complex problems, he adds. And the only good thing to say about UKIP is that they have helped rid the UK of "some of the nastier elements" such as the BNP.

Discrimination laws

Ken Clarke says the UK still needs equality laws because a "small minority of people" in the UK are bigoted, but at the same time the country needs sensible immigration laws. Mr Clarke says Mr Farage has no particular policies on most things. "He never expected to be in the public eye like this," Mr Clark says. Mr Farage is "talking off the top of his head most of the time", Mr Clarke adds. He also claims the majority of UKIP's support comes from former BNP supporters.

Discrimination laws

So for the first question. Are anti-discrimination laws no longer necessary? Tim Farron accuses UKIP leader Nigel Farage not of dog whistle politics but "fog horn politics". He says Mr Farage's views show that UKIP doesn't back an ethnically diverse society. UKIP's Ms Evans responds that when Mr Farage said "British" the media heard "white British" which was not the case. She points out his comments were from an interview where he was asked what "UKIP land" would look like.

Any Questions

Just a reminder that Any Questions is coming up in a few moments from the Wirral. We'll be bringing you the highlights as they happen. Former Lib Dem president Tim Farron, the creator of Grange Hill and Brookside, Phil Redmond, former Lord Chancellor Ken Clarke and Suzanne Evans, deputy chairman of UKIP, make up the panel tonight.

Paddy's parrot

Here's a snippet more from the opening rally of the Lib Dem spring conference... Paddy Ashdown insisted the party prospects were better than people imagined. At one stage he picked up a toy parrot and said: "This parrot is very much alive, and fighting." He said the parrot he was holding would be auctioned to raise funds at the end of conference.

Ross Hawkins - BBC political correspondent

Tweets: Some will win, some will lose, some will sing the blues - sings ominous choir at Lib Dem rally

More from Ashdown

Mr Ashdown continues by talking to party members about an "opportunity society" which is "free of class and free of discrimination... where every person has the chance to fulfil their potential".

He adds: "This is no longer just a dream, this is not a never-never land, for now we know how to get there. The Lib Dems are on track for success but we are not there yet."

He says the party's aim is to "mend the economy without breaking our society".

'Don't we know it'

Former Lib Dem leader Paddy Ashdown begins his speech at the conference by making reference to T.S Eliot's poem The Waste Land and its first line: "April is the cruellest month.."

"And don't we Lib Dems know it," he quips.

Ross Hawkins - BBC political correspondent

Tweets: On sale beside the queue to hear Clegg speak at Lib Dem conference. Hello...

Ross Hawkins

'Ignored for too long'

Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, Kirsty Williams, tells the party's conference: "We have been ignored and marginalised for too long." She says there is "every chance there will be another hung parliament after this general election" and there is "every chance that we will be able to deliver our policies in government".

Bus to call into South West

PA

Harriet Harman has confirmed to the Western Morning News that Labour's pink campaign bus which is spearheading the party's "woman-to-woman" drive for female voters will be making stops in Plymouth and Exeter before the end of the month. Ms Harman told the newspaper the campaign has so far been among the most "illuminating" she has been involved in.

Treasury talking points

Oh dear. Did someone have that Friday feeling over at the Treasury?

An email entitled DMP Qs found its way into the inbox of national newspaper and broadcast journalists tonight asking for lines Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg might take to be fact checked ahead of the Budget on Wednesday.

Needless to say the email wasn't intended for the press but for internal Treasury colleagues.

It took a somewhat pedestrian nine minutes for the civil servant to realise their mistake and seek to recall the email.

Sadly, though unsurprisingly, it would appear none of the journalists were going to let that happen in case there was some useful information contained within the message.

Then some, 20 minutes later a more senior Treasury civil servant emailed to inform journalists of the "error".

"Fortunately for us, but unfortunately for you, it contains no information on next week's Budget. Sorry! Thank you for your understanding," they wrote.

Spoilsports.

The PM's Chequers guests

Getty Images

The latest disclosure of whom David Cameron has wined and dined at his country retreat, Chequers, over the past year has revealed that the prime minister hosted stars of last year's Comic Relief to celebrate the success of the fundraising event.

Talent including Lenny Henry, David Walliams, Alex Jones, James Corden, Davina McCall and Jo Whiley, attended a dinner there. The details were revealed in the latest disclosure of who Mr Cameron has entertained at public expense, covering April to June last year.

Other guests at the bash in May included BBC director general Lord Hall, film director Richard Curtis with his partner Emma Freud, and Premier League boss Richard Scudamore.

Budget bonanza?

Getty Images

Much of the recent briefing from Whitehall in the last few weeks has suggested Chancellor George Osborne might have as much as £5bn to spend on a pre-election Budget giveaway on Wednesday thanks to the fall in the oil price, higher tax receipts and lower inflation.

Business Secretary Vince Cable tells the Guardian there's no room for a big giveaway from the government but appears to confirm the Treasury does have roughly that figure to play with and could use it for modest tax cuts or an increase in public spending.

But he says: "This budget, I think there is a common agreement across the coalition, cannot be some kind of pre-election bonanza because that would completely undermine credibility."

Two kitchens

BBC Radio 4

Owen Jones says the country faces much bigger problems than whether the leader of the opposition "can eat a bacon sandwich or has two kitchens" and that it is "absurd that the political debate in the UK has been debased to whether Ed Miliband has two kitchens".

"What we have is a constant obsession with the personality and character of Ed Miliband and a media narrative of [Mr Miliband] as a pathetic reek and loser."

Lib Dem Spring Conference

The Lib Dem's are holding their spring conference this weekend in Liverpool. It's the last chance to rally [and fire up] the troops ahead of a general election that most polls forecast will see the party lose a little over half their parliamentary seats. Their rally begins in 25 minutes according to the countdown clock on the website, which will be providing a live webcast. Let's see if whoever opens the conference can do a better job than Sarah Teather back in 2011.

Two kitchens

BBC Radio 4

Are the Milibands fair game having opened up their home to the press, asks Eddie Mair on PM? Owen Jones columnist for the Guardian and Rupert Myers, who has written about Ed Miliband's kitchen for the Daily Telegraph, discuss.

Mr Myers says today's kitchen-sink drama is not really about the kitchens "it's about the way in which the Ed Miliband presents himself to the public". He says the use of the smaller of the two kitchens in the Miliband household in the photo op suggests Mr Miliband is trying to present a false image to the public.

Any Questions

David Dimbleby is in the Wirral for Any Questions tonight with Lib Dem president Tim Farron, Ken Clarke and Phil Redmond. That's from 20:00 GMT. We'll bring you the highlights once things get underway.

New Statesman

Tweets: Ed "two kitchens" Miliband: if we don't stop accusing the left of hypocrisy, then no one will ever address inequality

Ross Hawkins - BBC political correspondent

Tweets: A home of your own without a deposit from the Lib Dems - but it won't come cheap

Election maths recap

BBC

How many seats do either Labour or the Conservatives need to win an overall majority at the election in 55 days time? 326 that's how many.

And neither of them is looking particularly likely to do it at the moment. BBC political correspondent Vicki Young - with the help of Election Forecast - has been looking at the various political permutations that could lead either David Cameron or Ed Miliband to the doors of Number 10 and frankly they're not pretty.

Right now the Tories look like winning the most seats with around 295 to Labour 267 seats. But will they be able to form a coalition with UKIP, the Lib Dems and the DUP?

Farage on HS2

Eleanor Garnier

Political correspondent

PA

The UKIP leader Nigel Farage has been told he hasn't got a "hope in hell" of stopping HS2 as he unveiled a poster on the issue in Buckinghamshire. On a visit to Wendover a former Conservative councillor told Mr Farage that HS2 is a "threat hanging over us for years and years and years and I'll be dead before that's resolved, I want it resolved now, what can you do about it today to solve it?"

Mr Farage responded saying, "the only solution is a political solution and if they fear they're going to lose parliamentary seats they will delay it". He added that "by taking votes off those than intend to build it and that's not just in Buckinghamshire, its other parts of the line too... seats like this have been very safe Tory seats, quite big majorities, if they really think they're on the verge of losing this constituency and perhaps one or two further up between now and the election you will get an announcement of some kind."

But the woman said UKIP "haven't got a hope in hell, you really don't have a hope".

NATO chief on defence spending

David Cameron has been urged by the head of NATO to show continued "leadership" within the alliance amid concerns that UK defence spending is set to drop below the NATO target. Following talks in Downing Street, NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg "commended" the UK as just one of four alliance members currently meeting the target to spend 2% of gross domestic product (GDP) on the military.

"We appreciate the leadership that the UK shows in the alliance, and we count on leadership also in the future," he said in a statement posted on the NATO website.

On Thursday MPs in the House or Commons passed a motion brought by Billericay Conservative MP John Baron by 37 votes to 3 calling on the government to maintain its level defence spending in the next parliament.

McIntosh 'will not run as independent'

BBC

Tory MP Anne McIntosh has confirmed she will not be running as an independent after being deselected by her local party. There had been speculation that Ms McIntosh could stand against the new candidate in Thirsk and Malton constituency in Yorkshire. But she confirmed today that she would instead be focusing "on returning a Conservative government".

"Many have asked me to stand locally in some capacity," she said. "I am honoured but my place is within the party and I would never put personal ambition ahead of the best interests of the country, which can only be served by another government led by David Cameron. I am deeply grateful to all my supporters, and bear no ill-will to those who engaged in a democratic process to change their parliamentary candidate."

Ms McIntosh had been in a long-running dispute with local officials about her political future.

Oxbridge unions 'exempted' from terror bans

This is an interesting little story from the Guardian. It reports the "elite bastions of the Oxford and Cambridge Unions" have been exempted from the government's counter-terror ban on extremist speakers from university campuses.

It says: "The two prestigious student societies have escaped from the home secretary, Theresa May's counter-terror crackdown on non-violent extremism in higher education after a strong lobby from senior Tory peers."

Home Office ministers confirmed to the newspaper that the two unions have been exempted from the ban.

Institute of Fiscal Studies

Tax changes introduced under the coalition government have increased the total amount paid by £16.4bn a year - the equivalent of around £255 for every person in the UK - according to a new report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies.

It says that by 2015/16, the coalition will have introduced tax rises totalling £64.3bn - including a £14bn hike in VAT and £5.2bn increase in National Insurance contributions. But that these will have been offset by reductions worth £48bn - including £8bn from raising the personal threshold for income tax, £5.9bn in cuts to corporation tax and £3.9bn from real-terms reductions in fuel duties.

High times - or not

PA

Just to clarify any possible misconceptions arising from an earlier debate about drugs (where various senior Scottish politicians admitted to a youthful flirtation with cannabis), the Scottish Labour party has said its leader Jim Murphy has never sniffed glue, or indeed taken any illicit substances.

"Just to be clear, Mr Murphy has never taken drugs," a spokesperson for Scottish Labour said. "The point he was making at the Glasgow University debate was that when he was growing up drugs weren't as widespread and that the harmful thing for many people back then was glue sniffing. For the record that's not something Mr Murphy has tried either."

Handover

Well, that's it from Nick Eardley and Tom Espiner for today.

• We've seen Lib Dems pledging rent-to-buy homes,
• The US rebuking the UK over support for a China-backed competitor to the World Bank,
• And Al Murray's skydive being cancelled, among other stories.

We leave you in the capable hands of Dominic Howell and Matt West. Cheerio.

Legislation clears Lords on NHS complaints

House of Lords

Parliament

Legislation aimed at speeding up the investigation of complaints made against the NHS has cleared a hurdle in the Lords unopposed. British Medical Association president Baroness Finlay of Llandaff said the Health Service Commissioner for England (Complaint Handling) Bill will make "small but important" changes to the way the health service ombudsman works. The bill requires the ombudsman to send a statement explaining the delay to complainants whose grievance has not been resolved within 12 months. It also commits the ombudsman to including in its annual report details of how long investigations of NHS complaints have taken to conclude and how many remain outstanding.

Nigel Farage - UKIP leader

@Nigel_Farage

Tweets: As you can see, I was very happy to officially declare #UKIP's Aylesbury campaign office open today! @philyerby

'Police to be called if budget details leaked'

James Landale

Deputy Political Editor, BBC News

The top civil servant at the Treasury has warned staff that he will not hesitate to call in the police if any of them leak details from the Budget, according to the BBC's deputy political editor James Landale, read his full article here. For those that don't know the budget is set to be announced on Wednesday 18 March.

Budget balls vote: George or Ed?

Daily Politics

Live on BBC Two

BBC

The last budget before the general election will be held on Wednesday and some polls show growing optimism about the economy and the government handling of it.

Watch the Daily Politics film where Adam Fleming took the mood box - an unscientific test with plastic balls - to Richmond-upon-Thames.

He asked what the public made of the choice between Chancellor George Osborne and the man who wants his job, Ed Balls.

Murphy applies to stand in Halifax

PA

A former Labour candidate who was caught up in a vote-rigging row two years ago has applied to be the party's candidate in the marginal seat of Halifax in West Yorkshire. Karie Murphy says she has been contacted by a "significant" number of party members in the constituency, where the sitting MP, Linda Riordan, is standing down. Ms Murphy backed out of standing for selection as Labour's candidate in Falkirk in 2013 over allegations that the Unite union tried to manipulate the selection process in her favour. The union and Ms Murphy were both subsequently cleared of any wrong-doing. The incident however led Labour leader Ed Miliband to announce reforms to the party's links with unions.

Miliband's kitchen sink drama

BBC

Ed Miliband has been talking about having two kitchens in his London home - which has caused a bit of a stir - saying he only uses the small one. Speaking to the Birmingham Mail, he said: "The house we bought had a kitchen downstairs when we bought it," he said. "And it is not the one we use. We use the small one upstairs."

Ross Hawkins, BBC political correspondent

tweets: That big Lib Dem housing announcement Clegg says Tories stopped - Boris is already doing it

Clegg on rent-to-own homes

BBC

Nick Clegg has said people trying to get on the first rung of the housing ladder are in an unfair situation: "We've got a terrible crisis, and it's so unfair - the number of young people who simply can't get their feet on the first rung of the property ladder. We have to do something big, and bold, and different. So what the Liberal Democrats are announcing today is a new rent-to-own scheme, so when you start renting, maybe new flats.. you also, every time you pay rent, you get a stake in your property."

Michael Crick, Channel 4 News political correspondent

tweets: Al Murray circus in Sandwich this afternoon suggests campaign no longer anti-Farage/Ukip. Beside jokes, all about getting people to vote

Clegg - 'Voters will be kind'

Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg has told the Evening Standard that history and the UK electorate will be on his party's side. "I think the history books will judge us very kindly," said Mr Clegg. "And I also happen to think the voters will judge us kindly on 7 May because we did the right thing for the country." In a recent BBC poll of polls, Labour had 34% of the vote, the Conservatives were on 33%, UKIP had 14%, while the Liberal Democrats remain fourth on 8%. The Greens had 6%.

Evening Standard front page

Evening Standard

UK Prime Minister

tweets: PM today attended #AfghanService @StPaulsLondon to mark 13 years of UK campaign in Afghanistan

Twitter

Second kitchens

BBC

Ed Miliband has said pictures of his family home broadcast on the BBC earlier this week were filmed in one of his two kitchens. The layout of the home in north London has caused quite a stir after Sarah Vine wrote in the Daily Mail that the room, above, was "bland, functional, humourless, cold and about as much fun to live in as a Communist era housing block in Minsk."

According to the English Housing Survey, the Labour leader's home is one of 146,000 in England with second kitchens. That's 0.7% of all homes in the country. One of them belongs to the prime minister. In 2011, the Daily Telegraph reported David Cameron had installed a second kitchen in his flat above Downing Street.

Debate 'faffing'

Getty Images

Nick Clegg has been talking about the TV debates again today. He has urged to Conservatives to "stop faffing" over the issue. The Lib Dem leader says: "Honestly my head is spinning with all the proposals and counter proposals, and the insults and the counter insults. I just wish we'd get on with it and I think all this ducking and weaving, particularly from the Conservatives, I think it's a bit arrogant really to say they can't be bothered to lower themselves to everyone else's level and have a proper debate. It's not David Cameron's debate, it's the British people's debates and we should get on with it. Stop faffing!"

'Taken by surprise'

BBC Radio 4

Reuters

Dr Pippa Malmgren is up next on Wato talking about US-UK relations. Asked why the US is annoyed at UK involvement in the new Chinese development bank, she says the broader context - the military disputes and China's forming of its own answer to Nato - make the US a bit "paranoid" over the expansion of Chinese reach. This is a further step in that expansion, she says.

China is saying the World Bank and the IMF are possibly not serving their interests and wants to create something of its own. "Nobody likes new competition", but it happens all the time, Dr Malmgren adds.

She concedes that slapping the UK on the wrists is unusual - it could be because this move took them by surprise, she says.

China row

BBC Radio 4

The World at One has been discussing the emerging row between the UK and US over Britain's effort to become a founding member of a Chinese-backed bank that could rival the likes of the World Bank.

Sir Christopher Hum, the former UK ambassador to China, says the country feels existing global financial institutions are Western created and dominated and now it is setting up institutions of its own. There is a good argument for saying it will compliment the existing financial architecture, he says.

China has a record of "some laxness" in how it allocates funding and the best way to deal with that is being on the inside of an organisation. There are potentially direct benefits for British industry from the UK's involvement, he concludes.

Housing idea 'proven concept'

Some praise for the Lib Dems' new housing initiative - from a social enterprise organisation which says it came up with the "rent-to-own" idea itself. The Gentoo Group says the Lib Dem approach is modelled on its Genie scheme, which launched in 2011 and is about to become available in London. Peter Walls, chief executive of Gentoo Group, says: "I am delighted that the Liberal Democrats have recognised our innovation and are aiming to make this scheme scalable across the UK. A now-proven concept, Genie has already unlocked homeownership for many that were excluded."

UK 'just a brigade'

BBC Radio 4

By the end, the UK was acting as a brigade under the wider US operation, Dr Mike Martin says. The US owned national policy and the UK had "absolutely no way" of changing policies.

UK in Helmand

BBC Radio 4

PA

Dr Mike Martin, who served for two years in Afghanistan, tells the World at One the choice of Helmand as the base for UK operations was "probably the worse choice we could have made" because of British action there in the 1800s. He says people there remembered British imperial actions and that stories had been passed down through the generations. The British, he argues, failed to redeem their reputation during the recent conflict.

100 Days

BBC Radio 4 Today

BBC

BBC business correspondent Simon Jack has been to the fishing town of Brixham in Devon as part of Today's 100 days series. The programme is visiting 100 seats around the UK in the run up to the election. Local residents in Brixham told him about a down turn as shops and bars on local high streets have closed down. You can listen to his package here.

High times

PA

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson and Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie have admitted trying cannabis in their youth, during a debate at Glasgow University's Queen Margaret Union.

Jim Murphy - the Scottish Labour leader - also said "sniffing glue out of crisp pokes" was a "working class thing to do" in the Glasgow estate where he grew up - but that he cannot remember if he tried it.

The leaders were commenting on research by the Institute for Social and Economic Research which said up to £900m a year could be raised through taxation of a regulated cannabis market, and were asked if they had tried the drug.

Ms Sturgeon said: "I'm actually on record as making an admission on this once, probably, possibly at this university although not at this union, but it made me awfully sick."

Ms Davidson said: "I went to Buckhaven High School, what do you think? I'm with Nicola, once or twice and it made me feel really sick."

Mr Rennie said: "Yes, in my youthful days."

Labour energy bill plans

Could a Labour government cap energy bills by this winter? Sebastian Chrispin has been taking a look.

He writes the proposal is "technically possible", but adds: "The timing is likely to be incredibly tight. Labour would need to pass primary legislation, likely to be followed by the drafting of sector specific rules by Ofgem. This process would need to factor in some time for consultation.

"Once rules are in place, Ofgem would have to conduct a review to determine a "fair price" for energy bills. And this all assumes that the government and Ofgem are able to form a clear idea of what has to be done.

"So there is a lot to do in a very short timescale. Further problems could arise if rules are passed quickly, making them more susceptible to legal challenge. The first day of winter is officially 22 December."

Labour and energy

Daily Politics

Live on BBC Two

More on Labour's energy policy. Asked on Daily Politics whether a future government could force Ofgem to cut prices, shadow minister Tom Greatrex says the watchdog would have the "duty and responsibility" to ensure that falls in wholesale prices are passed onto the consumer in full and he expected the regulator to do so.

Chinese bank 'row'

Downing Street has denied reports there has been a lack of consultation with the White House over the UK's decision to join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. A No 10 spokesman said it had been discussed at the G20, with senior officials and in the international network of finance ministers as well as with US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew . The spokesman also denied Britain had been "too passive" in its relations with China. "Our judgment is being a founder member of the bank is the best way of shaping the governance of the institution", he said, emphasising that the UK saw the bank as being "complimentary" to other institutions such as the World Bank. He added: "Sometimes we take a different approach to the US".

Lib Dem conference

European Photopress Agency

The Liberal Democrats are gathering for their spring conference in Liverpool today. They have been warned they face a "long, hard" election campaign by leader Nick Clegg. In a foreword to the conference agenda, Mr Clegg says: "The next few days are an opportunity for our party to come together and prepare ourselves for the long, hard campaign ahead." A number of high-profile Lib Dem MPs, including Mr Clegg, are at risk of defeat in the general election, according to some polls.

Portillo v Vine on This Week

BBC

Sarah Vine is still trending on twitter hours after her This Week appearance over newspaper ethics and the coverage of Justine Miliband in the Daily Mail. She was speaking to Michael Portillo, Alan Johnson and Andrew Neil about how the media covers politics and her article about the wife of the Labour leader. Ms Vine, the wife of Tory Chief Whip Michael Gove, said she had suffered abuse on Twitter after publication. Mr Portillo told her: "I don't want you to be more sympathetic, I want you to be less abusive" Watch the debate here.

Rent-to-own homes

PA

The Liberal Democrats have pledged to help thousands of first-time buyers take the first step on to the property ladder through the provision of "rent-to-own" homes if they are in government after the general election in May. Nick Clegg said the scheme would enable young people in England currently priced out of the housing market to build up a share in their home through monthly payments, equivalent to rent, without the need to save for a large deposit.

Budget preview

BBC

George Osborne is preparing to deliver the last budget of this Parliament on Wednesday. What should we be looking out for? Should we expect some sweeteners ahead of the election? BBC assistant political editor Norman Smith, economics editor Robert Peston and business editor Kamal Ahmed have been sharing their thoughts.

Afghanistan memorial service

BBC News Channel

BBC Sport

Labour leader Ed Miliband (left) and Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg talk at the Afghanistan commemoration ceremony.

Al Murray skydive

After his publicity skydive was cancelled because he weighed more than the requisite 14st 7lb (92kg) limit, 6ft 3in comic Al Murray said he was unaware how much he weighed. He was asked whether Friday the 13th was the best day to perform such a stunt. Murray, dressed in his trademark burgundy blazer, said: "I'm a true British man - I neither cry nor weigh myself on scales. Those are my values." Mr Murray is standing against candidates including UKIP leader Nigel Farage in South Thanet at the general election.

Al Murray skydive

Comedian Al Murray, in his guise as the Pub Landlord, is standing against UKIP leader Nigel Farage in the general election. His planned skydive at Headcorn Aerodrome near Ashford today was cancelled when he learned that he was heavier than the 14st 7lb (92kg) limit.

Murray blamed the metric scales he was weighed on and insisted the abandoned attempt now proved he was officially a "political heavyweight".

He told reporters: "Unfortunately today's stunt - and that was exactly what it was, a stunt to garner publicity it might generate - has had to be cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances. It seems that I am too heavy to jump. It's a double whammy. Not only am I another tragic victim of this country's obesity epidemic, but also I have been held back by health and safety gone mad."

More here.

Al Murray skydive

A bit more from Adam Fleming in Thanet:

"The comedian Al Murray has said he has been forced to cancel plans to parachute in to Thanet today as part of his campaign to be elected MP for the area.

"He claims that organisers of the sky-dive have told him he can't take part as he is over the official weight limit of 15 stone."

Julian Assange questioning

AFP

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has made a statement following news that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange could be questioned by Swedish authorities in London (he was to be extradited there for questioning over sex crime allegations before ensconcing himself in the Ecuadorian embassy in London in 2012): "Mr Assange is wanted in Sweden to answer allegations about serious sexual offences, and it is for the Swedish prosecutor to decide how and where that takes place. The UK remains willing to facilitate the Swedish prosecutor as necessary. However, whilst Mr Assange continues to be outside the reach of the UK authorities, voluntarily providing a statement or taking part in an interview are issues which should be agreed between the Swedish prosecutor, Mr Assange and the Ecuadorian embassy."

Picture: David Cameron delivers reading at Afghanistan service

BBC

The Kensington selection

Getty Images

Today the Kensington Conservatives will select a parliamentary candidate to replace Sir Malcolm Rifkind, who announced he was standing down from Parliament after the latest "cash-for-access" row. The Tory candidate will be one of three people - Charlotte Vere, Shaun Bailey, or Victoria Borwick. The winning candidate will be chosen at a special general meeting. We'll bring you the result later.

Al Murray skydive

Adam Fleming

The Daily Politics

BBC

The comedian Al Murray has cancelled a planned skydive as part of his general election campaign because he is over the safe weight limit of 15 stone. In a statement to the media he blamed an unreliable set of scales.

'Comprehensive strategy'

In his interview with Forces TV, Tony Blair also admitted he did not foresee how long a struggle against militants in Afghanistan would take when he first deployed troops in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. And he claimed the west still did not fully comprehend the scale of the problem.

He said: "I think we have not yet understood the depth of this problem, the scale of it, and the need for a comprehensive strategy to deal with it.

"It is not just Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.... It is happening day in and day out - there are thousands of people losing their lives every few weeks."

Afghanistan memorial service

BBC News Channel

BBC

Labour shadow minister for justice Dan Jarvis, who used to serve with the Parachute Regiment, says that debate about how much the UK actually managed to achieve in Afghanistan needs to be had, but not today. "I think very significant progress has been made in Afghanistan, it is a much better country than it was in 2001, it is more peaceful, more stable," he says. "Today really is about the fallen, it's about supporting the families, it's about us coming together as a country to recognise the sacrifice and the service of those people who didn't come back," he adds.

Boots on the ground

BBC

Some more from Tony Blair's interview with Forces TV. He says boots will be needed on the ground to defeat so-called Islamic State.

"They don't necessarily have to be our boots although it's important always to understand that our armed forces - the Americans and the British - are most capable, partly because of what we've gone through of really fighting these people," he said.

"I understand the political difficulty today as result of Afghanistan and Iraq, but I think we have also got to ask ourselves this question: 'Is that difficulty a result of the way that those campaigns are conducted, or is that difficulty inherent in the problem we are dealing with. I think it's inherent in the problem we are dealing with."

Pension annuities

The Daily Telegraph

Chancellor George Osborne is thinking about allowing six million pensioners who have annuities to be able to cash them in by including measures in next Wednesday's Budget, according to the Telegraph. From next month, people will be able to cash in their pension savings when they retire rather than purchase an annuity, which provides an annual income. But people who already have annuities are currently excluded from the scheme.

Blair on militants

BBC

Former prime minister Tony Blair has been speaking about the threat of militant Islamism ahead of today's memorial service to mark the end of UK involvement in the Afghan conflict. Mr Blair believes western governments still have not fully grasped the scale of the threat. In an interview with Forces TV, he says Britain and its allies needed to commit to a "long haul" struggle to defeat groups like the self-proclaimed Islamic State - if necessary intervening militarily against them.

Race discrimination row

The Guardian

Reuters

Over on the Guardian, Gaby Hinsliff takes a look at Nigel Farage's comments on race discrimination, which emerged yesterday. She reckons the comments are unlikely to hurt UKIP at the polls in its target seats. And she adds: "Were employers given a legal right to discriminate freely on grounds of nationality, the awkward thing is that we might discover some are already doing so; it's just that the nationality they want to favour isn't British." More here.

Young adult voter registration

Newsbeat

BBC

Half of young adults have not yet registered to vote in this year's general election, despite the looming 20 April registration deadline, a survey for Newsbeat has suggested. The electoral reform society suggests 800,000 people aged 18-21 will not be able to vote because they're not on the electoral roll.

i100

BBC

tweets: Daily Mail deeply angered by Ed Miliband's "Communist" kitchen

Osborne India minister meeting

EPA

George Osborne is meeting with India's finance minister Arun Jaitley (centre) this morning. He's been speaking about Mr Jaitley's visit, saying he wants to strengthen economic ties between the UK and India.

The chancellor says: "It's great to have the Indian finance minister here. He's part of Prime Minister Modi's government which is making huge changes in India and is incredibly exciting. It's of course a sign also of the strength of the British-India relationship, the cultural ties, the huge contribution that British Indians make to our culture and our economy here.

"It's also a sign that we want to strengthen the economic relationship between our two countries. We want Indian companies creating jobs in Britain and British companies creating jobs in India."

Jim Pickard, Financial Times chief political correspondent

tweets: It seems that Labour will rule out a "coalition" with SNP - but not rule out a looser arrangement eg confidence and supply.

Osborne on Labour's energy announcement

PA

George Osborne has responded to Labour's announcement it will press ahead with its planned energy price freeze with new legislation within months if elected in May. The chancellor says: "Labour's policy doesn't add up. The truth is that under this government energy bills have been falling. But if we'd adopted Ed Miliband's plan, energy bills would be higher for families and families would be worse off."

George Osborne, chancellor

tweets: Indian finance minister here to unveil historic Gandhi statue in parliament sq which William Hague and I announced in Delhi last summer

Samantha Cameron interview

The Sun

PA

Samantha Cameron has given an interview to The Sun this morning for Comic Relief. In it, the prime minister's wife says she wants her husband to serve another full term at 10 Downing Street. She tells the paper David Cameron deals with the stress of his job "really well". And she adds: "He has an amazing ability to keep calm, he's very level-headed. He tends to operate quite well under pressure." More here.

Labour energy policy

BBC News Channel

BBC

Labour's shadow energy secretary Caroline Flint doesn't accept her party's policy announcements may have been keeping consumer energy prices up. And points to two Ofgem reports which suggested consumer bills rise in line with wholesale costs, but don't fall to the same extent when wholesale prices go down. "The recent drops in wholesale costs, by on average 20%, has only resulted in the energy companies reducing their bills by between 1% to 5%, for gas only, and not electricity". She earlier said that wholesale costs make up around half of a consumer energy bill.

Lost voters?

BBC

Who are the UK's unregistered voters? Concerns have been raised that a change in the voter registration system could leave millions unable to take part in May's general election. Brian Wheeler has been out to meet those trying to make sure as many people as possible are registered to vote. You can read how we got on here.

Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank

A bit more on the story about US and UK relations over China. The US has raised questions over the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) bank's commitment to international standards on governance. Britain's effort to become a founding member of the Chinese-backed bank that could rival the likes of the World Bank has also prompted US concerns. The UK is the first big western economy to apply for membership of the AIIB, which will fund Asian energy, transport and infrastructure projects. Here's our story.

Better together?

The Scotsman

Reuters

In The Scotsman, Kenny Farquharson argues both the SNP and Tories appear to have forgotten the independence referendum result from last year. David Cameron, he writes, "clearly believes he can win the general election by caring much more about his party than he does about his country" - a contrast to what he said in the run up to the vote last September. And the nationalists "seem to have forgotten that Scots voted to be British last autumn," he adds. They have also failed to put together a coherent plan for new powers for Scotland, he says. More here.

Labour energy policy

BBC Radio 4 Today

PA

The "big six" energy firms account for about 92% of the UK's energy supply market

Although Labour wants to strengthen the hand of Ofgem by giving it powers to force energy companies to lower consumer bills in line with wholesale cost reductions, the party does not want to see the energy market renationalised, shadow energy secretary Caroline Flint has been saying today. "I'm not in the business of going from the big six [energy suppliers] to the big one," she said.

Labour energy policy

BBC Radio 4 Today

Labour wants to give Ofgem access to energy companies' books - commercially sensitive data - to allow oversight of consumer bills by the regulator, shadow energy secretary Caroline Flint said earlier. "The regulator will need to have access on a company-by-company basis on what is going on within those companies," she said.

Will he, won't he?

Getty Images

The Labour line over recent weeks has been to say the party does not want and is not preparing for a deal with the SNP. But key party figures have also refused to rule one out. Last night, Ed Miliband was asked about the prospect by young voters. He came closer to ruling it out than he had before. Sort of.

The Labour leader said at first: "I don't want a political coalition with them, I don't need a coalition with them, I'm not planning for a coalition with them... It's nonsense I promise you."

When pressed further by an audience member he said: "I absolutely am saying it's nonsense, I'm not gonna, I mean, you know."

All clear, then.

Afghanistan memorial

The BBC will be broadcasting the memorial service to commemorate the UK withdrawal from Afghanistan at St Paul's Cathedral from 10.30 on BBC1. The service will begin at 11.00.

Afghanistan service

BBC Radio 4 Today

PA

Today is discussing the Afghanistan conflict with the parents of two men who lost their lives in the conflict. Sarah Adams' son Private James Prosser was killed in Afghanistan in 2009 and Duane Ashworth's son, also James, was killed in 2012.

Ms Adams says it gets harder to deal with his loss over time - its easy for the government to say they are commemorating the end, she says, but "it's never the end for us". Her son believed in what he was doing, and she felt she had to support him, Ms Adams says. But the campaign there "doesn't seem to have achieved what they set out to do".

Mr Ashworth says he believes Afghanistan is in a better place than it was in 2001. It's up to local troops now to make sure the work our troops have done continues, he adds.

Labour and SNP

BBC Radio 4 Today

Getty Images

Shadow energy secretary Caroline Flint has reiterated that Labour has no plans to go into coalition with the SNP. She was asked about Alan Johnson's view that a deal should be ruled out and said her party is "not discussing" a possible pact. "We don't need, we don't want, and we're not planning for a coalition with the SNP," she said.

Labour and energy prices

BBC Radio 4 Today

Getty Images

Labour wants to give Ofgem the power to force energy companies to lower prices in line with falls in wholesale energy costs, Labour shadow energy secretary Caroline Flint said. Wholesale prices, which make up around half of a consumer bill, have fallen on average 20% over the past fifteen months, but bills have not fallen to the same extent, she said. "It's fair to say that something isn't right here," she added.

Johnson: Rule out SNP deal

PA

Former Labour home secretary Alan Johnson has said Labour should rule out a post-election deal with the SNP.

Speaking on This Week last night, Mr Johnson said it was the "right thing to do" because Labour cannot be dependant on the support of a party that wants to unilaterally get rid of the UK's nuclear weapons.

TSB sale

The Daily Telegraph

TSB

Successive government intervention in how banks are run has made "an utter shambles" of the UK banking industry, The Daily Telegraph's assistant editor Jeremy Warner opines. He says TSB being sold to Spanish bank Sabadell was "a suitably humiliating end for Britain's poor little Trustee Savings Bank".

Philip Collins on Labour

In The Times today, leader writer Philip Collins says fewer and fewer Labour MPs believe their party will win the election. He argues the party will have to look beyond leader Ed Miliband to explain defeat, if it does indeed materialise. Labour, he writes, is in a "cul-de-sac intellectually". More here.

DUP coalition terms

Could the Democratic Unionist Party end up in coalition with Labour? Last night, DUP leader Nigel Dodds was setting out his terms to Newsnight. He said the would have to offer a European referendum if it wanted DUP support. More here from Allegra Stratton.

China row

PA

Could the relationship between the US and the UK be damaged over China? The White House has accused the UK of a "constant accommodation" of China after the British government decided to join a new China-led financial institution that could become a rival to the World Bank.

Lionel Barber - the FT's editor - says the bank could increase China's "sphere of influence". The US, he adds. had hoped allies would "hang back" and see how the new bank developed. The latest row comes amidst irritation in the Obama administration over some stances the coalition has taken - defence spending being another - he says.

Mr Barber adds that George Osborne has been a leading figure in trying to rebuild relationships with the Chinese - the Treasury believes there is huge opportunity in the country.

Labour energy policy

BBC Radio 4 Today

PA

Labour is looking to "put a bit of oomph" behind their pledge to freeze energy bills, BBC assistant political editor Norman Smith says. Labour is setting a "hugely ambitious" target to give energy regulator Ofgem the power to lower bills by the winter after the election, he says. The policy was "a game changer" when it was first announced, - but now it is less so, he adds.

Front pages

various

Yesterday's surveillance report from the intelligence and security committee, Labour's pledge on energy prices and a story about George Osborne considering allowing pensioners to cash in annuities feature on the newspaper front pages this morning. Andy McFarlane has more in the newspaper review.

Afghanistan service

AP

Later, services to mark the end of British involvement in the Afghanistan conflict will be held. Prime Minister David Cameron will join members of the royal family for a service at St Paul's Cathedral. The Afghan president Ashraf Ghani has marked the occasion by paying tribute to 453 troops who died during the conflict, saying they had "paid the ultimate sacrifice to enable us to live in freedom, in hope for peace, prosperity and dignity". More here.

Northern Ireland welfare reform

BBC Radio 4 Today

BBC

Democratic Unionist Party MP Jeffrey Donaldson said Sinn Fein's last minute blocking of Northern Ireland welfare reform legislation "came as a real bolt from the blue". "We thought we had an agreement," he says, because the legislation was in its final stages. He speculated that Sinn Fein may have come under internal pressure to block the laws.

Prison drugs

BBC Radio 4 Today

The cost of new drugs scanners equipment for prisons could total £15m, BBC home affairs correspondent Danny Shaw tells the Today programme. Each body scanner will cost at least £80,000. The advantage of the scanners is that they can detect very small amounts of proscribed substances, he adds.

Northern Ireland deadlock

Getty Images

Business leaders in Northern Ireland are urging politicians to resolve the political deadlock over welfare at Stormont. The future of devolved government in Northern Ireland has been thrown into question after Sinn Féin withdrew support for welfare reform legislation. Writing to the first and deputy first ministers, four leading business organisations say the deadlock has "placed us at another crossroads in Northern Ireland's progress towards a better future for all". More here.

Prison drugs

BBC Radio 4 Today

AFP/Getty Images

BBC home affairs correspondent Danny Shaw tells the Today programme that the UK will get US-style body scanners to try to tackle the problem of drugs being smuggled into prisons. "We are going to get body scanners that use a low dosage radiation beam" to try to detect drugs and weapons, he says.

Prison drugs

Thinkstock

Gang culture is a problem in prisons

New drugs scanners are to be bought for prisons in England and Wales. Justice secretary Chris Grayling is said to have made the decision due to a continuing problem with drugs - both illegal substances and so-called 'legal highs' - being brought into jails.

Defence spending

PA

The row over whether the UK should commit to spending 2% of GDP on defence over the course of the next Parliament is likely to rumble on. Last night, a 2% pledge was approved by MPs, although the vote is not binding on the government. Prime Minister David Cameron is under pressure from some Conservatives and former senior military staff over the target.

Energy bills

BBC

Labour has pledged it will give regulator Ofgem the power to act on consumer energy bills by the winter following the election. Ed Miliband is to say later that the move would be "one of the first bills" introduced by a Labour government. The freeze policy was first announced in 2013. But the Conservatives have said the proposal was "in chaos" as bills have already started to fall.

Signing in

Good morning from Westminster and welcome to another day of coverage from the Politics Live team. We'll be across everything from the Today programme and Breakfast news to Newsnight later.