David Cameron, being interviewed by BuzzFeed, external, says Grant Shapps made a mistake saying he had no second job as an MP. But he says he has put that right now and he is going a good job running the Tory campaign.

The Daily Telegraph

The Daily Telegraph reports, external that what it calls David Cameron's "chaterama" with Buzzfeed, external tonight is "nothing new".

The plans are due to come in in 2016. More details here.

Plain packaging for cigarettes has been given the go-ahead after peers approved the plans without a vote.

House of Lords
Parliament

Back in the Lords, the Liberal Democrat, Baroness Tyler of Enfield, brushed off criticism of the plans to bring in plain packaging for cigarettes and said it was time to listen to the majority of Britons. But independent crossbencher Viscount Falkland warned of "unintended consequences" from the change and asked: "How can you interfere with the marketing and sales of a legal product?"

He added: "If you don't like smoking, ban it. Don't try to pretend this is going to deal with it."

tweets, external: Just waiting for David Cameron to hang out in this loft with Internet community leader @jimwaterson

Image source, Twitter

A recap on another big story today: The Independent Police Complaints Commission is examining claims Scotland Yard covered up child sex offences dating back to the 1970s - because they involved politicians and police officers. The police watchdog is looking at 14 accusations of what it calls "historic high level corruption of the most serious nature".

Although the commission will manage the investigation, it will be carried out by the Met's own officers. Jon Silverman - a professor of media and criminal justice at the University of Bedfordshire - says there could still be an independent inquiry.

David Cameron is going to be interviewed by BuzzFeed from 1830 GMT. The website is streaming the event here, external. We'll bring you some updates too.

tweets:, external Live betting odds: CON: 276 (-26) LAB: 275 (+16) SNP: 41 (+35) LD: 31 (-25) UKIP: 3 (+1)

John Curtice, professor of politics at the University of Strathclyde, says Ed Miliband has not ruled out, explicitly, an arrangement with the SNP short of a coalition. The truth, he says, is that the election race is looking close. The SNP could gain perhaps 45 seats in Scotland. The only way of forming a government after 7 May for Labour could be some sort of a deal with the SNP.

After the election, the party leader which can command confidence in the Commons will be prime minister - and that won't necessarily be the leader of the biggest party - he adds.

tweets:, external LD Mike Moore says any loose arrangement rather than coalition between Lab/SNP could damage stable govt in the UK

What does the electorate think of the prospect of the SNP playing a role in a future UK government? The Guardian is carrying results of a poll which suggests many are none too enthused. According to their UK-wide figures, 43% of voters say they would be "worried about a separatist party deciding who runs the UK". Just 14% feel enthusiastic about "a different party shaking things up at Westminster". More here, external.

Image source, Electoral Commission

The Electoral Commission says it has turned to "behavioural economics" to try to persuade people to register to vote at the general election. An advert , externalshows people being stopped from doing things they thought they were able to do, like walking through a park and pouring ketchup on their food. The advert, partly filmed with hidden cameras, is to highlight the 20 April deadline to register to vote.

BBC Scotland political editor Brian Taylor has been looking at the reasons for Ed Miliband ruling out a formal coalition with the SNP after 7 May. He writes :"The Conservatives have been making apparent strides with their campaign to posit circumstances where Mr Miliband would be reliant upon SNP support to remain in power... Voters in England, it would appear, were disquieted by such a prospect in sufficient numbers to oblige Mr Miliband to issue a statement." More on his blog.

tweets:, external Halifax MP Linda Riordan has written to Lab general secretary alleging "underhand and anti-democratic manipulation" in Halifax selection

House of Lords
Parliament

Over in the Lords, the Conservative peer Lord Naseby, who says he's never smoked and has no financial investment in the tobacco industry, argues that the facts on standardised packaging "are not as the frontbench are claiming".

Smoking amongst young people in Australia, which has had standardised packaging since 2012, is currently at a seven-year high, he said.

Image source, PA

Karie Murphy has been told she's not on a party shortlist of candidates for the Halifax seat in West Yorkshire. Ms Murphy, above, decided not to stand 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. Now, she says she's not on a shortlist drawn up by a Labour panel for Halifax.

She says: "I am disappointed that the Labour Party advised the media of my exclusion from the selection list more than three hours before they informed me. It is a credit that the shortlist is made up of so many local woman, this is a new and welcome precedent for the Labour Party but it's regrettable that it wasn't applied more rigorously in the past."

Only 13% of 11- to 16-year-olds say they would cast their ballot at a general election if they were given the vote, according to a survey , externalby Ipsos Mori for the National Children's Bureau. The two organisations are highlighting more findings from research first published last year. They say other polls suggest 28% of 18-24 year-olds would vote, compared to 60% of middle-aged people.

Image source, PA

Alex Massie, over on The Spectator, has been taking a look at Nicola Sturgeon's speech in London earlier. He writes her suggestion people in England should consider backing the Greens makes a Labour government less likely, despite the SNP leader saying the SNP could help keep the Conservatives out of Downing Street. And he adds: "On the one hand the SNP stress the importance of kicking the Tories out of power; on the other they say that Labour and the Tories are just the same. They assume - correctly, I think - that few people will be exercised by the logical inconsistencies in this approach." More here, external.

Lord Ashcroft, the Conservative peer and pollster, writes on Conservative Home , externalwebsite that his latest survey shows "a lower vote share for both main parties".