BBC Newsnight
BBC Two, 22:30

Image source, Reuters

Monday's Newsnight featured a big development in the historical sex abuse story: that shortly after the late Liberal MP Cyril Smith's arrest in the 1980s the police investigation gathering evidence of child abuse was scrapped. The order to scrap the probe, made after Smith and others had been arrested, came from a senior officer whom the undercover team had never met before, a source told the programme. More here.

tweets:, external The biggest #housingcrisis in a generation is hitting hard millions in desperate need of a home to buy or rent at a price they can afford

BBC Radio 4 Today

Several thousand people are set to rally in London later to draw attention to Britain's housing crisis, in what its organisers say will be the largest event of its kind. Film director Ken Loach will be among them, saying his film, Cathy Come Home, about housing in the 1960s needs updating. On the Today programme, the National Housing Federation's chief executive, David Orr, says there are "huge problems" with housing in the UK. "Fundamentally we're not building enough new homes," he says. Prof Danny Dorling, of Oxford University, agrees - but believes Britain must do more with what we've already got. "The quality of the housing we're in is declining and people's housing situation is getting worse," he says. "However, just building won't be enough… we're using our existing stock more and more inefficiently."

tweets:, external Osborne wants to cut inheritance tax. Like JS Mill and most liberals, I believe in wealth taxes because they boost meritocracy

tweets:, external Increasing tax-free inheritances to £1m would create a something-for-nothing culture for offspring of the wealthiest. Bad idea

The Daily Telegraph

Image source, Thinkstock

Ahead of tomorrow's Budget, the Telegraph has a big preview: the chancellor will appeal to middle-class voters by promising a Conservative government will raise the threshold at which people pay inheritance tax to £1 million, it reports, external. George Osborne will use a "£6 billion boost to UK coffers" expected to be confirmed tomorrow to fund the measure - but this won't be forming the centrepiece of Wednesday's announcements because they were blocked by the Liberal Democrats. Instead, they'll be unveiled by the Tories shortly.

Norman Smith
BBC Assistant Political Editor

There's an interesting interview this morning in the Financial Times with the head of the National Audit Office. Sir Amyas Morse says those in Westminster are far too willing to press ahead with cuts without considering the consequences. He uses a striking phrase - 'If you're going to perform radical surgery, you need to know where the heart is.' Given that we know the cuts are going to get even deeper in the next parliament, it seems to me he is sounding a warning to the Westminster classes not to just focus on the numbers but also on the impact of their decisions on people's lives.

David Cameron's Good Morning Britain interview also saw him talking openly about childcare. The PM insisted he understands the challenges facing ordinary people despite having a live-in nanny. "It's very expensive, we're only able to do that because Samantha and me are both working," he says. Mr Cameron says when he sits down with working parents he finds they often tell him they want to work more hours and more days but can't because the childcare is too expensive. "It is often the issue people are most passionate about because it is the difference between the life they're living and the life they'd like to live," he adds.

Norman Smith
BBC Assistant Political Editor

Several papers mention the possibility of a change in inheritance tax. This isn't a Budget measure but a Tory offer. It wouldn't affect that many people and wouldn't cost that much, but it's seen as a symbolic move to galvanise the party and its traditional middle-class supporters.

Image source, Getty Images

Here are the actual numbers from today's announcement:

• As of 1 October 2015, the adult national minimum wage will increase from £6.50 to £6.70 per hour

• The national minimum wage for 18 to 20-year-olds will increase from £5.13 to £5.30 an hour

• The national minimum wage for 16 to 17-year-olds will increase from £3.79 to £3.87 per hour

The newspapers are awash with snippets and stories about what could be in tomorrow's Budget. "Giveaway" or "steady-as-she-goes" - take your pick from our review.

Image source, AFP

David Cameron has been opening up about being a working parent. Interviewed on Good Morning Britain, the prime minister says he "sometimes" feels "working parent guilt". He takes his children to school once a fortnight but "that slips sometimes". The same goes for parents evenings. He says his children are now old enough to realise that the job their father does is rather unusual. "I hope they're proud their daddy does an important job," Mr Cameron says. "They're keen that the blue team wins. They know daddy's in a tough time, they're getting behind me."

tweets:, external Update: Lab lead at 2 - Latest YouGov / The Sun results 16th Mar - Con 33%, Lab 35%, LD 7%, UKIP 13%, GRN 7%; APP -16 Read more., external

Moving on to today and Downing Street's big announcement is an increase in the national minimum wage. It's being hiked up by 3%, the largest real-terms increase since 2008, in what David Cameron and Nick Clegg are hailing as part of the coalition's "long-term economic plan" and work towards a "fairer society" respectively. Ministers are also rolling out an "apprenticeship voucher" which employers can use to get the government's contribution to apprenticeship funding.

Grant Shapps also felt the heat on Monday, being forced to admit that he "screwed up" when he suggested he never had a "second job" while an MP. Despite criticism from Labour, the prime minister's spokesman said David Cameron had full confidence in his party chairman.

The big headline from Monday was Ed Miliband's decision to rule out any coalition with the SNP in the event of a hung parliament. What he didn't do, though, drew just as many comments - and that was rule out any sort of pact or arrangement, such as confidence and supply, which would still allow him to become prime minister.

Hello and welcome to another day of coverage from the Politics Live team. We'll bring you all the action and reaction from the campaign trail and the wider world of Westminster. Here's how Monday panned out.