Earlier Labour's shadow transport secretary Michael Dugher was asked about the current Jeremy Clarkson situation - he, is of course, suspended from the BBC pending an investigation into a "fracas" with a producer. Speaking at the LabourList pre-election conference, he said: 'When you look at it, there's a consistent pattern of pretty obnoxious, racist behaviour." He added: "The idea he should be on a publicly funded broadcaster is for the stone age."

After Vince Cable attacked George Osborne's "cynical" inheritance tax plans earlier, the party has produced more anti-Tory lines. "Tories just care about the best off and this says a lot about their priorities," a spokesman says. "And, while we would ask the best off to pay a little more in tax to help finish the job of balancing the books, the Tories would do it solely on the backs of the poor. Our tax priority, is, was and will be, income tax cuts for millions of low and middle earners."

House of Commons
Parliament

During justice questions, shadow justice minister Dan Jarvis says the case of Geraldine and Peter McGinty shows the need for a "victim's law" which Labour is proposing. The parents of Colin McGinty, who died in 2001, overheard a judge saying victim statements made "no difference" to parole decisions. Justice Secretary Chris Grayling says he has met the family and the Parole Board has "apologised to them".

Daily and Sunday Politics

Business minister Matt Hancock engages in some prolonged badgering of Toby Perkins at the end of their debate. "Do you want an absolute surplus?" Mr Hancock repeatedly asks the shadow Labour minister. By the end of the next parliament, Mr Perkins repeatedly replies.

Daily and Sunday Politics

Nigel Farage isn't impressed by the Conservatives' record in government on dealing with the deficit. "George Osborne will not stand up tomorrow and apologise and say I've doubled the national debt," he says. "What I'd like to see is, are there actually going to be some credible plans to cut the size of the deficit?" He says the economy may be recovering, "but it's all been fuelled by massive deficit financing".

Daily and Sunday Politics

"I would get rid of inheritance tax," Nigel Farage declares. In areas like London, he adds, "this would be the only way anybody could get on the property ladder."

Daily and Sunday Politics

Business Minister Matt Hancock, asked about inheritance tax after being pressed on the News Channel earlier, again says that the Conservatives had proposed changing it in the last manifesto and that an increase in the threshold hadn't happened because it had been vetoed by the Liberal Democrats. "I don't know anything about these leaks that are in the papers," he admits.

Daily and Sunday Politics

"What I want to see is the minimum wage being the exception and not the rule," Nigel Farage adds. "You do that by stopping this unmitigated flow [of migrants]." Labour's Toby Perkins replies by saying that in his Chesterfield constituency there wouldn't be a single hotel open without migrant labour. "The simplistic solutions that UKIP propose are not backed by people who actually understand how our economy works," Mr Perkins adds.

Daily and Sunday Politics

"What is the point of an economic recovery?" Matt Hancock continues. "We want to see the economy recover so that we see pay go up at all levels." UKIP leader Nigel Farage says "we're missing the big picture", which he claims is that Labour failed to foresee that the "mass of unskilled labour" arriving in Britain resulted in the minimum wage becoming the "maximum wage". He doesn't think putting it up by 20p makes much difference. Mr Farage says he wouldn't scrap the minimum wage though.

Daily and Sunday Politics

Business minister Matt Hancock, now on the Daily Politics, says the national minimum wage increase is "a big step forward - the biggest rise in minimum wage since before the crash". He says it can only happen "because we've got a clear plan for making sure we've got a strong and robust recovery". But his Labour shadow Toby Perkins accuses the Tories of not believing in the national minimum wage "in the same way they don't believe in the National Health Service".

tweets:, external It's looking increasingly grim for Esther McVey in Wirral West @LordAshcroft poll has Labour lead up 5 from 1.

tweets:, external Great #Ashcroft polls for Labour. Doing v well in tough Tory-Labour English marginals. Could definitely still be largest party.

Daily and Sunday Politics

"The problem with the chancellor is he gives with one hand and takes away with the other," TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady says. "We've had real cuts to in-work benefits, hikes to VAT, cuts to services that are particularly important to ordinary working people. This is not as good news as the chancellor would like to have us believe."

Jonathan Isaby, of the Taxpayers' Alliance, warns the parties against getting into a "bidding war" over the issue. "Frances rightly talks about people giving and taking. Let's remember George Osborne still takes a lot of the money from the lowest paid in tax and then gives it back to them" via the benefits system. "We think it would be far more sensible to take less money from them in the first place."

tweets:, external #Ashcroft: Chester - LAB +11; Croydon C - LAB +4; Halesowen - LAB +2; Nuneaton - LAB +5; Itchen - LAB +8; Swindon S - tie; Wirral W - LAB +5; Worcester - CON +6

Daily and Sunday Politics

The UKIP leader tells the Daily Politics he was initially sceptical about the child abuse scandal. "I started off being a bit sceptical about all the gossip when I first heard it but it does appear something pretty awful happened in the police force… it almost seemed to me too incredible to be true." Mr Farage says some kind of inquiry is needed to get to the bottom of things, but he wonders if perhaps it's all just too long ago.

tweets:, external Lord Ashcroft's latest marginals polling finds 5% CON to LAB swings in seats. Not good for Tories. His Dec batch had 3.5% swing

Daily and Sunday Politics

Nigel Farage is the opening guest on today's Daily Politics, which is now on BBC2. In fact, he'll be in the studio for the whole of the programme. If you're reading this on a desktop you can watch it by clicking on the live coverage tab above.

tweets:, external Labour steps up pressure on Grant Shapps. MP Graham Jones has written to Parl Standards Cssner: "There must now be a full investigation"

Here's a bit more on the Homes For Britain rally. The event, which is taking place from 14:00 at Westminster Central Hall, will see 2,500 people come together for what's being called 'the biggest housing rally ever'. Political speakers include Nigel Farage, Hilary Benn, Grant Shapps, Caroline Lucas and Ed Davey. "This rally will bring together every part of the housing world - from private developers to homelessness campaigners, from social housing providers to private landlords," its organisers say. There's more information on their website, external.

House of Commons
Parliament

Shadow justice minister Andy Slaughter raises the government's cuts to the legal aid budget, which MPs on the justice committee have been very critical of. He says the "abject failure" documented in their recent report is a "fitting epitaph to the least competent lord chancellor since the Reformation". Justice Minister Shailesh Vara replies: "I don't hear him or his boss saying they're going to be reversing any of the cuts we've made."