BBC Radio 4 Today

Dame Tessa Jowell, former Labour minister, says it's the evidence of delivering things - new schools, for example - that makes people believe politics can be positive. She says we "set the bar too high" and confidence would be a better measure than trust for the relationship with the public. Matthew Parris says people would have a lot more respect if politicians made more distinction between what is and isn't possible.

BBC Radio 4 Today

Can people find hope in politics any more? Matthew Parris, columnist at the Times and former Conservative MP, thinks they shouldn't be offered it. "Politics isn't hope but about sound management and good policy," he says. People definitely won't vote for you if you promise them a brighter future, they're sick of hearing it, he adds. They want concrete improvement to their lives.

The Daily Telegraph

Dan Hodges, of the Daily Telegraph, says the Lib Dems are throwing "weak MPs to the wolves", external in order to focus their efforts on holding onto their most winnable seats. Hodges recounts one such MP's experience: "A few weeks ago the telephone rang in the office of a Lib Dem defending a dangerously marginal seat. A familiar voice was on the other end of the line. 'Hi, it's Paddy Ashdown.' He came quickly to the point. The party high command had been analysing the MP's polling numbers, activist base and fundraising record. They were good. But not quite good enough. He was sorry. But the seat would have to be cut loose."

tweets:, external Commons Prorogation expected this Thursday, followed by Dissolution on next Monday March 30, Order Paper confirms

Rob Broomby
British affairs correspondent, BBC World Service

The UK election is rapidly approaching and immigration is set to be a burning issue. Over the next week, Rob Broomby will be travelling around the UK looking at the impact of migrants on different communities and gathering the stories of some of those who have come to live in Britain.

His journey, however, begins outside the UK in the French port of Calais, external with the observations of lorry driver Clive Mills, who crosses the Channel regularly. He offers a haulier's perspective on the would-be illegal immigrants determined to smuggle themselves into the UK on vehicles like his.

One young Eritrean man our correspondent spoke to had "Get Rich or Die Trying" tattooed on his hand. The risks of smuggling himself across the channel under a lorry make one of those a real possibility.

An Afghan who has been travelling for 11 years, and has been deported from the UK once already, says he is determined to get back to the UK.

tweets:, external Minister tells me Amin's "complete jerk"; ethnicity/religion beside point, gives impression Tories are friends with right wing extremists

tweets:, external V senior Tory source - Amin will get chance to make his case but in all my years in politics never seen the like; outrageous

BBC Radio 4 Today

"I want to robustly defend my case," Mr Amin says of his hearing before Conservative Party officials on Tuesday.

BBC Radio 4 Today

Mr Amin says he was extending "a degree of humanitarian compassion" to Tommy Robinson when he said he "wouldn't go hungry". Mr Robinson said that was an offer to pay him to organise a fake march, but Mr Amin says he just wanted to help a man who "couldn't afford Christmas presents for his family".

BBC Radio 4 Today

The first EDL march in Dudley cost us £1 million, Mr Amin says, and another had to be avoided at all costs. The point of having a march that would then "be negotiated down" was to show that bridges could be built, he goes on.

BBC Radio 4 Today

Asked why he didn't mention the issue of the march to the police, Mr Amin says "that was exactly what was going to happen next" once the EDL had announced they were going to have a march.

BBC Radio 4 Today

Mr Amin says Tommy Robinson, former EDL leader, was the one who suggested a march that could later be called off. He says Mr Robinson came to him "in tears" wanting to fix what was going wrong with the country. "I had no idea it was part of a year long sting operation."

BBC Radio 4 Today

Afzal Amin says his meetings with the EDL were "normal conflict resolution". He says he wanted to "stage manage" a reduction in community tensions.

tweets:, external The them v us language has a ring of the George w bush to it

tweets:, external Strong stuff from home sec on 'new' partnership to counter radicalisation

Norman Smith
BBC Assistant Political Editor

Theresa May will set out plans to be included in the Conservative Party manifesto for so-called "banning orders" to restrict speakers who incite hatred from speaking in public or using social media. Breach of such an order would be a criminal offence. The home secretary will also announce Tory plans for a review of Sharia courts to examine whether they are compatible with British values.

tweets:, external Michael Thrasher HoC seat projection from @SkyNews poll of polls: HUNG PARLIAMENT - CON 272 seats, LAB 283, LIB DEM 17, UKIP 2, SNP 53, OTHERS 23

BBC Radio 4 Today

Just a heads up, we're expecting Afzal Amin - the Conservative candidate accused of scheming with the English Defence League for votes - to speak to the Today programme at 8.10am. Yesterday he posted a statement , externalin which he said he was carrying out "altruistic, community service work" by speaking to the EDL. Listen live to his interview if you're on a desktop by clicking the tab above.

tweets:, external Here's the Times' take on the Tory attack ad showing Miliband in Salmond's pocket...

Image source, Times

Norman Smith
BBC Assistant Political Editor

Home Secretary Theresa May will today set out proposals to "tackle head on" Islamist extremism. She'll warn that for too long there has been a reluctance to confront those who reject British values for fear of being seen as "insensitive." In uncompromising language, Mrs May will warn that the threat from Islamist extremism cannot be ignored or wished away. She will say that a small but significant minority of people living in the UK reject basic British values such as democracy, tolerance and rule of law - and must be confronted. She will point to the recent Trojan Horse plot to takeover schools in Birmingham and allegations of corruption and extremism in Tower Hamlets as evidence of the threat posed by Islamist extremism.