Monday 26th April 2010

10.30pm The Shakespeare Report: Are Liberal Democrats the ‘Condorcet Party’?

10.15pm Tea with Pickles: What is real about the Lib Dems?

9.15pm ToryDiary: Tonight's polls gives the Conservatives leads of 1%, 3%, 4% and 6%

5.30pm WATCH: Tory broadcast introduces the 'Hung Parliament Party'

3.30pm ToryDiary: Tories are running against the Hung Parliament Party

3pm Seats and candidates: Snapshots of the third week of the campaign from ConservativeHome's panel of candidates - Part two

12.30pm WATCH: David Cameron urges people who care about the environment and civil liberties to vote Conservative

Nick Wood's High Noon: Cameron gave a master class in how to run a press conference

11.45am Election gallery updated with scenes from today's press conference, the Dalek that wants you to vote Conservative and a couple of funny posters

11.15am Matt Sinclair on CentreRight looks at the strengths and weaknesses of the FT's list of spending cuts

11.15am Local government: CCHQ fury at BBC Today programme's reporting of Tory schools policy

10am ToryDiary: Cameron puts proportional representation on the table but insists he wants to keep first past the post

ToryDiary: Cameron pitches for Liberal Democrat voters while diverting resources to once safe Labour seats

On Platform, Howard Flight recommends that David Cameron focus on the economy in the final two weeks of the campaign

Mark Wallace on Local government: We need parent power

Plus:

• Gemma Townsend on Fighting the Green Party in Lewisham
• The battle for Harrow
• The battle for Amber Valley

Tim Montgomerie on CentreRight: The FT publishes the spending cuts that the political parties will not

Also on CentreRight, Martin Ackroyd makes the important point that Nick Clegg is not in charge of his party:

"Nick Clegg may be a nice chap, but he doesn’t have the power to agree anything.  The Lib Dem constitution is set up so that, before any coalition could be formed, there has to be the agreement of the majority of Lib Dem MPs and the thirty or so members of the party’s Federal Executive (and if not with 75% approval of those two constituencies, via a special conference and then a ballot of all members, if the special conference didn’t give two-thirds backing)..."

LeftWatch: First the Liberal Democrats had a fake nurse in their election literature, now a fake policeman

Conservatives target twenty more Labour seats as they plot new path to a majority

"Mr Cameron has ordered an aggressive “decapitation” campaign to try to snatch up to 20 seats that the Tories had previously thought unwinnable, including two held by Cabinet ministers. If successful, the party leadership believes the strategy could help the Conservatives achieve an overall majority of MPs. Today, with 10 days to go until polling day, Mr Cameron will take his election campaign to Southampton, where the Tories hope to unseat John Denham, the Communities Minister, who holds a majority of about 9,000. Ed Balls, the Children’s Secretary, is also a target." - Telegraph

"The Tories are trying to exploit what they see as waning Labour support, with the party placed third in several polls, and are backing up their pitch with 2,200 new posters with around the country from Monday." - BBC

The issues of education, poverty and Europe should attract left-wingers to the Conservatives - Bruce Anderson in The Independent

Peter Hain says Liberal Democrat activists won't support LibCon pact

"The Liberal Democrats are a centre-left party, and on issues like securing the recovery, political reform, fairness and helping the poor, their members have far more in common with us than Cameron and his agenda of DIY public services and big cuts in public services. I don't think [Clegg's] party will want to see him do a deal with Cameron." - Peter Hain quoted in The Guardian

"The more I look at the prospect of a Con-Lib coalition, the more I think it is not sustainable for long. The pressures of hostile Liberal grassroots and the visceral differences between the parties would bust it up. There's no way Cameron would really concede change to the voting system – rather, he would pull the plug at a time of his choosing, blame Clegg and Cable for "chaos", and call a second election. A bored and irritated electorate would then probably punish the Lib Dems." - Jackie Ashley in The Guardian

Only by coming second could the LibDems strike a hard bargain in hung parliament talks - John Curtice in The Independent

In The Telegraph, Boris Johnson blames Mandelson for believing that Brown could talk up Nick Clegg without damaging Labour.

65% of British Chambers of Commerce members were concerned about a hung parliament - Guardian

"The Lib Dem approach would send a message to the world that you can come to Britain illegally and get away with it. And their policy to send immigrants to specific regions is simply unworkable and unwanted. Just who on earth do they think is going to police the movement of immigrants between one region and another?" - The Shadow Home Secretary quoted within a Daily Mail story that suggests that 2.2 million illegal immingrants could have the right to stay in Britain under Nick Clegg's leadership.

We mustn’t underestimate the importance of immigration, even down here in the West Country - William Rees-Mogg in The Times

Andrew Pierce highlights the 'nutters' that Nick Clegg sits with in the European Parliament - Daily Mail

Harry Phibbs got there first with this post on CentreRight: Nick Clegg's Euro allies are the real nutters

Lord Tebbit urges bigger campaigning role for Tory big beasts - Daily Mail

Tories 'could put climate change agreement at risk' - Independent

Cameron blocks peerage for Anthony Steen - Western Morning News

Alan Johnson is positioning himself to lead Labour's possible coalition talks with Nick Clegg

"In a sign of worsening tensions within Labour’s campaign, the Home Secretary drew attention to his support for AV plus, a system of voting reform closer to the change being demanded by the Lib Dems than that offered in Labour’s manifesto. “Because I am a supporter of proportional representation and have been for a long time, I obviously don’t have this horrified approach to how a more balanced parliament would work,” he said." - The Times

Brown has attacked the Tories over reports they may introduce "top-up fees" for nurseries - BBC

Ed Balls has been given a £60 fine for driving while using a mobile phone - BBC

"Children's Secretary Ed Balls has been fined after police caught him talking on his mobile while driving. His wife, fellow Cabinet minister Yvette Cooper, and their three kids were all in the car at the time. Safety campaigners last night blasted Mr Balls - Gordon Brown's closest ally - for risking the lives of his family as well as other drivers." - The Sun

Alex Salmond is urgently raising £50,000 to fight SNP's exclusion from election debates - Guardian

"According to Crown Publishers, "Decision Points" will offer "gripping, never-before-heard detail" on such historic events as the September 11, attacks and the 2000 presidential election along with Bush's decision to quit drinking, his relationship with his family and other personal details." - Telegraph

The main party leaders' faces appear on special pizzas - The Sun

Steve Hilton and Peter Mandelson photographed in dress down mode - Daily Mail

Please use this thread to highlight other interesting news and commentary and visit PoliticsHome.com for breaking political news and views throughout the day.

Sunday 25th April 2010

9pm WATCH: David Cameron insists that whilst the TV debates may have brought challenges, they remain a "good thing for democracy"

8.30pm LeftWatch: Candidate calls Britain "the most mongrel country in the world" - yet the Left haven't batted an eyelid

8pm ToryDiary: YouGov has Tory lead at 4% over the Lib Dems

6.30pm WATCH: David Cameron addresses parents wanting to set up their own school in Gomersal, West Yorkshire (listen out for the boos when he mentions Ed Balls)

5pm WATCH: Alex Salmond explains to Andrew Marr why he is mounting a legal challenge to the broadcast in Scotland of this Thursday's leaders' debate

3.15pm LeftWatch: Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrats, faith and the election

3pm Jonathan Isaby on CentreRight: Spot the £80,000 difference

2.15pm LeftWatch update: Nick Clegg did indeed say there were circumstances in which he would sit round the Cabinet table with Gordon Brown

1.15pm ToryDiary: David Cameron and Michael Gove give Conservative education policy a big push

12.45pm WATCH: The racism and hatred of the BNP is exposed in undercover footage of the party campaigning in East London

Nick Wood's High Noon: A hung parliament is not a nice, fluffy option: it would mean paralysis at best, and chaos at worst

11.15am WATCH: Nick Clegg gives Andrew Marr mixed messages about his attitudes to Labour in a hung parliament

10.45pm LeftWatch update:  Labour appears to have disowned its candidate for South East Cambridgeshire

10am LeftWatch update: Nick Clegg is already backtracking on his pledge not to prop up a Labour government

ToryDiary: David Cameron insists a Tory majority is still "quite possible" as he bats off questions about coalitions with the Lib Dems

LeftWatch: Nick Clegg appears to rule out propping up a lame-duck Brown government as Paddy Ashdown says the Lib Dems would not go into coalition with the Tories

Also on LeftWatch: Labour candidate exposed as having posed offensive messages online and been expelled from the Lib Dems for sending sexual emails

Tiffany Trenner-Lyle on Platform: There are so many reasons why first-time voters should be voting Conservative this time

Seats and Candidates: UKIP fails to nominate a candidate against William Hague or George Osborne

Local Government:

• The battle for Harlow
• The battle for Barrow-in-Furness
• The battle for Winchester

WATCH: Gordon Brown tells Sky News' Kay Burley that his is fighting for his life at this election

Michael Gove: We will have 'hundreds of parent-led schools in first year'

"Hundreds of new schools will be opened by parents within the first year of a Conservative government, the Tories have pledged. At least 450 parents and teachers groups across the country want to open their own state schools or use public money to contract private education providers to do it for them. In an interview with the Sunday Telegraph Michael Gove, the shadow children's secretary, said a special pot of cash would be made available immediately after a Tory election victory which would see "hundreds" of such schools "on track" to open within twelve months." - Sunday Telegraph

I don't think this Election will be a contest about who looks less posh, says David Cameron - Interview in the Mail on Sunday

David Cameron: I'm bad at hiding my emotions

"I'm very bad at hiding my emotions," he admits. "If I'm embarrassed I blush. If I'm angry I flush. As a person I'm very easy to read. I look at politicians who don't blush when they make a terrible mistake and think, 'How on earth do you do that?' It's amazing really. Whereas if I screw up you can see it." - The People

Postal vote poll puts comeback kid Cameron at door of Downing Street

"David Cameron has one foot in Downing Street according to the first-ever survey of millions of postal votes to be cast in the next few days. A BPIX poll for The Mail on Sunday shows the Tory leader is on course to win the Election with the highest popular vote and the most MPs." - Mail on Sunday

And in other polls...

"The Conservatives have strengthened their position in the polls but need to make further progress to secure an overall Commons majority, according to the latest Sunday Times-YouGov poll. " - Sunday Times

"The [Labour] party's morale was badly hit last night by the latest Sunday Telegraph/ICM opinion poll which showed Labour falling two points from the last survey by the company, published on Tuesday." - Sunday Telegraph

"The Ipsos MORI poll puts Mr Clegg's party back where he was before the first leader's showdown - trailing in third place again. Tory leader David Cameron is back on top with 36 per cent, six points ahead of Labour on 30 and thirteen ahead of the Lib Dems on just 23." - News of the World

> Last night's ToryDiary: Labour trailing in third place in five Sunday polls... but Ipsos-Mori suggests the Lib Dem surge has receded

Peter Kellner: Why it’s an uphill electoral battle for the Conservatives - Sunday Times

"Hundreds of doctors and thousands of nurses will lose their jobs over the next five years under secret cost-cutting plans... Andrew Lansley, the shadow health secretary, said: “Gordon Brown promised voters that he would protect the National Health Service and protect frontline services. But these figures reveal that Labour is planning secret cuts. They will cut the number of nurses, the number of doctors and the number of hospital beds. It does not get more frontline than that.” - Sunday Times

"The government is allowing illegal immigrants and asylum seekers to stay in the country because it fails to send staff to one in five appeal hearings... The failure of the Home Office to send officials to fight its case was described as “inexcusable” by Chris Grayling, the Conservative shadow home secretary." - Sunday Times

Gordon Brown invokes God to attack Tory inheritance tax policy

"Speaking of his anger at Conservative leader David Cameron's plans to lift all estates up to £1m out of inheritance tax, Mr Brown said: "How can it be a priority to give to people who have already got so much? It's not 'God helps people who help themselves', it's 'God helps people whom he has already helped'. That's what their [the Conservatives'] motto is." - Independent on Sunday

Cameron goes on attack over unelected PMs

"David Cameron has said he would change the law to prevent unelected prime ministers staying in power - a direct attack on Gordon Brown's mandate." - Sky News

> Yesterday's ToryDiary: David Cameron says a Tory Government would prevent parties from replacing a serving Prime Minister without a new general election

> Melanchthon on CentreRight looks forward to a vigorous debate about the respective merits of parliamentary and presidential systems

Conservatives "will allow nurseries to charge top-up fees"

"The Conservatives will allow nurseries to charge parents of three- and four-year-olds millions of pounds in "supplementary fees" if they form a government after 6 May, the Observer has learned. Campaigners have described the move, which would end the guarantee of a free place for every child that age, as "a huge blow to parents". - The Observer

Fraser Nelson: Only a Conservative majority would steer us away from economic disaster

"The equation is clear. A hung Parliament means instability. Our mortgages, jobs and savings would all be at risk. We might see a Labour-LibDem deal, even if Cameron gets the most votes. They'd say it was just until a new election was called. But you can bet they'd stitch up a new voting system designed to keep the Tories out - and condemn Britain to perpetual Lib-Lab coalition. Only Cameron has a plan to fix the public finances, and steer us away from a Greek- style financial disaster." - News of the World

Matthew d'Ancona: A Lib-Con deal is a real possibility - Sunday Telegraph

Sir Richard Dannatt: A hung parliament cannot deliver on defence

"Can a hung parliament really be thought to be a formula for the good governance of this country? If we have found it too difficult to take key decisions on defence when the government has a strong majority and a strong balance sheet, what real chance would there be of getting those decisions taken by a coalition government with a huge deficit?" - Gen Sir Richard Dannatt writing in the Sunday Telegraph

Lefty luvvies attack Tory policy on the BBC

"More than 40 of the best known performers in the country, including comedians Catherine Tate, Meera Syal, Stephen Merchant and Terry Jones, and the acclaimed actors Sam West, Hugh Bonneville and Harriet Walter, have signed a public letter denouncing plans to cut the licence fee and accusing opposition politicians of "a cavalier attitude towards the BBC's independence".- Observer

Mandelson: Flirt with Clegg and you might end up married to Cameron

"Lord Mandelson warns today that a vote for Nick Clegg's Lib Dems will pave the way for a Tory election victory. In an exclusive interview, the Business Secretary also launches a ferocious attack on the "ignorance and inexperience" of David Cameron and the "con trick" he is desperate to pull on the public. Speaking at Labour's election HQ, Lord Mandelson says the surge in support for the Lib Dems could deprive Labour of vital votes and allow the Tories to sneak into Downing Street via the back door." - Sunday Mirror

Non-doms hand Lib Dems £3.5 million

"The Liberal Democrats have accepted donations worth more than £3.5m from four non-doms, even though Nick Clegg, the party’s leader, has said it is “wholly wrong” to have donors not fully tax-resident in the UK." - Sunday Times

Clegg backed bid to return Elgin Marbles

"Doubts over Nick Clegg’s commitment to British interests in the EU intensified last night after it emerged he once led a campaign to return the historic Elgin Marbles to his friends in Greece. As an MEP, the Lib Dem leader berated the British Museum for guarding the statues, saying it was like displaying Big Ben’s clock in the Louvre." - Sunday Express

Martin Ivens: Nick Clegg, the thorn in everybody’s side - Sunday Times

Vince Cable’s image as economic whiz crumbles under new scrutiny - Sunday Times

Ministers apologise for insult to Pope

"The Government has apologised to the Pope over official documents that mocked his forthcoming visit to Britain by suggesting he should bless a gay marriage and even launch Papal-branded condoms. " - Sunday Telegraph

"The SNP will go to court this week in an extraordinary legal move to block the third crucial party leaders' debate being shown on TV in Scotland if the BBC does not give it a podium place, Scotland on Sunday can reveal." - Scotland on Sunday

Please use this thread to highlight other interesting news and commentary and visit PoliticsHome.com for breaking political news and views throughout the day.

Saturday 24th April 2010

9pm ToryDiary: Exclusive preview of the latest phase of the Conservative poster camapign

8.45pm WATCH: Mid Norfolk Conservative candidate George Freeman records his St George's Day cycle across his constituency

8.30pm ToryDiary update: Third-placed Labour drop back to 26% in Mail on Sunday/BPIX poll

8pm LeftWatch update: Ken Livingstone responds to ConHome's enquiries about his apparent endorsement of Respect and Green candidates

7pm ToryDiary update: YouGov's tracker poll for the Sunday Times shows a 6% 7% Conservative lead over the Lib Dems

6.45pm LeftWatch update: Now Ken Livingstone is quoted giving his backing to the Green candidate for Cambridge 

6.30pm LeftWatch: Is Ken Livingstone backing George Galloway in Poplar and Limehouse against the official Labour candidate?

6.15pm Melanchthon on CentreRight looks forward to a vigorous debate about the respective merits of parliamentary and presidential systems

5.30pm Martin Parsons on CentreRight: Parliament MUST complete invesitigations against defeated MPs

5.15pm ToryDiary update: Ipsos-Mori poll for News of the World suggests the Lib Dems have returned to third place with 23%

4.30pm ToryDiary update: Labour also trailing in third place in ComRes and ICM polls on 28% and 26%

4.15pm WATCH: The ludicrous spectacle that is an Elvis impersonator performing at a Labour campaign event

3.30pm ToryDiary: George Osborne concludes that Labour's campaign is "in disarray" as he confirms that the Tory battleground has expanded to include Ed Balls' seat, among others

2.45pm WATCH: New Conservative video explains what happens during one minute of this Labour Government

2.30pm ToryDiary: The first Sunday opinion poll is out and has Labour still trailing in third place on 23%

1.45pm LeftWatch: Gordon Brown relaunches Labour's campaign... with an Elvis impersonator

12.15pm Harry Phibbs on Centre Right: Nick Clegg's broken promise on the Lisbon Treaty referendum

Noon Melanchthon on CentreRight: "To respond to a three-way split result by overthrowing the system is to refuse to allow first-past-the-post's virtues to operate."

11.45am WATCH: Jeremy Vine illustrates how the Lib Dems are unable to translate votes into seats in Parliament

11.15am ToryDiary: David Cameron says a Tory Government would prevent parties from replacing a serving Prime Minister without a new general election

9.30am Local government: Polluting Lib Dem Richmond Council spends £1 million on staff car allowances

ToryDiary: Ignore media reports of "Tory coalition plans" - the party is working for a Conservative majority and the country requires nothing less

Seats and Candidates update: LISTEN to Harriet Harman continuing to peddle scare stories about the Conservatives scrapping the winter fuel allowance and Sure Start Centres when confronted by Ben Gummer in Ipswich Will Gordon Brown condemn this as unauthorised by him?

Declan Lyons on Platform: Britain is broken and we can start fixing it by rewarding strong families

LeftWatch: Vince Cable on the ropes over the Lib Dem £2.4 million donation from a convicted fraudster

Local Government:

• The battle for Bolton
• The battle for Bromley

Greg Hands on CentreRight: Beware Lib Dems praising the virtues of coalitions in Scotland and Germany

WATCH: Jeremy Paxman's full interview with David Cameron from last night

Brown rips up his strategy to escape third place

"Gordon Brown is to gamble on a last-ditch revamp of Labour’s campaign as he fights to prevent the election becoming a two-horse race between David Cameron and Nick Clegg. The Prime Minister has decided to adopt a more high-profile role because senior party figures fear that Labour is flirting with an historic defeat. He has covered half as much ground as his rivals and spent much time addressing small groups of Labour sympathisers." - The Times

"Gordon Brown is to become a more visible presence in Labour's general election campaign and meet more ordinary voters" - BBC

Tory HQ reportedly targeting even more Labour seats

"The Conservatives, too, are revising their campaign to cope with Britain’s first three-horse election race in almost 30 years. Mailshots planned for Liberal-Democrat-held seats in the Southwest of England have been cancelled. Resources will instead be directed at Labour-held seats in the party’s heartlands, which have been made more vulnerable by Mr Clegg’s advance, insiders said." - The Times

"In the north west I’m assured that the Tories are now quietly confident of taking seats such as Carlisle, both Boltons, Barrow in Furness, Weaver Vale, Lancaster and Fleetwood, but also Hyndburn and (does this explain why we haven’t seen him on the trail?) Jack Straw’s Blackburn." - Benedict Brogan's blog on the Telegraph website

Ken Clarke warns of disaster for the economy if there is a hung parliament

"Ken Clarke yesterday warned Welsh voters not to risk economic instability by succumbing to Nick Clegg’s charms. Mr Clarke, whose verbal duels with Lord Mandelson have been among the highlights of the campaign, said a hung Parliament would be disastrous for Britain... “I simply fear an inconclusive election result – a situation where three politicians who have such genuine disagreements have to lead parties into somehow cobbling together an approach to an economic crisis." - Western Mail

"The issue is not really what the markets say in advance of the election about sterling and interest rates. The more pressing concern is whether a hung Parliament would actually have the stomach to tackle the deficit. If there were political stasis, the markets’ verdict could be savage. It is easy to talk grandiloquently about governments of “national unity”. The reality, if Thursday night’s televised debate is anything to go by, is more likely to be bickering and backroom deals." - Times editorial

Tories retain poll lead after TV debate

"The Tories have kept their five-point lead in the race to No 10 after David Cameron's narrow victory in the second leaders' TV debate, The Sun can reveal. But our YouGov poll last night also proved there was still all to play for, with just 12 days to go to polling day." - The Sun

"David Cameron has punctured the Nick Clegg bubble as the novelty of the Lib Dem leader’s X Factor-style success wears off. A Harris poll for the Daily Mail shows the Conservatives regaining ground after Mr Cameron fought back in the party leaders’ second prime-time TV clash on Thursday. They are on 34 per cent, five points ahead of the Lib Dems on 29 and eight ahead of Labour on just 26." - Daily Mail

> Last night's ToryDiary on today's polls

David Cameron has increased confidence after TV debate - The Independent

David Miliband turns his fire on Nick Clegg

"One of Labour's most senior cabinet ministers today launches a withering critique of the Liberal Democrats, claiming the surge in popularity for Nick Clegg is based on a form of "anti-politics" that provides no basis for government. In an interview with the Guardian, the foreign secretary, David Miliband, accuses Clegg of trading on a myth – that "Britain has experienced 65 years of failure". His remarks mark a significant hardening of the Labour position from earlier in the week when cabinet figures such as Lord Adonis were trying to highlight similarities between the two parties." - The Guardian

Jack Straw indicates opposition to electoral reform - Reuters

Clegg prop up Brown? He wants to kill him - Matthew Parris in The Times

Sir Philip Green endorses David Cameron

"David Cameron went shopping for votes on the high street yesterday, picking up a useful endorsement from the retail magnate Sir Philip Green and declaring that under a Conservative government Britain would be “back open for business”. Sir Philip, the owner of the Arcadia retail group, which includes Topshop, Dorothy Perkins and Miss Selfridge, gave a speech at the Fashion Retail Academy in which he attacked government waste and offered some carefully-worded support to the Tory campaign."  - The Times

Gordon Brown refuses to apologise for Labour 'lies'

"Gordon Brown has refused to apologise for Labour campaign leaflets that suggested that the Tories were planning to withdraw benefits such as free bus travel from the elderly... In a press conference, Mr Brown insisted that he had been right to raise the issue of benefits for the elderly, but denied authorising the leaflets." - Daily Telegraph

> Thursday night's LeftWatch: Gotcha Gordon! You say you didn't approve lies about Tory plans for pensioner benefits...

The media finally catch up with ConHome's story about the Labour candidate performing a Nazi salute

"A Labour candidate was under fire today for performing a Nazi salute while speaking at a students’ debate. Daniel Zeichner, 53, was appearing at the Cambridge University Union to discuss whether the Conservatives were ready to return to power. During his speech, when he accused the Tories of associating with ‘fascists’ such as the Polish Law and Justice Party, he made the ‘Heil Hitler’ salute." - Daily Mail

> March 29th on Leftwatch: Labour candidate gives Nazi salute as he lazily smears Tory allies in Europe

Lib Dems use fake nurse in election leaflets

"Desperate Liberal Democrats used a fake nurse in election leaflets, it was revealed last night. Researcher Sian Cliff donned a uniform to be photographed with a party candidate. The row came hours after Nick Clegg stunned Westminster by seemingly trying to boost his credibility by claiming he was a Northerner." - The Sun

Some ordinary northerner! How Nick Clegg is really a man of extraordinary privilege whose family own a chateau - Daily Mail

> Yesterday's LeftWatch: LibDem candidate gets researcher to dress up as nurse for faked election leaflet

George Osborne say he'll nail robbers in pinstripes and prosecute rogue banks...

"Banks which rip off their customers face multi-million-pound fines under dramatic plans for a ‘robbers in pinstripes’ law unveiled today by the Conservatives. Shadow Chancellor George Osborne said white-collar fraudsters were costing the economy an estimated £30billion a year but getting off ‘scot-free’ because of Labour’s lax regime." - Daily Mail

...and attacks Labour for "jobless recovery"

"Brown narrowly avoided a double-dip recession yesterday - as the UK limped towards recovery. Figures showed national output (GDP) rose by a tiny 0.2 per cent from January to March. The rise confirmed the end of the worst slump on record - but it was HALF the size expected in the City... Shadow Chancellor George Osborne said: "After the longest recession we have a jobless recovery from a weak Government." - The Sun

Parties trade blows over 'fragile' economic recovery - BBC

Cameron dismisses claim Tories would put up VAT

"David Cameron has dismissed claims the Conservatives would put up VAT if they won the general election, insisting his first Budget would focus on cutting spending." - Daily Telegraph

David Cameron targets north-east and Northern Ireland for spending cuts - The Guardian

David Cameron wants the English to reclaim St George's Cross from BNP

"In a speech in Leadenhall Market in the City of London, Mr Cameron said it was vital that English people “properly celebrated” their National Day. He told a crowd of 200 cheering supporters: “Today we are celebrating St George's Day, and we are reclaiming St George's Day as an important day I think for good reasons. And one of the most important reasons is that we should be reclaiming the flag from the BNP and saying the flag belongs to the English people, all of them." - Daily Telegraph

> WATCH: David Cameron and Boris Johnson celebrate St George's Day

Michael Gove: My birth mother knows who I am, but I'll never try to track her down - Daily Mail

"Nick Clegg has no chance of becoming the next prime minister. None, zilch, zero." - The Guardian

And finally... Meet the "mini-Hague"

"This week I found Britain's youngest canvasser. Conservative campaigner William Liefting Moore is ten. Going on 35. William was knocking on doors in Richmond Park, South London, where Tory heart-throb Zac Goldsmith hopes to unseat honking Lib Dem Susan Kramer. Owing to his tender age, William has to be chaperoned by older volunteers, although he is so grown-up it is almost vice versa. 'I have always liked the Conservatives' ethos,' he said, his piping treble mulling over policy matters with the gravitas of a Jeremy Paxman. 'They are more business orientated. I am less attracted to Gordon Brown. Labour's record is unsatisfactory. They have been in power for 13 years.' Three years more than our William has been on the planet." - Quentin Letts in the Daily Mail

Please use this thread to highlight other interesting news and commentary and visit PoliticsHome.com for breaking political news and views throughout the day.

St George's Day 2010

11.15pm ToryDiary update: Second opinion poll of evening puts Conservatives 5% ahead

9.30pm ToryDiary: Conservatives 5% ahead in YouGov tracker

8.15pm WATCH: David Cameron and Boris Johnson celebrate St George's Day

8pm Tea with Pickles: Don't let Gordon Brown take us back to the future

6.15pm LeftWatch: LibDem candidate gets researcher to dress up as nurse for faked election leaflet

5.15pm Local government:

• Boris Johnson says St George would have been a Conservative
• Former Labour council leader wins libel damages from Ken Livingstone

4.45pm WATCH: You can only be sure of change if you vote Conservative is message of latest Tory broadcast

3.15pm The Shakespeare Report: What does it mean to 'win' a debate?

2.15pm Election gallery: Photographs of Boris Johnson and David Cameron celebrating St George's Day

1.45pm ToryDiary: If I'd been in David Cameron's shoes this is what I would have said at the start/ end of last night's Sky debate...

1pm Allister Heath on Platform: The high price of life under the BNP

Noon Local government: The batttle for Brent

Nick Wood's High Noon: Time for Dave to get real

10.45am ToryDiary: Tory members reject idea of LibCon pact

ToryDiary: The conventional wisdom is that Cameron had to win last night's debate. It's wrong.

Andrew Smith on Platform: The love-bombing of Lib Dem voters needs to continue - but they must be warned of the economic havoc that would be wrought in the event of a hung parliament

Local government: The battle for Rossendale

David T Breaker on CentreRight: Cameron must expose the Liberal Democrat team

Harry Phibbs on CentreRight: Nick Clegg's Euro allies are the real nutters

Cameron is top choice to be PM in YouGov post-debate poll - The Sun

> Clegg and Cameron neck-and-neck in post-debate polls

"David Cameron and Gordon Brown clawed back some much-needed political ground from the Liberal Democrats, in a closely fought television debate that leaves the election wide open. In spite of improved showings by Mr Cameron and Mr Brown, Nick Clegg, the Lib Dem leader, delivered another assured performance, cementing his position as a serious player in the election." - FT

Tim Montgomerie's verdict in The Independent: Cameron steadied the ship

> ConHome's expert panel give their verdict

"During the debate Cameron scored one of his biggest hits, accusing Brown of "lying" about Tory policy by claiming in official Labour campaign literature that they would cut winter fuel payments, bus passes and prescriptions. He said: "Those leaflets you've been getting from Labour, those letters you've been getting from Labour, are pure and simple lies." Put on the back foot, Brown was challenged to denounce them. "I've not authorised any leaflets like that," he said." - Guardian

> Last night's LeftWatch exposes Gordon Brown's leaflet smears

"William Hague, the shadow foreign secretary, went on the attack over Clegg's passion for a European super-state. Osborne launched a solo operation on Lib Dem proposals on immigration. They were effective attacks  -  but short-lived. The reason? Coulson, a renowned control freak, had ordered radio silence.
It was only when Ken Clarke, the shadow business secretary, was sent out on Wednesday with his withering attack on the effect of a hung parliament that it became clear a strategy had been agreed. But that was six days too late." - Andrew Pierce in the Daily Mail

"Anybody who tried to explain to a German that coalition government was bound to lead to a “national calamity” would find the conversation surreal, since the country with one of the strongest reputations for sound public finance has never had a formal single-party government since the dawn of the Federal Republic." - Chris Huhne in the FT

"It may take a few days, as after the last hung Parliament, in February 1974, or even a week or two to form a new government. But if the politicians adapt, it should be possible to create an administration that can act to cut the budget deficit.There is no need for the financial markets and the media to panic on the night of May 6 if no party wins a majority." - Peter Riddell in The Times

"It is plain as a pikestaff that a government based on compromise and horse trading, as any coalition by necessity is, will be much less capable of administering the pain than one formed by a single party." - Jeremy Warner in The Telegraph

John Redwood uses his blog to argue the other case: "A hung Parliament might simply end up delaying any difficult decisions, thinking they could carry on spending and borrowing too much and pretending there is no deficit problem to be tackled. Ask politicians to compromise and they usually do so at the expense of the electors – compromise will probably mean spending more, regulating more and passing more power to Brussels and quangos, given the views of the Lib Dems."

"The Tories have put more resources into Labour marginals they hadn’t thought of targeting. But they are also having to shore up some of their own seats against localised Lib Dem surges. As long as Mr Cameron is unable to distract our attention away from Mr Clegg that will continue." - Benedict Brogan in The Telegraph

The Times hopes that Oliver Letwin will survive the LibDem surge.

Liam Fox is burgled... and then Charles Kennedy nicks his BlackBerry

"Thieves who broke into the home of a top Tory MP while he slept scattered knives to use if they were disturbed, it was revealed yesterday. Shadow Defence Secretary Liam Fox, 48, was confronted with the scene when he came down to his kitchen for breakfast at 7.20am." - Daily Star

"Fox, whose wife Jesme is still stranded in Hong Kong because of Iceland's volcano, eventually made it to the TV studios where, in a BBC waiting room he saw Charles Kennedy, the Lib Dems' nearly-man, struggling with a BlackBerry for several minutes. Kennedy had picked up Fox's phone, so Fox leant across and politely asked for it back. Was Kennedy confused, or was it a sneaky attempt to read Fox's emails? - Daily Mail

Economy grew faster under the Tories, says National Institute of Economic and Social Research - City AM

Councils and hospitals which serve up foreign food will be named under Tory plans to back British farmers - Plymouth Herald

Nick Clegg admits £20,000 was paid into his account - Telegraph

The FT reviews the attacks on Nick Clegg.

Clegg flew economy but took business-class fares from EU - Daily Mail

Tory Mark Pritchard criticises Clegg's support for UK mosques to broadcast calls to prayer - Express

The maker of Marmite is threatening legal action against the British National Party to stop it from using a jar of the spread in a party broadcast - BBC

"Tory business spokesman Kenneth Clarke promised he'd watch last night's debate, say Conservative officials. He didn't watch the first leaders' TV debate, he said, because he was 'on the train to Nottingham'. Couldn't he have delayed his journey - or, gone to his Nottingham home sooner? Of course." - Daily Mail

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