Now that all the manifestos are in the public domain, we are back onto more conventional campaign territory. The big event of today is at 8pm this evening, when the ‘opposition leaders’ will debate each other on the BBC in the final televised debate before polling day. To help guide you through the melée of stories and spin, here is a summary of today’s main election stories.
1. Here come the insurgents
Tonight’s TV debate represents an opportunity for the smaller political parties to give Ed Miliband a good kicking. Nicola Sturgeon, Nigel Farage, Natalie Bennett and Leanne Wood will all relish the chance to turn on Miliband — the only mainstream party leader taking part. Many have been curious as to how the Labour leader will cope and whether this could end the momentum his campaign have been building up. Or will it be Farage who becomes the bogeyman, as the only right-wing politician on the panel? Either way, tonight’s debate will make for great watching. We’ll be live blogging it as usual on Coffee House from 7:45pm.
But there will be two key politicians missing: David Cameron and Nick Clegg. It’s clear why the former declined to take part — un-Prime Ministerial, easier for him to rise above it all — but Clegg would probably have relished the opportunity. However, as he is still Deputy Prime Minister, Clegg isn’t in opposition. Plus, it would have given him an opportunity to rubbish Cameron’s record in government and the PM would have had no way of responding. Yet despite Cameron’s absence from the debates, his spinners will still be present to tell all the journalists why it demonstrated the competence of the Tories vs. the chaos of the opposition. Also missing are the DUP, who appealed to the BBC Trust over the ‘outrageous’ lack of inclusion. The Trust said that it would be unfair to include only one party from Northern Ireland.
2. War on Labour
Today’s front pages show the Conservative press in full attack mode. The Telegraph reports that American election guru David Axelrod isn’t paying any tax on his £300k earnings from the Labour Party. Axelrod told the paper he ‘lives in the US, works in the US and pays taxes in the US’. The story also contains more criticisms from Labour MPs about what Axelrod has actually been doing for the party. It seems Brits are used to getting better value-for-money from their political consultants.
The Daily Mail revisits Emily ‘Image from #Rochester’ Thornberry, describing her ‘Labour’s queen of hypocrisy’ after she criticised the Tories’ Right to Buy proposals while renting out a property she bought from a housing association. The Sun has splashed on Ed Milband’s two kitchens (again) and reveals that his nanny uses the one downstairs. Very Downton Abbey, as they put it. ITV’s Tom Bradby has been producing a series of fascinating interviews with each of the party leaders and tonight it’s Miliband’s turn. We’ll see how well the Labour leader measures up to Cameron and Clegg in a more relaxed environment.
3. Cuts? What cuts?
Ukip took great pride yesterday in telling hacks that its manifesto was fully costed and independently audited — something Newsnight’s Chris Cook doesn’t think entirely stands up. But all British parties face a problem from the IMF: the FT reports that whoever forms Britain’s next government, the IMF doesn’t think they will be able to balance its books by the end of the decade. It’s a reminder that wiping out the £90 billion deficit, either through spending cuts or raising taxes, will result in very difficult decisions for whoever wins on May 7. We’ll see if Labour or the Tories refute the IMF’s idea that moving into a surplus is improbable.
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