Election 2015: Nick Robinson, one man who’d welcome a second election

Blair gives £1,000 to 106 Labour candidates

Posted at 09.57, Thurs 5 March 2015

Tony Blair has reached into his own pocket to send £1,000 to each of 106 Labour candidates fighting marginal seats in the general election. If you believe reports that the former PM now charges £250,000 for speaking engagements, then just one speech – after tax – should be enough to meet the bill.

The £1,000 comes with a letter from the Uncle Tony saying: “I know how hard it can be to raise money to fund a local campaign, but for you, in one of our 106 battleground seats, it is even more vital. This is where the election will be won for Labout and that is why I am making a donation to all 106 campaigns.

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“As one of our key seat candidates you know better than most the scale of the challenge we face, but I have every confidence that with your drive, determination and organisational skills, you will deliver a successful local campaign that will also see our party returned to government.”

The Guardian notes that the letter makes no direct reference to Ed Miliband, about whose suitability for his old job Blair remains “ambivalent”.

Read The Guardian article in full

‘Gutless’ Cameron refuses head-to-Ed

Posted at 09.45, Thursday 5 March 2015

David Cameron has refused to take part in a head-to-head TV debate with Ed Miliband, and will only agree to one debate among all seven party leaders, so long as it happens before the end of March, The Mole writes.

The PM's ultimatum has brought accusations of "being chicken" and "bullying the broadcasters" who must now decide whether to go ahead and "empty chair" the prime minister. This could lead to the absurd spectacle of Ed Miliband appearing in a one-man "debate” - though Paddy Ashdown suggested this morning that Nick Clegg would be happy to step in to defend the coalition’s record.

Read The Mole's column in full

Lib Dems up again – but not up enough

Posted at 09.45, Thurs 5 March 2015

The latest YouGov poll has the Tories and Labour tied on 34 per cent, Don Brind writes. More striking is that the Lib Dems are up three points from yesterday’s historic low of five per cent.

Their apparent gain is at the expense of the Tories who are down two. Labour (34), Ukip (14) and the Greens (six) are unchanged.

All the numbers are within the margin of error and the underlying reality of a tight race between Labour and Tory – with the Lib Dems way down from their 2010 vote - is little changed.

Osborne ‘plans tax giveaway' in Budget

Posted at 09.45, Thurs 5 March 2015

Senior Labour figures fear George Osborne is planning to give lower-paid workers a pre-election tax break in his 18 March Budget by raising the threshold at which National Insurance becomes payable, Jack Bremer writes.

And to "punish" Ed Miliband further, Osborne could fund the “giveaway” by reducing the pension tax relief enjoyed by high earners. This is the same money Miliband wants to "raid" to fund his planned cut in student tuition fees - a move many of his colleagues believe is fruitless because it will benefit mainly wealthier graduates.

Read Jack Bremer's article in full

Lib Dems sink to five per cent low

Posted at 11.30, Wed 4 March 2015

The Lib Dems' share of the national vote is down to five per cent - the lowest in 25 years – according to the latest voting intention poll from YouGov for The Sun.

It’s bad news for Nick Clegg, of course, but it’s also a concern for the Conservatives because their preferred coalition partner would be too weak in numbers to be able to help form a coalition government, writes Don Brind.

The same poll shows the Conservatives leading Labour by two points (36 to 34 per cent), a slight narrowing from yesterday’s margin of three points. Ukip are down a point from 15 to 14, and the Greens steady on six.

If these figures were reflected on 7 May, the Conservatives would take several seats from the Lib Dems, though lose some to Labour.

David Cameron would lead the largest party but he would not have a Commons majority. Without the Lib Dems to team up with, the choice would be an electoral pact with Ukip or trying to run a minority government.

‘No more obsessing over caps’ - Farage

Posted at 11.20, Wed 4 March 2015

Just days after Ukip migration spokesman Steve Woolf said his party would cap immigration at 50,000 a year, Nigel Farage told the Today programme there would be no arbitrary cap.

“We are getting rid of caps," he said. "We have watched for the last ten days a debate with the government over caps, everybody obsessing about caps.”

As The Mole writes, Chancellor George Osborne accused Farage of “making it up as he goes along” while the BBC’s Norman Smith suggested the danger for Ukip was “a policy muddle story” becoming “a shambles story”.

Read The Mole's column in full

Osborne hails incomes ‘milestone’

Posted at 11.20, Wed 4 March 2015

George Osborne this morning hailed the IFS projections showing average UK living standards returning to pre-2008 levels as "a major milestone in the British recovery".

And with 64 days to go before the election, he added: "We mustn't put the progress we have made at risk by abandoning the plan that has got us this far." As Jack Bremer writes, for “abandoning the plan” read “voting Labour”.

However, Today programme presenter John Humphrys asked whether it was a moment for breaking out the Champagne – or would “a cheaper Cava” be a wiser option? While average household income is up, incomes for working adults - especially younger ones - are still down on the year 2007-08.

Read Jack Bremer's article in full