Written By Unknown on Minggu, 05 April 2015 | 12.27
By Darren McCaffrey, Politics Reporter
Nigel Farage has defended his controversial remarks about the treatment of foreign-born HIV sufferers, telling Sky News "it is a sensible Christian thing to look after your family and your own community first".
The UKIP leader was accused of "scaremongering" in Thursday night's leaders' debate when he highlighted the issue of so-called health tourism.
Mr Farage claimed 7,000 people are diagnosed as HIV positive in the UK every year - and 60% of them are foreign nationals.
:: Full coverage of General Election 2015
He said: "You can come into Britain, from anywhere in the world, get diagnosed with HIV and get the retro-viral drugs which cost up to £25,000 per year, per patient.
Video:'You Should Be Ashamed Of Yourself'
"We need to put the National Health Service there for British people and families."
Speaking to Sky on the campaign trail in South Thanet, Mr Farage stood by the remarks.
He said: "What good Christian would say to an 85-year-old woman you can't have breast cancer treatment because we can't afford it, whilst at the same time shovelling billions of pounds on foreign aid, allowing people from all over the world to fly into Britain as health tourists to get a HIV test and drugs over £20,000 a year.
"It is a sensible Christian thing to look after your family and your own community first."
When asked if cancer was any different from HIV, Mr Farage said: "It isn't, it's just that on this particular issue in 2012 under David Cameron's premiership, that anyone from anywhere in the world can have a HIV test and gets given drugs."
Video:Farage Visits Beer Festival In Kent
His remarks are only likely to continue the controversy over his initial comments, which were the most tweeted moment of ITV's debate programme.
Mr Farage also described himself in the interview as a lapsed Anglican who believes in God, but rarely attends church.
He said: "I think there are millions like me, millions brought up to be Christian, who perhaps in adult life have rather put it at the back of their minds."
The faith of politicians has always proved to be a private matter, rather than play a significant role in campaigning, unlike in the United States.
Alistair Campbell famously told a journalist interviewing former prime minister Tony Blair that "we don't do God".
Video:Who Is Nigel Farage?
But David Cameron has argued Britain remains a Christian country, something Mr Farage agreed with.
He said: "Well that is perfectly clear, we have a Judeo-Christian culture, we even have a Judeo-Christian constitution - the role of the monarch and the way the whole country is set up.
"That doesn't mean we are not the most tolerant country in Europe in terms of all cultures and other religions we always have been but we mustn't forget who we are."
The UKIP leader spoke ahead of the emergence of a poll suggesting he had fallen behind the Conservatives in his bid to become an MP.
The party dismissed the result of the survey of voters in South Thanet - commissioned by wealthy UKIP donor Arron Banks who has pledged £1m to the eurosceptic party - as a "rogue" finding.
A 1980s-style housing "revolution" doubling the number of first-time buyers by 2020 has been pledged by the Tories, if they are elected.
The plan would mean half a million people a year getting their feet on the housing ladder, George Osborne said.
Labour claims Britain's chronic housing shortage is being fuelled by Coalition schemes such as Help to Buy and no action is being taken to boost supply.
Ed Miliband's party unveiled plans on Saturday to take the new ISA scheme for first-time buyers announced in the Budget and use it to finance wide-scale house building.
But Mr Osborne told the Sunday Telegraph he was determined to push even harder to open home ownership to more people.
Video:Archive: House Building In Crisis
He said as many as one million people would enjoy direct government help to purchase properties over the next parliament.
"I think we can deliver a revolution in home ownership," the Chancellor told the newspaper.
"We want to see a massive increase in the number of people who can own their own home because home ownership is an absolutely core Conservative belief and aspiration that we support.
:: Track how the major parties are faring in the latest opinion polls with the Sky News poll of polls, which averages all the latest polls to get the overall picture.
"In the next parliament I would like to see over a million more people helped into home ownership by a Conservative government.
"I would like to see us double the number of first-time buyers up to half a million. That is the kind of level we saw in the 1980s. There is no reason why our country can't achieve that again.
"That's a goal we set ourselves today."
Video:28 Feb: Boost For First-Time Buyers
Since 2010 there have been 1.2 million first-time purchases and Mr Osborne wants at least 2.4 million more over the next five years
Shadow housing minister Emma Reynolds said: "More warm words on housing from the Chancellor will be cold comfort to the record number of young people and families priced out of home ownership over the past five years.
"Under this Tory-led government we've seen the lowest levels of housebuilding in peacetime since the 1920s and home ownership has fallen to a 30-year low.
:: Full Coverage of General Election 2015
"Labour's Better Plan will ensure Britain builds the homes working people need.
"Labour will get at least 200,000 homes built a year by 2020, backed by a comprehensive plan - the first in a generation - and a £5bn Future Homes Fund to support the building of homes for first-time buyers."
The Tory pledge came as a YouGov poll for the Sunday Times showed the party overtaking Labour to move into a one point lead by 34% to 33%.
Video:Archive: London Homes Unaffordable
But Opinium research for The Observer had the Conservatives down one point on 33%, level-pegging with Labour (unchanged), while UKIP was up one point on 14%.
Liberal Democrats were down one on 7%, Greens were unchanged on 7% and the Scottish National Party were up one on 4%.
In a dramatic development on Saturday, an inquiry was ordered into the leak of a UK Government account of a private meeting between SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon and the French ambassador.
The Daily Telegraph published the diplomatic memo which suggested she had indicated that she would prefer to see Conservatives remain in power after the 7 May General Election.
Ms Sturgeon complained of a "dirty tricks" attempt to halt the party's advance.
She said it was "100% untrue" that she had expressed such a preference - a denial backed by French diplomats at the meeting.
But the memo was seized on by Labour leader Ed Miliband as a "damning revelation" of the SNP leader's true views.
Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 04 April 2015 | 12.27
Five people have been arrested in connection with the massacre of 148 people at Kenya's Garissa University, according to sources.
The arrests were reported by CNN, citing Kenyan Interior Minister Joseph Nkaissery.
They come after a reward of £148,370 was offered for the capture of alleged mastermind, former teacher Mohammed Mohamud.
Yesterday survivors told how Islamist gunmen taunted students before shooting them.
At least 148 people were killed and 79 hurt as Somalia's al Shabaab extremists targeted Christians, some praying at a lecture hall.
Video:Timeline: al Shabaab Attacks
The hall was one of the first sites the gunmen targeted.
That suggested the masked attackers, who were strapped with bombs and armed with AK-47s, planned their operation extensively, said students.
They claimed many victims were forced to phone their parents and urge them to call for Kenyan troops to leave Somalia - before shooting them.
Others appeared to have been killed by knives in the attack in eastern Kenya, near the Somali border.
But some students were freed, apparently because they were Muslim.
Video:Footage Emerges From Kenya Massacre
It was the worst terror attack since al Qaeda bombed the US embassy in Nairobi in 1998, killing more than 200 people.
Video has emerged of the university massacre, showing students running for their lives and hiding behind bushes as bullets whistled by.
The 12-hour siege ended with four gunmen killed and one suspect reportedly arrested.
The militant group has struck Kenya several times in recent years including at the Westgate Mall in Nairobi in 2013 where 67 people were killed.
Al Shabaab said the attack was in retaliation for Kenya sending troops to Somalia in 2011 to fight the militants and stabilise the Mogadishu government.
Nicola Sturgeon has "categorically" denied telling a foreign ambassador she would rather see David Cameron than Ed Miliband as PM after the election.
The SNP leader faced calls to explain a diplomatic memo, which recorded her saying privately that the Labour leader was not "prime minister material".
The claims appeared on the front page of the Daily Telegraph, and were followed swiftly by an angry denial from Ms Sturgeon.
In a direct tweet to the journalists who wrote the story she said: "Your story is categorically, 100%, untrue ... which I'd have told you if you'd asked me at any point today."
A spokeswoman for the First Minister added: "It must be a belated April Fool.
Video:Sturgeon On SNP-Labour Pact
"As Nicola has said on numerous occasions, she wants to see the back of a Tory government which is decisively rejected by the people of Scotland and unlike Labour, the SNP is the only party that has promised to lock David Cameron out of Downing Street."
However the Telegraph published a leaked UK Government memorandum apparently written after Scotland's First Minister met French ambassador Sylvie Bermann.
The memo of the meeting in February detailed her apparent preference for Mr Cameron remaining in Downing Street.
The note was written by a British civil servant after a conversation with the French consul-general.
It said: "Discussion appears to have focused mainly on the political situation, with the FM stating that she wouldn't want a formal coalition with Labour; that the SNP would almost certainly have a large number of seats ... that she'd rather see David Cameron remain as PM."
Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy said it was a "devastating revelation" that exposes the uncomfortable truth behind the SNP's General Election campaign.
Video:Snap Polls: Who Won?
"For months Nicola Sturgeon has been telling Scots she wants rid of David Cameron yet behind closed doors with foreign governments she admits she wants a Tory government.
"If Scotland votes SNP in May then Nicola Sturgeon will get her wish - the Tories will be the largest party across the UK and David Cameron will return to Downing Street.
"Only a vote for Labour will deliver a Labour government."
Ms Sturgeon's performance in the televised debate has focused attention on her party's potentially pivotal role in forming the next UK government.
Tories described the prospect of a Labour government propped up by the votes of the Scottish nationalists as a "lethal cocktail".
The party said such an alliance would destabilise the country and undermine the economic recovery.
Video:Who Is Nicola Sturgeon?
She was branded "the most dangerous woman in Britain" by the Daily Mail. Polls suggest the anti-austerity SNP could snatch dozens of Labour seats north of the border.
Meanwhile, campaigning continues into Easter with Labour unveiling a plan to build 125,000 homes by creating a £5bn housebuilding fund.
The Tories, meanwhile, are unveiling a pledge to force pornography websites to use effective age-verification tools to keep out under-18s.
Ms Sturgeon is due to join the annual Scrap Trident group march in Glasgow, only a short distance from the Faslane home of nuclear-armed submarines.
"Never before have the establishment Westminster parties been so unpopular - and never has there been a greater opportunity to build a progressive alliance across these islands to chart a different course," she is due tell the rally.
The latest Survation/Mirror poll puts Mr Miliband ahead of Mr Cameron, with 33% and 31% of the vote respectively.
Video:Sturgeon Asks For EU Guarantee
UKIP polled at 18%, the Liberal Democrats 9%, the SNP 5% and Greens 3%.
These results are markedly different from a YouGov/The Sun poll which was published on Thursday night.
It suggested that the Conservative Party had hit a three-year high - with 37% of those questioned stating they would vote Tory if the General Election was tomorrow.
Labour was on 35%, the Lib Dems on 7%, UKIP on 12% and the Greens on 5%.
Written By Unknown on Jumat, 03 April 2015 | 12.27
After seven party leaders vied for attention from undecided voters in the studio audience and at home, Sky News looks at seven key clashes between the politicians.
Nigel Farage vs Leanne Wood: Health Tourism
Many leaders spoke out against the privatisation of the NHS during their opening statements. But Nigel Farage decided to grasp another nettle: health tourism.
In the free-flowing debate, he claimed that 7,000 people are diagnosed as HIV positive every year - but 60% of them are not British nationals.
"You can come into Britain, from anywhere in the world, get diagnosed with HIV and get the retro-viral drugs which cost up to £25,000 per year, per patient. We need to put the National Health Service there for British people and families," the UKIP leader said.
Video:'You Should Be Ashamed Of Yourself'
Leanne Wood, from Plaid Cymru, was the first to reply to Mr Farage's point – and battled through his interruptions to secure the first round of applause of the evening.
"This kind of scaremongering rhetoric is dangerous. It divides communities and creates a stigma to people who are ill. I think you should be ashamed of yourself," she replied.
Nick Clegg vs Ed Miliband: The Economic Crash
Another barbed exchange was between Nick Clegg and Ed Miliband, after the Labour leader took the Deputy Prime Minister to task over his U-turn on tuition fees back in 2010.
"It was a broken promise, you betrayed the young people of our country," he said.
Mr Clegg described his rival's stance as "pious", shooting back: "This is the man who was part of a government that said 'no boom and bust in the economy' and crashed our economy - jeopardising the future generations and life chances of millions of people.
Video:Clegg Tells Miliband To Say Sorry
"I've apologised, I've taken responsibility for the mistakes I've made. Why don't you, in the front of the British people, say 'I'm sorry for crashing the British economy?'"
Mr Miliband ducked the question - but brought David Cameron into the row, replying: "The banks were under-regulated, but there was a global financial crisis. David, as leader of the opposition, you were saying banks were over-regulated, so I'm not going to take any lectures from you on the global financial crisis."
Both received applause.
Leanne Wood: "I Agree With Nicola"
One of the biggest buzz-phrases which emerged during the last general election in 2010 was "I agree with Nick", as Gordon Brown extended a friendly hand towards the Liberal Democrats - kingmakers during the first hung parliament in decades.
Five years on, and Leanne Wood of Plaid Cymru had slightly adapted the phrase to "I agree with Nicola", as she aligned her party with the SNP on several major issues.
Video:Sturgeon Asks For EU Guarantee
Nicola Sturgeon vs Cameron, Miliband and Clegg: The EU
The SNP leader certainly made things interesting when she launched a challenge to three parties at once - asking them to make a pledge to the four countries that comprise the United Kingdom ahead of any in-out referendum on the EU.
She said: "Nigel Farage wants to take the UK out of Europe - and David Cameron is taking us dangerously close to the exit door.
"They spent a lot of time talking about the UK family of nations during the Scottish referendum, but will they give a commitment that if there is an in-out referendum, no one part of that family of nations will be taken out of Europe against its will?
"Will the vote be counted separately in each of the four nations so none of us can be dragged out?"
David Cameron vs The Heckler: Homeless Veterans
Video:'You Won't Admit The Truth'
The Prime Minister was praising the "brave and professional" armed services around the world when he was interrupted by a heckler from the audience.
Victoria Prosser made an intervention and shouted about how many homeless veterans were on the streets after completing their service.
Mr Cameron replied: "The lady makes an important point. There are people coming out of the armed services who have difficulties, and we should put money into armed forces charities helping homeless people."
After the debates, Ms Prosser explained: "He is using their name to garner votes because it might be a vote winner."
Nick Clegg vs Nigel Farage: Foreigners
During the segment on immigration, UKIP's leader claimed that, at 300,000, net migration now is 10 times higher than it was during World War II.
Video:Clash Over Zero-Hours Contracts
Mr Clegg decided to take Mr Farage to task, saying: "I'm married to a foreigner, you're married to a foreigner. Let's be open-hearted and generous-spirited."
Earlier, Nicola Sturgeon had said: "There isn't anything Nigel Farage won't blame on foreigners."
David Cameron vs Ed Miliband: Jobs
Towards the end of the debate, Ed Miliband returned to one of his pet subjects: zero-hours contracts, and claimed the Conservatives' "trickle down" economic experiment had failed.
Mr Cameron simply said: "Never mind zero-hours; with Ed there'd be zero jobs."
After two hours of debating on the NHS, immigration and the economy, no clear winner emerged from the televised showdown between seven of Britain's party leaders.
The first poll for YouGov gave the win to the SNP's Nicola Sturgeon, with UKIP leader Nigel Farage second.
A ComRes poll for ITV had Ed Miliband, David Cameron and Mr Farage level-pegging on 21% and an ICM/Guardian poll had the Labour leader in top spot with a 1% lead over Mr Cameron. Survation put both leaders on 25%.
The high-stakes debate was the only chance for the two men who could become prime minister on 7 May to challenge each other face to face before the election.
But the inconclusive result and the strong performance by the outsiders pointed to another coalition for Britain.
Video:Clegg Tells Miliband To Say Sorry
There were a number of significant clashes, not least between Mr Clegg and Mr Cameron who exchanged angry words on coalition differences over the past five years, with Mr Clegg savaging the Prime Minister on education cuts.
The Tory leader accused his Lib Dem counterpart of taking a "pick and mix" attitude to the coalition and told him: "We sat in the Cabinet Room together, we took decisions together."
But, ultimately, both of them appealed to voters in their closing arguments to let them "finish the job".
Video:'You Should Be Ashamed Of Yourself'
Another heated encounter saw Mr Clegg demanding an apology from Mr Miliband for "crashing the economy" after the Labour leader criticised his U-turn on tuition fees.
Mr Clegg said: "This is the man who was part of the government who said no boom and bust in the economy and crashed our economy, jeopardising the future generations and life chances of millions of people.
"I have prioritised, taken responsibility for the mistakes I made. Why doesn't Ed Miliband apologise for crashing the economy? You got it wrong on banking regulation."
Video:'You Won't Admit The Truth'
Mr Farage emerged as the "Marmite figure" of the contest with the highest number of people thinking he performed both best and worst.
His remark that 60% of the 7,000 people diagnosed with HIV were "not British nationals" and that they were taking a toll on the NHS drew the most comments on Twitter.
They also drew angry responses from Plaid Cymru's Leanne Wood and Ms Sturgeon.
Video:Highlights: The Debate In 3 Minutes
Ms Wood told the UKIP leader: "This kind of scaremongering rhetoric is dangerous. It divides communities and it creates stigma to people who are ill. I think you should be ashamed of yourself."
And Ms Sturgeon added: "When someone is diagnosed with a dreadful illness, my instinct is to view them as a human being - not consider what country they come from."
Ms Sturgeon's success is likely to be claimed as a body blow for Mr Miliband in Scotland where Labour is predicted to be virtually wiped out by her nationalist party.
Video:Sturgeon And Miliband Do Battle
She challenged Mr Miliband on a number of points, taking him to task for signing up to the £30bn of austerity cuts proposed by the coalition.
Ms Wood stuck the knife in by telling Mr Miliband that the biggest threat the NHS faced in Wales was cuts and Labour.
However, Ms Sturgeon said she supported Mr Miliband's plan to increase the top rate of tax - although she would not agree on continued investment in Britain's nuclear deterrent.
Video:Debate: Spin Room Reaction
The SNP leader teamed up with Ms Wood on a number of occasions. Both demanded if there was a referendum on Britain's membership of the European Union it should be held separately in each of the four countries.
There was little deviation from the script from any party, the only unexpected intervention was a heckler who asked how many homeless people on the streets were once in the Armed Forces. She was eventually removed from the audience.
There was tough talk on immigration from all three main parties, with Mr Miliband promising no immigrants would get benefits before two years, and Mr Cameron promising four. Mr Farage said as long as Britain was a member of the EU immigration could not be controlled.
Video:Cameron Heckled During Debate
The UKIP leader attempted to set himself apart from the other leaders consistently describing them as "all the same" and in his closing speech told voters they didn't understand "ordinary people" and his party was the only one to offer "plain spoken patriotism".
However, as the debates closed it was the smaller parties that promised to offer an alternative - and the coalition parties offered to "finish the job".
In the end Mr Cameron and Mr Miliband finished the debate much as they started: 'it's a choice between the two of us'.
Video:Clash Over Zero-Hours Contracts
And the polls simply proved that, come 7 May, it will indeed be the closest of close contests.
Written By Unknown on Kamis, 02 April 2015 | 12.27
The leaders of Britain's seven main political parties will do battle in a high-stakes TV showdown tonight, marking the only time David Cameron and Ed Miliband will debate each other in the General Election campaign.
The two-hour event sees the Prime Minister, the Labour leader and Nick Clegg joined by the leaders of UKIP, the Greens, the SNP and Plaid Cymru for a live debate before a 200-strong studio audience in Salford.
The event is the first and only debate featuring all the leaders to be held before voters go to the polls on 7 May and has the potential to shape the course of the remaining five weeks of campaigning.
:: For full coverage of the General Election 2015 click here
During the debate - which is hosted by ITV - the leaders will give an uninterrupted one-minute answer to each question posed by the audience.
Video:Who Is Tory Leader David Cameron?
There will then be up to 18 minutes of debate for each question. ITV said "four substantial election questions" will be addressed in all.
Leaders will not be given advance notice of the questions, which have been selected by an "experienced editorial panel".
Sky News will broadcast the debate live from 8pm until 10pm, with coverage also available online and via Sky News apps.
Greens leader Natalie Bennett will make the first opening statement, while Mr Cameron is scheduled to speak last.
Video:Who Is Labour Leader Ed Miliband?
Campaigning is expected to be largely placed on hold today as the party leaders make their final preparations for the event.
Key issues in the first three days of the campaign have included the battle between the Conservatives and Labour over economic policies and support for business.
Labour has been campaigning heavily on the use of zero-hours contracts, saying it will outlaw "exploitative" contracts if it wins power.
The Liberal Democrats have sought to highlight mental illness as a major issue.
Video:Who Is Nick Clegg?
Speaking at Bishopbriggs in East Dunbartonshire on Wednesday, Mr Clegg insisted he would not be losing any sleep ahead of tonight's event.
"I have been in politics long enough now to know that you shouldn't over-think these things or over-rehearse them," he said.
"I will try and answer the questions as best as I can and make sure that the Liberal Democrat voice is heard loud and clear in the cacophony of other political voices that will be represented on that stage."
The three-way debates in 2010 saw a boost in the polls for Mr Clegg, although this year's debate is more likely to present an opportunity for one of the smaller party leaders such as Nicola Sturgeon of the SNP or Plaid Cymru's Leanne Wood.
Video:Who Is Nigel Farage?
While campaigning at a factory in Huddersfield on Wednesday, Mr Miliband said the debate was a good opportunity to speak directly to Britons.
"The way I'm going to prepare for this debate is by coming to talk to good people here and keep campaigning," he said.
"The thing I value about the debate is the chance to talk directly to the British people, as I am doing today, about the things that matter to me and how I want to change the country," he added.
UKIP's campaign chief Patrick O'Flynn said Nigel Farage is preparing "rigorously" for the event.
Video:Who Is Nicola Sturgeon?
"Obviously this will be the only chance he gets to be on the same stage as David Cameron and that's David Cameron's doing, not Nigel Farage's, so that again means that there will be key arguments to put there," Mr O'Flynn said.
:: Watch the seven-way leaders' debate live and in full from 8pm on Sky News, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 132, Freesat channel 202, and on the Sky News website.
Tonight's TV debate is the big one, in terms of the number of party leaders taking part.
Seven leaders, including an initially-reluctant David Cameron, will clash for two hours in a debate chaired by ITV's Julie Etchingham, formerly of Sky News.
After Mr Cameron and Ed Miliband endured bruising interrogations by Jeremy Paxman in the Sky News/Channel 4 showdown, this time it's different: a real debate between the seven.
Still to come is a debate involving the leaders of the five smaller parties and then a Question Time style event with Mr Cameron, Mr Miliband and Nick Clegg.
But tonight is the only opportunity for the PM, Leader of the Opposition and DPM to challenge each other in debate, and perhaps also to be embarrassed by the leaders of the smaller parties.
Video:Who Is Tory Leader David Cameron?
So what do the seven stand to gain or lose?
:: David Cameron (Conservative)
Gain: The PM surely can't be as ill-prepared and exposed as he was by Jeremy Paxman's blistering opening questions on food banks and zero-hours contracts. He is likely to be better-briefed on the sort of questions that could leave him open to the charge that he's out of touch with ordinary voters.
Lose: After notoriously shouting "Calm down, dear!" across the despatch box at Labour's Angela Eagle in PMQs, he needs to be careful how he deals with his three female opponents, particularly the formidable Nicola Sturgeon of the SNP. Any "Bullingdon Club" or "Flashman" temper would be disastrous on TV.
Video:Who Is Labour Leader Ed Miliband?
:: Ed Miliband (Labour)
Gain: He needs to build on his "Hell yes!" toughness that began to emerge towards the end of his Paxman clash. At the same time, if he can appear more statesmanlike and more measured than the leaders of the smaller parties he may convince the many doubters among voters that he could be PM material after all.
Lose: If he's poor on the economy he'll be in big trouble. He will be attacked as a spendthrift socialist by Cameron and Clegg, but denounced for backing Tory cuts by Sturgeon and the Greens' Natalie Bennett. A member of the audience is bound to ask about his brother again. He was wobbly on that, too, first time.
:: Nick Clegg (Liberal Democrat)
Video:Who Is Nigel Farage?
Gain: This is his big chance, after being shut out of the Paxman interviews. He has a chance to claim the credit for Coalition successes like raising income tax thresholds. He can also sound moderate on the economy by attacking Tory cuts and Labour spending. He will have allies in the debate, too, for his pro-EU stance.
Lose: The same pro-EU stance will leave him vulnerable to attacks from UKIP's Nigel Farage, who roughed him up in last year's Euro-election debates. He also risks looking like an also-ran by being lumped together with the leaders of the minor parties. He will be accused of betrayal over his tuition fees U-turn too.
Gain: A great opportunity to display his man-of-the-people common touch and kick lumps out of the established parties and portray them as "the Westminster elite". His humour and flamboyant style should come over well in a TV debate and if he's on form he could make his opponents look wooden and aloof from voters.
Video:Who Is Nick Clegg?
Lose: At the same time, his style alienates some voters, who regard him as "the pub bore" who's anti-everything and wants Britain to return to life as it was in the 1950s. He's vulnerable, too, on accusations against some Kippers of expense-fiddling, racism and homophobia. Needs to be careful debating against women opponents.
:: Nicola Sturgeon (Scottish National Party)
Gain: Scotland's new First Minister has the potential to be the star of the show and inflict more misery on Labour. She's more serious and business-like than the flamboyant Alex Salmond. She will attack the two big parties on austerity and Trident and David Cameron would be foolish to under-estimate her.
Lose: If the SNP has a weakness, it's that it can be guilty of complacency, though that was a fault of Salmond rather than Sturgeon. Ed Miliband will want to use the debate to fight back against the SNP. Critics also claim that on the economy, oil prices and the future of sterling the SNP's sums don't add up.
Video:Who Is Leanne Wood?
:: Natalie Bennett (Green Party)
Gain: For the Greens, this is the sort of publicity the party could only have dreamed of, until David Cameron - in his determination to damage Ed Miliband and Labour - insisted on them being invited to the party. It's a great chance to spell out the Green Party's policies and pinch votes off the Lib Dems as well.
Lose: Ms Bennett will need to be better briefed than when she self-destructed in a radio interview with LBC's Nick Ferrari, blaming a cold. She will be attacked by her opponents over the Greens' record in local government, particularly in Brighton. And many viewers may wonder why she's leader and not Caroline Lucas.
:: Leanne Wood (Plaid Cymru)
Video:Who Is Natalie Bennett?
Gain: Just being included is already a gain for Plaid. Both they and the SNP currently have fewer MPs than the Democratic Unionist Party, who weren't invited. It's great publicity for a party that doesn't get much media attention UK-wide and has had nothing like the success of the SNP in Scotland.
Lose: Short of a Natalie Bennett style disaster, Plaid really has nothing to lose. They're there at the table with the big boys and girls, sharing a platform with a PM, a DPM and a Leader of the Opposition - who will be her harshest critics, for obvious reasons - and a First Minister whose poll ratings and popularity are to die for.
:: Watch the seven-way leaders' debate live and in full from 8pm on Sky News, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 132, Freesat channel 202, and on the Sky News website.
Workers on zero-hours contracts will be able to demand a regular contract after 12 weeks under proposals set to be announced by Ed Miliband.
The Labour leader will promise to outlaw "exploitative" zero-hours contracts in a commitment to be included in Labour's election manifesto.
The proposal strengthens Labour's previous policy on the contracts, which sought to give workers the right to a regular contract after 12 months.
:: For full coverage of General Election 2015 click here
Mr Miliband first set out the 12-week proposal in 2013 at the Trades Union Congress (TUC) conference, but later backtracked.
Video:Zero-Hours Contracts
A spokesman for the party leader said the change back to 12 weeks would incorporate 92% of people on the controversial employment terms.
The proposal is expected to include exemptions for employees such as so-called bank nurses, who request a zero-hours contract so they can work at another hospital as well as their usual job.
The Coalition Government sought to prohibit exclusivity clauses in zero-hours contracts, but the Labour Party argues this does not go far enough.
The announcement comes after Prime Minister David Cameron admitted that he could not live on a zero-hours contract during questioning from Jeremy Paxman on Sky News' Battle For Number 10 programme.
Mr Miliband is expected to say zero-hours contracts have become a symbol of a low-wage, low-skill economy.
Video:Cameron's Election Pledge
In reference to Mr Paxman's interview with the Prime Minister, the Labour leader will say: "If Cameron can't live on it, nor should you - Labour will give workers a legal right to a regular contract, not a zero-hours contract.
"Today I can announce that in our first year of government after the election, Labour will legislate for a new principle: If you are working regularly, you have a legal right to a regular contract."
But a Conservative spokesperson has accused Labour of "presiding over zero-hours contracts" for 13 years.
"Zero-hours contracts account for just one in 50 jobs in our economy," the spokesperson said.
"This Government has already banned the abusive ones - and all the while Labour presided over zero-hours contracts with no safeguards for three terms and 13 years while they were in power.
Video:Miliband: 'Two Futures On Offer'
"Tony Blair even promised to ban them entirely as far as back as 1995 and then did nothing.
"The fact is that three quarters of the new jobs since this Government came to office are full-time - these are families across the country getting into work with the security of a regular pay packet."
:: Watch the seven-way leaders' debate live and in full from 8pm on Thursday on Sky News, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 132, Freesat channel 202, and on the Sky News website.
A Labour government would threaten jobs, deter investment and put Britain's economic recovery at risk, according to a letter signed by more than 100 leading business figures.
Senior executives from some of Britain's best-known businesses hailed the Government's economic policies, which they claim show that "the UK is open for business".
The top executives - including BP's CEO Bob Dudley and vice-chairman of West Ham United, Karren Brady - argue that keeping the Conservatives in power is the best way to ensure continued growth.
In an open letter to The Daily Telegraph, the signatories said the Conservatives' economic policies have supported investment and the creation of jobs.
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The letter has been signed by at least five former Labour backers including the chairman of Dixons Carphone and Talk Talk plc, Sir Charles Dunstone and former Dragons' Den star Duncan Bannatyne.
The business figures write: "We believe this Conservative-led Government has been good for business and has pursued policies which have supported investment and job creation.
"David Cameron and George Osborne's flagship policy of progressively lowering Corporation Tax to 20% has been very important in showing the UK is open for business. It has been a key part of their economic plan.
"The result is that Britain grew faster than any other major economy last year and businesses like ours have created over 1.85m new jobs.
"We believe a change in course will threaten jobs and deter investment. This would send a negative message about Britain and put the recovery at risk."
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Other business leaders to put their names to the letter were Prudential CEO Tidjane Thiam, former head of Marks & Spencer Lord Stuart Rose, chairman of the Arcadia Group Sir Philip Green, and chairman of Bloomberg Peter Grauer.
It was also signed by executives from retailers Iceland, Ladbrokes, Costa Coffee, Ted Baker, Mothercare, Pizza Express and L.K. Bennett.
Labour's shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna responded to the open letter, saying: "No one will be surprised that some business people are calling for low taxes for big businesses.
"We don't believe, as David Cameron does, in more tax cuts for the richest in society - the priority is tax cuts for small firms, working people and saving our NHS," he said.
On Tuesday Labour pledged to reverse the Government's final cut in corporation tax to pay for a reduction in rates for 1.5 million small businesses.
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Shadow chancellor Ed Balls also promised smaller firms they would be the first to benefit from future tax cuts if Labour takes power.
Later today Labour leader Ed Miliband is expected to announce plans to take a tougher stance on zero-hours contracts and improve employees' rights.
Under the proposal workers will be able to demand a regular contract after 12 weeks.
:: Watch the seven-way leaders' debate live and in full from 8pm on Thursday on Sky News, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 132, Freesat channel 202, and on the Sky News website.
