Yes, we know it’s Saturday. With 26 days (including weekends) to go, here’s what’s happening today:
Labour
The Work and Pensions Secretary, Yvette Cooper, the Children’s Secretary, Ed Balls, and the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Liam Byrne, will co-host a London press conference this morning to highlight the “‘Conservative threat to frontline public services”. This is the latest counter-attack by Labour following Tory promises of £6bn worth of efficiency savings.
Conservatives
The Conservative Party’s announcement on tax breaks for married couples is likely to dominate the day – even if David Cameron thinks he’s visiting a south London hospital to talk health.
Liberal Democrats
The Lib Dem leader, Nick Clegg, is in Yorkshire and the north-east today. He’ll be joined by his wife — Miriam González Durántez — for a walkabout in his own Sheffield Hallam constituency (9.30am) before heading to Gateshead (4pm) for a town hall meeting.
Other parties
The British National Party leader, Nick Griffin, will be campaigning in the Barking constituency he hopes to wrestle away from Labour’s Margaret Hodge. In 2005, the BNP won 16 per cent of the vote in Barking but Hodge looks pretty secure, having secured nearly half of all the votes last time around.
The media
The Ukip leader Lord Pearson goes up against Andrew Neil on the BBC News Channel’s Straight Talk (10.30pm). Ukip is fielding 500 candidates at this election, most notably the former leader Nigel Farage, who is up against the Commons Speaker, John Bercow, in Buckingham.
Away from the campaign
It’s the 163rd Grand National at Aintree. The race — featuring 40 runners over the four-mile, four-furlong (7.2km) course in front of 70,000 spectators — gets under way at 4.15pm.
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