The Tories launched their "Battle for Britain" manifesto, which addresses, Michael Howard said, "the simple longing of the British people".

Whether these are the same "hard-working people/families" that all three parties seem to tie their every statement around isn't entirely clear. Nor is it certain that if you aren't particularly hard-working, your vote might not count as much.

In his speech, the always reasonable Mr Howard said a vote for Labour would be "a vote for higher taxes, more immigration and softer sentences for murderers and rapists". Worse than that, though, it would mean five more years of Mr Blair's "smirking"....

The Daily Express is in no doubt that "ruthless" Michael Howard is "the man to lead Britain". This editorial opinion, of course, sits alongside the hard-hitting investigation: "Deodorants - How safe is yours?". Don't worry, if the aerosols don't get you the gypsies will.

This, meanwhile, is very funny. (Hat tip to Iain Dale).



Labour ruled out any legislative reform of the pensions system to require compulsory saving - at least in the next parliament.

The government also said that it would act to make postal voting more secure, but only after the election.

The Telegraph takes them to task:

"..Would the Government have been so relaxed about fraud if the beneficiaries had been the Tories or the Lib-Dems?
Or consider another question: is it likely that the industrial levels of vote-rigging that have been exposed in Labour Birmingham would have taken place in, say, Tory Sussex?
If you are still in doubt, ponder one question more: why did Labour explicitly overrule the Electoral Commission and the House of Lords to hold postal ballots for the 2004 local and European elections in its own heartland regions?
Labour's cavalier response to these questions is proof, if proof were needed, of how arrogant that party has become in office.."


And if you missed it you can watch Labour's first party election broadcast here.



Well, not her personally, you understand....


The Lib Dems delayed their manifesto launch, scheduled for Tuesday, after Charles Kennedy's pregnant wife Sarah was admitted to hospital.

At risk of being the last person to make the joke, the party denied, however, that she was in Labour.

You're right. Not really much of a joke at all.