Sensational performance by UKIP in the local elections
ITV News elections analyst Professor Colin Rallings says UKIP have gained seats but it is votes in the ballot box that are most impressive.
Local elections could be the least predictable in years
ITV News elections analyst Professor Colin Rallings says Labour will make gains in the local elections, but there will be surprises too.
UKIP surge to 22% of vote in latest ComRes Poll
A ComRes Poll for The Coalition for Marriage released on Tuesday night suggested that UKIP could win a staggering 22% of the vote.
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Local elections could be the least predictable in years
by Prof Colin Rallings, Plymouth University
ITV News elections analyst Professor Colin Rallings says Labour will make gains in the local elections, but there will be surprises too.
Read the full storyUKIP surge to 22% of vote in latest ComRes Poll
A ComRes Poll for The Coalition for Marriage released on Tuesday night suggested that UKIP could win a staggering 22% of the vote.
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Ed Miliband: We are facing a living standards crisis
Labour leader Ed Miliband has been criticised for being unable to explain how his party would pay for its new policies - like cutting VAT.
It comes as all the parties step up their campaign before Thursday's local election.
Watch: Clegg: Conservatives can't be relied upon on their own
Speaking to Daybreak he said: "The thing is about me is that I haven't just said everything the last Labour Government did was right because I think that's a recipe for staying in opposition and not winning back people's trust."
He added, "we have a living standards crisis in this country and we've got to tackle it."
Government defends crime punishments
– Home Office spokesmanCrime continues to fall - recorded crime is down by more than 10% under this Government and the independent Crime Survey for England and Wales shows crime is at its lowest level since records began.
It isthe responsibility of Chief Constables to ensure that community resolutions areused appropriately. Through crime maps and Police and Crime Commissioners, the public now have the means to hold them to account.
Community resolutions used nearly 1,000 times for hate crimes
A Freedom of Information request by the Labour party has found an increase in the number of violent crimes being dealt with community resolutions:
- In 2012 community resolutions were used 33,673 times for violent crimes, including 10,160 offences of serious violence involving injury
- In 2012 police used community resolutions 2,225 for offences of domestic violence
- Community resolutions were used nearly 1,000 times in 2012 for hate crimes, 2,000 times for harassment and stalking and 100s of times for offences involving weapons and knives
Labour: These figures are extremely serious
Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said figures on the number of violent crimes dealt with by community resolutions are "extremely serious".
There has been a massive increase in the number of serious and violent crimes dealt with just by community resolution ever since the police cuts started - breaking all the expert guidance and promises from Ministers.
Offenders who admit to serious and violent crimes - including knife crime, domestic violence, and serious assault - are increasingly being let off with no criminal record, no justice, and not even a caution.
That's bad for justice, bad for victims, and goes against all the evidence.
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Violent crimes 'resolved with community resolutions'
Police forces are dealing with up to 14% of violent crimes against the person through "community resolutions", as police cuts bites and the number of officers falls, Labour party research has found.
Community resolutions, where criminals apologise to victims, are being used to deal with serious offences including domestic violence and knife crime, a Labour Freedom of Information request found.
Labour: Coalition is making a 'complete hash' of welfare
Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Stephen Timms has called the Government's welfare reforms a "damp squib".
Speaking to Daybreak he said: "This government is making a complete hash of introducing the new system, the computer system is nowhere near ready, we were promised a welfare revolution, what we're actually getting today is a damp squib, a tiny number of people being affected."
Miliband: Tax breaks to encourage living wage
Ed Miliband has told the Guardian that Labour will offer tax breaks to private businesses to encourage them to pay the minimum wage if his party is elected into government.
Speaking on the local elections campaign trail, Mr Miliband insisted that Labour were listening to grass roots supporters as the party undertakes a wide ranging policy review.
Ed Balls: 'Lacklustre' figures show economy still flat
The shadow Chancellor Ed Balls has called today's GDP figures "lacklustre" and accused the Prime Minister and George Osborne of delivering the "slowest recovery for over 100 years".
– Ed Balls, Shadow ChancellorThey [the government] took an economy that was starting to grow strongly, with falling unemployment and a falling deficit, and delivered stagnation, rising unemployment and £245 billion more borrowing than planned ...
If we’re to have a strong and sustained recovery, and catch up all the ground we have lost over the last few years ...
We need radical bank reform and a jobs and growth plan, including building thousands of affordable homes and a compulsory jobs guarantee for the long term unemployed.
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