‘That is the simple, inescapable choice tomorrow: me leading a strong and stable government, or with Ed Miliband, the chaos of being held to ransom by the SNP. Your vote can and will make a difference at this election. It’s that close. There is no room for protest voting, or voting for marginal parties — unless you are happy to get Ed Miliband in No 10. All the numbers show it: a vote for Ukip is a vote for Ed Miliband. A vote for the Liberal Democrats is a vote for Ed Miliband. A vote for anyone apart from the Conservatives risks Britain and its economic recovery grinding to a halt. So when you are standing in the polling booth tomorrow, ask yourself this question: who will take our country in the right direction long-term?’ – David Cameron, The Times (£)
>Today: ToryDiary: In principle, a Labour-SNP Government would have legitimacy in England. In practice, however, there’s a danger that it would not.
‘For sanity’s sake, this paper passionately urges readers to keep Mr Miliband’s hands off the levers of power. In most constituencies, of course, this can only mean voting Conservative. And to Ukip voters we make a special plea. No one understands better than the Mail your frustrations over EU interference and the Coalition’s failure to keep its promises to bring down immigration to manageable levels. But the brutal truth is that only Mr Cameron will deliver the in/out referendum that offers the one hope of regaining control of our borders.’ – Daily Mail Leader
>Today: Dominic Raab on Comment: Let’s not throw away this chance to build an Opportunity Society
‘Almost 32 years ago Britain overwhelmingly rejected socialism. Tomorrow, we will do so again in vast numbers. But this time, socialism may be forced on us whether we like it or not. You can help stop it by voting Conservative. Unless the Tories get enough seats, Ed Miliband’s hard-Left Labour Party will sneak into power as a minority government with a nod and a wink from the even more extreme SNP.’ – The Sun Says (£)
‘Mr Cameron would govern better with a clear Tory majority but the polls now indicate that is a remote possibility. The choice seems to come down to a Labour party propped up by Scottish Nationalists or the Conservatives in a renewed coalition with the Liberal Democrats. The former would tear at the heart of the Union and unpick hard-won gains since the recession. The latter would advance the cause of enterprise and freedom in which The Times believes.’ – The Times Leader (£)
>Today: Ryan Bourne’s column: When Clegg claimed over two in five families are vulnerable. And other thoughts on this election campaign
‘The ComRes survey suggests crucial momentum lies with David Cameron’s party, who are on 35 per cent to Labour’s 32 per cent. Last week, the pollster had the two main parties tied. But 15 per cent – nearly one in six – of those who said they are likely or very likely to vote are still completely undecided. The poll will lift Tory spirits in the closing hours of the campaign – suggesting they are on course to be the largest party again. However, the lead is nowhere near big enough for a Conservative majority.’ – Daily Mail
>Yesterday: Lord Ashcroft on Comment: The Conservatives lead by two points in this week’s Ashcroft National Poll
‘Politics is the opposite of meritocratic: keep your head down and get on with your job, and you’ll get no glory. Spend your days conniving and plotting, and you’ll rise straight to the top. Just ask John Bercow…All the mugs around the Cabinet table have a number engraved on their bottoms to stop ministers pinching them. There’s even someone whose job it is to check they’re all still there at the end of meetings.’ – Sarah Vine, Daily Mail
‘Up to 235 new MPs are forecast to enter the Commons after the general election — the highest number since 1997. An election bloodbath could see as many as 145 incumbent candidates fail in their bid to be re-elected this week, according to calculations made by the parliamentary expenses watchdog.’ – The Times (£)
‘Miss Powell admitted that being etched in stone did not mean that Mr Miliband would stick to the pledges. She told BBC Radio 5Live: ‘The point we are trying to make is Ed Miliband has been really clear about this throughout the campaign. He stands by his pledges and his promises. I don’t think anyone is suggesting that the fact that he’s carved them into stone means, you know, that he absolutely is not going to break them or anything like that.’ – Daily Mail
‘He said: “People who tell pollsters they’re not sure, or they’re not going to vote Conservative, will, in the privacy of the ballot booth, say: ‘To hell with it, I’ll stick with what I know because they say they’re going to cut my taxes’.” Mr Kinnock – one of Red Ed’s army of advisers – insisted the belief about Tory tax cuts was more a “triumph of propaganda over reality” as the Conservative record is putting taxes up.’ – The Sun (£)
>Yesterday: Rebecca Coulson’s column: Two million jobs – two million real lives improving – versus the easy words of anti-austerity
‘Ed Miliband is coming under growing pressure from Scottish union officials and members to work with the SNP and block the Conservatives from power. With Nicola Sturgeon’s party pledging to put the Labour leader in Downing Street after the election, thousands of workers from unions affiliated to Mr Miliband’s party have signed up to a new trade union group founded by the SNP, boosting its membership 15-fold in less than nine months.’ – The Times (£)
>Today: Henry Hill’s Red, White and Blue column: Welsh Labour coy on pact with Plaid
‘”Vote Ukip wherever you are,” Mr Farage said in an exclusive interview on the campaign trail in his battle to become MP for South Thanet. “In our target seats, if you vote Ukip you’ll get Ukip. But even in those seats that we don’t win, every single vote for Ukip is a vote for change, a change in direction for our country but also a change in our voting system because the one we’ve got doesn’t work anymore.”‘ – Daily Express
>Yesterday: Local Government: UKIP councillor defects to the Conservatives
‘Hostile speculators in the City of London are waiting to destroy the single currency if Greece leaves the eurozone, the president of the European Commission has warned. Jean-Claude Juncker said that the “Anglo-Saxon world” — code for financiers in London and on Wall Street — would seek to tear apart the euro if it showed any sign of cracking.’ – The Times (£)
‘Every state secondary in the country should become a boarding school because it would create a ‘civilising’ atmosphere, according to a leading head master. Sir Anthony Seldon called for boarding facilities to be built to cater for at least 10 per cent of pupils at all schools and said it could even work at tough inner-city comprehensives. He said having boarders at a school could help reduce issues like knife crime because pupils would feel the buildings were ‘somebody’s home’.’ – Daily Mail
‘A Greenpeace advert opposing fracking has been banned for claiming experts agreed that the process would not cut energy bills. The national press ad said: “Fracking threatens our climate, our countryside and our water. Yet experts agree – it won’t cut our energy bills.” The Labour peer Lord Lipsey, who said he understood there was a range of views on the subject, complained that the ad was misleading for claiming experts were in agreement.’ – Daily Telegraph
>Today: ToryDiary: Reasons to be Tory 13) A sovereign wealth fund for the North of England