What the Conservative leadership should learn from Ed Miliband

And not just in a negative sense. The Labour leader has his good points too.

Iain Dale: The works that win the Political Book Awards

Plus: David Davis, worst ties offender. Re-predicting my election predictions. Labour’s plight in Scotland and Wales. And: Why books by female political authors aren’t stocked.

Andrew Gimson’s PMQs sketch: Cameron and Miliband pretend to be scandalised

Even those of us who want the Conservatives to win the general election cannot help feeling a bit discouraged by the tactics they are employing in order to do so.

WATCH: Cameron presses Miliband on ‘weaponise’ remarks

The Prime Minister claims that the Labour leader has avoided answering questions about his remarks regarding the NHS “nine times”.

Henry Hill: SNP accused of hijacking history curriculum

Also: Miliband pressed over NI candidate ban and Welsh NHS performance; Villiers rejects call to nullify OTR letters in law; and Murphy walks in Findlay’s shoes.

The leftward winds blowing Miliband off course

From fracking to Trident to Syriza, if you’re looking for evidence of a divided left today’s papers alone offer an embarrassment of riches.

Stephen Tall: Five things we do know about the election no-one can predict

In an uncertain world, here are a few certainties to bank on.

Lord Ashcroft: Labour and the Conservatives are neck and neck in my latest poll

Plus the results of my focus groups in Brighton and Solihull, including: if each party leader were a car, what car would they be?

Clegg: lame duck or dead parrot? Why his weakness makes a second coalition unlikely.

And much will depend on whether the Liberal Democrats could give either major party enough votes for a sustainable majority.

Looking at Labour 1) The Shadow Cabinet

The average member of Miliband’s team has spent just four and a half years working in the private sector. A quarter have no private sector experience at all.

Could Miliband have used Chilcot against the Blairites?

The rise of ideologically pure minor parties makes reported hopes of using Iraq War to distance Miliband’s Labour from Blair’s seem far fetched.

Andrew Gimson’s PMQs sketch: Sir Peter Tapsell shows the House how it is done

Three MPs asked serious questions about the Chilcot Inquiry. Reckless at least managed to be brief. Clegg looked very, very sad.

Daniel Hannan MEP: Stop complaining about the NHS. You’re getting what you asked for.

It may not always work well. It isn’t a model other countries want. But we’ve chosen it – and so are stuck with it.

Will Cameron’s Green gambit hit Labour where it hurts?

Green voters have not been subject to the same in-depth scrutiny as UKIP – but they could still drag Miliband off course.

Lord Ashcroft: The Conservatives return to a one point lead in my latest national poll

Back to the norm after last week’s outlier. Plus, the results of focus groups in Croydon and Dudley.