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Cameron warns over vote for Clegg Cameron warns over vote for Clegg
(20 minutes later)
David Cameron has reacted to the Lib Dem surge in the opinion polls by warning a vote for Nick Clegg could see the country being "stuck" with Labour.David Cameron has reacted to the Lib Dem surge in the opinion polls by warning a vote for Nick Clegg could see the country being "stuck" with Labour.
In an interview with the Guardian, the Conservative leader said only his party could offer "decisive change".In an interview with the Guardian, the Conservative leader said only his party could offer "decisive change".
The latest YouGov poll suggests the Lib Dems are 1% ahead of the Tories on 33% with Labour in third place on 26%.The latest YouGov poll suggests the Lib Dems are 1% ahead of the Tories on 33% with Labour in third place on 26%.
Mr Clegg said, at a campaign press conference in Cardiff, the election was "starting to come to life".Mr Clegg said, at a campaign press conference in Cardiff, the election was "starting to come to life".
Meanwhile Gordon Brown has recalled cabinet ministers from the campaign to deal with the air crisis - they will hold a Cobra emergency planning meeting at 0830 BST.Meanwhile Gordon Brown has recalled cabinet ministers from the campaign to deal with the air crisis - they will hold a Cobra emergency planning meeting at 0830 BST.
Hung parliament
The YouGov daily poll, for the Sun newspaper, suggests the bounce Mr Clegg received after his widely-praised performance in Thursday's inaugural televised prime ministerial debate, is enduring.The YouGov daily poll, for the Sun newspaper, suggests the bounce Mr Clegg received after his widely-praised performance in Thursday's inaugural televised prime ministerial debate, is enduring.
BBC polling expert David Cowling says the margin of error makes it unclear whether the Lib Dems or Conservatives are in front "but there is no doubt that Labour is third".BBC polling expert David Cowling says the margin of error makes it unclear whether the Lib Dems or Conservatives are in front "but there is no doubt that Labour is third".
'Positive'
The poll, which was carried out on Saturday and Sunday, suggests that Britain is heading for a hung Parliament after the election on 6 May.The poll, which was carried out on Saturday and Sunday, suggests that Britain is heading for a hung Parliament after the election on 6 May.
If the voting intention figures for this poll are put through the BBC's election seat calculator then, on a uniform swing, the Conservatives take 246 seats, Labour take 241, the Lib Dems 134 and other parties 29, says David Cowling.If the voting intention figures for this poll are put through the BBC's election seat calculator then, on a uniform swing, the Conservatives take 246 seats, Labour take 241, the Lib Dems 134 and other parties 29, says David Cowling.
Our policies have been stress-tested to destruction Nick Clegg, Lib Dem leader Poll watch: Latest data analysed Ministers mull flight chaos steps UK election at-a-glance: 19 April A vote for the Liberal Democrats is a vote for the Liberal Democrats... nothing more, nothing less Nick Clegg, Lib Dem leader Poll watch: Latest data analysed Ministers mull flight chaos steps UK election at-a-glance: 19 April
If there is no clear election winner, Mr Clegg has said he would work with the party which has the biggest "mandate" - although he has not made it clear whether that means the highest number of votes or seats, which could be different.If there is no clear election winner, Mr Clegg has said he would work with the party which has the biggest "mandate" - although he has not made it clear whether that means the highest number of votes or seats, which could be different.
In an interview with the Guardian, Mr Cameron, whose party at the turn of the year was averaging 40% in the polls, said he would ignore advice to attack Mr Clegg head-on in the run up to the next TV debate on Thursday.In an interview with the Guardian, Mr Cameron, whose party at the turn of the year was averaging 40% in the polls, said he would ignore advice to attack Mr Clegg head-on in the run up to the next TV debate on Thursday.
"My response to all this is to redouble the positive," he told the newspaper."My response to all this is to redouble the positive," he told the newspaper.
"I am sure plenty of other people will now scrutinise Liberal Democrat policies in huge detail and I am sure that is a very worthwhile thing to do."I am sure plenty of other people will now scrutinise Liberal Democrat policies in huge detail and I am sure that is a very worthwhile thing to do.
"But what I want to do in the remaining 18 days of this campaign is to make the case for a different prime minister for Britain, to make the case that if you want to solve the problems we have then it is decisive change we need, and all other options manifestly fail.""But what I want to do in the remaining 18 days of this campaign is to make the case for a different prime minister for Britain, to make the case that if you want to solve the problems we have then it is decisive change we need, and all other options manifestly fail."
'Stuck''Stuck'
He said the only way to guarantee "decisive change" on 6 May was to vote Conservative.He said the only way to guarantee "decisive change" on 6 May was to vote Conservative.
"Anything else and you risk being stuck with what you have got," he told the newspaper."Anything else and you risk being stuck with what you have got," he told the newspaper.
Meanwhile, a survey of major investors by the Financial Times, highlights concern about the tightening opinion polls and the impact on the markets of a hung Parliament. At a press conference in Cardiff on Monday morning, Mr Clegg said both Labour and the Conservatives were claiming a vote for the Lib Dems was a vote for the other party. He said parties always started "lashing out" with "wildly misleading" claims when they got "desperate".
Ten leading investment funds, with more than £4,570bn of assets under management, say a clear Conservative or Labour victory is needed. My bet is that most people will not follow through on their current flirtation with Nick Lord Mandelson
In an interview with the Guardian, Nick Clegg says his party has been preparing for the moment when its rivals turned on their policies. "A vote for the Liberal Democrats is a vote for the Liberal Democrats... nothing more, nothing less," he said.
He said: "Our policies have been stress-tested to destruction. We have bolted down the credibility. We have done painstaking policy work." Introducing his party's plans for a "green jobs stimulus package" paid for by £3.1bn in cuts elsewhere, he said the "old tired choices" offered by Labour and the Conservatives did not have to be the "way we run politics in the future".
He said he welcomed detail policy debate, adding: "If this election is a contest of ideas and not a contest of advertising budgets - of policy over posters - then it will be a massive win for the Liberal Democrats." "I think this general election campaign is starting to come to life for the simple reason that a growing number of people are starting to believe, starting to hope, that we can do something different this time," he said.
The Lib Dems plan to announce further details of plans to create more "green jobs", paid for by £3bn in cuts elsewhere. The Lib Dem leader turned his fire on Labour, saying he wanted to "bring our message of hope, of real change and real fairness to Wales" - a country he said had been "shamefully let down by Labour" who had "promised fairness" in 1997, 2001 and 2005.
Gordon Brown, who is recalling senior cabinet members from the campaign trail to help organise a plan to bring home an estimated 200,000 people stranded abroad by a volcanic ash cloud, has said the TV debate threw the campaign "wide open". "So my message to the people of Wales is, don't let Labour let you down a fourth time. I believe the age of Labour dominance in Wales is now starting to come to an end."
He acknowledged that he lost the first debate on presentation and style but he told BBC One's Andrew Marr Show the campaign was not "The X Factor" and it was a "long campaign". On Sunday Gordon Brown said Lib Dem policies must be "exposed" adding: "Why do they want to cut child tax credits? I think that is unfair. Why do they want to cut child trust funds?" And Business Secretary Lord Mandelson predicted: "My bet is that most people will not follow through on their current flirtation with Nick."