On the hustings

A hustings roundup

A hustings roundup

Prescott comes out swinging

Labour’s John Prescott offered his own explanation for yesterday’s “bigot-gate” imbroglio – it was all down to the dastardly Murdoch media’s “Get Gordon” campaign, apparently.

Prescott, (pictured above) no stranger to gaffes himself (remember when he thumped a protester who had hurled an egg at him in 2001?), took to his blog to excoriate “the dying Murdoch empire” for “reaching a new low in their desperate attempt to turn the election” for the Tories.

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“News International’s Sky News broadcast a private conversation between Gordon and his staff. The very same News International that hacked hundreds of phones and saw one of their reporters jailed after listening and publishing conversations involving the royal family ... What Murdoch’s Sky News did today was just as bad as his paper’s phone-hacking. It was a breach of privacy. It was underhand. And it was done in the pursuit of ratings and political influence,” Prescott wrote.

Scottish nationalists fail to stop debate

The Scottish National party has failed in its bid to block the televised leaders’ debate due to be broadcast on the BBC tonight.

The SNP mounted a last-ditch legal challenge to the debate at the court of session in Edinburgh, arguing that it should not be broadcast in Scotland if party leader Alex Salmond was not included in the line-up.

But Judge Lady Smith dismissed the call, saying: “I am not satisfied that it is appropriate to grant the order sought.” The debate, the third and final one before the May 6 poll, will take place in Birmingham.

Evoking Krishna to divine David

Divining what exactly David Cameron means when he talks about the Tories’ idea of a “Big Society” has become something of a campaign staple.

Critics say the Conservatives have so far been unable to successfully articulate it to ordinary voters. Speaking at a Labour press conference on CCTV and crime yesterday, home secretary Alan Johnson (pictured above) had his own snarky take.

“There’s a real sense with the Conservatives that in this ‘Big Society’ we just all walk around holding hands and walk into the sea singing Hare Krishna, and that’s the way to tackle these problems, versus what the police want.”