Rolling coverage of the Question Time interviews with David Cameron, Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg, with comment and analysis and the results of our snap poll of who won.Ed Miliband takes questions from the audience David Cameron answers audience questions All today’s earlier general election events, on our Election live 2015 blog 9.42pm BST Here are the results of our poll. A colleague has just sent me this.An instant Guardian/ICM poll found that David Cameron had come out on top. 44% of viewers of the Question Time programme felt that DC had done “best on the night”, compared to 38% for Ed Miliband and 19% for Nick Clegg. 9.41pm BST Rowena Mason, our political correspondent, has been in the spin room and has the reactions from the journalists:William Hague, Liz Truss, Caroline Flint, Lucy Powell have just arrived in the spin house. Journos stopped listening to end of Clegg...Ed Miliband makes clear he would rather not have a Labour government than a confidence and supply with SNP. Spin room perks up with interestSilence in the spin room as Cameron gets a hard time on welfare and food banks. pic.twitter.com/2tPra6BNci 9.40pm BST You would have expected Nick Clegg to have had the toughest time, but it did not feel like him. The audience continued to ask sharp, aggressive questions, but somehow there was less passion in the last 30 minutes, probably because there is so much less at stake. Clegg is a diminished figure, and it shows. He also put in a creditable performance - no one bombed tonight - but Clegg seemed happier in multi-candidate debates, where he could differentiate himself from the others and present himself as the moderate choice. Overall, it has been at least 60 minutes of good TV, but this does not feel like an event that is going to shift perceptions. It would not surprise me if the polling figures we get broadly reflect what the polls are saying about voting intention.Clegg is sounding irritable with the questions he's asked. Not a mistake Miliband or Cameron made #bbcqtThis is like the most testing kind of X Factor. Nick Clegg doing quite well, so far, though he has had an easier ride than Ed M.Clegg getting applause here for saying he'll be brake on other two parties but it a tough slog for him, and he needs to get votes tonightAir is hissing out of the balloon with Nick CleggMore difficult for Clegg tonight - doesn't have the other leaders on stage to define himself against.Whisper it softly, and expect no Cleggmania, but the Lib Dem leader is doing quite well - especially on income tax threshold. #bbcqt 9.31pm BST Q: If you cannot remain in government, will you stay as leader of the Lib Dems?Clegg says he is only 48. He has got bags of energy. 9.30pm BST 9.27pm BST Clegg has lost some in the spin room.Loud chat at the back of the spin room. Not everyone listening to Nick Clegg. 9.27pm BST Nick Clegg says that party with most seats next week has the right toform a government. But this is not necesssarily the case. The House of Commons website says: In a situation of no overall control the government in power before the general election gets the first chance at creating a government, If they cannot do so, the prime minister will resign. 9.27pm BST This is from the Sunday Times’ Tim Shipman.Clegg pretending he won't give in on a referendum. Can and Mili pretending they will get a majority. This is one giant disingenuous meringue 9.26pm BST Q: Do you support Trident?Clegg says he supports Trident, but he would change the way it operates. We can scale it down to an extent, he says. 9.26pm BST Clegg says we are stronger when we do things together.Q: But what happens if the EU breaks up? 9.22pm BST Trussell Trust, a British charity, says sanctioning those on benefits is increasing driver of demand for foodbanks:83% of Trussell Trust foodbanks surveyed recently reported that benefits sanctions, which have become increasingly harsh, have caused more people to be referred to them for emergency food. Half of referrals to foodbanks in 2013-14 were a result of benefit delays or changes. 9.22pm BST Q: Is free movement in the EU creating a problem in the UK?Clegg says it did create a problem when free movement became the same as freedom to claim benefits. 9.17pm BST Clegg says Britain was in a real crisis in 2010. We could have gone the way of Greece.Q: We were nothing like Greece. 9.16pm BST Q: Why did you not form a government with Labour in 2010?Clegg says there was the small matter of democracy, and how people voted. 9.16pm BST Earlier Nick Clegg said his decision to back tuition fees was a difficult one for him. James O’Shaughnessy, Cameron’s former head of policy, says Clegg is not telling the truth.Clegg talking crap on tuition fees. He wasn't between 'rock and hard place'. I was in the room when he decided to vote for it. He was keen.Two reasons Clegg made LDs vote for £9k fees: 1. He thought that, as it came from LD dept (BIS), they should. 2. He agreed with policy.Won't do "a deal" with the SNP, won't "barter away" his manifesto. Not only are they blatant lies, they are massive hostages to fortune. 9.15pm BST Here’s that Miliband wobble from earlier: 9.13pm BST Q: How can we trust you given the fact that you broke your promise last time?Clegg says that is why he has been so clear on what the Lib Dem red lines would be. The Lib Dems, for example, would not accept education cuts. They are demanding more spending. 9.11pm BST Clegg says he is not pretending he will win a majority, unlike David Cameron and Ed Miliband.Q: Someone has to be PM. Who will you make PM if you have to decide. 9.11pm BST Q: Is leaking details of coalition talks likely to get you invited into coalition again?Nick Clegg says this is not a leak. Danny Alexander has spoken about this quite openly. 9.08pm BST Clegg said we could have been Greece in 2010.Technically speaking it is true that Britain and Greece had a similar deficit (roughly 11% of GDP) five years ago. However, that is where the similarities end. Britain was never on the verge of going bust.The UK is not Greece. It has much stronger institutions and – most important of all – a floating exchange rate. Related: Is David Cameron right: was the UK's deficit worse than Greece's? 9.06pm BST At least one thing is clear; there is no competition for the title of audience from hell. Guido Fawkes is delighted.This audience has no qualms about calling Cameron and Miliband liars. Excellent. #BBCqt@Ed_Miliband impressively calm in response to good questioning, but making speeches rather than answering directly.Ed Miliband standing firm on SNP despite tough questioning from Dimbleby and audience. Playing a tough hand with confidence. #bbcqt 9.05pm BST Both Labour and Tories want to restrict EU access to benefits, tackle wage-cutting and ensure public employees in public-facing positions speak english - Cameron has downgraded net migration target to an ambition - Miliband says missed targets corrode trust. 9.00pm BST This is proving to be a tough crowd for @Ed_Miliband as he's confronted by sceptical Yorkshire businessmen & women. Public beat pros again 8.59pm BST Q: What are you going to do to control immigration?Miliband says he has changed Labour’s stance on immigration. 8.58pm BST Q: A ban on zero-hours contracts will stop me running my business?Our next question to @Ed_Miliband is on Labour's approach zero hours contracts: #bbcqt #GE2015 pic.twitter.com/fSNoBhW2N4 8.56pm BST Q: What would you do on the welfare bill?Miliband says there is a cap on welfare spending. Labour has accepted that. 8.54pm BST Q: Does your party think that living on benefits is a valid lifestyle choice?No, says Miliband. 8.52pm BST Q: Don’t you realise how much more people would trust you if you told the truth? (The questioner is asking about Miliband saying he wants a majority.)Miliband repeats the point about not bartering aways his principles. 8.51pm BST Q: Why do you trust your view more than the public’s on an EU referendum?Miliband says, when he looks at the problems facing Britain, an EU referendum is not a priority. There are more important issues. 8.48pm BST Here’s the FT’s Giles Wilkes on Miliband’s comment about not doing a deal with the SNP.I suspect that Miliband's specific answers on the deals with the SNP will have the greatest bearing on future history of this evening 8.47pm BST Ed Miliband says we are not going to do a deal or have a coalition with the SNP or give into the SNP’s demands on Trident or the deficit. But he did not rule out a vote by vote arrangement which could see the SNP keeping a minority Labour government on the road. 8.47pm BST Miliband says he is not going to start bartering away his manifesto. 8.46pm BST Nigel Farage has offered his verdict on the programme so far.Cameron & Miliband scared of #SNP, just months after appeasing with money and power. Only UKIP MPs will revise the Barnett formula. #bbcqt 8.45pm BST Q: Why are you lying about not doing a deal with the SNP?Miliband says he is not going to do a deal with the SNP? 8.43pm BST Q: If you cannot accept that you overspent, why should we trust you again.Miliband says some parties want no cuts. That is not his policy. 8.41pm BST Q: Canada and Australia did not have these problems. We spent too much. And we sold off gold. You are just lying. Miliband says he is not going to convince this man. 8.39pm BST Q: Could you bridge the gap between the richest and the poorest?Miliband asks the questioner her name. It’s Shirley. 8.37pm BST 8.36pm BST Q: You left a note saying there’s no money. How can we trust you on the economy?Ed Miliband says he has a clear plan. He will cut the deficit, but in a fair way, with taxes for the rich. And he accepts that Labour did not regulate the banks properly. 8.34pm BST David Cameron implies EU migrants come only for the benefits. Four times as many Brits claim unemployment in UK as Germans in Britain. Cameron says that EU migrants get £8,000 a year in work benefits but didn’t mention that was mainly tax credits and they pay tax and national insurance. 8.33pm BST Ronald Reagan once said that you cannot hit a soft ball out of the park, I think, and David Cameron has illustrated that tonight rather well. During this campaign he has been shielded from aggressive scrutiny to a remarkable extent - he would not debate Ed Miliband head to head, he has not held a proper press conference, and he won’t even do Election Call, but tonight he faced very combative questions, and came out pretty well. In fact, it was striking how hostile they were. The audience are the winners so far. And it was interesting how many of the questions were about trust. Cameron was firmly on the defensive, and probably did not win anyone over, but he sounded more engaged than he has of late, and he held up well.Here is a small selection of Twitter comment on Cameron.Forget the specific answers: QT is a battle of tone. Cameron is markedly more energetic vs previous TV performances. Can EdM match him?A tenner says Cameron's first words backstage are something along the lines of "tough crowd". Great TV though. #bbqtTV #bbcqt debate so far: David Cameron has taken a hammering from the audience on welfare, but has fought back hard on NHS.Cameron’s top lip is a bit sweaty but he is doing quite well so far, addressing his ‘passion problem’ and making his argumentsThis #bbcqt audience is seriously impressive...much more challenging than audience in Sky/Channel 4 event 8.30pm BST Q: What would you be specific on in coalition talks?Cameron says having an EU referendum is a red line. 8.29pm BST I am at a pub with Tory activists in Westminster. They are very cheery about Cameron's performance so far. 8.27pm BST .@David_Cameron Freedom of movement was meant to be about the freedom to move & get a job; not about freedom to move & get benefits #bbcqt 8.27pm BST A questioner tells Cameron the questions he is getting have a moral dimension, but Cameron is only answering them in terms of economics.This gets a round of applause. 8.25pm BST Cameron says he wants to see net migration come down to below 100,000.Q: You made similar promises in 2010, and you lied. How can we trust you now? 8.23pm BST 8.23pm BST Q: If we remain in the EU, how can you control immigration?This is the Nigel Farage question. 8.22pm BST Dimbleby takes Cameron back to the question. Why don’t people trust the Tories on the NHS?Cameron says this is his life’s work. He has seven days left to prove this to people. But you need a strong economy to keep the NHS strong. The economies that “tank and bomb” cannot look after their health services. 8.20pm BST Q: Is it really that difficult to hit the A&E targets?That is a good point, Cameron says. The hospital here meets it. But there is a lot of pressure on the NHS, he says. 8.20pm BST Cameron says, as long as he is prime minister, the NHS will remain free at the point of delivery. 8.19pm BST Cameron's ducking on where £12bn of welfare cuts will fall pushes him into the negative - Sun's Twitter Worm; http://t.co/rkFSOHsp4j 8.18pm BST Q: Why did you introduce top-down reorganisation in the NHS?Cameron says the NHS now is stronger than it was. 8.17pm BST 8.17pm BST Q: Why do you think voters do not trust you on the NHS?Our third #bbcqt question is about the NHS. #GE2015 pic.twitter.com/r8L70AML0g 8.16pm BST Labour HQ have been in touch. They think Cameron did not rule out cutting child tax credit, because, they say, he only said he did not want to cut it. 8.15pm BST Q: Does your decision to propose a tax lock law reflect the fact we cannot trust you because of the lies you told last time?Cameron says he does not want to keep putting taxes up. 8.15pm BST The spin room winced a little as David Cameron was accused of deceit over welfare by an audience member. Around a hundred journalists are packed into the tiled hall of Leeds art gallery, along with a smattering of spinners. 8.12pm BST Cameron says Ed Miliband is saying go on with the budget deficit forever.Q: Why won’t you debate with him directly, instead of pointing fingers at him in his absence. 8.12pm BST David Cameron said there were families claiming £70,000, £80,000 and even £90,000 a year in housing benefit. DWP figures show that there are just 6 families claiming more than £1,400 a year in housing benefit - each with more than nine children - totalling £73,000 a week. The DWP say only 698 families are getting more than the £500 a week housing benefit cap. The DWP said: In real terms, housing benefit has fallen for the first time in a decade. 8.11pm BST This is from Marcus Roberts, the former Fabian Society deputy general secretary.Cameron has clearly drunk the 5 espressos Crosby gave him. But I worry that in his need to show "passion" he'll run over his questioners! 8.10pm BST Q: Do you either know what you want to do on welfare and aren’t saying? Or don’t you know?Cameron says he did not ask for the report mentioned by Danny Alexander.It is not going to fall. 8.06pm BST Q: You quoted some families receiving £70,000 in benefits. How many families were actually on that?Not many, says Cameron. But you have to keep welfare down. If you don’t want that, vote for Ed Miliband.Starting a life on benefits is frankly no life at all. 8.03pm BST David Cameron arrives. 8.01pm BST David Dimbleby is introducing the programme. 7.59pm BST PM just overheard in studio, by us in spin room in warm up for @bbcqt saying "1,2,3 really good to be here, really big opportunity" 7.59pm BST Caroline Flint, the shadow energy secretary, is in the spin room for Labour. She is spinning on Twitter too.Once again David Cameron is in the same place with the same audience but refuses to debate @Ed_Miliband face to face #bbcqt #labour 7.57pm BST Tories unhappy 50% of #BBCDebate audience is left-wing, Labour that 50% is govt. LDs delighted they're on 25% for the first time in 5 years 7.57pm BST More from the spin room.Lib Dem big guns here tonight: Paddy Ashdown and Tim Farron. #bbcqtLoving the Art Deco spin room for leaders #bbcqt programme in Leeds . pic.twitter.com/wDvqTEHOfZ"Scotland forever" Royal Scots Greys Waterloo charge in Leeds Arts Gallery, tonight the #bbcqt spinroom pic.twitter.com/yH2vhDIlS9Ah I'm informed the spin room is actually High Victorian Gothic not Art Deco #pleb #ignoramus #bbcqt 7.54pm BST 8 mins #bbcqt. But what impact will tonight's debate have? Exclusive poll shows how important TV is for older voters. pic.twitter.com/34flPc4kTC 7.47pm BST Ed Miliband has used Twitter to post his own question to David Cameron.There’s no question the Tories will cut child benefit if they win, the only question is will David Cameron be honest about it tonight #BBCQT 7.35pm BST Here is David Cameron arriving at Leeds town hall for the Question Time event: 7.19pm BST And here is the spin room.Looking down on the spin room / 10th circle of hell pic.twitter.com/K49WnCE1EGThe Question Time leaders show spin room https://t.co/rgfdHmOcDf 7.18pm BST The Question Time event is in Leeds town hall. As the BBC’s Ross Hawkins reports on Twitter, the building is full of sound advice for our leaders.Honesty is the best - a slogan looming above the leaders' Question Time show tonight pic.twitter.com/rp5zMHaT6vMore Victorian civic advice from setting of Question Time leaders show pic.twitter.com/CFaBhdJcYZ 7.12pm BST 7.08pm BST Ukip has accused the BBC of “capitulating” to the BBC by not allowing Nigel Farage to be included in the election Question Time. This is what Suzanne Evans, the Ukip deputy chair, said earlier.Ukip is very disappointed that it seems that the broadcaster and the BBC have capitulated to David Cameron’s demands not to be seen alongside Nigel Farage, because he’s clearly, I think, running scared of him. 6.37pm BST A week tonight we’ll be hours away from the election result. And, with the polls still suggesting that neither of the two main parties has achieved a breakthrough yet and that we’re heading for a hung parliament where David Cameron and Ed Miliband could both struggle to win a majority, tonight is the last big set-piece TV event of the campaign.It is the Question Time Election Leaders Special. We are not going to see Cameron, Miliband and Nick Clegg debate head to head, but they will all be grilled by a Question Time audience, with David Dimbleby chairing and, hopefully, asking the incisive, deadly follow-up questions that make him such a good chair for events like this.The BBC has defended how it chose the audience for the leaders’ debate on Question Time, after its selection process was accused of both leftwing and pro-coalition bias.The audience for BBC1’s Question Time Election Leaders Special on Thursday, which will feature David Cameron, Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg, will be made up of 25% of those who say they will vote Tory, 25% Labour supporters, 25% Liberal Democrat supporters, 15% who favour “other parties” and 10% who say they are undecided. Continue reading...
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