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Labour and Tories seek to deal with Lib Dem surge – 8 in the morning, April 19th

8amBy Alex Smith / @alexsmith1982

* The government has launched an unprecedented plan to help bring hom an estimated 200,000 people stranded by the ash cloud, including possible deployment of the navy.

* Bookies have made a hung parliament the favourite election outcome, as Labour and the Tories consider how to deal with the Lib Dem surge.

* The Tories are claiming Nick Clegg would “sell Britain out to Brussels, scrap the pound” and are “painting the Lib Dem leader as soft on crime and defence”, reports the Mirror.

* Gordon Brown will refocus Labour’s campaign this week on the economy.

* The Lib Dem bounce puts us in unchartered waters and is the “biggest shock to the electoral landscape for years”, writes John Curtice.

* The impact of the debates will help to offset some of the financial imbalance between Labour and the Tories, says Donald Macintyre.

* “Who is to blame for David Cameron’s TV nightmare?”, asks the Mail.

* Guardian Media looks at the parties’ policies on broadcasting and print advertising and libel.

Alex is the founder and CEO of The Cares Family. He was editor and first director of LabourList in 2009-2010, during which time he established the site as the number one Labour blog, and later an aide to Ed Miliband.

View all articles by Alex Smith
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