Reaction to the Tory manifesto - 8 in the morning, April 14th

8am

By Alex Smith / @alexmsith1982

* The Tories’ manifesto could lead to massive VAT rises, experts have warned.

* John Rentoul says the Tory manifesto is “the flying pig manifesto, lighter than air and rhetorically describing a Britain that is never going to be.”

* Ken Clarke has vowed to give business a laissez faire attitude should the Tories win the election.

* One new poll this morning shows Labour to within three points of the Tories, but others show that the opinion polls are still volatile.

* Jonathan Freedland says: “the manifestos talk of the future, but this campaign is all about the 1980s.”

* In an interview with ITV tonight, Gordon Brown will admit that there was not enough regulation of the banks in the run-up to the financial crisis.

* The Lib Dems will launch their manifesto today, with an attack on Labour’s record on civil liberties.

* Has the BBC handled the manifesto coverage fairly, asks the New Statesman’s James Macintyre…

Alex Smith

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.

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