Isabel Hardman

The government's legislative programme is pretty light at present. But the Bill that is going to spark the most interest this week is destined to go nowhere at all. It's a Ten Minute Rule Bill, introduced by Tory MP Ben Gummer this Tuesday, and calls for National Insurance to be renamed the 'Earnings Tax'. What's in a name? Well, there are two good reasons why this Bill which won't go anywhere (Ten Minute Rule motions are simply used as a way of making a point and drawing attention to an issue) has, as I understand it, already gained a great deal of attention and sympathy at the highest levels of government. The first is the reason that Gummer cites for introducing the motion in the first place: transparency.

Today's borrowing figures are, on the surface, not good for the Tories. The surplus on the public finances in January 2014 was lower than for the same month in 2013, at £4.7 billion compared to last year's £6.0 billion figure (although it's worth pointing out that the difference could get even smaller with subsequent revisions). That disappointing figure means that over the year, Osborne has borrowed just £4 billion than at the same point last year:- These figures give Labour the opportunity to remind voters that George Osborne has failed to meet his own targets.

Who knew Nick Clegg was so scary? As James revealed this morning, the Lib Dem leader has challenged Nigel Farage, never knowingly silent, to a televised leaders' debate for the European elections. But the Ukip response isn't quite so enthusiastic. The party's director of communications Patrick O'Flynn has said that ‘it would be ridiculous if Nick Clegg were to refuse to extend his invitation to David Cameron and Ed Miliband too’ and that ‘we also want to know from David Cameron and Ed Miliband that they are not running scared and will be happy to present their case on the EU to the British public as well. We can see no reason why they would not wish to take part’. Farage has his own phone-in on LBC tomorrow morning, where he will respond in full.

As violence flared up again in Kiev this afternoon, and EU leaders threatened to impose sanctions on those responsible for the violence in Ukraine, David Cameron issued this statement: 'I am deeply concerned by the scenes we are witnessing in Ukraine. The violence on all sides is completely unacceptable and President Yanukovych has a particular responsibility to pull back government forces and de-escalate the situation. 'Violence is not the way to resolve the political differences across the country. The President needs to engage with the opposition and work with all sides in Ukraine to agree political reforms that reflect the democratic aspirations of the Ukrainian people. There must be a clear commitment to the rule of law, respect for fundamental human rights and civil freedoms.

There are ornately-feathered birds in New Guinea that have less bizarre mating rituals than Labour and the Lib Dems. The two parties need to show that it isn't impossible to work with one another in a future coalition while also keeping their own supporters reassured that they're not desperately keen to jump into a bed with another party that activists find themselves embroiled in dirty by-election and local fights with. Hence the weird back-and-forth dances and plenty of displays of aggression that we've seen over the past couple of months. So Ed Balls in January suggested Nick Clegg's head would not be the price of a Coalition after all with the Lib Dems and was immediately slapped down by Clegg.

Ed Miliband has been singing the praises of New Towns in tonight's Standard, saying a Labour government would use these developments to help solve London's housing crisis. He writes: 'A key plank will be creating new towns in sustainable locations where people want to live, just like earlier generations did in places such as Stevenage and Milton Keynes. Labour will kick-start the next generation of new towns and garden cities around the capital to ease the pressure on London.' Although he doesn't say it, it's a reasonably safe bet that the Labour leader is thinking of Ebbsfleet when he talks about a sustainable location where people want to live. That's where Lord Adonis, who is leading Labour's growth review, has set his sights for a new development.

Jose Manuel Barroso has said before that Scotland would have to apply separately to join the EU if it became independent. But his remarks today on the Andrew Marr Show were far more pessimistic about the prospects of that application being successful. After the three main Westminster parties blew a hole in the reassuring argument that Alex Salmond has been making so far that Scotland could keep the pound, Barroso effectively reminded Scots this morning that a 'Yes' vote won't just mean 'Yes' to independence, it will mean 'Yes' to leaving the EU too. He said: 'First of all, I don’t want now to go into hypothetical questions.

The Conservatives were never going to win the Wythenshawe and Sale East by-election. But the way the party has spun its third place is slightly depressing. The Times today quotes a party source saying: 'This is a safe Labour seat with the largest council estate in Europe. It's not on our marginal list.' Now, this is an understandably pragmatic way of viewing a by-election. It wasn't expected, as it was prompted by the tragic and untimely death of a respected Labour MP, Paul Goggins. So the Conservatives were not embedded in the constituency in the way that they were in Eastleigh, for instance. Labour moved the writ for a short by-election campaign, which also meant that Ukip didn't have as much time to make its case, particularly to postal voters, as it would have liked.