The Spectator

If economics is the dismal science, manifesto-writing must rank as a candidate for the most dismal of arts. Too often in recent times it has been a case of writing down the word ‘future’ and then throwing virtuous-sounding words such as ‘fairness’, ‘change’ and ‘all’ into the air and seeing in what order they land. Manifesto-writers ought to subject each sentence to a test: do not include any statement unless you can imagine your political opponents saying the opposite. The title of Labour’s manifesto sums up its intellectual exhaustion: which politician this side of the 19th-century would ever have opposed a ‘Future Fair for All’? That is what makes the title of the Conservatives’ manifesto so distinctive.

Analysis from Pete and Daniel is available and here’s what the rest of the Web makes of the Lib Dem’s manifesto: Nick Robinson notes that the Lib Dems have made fiscal responsibility and fiscal fairness their standalone issues: 'But you don't need to reach for a calculator or even call our friends at the Institute of Fiscal Studies to ask this question - if you were in government and could really find £17bn, would you actually be prepared to give it all away? Nick Clegg's answer to that question is an interesting one. He argues that the public will only back what he once called savage cuts in public spending if they see that the cake is being fairly distributed.

Read vs Parris Sir: I found it difficult to contain my derisive laughter at the ludicrous vapourings of Piers Paul Read in your Easter issue debate. The idea of the Roman Catholic Church and its teachings as the bulwark against the forces of evil set to overwhelm us is too risible to be borne.

Spectator Live new.spectator.co.uk/live, the Spectator’s election bulletin board, launched today. Here are some of the posts made at Spectator.co.uk over the past week Fraser Nelson uncovers the real truth behind Brown’s British jobs for British workers, and reveals the true cost of Brown’s debt binge. James Forsyth watches Cameron launch the modern Conservative alternative, and suspects that the Clegg Cable relationship will come under pressure. Peter Hoskin hears Brown coming under fire on the Today programme, and is surprised that Europe is one of Labour’s election issues. David Blackburn hears Nick Clegg blow a brilliant opportunity, and tries to make sense of the strange case of Charlie Whelan’s Commons pass.

Welcome to the latest CoffeeHousers' Wall. For those who haven't come across the Wall before, it's a post we put up each Monday, on which - providing your writing isn't libellous, crammed with swearing, or offensive to common decency - you'll be able to say whatever you like in the comments section. There is no topic, so there's no need to stay 'on topic' - which means you'll be able to debate with each other more freely and extensively. There's also no constraint on the length of what you write - so, in effect, you can become Coffee House bloggers. Anything's fair game - from political stories in your local paper, to chat about the latest football results.

More summer time Sir: Why do well-meaning international bodies like the Worldwide Fund for Nature, who instigated the big switch-off for one ‘Earth Hour’ of darkness on Saturday night, not come out instead publicly to support Daylight Saving in this country? Maintaining our clocks on British Summer Time from last October until 28 March would have saved at least one hour of electricity every day of the week — rather than one hyped-up day in the year achieved by the Earth Hour. And would not the application of Daylight Saving in the future eliminate the need for building one extra nuclear power station to meet the fatuous waste of energy created by turning our clocks back one hour every autumn?

Just to let CoffeeHousers know that we'll be live-blogging the Chancellor's debate from 20:00 this evening. We hope you'll join us.