• The Lib Dems are promising to change the nature of primary education: from an average class size for infants of 26.2, children would be able to start school in a class of under 20, using money from a 'pupil premium' to be spent at schools' discretion. It could also provide for one-on-one tuition and after school or holiday support. BBC


• A Guardian sceptic about Conservative proposals alleges the people power they promise will only lead to further privatisation and masks a traditional Thatcherite legacy. Will 'free schools' not be managed by private companies with responsibility to their own shareholders, set up by the pushiest parents in the most affluent areas and likely to exacerbate social segregation? Guardian

• Official figures released by Ucas show a 16.5% increase in applications for higher education, significant, but lower than projected figures of 23%. The expansion of between 10 and 20,000 extra places promised by the main three parties will not cater for the 100,000 extra applicants. BBC


• The newly elected National Union of Students president is likely to set the union on a collision course with government. The existing Vice-President, Porter stood for the presidency on a militantly anti-tuition fees platform, arguing that if universities are able to set their own tariffs, the most prestigious universities will become too expensive for poorer pupils. Guardian


• The second of three inquiries into the 'climategate' affair at UEA affirmed the first by finding 'absolutely no evidence of any impropriety whatsoever'. Lord Oxburgh concluded that the scientists were disorganised but the basic science had been done 'fairly and properly'. Guardian

• Primark has removed padded tops for young girls for sale, apologised for causing offence and promised to donate any profits to a children's charity. Cameron, who had earlier said that selling such items was 'disgraceful' is said to be delighted by the withdrawal. In previous years, Tesco, Asda and WHSmith have rescinded products following similar campaigns. BBC


• Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg promised to be the party of fairness yesterday as he launched the party manifesto. While not explicitly ruling out income tax or VAT rises, he pledged that nobody would pay income tax on the first £10,000 of earnings, with promises to free the 3.6million people who earn less from paying income tax at all. Payments into child trust funds will end and child tax credits for higher earners be cut. Guardian


• Pembrokeshire county council has faced criticism over its child protection procedures. It waited 18 months to put a child, who was being left unsupervised with a family member convicted of child abuse, on an at risk register. The case dates back to 2005. Guardian


• Babies with three parents could be conceived within just three years by merging DNA from two fertilised eggs. The process would stop children from inheriting severe diseases. Times


• A commentator assesses Cameron's idea of DIY government amid an age where the emphasis has become doing things yourself (your rubbish; your bank account; your holiday). Is this a genuine empowerment or is it simply a way of saving money and - as philosopher Julian Baggini deems - a way of leading us toward greater mediocrity by corroding professional judgement? Guardian

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