Election '97: QUOTES OF THE DAY

The Tory lie machine is now moving up a gear, so it is vital that we move up a gear in our positive campaigning. The contract is the key to that - Tony Blair

I did not know before the last election how long and how deep the recession would be. I said at the last election I did not intend to put up taxes, I had no plans to put up taxes, nor did I - John Major

Yesterday, as the Prime Minister continued to claim that the tax burden has not risen, the Institute for Fiscal Studies confirmed what ordinary British families already knew to be the case: they are paying more - Margaret Beckett

It's not fair; we're not given a choice. No disrespect to Betty, but if she stays Speaker for a while, we'll never have another vote - Dorothy Spooner, constituent of Commons Speaker Betty Boothroyd, who is standing unopposed

The degree of co-operation that there has been between Labour and the Liberal Democrats is specifically and exclusively on constitutional issues. On everything else we are up front competitors - Charles Kennedy

Does Martin Bell know that being shot down in Bosnia is as nothing compared to being hunted down by the British press? - Neil Hamilton

The evidence of wrongdoing endures and disqualifies Mr Hamilton as an appropriate person to be a Member of Parliament - Martin Bell

"I have been a Labour supporter, a socialist, all my life. But what it comes down to is the issue of trust, and I believe the Liberal Democrats are more trustworthy now than Labour - Agony aunt Anna Raeburn explaining why she will be voting Lib Dem