BBC election debate live: Ed Miliband to defend Labour's approach as opposition leaders go head to head without Cameron or Clegg

David Cameron and Nick Clegg have declined to take part in the set-piece

David Dimbleby on the set of the BBC Election Debate 2015 (BBC)

Ed Miliband is facing a test tonight as he goes head-to-head in a television debate with the leaders of the UK’s other opposition parties.

Five of Westminster’s party leaders, from the SNP, Labour, Green Party, Plaid Cymru and Ukip, will go head-to-head on BBC One from 8pm.

The clash, being held in Westminster’s Methodist Central Hall, will not include David Cameron or Nick Clegg – who declined to take part.

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Tonight's debate will be broadcast on BBC One and will last an hour and a half, starting at 8pm.

Neither David Cameron nor Nick Clegg, as the Coalition's Deputy Prime Minister, will be taking part in what has been dubbed the "Challengers' Debate".

The leaders who are speaking will line up, from left to right on the podium, as Labour's Ed Miliband, Plaid Cymru's Leanne Wood, the Green Party's Natalie Bennett, the SNP's Nicola Sturgeon and Ukip's Nigel Farage, with David Dimbleby hosting.

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