article: The PM said he had rejected Â£8bn in child benefit cuts the Lib Dems claimed the Tories had proposed in government. Ed Miliband said Labour did not overspend when in power and that he would not lead a government if it involved a deal with the SNP. Nick Clegg was grilled over tuition fees, trust and coalition deals. While insisting they could both win outright, the Conservative and Labour leaders gave the clearest indications to date of the terms of possible post-election deals, with Mr Cameron saying his pledge of an EU referendum in 2017 would be a "red line" in any negotiations. Three other leaders also faced audience questions: The prime minister was first in the firing line at Leeds Town Hall. Mr Cameron said he did not want to cut child benefit or child tax credits if he won the election, but that it was possible to save more from the welfare budget. Asked if this amounted to an "absolute guarantee," he said child tax credit "would not fall" and child benefit was "one of the most important benefits there is" and did not need to change. Brandishing the note left in 2010 by outgoing Labour Treasury Secretary Liam Byrne, stating there was "no money left", Mr Cameron said: "It takes a long time to fix the mess that I was left." "We are half way through a building job," the PM added. Asked if his vow to pass laws preventing tax rises was an admission he usually lied, Mr Cameron said he wanted to put the policy "beyond doubt". He said he had not agreed to a head-to-head debate with Mr Miliband because: "This, giving you the chance to answer questions directly, this is more powerful than a televised debate." Mr Cameron was then asked why people did not trust the Conservatives on the NHS, replying that improving the health service was "my life's work" but only possible with a strong economy. He refused to speculate on what might happen in the event of a hung Parliament, saying he did not want to do a deal in a "darkened room with Nick Clegg", but said an in/out referendum on the EU would be a "red line" in any coalition negotiations. The Labour leader said nothing he has not said repeatedly before - explaining his view that the deficit resulted from the financial crash and not from over spending by the last Labour government. He gave no new hostages to fortune but it was, nevertheless, the toughest ride he's faced in this campaign. With David Cameron looking confident the Tories and the Tory press will claim that this was the night the election turned. But - and it is a big but - the prime minister's performance relied on either ignoring or dodging the hostile questioning he faced about welfare cuts, the bedroom tax, food banks and the morality of his policies. Read more from Nick Read Carole Walker's leader-by-leader analysis. Ed Miliband faced tough questions, with one man accusing the Labour leader of lying and telling him it was
summary: David Cameron and Ed Miliband have faced tough questions from a Question Time audience over their economic plans in the final TV event of the campaign.