The day it got hot: Clegg, Balls and Justine in town as South Coast becomes election battle ground

The political parties upped the ante in Sussex with visits from Ed Balls, Nick Clegg and Justine Miliband, the wife of the Labour leader. And the arrivals came as the weather itself created a hot sunny day for most of the county.

The parties are also unveiling their manifestoes to woo voters – though they were alternatively used as fans amid the heat.

With Brighton and Hove gleaming in the spring sunshine, Justine Miliband took the chance to soak up some rays down by the city’s famed beach huts.

Supporters of the wife of the would-be Labour Prime Minister added to the colourful scene with a plethora of pink placards for Labour 2015 but there was no sign of the now infamous Harriet Harman pink battle bus.

For shadow chancellor Ed Balls, visiting Brighton was a quick chance to take in some shopping at the Morrisons store in St James’s Street, where he picked up a slab of ham from the meat counter, some scones and two bunches of daffodils in a whistlestop run around the store.

He was quizzed by one voter on the price of two pints of milk but Brighton Kemptown candidate Nancy Platts was quick to jump in with the correct answer before any potential awkward silence could develop.

Mr Balls gratefully pointed out the follies of the Conservative pledge to extend right to buy to housing association properties, was grilled by one shopper on fracking who told him current safeguards were being monitored by a monkey.

And he was mistaken for Ed Miliband by one self-confessed but possibly short-sighted Labour supporter. And Mr Balls proudly assured the journalist pack that the supermarket giant does not use zero-hour contracts.

There was even time for Mr Balls and Ms Platts to try out a new future career as apprentice scone makers in the supermarket bakery with the shadow chancellor throwing scones around with wild abandon.

He later said he was “glowing with pride” with his kneading and was pleased when The Argus observed he seemed more at home in the kitchen than his Conservative rival George Osborne – who gave a less than expert attempt at pizza making in Hove earlier this month.

Mr Balls quipped: “Mr Osborne is a historian, he is neither an economist or a baker. In both economics and bakery, you need to know how to make things rise.”

Meanwhile, Nick Clegg faced his toughest grilling of the election campaign by school children at Cradle Hill Primary School in Seaford.

The deputy prime minister might have had to see the headmaster for failing to wear his tie in school (possibly on account of the hot weather) but Lewes candidate Norman Baker went top of the class with his party politically correct bright orange tie as he accompanied his leader.

• Greens pledge to create a million quality, stable jobs

The Green Party is pledging to create one million quality and stable jobs as it promotes an end to austerity and the rebuilding of public services.

Launching their manifesto yesterday, leader Natalie Bennett said 400,000 of the jobs would be in the NHS and social care.

She said the party was calling for a “peaceful political revolution” at the General Election on May 7.

Ms Bennett said: “At the heart of this manifesto is a vision of a fair economy.

“That fair economy demands the end to austerity. It demands we restore and enhance the essential public services to all but particularly the most vulnerable.”

The Green leader said protection of the NHS was at the heart of the party’s election offer as she vowed to strip all private operators from the organisation.

She said the “expensive, destructive” market would be removed from the health service.

Other policies include re-nationalising the railways and policies to tackle climate change.

Caroline Lucas, former Green Party leader and the only Green MP (Brighton Pavilion) in the last parliament, said tackling the environmental crisis is not “some luxury that is only possible when there are good economic times”.

She added the issue could not be discarded when times are tough.

On the “scandal of cold homes”, Ms Lucas added: “We will provide a free nationwide retro-fit insulation programme, concentrating on areas where fuel poverty is most serious. Our programme is designed to insulate nine million homes in total.”

Among the other commitments in the manifesto include to provide 500,000 new homes by 2020 with councils freed up to borrow to build and to end Right to Buy and increase the social housing budget by £4.5 billion a year by abolishing “landlord perks” such as mortgage interest relief.

They also plan to scrap university tuition fees and cancel £30 billion of student debt, strip private schools of charitable status and cut class sizes to 20 pupils. VAT would be extended to cover more sugary and unhealthy foods and healthy fruit and vegetables would be subsidised.

• Balls: ‘Tory plans for councils not fair on Brighton’

THE “unfair” decision to grant more powers to a selection of councils is short-changing Brighton and Hove, shadow chancellor Ed Balls claimed on a visit to the city.

Mr Balls told The Argus there was no reason why preferential treatment granted to Greater Manchester and Cambridge areas to retain business rates should not be extended countrywide.

Labour’s party manifesto is promising “the biggest devolution of power” to English cities and counties in a century, claiming they will put £30 billion in the hands of local authorities along with new powers.

Conservative opponents said they also welcomed increasing financial independence for Brighton and Hove City Council but that the Chancellor was right to introduce change cautiously.

Mr Balls also gave hope to the city’s tourism industry by saying he will “study the evidence” for slashing VAT on the city’s £780 million tourism industry.

Chancellor George Osborne ruled out the proposed reduction in VAT to 5% for tourism-related industries on a recent visit – much to the anger of campaigners.

Mr Balls said: “I have said I will promise to investigate the evidence for the case to cut VAT for tourism. I know it has been tried in other countries and I want to study the evidence. I don’t think I can sign up to something that will cost us money but I will not reject it out of hand like George Osborne did.”

Mr Balls said there was no reason why other cities and towns should not be treated like Manchester and Cambridge and that those new powers should not be reserved for areas willing to accept an elected mayor – something that Brighton and Hove rejected in 2001.

He said: “In the budget George Osborne announced he would devolve business rates to Manchester and Cambridge but why is he short-changing Brighton? Why shouldn’t those business rates be available to invest locally here?

“I don’t understand why he recommends a first class deal for Manchester and a second class deal for all other towns and cities across the country. It is unfair and wrong-headed.”

The party lost all five of its seats in Sussex in 2010 and Mr Balls admitted that Labour had made some mistakes while in Government.

He said: “It was really disappointing for us to lose those seats in 2010.

“The need to have fair but tough controls on immigration did hurt us in a number of seats across the south coast and it’s something we have learned from.”

Graham Cox, Conservative candidate for Hove, said he was surprised by Mr Balls’ remarks as Labour had opposed the devolution of NHS powers to Manchester.

He added: “I think it’s great what is happening in Manchester and I look forward with excitement to it coming here.”

• Clegg: ‘There is still hope for Lib Dems’

NICK CLEGG said he has not written off the Liberal Democrats’ chances in Brighton and Hove – despite his party’s dismal outlook for the city on May 7.

The Deputy Prime Minster was quizzed by school children at Cradle Hill Primary School, in Lexden Road, Seaford, yesterday.

He was visiting Norman Baker, who is hoping to defend his Lewes seat.

After answering questions from the youngsters, Mr Clegg spoke to reporters at the school.

Asked if he was writing off his party’s chances in Brighton and Hove, he said: “We have not written anything off, but look, this is like any other election, you are stronger in some areas and not so strong in others. The Conservatives are nowhere in large parts of northern England and Labour are nowhere in large parts of southern England.

“We actually have a presence in all parts of the country but of course there are some constituencies where we have a longer track record than others.”

He added: “We are not writing off any area but it is the ebb and flow of politics isn’t it.

“At some elections you are on the front foot, on some you are not so much on the front foot.

“It is just the way it works and always has done and no doubt always will do.”

He added: “The Liberal Democrats are the only guarantee of any sense or stability.”

Headteacher Maureen Fairhead praised her pupils for their expert questions for the politician.

She added: “It was all kept hush hush so they didn’t know until the last minute.

“My children were not afraid to speak up and ask the right questions.

“They were just willing to be themselves.”

The children asked questions about school meals, languages and what they thought was the most important part of his job.

He responded: “The most important part of my job is to make sure that when you grow up there are jobs for you.”