The BBC election debate will give a fascinating insight into the policies and priorities of five of the parties which were in Opposition during the last Parliament.

Lots were drawn among the political parties today (Mon) to establish the on-set positions of the leaders. From left to right the leaders will be: Ed Miliband, Leanne Wood, Natalie Bennett, Nicola Sturgeon, and Nigel Farage.

Each will be invited to make a short opening statement before David Dimbleby introduces questions from an audience of 200 voters, selected and weighted to give a cross-section of political opinion.

The order of opening statements will be (for full details see end): Leanne Wood, Nigel Farage, Ed Miliband, Nicola Sturgeon and Natalie Bennett.

The debate will feature five questions, with each leader given a minute to offer their own answer before 10 minutes of free debate. At the end of the debate the leaders will be invited to make short closing statements.

James Harding, Director of News and Current Affairs, says: “The BBC election debate will give a fascinating insight into the policies and priorities of five of the parties which were in Opposition during the last Parliament. The party leaders will lay out and debate their alternatives to the policies pursued by the coalition over the past five years. Afterwards, we will be able to gauge the instant reaction of other parties in an evening of viewing dedicated to helping voters understand the choices which will be before them on May 7.”

Following the debate at 9.30pm BBC One will broadcast BBC Election Debate 2015: The Reaction, a half-hour analysis programme presented by Emily Maitlis which will feature reaction to the debate from the Conservatives, the Liberal Democrats and the DUP.

And later, a special edition of Newsnight will come from Belfast. Presented by Evan Davis, the programme will provide analysis and debate with all the main Northern Ireland parties. The programme will be on BBC Two at 10.30pm and in Northern Ireland will be broadcast on BBC One.

David Dimbleby will leave the debating chamber to head off to host Question Time, to be broadcast on BBC One from 10.45pm. On the panel: Labour’s shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper, SNP leader at Westminster Angus Robertson, Liberal Democrat Business Minister Jo Swinson, UKIP’s Douglas Carswell, a senior Conservative and the journalist and broadcaster Piers Morgan.

Note to Editors

The BBC’s debate is one of a sequence of election programmes put on by the main broadcasters aiming to give voters everywhere the chance to hear from the different parties - and to scrutinise them - using debates and interviews, as well as programmes where voters themselves tackle the leaders. On the BBC, this will conclude with a Question Time Election Special, where David Cameron, Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg will one by one face questions from the Question Time audience. This will be live on BBC One from 8pm to 9.30pm on April 30.

In this debate we are concentrating on the opposition parties at Westminster. The five parties represented here are Labour, the SNP, Plaid Cymru, UKIP and the Green Party. To ensure there is an element of political balance we will also feature representatives of the parties of government and the Democratic Unionist Party, the fourth largest party at Westminster in the last Parliament in the analysis programme at 9.30pm. Other Northern Ireland parties will feature in Newsnight after the debate.

Full running order

Opening Statements

Leanne Wood Nigel Farage Ed Miliband Nicola Sturgeon Natalie Bennett

Question One

Nicola Sturgeon Ed Miliband Natalie Bennett Nigel Farage Leanne Wood

Question Two

Ed Miliband Leanne Wood Nigel Farage Natalie Bennett Nicola Sturgeon

Question Three

Nigel Farage Natalie Bennett Leanne Wood Nicola Sturgeon Ed Miliband

Question Four

Natalie Bennett Nicola Sturgeon Ed Miliband Nigel Farage Leanne Wood

Question Five

Ed Miliband Nigel Farage Nicola Sturgeon Leanne Wood Natalie Bennett

Closing Statements

Nicola Sturgeon Leanne Wood Natalie Bennett Ed Miliband Nigel Farage

EF2