How we got to voting day... in a general election littered with gaffes, controversies and clangers

Because no election campaign is complete without dozens of scandals

David Cameron reads a book to Lucy Howarth (6) during a visit to Sacred Heart RC primary school in Westhoughton near Bolton, northern England

An exhausting 38 days of political campaigning are almost over, as the British public votes on who it wants to run the next government.

But with any number of possible permutations for a coalition come 8 May, it can be difficult to keep up with all the complicated pledges and vows and policies that have filled the past five weeks.

So why bother? Instead, judge the parties on who has made the most shocking gaffes, dropped the worst live TV clangers and sparked the most furious rows. This is the road to 7 May's vote - exclusively in mistakes, bust-ups and controversies.*

2 April: Nigel Farage shocks TV audience with HIV comments

3 April: Nicola Sturgeon 'memo'

Nicola Sturgeon was forced to deny telling the French ambassador she wanted the Tories to win the election in May in preference to Labour, after a 'memo' to that effect was leaked to the Telegraph.

5 April: Tories taking care of business (owners)

In an interview with this newspaper Danny Alexander, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, revealed that a senior Conservative minister told a Liberal Democrat cabinet colleague: 'You take care of the workers and we’ll take care of the bosses' in a private Whitehall meeting to discuss the Coalition Government’s priorities.

8 April: Ed Balls on non-doms

No sooner had Ed Miliband announced a popular Labour policy to scrap the non-dom tax status, a video emerged of Ed Balls explaining how such a move would end up costing Britain more.

... and David Cameron gets 'head-desked'

The PM struggled to keep the interest of a young schoolgirl at Sacred Heart RC primary school in Westhoughton near Bolton. She summed up what most political commentators were feeling about the election campaign at the time.

9 April: Ukip's porn star candidate

A mini-scandal surrounded Ukip's Bristol branch when it emerged the vice chair had an unusual second job as a veteran porn star. The party insisted it was happy to support candidates regardless of what they did in their spare time, adding proudly that 'no other party' would have taken John Langley - aka 'Johnny Rockard'.

13 April: Smarter than a 10-year-old?

14 April: Tory candidate 'wristbands'

There were calls and a petition for the Conservative parliamentary candidate for Cambridge to stand down, after she said that mental health patients could wear colour-coded wristbands to identify their conditions. Chamali Fernando was accused of showing 'prejudice' and 'remind[ing] us how far we have to go' by mental health campaigners.

15 April: Labour candidate 'forgets manifesto'

A video emerged of a Labour candidate suffering a terrifically awkward 'brain fade' and failing to name her party’s key policies. During an interview with local website The Chiswick Calendar, Ruth Cadbury (running for Brentford and Isleworth) froze: "Um… I can’t remember my key… I do need to check… I’m reading them every day... er… sorry… Labour’s key policies...".

16 April: Ukip candidate calls Islam 'evil cult'

A Ukip candidate standing for Parliament faced being sacked by the party after describing Islam as an “evil cult”. Stephen Latham, who is fighting the West Bromwich East seat, made the remarks in a Facebook post. He later said: "I wouldn’t have meant it about Islam itself. It would have been about the people causing problems."

17 April: Labour 'metaphors'

A Labour candidate was forced to apologise for “getting carried away with colourful metaphors” after making a joke about being caught in a threesome with Ed Miliband and a goat. Clive Lewis, a former reporter for BBC Look East who is now standing in Norwich South, said "anything could happen" when asked if he could be beaten by the Greens. After the Miliband example caused a bit of a backlash he added: "If anyone was genuinely offended then I'm sincerely sorry for that."

18 April: DUP on gay marriage

A right-wing Democratic Unionist Party of Northern Ireland politician thanked Nick Clegg for 'reminding' voters that they are seeking to abolish same-sex marriage. After the Lib Dems set up a satirical website accusing the DUP of wanting to 'reject gay rights', North Belfast MP Nigel Dodds said he was grateful to Mr Clegg 'for reminding people of the pivotal role the DUP can play'.

19 April: Miliband a hit among the hens

Ed Miliband was described as "the stripper" by a group of women on a hen party in Chester after they spotted the parked-up Labour battle bus. But not everyone saw it as statesmanlike behaviour, some saying it was 'cringe-worthy' and others reporting he looked 'absolutely terrified'.

20 April: Dodgy Tory donors?

The Conservatives were forced to return more than £50,000 in donations from a businesswoman whose husband was convicted of tax fraud in the US. Beatrice Tollman, who donated £20,000 as recently as early April, was herself charged with conspiracy to evade millions of dollars’ worth of tax in the US, charges that were dismissed by a judge in 2008.

21 April: Wikipedia edits

Tory party chairman Grant Shapps was accused of editing the Wikipedia pages of his Conservative rivals and allegedly changing his own page to delete embarrassing references to his past. A Wikipedia administrator reported and suspended an account called 'Contribsx' on suspicion it was being used by Mr Shapps or 'someone acting on his behalf'.

22 April: The not-so-Green Party

A group of leading scientists and campaigners rounded on the Green Party, accusing it of turning its back on its main mission by largely ignoring the crucial issue of climate change in the run-up to the general election. Critics said that although the Green Party manifesto contains plenty of references to policies on global warming, the party was 'grievously at fault' for leaving the subject largely unspoken in campaigning by the party and its leader, Natalie Bennett.

23 April: IFS accusations

Voters are being kept 'in the dark' by all the main parties over future spending cuts and tax rises, the influential Institute for Fiscal studies said. A detailed study of the party manifestos by the think-tank concluded that none of the Lib Dems, Labour, the Conservatives or SNP had provided "anything like full details" on plans to cut the deficit over the next five-year Parliament.

24 April: Migrant crisis made political

Ed Miliband was branded 'shameful' by Downing Street after he said David Cameron was partly responsible for the deaths of hundreds of migrants in the Mediterranean. The Labour leader said the Prime Minister’s role in creating instability in Libya had contributed to thousands of north Africans drowning in the Mediterranean as they try to flee the crisis. A senior Tory called the comments 'deeply provocative'

25 April: Political football

David Cameron’s football-loving credentials received a kicking at a campaign event in Croydon after he suggested to the audience he supported West Ham- despite previously claiming he was a huge Aston Villa fan. When asked about his sudden change in loyalty, Cameron later said he was still a Villa fan and blamed the slip up on a 'brain fade'.

26 April: The Ed and Boris bust-up

27 April: NI minister 'homophobia'

Jim Wells, the DUP Health Minister of Northern Ireland, resigned after saying children are more likely to be abused by gay couples. He had said: “You don't bring a child up in a homosexual relationship. That a child is far more likely to be abused and neglected.” He said he was standing down to spend more time with his family.

28 April: Offensively independent

An independent candidate standing in Northern Ireland proudly came up with the least 'politically correct' leaflet of the campaign. Susan-Anne White declared she would criminalise adultery and homosexuality, end sex education, reinstate corporal punishment and much more.

29 April: Complacent Conservative?

Tory Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith failed to turn up to hustings in his own constituency following a 'late change in his schedule'. Wags observed that it was ironic given the minister has ramped up monetary sanctions against people who do not attend job interviews or JobCentre meetings.

30 April: The Sun has got two hats on

The Sun revealed who it was supporting in the election - both the Tories and, in Scotland, the SNP. While the UK edition of the newspaper called on the British public to vote Conservative so as to "stop [the] SNP running the country", The Scottish Sun announced its support for Nicola Sturgeon's party saying it will "fight harder for Scotland's interests at Westminster".

1 May: 'It's all about my career... I mean country'

Labour jumped on another David Cameron gaffe after the PM said on the campaign trail that the election was a “career defining” moment when he meant to say “country defining”. Ed Miliband's party pounced, saying the remarks were proof Mr Cameron “puts his career before the country”. “It’s all about Dave,” the party tweeted.

2 May: Ukip candidate suspended

A Ukip candidate who described himself as “unapologetically politically incorrect pro-British” was suspended after suggesting Shadow Minister Luciana Berger had split loyalties because she is Jewish. In one Twitter message Jack Sen, standing in West Lancashire, said: “Protect child benefits? If you had it your way you'd send the £ to Poland/ Israel.”

3 May: #EdStone

Labour leader Ed Miliband unveiled Labour's pledges carved into a stone plinth in Hastings. He said it showed his commitment to keep promises - but many mocked the "risible" stunt and said it would be the "tombstone" for Labour's election hopes.

4 May: Milibrand part 2

Russell Brand dramatically unveiled the second part of his interview with Ed Miliband, in which he agreed with the leader and then called on his YouTube viewers to vote Labour. David Cameron had described him as a "joke" who previously advocated not voting - but with Brand commanding more than a million YouTube subscribers that may come back to haunt the Tories.

5 May: 'Erection Day' is coming

It was the penultimate day of campaigning, the party leaders were making last-ditch attempts to win votes across the country - and all everyone (even around the world) was talking about was an unfortunately-worded Tory election leaflet. James Duddridge, standing to be re-elected for the Tories in Rochford and Southend East, posted the picture to Twitter himself as a warning for others to "always have someone to proof read your leaflet".

* The Independent recommends considering the full breadth of each party's policies and promises before coming to an informed decision on who to vote for. Go on, even if it's a bit boring.