PIE SLICED - TWEET TWEET

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TODAY the Queen officially dissolved Parliament meaning that this is the first official week of the election campaign. All MPs are now former MPs and whatever happens in the election; the next time Parliament sits it will look very different. A quarter of MPs have stepped down or retired including some who were shamed in last year’s expenses scandal.

This week sees political parties launch their manifestos with Labour revealing theirs later on today. The Tories will launch on Tuesday and Lib Dems on Wednesday. It might help with trying to define the differences between the parties and give a little more detail about the cuts that will have to be made. We’ll have to wait and see

THE RACE BEGINS

GORDON Brown has officially announced that the general election will take place on May 6. Standing on the steps of Downing Street with his cabinet ministers behind him, Gordon Brown set out his mandate for election. The message Brown wants to take to the country is that “Britain is on the road to recovery and nothing we do should put that recovery at risk” hinting at the negative effect Conservatives policies could have on the economy.

It is clear that the economy is to play a big part of the election campaign as the major parties tussle with each other over cuts and taxes. The Lib Dems will be projecting Vince Cable, their highly regarded Treasury spokesmen as one of their great selling points. Whereas the Conservatives promise to fight for the “great ignored” getting rid of proposed increase to National Insurance contributions among other measures. It seems as though the issue of class will also have a big part to play in the campaign. Gordon stated, “I come from an ordinary middle class family” pointing out how ‘well connected’ he is to the voter compared to Eton schooled Cameron.

The 2010 election is set to be a tough fight. With mixed polls, there is certainly no clear-cut winner so far. In his speech, Brown highlighted, “I am not a team of one I am one of a team” – showing strength of his well-known Cabinet compared to David Cameron’s unknowns. But Cameron (who if elected would be the youngest serving Prime Minister) is playing up the idea of a “fresh start” and “real choice” as he stated in a speech to party faithful earlier this morning. Cameron will be taking his vision of “the modern conservative option” to the country with plans for a smaller government and ‘Big Society”. In his speech today Nick Clegg said that Gordon Browns’ days were numbered reinforcing that this election was not just a “two horse race”.

The election will be like none before it. With three – US styled – leadership debates and the possibility of the first hung Parliament for at least 30 years it is sure to be very dramatic.

JOURNEY TO THE ELECTION

PRIME MINISTER Gordon Brown is now on his way from Downing Street to Buckingham Palace to ask the Queen to dissolve Parliament. He will shortly announce on the steps that the election will take place on May 6.

THE CLOCK IS TICKING

IT'S been a bit of a bad Holy week and Easter weekend for the Pope. If you’re Gordon Brown it’s not been fantastic either (not to draw to many comparisons between the two very different situations). Yesterday the Sunday Times ran with the story, that according to a very recent poll Cameron’s Conservatives have pulled away from Labour with a 10-point lead. Meaning if repeated in the polls, the Conservatives would have a big enough majority to form Government. Not too great for Labour then.

Tomorrow, Gordon Brown is ‘’expected to go to Buckingham Palace to get the Queen’s permission to dissolve parliament and call an election. With possibly just hours to go until the political parties swing into full election mode, and after launching a poster attacking Cameron this weekend – which can only be described as backfiring like the exhaust of a poorly maintained 80’s Audi Quattro, Brown must be getting very jittery. He is surely in for a sleepless night, possibly wishing he could postpone the election like he did two autumns ago. Though this time there really is no escape for him.

The build up to this election has been never ending the parties have been at it since New Year. The country lost a lot of faith in this parliament and MPs, after last year’s expenses scandal. There was a call for change then. Not just a change in leadership though, a change in the style of Politics. But it seems as though a leopard never changes its spots, anyone got an MP for hire – err I mean cab for hire? This Parliament will be remembered for the crumbling duck house it is and the stinky moat of horse manure that surrounds it for many years to come.

As we get closer to the election and the chance for the country to decide, I am left with a feeling, a very negative feeling - is the public really interested in this election? Does anyone outside the Westminster bubble have much interest in the outcome? Can anyone tell the difference between the Tories and Labour or has our politics been too damaged? And what the hell are their policies, if they have any that is? All I know is that at such a financially difficult time this country needs serious, honest politics with an election campaign fought in a truthful and rational way. But it seems very clear that when the election is called it’s going to be a dirty, tit for tat fight till the very end.

CREAKY CAMERON

With just days to go until the election is called, election fever is really ramping up. After Labour was lambasted in the press by business leaders who are against the proposed rise in National Insurance contributions [to the delight of the Conservatives], it seems as thought the fight for Downing Street is going to get messy.

But that shiny veneer on PR man Cameron appears not so glossy in the video below. Cameron is being interviewed but it’s not going to well. The TV friendly Dave is slipping up all over the place. He’s like a nervous teenage boy fumbling in the back of a T reg. Vauxhall Corsa, trying to undo a brastrap for the first time.

Is David Cameron really ready to lead the country if he can’t get through a simple TV interview? It’s not as though it was a Jeremy Paxman interview.

Anyway, hope you enjoy and thanks to Gavin for passing on the link to me.

THE CALAMITY CARRIAGE

Could Labour be in for disaster? With just weeks to go until an election is called calamity could be on the cards for Labour. RMT union rail workers have balloted to strike for four days from April 6 – the day Brown is expected to go to the Palace to dissolve Parliament and call an election.

If the strike goes ahead it will cause chaos nationwide, as the entire rail network could be forced to shut down. It could have a serious impact on Labour as the incumbent party in the polls. RMT leader Bob Crow seems to have carefully orchestrated this strike to do just that.

The question of whether the public would trust Cameron and his Tories to run the country still remains. In a poll on the BBC News website Conservatives only have a five percent lead over Labour. It seems that when the official campaign gets going it’s going to be a very dirty fight. Fingernails will be bitten right to the very end and not just Gordon Brown's.

BACK TO BOG

AFTER what has been a very long, but regrettable time away, it’s finally time to once more get ‘back to blog’.

In one sense, not much has happened since the last post. There certainly have been notable events, of course, but the country is still in limbo waiting for a general election to be called. Gordon is still determined to clutch onto the reigns of power until his last breath and Parliament has once again shown that it has not changed since last summers damaging expenses disaster.

The mucky head of the sleaze monster has truly raised its head over Westminster again. Like the dying days of the Major government, which was embroiled with sleazy dealings, Labour has been shamed by the press as former front bench minister were caught out trying to sell their expertise and political influence to lobbying firms.

It is important to point out that some caught out were Tory too, and also that all MP shouldn’t be smeared with the same dirty brush. But the scandal couldn’t come at a worse time. With possibly just weeks to go till an election could this damage Labour’s campaign? I don’t think so. The public already have a feeling of mistrust towards Westminster and this revelation, however big in the press, seems fairly minor and to some extent expected. I don’t think this will have given Cameron’s Tories the swing it needs to form the next government alone.

Whatever happens it seems as though the House will certainly get a good spring clean in the weeks to come.