Via the BBC: Blair sets 5 May as election date

The general election will be held on 5 May, Tony Blair has formally announced.

Speaking after asking the Queen to dissolve Parliament next week, Mr Blair said Labour had a “driving mission” for a third term in office.

[...]

Four opinion polls published on Tuesday suggest Labour’s lead over the Tories has slipped to between 2% and 5%. They suggest the Lib Dems trail the Tories by between 10 and 16 points.

But one of the polls also suggests the Tories are 5% ahead of Labour among those “certain to vote”.

With the campaign under way, ministers must rush to get their remaining legislation through Parliament before it winds up work, probably on Friday. It will be formally dissolved on Monday.

If anyone wants an example of how the British system is different from our own, here it is.

Here’s the timeline.

More poll info.

The last elections were almost exactly four years ago (the term of office is five year, but the PM can call elections early, and often does).