Wales@Westminster

by BBC Wales's Parliamentary Correspondent David Cornock

Tony Blair's got three of them, William Hague just the one and Charles Kennedy's is called the Big Banana.

Battle buses have become so fashionable, BBC Wales has decided to acquire its own.

The plan is to travel from Colwyn Bay to Cardiff Bay in four days, taking in the key electoral battlegrounds along the way

I've spent the first half of this election campaign listening to the politicians in Westminster.

I will spend the Whitsun week listening to the voters. Hence the (temporary) acquisition of a vehicle to travel the length of Wales.

Mr Blair's battle buses are named Strong Britain, Strong Leadership and Strong Economy.

Strong Britain contains a "quiet area" where the prime minister can rest and change clothes or partake of the on-board catering - ciabatta bread sandwiches and a large pot of lollipops.

It also has, I'm told, a plain clothes police officer, state-of-the-art telephone, fax and TV facilities, not to mention a gaggle of spin doctors.

Plaid set their sights on Islwyn

Mine has a cassette player, a selection of party manifestoes and (some of the time) an on-board cameraman.

The plan is to travel from Colwyn Bay to Cardiff Bay in four days, taking in the key electoral battlegrounds along the way.

Colwyn Bay (Tuesday) is in Clwyd West, a seat won by Labour last time from the former Tory Minister Rod Richards.

Labour held the seat during the Assembly elections, but it's a seat the Tories must win if William Hague is to stand a chance of becoming prime minister.

The next scheduled stop (Wednesday) is Brecon and Radnor, to take the political pulse of the countryside.

The seat has yo-yoed between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats during the past 18 years.

Former MP for Colwyn Bay Rod Richards

What effect will the Lib Dems' coalition deal with Labour have on their hopes of holding onto a seat vacated by their Welsh leader, Richard Livsey?

How will the crisis in agriculture and the debate over petrol taxes affect the way people vote?

Then on Thursday, Llanelli beckons.

Labour's Denzil Davies is defending a majority of 16,039, but Helen Mary Jones won the seat for Plaid Cymru in the assembly elections.

Plaid Cymru need a 20% swing to win here, but after 1999, they hope to spring another surprise.

Defeat here, unlikely as it may initially seem, would take the gloss off Tony Blair's expected election victory.

If it's Friday 1 June, it should be Islwyn, another seat taken by Plaid Cymru in the assembly elections.

The nationalists require a swing of more than 30% to take Neil Kinnock's former seat, but the assembly result and mixed economic fortunes mean Labour are taking nothing for granted.

Richard Livsey vacates Brecon and Radnor seat

Details of my route - where you can spot the BBC Wales battle bus and news of what happens along the way - will appear on this site.

In the spirit of the campaign, I present my pledge card.

Print this out, and see that I keep my promises.

• Listen to the voters
• Cover the issues that matter to you
• No spin doctors
• No punch-ups with the electorate
• Regular updates on Radio Wales and Wales Today.

  As the politicians say, there are no easy solutions or quick fixes, but I can promise reports that are a politician-free zone.

  It's time for common sense, I'll be fighting back for Wales and offering a real chance for real change.

  The work goes on.

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