FROM ELECTION 2005 >>
Blair sets 5 May as election date
The general election will be held on 5 May, Tony Blair says, as he kick-starts a month-long poll campaign.

FROM ELECTION 2005 >>
Howard launches election campaign
The Conservatives launch their official election campaign, boosted by the latest opinion polls.

Postal votes 'wide-open to fraud'
The judge in a vote-rigging trial says the government is in denial about the failings of the postal voting system.

FROM ELECTION 2005 >>
Defection boosts Lib Dem campaign
Lib Dem leader Charles Kennedy sees his election campaign boosted as a Labour candidate defects.

Brown outlines vision on economy
Voters face a choice between economic success and instability, the chancellor says.

Economy focus for election battle
Britain's economic future will be at the heart of Labour's election manifesto, Gordon Brown says.

Tory shortlist to replace Flight
Senior Tories chose a shortlist of three candidates to replace sacked Howard Flight in the upcoming election.

Election campaigning kept on hold
Election campaigning remains suspended out of respect for the Pope - after Tony Blair delays naming election day.

'Parents create feckless youths'
Parents, not schools, are to blame for creating "foul-mouthed, potentially violent youths', Conservatives say.

Lib Dems vow to ditch council tax
The Liberal Democrats launch their campaign to replace the council tax, 15 years after the Poll Tax riots.

Blair accused of security gamble
Michael Howard accuses Tony Blair of gambling with the UK's national security by cutting armed forces.

Lib Dems predict 'best ever poll'
The Lib Dems are set for their best results in both national and local elections, claims a frontbencher.

Tories pledge more childcare help
Michael Howard promises extra cash for childcare and maternity leave, as the row over a sacked Tory MP continues.

New parties rushing to register
A total of 61 new UK political parties registered in 2004 with 28 more coming forward in 2005.

Kennedy urges crime solution
Crime-fighting under Labour has seen a mass of new laws but few real solutions, says Lib Dem leader Charles Kennedy.

Reid focus on 'entrepreneur' GPs
Health Secretary John Reid says he wants to give entrepreneurial GPs the chance to broaden patient services.

Border police planned by Tories
A new police force charged only with securing Britain's borders would be created under Tory plans.

Blair shuns US religion politics
Religion should not play the same role in British politics that it does in America, says Tony Blair.

Blair sticks by Tory 'cuts' claim
Tony Blair renews his attack on £35bn Tory spending 'cuts' amid accusations the figure is misleading.

Lib Dems promote 10 core vows
The Liberal Democrats take out a series of adverts in national newspapers in a bid to raise their profile.

Tory traveller plans 'not racist'
Michael Howard says Tory plans on illegal traveller sites are about common sense and not racism.

Abortion not a poll issue - Blair
Tony Blair warns abortion should not become an election issue after a senior Catholic backs Michael Howard's stance.

Defection timed to hit tax pledge
Tory defector Robert Jackson and his new Labour bosses tried to overshadow Michael Howard's announcement on taxation and spending.

Will Tory tax cuts lift spirits?
Michael Howard's announcement on taxation aims to open a real divide between Labour and the Tories.

Lib Dems' 'bold' election policy
The Liberal Democrats' election policies mark a boldly different approach to the two other parties, Nick Assinder says.

What really divides the parties
Labour has press ahead with its election campaign at a new HQ only yards away from the Tory war room.

Pressure group view - part I
We asked pressure groups what issues they would like to see debated at the general election.

Pressure group view - part II
We asked pressure groups what issues they would like to see debated at the general election.

Blair's 'passion' for third term
Tony Blair says he still has the same hunger to be prime minister as when he first entered 10 Downing Street.

Rekindling the Labour love affair

Kennedy's difficult balancing act
Charles Kennedy will have to walk a political tightrope as he seeks to pick up votes from both Labour and Tory supporters, says BBC political reporter Brian Wheeler.

Lib Dems vow to preserve liberty
Charles Kennedy promises to defend civil liberties as his party votes to oppose anti-terror legislation.

Howard's unfinished business
Brian Wheeler reports from the Tory party spring conference in Brighton.

Howard hits back at mongrel jibe
The Tory leader says a claim he is acting like an "attack mongrel" shows Labour is "rattled" by the opposition.

Boundary changes cut MP numbers
Scotland's new political map comes into effect after proposals to reduce the number of MPs.

Call to improve tennis facilities
An MSP calls on the Scottish Government to improve the country's tennis facilities after a survey revealed a third of councils had none.

Full Scots fiscal power ruled out
The body reviewing the workings of Scottish devolution publishes its first report.

Wales-wide blogs spread word
More Welsh AMs are joining the ever-expanding online diary community to help push their message.

Tories claim 'panic' on Hutt sack
Opposition parties call for the Welsh NHS to improve after Jane Hutt is sacked as health minister

Vying for votes as election looms
With a general election expected, BBC Wales' Parliamentary correspondent David Cornock looks at what the parties plan for 2005.

NI process on 'road to nowhere'
BBC Northern Ireland political editor Mark Devenport says a debate continues to rage about the political way forward.

Doctor contests Westminster seat
A doctor who holds an assembly seat on a mandate to fight for a Tyrone hospital is to stand in the General Election.

Council elections brought forward
Local government elections in Northern Ireland are brought forward to Thursday 5 May, it is announced.

Boateng to step down at election
Paul Boateng, the UK's first black cabinet minister, is to step down as an MP at the forthcoming general election.

Ill-health forces out Labour MP
Hammersmith and Fulham MP Iain Coleman is standing down because of ill health, it has been announced.

Sayeed to stand down as Tory MP
Controversial Tory MP Jonathan Sayeed is to stand down at the next election, on the grounds of ill health.