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Wednesday, 6 June, 2001, 22:15 GMT 23:15 UK
Follow the leaders
Over the course of the election campaign, BBC News Online will follow the hectic schedule of the party leaders, providing a blow by blow account of their campaigns.
Watch/listen to coverage from Week One Watch/listen to coverage from Week Two Watch/listen to coverage from Week Three Watch/listen to coverage from Week Four 
6 June 2001
Tony Blair started the final day of campaigning in the Midlands, stopping in Clwyd, Derbyshire, Dumfries, and Pontefract before returning to Sedgefield. The BBC's Carolyn Quinn reports from Trimdon Labour Club. William Hague went south before heading through the East Midlands and into his native Yorkshire. The BBC's Laura Trevelyan reports. Charles Kennedy travelled the furthest, going west, then north, and then into Scotland, before reaching home in Fort William. The BBC's June Kelly reports.
5 June 2001
Charles Kennedy has had a generally succesful campaign - but what's it been like day in, day out on his battlebus. That's where the BBC's Peter Hunt has been for the last month, as he reports. SNP leader John Swinney campaigns in central Scotland, but stresses the importance of a strong Commons presence. The Welsh nationalists make a final push in the valleys of South Wales, determined to repeat the success of the Welsh Assembly elections. 4 June 2001
William Hague starts a 900 mile trip around key marginal seats in a final push before election day. Gavin Hewitt has been travelling with him.
3 June 2001
William Hague denies the Conservatives are conceding the election despite appealing to voters to "clip Labour's wings". The call comes as the Tories prepare to unveil a new poster campaign urging the electorate to burst Tony Blair's "bubble". The BBC's Laura Trevelyan reports.
The Liberal Democrats call on Labour and Conservative supporters to vote for them in the general election. Charles Kennedy says people who want better public services and a strong opposition party should vote for the Lib Dems. The BBC's June Kelly reports
Tony Blair accuses the Tories of trying to sneak into power by the back door. The prime minister accused the Conservatives of running out of ideas and resorting to encouraging people not to vote on Thursday. The BBC's Carolyn Quinn reports.
1 June 2001
Lib Dem leader Charles Kennedy revealed a new Community Safety Force of civilian officers. He also pledged 2,000 more police than Labour is promising and said politicians should not be involved in setting sentences. The BBC's June Kelly was with his campaign.
A future Conservative government will be committed to "rooting out racism and bigotry", according to William Hague. The Tory leader told representatives of the Muslim community in Bradford that his party would govern for "all the people of Britain" if it won the election. The BBC's Laura Trevelyan reports.
The Prime Minister said only a Labour government would increase nurses, doctors and hospital beds. Mr Blair said the Conservatives were proposing to "turn the clock back" and would, he said, cut spending on key public services. The BBC's Carolyn Quinn reports.
31 May 2001
Tony Blair has launched a major campaign to get voters into polling booths on election day. The Labour Party party unveiled its latest advertising campaign telling voters to remember to put schools and hospitals first on 7 June. The BBC's Carolyn Quinn is with the Labour campaign.
William Hague was in the English Riviera at Torquay, a key marginal for the Tories. He also made his first visit of the campaign to a doctor's surgery, as Laura Trevelyan reports.
Charles Kennedy focussed on pensioners, outlining his policies to protect older people, concentrating in particular on pensions, crime, the NHS and the Post Office. The BBC's June Kelly was with him.
And later on in the evening Charles Kennedy delivered a speech to the party faithfull, rallying them for the week ahead.
30 May 2001
The Liberal Democrat leader, Charles Kennedy claimed that Conservative problems were working in his favour. He said the Tories were not in a fit state to provide a quality opposition. The BBC's Gavin Hewitt is with the Kennedy campaign.
Mr Hague's focus on the campaign trail has been overshadowed by another row on Europe. This time, about whether the Tories had decided to abandon their claims that the election will be the last chance to save the pound. The BBC's Laura Trevelyan reports.
Prime Minister Tony Blair pledged to clampdown on people who attack doctors, nurses and other public servants. The BBC's Mark Mardell reports.
29 May 2001
Prime Minister Tony Blair has used the launch of Labour's business manifesto to call for more private investment in public services. Mr Blair said Britain's education and transport systems had to improve if the country was to "compete with the best". The BBC's Carolyn Quinn was with his campaign.
Mr Hague moved to put tax back at the top of his campaign agenda - pitching his party's proposals at young families. At the Tory morning news conference, Mr Hague said that under Labour taxes had gone up by £28bn. The BBC's Laura Trevelyan reports.
Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy has said his party could replace the Conservatives as the "most serious" opposition to Labour after the election. The BBC's June Kelly reports.
 26 May 2001
William Hague said there were now just 12 days to save the pound because if Tony Blair was re-elected he would "rig" a referendum on joining the single currency. Labour has been focusing on health.The Liberal Democrats are promising to reform tuition fees to ease the debt burden on students in higher education. The BBC's Sean Curran reports.
25 May 2001
The other parties tried to concentrate on Europe, Tony Blair delivered a keynote speech on the subject, skirting around the tricky subject of the euro. The BBC's Mark Mardell was with him. The BBC's Laura Trevelyan was with William Hague, who paid his first visit of the campaign to a school.
24 May 2001
21 May 2001 Tony Blair spent the day talking about public services - he gave a speech in Kent designed to show how Labour would rebuild the public sector in a second term. William Hague was in Southport, probing Labour's tax policy - especially regarding national insurance contributions.
As the campaign unfolds, the election battlebus is an important weapon in the strategies of the major parties. The BBC's Laura Trevelyan has been following the Tory party bus, and gives a look behind the scenes.
18 May 2001
William Hague spent the day campaigning on asylum, an important issue in Dover - where he went first. Afterwards he went to Braintree in Essex, the sort of place he needs to win back if he's to win the election. The BBC's Gavin Hewitt has been on the Hague battlebus.
Campaigning went according to plan for Tony Blair as he toured hospitals in East Anglia and Lincolnshire. The BBC's Caroline Quinn was with him.
Charles Kennedy was promoting his party's agricultural policy, an issue he claimed was largely ignored by the other major parties. The BBC's June Kelly was with him in the South West.
17 May 2001
Tony Blair ended the day in Manchester for Labour's first main party rally. After a day in which the media discussed John Prescott's brawl, almost to the exclusion of Labour's manifesto, the party remains upbeat. The BBC's Caroline Quinn was in Manchester.
Charles Kennedy appeared on BBC1's Question Time programme where he answered queries from the public on a variety of subjects including europe and taxation.
William Hague was the last of the three main party leaders to go on the Today programme. John Humphrys questioned him about his plans to cut taxes.
16 May 2001
Giving prisoners early release from jail is a policy that's failed - according to the Conservatives - and they would end it. That was the main theme that William Hague concentrated on during a furious tour of the country.
The Liberal Democrat Leader, Charles Kennedy was questioned by John Humphrys on the Today programme about his admission that his party could not be expected to win the election. Issue of the day for the Liberal Democrats was health, with Charles Kennedy travelling to a hospital in Somerset. The BBC's June Kelly was with him.
15 May 2001 The Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy has unveiled his party's manifesto with promises of higher taxes to pay for massive investment in public services. The BBC's Andrew Marr reports.
Prime Minister Tony Blair went to Leeds where he spoke to an audience of business leaders, setting out his vision for a high-tech economy. He also had the closest thing to a walkabout, including a visit to a local chip shop. The BBC's Gavin Hewitt was with him.
14 May 2001 Tony Blair started the day on the Today programme. John Humphrys tackled him over sleaze, asking the Prime Minister if his government had lived up to his promise at the last election that Labour in office would be "purer than pure". The Prime Minister spent most of the day in Scotland, concentrating on his chosen theme of the day - business. The BBC's Carolyn Quinn was with him. William Hague travelled from Norwich to Wales, but was dogged throughout by questions about his tax policy, after it emerged that some senior Conservatives were suggesting £20 billion of tax cuts should they win. The BBC's Laura Trevelyan reports.
The Liberal Democrats focussed on education, pledging to cut primary school classes. They claim a penny on income tax would make a real difference to schools. The BBC's June Kelly reports.
 8 May 2001
Prime Minister Tony Blair ends the phoney war by going to see the Queen at Buckingham Palace, and calling a general election for - as expected - June 7th. The BBC's Mark Mardell reports. William Hague kicked off his campaign in Watford, telling voters that Labour were not seeking a second term as much as a second chance. The BBC's Laura Trevelyan was with him. Increased investment in key public services was the message from the Liberal Democrat leader, Charles Kennedy, as he launched his party's campaign. The BBC's June Kelly reports.
10 May 2001
William Hague unveiled his tax cutting manifesto, referring to it as "the most ambitious Conservative manifesto in a generation". The document was immediately derided by the other parties as "unworkable". The BBC's Andrew Marr was there. Charles Kennedy continued his whistlestop tour of the country - he's meeting journalists and his candidates nationwide before starting to canvass voters next week. The BBC's June Kelly has been trying to keep up. The Prime Minister travelled to the Midlands for a question and answer session with local business people. He then met with carefully chosen guests - none of whom wanted to ask any awkward questions, as the BBC's Gavin Hewitt explains.
11 May 2001
The Scottish National Party formally launched their election campaign with leader John Swinney pledging to promote Scottish interests and promising to fight to complete the process of Scottish independence.
William Hague and Charles Kennedy attempt to squeeze Tony Blair on tax after it emerges that Labour will pledge not to raise income tax if they win a second term. The BBC's John Pienaar reports.
The BBC's Peter Hunt has been following Charles Kennedy on his whirlwind trip round the UK
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