Prime Minister Tony Blair has ended months of speculation and finally named May 5 as the date of the next general election.

Earlier today Mr Blair visited the Queen at Buckingham Palace. The Queen is expected to dissolve Parliament next Monday but MPs and peers are likely to wind up by the end of this week.

Campaigning is now officially underway, although political parties have been setting out their policies for a number of weeks now.

The election date was due to be named yesterday but Mr Blair announced he was delaying the decision as a mark of respect for Pope John Paul II, who died on Saturday evening.

A flurry of opinion polls has already been quoted, with many saying Labour's lead over Conservatives has shrunk.