It has been the worst kept secret in politics but this morning, the Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced that the country will go to the polls on May 6.

It promises to be one of the most hard-fought elections for generations and the with the opinion polls changing on a daily basis, it's difficult at this stage to predict which way the country will vote next month.

Preparations have been made, we're led to believe, for the possibility of a hung Parliament and if that is the case then the Liberal Democrats will have a massive say in who forms the next Government.

Personally, I think it will be a bit more cut and dried than that and I am looking forward to seeing how the various campaigns will unfold.

We're told that Gordon Brown is to tour Britain, meeting workers in their canteens and residents in the their rooms and I think that back-to-basics brand of electioneering will certainly win him a few fans.

What Labour cannot do is under-estimate the anger the country still feels towards the party for issues like the Iraq War and, more locally, failed promises over transport.

The Conservatives, with David Cameron at the helm, are a well-oiled publicity machine and his ability to win over voting groups which are traditionally non-Tory is one of his party's key strengths.

I was speaking to Dr Brian Iddon, the retiring Bolton South East MP, and he was predicting a dirty fight and I think he has hit the nail on the head.

The use of the web, viral adverts and the like make this an election unlike any we have experienced previously.