HAMPSHIRE’S would-be MPs have been busy campaigning for months already – but today is the day the election campaign formally begins.

Parliament will be dissolved today, meaning that the final countdown to polling day will now start.

That means that all current MPs will become normal members of the public again ahead of May 7’s general election and the House of Commons will remain empty until the next Parliament is formed on May 21.

Government ministers will keep their posts until the election.

Labour opposition leader Ed Miliband has already officially launched his party’s campaign, while the local party in Southampton kick-started its campaign on Saturday.

Campaign and manifesto launches for the other parties are set to follow ahead of what is expected to be one of the most hotly-contested elections in living memory.

Daily Echo:

Five years ago Conservative leader David Cameron ended 13 years of Labour control to oust Gordon Brown as Prime Minister, but did not win an overall majority and his party went into formal coalition with the Liberal Democrats.

The latest polls have Labour and the Conservatives neck and neck, at 34 per cent each.

And with predictions pointing to a hung Parliament – one where no party has a majority and overall control – the smaller parties are all bidding to increase their own standing to have a say in what happens after May 7.

UKIP has emerged from being a minor party to potentially the third-largest party, according to some polls, and is currently on 13 per cent.

The Liberal Democrats have had five years in coalition with the Conservatives, and despite some unfavourable predictions could be in with a chance of being a kingmaker for whoever forms the next Government.

And Green Party members say that they have also enjoyed a “green surge” over the past year, and want to increase their current membership from one MP, Brighton’s Caroline Lucas.