UK GENERAL ELECTION - 5 MAY 2005
(5 April 2005)

Tony Blair has announced that the UK General Election will take place on 5 May 2005. In a characteristically upbeat style he said "you have been keeping up with the news, you may already know that I went to the Palace a few minutes ago to ask the Queen to dissolve Parliament. I wanted to get this message out to you straight away about what's at stake at the election and how you can help. This will be a tough campaign and we will have to fight for every seat and every vote."

"For what's at stake on May 5 is the future direction of our country - whether it goes forward or back. Labour hasn't, by any means, achieved all we want yet. And you may not agree with every decision I have made. But there's been real progress in communities up and down the land. Our country is fairer, more modern and successful than it was eight years ago.

And May 5 will decide whether we can build on - and accelerate - the progress made in spreading opportunity and prosperity. Or whether the Tories can succeed in taking Britain back to the failed and risky policies of cuts, charges and economic mismanagement.

Over the next five weeks, I will be out and about across the country spelling out that choice. And so will all my colleagues.

I hope to see you on the campaign trail. But if you have a question for me, you can visit the website labour.org.uk and let me know.

I can't promise to answer them all. But I'll answer as many as I can throughout the campaign. It's less than five weeks now to polling day. Five weeks in which the future of our country is in our hands.

We have a good story to tell. Let's go out and tell it."

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