Hello!

And good afternoon to you all from the Cornish town in Falmouth.

You may well be completely unaware that there is going to be a General Election this year: you certainly do not know when exactly it is happening, because the date has not yet been announced by the current Prime Minister, Gordon Brown (who is currently handling questions from the Iraq Enquiry). However, many British newspapers have come to an informal agreement that the probable date is Thursday, May 6th: and as that's in almost exactly two months, I thought now was a good time to begin examining the various parties involved in the first general election for five years, and indeed of this new decade.

So who am I? Well, my name is Chris Stanley, from Stroud in Gloucestershire: I'm studying History at the University of Exeter's Cornwall Campus; I turned 21 last October; and I'm hoping to pursue a career in journalism, with a view to either entering politics or travel writing. But more to the point, this is the first time I've had the opportunity to vote in a general election.

And, honestly, I don't know who to vote for.

It's not that I can't name the leaders of the three main parties, because I can: it's not that I don't want to vote, because I do. But this is not a good time for politicians: the disillusionment of voters with the Labour Governments of Blair and Brown, coupled with the Conservative Party's difficulty in shaking off the ghost of Thatcherism, makes it difficult for people my age to know if either party has an interest in the student vote. Even the Liberal Democrats have dropped their plans to scrap tuition fees under the seemingly unconvincing leadership of Nick Clegg.

So which is the best party to take Britain forward? Should Brown be allowed, in effect, to dominate the political scene for a staggering total of 18 years? And should David Cameron, a man who has had five years to prepare for government but is running the risk of becoming Edward Heath without the cabinet experience, the more suitable candidate? And if neither is able to obtain a majority, should they seek to work with Nick Clegg, or tough it out in a minority government?

Either way, there's two months to decide, which should be more than enough time for me to get a good idea of which party's about. In order to do this, I'm going to be keeping an eye on BBC News, and reading both the Guardian and the Times for balance: occasionally throwing in another newspaper, such as the Sun or the Telegraph, in order to get a wider view. I'll also be reading other political blogs, and asking for your opinions. Starting now! Do feel free to leave a comment or question about the election: whether you're planning to vote, campaigning for one of the parties, or even if you couldn't care less about all this political stuff. It's your call!

Here's to a potentially decisive two months...

Chris