Today's papers

Nearly all the papers lead with the news that Gordon Brown will today call the general election.

According to the Times he will launch the most fiercely contested election campaign for a generation and adds is

looking to banish the memories of the election-that-never-was in November 2007, when he ducked out of going to the country at the last moment.

For the Telegraph,the parties are laying down the battle lines for the most closely contested election in almost two decades.

Meanwhile the Guardian says that

Gordon Brown will today take the journey from Downing Street to Buckingham Palace to trigger a 6 May general election to be fought on a Labour manifesto that promises a series of bold initiatives to reform public services in a programme of "national renewal".

It publishes the latest ICM poll which reveals a gap of just four points between two main parties.

The Mail says that Gordon Brown will try to cling on to power through a 'Canteen Campaign' taking his message directly into the workplaces and living rooms of the nation.

Meanwhile the Sun says that a knackered Gordon Brown will today call a General Election for May 6 with David Cameron's Tories sprinting ahead in the race for No10.

A YouGov poll for The Sun shows the Conservatives have stretched their lead over Labour to ten points. The poll puts the Tories on 41 per cent, Labour on 31 per cent and the Lib Dems on 18 per cent.

The Independent reports the words of Lord Mandelson who warns that Labour will not win the general election by running a "safety first" campaign contrasting Gordon Brown's experience with David Cameron's lack of it

Meanwhile says the Telegraph,The Labour government has been branded the "worst in the history of this country” by the head of one of Britain’s biggest trade unions.

Mark Serwotka, general secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union has said that

the government’s poor treatment of public sector workers meant it was a worse employer than the Conservatives under Margaret Thatcher or John Major.

Industrial action may be looming large over the campaign.As the Times reports

The National Union of Teachers voted to combine forces with the biggest civil service union to hold simultaneous strike ballots if pay is frozen or pensions and working conditions are cut

Another issue which may loom large is the BNP and the Independent warns that

An all-party campaign against the British National Party has accused Labour, the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats of boosting the BNP's general election prospects by not tackling the party head-on.

Samantha Cameron hit the election trail bump-first yesterday with the launch of an online video.reports the Mail

The Tory leader's pregnant wife is seen at home with her husband and accompanying him on a visit to an inner-city youth club.
But the undisputed star of the show is her burgeoning tummy.