Before the starting pistol for the election run-up proper was fired, all three main parties were jostling for the best running start.

As an opening gambit, the Conservative Party enlisted the help of Australian election chief Lynton Crosby, to identify areas which it hopes will play well in the electorate. It is thought he is behind the Tory's agenda-grabbing policy announcements on immigration, traveller camps and health.

Michael Howard announced he would make trespassing by travellers a criminal not civil offence, claiming the Human Rights Act is being used by travellers to build wherever they liked.

This announcement was soon after a photo opportunity with his family, who all lavished praise on him and part of an orchestrated campaign.

But it seems to have not made the leeway in the polls as the party would have liked. Despite the early headlines, an ICM survey at the end of March showed the Tories actually fell a further three points behind Labour.

Margaret's shoulder

The Tories have used the tactic of finding single cases to highlight general ills such as the case of Warrington's Margaret Dixon who had an operation cancelled seven times, to reflect a general meltdown in the NHS.

Health Secretary John Reid countered by suggesting a Tory policy to subsidise private treatment was "unfair, immoral and illegal". Conservative proposals would have the government give patients up to half the cost of having an operation privately.

The poll also showed that Labour not only enjoys substantial leads over Michael Howard's party on its heartland issues of health and education, but finds itself ahead even in traditional Tory areas such as law and order and even Europe.

It confirms that the engine driving Labour's opinion poll strength remains the economy with the government enjoying an astonishing 17-point lead. Labour is regarded as the best party on the "economy generally" by 41% of voters compared with 24% for the Conservatives, who still seem to be under the shadow of Black Wednesday, September 16 1992, when the UK was forced out of the European Exchange Rate mechanism.

Indeed Labour, headed by election campaign manager Alan Milburn, is letting the economy do the talking. Gordon Brown's budget was a vote-winner among the over-65s as he gave £200 rebate in council tax to pensioners. The doubling of the threshold for council tax and a rise in child tax credit were other sweeteners that appealed to the electorate. The ICM survey found 20% of voters were likely to vote as a direct result of the budget as opposed to 14% who said they were put off.

However, Howard fired the first shot in what could be a religious battle for the polls when he backed a change in abortion law saying he would vote for a 20-week limit before termination, a move supported by Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor, the Archbishop of Westminster.

Then, Tony Blair addressed religious leaders in a speech organised by the Faithworks Movement saying he did not want religion to become an election issue, although he admitted wanted to faith to play a bigger part in the life of the nation.

10-point plan

Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats unveiled a 10-point plan which highlights government policies they oppose such as the Iraq War, hospital targets, compulsory ID cards and "hidden tax increases". They also suggested their own alternatives.

Instead of introducing ID cards, they say they would fund 10,000 more police officers. Other plans include increasing only one tax - on income above £100,000 a year - and introducing free personal care for the elderly, along with £100 extra a month for over-75s and they highlight tuition fees, plans to replace council tax with a local income tax and the war in Iraq.

All this was contained in their most expensive newspaper advertising campaign in three dailies, costing more than £100,000.

Charles Kennedy said: "I am determined that we will fight a campaign which concentrates on real solutions to the real problems that people face in Britain every day.

Former Lib Dem leader in the Lords, Shirley Williams, said she thought voters were fed up with "the endless dogfight in politics".

"I think that is particularly true of women and young voters and we are taking a calculated gamble on the intelligence of the electorate," she said.