The British Prime Minister David Cameron has formally announced the UK general election is underway after visiting Queen Elizabeth II to ask for the dissolution of parliament.
Speaking on the steps of Number 10 after returning from Buckingham Palace, Mr Cameron said he would spend the coming weeks campaigning.
He said he had walked through the gates of Downing Street five years ago and while he had not yet "fixed everything", Britain was "back on her feet again".
The Conservative leader left the palace as Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg arrived to meet with the Queen in his role as President of the Privy Council.
The final act of pomp and ceremony of the coalition government fires the starting gun on the general election campaign.
As the formalities played out at Buckingham Palace, Ed Miliband was attempting to win over business with the launch of its first "mini manifestos" in which the Labour leader warned of the "clear and present danger" of leaving the EU.
Mr Cameron's meeting with the Queen will be followed by a statement on the steps of Number 10 in which the Tory leader will say the country faces "a stark choice" between the Conservatives and Labour.
He will warn that a Labour government would mean a stg£3,000 tax hike for every working family in Britain.
Speaking at Downing Street, Mr Cameron ran through his government's successes.
"The very last thing the country needs"
In a video message released by the Conservatives on YouTube this morning Mr Cameron said: "This election is a big choice. Either I will come back to Downing Street and carry on with the plan that's turning the country round and funding our public services, or Ed Miliband will walk into Downing Street with more debt, more spending, more taxes - all the things that got this country into a mess in the first place."
As the parties' election campaigns began in earnest, Nick Clegg warned voters not to lurch to the Left or Right because it was "about the very last thing the country needs".
He promised a Liberal Democrat presence in a future coalition would keep the next government "anchored in the centre ground".
Before leaving for the palace Mr Clegg said: "It is my view that the era of single-party government is now over in British politics."
UKIP leader Nigel Farage was due to launch his party's five election pledges this afternoon along with a new poster.
The pledges are: "1. Say No to EU 2. Control our borders 3. Extra £3bn for the NHS 4. Cut foreign aid spending 5. No tax on the minimum wage."
Row over Twitter handles
With Parliament dissolved, MPs immediately lose their title and are asked to remove references to it, or place disclaimers on any e-mail or social media account which names them as an MP.
It has already prompted a Twitter squabble with the Conservative parliamentary candidate fro Worsley and Eccles South posting: "I'm sure it's an oversight that my Labour opponent's Twitter name now breaches Parliamentary rules after dissolution."
Some, including Conservative MP Maria Miller, were refusing to remove the MP on their accounts. Ms Miller argued the Twitter account was set up before dissolution.
MPs elected in 2010 will also find their parliamentary pass for Westminster Palace ceases to work.
