As you may or may not know LabourLost is not a site that has a particular agenda other than reflecting an accurate perception on the events that lead up to and including the General Election (GE) 2010.

During the run up to the GE we shall continue to use the #labourlost hashtag on Twitter and we shall also be using the #GE10 hashtag; there are several other suggestions doing the rounds but we believe #GE10 to be fully representative and utilising only 5 characters we believe it is also the best possible use of space for the purpose of Twitter.

So, come the election how will you vote?

Are you a core supporter of a particular Party? Have you always voted the same way?

What forged your opinions and political ethos?

Will you vote on the day with local requirements in mind, for instance against your normal beliefs because you like what a candidate has promised for your constituency?

Will you decide on the day or have you already made your mind up and nothing on this earth however said or done can change that?

Are you doing anything special to help your local candidate? Do you want to get involved but don’t know how to assist? (Whichever Party: use the comment form and we can try to let you know).

It is very clear at the moment that even the Pollsters don’t know what is happening or what is going to happen on the day and we can see this clearly almost on a daily basis with the Conservatives reported to be 17% clear whilst another poll claims Labour have cut the lead to just 9%.

Slowly we have threads of the new shaping of things to come with claim and counter from all sides, the slow unraveling of the pre-budget report and now the potential of a March election which would let Alistair Darling and Gordon Brown off the hook with regards to announcing the real budget and real state of the nation’s finances.

If we do have a March election it would be nigh on impossible to stage a TV Debate although it was blogged to this effect back in October by Parlez_me_nTory.

Just a few things to set the mind working in the run up to Christmas and that long period of plotting, electioneering and gathering of strategy. I love this period as the nation steadies its troops and all parties are placed on a war footing.

PM agrees to TV debates but just what will he do with your information?

A letter from Gordon Brown

Last week we came together as a party to debate the choice for Britain.

In the next few months I will tour the country, meeting the people of Britain to explain our policies, not just on economic recovery and Afghanistan, but from Sure Start and school standards to social care, the NHS, and action on anti-social behaviour.

I will visit every region and every city to speak to people and discuss with the people of the country the choices we face.

I have already said that we are facing the first General Election of the global age. In it the choices are great: between different directions for our country, different choices about economic progress, different philosophies about the future of our public services, different pathways in our relationship with Europe and the rest of the world.

In momentous times like these, the choices cannot be small choices with small consequences: they are big choices with big consequences. The choices we make in the next year will define the future of our country, not just for five years, but for a generation to come.

So I believe it is also right that the parties debate the issues not just in Parliament but in every arena where the public will join in the discussion.

It is right that we set the issues before the British people. Others can work out the details but what’s important for the country is that there is a wide ranging series of television and radio debates with party leaders that are also able to devote attention to the central issues that matter to families: the economy, public services, how we strengthen our communities, and how we work with the rest of the world.

It is right that there will be a strong focus on the leaders’ debates and it is right that in a Cabinet system of government that ministers and opposition ministers also debate the issues in a series of debates on television and radio too.

I relish the opportunity of making our case directly to the people of this country.

Gordon Brown

Well, that’s clear then, finally (on the face of it) the PM has given the public what they want.

The statement goes on to present a simple form

Tell us what question you want answered by the leaders and we’ll make sure it gets considered.

We’d also welcome your views on what format it should be and where it should take place.

First name *
City
Email *

What question would you like to be answered at the debates?

What format do you think the debates should take and where do you think they should take place?

We’d like to send you occasional updates from Gordon Brown and the Labour Party (you can unsubscribe any time). If you don’t want these, please just untick this box.

The Labour Party and its elected representatives may use the data you have supplied

I have slight reservations about the wording used within the open letter from the PM but that is not for discussion within this forum.

I am also concerned about the opt out strategy employed, this should be an opt in issue but what concerns me more is the last sentence that appears truncated.

Interesting use of the words elected representatives as the PM was not elected.

How will you use this data and for what purposes? Is it in accordance with the DPA? I see no Privacy Policy on this page.