And we’re off! Here is everything you need to know, and quite a lot you probably you don’t:

It’s a date: The election is on, barring some interference from the House of Lords, for Thursday December 12, the first December election since 1923. Back then a Tory prime minister (Stanley Baldwin) went into a December election seeking his own mandate amid a big row over tariffs. He won the most seats, but the Liberals had more than a 100 MPs and helped prop up an historic first Labour government. That couldn’t happen again, could it?

Front man: Boris Johnson loves to campaign. He loves nothing more than to get out, pound the streets, ring some doorbells and get his hands on some knockers. Anyone