THE campaign for Britain’s general election, due in May, has kicked off in earnest. The two main parties are playing on home turf so far: the Conservative Party has focused its messages on the economy and Labour has directed its initial salvo towards the state of the National Health Service (NHS). Playing safe is a risk, however. Polling by Ipsos MORI shows that immigration now sits at the top of voters’ concerns overall; for Tory supporters it is more important than the economy, and for Labour voters it is of equal concern to the NHS. Conservative and Labour strategists may have concluded that fighting the UK Independence Party (UKIP) on the battleground of immigration is not a contest they can win. But this is the first time in electoral history that five parties have entered the campaign with more than 5% of the vote in the polls. Leaving the issue that resonates most with many voters, especially older ones, to UKIP makes a fissiparous result, and another coalition government, more likely.