David Cameron has said he wants to complete the job of "turning the country around" as the election campaign officially got under way.
The prime minister said he would offer the "strong leadership" needed while Labour said it had a "better plan".
Labour leader Ed Miliband said the Tories' EU policy threatened business, but faced questions over corporate backing for his party's position.
Other leaders hit the campaign trail with 38 days to go to polling day.
Following months of unofficial campaigning, the five-and-a-half week race for No 10 - which commentators say could be the most unpredictable election in a generation - began in earnest after Parliament was dissolved.
本次選舉有可能成為這一代中最難以預(yù)測(cè)的選舉。
昨天時(shí)候卡梅倫在女王同意下宣布解散國(guó)會(huì),重新進(jìn)行選舉。
此前卡梅倫表示不會(huì)尋求第三次連任,并說如果在選舉中該黨派勝出的話將會(huì)領(lǐng)導(dǎo)順利完成接下來的工作。
競(jìng)選時(shí)間表:
4月各政黨黨魁進(jìn)行電視辯論
目前暫定的競(jìng)選辯論播出時(shí)間為4月2日、4月16日和4月30日。三場(chǎng)辯論中前兩場(chǎng)是七方辯論,包括保守黨、工黨、自民黨、蘇格蘭民族黨、英國(guó)獨(dú)立黨、綠黨和威爾士黨,最后一場(chǎng)是卡梅倫與工黨領(lǐng)袖之間的辯論。
5月7日大選投票日
各個(gè)選區(qū)的投票站會(huì)在早上7點(diǎn)至晚上10點(diǎn)開放。投票關(guān)閉后,計(jì)票緊接著開始。
5月8日大選計(jì)票日
計(jì)票工作將由各地的選舉事務(wù)處雇專人進(jìn)行,由于計(jì)票工作量巨大,又是人工唱票,所以目前還無法估計(jì)新國(guó)會(huì)誕生的具體日期。