It's September 17

Well, no surprises there. September 17 is in line with the PM's earlier statements that the government will go full term, and gives voters a good long run in to polling day.

Funnily enough, given all the carping about the date, I think that with 8 weeks notice, more advance warning has been given for this election than any in recent memory.

Anyway, I think that it's good for the date to be announced so that the phoney war can be brought to an end. With a formal campaign period commencing, all parties are going to have to start laying down exactly where they want to take the country, and voters will have adequate time to scrutinise the options.