General election 2010: Gordon Brown names the day

Gordon Brown looks pensive as he leaves 10 Downing Street to go to Buckingham Palace Photograph: Matt Dunham/AP Photograph: Matt Dunham/guardian.co.uk Bookies' odds on College Green outside the Houses of Parliament Photograph: Graham Turner Photograph: guardian.co.uk Cameron, returns from a run near his home in London Photograph: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images Photograph: Peter Macdiarmid/guardian.co.uk The television news anchors Alistair Stewart and Huw Edwards wait for the PM in Downing Street Photograph: Kieran Doherty/Reuters Photograph: Kieran Doherty/guardian.co.uk Brown heads for his car as he travels to the palace to ask the Queen to dissolve parliament Photograph: Stefan Wermuth/Reuters Photograph: Stefan Wermuth/guardian.co.uk The Liberal Democrat leader, Nick Clegg, speaks to staff at the party's headquarters in London Photograph: Reuters Photograph: guardian.co.uk Cameron prepares to speak to the media as Brown calls the general election Photograph: Sang Tan/AP Photograph: Sang Tan/guardian.co.uk The PM's car travels past crowds in front of Buckingham Palace Photograph: Graham Turner Brown announces the date of the election outside No 10 as his ministers look on Photograph: David Levene Photograph: guardian.co.uk Cameron speaks to Conservative supporters in London Photograph: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images Photograph: Peter Macdiarmid/guardian.co.uk Sarah Teather, of the Liberal Democrats, the foreign secretary, David Miliband, and the Conservative Michael Gove wait to be interviewed by the press on College Green, outside the Houses of Parliament Photograph: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images Photograph: Peter Macdiarmid/guardian.co.uk Brown meets members of the public at St Pancras station, in London Photograph: Reuters Photograph: guardian.co.uk The Scottish first minister, Alex Salmond, gets on the campaign trail at an indoor bowls complex in Edinburgh Photograph: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images Photograph: Jeff J Mitchell/guardian.co.uk Journalists board the Tory battle bus Photograph: Toby Melville/Reuters Photograph: Toby Melville/guardian.co.uk Brown and his wife, Sarah, take the train to Rochester, in Kent Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/guardian.co.uk