The prime minister and the chancellor will stage the first in a series of 'double acts' today as the formal election campaign is launched.

The chancellor will make a speech trumpeting Labour's management of the economy before Tony Blair heads to the palace to seek a dissolution of parliament.

Gordon Brown will say in a speech: "The election is not just about who is to govern, but the future direction of the country.

"In the campaign ahead, Britain will face a fundamental choice that will not only determine the future of the economy but the strength of our society."

The prime minister will then travel to a Labour marginal in the home counties where he too will talk up Labour's economic record.

He will address an audience selected to show how low inflation, low interest rates and high employment have boosted the lives of ordinary Britons.

The European Commission praised Gordon Brown's stewardship of the British economy yesterday with a forecast of growth of just under three per cent this year and next, continuing low unemployment and public finances under firm control.