Cameron: It is me or Miliband

It is rare for politicians to mention their opponents by name – don’t give them the publicity is the normal approach. But standing in Downing Street just now to announce the start of the election campaign, David Cameron pointed at the door of Number 10 and said ‘The next Prime Minister walking through that door will be me or Ed Miliband’.

There’s a method to the Tory approach. They believe that one of their trump cards in this election is that the public just can’t see Ed Miliband as Prime Minister. They want to force voters to confront the choice that one of Miliband or Cameron will be Prime Minister after the election and that the only way to make sure it isn’t Miliband is to vote Tory. So, expect to hear Cameron regularly referencing Miliband by name on the campaign trail.

For Labour, this is what makes Miliband’s debates and TV appearances over the next few weeks so crucial.