WELL the race is on and I am not talking running now, at least not the kind that involves trainers and lycra!

I am sure I will not have been the only person who stepped up to the ballot box having only decided in the final moments which box (if any) was to get my all important cross on Thursday.

I have always voted one way in a general election and as a politics graduate I take it all very seriously. But last year’s expenses scandal still overshadows everything as far as I am concerned. If our politicians are comfortable cheating the taxpayer out of thousands of pounds how can they stand up and represent our interests with any integrity?

And then there’s the problems with the economy - the best party to bring this country out of the depression it has sunk into may not necessarily be the best for the long-term future and its recovery.

To make matters worse, I recently attended a debate at Winchester University, which offered the audience an opportunity to hear what all the local candidates stood for. Did that help? Not in the slightest. I found one candidate disappointing, another self-satisfied and the one least likely to get my vote out of the three main parties the one who made the most sense! As for the fringe candidates, I am still getting over the one that berated the immigration levels whilst admitting that if unelected he would split his time between his homes in Hampshire and France!

What is a girl to do? If I had the energy left I would go out for a run to help clear my head – only trouble is I think I might be tempted to do another Forest Gump and just keep on going!