At last, after months of false starts, the starting gun has been fired.

Today is the dissolution of Parliament, which means the general election campaign is officially under way.

Yes, all those past weeks of answering the front door to beady-eyed rosette wearing candidates do not matter.

This is the time that counts.

For five years our elected representatives have been busying themselves up in London trying to rule the country.

But the time for debating and political point scoring is over.

Now, it's time for business.

For the next five weeks expect to be bombarded with promises, surrounded by cheesy smiles and handed enough leaflets to start an origami factory.

Yes, happy days.

Fortunately, in our city we have an election that really matters.

All three seats are being closely fought.

So rather than the election being decided by a few party members in a dusty committee room, as is the norm for some of those safe seats, your vote really does matter.

Looking at the three seats individually there’s plenty to fight for.

Brighton Kemptown is a two-way fight between Conservatives and Labour.

Just 1,300 votes separates the two from last time out and while the thinking man should always favour the incumbent, current Conservative MP Simon Kirby is facing a number of uncertainties.

The most worrying for him is the rise of Ukip. With the party polling 15 per cent across the country, this type of swing locally could immediately wipe out his majority.

There’s also an added conundrum of what will happen to the 7,700 Lib Dem votes.

Kind commentators would say the party is a long way away from the heady days of “I'm with Nick”; others would say in Brighton and Hove they’ve been practically obliterated.

All of this is putting a spring in the step of Labour challenger Nancy Platts, a politician with a strong campaigning background.

But whether she be able to maintain the foothold and resist the national surges of Ukip – who will win supporters in the working class areas of the constituency – and Greens – who will do likewise in the wealthier parts – we shall see.

Moving on to Hove and again this is likely to be a straight fight between the two main parties.

Current Tory MP Mike Weatherley has decided against standing again meaning the incumbency factor is lost.

And of the two newbies, it’s Labour’s Peter Kyle who’s pipping his Tory rival Graham Cox so far in the polls and with the bookies.

But the Conservatives seem very confident and have been quietly rallying support.

Again there’s the unknown factors – Ukip surge, disappearing Lib Dems and a Green with a trolley full of leaflets who genuinely believes he can win.

Some says he’s off his trolley.

And if he does win, I’ll eat my favourite hat alongside a dollop of mung-bean casserole.

Then there’s Brighton Pavilion, where if based on 2010, then three parties potentially could win it.

But Labour’s Purna Sen and Conservative’s Clarence Mitchell will have a tough job in displacing the country’s first Green MP Caroline Lucas.

A lack of real impetus to either of her challengers’ campaigns means that Caroline should hold on.

Indeed, Green activists claim that she is ten points ahead in the polls – a remarkable figure considering the majority is barely four figures.

But, as one wise man said “a week is a long time in politics” and things can turn at the drop of a hat.

Ultimately, it’s nationally where the election will be decided.

We’ve already seen the opening salvos with the leaders of the two main parties being grilled by Jeremy Paxman in the first of the election debates.

Dave – an old Etonian who probably thinks the job agency is made up of hardline Christians in the secret service – seemed far from genuine when he said he couldn’t live on a zero-hour contract.

As for his opponent, he nearly crumbled when asked: “Are you a North London geek?” For a brief second I thought Ed was about to start crying. He fought back and, flicking through his UK to US dictionary, found the words “Hell yes” to show he does have a bit of fighting cowboy in him in answer to a question of whether he thought he could be Prime Minister.

Such encounters will have a far stronger impact on who we return to Parliament for the next five years.

Locally it’s another matter entirely.

Here we have a very clear three-way fight for control of the city council chamber.

Greens, Labour and Conservatives all think they can take charge – and all three have now published their list of pledges for the city.

If you looked at the plans in black and white then it would be hard to match them up correctly.

Surprisingly, it’s the Conservatives who have the most radical agenda.

Creating an employee-led mutual refuse and recycling service, transferring assets to community groups, looking to build 1,000 new affordable homes – all these things would take a lot of work, particularly if they freeze council tax for four years.

Labour’s message is a bit less headline grabbing – with much of their energy being aimed at sorting out the housing situation and drawing a line under the Greens’ four-year tenure.

But it’s the Greens’ which is surprisingly most modest of all.

Much of their manifesto looks at what has been done and how it will continue where it’s left off – very conservative with a small c.

When I asked what was the most radical thing in the document, Green leaders could not point to one main thing.

But they were very clear that they feel the job has just started.

And one thing they cannot be denied is that the city does look and feel like a different place than it did four years ago.

When asked publicly, all three parties say they are the ones with the most seats on the council.

Whether any of them have a majority is unlikely – with the biggest party likely to have about 20 to 23 councillors out of 54 meaning they will have to work with others to get things done.

A prediction? I thought you might be wondering that.

Well, one thing I’ve learned is that predictions make you look silly.

And with the turnover and migration of voters that the city has, it’s no use even looking back a year for a guide in how things are going to work out.

So the best thing I'll do is sit back and take in all the action The gloves are off, the bell’s been rung, now let’s watch the punches fly.

And candidates, good luck to you all.