WHEN American president Donald Trump called Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage’s radio show on Thursday and railed against Labour chief Jeremy Corbyn, anyone could be forgiven for thinking we are now in some crazy parallel universe.

Most world leaders do not interfere in foreign elections, let alone air their thoughts on the nation’s airwaves like an Arsenal fan on Talksport.

But Mr Trump’s comments on Thursday that Mr Farage and Prime Minister Boris Johnson should “get together” blew that tradition out of the water.

And that is not necessarily a bad thing. Politics has gradually spiralled out of control in the last few years, so it is nice to see the country finally jump off the deep end.

But although it can be tempting to look for entertainment in the political realm, it is always important to remember that politics is life and death for some people. Just because Parliament sometimes resembles a chuntering mob doesn’t mean the decisions our politicians make have serious consequences of people’s lives.

In many ways this is one of the most serious elections in the UK’s history as multiple issues come to a head.

First is Brexit, the outcome of which could have huge implications for our economy, our trading power, and our future relationship with the world.

Then there is austerity, the end of which has supposedly been brought in by this Government. Will our public services be bolstered, or has a looming financial crisis scared those holding the purse strings.

And of course there is the small matter of climate change. If the United Nations is correct in predicting we have 11 years to drastically cut our fossil fuel use before climate change wreaks havoc on the planet, this next election will define our Government’s response for the next five years.

Hopefully these three reasons give you enough of a reason to vote. Especially in our supposedly extreme political times, it can seem tempting to ditch the ballot box and just not vote.

But this election is too important not to. Register to vote if you have not already.

Nationally the December General Election will be massive, but in Sussex we have some rather tasty political mashups too.

The main event is surely Brighton Kemptown, a seat Labour’s Lloyd Russell-Moyle won convincingly two years ago.

But in 2017 the Greens decided not to run a candidate, which certainly helped Mr Russell-Moyle scoop almost 60 per cent of the vote.

Now he faces off against Brighton and Hove city councillor, city mayor, and South East MEP Alex Phillips, who could popular in Kemp Town.

The Conservatives have chosen a similar candidate to Mr Russell-Moyle in Joe Miller, a young city councillor.

And there is the matter of the Lib Dems, who had a huge boost in the polls in this year’s local and European elections.

Not to mention the Brexit Party. Though Kemptown was a majority-Remain constituency, the party could sap the strength of the Conservatives there.

Independents usually have an uphill battle in elections like these, but Bridget Fishleigh does have a chance. The fact she is an elected councillor in Tory stronghold Rottingdean shows she is an effective campaigner.

The result for Brighton Pavilion seems like a given, with Caroline Lucas likely to retain her seat.

But across the city in Hove, the election has got much more interesting now MP Peter Kyle has been confirmed as Labour’s candidate.

He has a tough opponent in Conservative Cllr Robert Nemeth, who is popular figure in Hove.

Will Labour campaign with the same vigour for Mr Kyle despite the fact a deselection ballot was called? Time will tell.

The fact there are so many key battles across Sussex show how much it has changed from the Conservative heartland it used to be.

In East Worthing and Shoreham Labour will be looking to finish the job they started in 2017, when candidate Sophie Cook chipped into Tory Tim Loughton’s strong majority.

But matters could be complicated by the Brexit Party, who could do some serious damage in East and West Worthing constituencies, as well as Bognor.

Other key battlgrounds include Hastings, where the departure of Amber Rudd means Labour has a serious chance of winning, and Lewes, where the Lib Dems will be looking to regain their seat from Conservative Maria Caulfield.

The results are unpredictable. The only thing we do know is that the next five weeks will be turbulent.

Strap yourselves in.