Clarke and Clegg come to North East in search of votes

Some big hitters are in town this week, as the phoney election campaign begins to gather pace.

Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg arrives tomorrow with their home affairs spokesman Chris Huhne. (I assume they've put the Calamity Clegg farrago behind them!)

They're visiting Durham to announce their manifesto for policing, but Nick Clegg will also be heading to the University to talk to students (emphasising again how important the undergraduate vote will be to them in a seat they want to win).

And then on Friday, Shadow Business Secretary Ken Clarke rolls up.

He'll be talking about what he sees as the future for the region's businesses at the North East Economic Forum in Tynemouth.

His predecessor, Alan Duncan, promised the Tories would put their business policies through a Tyneside test to make sure they'd work for the North East.

I'm not sure Ken Clarke is following the same pledge, but it'll be interesting to see what vision he offers.

Many at the meeting will want some clarity on the Tory policy towards Regional Development Agencies for a start as there still seems to be some confusion about it.

But what else will the Tories do for a region that once again has the highest unemployment rate in the country, and has such a poor record on business start-ups?

Then there's the North East's dependence on public sector jobs - something which we'll be looking at on the Politics Show this week.

I'll be interviewing both Nick Clegg and Ken Clarke as well. We're hoping to ask them the same questions so you can compare and contrast their claims to be the alternative to Labour.

Hopefully my encounter with Mr Clarke will be slightly more cordial than the one with his opposite number - I think he's probably a bit more laid back than Lord Mandelson.

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