Speaking at Labour’s spring conference in Gateshead, Prime Minister Tony Blair announced that ‘training’ would be on the election agenda.

“Pledge two: Your child achieving more. Modern schools for all, strong discipline, and a guaranteed place in training, sixth-form or an apprenticeship,” he told delegates.

Explaining what this means, he pledged to rebuild or renew every secondary school in England within a generation and promised to create 100,000 sixth form places by 2008 and up to 300,000 apprenticeships every year.

On the sensitive issue of immigration, Labour plans to introduce a points-based system for student and work migrants to ensure only those filling skills gap will be allowed to stay in Britain.

Today the Conservative party have announced plans to control the immigration flow by making would-be residents undergo checks for HIV/Aids and other diseases.

According to a Populus poll for the Times this is the one issue in which the Conservatives lead the Labour party.

Battling it out to win over the parental vote, both parties are putting work-life balance at the forefront of their agendas.

Key amongst Blair’s pledges is giving ‘children the best start’. They vow to give more choice over parental leave for mums and dads, more childcare for under-fives and after school care for over-fives.