has fired on the start of the general election campaign, in a fight, even if we might have to wait until november or december for it to happen in effect. we until november or december for it to happen in effect- happen in effect. we could have the us election happen in effect. we could have the us election and happen in effect. we could have the us election and the happen in effect. we could have the us election and the uk - happen in effect. we could havej the us election and the uk election running parallel. do we have any figures who does a spring election? relatively few autumn elections in the post war period and most tend to take place in the spring. it is wrong to draw any conclusions given they have only been four but what i would say is that there is the interesting question about timing with the us presidential election that has only happened once before when lyndonjohnson romped home in the 1960s, so no real comparison there, but it represents a big unk