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The old warhorse powered into town today in full battle cry with less than three days to go.

Gordon Brown's cavalcade pulled into to cheers from the assembled bevy of supporters and , of Dragon's Den fame, lent a little celebrity stardust on a grey May Day morning.

The Prime Minister made a short tour of a courier company in the constituency Angela Smith represented. She spent two years at his side as his Parliamentary Private Secretary.

"I've got a plan for the future," he told staff. It involved low carbon businesses, digital investment, and a green economy.

He praised Angela Smith generously as "the most magnificant member of Parliament, one of the most hard working members of Parliament, putting forward the views of people in this constituency."

Echoes of a swan song? Huge boundary changes have left Ms Smith with a wafer thin majority.

Basildon, in its old form, was a seat that, since its creation in 1974, has been a constituency that has reflected the political colour of the Government of the day.

I got to shake hands with the PM - a surprisingly soft handshake, or maybe not so surprising when you consider the American candidate who actually strained his wrist in an election campaign.

"I am a man with a plan, a plan for the future" he told the assembled press.

"What about investment here in Basildon?" I asked, "it will be hit by the recession".

"I think there's a great future for Baslidon," the Prime Minister told me. It involved super fast broadband, bio technology, low carbon businesses, digital investment and a green economy.

The mantra continued - £6bn of cuts under the Conservatives, 'going back to the 1980's', the 'cancer guarantee'.

Well rehearsed arguments from a man in the final throes of the campaign. Too well rehearsed. Then off up the coast to the next eastern marginal.

Inhe met up with Chris Mole.

"I want to get round the country during the last few days of this campaign to explain to people that we've taken the tough decisons, we've been through a global financial recession, I understand that people know this has not been an ordinary time but we have got the plan for the future and we are working to ensure there are jobs and the recovery is assured."

He talked about how Labour had invested in projects across the region like at the Quayside in Ipswich.

"This is an achievement of the people with the help of government investment. I don't want to see that investment taken away".

Of the MPs he's visiting today: "these are great members of Parliament we are talking about, people who have served the country with huge distiction and Angela Smith, Tony Wright, Bob Blizzard and Chris Mole are people that I am very proud of, they've all done a huge amount for their own constituencies".

In Waveney he describes Bob Blizzard as "a local champion". He says he will campaign "every minute, every hour, in the wind in the rain, in the sun, every day and every way".

The battle cry, war-weary or not, continues.

And why not Norwich today? Was it anything to do with the by-election or the fact that he doesn't get on with the candidate for Norwich South, the former Home Secretary Charles Clarke?

"Not at all - I'm doing as many visits as I can - you may be surprised over the visits I do over the next few days."

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