VOTING in Dorset could point the way to the result of one of the most closely-fought general elections for decades.

Each of the coalition parties has a seat in the county which they will be keen to prevent changing hands on the May 7 poll.

The campaign formally got under way yesterday after Parliament was dissolved and David Cameron had his final audience with the Queen before the election.

Mr Cameron spoke of a “stark choice” and accused Labour of planning a £3,000 tax hike for working families.

Labour leader Ed Miliband claimed a Conservative victory posed a “clear and present danger” to jobs and prosperity.

Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg declared the era of single-party politics was over and the Liberal Democrats could defy the opinion polls.

Two Dorset seats which saw election night dramas in 2010 will be watched closely this year.

Broadstone councillor Vikki Slade is looking to hold the seat of Mid Dorset and North Poole for the Liberal Democrats. Annette Brooke, who first won the seat for the party in 2001, is standing down.

Mrs Brooke won the seat following a recount in 2010, with a majority of just 269 votes over the Conservatives. Within days, the two parties were to form Britain’s first coalition government since the Second World War.

Mid Dorset and North Poole was ranked by a national newspaper yesterday as number five on a list of 10 the Conservatives needed to win to “avoid disaster” at the election.

The other candidates for the seat are Michael Tomlinson for the Conservatives, Patrick Canavan for Labour, Richard Turner for UKIP and Mark Chivers for the Greens.

The other local seat that has frequently produced close-results is South Dorset, which was held by Labour from 2001 until 2010, when government minister Jim Knight lost to Conservative Richard Drax.

Mr Drax was elected with a comfortable majority of 7,443 on the night that ended the premiership of Gordon Brown, who had visited the constituency during the campaign.

Labour’s candidate this time is Simon Bowkett, with Howard Legg standing for the Liberal Democrats, Malcolm Shakesby for UKIP and Jane Burnet for the Greens.