TODAY, with just six weeks to go before the 2015 General Election, the Echo begins an extended review of the political scene.

Over the coming days we will examine the candidates, the issues, the policies, and the parties. The election will be analysed both in a national context, and a local one.

What are the particular concerns for this region? In what ways could the result directly touch on the lives of those who live in south Essex?

This is, of course, an election like no other in living memory. The grip of the twoparty system, which has dominated British politics for over 150 years, could well evaporate as a range of new parties emerge as genuine contenders.

Ukip, the Greens and the Scottish National Party were off the radar during the 2010 election, but have the potential, this time round, to change the political map of the UK.

Essex, which has already given Ukip its first elected MP in the shape of Douglas Carswell, lies right at the heart of this volatility.

Not since the heady days of the early 1990s, when Essex Man was the barometer of political swing, have Essex constituencies been so far at the leading edge of election politics.

It gives Essex a political significance that goes far beyond the merely local. Such a volatile political scene can appear confusing.

But in the weeks ahead Echo reporters will be on the spot, to cut through the political posturing and present readers with the facts.