A man arrives at a polling station at St Johns Parish Church, London to cast a vote in the UK election (Getty)

Queensferry, Scotland – We set off in fog and mist Thursday as Gordon Brown was supposed to be voting early just a few blocks from his seaside home in Scotland. We made our way through the tidy village of Queensferry and the community centre there - but no luck.

 Like many things in this campaign, the event didn’t follow the script. A polite security officer told us the prime minister was out late last night campaigning and would not vote till late morning.

So we hopped on a train instead and headed straight for London and the results of one of the most contested elections in British history. Gone is the apathy, the boredom and tedium of UK politics. While most voters still told us they find their politicians boring, this time around politics has gripped them.

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Posted by: CNN Correspondent Paula Newton
Filed under: Election

Posted by: CNN Correspondent Paula Newton
Filed under: View from

Knutsford, England - We woke with the cows this morning and Lizzie seemed to want her say on the election. She chewed my scarf, licked my leg and pulled cameraman Todd Baxter's ear phones off with her tongue.

We were at Parkgate Farm in the early morning hours as dairy farmer Ian McGrath told us indeed Lizzie the cow would be voting. How we asked? With all fours of course ...

Sorry, had to get that in there.

McGrath told us that in terms of the election he hadn’t quite made up his mind but people needed change.

“I feel that the public and myself look at it and think do we want manifestos and new policies or do we just look at the history of what’s going on and we want a change from what we currently have.” said McGrath.

He points out that for all the debating and policy announcements, voters are still mulling over the possibilities in much the same way as they were when the election was called. And he doesn’t believe that in the polling booth voters will end up being all that strategic. They will vote for change he says. Period.

McGrath is one of millions of undecideds and pollsters say that even those who have told them they have made up their minds could turn out to be soft votes that will change at the last minute. How will that translate in parliament? More chaos perhaps or a more solid overall win for the Tories.

Stay tuned, as many pundits, pollsters and politicians have said, this is turning out to be an incredibly complicated jigsaw.

Posted by: CNN Correspondent Paula Newton
Filed under: View from

Posted by: CNN Correspondent Paula Newton
Filed under: Immigration •View from

Knutsford, England - I know I just said forget the clichés but we headed straight into one on Monday as we went to the Knutsford Fun Fair! Dozens of these fairs take place all over the country and they are a bank holiday tradition. We ventured in despite the rain (another bank holiday cliché we are told).

But as we started to talk to voters, it was time to discuss this most original campaign. It is one like no other and it is confounding political parties and pollsters. Voters, on the other hand, see it as a good reflection of how they’re feeling.

We hopped on the bumper cars - yes, the bumper cars - and solicited opinion. James Cambly was game, taking the wheel and telling me he had not made up his mind on how to vote. Some polls estimate that almost a third of eligible voters could yet change their minds with only two days left of campaigning.

We whizzed around as James explained that as a young father he was fearful of where the country was headed and didn’t have confidence that any of the leaders know what to do to set it right. The bottom line: He still has no idea who he is voting for and crucially doesn’t think there’s much difference between them.

This is a well-heeled corner of England. Very close to Manchester and Liverpool, it is a leafy favorite for famous footballers and their families. Taxes are a highly charged issue here and voters say none of the parties have provided enough clarity about which taxes are going up and which are coming down.

Did I mention we started the day in Crewe? Now here is an interesting constituency. It was Labour-dominated for decades but snatched by the Conservatives in a 2008 by election. Back then, it seems like centuries ago now, it was a barometer of how the next general election would go.

Not so fast say the voters of Crewe. A win here is no sure thing for the Conservatives and yet some voters expressed surprise that their community wasn’t more hotly contested. In a few hours there, I saw very few election posters and one voter we spoke to said that although voters were engaged, he felt the national parties and their local candidates were not.

Through Crewe, a town of more than 60,000, we saw not one, two or three,  but four Polish supermarkets. The Polish immigrants showed little interest in the campaign although most are eligible to vote. What they do understand though is the highly charged atmosphere in which Gordon Brown called one voter a “bigot” last weekend.

Here voters say they often are made to feel like outsiders even though they are trying hard to fit in. As one young student put it, the tolerance level in Britain should be higher. Having said that, he also said that what Gillian Duffy dared utter to Brown was a sentiment that he hears often and that most people keep to themselves.

Off to Dewsbury tomorrow but not before sunrise on an English dairy farm in Knutsford. And good thing too, those bumper cars did a number on my neck and back.

Posted by: CNN Correspondent Paula Newton
Filed under: Election •Immigration •The Economy

Abertillery, Wales – The Welsh tones were unmistakable, but the political attitude here barely resembles the Labour heartland this place used to be. As the Abertillery Orpheus Male Choir takes a break from practice, we ask for a show of hands.

Who believes a hung parliament would be a good thing right now?

Perhaps surprisingly, the majority of hands are raised. Some members of this choir believe if the parties would work together, the outcome might produce the kind of results this country has never seen.

There is no denying this area of Wales is deprived. Their words, not mine. The coal mines and steel works here have been shut for nearly two decades and there has been nothing to replace them.

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Posted by: CNN Correspondent Paula Newton
Filed under: Election •The Economy

Birmingham, England - The view from the media pen, now dubbed the spin room during debates, was that the ‘spinning’ from the party faithful started shockingly early. There was a full half-hour to go on the debate, and there were the party pundits, telling us their man won.

There is a fine art to ‘spinning’ and here’s how it goes. First, say your man won. Second, say why your man won. And finally, third, keep a straight, serious face even though you know you sound ridiculous saying your man won.

Why is that?

The truth is, as popular and widely watched as these debates were, they may not have been a game-changer for any one candidate. All parties agree that during the first debate Nick Clegg, the leader of the Liberal Democrat party, found his voice. And many British voters were listening for the first time.

But now, with almost everyone on this campaign looking weary and battered, the debates have been informative, but they have failed to really crown a winner in what is a nail-biter of a race.

We started the day wondering how Gordon Brown would atone for calling a pensioned grandmother a bigot. His line during the debate got a good laugh in the press room, ‘as you could see from yesterday, I don’t always get everything right’. But what has been so telling about this campaign has been that neither of his opponents mentioned the Brown gaffe. As many voters told us, they don’t expect any politician to rise above that kind of contempt. They want more from their politicians but have learned to expect less.

So it’s on to Wales and market day in the pouring rain, if the forecast is to be believed. We check out an old Labour heartland that still believes socialism is the way forward. And stay tuned, we’re told former Prime Minister Tony Blair joins the campaign on Friday. One week to go, countless tales to come.

Posted by: CNN Correspondent Paula Newton
Filed under: Debates •Election •General •Media •View from

Birmingham, England – From Bath to Birmingham and beyond, what a first day on our British election road trip. The battleground that is the constituency of Bath was downright bloodied by the end of the day as voters digested the Gordon Brown outburst.

In Sally Lunn's Bun Shop we tasted sweet cakes in shock as voters told us that what Gordon Brown did was "mortifying", "two-faced", and undignified. Voters told us they were disgusted by the utter contempt politicians seemed to show for the electorate and dismayed that the political candour they craved from this campaign came first from a jibe that totally misunderstood voters' concerns.

But this was no time to stew, we ditched the impossible rail schedule and rented a car heading straight for Rochdale and Gillian Duffy. But wait! We found out Gordon Brown would be making a speech in Birmingham the next morning, and here we sit, waiting for him to arrive.

Could he possibly apologize again? We shall see ...

Posted by: CNN Correspondent Paula Newton
Filed under: Election •General

The Roman city of Bath will be one of Paula Newton’s stops as she travels across the UK (Getty/File)

London, England - As the UK general election campaign reaches its climax, CNN is heading off to test the mood of the country, from across the country. And we want your help.

Take a read through the proposed itinerary that follows. It is not set in stone but it is where we are at right now. If you know of any events you think we should be covering in these locations, we want to hear from you. If there are any particular issues that stand out in any of these places, then please get in touch. Leave a comment below or message @paulanewtonCNN on Twitter.

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Posted by: CNN Correspondent Paula Newton, CNN Producer Andrew Carey
Filed under: Election •General