The speculation is over. Campaigning on steroids has begun for real and our election teams have swung into action to work their quiet magic in facilitating the democratic process.

Once I had absorbed the news and my electoral services manager had stopped swearing (he was due to be on holiday on 4 July), I find myself hopeful about the coming weeks of campaign debate. The big election issues – the economy, health, immigration, climate and housing – all matter hugely in the work we do, the challenges we grapple with on a daily basis and in which we have a major stake and a key role to play in the solutions. And I hope, perhaps naively, that the campaign over the next six weeks will move beyond culture wars, description of the problems and high-level pledges to a deeper discussion and greater clarity about the policy solutions.