POLITICS is in turmoil, as party allegiances, campaigning techniques, and maybe even the United Kingdom, fall apart – so why are politicians stuck in a time warp?

This year should bring the most exciting and unpredictable election of modern times, with no-one – least of all your correspondent – confident they can predict the result on May 8.

Never, in living memory, has election year dawned with no party expected to win an overall majority, let alone with a real chance that it will take three parties to cobble together a workable coalition.

Meanwhile, voters are turning away from the traditional way of doing politics, with local issues becoming more important and distrust of politicians growing.

Yet what was most striking about this week’s unofficial election launch was just how much it resembled all the others, as the parties fell back on the tried and (mis?) trusted.

So, Labour’s launch was marked by hyperbolic warnings about the threat to the NHS if the Conservatives win, which “won’t exist as we know it” – or, in one interview, be “killed”.

Now, the health service shake-up is allowing private firms to bite chunks out of it and the A&E problems are stark – a real blow to Conservative re-election hopes.

But the language used by Labour is too extreme to be credible, ignoring the reality that care will remain free at the point of use for patients – the essence of the NHS.

Talking of lacking credibility, consider the Tory ‘dossier’ on Labour’s alleged spending plans, which was 80-odd pages of embarrassing nonsense dressed up as Treasury research.

George Osborne clumsily stapled together every Labour criticism of Coalition cuts as if they are firm pledges to reverse them in year one, to proclaim a £20.7bn borrowing bombshell.

To give just one obvious example, the document claimed Labour would reverse £3.35bn of council cuts – but, as every stressed northern council leader knows, this ain’t going to happen.

Politics is in unprecedented flux but, when push comes to shove, Labour falls back to shouting about the end of the sainted NHS and the Tories to much-loved spending dossiers.

Yet there is a strong argument that such negative campaigning has had its day, just as voters have tuned out from political spin and examine pledges with a dollop of salt.

The parties desperately need to offer a positive reason to vote…and, also, cannot be allowed to get away with the outrageous distortions of 2010.

Five years ago, David Cameron promised “no frontline cuts” (then slaughtered councils and welfare) and condemned coalition (then begged Nick Clegg to form one). This time, we have a right to know where the Tories will find their “colossal cuts” (Institute for Fiscal Studies) and which ones the other parties are planning.

And the parties will be expected to state which policies are non-negotiable red lines and how they will approach a hung parliament.

Things can only get better – then we will have the most exciting and unpredictable election in memory.