Labour, which could yet lead an administration, made a particular focus of what it calls Digital Britain, pledging to support the IT industry including startup companies.

This year's promised some support for new workers, as Alistair Darling, the chancellor, announced funding for 20,000 higher education training places in science, technology, engineering and mathematics subjects, and more support for small businesses and entrepreneurs. The rollout of high-speed broadband across the country is also being touted by Labour as a way to boost industry.

Both Labour and the Liberal Democrats have insisted they would create hundreds of thousands of jobs in the green technology industry. The Conservatives, conversely, have made fewer specific announcements on the environment and related jobs.

In recent months, IT workers across the UK on public and private sector contracts have protested at difficult conditions, pay freezes and the limiting of their retirement benefits. A number of workers have even gone on high profile , with HP and Fujitsu seeing major industrial action on key contracts.

All three of the large parties recognised the changing online habits of voters, some Google keywords to gain traction on the web. And after it emerged that the Conservatives had reportedly been sponsoring thousands of Google AdWords for more than three years, Labour's former deputy leader John Prescott appeared on Twitter calling for Labour activists to click on the Conservative Party's Google ads in an attempt to rack up costs for the Tories.