As this issue of Socialist Resistance goes to press, the election has not formally been declared for May 5, and Respect has not completed discussions on its Manifesto.
Socialist Resistance has consistently argued for, and helped to develop a full platform of radical policies as the basis of the Respect Manifesto, drawing on the wide range of policy decisions taken at last year's conference, and many of the campaigns and struggles in which Respect activists have been involved - in defence of public services, against privatisation and in defence of civil liberties.
The full draft document that is being finalised is far longer than most people would read all the way through, but it is important for Respect to have this type of political platform on its website and available to assist candidates and local campaigners in their challenge to New Labour. There are also plans for a popular tabloid version of the final manifesto to be distributed throughout the country.
While not every candidate will necessarily endorse absolutely every point in a lengthy and detailed manifesto, it can stand as a marker of what the organisation as a whole represents politically.
As many of us found in during the Socialist Alliance election campaign of 2001, this type of political programme is vital as a means of linking up different local branches and groups in diverse localities.
This will especially be the case in many areas of the country where no Respect candidate is standing, but Respect activists are involved in political work, and new forces are seeking a principled left wing alternative to New Labour.
Impressive results have been notched up by Respect candidates in some council by-elections, and it has continued to attract support from Muslim communities and other areas where the anti-war sentiment has been especially strong.
But unless Respect develops an explicit, radical socialist and internationalist dimension to its politics it runs the risk of being dismissed as merely a party seeking Muslim protest votes, and will fall short on its ability to attract the best activists from the trade union left and the wider labour movement.
Even the ability to mobilise support from the anti-war movement could be limited by the apparent (if opportunist) appeal of the Liberal Democrats posing as an anti-war party with a-deal electoral base, unless the link is made to wider issues of policy which can expose the character of the Lib Dems.
It is clear that Respect, as a relatively new organisation has not yet grown to the extent that it can mount a nationwide challenge, standing in every constituency.
Instead its conference last autumn sensibly agreed to contest a restricted list of seats in which Respect can genuinely hope to win a large number of votes, and in some cases expect to challenge and remove sitting Labour pro-war MPS.
Around 25-30 seats have been targeted as the focus for major campaigning, and in many cases campaigns are already up and running.
A full report on the Respect campaign will appear in our next issue.
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Tony Blair: "Choice is not a betrayal of our principles. It