Has Rory Bremner bitten off more than he can chew? This is certainly a question that keeps the famous satirist awake at night as he rehearses material for his Election Battlebus Tour.

Because not only has Rory taken it upon himself to light the election fire in the nation’s belly, he’s also despairing over the lack of entertaining new MPs to imitate.

And when impressions pay the bills, you need the best material on offer. So he is eternally grateful for the remaining political characters, who make his life easier.

“I do bless Gordon Brown on a daily basis,” he says before instantly sliding into Brown’s stern Scottish tones as he wonders aloud what Brown will do when he retires. “Maybe he will be towed out to Florida like an aggressive whale.

“And in Oxford people could bypass Cameron for his deputy William Hague,” Hague’s instantly recognisable squashed nasal voice echoing from Rory’s mouth.

“But look at what people like in a politician and it’s the characters. One of the most popular MPs was Boris Johnson, and not because of his judgement or wisdom, but because he was an extrovert and people recognised him. That’s what people like – some variety and fun, not a bunch of blandness bogged down in scandals over their own ends.”

But when the chips are down, Rory is doing the next best thing, and making us laugh. After all, that’s why we love him – he has entertained us with his frighteningly lifelike impersonations for the past 25 years.

Aptly then, the first half of his Election Battlebus Tour, hitting Oxford’s Playhouse next Friday, is stand-up, where Rory will air some of his favourite characters and say farewell to others.

“Well after the next election David Blunkett, John Prescott, Bush and Blair will be obsolete. It’s the end of an era, and a feeling of fin de siecle,” Rory says sadly. “And yes, I will miss them because the political landscape is a little featureless at the moment.

“So, we can all escape into the comedy together,” Rory smiles. “And, I always try to see the positive side, even if the message is that there is a lot of dismay out there.

“When the debate isn’t about war or finance or climate change, but rather who has got the most attractive wife, people tend to disconnect.”

So why aren’t we marching in protest?

“The British will only march if the time of the Archers gets changed or it’s the Countryside Alliance,” the 48-year-old laughs, “and they feel very powerless at the moment even though as a nation they are resilient and generous.”

What about Rory’s own politics. Are they secret? “No, Ed Vaizey is my MP, I think, and it said in the Telegraph this week that I was a Lib Dem.

“I had to correct that because I’m not. My politics change. And while I think they have some interesting ideas, so do Labour and the Conservatives, although you have to look quite hard.”

As for Rory’s personal life, he still lives in Oxfordshire, which he loves, his daughters are eight and six now and he says he doesn’t spend as much time at home as he’d like, the conundrum for any successful working dad.

But having just finished another round of his cult TV show, Bremner, Bird and Fortune, Rory might have time to get to grips with a new Cabinet in time for the next series.

Do MPs blanch when they see him coming? “No the bland ones like to think they are interesting enough for me to use and the real characters complain about my impersonations,” Rory laughs. But as the saying goes, ‘You’re nobody till somebody loves you’.

“Tony Benn asked me last week ‘Are you still doing me?’, and when I said yes, he said ‘Oh good’.”

Says it all really.