Polls projections show PM David Cameron’s Conservatives and Ed Miliband’s opposition Labour Party almost in a dead heat, indicating neither will win enough seats for an outright majority in the 650-seat parliament
London : British political leaders joined millions of voters on Thursday to cast their ballot in country’s most nail-biting general elections ever. Prime Minister David Cameron’s bid for a second term is on a knife-edge as his ruling Conservative Party was locked in a tense electoral battle with the opposition Labour.
A total of 650 Westminster MPs will be elected, with about 50 million people registered to vote. As well as the general election, there are more than 9,000 council seats being contested across 279 English local authorities. Mayors will also be elected in Bedford, Copeland, Leicester, Mansfield, Middlesbrough and Torbay.
Britain’s party leaders took the lead as millions began voting. A sunny, clear day offered the perfect setting for a high turnout, which began on a moderate note but is expected to pick up as the day progresses.
According to Guardian news reports, ICM – a poll projection body on Wednesday predicted the two main parties deadlocked on 35% each. An 11% share for Ukip, 9% for the Lib Dems and 5% for the Scottish Nationalists were all confirmed from the provisional poll, but in the final tranche of interviews the Greens picked up a point, climbing from 3% to 4%. The difference is still within the margin of error, but every poll is now indicating a hung parliament and the tightest election in decades.
An Ipsos MORI poll for the London Evening Standard had the Conservatives one point ahead, down from a five-point lead the party held a week ago, while Populus also had the parties level.
Leading pollster Peter Kellner of YouGov has predicted the Conservatives will end up with 284 seats to Labour’s 263, with the Scottish National Party (SNP) on 48, Liberal Democrats 31, the anti-European Union UK Independence Party (Ukip) two, Greens one, and Welsh and Northern Irish parties 21.
Cameron accompanied by wife Samantha was among the early voters at his Witney constituency in Oxfordshire. In one of his final interviews before polling began, his message to the voters was, “The future of the country is in your hands. Don’t do something you will regret.”
Labour party’s Ed Miliband, the leader of the Opposition who is hoping to make his entry into No.10 Downing Street as the new British Prime Minister, cast his vote alongside wife Justine almost an hour earlier at his Doncaster North constituency towards the southwest of London. “It will come down to a few hundred votes in a few dozen constituencies. If you’ve got anything to do in the next 36 hours, cancel it,” was his final message.
A hung Parliament could cause government gridlock, push the world’s fifth-largest economy closer to leaving the European Union and stoke a second attempt by Scotland to break away.
If a durable government cannot be formed, Britain could face political instability. When no clear winner emerged in the elections of 1974 and 1923, another election was held within a year – but a law passed four years ago now makes it much harder to hold a second vote within the five-year parliamentary term.
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POLL METER
l ICM poll predicts Labour taking a one percentage point lead l Ipsos MORI poll for the London Evening Standard puts the Conservatives one point ahead l Meanwhile, YouGov has predicted the Conservatives will end up with 284 seats to Labour’s 263, with the Scottish National Party (SNP) on 48, Liberal Democrats 31, the anti-European Union UK Independence Party (Ukip) two, Greens one, and Welsh and Northern Irish parties 21
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