Final-Day Push in Tight UK election

Party leaders and candidates are making a last-ditch grab for votes on the final day of campaigning before the general election polls open.

Prime Minister David Cameron said the country was “stronger than it was five years ago” but there was “more to do”.

Ed Miliband will say Labour would put “working people first” in government while Nick Clegg will say the Lib Dems will offer “stability and decency”.

Polls suggest no party will win enough seats for an outright majority.

BBC deputy political editor James Landale said politicians, pollsters and the media were struggling to read the election, leading many to focus on what might happen if there is an uncertain result.

“As such, Thursday might not be the end of the process,” he said. “It might just be the calling of the half-time whistle.”

On the last day of campaigning:

  • David Cameron says the Conservatives can win Thursday’s election outright
  • Ed Miliband says he is optimistic about Labour prospects and he trusts the public to make the “right judgement”
  • Former top civil servant Lord O’Donnell said David Cameron could remain as prime minister even if he did not have a majority – it would be up to his political judgement whether he thought there was a “clear alternative” government.
  • A UK Independence Party (UKIP) candidate was suspended after being filmed apparently threatening to shoot a Conservative rival
  • The Times newspaper endorsed a continuation of the Conservative-Lib Dem coalition while The Express has become the first paper to recommend voting for UKIP. The Daily Mail is backing the Conservatives.
  • Northern Ireland’s five biggest parties clashed over welfare reform and gay marriage in a live TV debate

The leaders have been criss-crossing the country in their battle buses as they attempt to drum up support ahead of Thursday’s poll.

After starting the day in south Wales, Mr Cameron is heading to north-west England, Scotland and the Midlands, while Mr Miliband is visiting Conservative-held marginal seats in the north of England.

Mr Clegg, who set off from Land’s End on Tuesday, is heading to John O’Groats through Scottish constituencies his party is hoping to retain.

The prime minister, whose Conservative Party won 307 seats in 2010, has renewed his attack on the possibility of a minority Labour government propped up by the Scottish National Party (SNP), saying it would face “huge questions of credibility”.

Mr Cameron insisted a Conservative victory was “within reach” but insisted that he would put “the country first” whatever the outcome of Thursday’s poll by working to provide “strong and stable” government.

The Conservative leader said he had achieved a lot since 2010 but was “not satisfied” with current levels of deprivation and educational under-achievement in parts of the country and wanted to push harder on welfare and schools reforms.

“Is our country stronger than it was five years ago? Yes,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today. “Is there more to do? Yes. But I would say stick with the team that is turning things around.”

Source: BBC News

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