Battling Brown enlists Elvis to 'lift the tempo'
Source: Agencies |
April 26, 2010, Monday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
BRITISH Prime Minister Gordon Brown turned to an Elvis Presley impersonator on Saturday to add razzmatazz to his lackluster election campaign as opinion polls indicated his governing Labour Party was in third place.
In an unlikely campaign event, the often solemn Scot was serenaded by Presley lookalike Mark Wright - who performed a version of "The Wonder Of You," as Brown sought to kick start his faltering attempt to retain power in Britain's May 6 ballot.
"As you get nearer to election day you are always upping the tempo," Brown said as he arrived in Corby, England.
Brown's main rivals - Conservative Party chief David Cameron and Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg - are widely regarded as having performed better than the prime minister in the country's first televised election debate. The second of three clashes aired on Thursday, with a final showdown scheduled this week.
Most polls published late on Saturday showed both opposition parties - including the perennially third-ranked Liberal Democrats - ahead of Brown's Labour.
A ComRes poll for The Independent newspaper put the main opposition Conservatives at 34 percent, with the Liberal Democrats at 29 percent and Labour at 28 percent.
A BPIX poll for the Mail on Sunday newspaper put the Tories at 34 percent, the Liberal Democrats at 30 percent and Labour at 26 percent.
George Osborne, Conservative lawmaker and economic spokesman, said the polls showed Brown's appearance with Elvis was timely.
"According to the polls, the public are fast reaching the conclusion that Gordon Brown should leave the building," he said in an e-mail.
All polls published Saturday, like most recent surveys, indicated Britain is on course for its first hung Parliament since 1974, with no party likely to win the 326 House of Commons seats needed for an outright majority.
In an unlikely campaign event, the often solemn Scot was serenaded by Presley lookalike Mark Wright - who performed a version of "The Wonder Of You," as Brown sought to kick start his faltering attempt to retain power in Britain's May 6 ballot.
"As you get nearer to election day you are always upping the tempo," Brown said as he arrived in Corby, England.
Brown's main rivals - Conservative Party chief David Cameron and Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg - are widely regarded as having performed better than the prime minister in the country's first televised election debate. The second of three clashes aired on Thursday, with a final showdown scheduled this week.
Most polls published late on Saturday showed both opposition parties - including the perennially third-ranked Liberal Democrats - ahead of Brown's Labour.
A ComRes poll for The Independent newspaper put the main opposition Conservatives at 34 percent, with the Liberal Democrats at 29 percent and Labour at 28 percent.
A BPIX poll for the Mail on Sunday newspaper put the Tories at 34 percent, the Liberal Democrats at 30 percent and Labour at 26 percent.
George Osborne, Conservative lawmaker and economic spokesman, said the polls showed Brown's appearance with Elvis was timely.
"According to the polls, the public are fast reaching the conclusion that Gordon Brown should leave the building," he said in an e-mail.
All polls published Saturday, like most recent surveys, indicated Britain is on course for its first hung Parliament since 1974, with no party likely to win the 326 House of Commons seats needed for an outright majority.
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