UK leaders face off as Tories take lead in poll
Source: Agencies |
May 3, 2010, Monday
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Print Edition
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BRITAIN'S political leaders launched personal attacks against each other yesterday ahead of Thursday's election, with opinion polls showing support growing for the opposition Conservative Party.
Although no new poll has indicated the center-right Conservatives winning an outright majority, the ruling Labour Party's 13 years in power appears set to end.
The party which swept to power in an overwhelming victory under Tony Blair in 1997 faces coming a humiliating third place on May 6 in the popular vote behind the much smaller Liberal Democrats.
Conservative leader David Cameron called Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown a "shrunken figure" yesterday, while Brown likened Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg to a "TV game show" presenter.
An Angus Reid opinion poll for the Sunday Express newspaper put Conservative Party support at 35 percent, 12 points ahead of third-placed center-left Labour. Although the pollster has tended to score Labour lower, the survey adds to four polls on Saturday indicating growing Conservative backing.
"I think we've got some momentum now," Conservative leader David Cameron said in a BBC interview yesterday.
No polls have the Conservatives with enough to win outright, indicating a coalition government as the most likely outcome, a rarity since 1974 in Britain with its first-past-the-post electoral system.
The financial markets have been nervous about a such a coalition or a minority government, fearing an uncertain time of horse-trading while a record budget deficit is more than 11 percent of GDP.
In an interview in the Observer newspaper, Brown admitted Labour was the "underdog," and yesterday he took a 10-stop tour around London.
"I'm fighting for my life, but I'm not fighting for myself, I'm fighting for the British people," he said at a south London community center.
The third-largest party, the centrist Liberal Democrats, have gained in popularity after leader Nick Clegg gave polished performances in a series of American-style television debates, and his support could be key in a coalition government.
But there was little sign of any overtures by political leaders to their rivals, as all three parties insisted they were focusing on winning a clear majority.
Although no new poll has indicated the center-right Conservatives winning an outright majority, the ruling Labour Party's 13 years in power appears set to end.
The party which swept to power in an overwhelming victory under Tony Blair in 1997 faces coming a humiliating third place on May 6 in the popular vote behind the much smaller Liberal Democrats.
Conservative leader David Cameron called Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown a "shrunken figure" yesterday, while Brown likened Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg to a "TV game show" presenter.
An Angus Reid opinion poll for the Sunday Express newspaper put Conservative Party support at 35 percent, 12 points ahead of third-placed center-left Labour. Although the pollster has tended to score Labour lower, the survey adds to four polls on Saturday indicating growing Conservative backing.
"I think we've got some momentum now," Conservative leader David Cameron said in a BBC interview yesterday.
No polls have the Conservatives with enough to win outright, indicating a coalition government as the most likely outcome, a rarity since 1974 in Britain with its first-past-the-post electoral system.
The financial markets have been nervous about a such a coalition or a minority government, fearing an uncertain time of horse-trading while a record budget deficit is more than 11 percent of GDP.
In an interview in the Observer newspaper, Brown admitted Labour was the "underdog," and yesterday he took a 10-stop tour around London.
"I'm fighting for my life, but I'm not fighting for myself, I'm fighting for the British people," he said at a south London community center.
The third-largest party, the centrist Liberal Democrats, have gained in popularity after leader Nick Clegg gave polished performances in a series of American-style television debates, and his support could be key in a coalition government.
But there was little sign of any overtures by political leaders to their rivals, as all three parties insisted they were focusing on winning a clear majority.
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