2015 UK ELECTION
Britons voted yesterday in the tightest election for decades; one that could push the world’s fifth-largest economy closer to leaving the EU and stoke a second attempt by Scotland to break away
Britons voted yesterday in the tightest election for decades; one that 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.
Final opinion polls showed Prime Minister 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.
‘Closest race’
However, the surveys suggested there had been some late movement towards Labour.
“This race is going to be the closest we have ever seen,” Miliband told supporters in Pendle, northern England, on the eve of the vote.
“It is going to go down to the wire.” Cameron said only his Conservatives could deliver strong, stable government: “All other options will end in chaos,” he insisted.
The Conservatives portray themselves as the party of jobs and economic recovery, promising to reduce income tax for 30 million people while forcing through further spending cuts to eliminate a budget deficit still running at 5 per cent of GDP.
Labour says it would cut the deficit each year, raise income tax for the highest 1 per cent of earners and defend the interests of hard-pressed working families and Britain’s treasured but
TOP CANDIDATES PROFILES financially stretched Health Service.
“I think Labour is best for the good of the whole country.
The Conservatives have cut spending too much,” said student Abi Samuel at a polling station in Edinburgh’s well-heeled New Town.
Retiree Robert McCairley said it had been a messy campaign.
“What disappoints me is that there was too much on the National Health Service, hospitals
National and schools but not enough on the deficit — no one showed us the figures,” he said.
If neither party wins an overall majority, talks will begin today with smaller parties in a race to strike deals. That could lead to a formal coalition, like the one Cameron has led for the past five years with the centrist Liberal Democrats, or it could produce a fragile minority government making trade-offs to guarantee support on key votes.
Opinion polls released yesterday showed the outcome was still too close to call and that turnout would be higher than in recent elections.
An ICM poll had Labour taking a one percentage point lead, and a survey by Lord Ashcroft had the two main parties tied, with Labour wiping out a twopoint lead by the Conservatives recorded earlier this week.
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.
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.