www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/europe/05/04/british.election -> www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/europe/05/04/british.election/
LONDON, England (CNN) -- Britain's politicians are making one final campa ign push, a day before an election which appears increasingly likely to hand Prime Minister Tony Blair a third straight term in office. Blair was expected to make his government's handling of the buoyant Briti sh economy during its eight years in power the centerpiece of his final push ahead of the polling booths opening on Thursday morning. "Now the people are in the driving seat," he told GMTV breakfast televisi on, in the first of a flurry of interviews and Labour Party rallies aime d at swaying undecided voters. Leaders of the three main political parties are expected to blitz margina l seats up and down the country on Wednesday. Blair's itinerary will take him to Lancashire, Scotland and Yorkshire, be fore he heads to his Sedgefield, Co Durham constituency, where he will v ote on Thursday morning. For Tory leader Michael Howard, the day is expected to include stops in S urrey, North Yorkshire and Norfolk. Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy will pay a symbolic visit to Bren t East -- where at the September 2003 by-election, Sarah Teather overtur ned a huge Labour majority to take the seat for the Liberal Democrats wi th a 29 percent swing - before heading north to Leeds and Edinburgh. "The point about a General Election is it's fought constituency by consti tuency," Blair told GMTV "Whatever the opinion polls say, in the key seats a few hundred votes or a few thousand votes can determine it either way. "We are very much saying to people in those key constituencies, if you ha ve got the Conservatives in second place and you want to keep a Labour M P you have got to get out and vote." Kennedy argued at his morning press conference that his party deserved su pport as a reward for having been "positive" throughout the campaign, an d for having set out "real solutions" to the electorate's problems. Howard joined the tussle of the airwaves, telling the BBC he had been rig ht to call Blair a "liar" over Iraq, and denying it had resulted in a ne gative campaign style. "It's not telling the truth that makes politics seem negative, that's wha t contributes to the lack of trust in politics and politicians. Kennedy, at his final morning news conference, said the Liberal Democrats had "set pace" throughout the campaign, while the Conservatives' challe nge had "petered out" and Labour were "running scared," he said. leader also kept the spotlight on Iraq, urging voters: "Cas t your vote to restore Britain's reputation on the international stage. Vote Liberal Democrat if, like us, you say never again to an episode lik e Iraq." Despite a frantic and sometimes bitter few weeks of campaigning, both pun dits and opinion polls have remained constant throughout: Blair's Labour Party is likely to be re-elected, albeit most likely with a smaller par liamentary majority. No new opinion polls were published in Wednesday's British newspapers, bu t the tone of the coverage suggested clearly that the election outcome w as a foregone conclusion. The right-wing Daily Mail published a three-page guide to parliamentary s eats in which so-called "tactical voting" could remove Labour Party lawm akers, thus helping "give Mr Blair a bloody nose." "Add low unemployment, low inflation and low interest rates and what have you got? The newspaper's front page story concentrated on what it says was Tony an d Cherie Blair's first joint interview, in which they talk about their 2 5 year marriage.
|
http://csua.com/feed/