London: The British Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party, David Cameron, made his final pitch to voters on the eve of Britain’s most unpredictable election in a generation, promising higher living standards and warning that Scottish nationalists could hold to ransom a minority Labour government.
David Cameron is credited to have brought the economy back on Track
Britain’s two main parties are level in most polls and neither on track to command a majority in the parliament of the world’s fifth largest economy.
Cameron, who is banking on one of the strongest economic recoveries in the developed world to get him re-elected, has spent the last two days on a road trip around the country.
“This is the biggest and most important election in a generation in our country. And when you are standing there in that polling booth with that stubby pencil in your hand I want you to know this. How you vote could make the real difference in this election campaign. It comes down to a choice of leadership. Whether you want me to continue leading our country and taking it forward or whether you want Ed Miliband and you go back to the start and waste the work of the last five years,” he told supporters in the northern English city of Carlisle on Wednesday (May 6).
He said his party need to win 23 more seats than in the 2010 election to stop a Labour government, “propped up” by the Scottish Nationalists.
“A government that was held to ransom vote by vote, measure by measure, budget by budget, would bring this country to a juddering halt and when the government comes to a halt, the economy comes to a halt and when the economy comes to a halt, jobs get lost. Those are the consequences of a weak Ed Miliband government propped up by the SNP. But we have got 24 hours to stop that from happening.”
Despite five weeks of campaigning, neither Labour nor the Conservatives have opened up a clear lead, teeing up a potentially messy and uncertain outcome after Thursday’s (May 7) vote.
The stakes are high because of a rare confluence of factors which mean Britain’s future in the European Union, as well as its national cohesion, could hinge on the result.
Cameron has promised to hold a referendum on whether to stay in or quit the EU if he returns to power. While polls suggest Scottish nationalists could emerge as the third largest party, despite losing a plebiscite last year on whether Scotland should break away from the United Kingdom.
Five years ago, Britain got its first coalition government since World War Two when Cameron fell short of an overall majority and struck a deal with the centrist Liberal Democrats to govern together to steady the economy.
More than 45 million Britons are eligible to vote on Thursday, when polls open from 0600 to 2100 GMT.
Ventuno