Britain's general election seems certain to return the Prime Minister, Mr Blair, for a second term, but voter turnout could be the lowest since the first World War, analysts said yesterday.
The campaign has been a lacklustre affair apart from endless television replays of the Deputy Prime Minister, Mr John Prescott, punching a protester last week after being hit by an egg during a rowdy demonstration.
An analyst, Mr John Curtice, wrote in the London Independent that the punch may have enlivened the campaign for journalists but did not appear to have made one jot of difference for the public.
Meanwhile, Mr Blair has increased his lead over Mr William Hague as the voters' choice for Prime Minister, according to an ICM survey for BBC News Online. It found 47 per cent backed Mr Blair, putting him 31 points clear of Mr Hague and the Liberal Democrat leader, Mr Charles Kennedy, both on 16 per cent.