THE LABOUR Party will today give the clearest signal yet to core voters to back the Liberal Democrats in seats where Labour can no longer hope to beat the Conservatives in Thursday’s election.
A strong Liberal Democrat result would deny the Conservatives a majority and leave British prime minister Gordon Brown in with a chance of forming a coalition with Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg.
Interviewed in today’s New Statesman, UK schools secretary Ed Balls said: “I always want the Labour candidate to win, but I recognise there’s an issue in places like North Norfolk, where my family live, where Norman Lamb [an outgoing Liberal Democrat MP] is fighting the Tories, who are in second place. And I want to keep the Tories out.”
Mr Balls, a noted Labour tribalist, also said: “It will be very tough for us to get a majority. But it will be very tough for the Tories to get a majority. Who turns out to be the largest party [in a hung parliament] remains to be seen.”
Mr Balls matched his call for some Labour voters to vote Liberal Democrats with advice for Liberal Democrats in constituencies where the Conservatives and Labour are the contenders: “I urge Lib Dem voters to bite their lip and back us,” he said.
Separately, Mr Brown delivered the finest speech of the campaign when he spoke at an event run by Citizens UK, a community and religious organisations’ umbrella group, telling them: “You have given me heart today and inspired me.”
Mr Brown rose to embrace a 13-year-old Chilean girl, who told the crowd of 2,500 how her mother and grandmother travel to work as cleaners in the UK treasury at 3.30am every morning for minimum wage.
Mr Clegg spent the day in constituencies that would mark a major advance for the Liberal Democrats if they were to win them on Thursday: Liverpool, Durham, Glasgow and Eastbourne on the English south coast.
If the Liberal Democrats do win all of these, it would mean their seat numbers would hit 80 on Friday morning, and it would give them a strong chance of defeating Labour in the battle for second place in the popular vote.
An IPSOS-Mori poll published by Reuters last night indicates that there has been a seven-point swing to the Conservatives in 57 marginal constituencies held by Labour in 2005, enough to give Tory leader David Cameron a two-seat majority.
This is the first time the poll, which has been repeatedly carried out during the campaign, has pointed to a Tory majority, but it does not examine seats where the Conservatives are battling with the Liberal Democrats.
With the polls still not quite going his way, Mr Cameron has to achieve a delicate balance in trying to appear prime ministerial and ready to assume power – yet without taking voters for granted.
Illustrating the Conservative leader’s growing confidence, Mr Cameron ruled out a post-election alliance with the Liberal Democrats – even if he fails to win more than 326 seats in the House of Commons, the number needed for an overall majority.
However, Mr Clegg responded quickly, accusing Mr Cameron of wanting to glide into No 10 Downing Street.
“I have a simple message for David Cameron: in this country you don’t inherit power; you have to earn it,” he said.
A ComRes poll for ITV News/the Independent last night put the Conservatives eight points clear but short of an overall majority, with the Conservatives on 37 per cent, Labour on 29 per cent, the Liberal Democrats on 26 per cent, and 8 per cent for others.
This poll gives the Conservatives 294 seats – 32 short of an overall majority – Labour 251 seats and the Liberal Democrats 74. Mr Clegg would undoubtedly find such a result disappointing after the drama of recent weeks.
