David Cameron, Britain’s prime minister, is putting in place plans to hold on to power and deliver his promised referendum on EU membership even if he fails to win an outright majority in a knife-edge general election on Thursday.
But opposition Labour party leader Ed Miliband is making similar plans to form a minority government and could become prime minister even if he finishes second, thanks to the expected support of the separatist Scottish National party, which is forecast to win by a landslide north of the border.
Opinion polls put the Conservatives and Labour neck-and-neck on about 34 points each, promising one of the most uncertain outcomes for decades in a British election, which until 2010 usually delivered a clear parliamentary majority to one of the two main parties.