LONDON: Britain’s political leaders on Tuesday began a final push for votes ahead of this week’s knife-edge general election while preparing for the likelihood of drawn-out negotiations once polls close.

Prime Minister David Cameron, whose Conservatives are neck and neck with the opposition Labour party in opinion polls, launched a 36-hour tour of the country that will see him campaign through the night up to the last minute.

Neither of the two main parties is expected to win a clear majority in the House of Commons after Thursday’s vote. This would mean days or even weeks of negotiations after the election as both sought to team up with smaller parties to take power.

Nevertheless, Cameron urged voters to give his party a clear mandate to govern, saying the alternative was years of “backroom deals” and “bribes” as Labour sought to form a government with the support of the pro-independence Scottish National Party (SNP).

“There is still time to determine the outcome of this election,” Cameron said on the campaign trail with London Mayor Boris Johnson in north London.

“Don’t talk about predicting the future — shape the future with your vote”. Labour leader Ed Miliband sought to focus on the state-run National Health Service after days of questions about whether he would work with Nicola Sturgeon’s SNP to govern.

“Britain faces a clear choice on Thursday: between a Labour government that will put working people first or a Tory government that will only ever work for the privileged few,” he said. Miliband has ruled out a formal deal with the SNP but it is thought he could be prepared to work with them on a vote-by-vote basis to take power in a minority government.

Published in Dawn, May 6th, 2015

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