The Battle for Britain: Seven party leaders fight for top spot

Seven party leaders are headed into Britain’s most unpredictable election in decades on Thursday, which has brought several smaller parties to the fore because of a fragmentation of the vote. Neither of the two main parties is expected to win a clear majority in the House of Commons, setting the stage for days or weeks of negotiations to team up with smaller parties to take power. While neither of the two main party leaders is talking in public about the possibility of a minority government, the polls suggest that Britain is heading that way for the first time since 1997.

Everybody knows that no one will win this election, even if David Cameron and Ed Miliband won’t admit it publicly.

Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg

Labour leader Ed 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. The election dominated the front pages of Wednesday’s newspapers, with the Financial Times reporting a “scramble to line up durable coalition deals”. The BBC’s poll of polls puts the Conservatives and Labour at 34 percent and 33 percent respectively, figures that have barely shifted since the start of the election.