Posted on 05/05/2005 7:05:21 AM PDT by End Times Sentinel
Tony Blair
The Labour leader last night appealed to disaffected Guardian readers and other voters in the "progressive politics" camp to support the election of a third-term Labour government for the achievements they agree with - not help to throw it out in a self-defeating protest over Iraq.
Speaking to the Guardian at the end of the last election in which he will seek ministerial office, Tony Blair said he stood by his claim that a protest vote for the Liberal Democrats could produce the "miscalculation" which would let the Tory leader, Michael Howard, into No 10 tomorrow.
"The truth is, in seats where the Conservatives are second and the Lib Dems are not going to win the seat, if people stay at home or vote Liberal Democrat, you are going to get a Tory MP by the back door. Let's keep that back door locked," he said.
After a day spent crossing the country in support of beleaguered Labour candidates in marginal seats, Mr Blair rejected the charge that he was trying to blackmail what he called "comfortably off" voters by pointing out that they would suffer much more if policies on public service reform or tax credits were reversed by a Tory government.
"People can disagree over Iraq, that is fair enough. But what has been put at risk is progressive politics, which is not just the measures of social justice we have taken as a government here, but also in relation to Africa and world poverty and other issues of immense importance to people," Mr Blair said.
Tired, but still in strong voice before addressing a party rally above the seafront in marginal Scarborough, he repeatedly invoked the risk of a "miscalculation" by disappointed voters, and rejected the suggestion that a reduced majority would give beneficial influence to either the Labour left or the Liberal Democrats.
"The blunt truth is that without Labour showing it has been capable of reaching out to new ground, we would never have had a full second-term government, or the prospect of a third."
He acknowledged strong feelings over the Iraq war, especially in London and the south-east, though he insisted that such feelings were exaggerated in other parts of the country. He did not raise the issue in speeches in marginal Rossendale, Lancashire, or in ultra-marginal Dumfries and Galloway in Scotland.
"There will always be things that any progressive government does that progressive people disagree with," Mr Blair said. "But it is important to measure the government by the whole of what it does and say, is it better, has it made progressive advances? And is it better than the alternative, which is a return to the Conservatives?"
Throughout yesterday's 500-mile crisscross dash by helicopter, he had struck a confident note before party audiences, but betrayed anxiety about the turnout today. Mr Blair's gruelling last day of the campaign was typical of the past month. Rising at 6.30, he did media interviews with GMTV, a more aggressive session with John Humphrys on Radio 4's Today programme, snatched briefings with aides, and then gave his final press conference - staged with the entire cabinet - in Finchley, another Labour-Conservative marginal in north London.
At his side, Gordon Brown was again loyal and supportive, evidently confident that his long wait will soon be over. Gossip on the campaign trail suggests it could be as soon as 18 months. When a reporter suggested that Mr Blair would not last four years, Jack Straw called out: "Eight years." John Prescott said more ironically: "Twelve years."
Michael Howard
If Mr Howard has any doubts about the outcome of today's election, he did an excellent job of hiding them as he flew across Britain on a final campaign swing.
Brushing aside a succession of protesters - from a Ukip heavy mob in Guildford to Labour's "grim reapers" in Tadcaster - the Tory leader looked confident as he pledged to open a "new chapter of hope" if elected.
"You can help to build a brighter Britain by voting Conservative," he told cheering supporters in the marginal Yorkshire seat of Selby last night. "Let us have a government that will stand up for Britain."
As he toured the marginal constituencies of Guildford and Norwich South, he reeled off the "timetable for action" he pledged to implement within days of taking office. "Vote for more of the same or vote for positive change," he said.
"There will be peculiar results, it may be an odd night," one aide said of opinion polls which indicate that Labour may hold once rock-solid Tory seats while losing seats further down the Conservative target list.
"You'll no doubt hold us to account on Friday," another aide said. "But we've stayed on track with our strategy and specific commitments."
Charles Kennedy
A buoyant Mr Kennedy wrapped up his 14,000-mile tour of Britain by visiting the key seats of Brent East, Leeds North West and Edinburgh South. He admitted that the contests would be extremely close, but predicted "many, many more" Lib Dem MPs.
"I am raising expectations, but I think we have every reason to," he said.
The Lib Dems enter polling day with their highest level of support for two decades, and hoping to return the most MPs since 1923. They expect to claim seats from both Labour and the Tories and notch up strong second places to position the party for the next general election in 2009-10.
"When the tide goes out for this prime minister and this Labour government... there is now an increasing incredibility that the alternative to what we have had over the last eight years is the Conservative party," Mr Kennedy said. "There is a great opportunity for the Liberal Democrats here and now - and there will be a great opportunity in another four years' time."
On a walkabout in Brent East, he accused Mr Blair of insulting the intelligence of electors by warning that voting Lib Dem would produce a Tory government.
(If what I just wrote makes you sad or angry,
(If what I just wrote makes you sad or angry,
For the Conservatives to get back into power, people need to vote for the Conservatives!
The reason Blair's PR people are busily trying to get people to believe that voting LibDem significantly helps the Conservatives is that the average digruntled lefty who wants to protest vote against Blair wouldn't dream of voting Conservative, but they might just go with the LibDems.
Most (I think about 3 out of 4) of the seats the LibDems are targetting are Conservative ones , so in general voting for them hurts the Conservatives a lot more than it does Labour.
Where they hurt Blair is by taking voters who were former Labour loyalists, but who are too left-wing to like Blair.
That still doesn't help the Conservatives unless they get significantly more votes than either the LibDems or Labour and that's looking extremely unlikely today.
So he's just trying to stop the LibDems taking away a big chunk of his majority and causing his party to label him as a liability.
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