The Hindu : International : Blair set to win third term despite voter anger over Iraq

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, May 06, 2005

International

International

Blair set to win third term despite voter anger over Iraq

Hasan Suroor

Results today; Labour Party's majority expected to fall significantly

LONDON: Despite widespread anger over Iraq and perceived loss of trust in him, British Prime Minister Tony Blair looked set to win a record third term in office as Britain went to the polls on Thursday in a bitterly-contested general election.

Voting, which was to go on until 10 p.m. (well past midnight in India), was slow initially but was expected to pick up later in the day as people stop at the polling booth on their way back from work.

Results would be known early on Friday.

As the voting began, with Mr Blair among the first of the three main national leaders to cast his vote, opinion polls unanimously pointed to an unbeatable Labour lead over its rivals. The only debate was about the size of a Labour majority with its current 160-plus strength predicted to plummet to well below 100.

Meltdown for Tories

The Conservatives, who have been out of power for eight years now, were reported to be in a "meltdown'' with even some senior figures in danger of losing their seats. There was already speculation about the future of the Conservative leader Michael Howard who was elected only two years ago to make the party electable after two humiliating defeats.

The Liberal Democrats were expected to improve their tally because of their consistent opposition to the Iraq war. The party was likely to wrest a number of seats from Labour Party, especially in constituencies with a large Muslim electorate, upset over Iraq.

"We are a party that is on the up,'' its leader Charles Kennedy said.

The attention was focussed on the turnout and Labour was particularly keen to get as many voters out to the polling booth as possible. A low turnout was expected to hit Labour the most on the assumption that most of those staying away would be disaffected Labour supporters. Mr Blair again warned "wavering'' voters that if they stayed home or voted for the Liberal Democrats to "punish'' him over Iraq they could end up letting Conservatives in through the backdoor.

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