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.