Candidates
The United Kingdom’s May 7 general election is expected to be the closest in decades. The rise of anti-Europeans and Scottish nationalists has created an environment of uncertainty unseen since the 1970s.
David Cameron
Ed Miliband
Nick Clegg
Nigel Farage
Leader since
Seat
2010 Result
Current
December 2005
Witney
306 seats (36.1%)
303 seats
September 2010
Doncaster North
258 seats (29%)
257 seats
December 2007
Sheffield Hallam
57 seats (23%)
56 seats
November 2010
South Thanet
Zero seats
2 seats
David Cameron
Party
Leader since
Seat
Last election
Current
Conservative
Dec. 2005
Witney
306 seats, 36.1%
303
Position on immigration
Argues for tighter control on migrant movement within the EU and waiting periods to gain access to welfare benefits. Target to reduce net migration to less than 100,000 per year.
Position on the EU
Promises to hold referendum on Britain’s EU membership by end 2017.
Budget/austerity measures
Aims to run a surplus by 2018; proposes cutting 12 billion pounds on welfare spending, 13 billion from departmental budgets.
Ed Miliband
Party
Leader since
Seat
Last election
Current
Labour
Sept. 2010
Doncaster North
258 seats, 29%
257
Position on Immigration
Argues for tighter controls on movements from new member states within the EU. Proposes two-year waiting period to gain access to welfare and law to stop firms employing low-wage foreign workers.
Position on the EU
Opposes holding EU referendum unless there is plan to shift more major powers to Brussels.
Budget/austerity measures
Opts for less agressive target: eliminate current budget deficits within next five years. Argues for higher taxes, with a focus on increased levies against large firms and the wealthy to help pay public services. Wants to introduce new taxes on high-value homes and tobacco companies. Return top bracket income tax to 50 percent from 45.
Nick Clegg
Party
Leader since
Seat
Last election
Current
Liberal Democrat
Dec. 2007
Sheffield Hallam
57 seats, 23%
56
Position on immigration
Defends the merits of highly skilled immigration but wants tighter controls on those with overstayed visas. Supports controlling migrants’ access to benefits, but favours shorter restrictions.
Position on the EU
Opposes holding EU referendum unless there is plan to shift more major powers to Brussels.
Budget/austerity measures
Says will match the Conservatives’ target to eradicate current budget deficit, but want to do so through a mix of spending cuts and tax increases.
Nigel Farage
Party
Leader since
Seat
Last election
Current
UKIP
Nov. 2010
South Thanet
0 seats
2
Position on immigration
Says wants to end “mass immigration” by restricting numbers to 50,000 net immigrants per year.
Position on the EU
Wants an immediate British withdrawal from the EU and argues for a referendum by the end of this year.
Budget/austerity measures
Wants to see a smaller state and for the budget deficit to be cleared as soon as possible. Proposes to save money by leaving the EU and its costly membership fees, scrapping plans for a high speed rail link, ending wind turbines subsidies, and cutting foreign aid.
Latest polling
Polls show neither of the main parties is likely to win outright, with more than a third of voters now spurning the two big parties. This trend has intensified since 2010 when both the Conservatives and opposition Labour failed to secure an outright majority for the first time since World War Two .
YOUGOV
Q. If there were a general election tomorrow, which party would you vote for?
IPSOS-MORI
Q. How would you vote if there were a General Election tomorrow?
To anyone undecided or refused: Which party are you most inclined to support?
ASHCROFT
Q. If there was a general election tomorrow, which party would you vote for?
POPULUS
Q. Which party would you vote for if there was a General Election tomorrow?
ICM
Vote Intention. Data derived from responses to:
Q.A Some people have said they would not vote in a new General Election, while others have said they would vote. I would like to know how certain it is that you would actually vote in a general election?
Q.B The Conservatives, Labour, the Liberal Democrats and other parties would fight a new election in your area. If there were a general election tomorrow which party do you think you would vote for?
COMRES
Percentage derived from a series of questions on voting intention.
Immigration
Immigration has shot to the top of the list of voters’ concerns. Under the EU’s freedom of movement rules, citizens are entitled to work anywhere within the union. The result has been hundreds of thousands of EU nationals moving to Britain, the bloc’s fastest-growing economy. UKIP and some in the Conservative party believe the public perceives this as an abuse of the welfare system and that EU migrants may depress wages.
TOTAL IMMIGRATION
IMMIGRATION BY CITIZENSHIP
EU15 includes Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Republic of Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Sweden.
EU8 includes Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia.
EU8 countries are included in ‘other’ prior to 2004
IMMIGRATION BY DESTINATION
Budget
Finance Minister George Osborne recently delivered his annual budget statement, his final chance before the election to convince voters his economic plans were working . The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) claims there are big differences between the current Conservative spending plan including sharp budget cuts, and the Labour plan, which could meet its targets without cuts after 2015/16.
Public sector net borrowing as a share of GDP
Departmental spending
Labour forecasts include an assumption by the IFS that Labour will invest at least as much as the current government planned in the Autumn statement
Source: Institute for Fiscal Studies / Office for Budget Responsibility
Public perception on handling of the economy
Results
Net seats gained or lost
SNP's big win
The Scottish National Party took 56 out of 59 Scottish seats, its biggest win ever, after voting ended in Britain's national election. The party won only six seats in the 2010 general election.
