Nick Clegg has made a final appeal to voters, urging them to seize a 'once-in-a-generation chance' for electoral reform by backing the Liberal Democrats at the general election on Thursday. The Lib Dem leader's plea comes as a new poll shows the Conservatives opening up a 10-point lead over Labour, with the Lib Dems slipping back into third place.
The ComRes survey for The Independent on Sunday puts the Tories on 38 per cent, Labour on 28 per cent, and the Lib Dems on 25 per cent. The poll suggests that Conservative warnings about the economic dangers of a hung parliament are resonating with voters, potentially reversing the surge in support for Mr Clegg's party following his strong performances in the televised debates.
Mr Clegg, however, insists that this election offers a unique opportunity to change Britain's 'unbalanced voting system'. He said: 'Let's not let this moment slip. Let's not let this extraordinary once-in-a-generation opportunity go by.' He also claimed that a majority Tory government would be run by a 'clique' of people with 'vested interests' opposed to reform.
In a direct attack on Labour, Mr Clegg said Gordon Brown had 'written himself out of the script of change' and that the Labour Party faced an 'existential crisis'. He twice refused to rule out supporting a Conservative minority government if attempts to form a Lib-Con coalition fail due to Mr Cameron's refusal to adopt electoral reform.
David Cameron, meanwhile, pitched to 'liberally minded' voters, arguing that only a Conservative majority can deliver change. He admitted that pushing for the TV debates had made his bid for No 10 'more challenging', but described Mr Clegg as 'easy to get on with' and promised to act 'reasonably and responsibly' in any hung parliament negotiations.
