Britain goes to the polls tomorrow in the 2010 General Election, so today is the last day of campaigning for the party leaders.
The leaders of the three main parties have been travelling the country yet again hoping to grasp a few more precious votes, in what is turning out to be the closest fought British general Election since 1992. Four in ten voters are still to decide who to vote for. A hung parliament is still a huge possibilty.
Conservative Party leader David Cameron - the favourite to move into 10 Downing Street - must be a little tired today after being on the campaign trail almost all night last night, hoping to woo night workers. He tucked into some fish and chips at a chippy in Longtown, Cumbria - on the English-Scottish border - at 9pm last night. A couple of hours later he met fire brigade staff at a firestation in nearby Carlisle. And, just before 6am this morning, he met fishermen at Grimsby docks in Lincolnshire.
Yesterday afternoon, Cameron, who vowed to make the Union of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland stronger, also visited Northern Ireland to meet members of the Ulster Unionist Party, who have pledged to join the Tories in an alliance, meaning that the two parties will field joint candidates for elections to the House of Commons and the European Parliament under the banner of "Ulster Conservatives and Unionists – New Force."
If the Tories win the election, Cameron has said that there will be Ulster Unionists in the British Government.
This morning Prime Minister Gordon Brown made a speech to Labour Party supporters at Bradford University, in the Bradford West constituency. At almost midnight last night he visited night shift workers at a steel factory in Sheffield.
Meanwhile, Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg, who has benefitted the most out of the three main party leaders in the televised Leaders' Debate, attended a rally in Eastbourne this morning. Clegg urged voters to avoid a two-party 'stitch-up' and vote with their hearts. The Lib Dems are the smallest of the three main parties and usually finish third in elections, but because of his unprecedented exposure in the three Leaders' Debates, allowing the public to get to know him better, his party has surged in the polls and could beat Labour into second place.
Tory leader David Cameron, who is the favourite to become the next Prime Minister on Friday, refused to speculate about a hung parliament (he's the favourite to be PM even if there's a hung parliament).
'I'm going all out to win this election,' he said.
'Elections are meant to be a challenge. The British people don't hand you the government of the country on a plate,' Cameron told GMTV.
45 million of Britain's 62 million people are able to vote.
'We have 24 hours to save Britain': Cameron in last gasp bid to oust Brown as four in 10 voters as still undecided
By Nicola Boden
5th May 2010
Daily Mail
Confident: Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg's Spanish-born wife Miriam shows her love for her new country as Britain prepares to go to the polls.
David Cameron warned there are just 24 hours to 'save' Britain from another five years under Gordon Brown today as the party leaders frantically campaigned in a final push for votes.
With Britain still on course for a hung parliament, the Tory leader admitted he was nervous but insisted the Conservatives have 'every chance'.
Both the Tories and Labour urged voters not to trust the Lib Dems today as they battled to shore up support as the most closely-fought election campaign in a generation comes to an end.
Labour ministers, buoyed by a better showing in the opinion polls, leapt on indications that the Lib Dem surge is finally running out of steam.
And the Tories insisted that voting for anyone else but the Conservatives would spark dangerous uncertainty and risk leaving Gordon Brown in power.
Mr Cameron, who is on a whistlestop 36-hour tour of Britain, said from his campaign bus this afternoon: 'It's a nerve-wracking time, inevitably, because this is the last day.
'But I think we have the strongest possible finish, I think we're winning the big arguments, I think the team looks very strong.'
He added: 'We have got 24 hours to get new government in Britain and to save us from another five years of Gordon Brown... I think with that we have every chance.'
On a knife edge: David Cameron visiting St John Sherbrooke School in Nottingham today
Final push: The Tory leader is on a whistlestop tour as he battles to secure a majority
Less than 24 hours before voting booths open, the Tories are still not far enough ahead to guarantee an overall majority.
One survey suggests almost 40 per cent of people could yet change their mind about who they will back, indicating the finely-balanced nature of the contest.
As the three main parties pulled out all the stops to clinch vital votes, shadow schools secretary Michael Gove warned of the dangers of backing the Lib Dems.
'If people vote for the third party, for Nick Clegg, in this election, what they are doing is succumbing to a sort of blind date politics,' he said.
'The voice is seductive but when the curtain slips back, after having voted for Nick Clegg, you don't know who you are going to end up in bed with.'
Home Secretary Alan Johnson also weighed in, declaring that there is a 'slow puncture' in Lib Dem support. 'The air is coming out of the tyre.
Whether enough of it will come out by Thursday, I don't know,' he said.
The minister, tipped as a possible caretaker leader if Mr Brown has to quit after the election, said he was 'absolutely convinced' Labour could still win a majority and keep Mr Brown at the helm.
He conceded 'Gordon isn't everybody's cup of tea but nor is any leader' but - in a bitter swipe at Nick Clegg - insisted 'you need a workhorse, not a show pony'.
'Nick Clegg is a lovely man but he's not the right man to run the country,' he added.
Making it count: Gordon Brown and wife Sarah at the University of Bradford today
Quite a turnout: Students and party supporters listen to Gordon Brown make one of his last speeches of the campaign
All three party leader are criss-crossing the country today as the four-week election tussle reaches it climax.
David Cameron has been campaigning non-stop since last night, visiting fisherman, firemen and supermarket delivery men as he uses 'every second' to battle for a clear win.
But Labour has been boosted by a new opinion poll which appears to show their position has strengthened despite a lacklustre campaign.
LATEST OPINION POLLS
ComRes/ITV
Tories 37% (-2) Labour 29% (+1) Lib Dem 26% (+1)
YouGov/Sun
Tories 35% (-) Labour 30% (+2) Lib Dem 24% (-4)
Harris/Metro
Tories 36% (+4) Lib Dems 28% (-2) Labour 26% (+1)
The YouGov survey for the Sun puts them up two on 30 per cent, the Tories unchanged on 35 and the Lib Dems down four on 24.
Due to the way the electoral system works, the findings could leave Mr Brown in charge of the largest party if repeated evenly nationwide tomorrow.
A ComRes/ITV poll has the Tories down two on 37 per cent, Labour up one on 29 per cent and the Lib Dems up one on 26 per cent.
Some four in 10 of those surveyed said they could still change their minds about who to back, reinforcing the finely balanced nature of the contest.
A Harris/Metro poll puts the Tories up four to 36 per cent, the Lib Dems down two on 28 and Labour in third on 26 per cent, albeit up one point.
Despite pleas for tactical voting in key marginals by Labour heavyweights, both Gordon Brown and Tony Blair have urged supporters to stick with their own party.
Mr Brown warned that this is the 'most decisive election in the future of our country for years' and urged: 'I want every Labour voter to vote Labour.
Lord Mandelson said it was turning into a 'fight to the finish', declaring: 'This race is going to the wire and we're going to fight every inch of the way'.
Final push: Nick Clegg and his wife Miriam surrounded by supporters at an election rally in Eastbourne this morning
Plea: Nick Clegg urged voters to avoid a two-party 'stitch-up' and vote with their hearts
Despite his failure to create a convincing lead, Mr Cameron refused to speculate about a hung parliament. 'I'm going all out to win this election,' he said.
'Elections are meant to be a challenge. The British people don't hand you the government of the country on a plate,' he told GMTV.
'Quite rightly they are making us work for it... This was never going to be easy but I think we've made a compelling case.
He added: 'If you look at the polls, they've gone up and down and all the rest of it. But in the end, only one matters, as they say, and that's the one on Thursday.'
He also received a boost after TV supremo Simon Cowell gave him his backing, declaring him to be 'the prime minister Britain needs at this time'.
Warning that a coalition would be the 'worst result', Cowell said: 'I have always trusted my gut instinct - and this was a guy who I thought would do the right things for this country.
'I believe he is the Prime Minister Britain needs at this time. He has substance and the stomach to navigate us through difficult times.'
He hailed Gordon Brown as 'a very sincere man' but said: 'I worry after all of this time how much more energy he can devote to a huge task ahead of him.'
The Prime Minister shrugged off the move this morning, insisting 'this isn't an election to be decided by celebrities'.
The final push came as alarming forecasts showed the deficit in Britain will be higher than in any other EU country including Greece this year, prompting further falls on the FTSE.
At 12 per cent of GDP, the gap between tax revenue and public spending is nearly twice the eurozone average of 6.5 per cent. Greece's is 9.3 per cent.
The public debt mountain is set to overtake the European Union average next year, building to nearly 87 per cent of GDP.
European Commissioner Olli Rehn warned that the UK’s ‘very high’ public debt presents ‘by far the first and foremost challenge’ to whoever wins the election.
The FTSE-100 was down around another 70 points of 1.27 per cent at 5,342 in afternoon trading, continuing its plunge from more than 5,600 points just days ago.
Support: Miriam Clegg was with her husband on the campaign trail today but SamCam stayed in London
Gordon Brown woke up at 5am for the last day's campaigning after delivering a rousing speech last night, in which he urged disaffected voters to 'come home' to Labour.
After heading to a flower market in Leeds first thing, he moved on to Bradford where he told students: 'I am determined and I am resolute and I am fighting not for me but for Britain's future.'
He acknowledged there are many people yet to make up their minds and said tomorrow was the time for them 'to speak for themselves'.
In a lengthy address, he retreated to safe ground - pitting Tory cuts against Labour investment - in a desperate bid to shore up the party's core vote.
He vowed: 'I ask you to stand up for the great values of the British people that will make this country what it can and should become.'
'I know there are people who say, or hope, that the election is already over but I tell you that tomorrow is the time for the thousands of people to speak for themselves,' he said.
Mr Brown admitted he was 'not the star candidate or the best PR man' but declared: 'This is who I am.
'Adversity has been my teacher, honesty has been my best guide, and faith in the future the greatest source of my strength. So here we are, fired up with new determination, we are full of energy and firm of purpose.'
Earlier, he had blamed the 'novelty' of the television debates for clouding the election because they had not allowed for enough discussion about policy.
'I feel we have not yet discussed sufficiently the risks to the economy in the future and the need for jobs to be secure,' he said.
Nick Clegg, who was also in Scotland last night, travelled to Eastbourne with his wife Miriam this morning before heading to Durham and then his constituency in Sheffield.
He vowed to 'stretch every sinew' to reach out to undecided voters before calling on his supporters to prevent a two-party 'stitch up'.
He told activists: 'In 24 hours we can change Britain forever. Change is possible and change is coming, if you choose it. Your vote can make the difference.
'In your heart of hearts you know that. If either of the two old parties win this election, nothing will really change. You've been let down by them a hundred times before, you know how little to expect.
'We cannot let that happen. We cannot let politics as usual triumph. We can choose something different this time and we will choose something different this time.'
Tucking in: David Cameron refuels with some fish and chips in Longtown, Cumbria, at the start of a 24-hour campaign trip around Britain
Meeting the night staff: The Tory leader at Carlisle Fire Station
Bright new dawn? David Cameron chats to a fisherman on his trawler in Grimsby docks
Mr Clegg also rejected calls by some senior Labour figures to vote tactically to keep out the Tories, insisting people should vote for what they believe in.
'If change is what you want, don't let anything or anyone stand in your way,' he said.
'It may be just a small cross on the ballot paper but it is a big opportunity. Yours may be just one vote but it could be the one that makes the difference: so use it.'
Earlier, he had dismissed the latest polls which show Lib Dem support might be dipping, saying: 'Polls come and go, polls blip up and blip down. Let's wait and see how people vote tomorrow - that's the most important poll.'
His wife, in rare comments on the campaign trail, claimed her husband had 'made the country proud'. 'I very much hope he is the winner of tomorrow's election,' she said.
But amid signs the Lib Dems could come third after all, the party rowed back even further on demands they earlier suggested would clinch their support in the event of a hung parliament.
Treasury spokesman Vince Cable insisted 'we are not talking about deals, we are talking about sets of principles' and even suggested their key pledge to raise personal income tax allowances to £10,000 would be negotiable.
It is a far cry from just days ago when Mr Clegg was talking of 'preconditions' before he would allow his party to prop up another if none wins outright.
David Cameron, who stands to face bitter recriminations if he does not win, has left nothing to change in the final 36 hours.
His campaign marathon started in earnest in Scotland yesterday evening. By 9pm, the team were having fish and chips in Cumbria before heading to see firemen.
Through the night, he moved on to a Morrisons' distribution centre in Wakefield then the fish markets in Grimsby - where he picked up the papers from a petrol station.
His whistlestop tour included a stop-off in Schools Secretary Ed Balls' Yorkshire constituency, Morley and Outwood, where the Tories are hoping for their own 'Portillo' moment.
Mr Cameron, whose pregnant wife Samantha has stayed at home, grabbed snatches of sleep on the campaign bus as they travelled from place to place.
Earlier last night in Glasgow, he accused Gordon Brown of running 'the most negative campaign anyone has fought in the history of modern politics'.
In a ferocious attack on Labour 'lies', he said: 'All he has done is talk about cuts this and cuts that and he has made up untruth after untruth.
If this is the son of a preacher man, I don't know what we are hearing.
Where has his "moral compass" been for the last four weeks?'
Turning his fire on the Lib Dems, he argued that a vote for them would only lead to uncertainty.
'You might get five more years of Gordon Brown, you might get a few years of Harriet Harman, you might even get a few years of Ed Balls,' he said. 'You might get David Miliband. He wasn't in those TV debates. If that's democracy, I'm a banana.'
The Tory leader is believed to have won the backing of Ulster Unionists, which could hand him the keys to Number Ten in the event of a hung parliament.
MPs from Northern Ireland are ready to join a coalition, giving the party an extra nine of 10 votes in the Commons,in return for a £200million bribe.
The support of the Democratic Unionist Party for the Tories firmed up as Mr Cameron yesterday became the first party leader to visit Northern Ireland during the campaign.
The coalition would mean he could avoid being held to ransom by the Lib Dems as long as he is just a few seats short of a majority.
The Conservatives already have an electoral pact with the Ulster Unionists, who currently have one seat in Westminster.
Meanwhile, George Osborne dismissed warnings by Mr Clegg that Tory economic plans could spark social unrest like in Greece as 'foolish'.
He insisted the public would 'respect and appreciate a government that takes tough decisions for the long-term benefit of the country'.
dailymail.co.uk
The leaders of the three main parties have been travelling the country yet again hoping to grasp a few more precious votes, in what is turning out to be the closest fought British general Election since 1992. Four in ten voters are still to decide who to vote for. A hung parliament is still a huge possibilty.
Conservative Party leader David Cameron - the favourite to move into 10 Downing Street - must be a little tired today after being on the campaign trail almost all night last night, hoping to woo night workers. He tucked into some fish and chips at a chippy in Longtown, Cumbria - on the English-Scottish border - at 9pm last night. A couple of hours later he met fire brigade staff at a firestation in nearby Carlisle. And, just before 6am this morning, he met fishermen at Grimsby docks in Lincolnshire.
Yesterday afternoon, Cameron, who vowed to make the Union of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland stronger, also visited Northern Ireland to meet members of the Ulster Unionist Party, who have pledged to join the Tories in an alliance, meaning that the two parties will field joint candidates for elections to the House of Commons and the European Parliament under the banner of "Ulster Conservatives and Unionists – New Force."
If the Tories win the election, Cameron has said that there will be Ulster Unionists in the British Government.
This morning Prime Minister Gordon Brown made a speech to Labour Party supporters at Bradford University, in the Bradford West constituency. At almost midnight last night he visited night shift workers at a steel factory in Sheffield.
Meanwhile, Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg, who has benefitted the most out of the three main party leaders in the televised Leaders' Debate, attended a rally in Eastbourne this morning. Clegg urged voters to avoid a two-party 'stitch-up' and vote with their hearts. The Lib Dems are the smallest of the three main parties and usually finish third in elections, but because of his unprecedented exposure in the three Leaders' Debates, allowing the public to get to know him better, his party has surged in the polls and could beat Labour into second place.
Tory leader David Cameron, who is the favourite to become the next Prime Minister on Friday, refused to speculate about a hung parliament (he's the favourite to be PM even if there's a hung parliament).
'I'm going all out to win this election,' he said.
'Elections are meant to be a challenge. The British people don't hand you the government of the country on a plate,' Cameron told GMTV.
45 million of Britain's 62 million people are able to vote.
'We have 24 hours to save Britain': Cameron in last gasp bid to oust Brown as four in 10 voters as still undecided
By Nicola Boden
5th May 2010
Daily Mail
- Tory leader: 'We're going all out for a majority'
- Brown attacks Tory cuts in bid to shore up core vote
- Lib Dems now in danger of slipping back to third
- Simon Cowell declares his support for David Cameron
- New poll shows 38% of voters could still switch sides
- Ulster Unionists could prop up Tory government
Confident: Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg's Spanish-born wife Miriam shows her love for her new country as Britain prepares to go to the polls.
David Cameron warned there are just 24 hours to 'save' Britain from another five years under Gordon Brown today as the party leaders frantically campaigned in a final push for votes.
With Britain still on course for a hung parliament, the Tory leader admitted he was nervous but insisted the Conservatives have 'every chance'.
Both the Tories and Labour urged voters not to trust the Lib Dems today as they battled to shore up support as the most closely-fought election campaign in a generation comes to an end.
Labour ministers, buoyed by a better showing in the opinion polls, leapt on indications that the Lib Dem surge is finally running out of steam.
And the Tories insisted that voting for anyone else but the Conservatives would spark dangerous uncertainty and risk leaving Gordon Brown in power.
Mr Cameron, who is on a whistlestop 36-hour tour of Britain, said from his campaign bus this afternoon: 'It's a nerve-wracking time, inevitably, because this is the last day.
'But I think we have the strongest possible finish, I think we're winning the big arguments, I think the team looks very strong.'
He added: 'We have got 24 hours to get new government in Britain and to save us from another five years of Gordon Brown... I think with that we have every chance.'
Less than 24 hours before voting booths open, the Tories are still not far enough ahead to guarantee an overall majority.
One survey suggests almost 40 per cent of people could yet change their mind about who they will back, indicating the finely-balanced nature of the contest.
As the three main parties pulled out all the stops to clinch vital votes, shadow schools secretary Michael Gove warned of the dangers of backing the Lib Dems.
'If people vote for the third party, for Nick Clegg, in this election, what they are doing is succumbing to a sort of blind date politics,' he said.
'The voice is seductive but when the curtain slips back, after having voted for Nick Clegg, you don't know who you are going to end up in bed with.'
Home Secretary Alan Johnson also weighed in, declaring that there is a 'slow puncture' in Lib Dem support. 'The air is coming out of the tyre.
Whether enough of it will come out by Thursday, I don't know,' he said.
The minister, tipped as a possible caretaker leader if Mr Brown has to quit after the election, said he was 'absolutely convinced' Labour could still win a majority and keep Mr Brown at the helm.
He conceded 'Gordon isn't everybody's cup of tea but nor is any leader' but - in a bitter swipe at Nick Clegg - insisted 'you need a workhorse, not a show pony'.
'Nick Clegg is a lovely man but he's not the right man to run the country,' he added.
All three party leader are criss-crossing the country today as the four-week election tussle reaches it climax.
David Cameron has been campaigning non-stop since last night, visiting fisherman, firemen and supermarket delivery men as he uses 'every second' to battle for a clear win.
But Labour has been boosted by a new opinion poll which appears to show their position has strengthened despite a lacklustre campaign.
LATEST OPINION POLLS
ComRes/ITV
Tories 37% (-2) Labour 29% (+1) Lib Dem 26% (+1)
YouGov/Sun
Tories 35% (-) Labour 30% (+2) Lib Dem 24% (-4)
Harris/Metro
Tories 36% (+4) Lib Dems 28% (-2) Labour 26% (+1)
The YouGov survey for the Sun puts them up two on 30 per cent, the Tories unchanged on 35 and the Lib Dems down four on 24.
Due to the way the electoral system works, the findings could leave Mr Brown in charge of the largest party if repeated evenly nationwide tomorrow.
A ComRes/ITV poll has the Tories down two on 37 per cent, Labour up one on 29 per cent and the Lib Dems up one on 26 per cent.
Some four in 10 of those surveyed said they could still change their minds about who to back, reinforcing the finely balanced nature of the contest.
A Harris/Metro poll puts the Tories up four to 36 per cent, the Lib Dems down two on 28 and Labour in third on 26 per cent, albeit up one point.
Despite pleas for tactical voting in key marginals by Labour heavyweights, both Gordon Brown and Tony Blair have urged supporters to stick with their own party.
Mr Brown warned that this is the 'most decisive election in the future of our country for years' and urged: 'I want every Labour voter to vote Labour.
Lord Mandelson said it was turning into a 'fight to the finish', declaring: 'This race is going to the wire and we're going to fight every inch of the way'.
Despite his failure to create a convincing lead, Mr Cameron refused to speculate about a hung parliament. 'I'm going all out to win this election,' he said.
'Elections are meant to be a challenge. The British people don't hand you the government of the country on a plate,' he told GMTV.
'Quite rightly they are making us work for it... This was never going to be easy but I think we've made a compelling case.
He added: 'If you look at the polls, they've gone up and down and all the rest of it. But in the end, only one matters, as they say, and that's the one on Thursday.'
He also received a boost after TV supremo Simon Cowell gave him his backing, declaring him to be 'the prime minister Britain needs at this time'.
Warning that a coalition would be the 'worst result', Cowell said: 'I have always trusted my gut instinct - and this was a guy who I thought would do the right things for this country.
'I believe he is the Prime Minister Britain needs at this time. He has substance and the stomach to navigate us through difficult times.'
He hailed Gordon Brown as 'a very sincere man' but said: 'I worry after all of this time how much more energy he can devote to a huge task ahead of him.'
The Prime Minister shrugged off the move this morning, insisting 'this isn't an election to be decided by celebrities'.
The final push came as alarming forecasts showed the deficit in Britain will be higher than in any other EU country including Greece this year, prompting further falls on the FTSE.
At 12 per cent of GDP, the gap between tax revenue and public spending is nearly twice the eurozone average of 6.5 per cent. Greece's is 9.3 per cent.
The public debt mountain is set to overtake the European Union average next year, building to nearly 87 per cent of GDP.
European Commissioner Olli Rehn warned that the UK’s ‘very high’ public debt presents ‘by far the first and foremost challenge’ to whoever wins the election.
The FTSE-100 was down around another 70 points of 1.27 per cent at 5,342 in afternoon trading, continuing its plunge from more than 5,600 points just days ago.
Support: Miriam Clegg was with her husband on the campaign trail today but SamCam stayed in London
Gordon Brown woke up at 5am for the last day's campaigning after delivering a rousing speech last night, in which he urged disaffected voters to 'come home' to Labour.
After heading to a flower market in Leeds first thing, he moved on to Bradford where he told students: 'I am determined and I am resolute and I am fighting not for me but for Britain's future.'
He acknowledged there are many people yet to make up their minds and said tomorrow was the time for them 'to speak for themselves'.
In a lengthy address, he retreated to safe ground - pitting Tory cuts against Labour investment - in a desperate bid to shore up the party's core vote.
He vowed: 'I ask you to stand up for the great values of the British people that will make this country what it can and should become.'
'I know there are people who say, or hope, that the election is already over but I tell you that tomorrow is the time for the thousands of people to speak for themselves,' he said.
Mr Brown admitted he was 'not the star candidate or the best PR man' but declared: 'This is who I am.
'Adversity has been my teacher, honesty has been my best guide, and faith in the future the greatest source of my strength. So here we are, fired up with new determination, we are full of energy and firm of purpose.'
Earlier, he had blamed the 'novelty' of the television debates for clouding the election because they had not allowed for enough discussion about policy.
'I feel we have not yet discussed sufficiently the risks to the economy in the future and the need for jobs to be secure,' he said.
Nick Clegg, who was also in Scotland last night, travelled to Eastbourne with his wife Miriam this morning before heading to Durham and then his constituency in Sheffield.
He vowed to 'stretch every sinew' to reach out to undecided voters before calling on his supporters to prevent a two-party 'stitch up'.
He told activists: 'In 24 hours we can change Britain forever. Change is possible and change is coming, if you choose it. Your vote can make the difference.
'In your heart of hearts you know that. If either of the two old parties win this election, nothing will really change. You've been let down by them a hundred times before, you know how little to expect.
'We cannot let that happen. We cannot let politics as usual triumph. We can choose something different this time and we will choose something different this time.'
Mr Clegg also rejected calls by some senior Labour figures to vote tactically to keep out the Tories, insisting people should vote for what they believe in.
'If change is what you want, don't let anything or anyone stand in your way,' he said.
'It may be just a small cross on the ballot paper but it is a big opportunity. Yours may be just one vote but it could be the one that makes the difference: so use it.'
Earlier, he had dismissed the latest polls which show Lib Dem support might be dipping, saying: 'Polls come and go, polls blip up and blip down. Let's wait and see how people vote tomorrow - that's the most important poll.'
His wife, in rare comments on the campaign trail, claimed her husband had 'made the country proud'. 'I very much hope he is the winner of tomorrow's election,' she said.
But amid signs the Lib Dems could come third after all, the party rowed back even further on demands they earlier suggested would clinch their support in the event of a hung parliament.
Treasury spokesman Vince Cable insisted 'we are not talking about deals, we are talking about sets of principles' and even suggested their key pledge to raise personal income tax allowances to £10,000 would be negotiable.
It is a far cry from just days ago when Mr Clegg was talking of 'preconditions' before he would allow his party to prop up another if none wins outright.
David Cameron, who stands to face bitter recriminations if he does not win, has left nothing to change in the final 36 hours.
His campaign marathon started in earnest in Scotland yesterday evening. By 9pm, the team were having fish and chips in Cumbria before heading to see firemen.
Through the night, he moved on to a Morrisons' distribution centre in Wakefield then the fish markets in Grimsby - where he picked up the papers from a petrol station.
His whistlestop tour included a stop-off in Schools Secretary Ed Balls' Yorkshire constituency, Morley and Outwood, where the Tories are hoping for their own 'Portillo' moment.
Mr Cameron, whose pregnant wife Samantha has stayed at home, grabbed snatches of sleep on the campaign bus as they travelled from place to place.
Earlier last night in Glasgow, he accused Gordon Brown of running 'the most negative campaign anyone has fought in the history of modern politics'.
In a ferocious attack on Labour 'lies', he said: 'All he has done is talk about cuts this and cuts that and he has made up untruth after untruth.
If this is the son of a preacher man, I don't know what we are hearing.
Where has his "moral compass" been for the last four weeks?'
Turning his fire on the Lib Dems, he argued that a vote for them would only lead to uncertainty.
'You might get five more years of Gordon Brown, you might get a few years of Harriet Harman, you might even get a few years of Ed Balls,' he said. 'You might get David Miliband. He wasn't in those TV debates. If that's democracy, I'm a banana.'
The Tory leader is believed to have won the backing of Ulster Unionists, which could hand him the keys to Number Ten in the event of a hung parliament.
MPs from Northern Ireland are ready to join a coalition, giving the party an extra nine of 10 votes in the Commons,in return for a £200million bribe.
The support of the Democratic Unionist Party for the Tories firmed up as Mr Cameron yesterday became the first party leader to visit Northern Ireland during the campaign.
The coalition would mean he could avoid being held to ransom by the Lib Dems as long as he is just a few seats short of a majority.
The Conservatives already have an electoral pact with the Ulster Unionists, who currently have one seat in Westminster.
Meanwhile, George Osborne dismissed warnings by Mr Clegg that Tory economic plans could spark social unrest like in Greece as 'foolish'.
He insisted the public would 'respect and appreciate a government that takes tough decisions for the long-term benefit of the country'.
dailymail.co.uk
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