Britain's political leaders launched personal attacks against each other on Sunday ahead of Thursday's parliamentary election, with opinion polls showing support growing for the opposition Conservative Party, Reuters reported. Although no new poll has indicated the centre-right Conservatives winning an outright majority, ruling Labour's 13 years in power appears set to end. The party which swept to power in an overwhelming victory under Tony Blair in 1997 faces coming a humiliating third place on May 6 in the popular vote behind the much smaller Liberal Democrats. Conservative leader David Cameron called Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown a "shrunken figure", while Brown likened Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg to a "TV gameshow" presenter. An Angus Reid opinion poll for the Sunday Express newspaper put Conservative Party support at 35 percent, 12 points ahead of third-placed centre-left Labour. Although the pollster has tended to score Labour lower, the survey adds to four polls on Saturday indicating growing Conservative backing. "I think we've got some momentum now..." Conservative leader David Cameron said in a BBC interview on Sunday. No polls have the Conservatives with enough to win outright, indicating a coalition government as the most likely outcome, a a rarity in Britain with its first-past-the-post electoral system, and a situation not seen since 1974. The financial markets have been nervous about a such a coalition administration or a minority government, fearing an uncertain period of horse-trading at a time of a record budget deficit of more than 11 percent of GDP. "FIGHTING FOR MY LIFE" In an interview in the Observer newspaper, Brown admitted Labour was the "underdog", and on Sunday was on a 10 stop tour around London. "I'm fighting for my life, but i'm not fighting for myself, i'm fighting for the British people," he said at a south London community centre. The third-largest party, the centrist Liberal Democrats, or Lib Dems, have gained in popularity after leader Nick Clegg gave polished performances in a series of U.S.-style television debates, and his support could be key in a coalition government. But there was little sign of any overtures by political leaders to their rivals, as all three parties insisted they were focusing on winning a clear majority. -- SPA
