LONDON - Britons voted Thursday in a knife-edge election, with opinion polls suggesting the opposition Conservatives will win the popular vote but fail to secure an outright parliamentary majority. With the result too close to call, Prime Minister Gordon Brown's ruling Labour Party retains a chance of staying in power, perhaps in coalition with the centrist Liberal Democrats. Whoever wins will have to deal with a record budget deficit running in excess of 11 per cent of national output, and demands for political reform following a parliamentary expenses scandal last year which left Britons disgusted with lawmakers. "This election has been more exciting, more than I expected," said lawyer Lorraine Mullins, voting at a busy polling station in central London. The center-right Conservatives, led by former public relations executive David Cameron, have seen a commanding poll lead dwindle since the turn of the year, with voters seemingly reluctant to embrace the change they say they offer after 13 years of Labor rule. Markets want a clear-cut result and fear that a stalemate could lead to political paralysis, hampering efforts to tackle the nation's spiraling debt and secure recovery from the worst recession since World War Two. The equation has been made more complex by a surge in support for the Lib Dems, energized by strong performances in TV debates by leader Nick Clegg, who shares Cameron's relative youth - they are both 43 - and easy manner. After weeks of frenzied campaigning, the three main party leaders cast their votes early, smiling and waving to the gathered ranks of media. The likeliest outcome is a "hung parliament" in which no party wins an outright majority in the 650-seat house.
