Election '97: THE HURRIED VOTER'S GUIDE

THE CAMPAIGN

The polling stations may not have opened until this morning, but in Westminster yesterday it felt as though the election campaign was already over. There was a party atmosphere at the final press conferences of Labour and the Liberal Democrats yesterday, although the Conservatives' effort was somewhat more perfunctory.

Labour invited the media in at 7am for bacon rolls and croissants before launching its final appeal to voters. Again, Mr Blair appealed to voters for trust. He was relaxed, and happy to joke with the press. Asked whether he and his wife, Cherie, should pay more tax, he replied: "What we do is obviously to sit there and take delight in the Labour Party's commitments ... over breakfast, lunch and dinner."

The Liberal Democrats were no less jovial. After their gathering they handed out buck's fizz, renamed "golden dawn" in recognition of their campaign colour. Asked if he had made any mistakes, Paddy Ashdown replied with a nod to his campaign chairman, Richard Holme, "If I did, they were Richard's."

There were fewer laughs at Conservative Central Office. John Major appealed to voters, asserting that Britain's current success was "too good to give up".

All the party leaders spent the rest of their last day out on the campaign trail wooing floating voters.

KEY ARGUMENTS

Despite the poll evidence, John Major was still arguing strongly yesterday that the Conservatives could win.

"There are huge numbers of people who are undecided; there are also lots of people who are undeclared, who perhaps have made up their minds, and I believe we are going to win," he said.

"I'm bending every aspect of my will and my energy to making sure that I can carry on the work I have sought to do over the last six and a half years".

Paddy Ashdown was similarly gung-ho. In a letter to 2 million floating voters, he wrote: "We stand on the threshold of an historic victory.

"The only vote that will make a difference for you and your family's future is a vote for the Liberal Democrats."

Tony Blair was the only party leader not predicting victory yesterday.

"I ask for your vote because I believe in this country and I know and believe it can be better," he said as he headed for Scotland.

The Labour leader said that his party would "strive for every single vote in every corner of the country".

GOOD DAY BAD DAY

Tony Blair can breathe again, having made it through 45 days of the campaign with hardly a foot put wrong. More surprising perhaps, none of his Shadow Cabinet have put their feet in it either, and there have been no "Jennifer's ear" disasters. A feeling of barely-contained "bubbling bliss" was evident in the party yesterday: "I think it would be odd if there wasn't a mild sense of anticipation," Blair said. "I think that wouldn't be overdoing it."

Walter Sweeney will almost certainly be looking through the jobs pages tomorrow morning. The former Conservative MP and candidate for the Vale of Glamorgan has the smallest majority in the country - of just 19. This means it will take just 10 disgruntled constituents to oust him from his Cardiff commuter-belt seat.

ONE TO REMEMBER

Tony Blair told The Independent at yesterday's morning press conference: "The promises that we have made are specific, they are limited, as I often point out, they are limited, but they are specific, and if we deliver on those, then I think we're entitled to trust.

"If we don't deliver on those, then we'll not be."

HOGWASH

Sir Teddy Taylor, on the Today programme: "All that really concerns me, quite frankly, is what the new parliament is going to do. Because if we don't do something soon about Europe there's not going to be much point in holding the next election at all. The one thing which has horrified me is, we had for example a lot of candidates telling the fisherman, we'll do this, we'll do that. No one's telling them: the power's gone. It's terrible. I just want people to wake up."

THE OTHER PARTIES

Alex Salmond, leader of the SNP, sent his party workers out to the constituencies, calling them "bravehearts" and predicting a "barrel- load" of seats. Addressing activists in Edinburgh, he said: "We must decide if we wish to speak as a powerless parish council, or ... a sovereign parliament." The Monster Raving Loony Party held their election victory party last night - several hours before polling began. Lord Sutch said it was a tradition to hold the party before the election. "We often find other parties send their workers to our parties - especially as most of them won't have anything to celebrate after the election."

MEDIA STAR

The indomitable Margaret Curtiss, a Conservative activist in Southampton, was not cowed by a recent article about her in the Sunday Mirror entitled "Two Tories used me as their sex toy ... and their MP knew I was fiddling the dole". She phoned BBC Radio 4's Election Call yesterday to berate John Major for the failure to put across the Conservative message during the campaign: "We are going to lose tomorrow, John, because we have not got that message across, we have not woken up in time to the fact those goal posts have moved ... and that ultimately has to rest at your door."