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Political leaders hunt for votes on last day of tumultuous British election campaign

[June 07, 2017] By Alistair Smout

LONDON (Reuters) - British politicians raced around the country on Wednesday, the final day of campaigning for a parliamentary election that will define Britain's approach to leaving the European Union but has been overshadowed by two militant attacks in as many weeks.

Prime Minister Theresa May and her husband Philip were greeted with jeers of "Vote Labour" as they visited a London meat market.

Later in the morning she enjoyed a warmer reception 70 miles (110 km) away at a bowls club in Southampton, while Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the opposition Labour Party, started the day in the Scottish city of Glasgow.

May unexpectedly called the June 8 election seven weeks ago, seeking to boost her parliamentary majority ahead of the start of Brexit negotiations and to win more time to deal with the impact of the EU divorce.

But the campaign has seen a number of unexpected twists, including the deadliest militant attack in Britain since 2005 and the shrinking of May's once commanding lead of over 20 percentage points in opinion polls.

Attacks by Islamist militants in Manchester and London threw the spotlight on security, while May was forced to backtrack on a social care policy pledge in a move that pundits said was unprecedented in British election campaign history.

"Give me your backing in the polling station tomorrow to battle for Britain in Brussels," May said in a statement. "Get those negotiations wrong and the consequences will be dire."

May has repeatedly said only she can deliver the right deal for Britain and that opponents would lead its $2.5 trillion economy to ruin in the negotiations with the EU.

Pollsters expect May to win a majority.

But if she fails to beat handsomely the 12-seat majority her predecessor David Cameron won in 2015, her electoral gamble will have failed and her authority will be undermined both inside her Conservative Party and at talks with the 27 other EU leaders.

When May stunned political opponents and financial markets by calling the snap election, her poll ratings indicated she could be on course to win a landslide majority on a par with the 1983 majority of 144 won by Margaret Thatcher.

But May's poll lead has shrunk over the past three weeks. Latest polls put her party anywhere between 12 to 1 point ahead. One projection said she would win a majority of 64 seats.

At least five opinion polls are expected before polling stations open at 0600 GMT on Thursday.

Britons have until 2100 GMT to vote, and there will be an exit poll as soon as voting ends. The first handful of seat results are then expected to be announced by 2300 GMT, with the vast majority of the 650 consituencies due to announce results between 0200 GMT and 0500 GMT on Friday morning.

"GIVE HOPE A CHANCE"

Britain's top-selling newspaper The Sun urged its readers to back the Conservatives, nicknamed the Tories.

"The Tories alone are committed to seeing Brexit through in full," the Sun said in a full-page editorial.

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Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May and her husband Philip visit Smithfield Market during a Conservative Party general election campaign visit in the City of London, Britain June 7, 2017. REUTERS/Ben Stansall/Pool

The right-wing Daily Mail said a vote for May was a "vote to save Britain".

But opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, a socialist once written off by many as a no-hoper leading his party to its worst election defeat, has run a strong campaign.

The Daily Mirror urged voters to "give hope a chance" and back Corbyn in Thursday's vote.

The last week of campaigning has been held in the shadow of an attack by three Islamist militants who on Saturday drove a van into pedestrians on London Bridge before attacking revelers in bars and restaurants with knives, killing at least seven people and injuring dozens.

British police hunting for a missing Frenchman found a body in the river, which could lift the toll to eight.

Security has been increased nationwide to counter any threat and the issue has dominated the final weeks of campaigning.

Corbyn has put the Conservatives on the back foot over the matter, criticizing May for a drop in police numbers in her time as interior minister. May hit back with a pledge to crack down on Islamist extremism and strengthen police powers.

"If human rights laws get in the way of doing these things, we will change those laws to make sure we can do them," May said in an interview with the Sun.

Two of the three London Bridge attackers were known to authorities before Saturday's attack.

Italy said it had flagged Youssef Zaghba as a potential risk after he moved to England last year, while Khuram Butt was known to British security services.

Opponents accused May of undermining the rights of citizens for political gain.

"Many people will see it for what it is, which is a rather crass last minute attempt to divert attention from the much more difficult questions around our anti-terrorism policy," said former deputy prime minister Nick Clegg, a Liberal Democrat.

(Editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Angus MacSwan)

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