The last frantic hours of campaigning were more reminiscent of an American presidential race than a British general election, at least the sort of general election we have been used to. The leaders of the three main parties criss-crossed the country and pressed the flesh at a pace never seen before. Gordon Brown was up at dawn yesterday meeting market people in Leeds; Nick Clegg was on his way to Eastbourne, thence to Durham and on to Sheffield, while David Cameron rounded off an all-nighter – a first in British eve-of-poll politics – by meeting fishermen in Grimsby and being interviewed on breakfast television. Every minute mattered before an election where the opinion polls suggest that every vote will count.
The turnaround in the engagement of voters since the campaign began four weeks ago has been spectacular – and inspiring. The forecasts were all of public apathy and cynicism on the part of a population thoroughly turned off by politicians and politics. There were fears of a turn-out at least as low, if not lower, than the 61 per cent of 2005.
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