Undecided will be 'kingmakers' in tight UK race

Undecided will be 'kingmakers' in tight UK race

Gordon Brown, the British prime minister, says he has "never known so many undecided voters as we have seen in this election". And he is right.

A ComRes poll commissioned by ITV News/The Independent, found that 71 per cent of people say that they are certain to vote, compared to a 61 per cent turnout at the 2005 general election.

But 2.5 million people who are certain to vote say they are still undecided who to vote for.

Good news for Nick Clegg, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, who has vowed to "stretch every sinew" in an effort to reach out to these voters.

More than a third of people admit they may change their mind about how they will vote on May 6, with Liberal Democrat voters being more likely than supporters of the other two main parties to switch.

The leaders of all three parties know this and as time runs out they are using all the tricks in the book in their final appeals.

Brown is urging them to "come home to Labour".

David Cameron, the leader of the main opposition Conservatives, has a simple message: "If you want to wake up on Friday morning with a new government that has rolled up its sleeves and is ready to fix this mess, you've got to vote Conservative."

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, a regular contributor to The Independent and London's Evening Standard newspapers, said: "The undecided voters could be kingmaker in this election."

When things are as tight as they are now, she has a good point.

In the end, no one can help British voters with their dilemma – only themselves.