Britain Votes as Polls Open for General Election 2005

Thursday 5th May has seen the British national election begin, and sees Prime Minister Tony Blair run for a third term. The Labour party are widely expected to win, but a feeling of public anger has also been expressed in the run-up to the election regarding the state of Iraq following the war.

This same feeling was sensed in the US Presidential election last year, however, President George Bush managed to succeed in his campaign to enter a 2nd term, following a huge Christian evangelical backing for his pro-Christian views.

The Labour Party is expected not to win by the landslides that were seen in the 1997 and 2001 general elections, and the Conservative Party is looking to narrow Labour’s huge Parliamentary majority in the House of Commons, which currently stands at a 161-seat majority.

Blair has said that if he wins a third term he would serve it but would not run again for a fourth.

Blair has attempted to reach out to Christians and faith groups. On Tuesday 22 March, Prime Minister Tony Blair addressed Christian leaders and other religious leaders in the final lecture in the Faithworks series. Blair praised the churches and other Christian organisations for their impact on society, and spoke of how the Christian voice has had a great impact on "global challenges of poverty and injustice."

Regarding the rumoured decline of the churches in the UK Blair said, "I know that people talk a great deal about the decline of religion and the churches in our national life. But in terms of social action and commitment, community by community, it is your revival and adaptation which are striking. It is what has brought you here today.

"I would like to see you play a bigger not a lesser role in the future. I say this because of the visible, tangible difference you are making for the better in our society for so many people. That is the proof of your faith in action in the service of others."

All the party leaders have also tackled the issue of poverty in the run-up to the election, and have all spoken of the great responsibility that the UK must now take.

Blair pledged to influence the policies of the G8 industrialised nations so as to secure aid for Africa when the UK holds the G8 presidency in 2005.

The MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY campaign launched in the UK has joined over 400 charities, trade unions, church organisations and faith groups to lobby the British government to make a global change in poverty relief this year by reinforcing law for trade justice, dropping the debt of poor countries as well as providing more and better aid.

On the other hand, Conservative Party leader Michael Howard gave a speech at Tabernacle Christian Centre in west London, seeking to stand in line with the other two major parties to tackle world poverty.

"I'm particularly pleased that the cause of making poverty history is something that has united the parties in this country. If we can work together to achieve that we will all be performing a service to the rest of the people who share this planet with us."

He stressed fairer trade would enable less developed states to sustain themselves. And he also called for good governance and the elimination of corruption to ensure that aid reached the poorest people within the poorest nations.

Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy, when delivering a speech in Barnes, south-west London, accused the government of not putting in enough effort and resources to make poverty history. He insisted that his party would move faster than the others, ensuring that the country will met the UN aid target - 0.7% of GDP - for development assistance by 2011.

The turn out in this general election could prove crucial, and the last election in 2001 saw just 59% of registered voters coming to the polls – the lowest since troops returned in 1918 after World War I.

Polling stations are due to close at 10pm BST when first exit polls are likely to indicate who has won. The results will pour in during the night and the next Prime Minister is not expected to be clear until early Friday – which is also Mr Blair's 52nd birthday.