Britain Headed for the Finish Line

By Christopher Ogden/Darlington

As Neil Kinnock burst exuberantly into Darlington's Dolphin Center gymnasium, 1,000 supporters jumped up with a whoop. His right fist pumping air like a boxer who has just knocked out the champ, the Labor Party leader strode to the podium to accuse the Conservative government of creating a "divided kingdom," with islands of affluence surrounded by poverty. Campaigning in Edinburgh, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher responded that economic prosperity would "vanish like a dream" if Labor were elected. "Personal abuse," she added disdainfully, "signals panic."

The Labor Party was anything but panicky, though, as the campaign moved toward Thursday's election. Unlike its effort under Michael Foot four years ago, Labor under Kinnock has waged a slick campaign that had its leaders exuding confidence. "We are closing fast," claimed Kinnock. Indeed, some polls did show the Tory lead sagging. A Gallup survey last week revealed support for the Conservatives dropping by four points, to 40.5%, compared with Labor's 36.5% and the Social Democratic-Liberal Party Alliance's 21.5%. Thatcher nonetheless seemed destined to become the first Prime Minister in this century to win three consecutive terms. "There's no doubt whatsoever that the Tories are maintaining a 7%-to-8% lead," said Robert Waller of Harris Research, polltakers for the Conservatives, whose figures projected a 40- to 50-seat government majority in the 650-member House of Commons. "Labor's won the campaign, but Thatcher's going to win the election," predicted Robert Worcester, managing director of the MORI polling firm, whose latest survey gives the Tories 43% of the vote to Labor's 32%. "But it will narrow enough in the final days to give the Tories the queasies."

The government already has them. "We've run a miserable campaign," conceded a prime-ministerial colleague. One factor was the heavy security for the Prime Minister, the target of recent threats by the Irish Republican Army. She has been surrounded by plainclothes police in bulletproof vests, and her schedule has been kept secret until the last moment.

Some senior Conservatives accused Party Chairman Norman Tebbit of poor organization, arguing that the government failed to control the issues and too often campaigned defensively. Other Tories fretted that Labor's advertising, notably the ten-minute television broadcasts allotted free to each party, was superior. One program, a profile of Kinnock by Hugh Hudson, director of the Oscar-winning Chariots of Fire, portrayed the Labor leader as compassionate toward the young, old and disabled while tough on militants in his own party. Shortly after it was shown, Kinnock's rating as an "impressive campaigner" shot up 19 points.

The Tories upstaged both Labor and the Alliance by having Andrew Lloyd Webber, composer of Evita and Cats, write a campaign tune titled It's Great to Be Great. Party Chairman Tebbit proudly labeled the music "brand new, not second hand," like Brahms' Fourth Symphony, Labor's theme, or the Alliance's Trumpet Tune by 17th century Composer Henry Purcell. All in all, many Britons agreed with Independent Television News' Jon Snow, who declared, "The campaign has become Americanized." Labor put on a strong show by adopting staged events, photo opportunities and other techniques refined by Thatcher four years ago. Last week, for example, Kinnock swung a cricket bat, signed a shovel at a muddy construction site and carried a six-year-old girl on his shoulders. For her part, Thatcher viewed an antique-doll collection, climbed aboard an amusement-park ride and sipped a beer at a Scottish brewery.

In its final days, the campaign also grew ugly. Kinnock called Thatcher a "would-be empress" surrounded by "spineless sycophants and doormats." Thatcher responded, "They are accusing us of having the guts and spine to put our policies forward." Both candidates traded charges about who would run the country's economy, schools, housing and National Health Service better. Thatcher, for example, defended private health coverage as "absolutely vital," so that she could go to the hospital "at the time I want and with the doctor I want." Michael Meacher, Labor's chief health spokesman, called that a "callous, inhumane and selfish" stance.

With the race focusing increasingly on the Tories and Labor, the Alliance was struggling. Its leaders, Liberal David Steel and Social Democrat David Owen, still hoped to hold the balance of power in a "hung" Parliament in which neither of their two rivals had an outright majority, but that possibility receded as their campaign failed to ignite. Steel and Owen added to their problems by disagreeing over possible participation in a coalition government. Steel called it "unimaginable" to support the Tories, while Owen wanted to keep all options open. They patched up the split, but Thatcher and Kinnock dismissed the coalition prospect out of hand. Said Kinnock: "There'll be no deal, no horse trading."

Thatcher was interrupting final campaigning Monday to fly to Venice for a quick stop at the economic summit and a private meeting with Ronald Reagan. She made a similar trip four years ago to the Williamsburg, Va., summit, returning to find that her gesture of statesmanship had led to a boost in the polls, assuring her within days of her second victory. Venice may prove to be the ultimate photo opportunity. When the battlefield is imagery, that could be enough to cinch No. 3.