Factbox - Ten seats to watch in Britain's election

LONDON (Reuters) - An exit poll on Thursday night showed Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservatives are on track to govern Britain for another five years even though they are likely to fall just short of an outright majority. Results from Britain's 650 constituencies are due throughout the night. Below are ten key seats to look out for, in order of expected declaration time: NUNEATON, ENGLAND, RESULT EXPECTED 0000 GMT This Labour target seat, where the Conservatives are defending a majority of just over 2,000 votes, could provide the first clue of a possible swing in key Conservative-Labour battlegrounds. An Ashcroft poll in March showed Labour winning. If it does not, it would be an early confirmation that its campaign has faltered. NORTHAMPTON NORTH, ENGLAND, RESULT EXPECTED 0100 GMT This is considered a bellwether seat, having elected a lawmaker from the winning party at every British general election since it was created in 1974. It is currently held by the Conservatives, who won it after a three-way fight in 2010 with a majority of less than 2,000 votes. KIRKCALDY AND COWDENBEATH, SCOTLAND, RESULT DUE 0100 GMT This is the seat of former Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who is standing down. It was considered a safe Labour seat, with Brown winning a majority of 23,000 in 2010, but the surge in popularity of the Scottish National Party (SNP) since a failed bid for independence last year places it under threat. An Ashcroft poll in February showed the SNP in the lead there. A win here would confirm the SNP is on track to take a significant number of seats in Scotland. PAISLEY AND RENFREWSHIRE SOUTH, SCOTLAND, DUE 0100 GMT This is the seat of Douglas Alexander, Labour foreign affairs spokesman and chair of the party's election campaign strategy team. Despite defending a majority of more than 16,000, he faces a tough challenge from the SNP candidate, a university student whom an Ashcroft poll last month showed is on track to win the seat by a wide margin. That could make Alexander Labour's most high profile election casualty. RENFREWSHIRE EAST, SCOTLAND, EXPECTED 0200 GMT This is the seat of Jim Murphy, leader of the Scottish Labour Party. Murphy was elected to the role in December with the task of turning his party's fortunes around in Scotland, but he has failed to halt a growing tide of support for the SNP, with polls showing it could virtually wipe out Labour in Scotland. Ashcroft polls have shown Murphy could lose his seat. INVERNESS, NAIRN, BADENOCH AND STRATHSPEY, SCOTLAND, DUE 0300 GMT Polls predict Liberal Democrat Danny Alexander will lose this seat to the SNP. That could make Alexander, second-in-command to finance minister George Osborne in the coalition government, the most senior cabinet minister to be ousted at this election. A potential future party leader, he has been criticised for "going native" on the right of the party alongside his Conservative colleagues. GORDON, SCOTLAND, RESULT EXPECTED 0330 GMT Former SNP leader Alex Salmond, who spearheaded last year's bid for Scottish independence, is seeking a return to the Westminster-based parliament in this seat which has been held by the Liberal Democrats for 32 years. SHEFFIELD HALLAM, ENGLAND, RESULT EXPECTED 0330 GMT This is the seat of Deputy Prime Minister and Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg, who won it with a majority of more than 15,000 votes in 2010. Labour has made it a target, and Ashcroft polling in the constituency has shown Clegg could narrowly lose out to Labour. Defeat for Clegg could leave the party leaderless in the post-election negotiation period. THANET SOUTH, ENGLAND, RESULT EXPECTED 0500 GMT Nigel Farage, the leader of Britain's anti-EU UK Independence Party (UKIP), hopes to win this seat, which has been held by Cameron's Conservatives for 117 of the last 130 years. Farage has said he will step down as leader if he fails to win there. While polls show he is in with a good chance, preventing him entering parliament would be seen as a particular coup for the Conservatives and as a blow to UKIP's advance. Farage has led UKIP's rise, but some commentators have warned the party is a one-man band that could not succeed without him. UXBRIDGE AND RUISLIP SOUTH, ENGLAND, RESULT DUE 0500 GMT Colourful London Mayor Boris Johnson, tipped as a possible successor to Cameron, is running in this safe Conservative seat. If Cameron remains prime minister after May 7, he has said he would not seek a third term, making a leadership contest inevitable in the next few years. (Compiled by Kylie MacLellan and Andy Bruce; Editing by Andrew Osborn)