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Leaders Cross The Nation In Campaign Climax

:: Follow the election results live on skynews.com, our mobile apps and on Sky News TV from 10pm on Thursday.

Britain's political leaders have each embarked on whistle-stop tours covering thousands of miles across the UK as they enter the final leg of the 2015 general election.

David Cameron and Ed Miliband are planning to travel to dozens of marginal constituencies in a last-ditch attempt to break the deadlock in what is proving to be the most unpredictable political race for a generation.

Polls still do not have either of the biggest two Westminster parties on track for a majority - leaving open the possibility of a scrap for Government on Friday with talks about coalitions or other types of Westminster deals.

The Prime Minister has repeatedly said his party needs "just 23" seats for a majority - and will try to press home the point during a 36-hour tour starting this morning.

He will travel 1,300 miles covering the Midlands, South West, North West, London, Wales and Scotland, with his wife, Samantha, and London Mayor Boris Johnson, joining him along the way.

The Conservatives are desperate to win back votes from wavering supporters considering voting for the Lib Dems or flirting with Nigel Farage's party.

Iain Duncan Smith, the party's work and pensions secretary, used some forceful language aimed at those considering backing UKIP.

"I would simply appeal to them and say, honestly this is a risk that is no longer a protest, but like a suicide note," he said.

He argued that only the Conservatives would deliver the EU referendum that many UKIP supporters want.

Meanwhile, Ed Miliband will be focusing on the NHS - an area in which he believes his party is seen as more popular than the Tories - and the cost of living, during his own tour of the country.

While the Conservatives and Labour are fighting each other, both sides have hit the Lib Dems hard, because they see them as softer targets.

Mr Cameron has repeatedly returned to Lib Dem seats that appear safe on paper.

They have even targeted the seats held by senior Lib Dem figures, Tim Farron and David Laws, with 12,000 and 13,000 majorities, claiming they are among their 23 targets.

Labour are hoping to squeeze the Lib Dems in the north.

The party's leader, Nick Clegg, has been focusing his efforts on a couple of dozen key marginal seats, but will embark on a 1,000-mile two-day dash from southwest England to northeast Scotland.

He will also have to focus on his own seat in Sheffield Hallam which Labour has been working hard in and which polling by Lord Ashcroft suggests could be taken off the Lib Dem leader.

For UKIP, much of the focus will be on whether they hold the two seats they have already won and, critically, if Mr Farage can become an MP in South Thanet, in Kent.

If he falls short, he has promised to quit as party leader.

But it is in Scotland that the election could be won or lost.

Despite last year's No vote in the independence referendum, the SNP have seen a massive surge north of the border with some polls suggesting they could take every seat - crushing Labour in Scotland.

The possibility of a deal between the SNP and Labour has been the heavy focus of the Tory campaign - forcing Mr Miliband to rule out a coalition or deal with the Scottish nationalists.

That raises the possibility of either side trying to struggle through with a minority Government, which could trigger a second election.