UK Independence Party to resume election campaign on Thursday

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's UK Independence Party (UKIP) said on Wednesday it would re-start its election campaign with the launch of its policy pledges on Thursday, three days after a suicide bomber killed 22 people at a concert venue in Manchester. Political parties agreed to suspend campaigning for the June 8 election until further notice after Monday's attack. While high-profile events remained cancelled on Wednesday and were not expected to re-start for several days, some individual candidates have said they are resuming campaigning locally. Opinion polls, the publication of which has also been paused, suggest Prime Minister Theresa May's ruling Conservatives are on track to win the election, although her double-digit poll lead had been narrowing before the attack. UKIP had been due to launch its manifesto, setting out its election policy promises, on Wednesday but postponed it after the attack. "We are all horrified by the horrific events that took place in Manchester. Following those events it is right and proper that political parties suspended their campaigns for a short period as a mark of respect," UKIP leader Paul Nuttall said in a statement. "But we cannot be cowed or allow our way of life to be undermined by those who wish to do us harm ... The best response we can make is to ensure that the democratic process continues and therefore I have decided that we must to go ahead with the launch of the UKIP general election manifesto tomorrow." (Reporting by Kylie MacLellan, editing by Estelle Shirbon)