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Roundup: Britain officially launches general election campaign

Xinhua, March 31, 2015 Adjust font size:

Britain officially kicked off its general election campaign after the Parliament was dissolved on Monday.

Both the Conservatives and the Labor party, the country's two main political parties, made further pledges on Monday in a bid to win the battle to No. 10.

Speaking in front of his official residence at Downing Street, Prime Minister David Cameron, also leader of the Conservatives, said his government is "turning the country around" and urged the voters to let him "see this through."

"This election takes place when the world is dangerous and uncertain. We need strong leadership to safeguard our national and our economic security," he said.

"Together we are turning our country round and for your sake, for your family's sake, for the sake of your children and their future, we must see this through together," he noted.

He warned that voting for his opponent Ed Miliband, leader of the Labor Party, could lead to "economic chaos."

"The next Prime Minister walking through that door will be me or Ed Miliband. You can choose an economy that grows ... or you can choose the economic chaos of Ed Miliband's Britain," he said.

"Ed Miliband pays lip service to working people while planning to hike taxes and increase debt. After five years of effort and sacrifice, Britain is on the right track. This election is about moving forward - and as Prime Minister here at Number 10 that is what I will deliver," the prime minister told the press.

Miliband, meanwhile, outlined the Labor Party's business manifesto in London on Monday. He attacked Cameron's promised referendum on Britain's European Union (EU) membership as a "clear and present danger" to the economy.

He said that the referendum would lead to two years of "uncertainty" and "wasted opportunities."

"It threatens to shut UK businesses out of a market that gives them access to the world's largest trading bloc. It's simply the wrong direction for our country," he warned.

"If you care about strong foundations, if you care about long-term stability, if you care about prosperity, then Britain must be a committed member of a reformed European Union," he told voters.

"Not threatening to leave. Not locked out of the room. The job of the next prime minister is to open new markets for business, not close them off," the Labor Party leader affirmed.

Cameron has pledged to hold an "in or out" referendum on whether Britain should withdraw from the EU by 2017, if his Conservative Party wins the 2015 general election.

Britain is to hold its next general election on May 7. A party needs to win at least 326 of all 650 seats in the House of Commons, the parliament's lower house, to form a majority government.

Recent opinion polls show that the Conservatives and the Labor Party have been neck and neck in support. The Scottish National Party (SNP) and the Eurosceptic UK Independence Party (UKIP) are also expected to win more seats in the Parliament, making the general election the most unpredictable one in a generation. Endit