THE three party leaders last night fired their final election salvos as the latest polls showed the gap between Labour and the Conservatives narrowing.

As a hectic day of criss-crossing the country drew to a close, they made final TV appeals to those undecided or wavering voters who, each says, hold the balance of power.

Despite Tony Blair insisting the race for Number 10 is still close, opinion polls showed Labour heading for victory.

The party could be heading for another three-figure majority, according to an ICM poll for The Guardian, which puts Labour on 38 per cent - six points ahead of the Conservatives.

But an NOP poll for The Independent shows Labour's lead over the Tories falling to only three points, compared with ten points last week.

After completing his last rally of the election campaign in Scarborough last night, Mr Blair returned to his Sedgefield constituency to prepare for polling day.

The Prime Minister denied he had been campaigning simply to keep the Conservatives out of govern- ment, but predicted a tight and tough contest.

He said: "I have been around the country in the last few weeks. It's going to be decided in these marginal constituencies, and a few hundred votes or a few thousand votes either way will determine the result.

"This thing is tight and it is tough, and we have got to fight for every vote. There's no majority assumed at all at the moment.

"There are big choices on all the main areas of policy and there's only one choice in terms of government - a Labour government or a Conservative government.

"If we end up with a Conservative government, it's the very things people value that's put at risk."

Meanwhile, Tory leader Michael Howard defended his campaign attacks on Mr Blair, after calling him a liar over the war in Iraq, and urged people to vote for a "brighter, better tomorrow".

He said: "Character is an issue with this election and trust is an issue. If you look at the promises that were made and broken, people have to ask themselves how they can believe the promises made to them by Mr Blair in this election."

He urged Britain to vote for "change across Britain, turn a new leaf, turn a new chapter of hope and belief".

Refusing to back down from the assault on Mr Blair's character, he said: "I'm a direct sort of person and I tell things as I see them. But what the people of our country have to focus on, and what they will focus on, is the opportunity to have a brighter, better tomorrow."

Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy said: "I think the story of this campaign for millions of people has been the steady rise of the Liberal Democrats.

"All the evidence is that is accelerating in the closing days, while the Conservatives have gone down."

He was scornful of Labour's claim that a vote for the Lib Dems might result in a Tory government.

"It's just not going to happen and they are rattled.

"Here we are in the closing 24 hours and people have got to make their minds up.

"Every vote for the Liberal Democrats will matter and can make a difference."

Their comments came after a hectic day's campaigning in key seats.

Mr Blair's itinerary took him to Lancashire, Scotland and North Yorkshire, before returning to his County Durham seat, where he was due to thank local party workers.

For Mr Howard, the day included stops in Surrey, Tadcaster and Selby, in North Yorkshire, and Norfolk.

Mr Kennedy paid a symbolic visit to Brent East where, at the September 2003 by-election, Sarah Teather overturned a large Labour majority to take the seat for the Liberal Democrats with a 29 per cent swing.

Later in the day, he headed north to Leeds and Edinburgh.

In a barnstorming speech in Scarborough, Mr Blair - standing against a backdrop bearing the Union flag and the slogan "If you value it, vote for it" - repeated warnings that a protest vote for the Liberal Democrats could let a Tory government in by the back door.

He urged voters going to the polls to think of "the good, decent, hard-working families who need a Labour government on their side to get on in life".

He said: "Of course, there are problems and challenges for any government.

"But if you make a protest vote tomorrow and you let in a Conservative MP, it is not the thing that you are protesting about that would change.

"What would change is the strength of the economy, the help for hard-working families, the investment in schools and hospitals and communities in this country."

Mr Howard was heckled as he made his first speech of the day in Guildford, Surrey, repeating his call for voters to "send a message" to Tony Blair.

"The British people can vote for things to stay as they are or they can vote for positive change," he said.

"If they vote for positive change, the country will wake up on Friday to a brighter, better Britain.

"We will have a Government that will take action, action that really matters to the country, action that really matters to the people of our country."

Mr Kennedy, speaking in Brent, said: "We have stayed on the positive, we have put forward our case, and I think we have really got through to people.

"I think what we are seeing is support for the Conservatives disappearing like snow off a dyke, support for us coming up, and Labour very badly rattled by the Lib Dem challenge in the closing stages.

"It is a great optimistic feeling."