Both main parties are facing difficult elections today, reports the Guardian.

Tony Blair is said to have been warned that voters will deliver a "well-aimed kicking" in the local elections - with Labour possibly forced into third place.

But Michael Howard is also braced for a difficult European election, with Conservative support being eroded by the UK Independence Party.

Meanwhile, Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy has predicted a "seismic shift" among ethnic minority voters angered by the war in Iraq.

And with the row over postal ballots continuing, John Prescott yesterday urged MPs to "celebrate" the fact that more votes have been cast in the all-postal pilot areas.

The Conservatives said the deputy prime minister was guilty of "breathtaking complacency".

In London, a late rally by Conservative mayoral candidate Steve Norris has electrified the race, with one poll showing Norris only two points behind favourite Ken Livingstone.