Pollsters: UK heading for split verdict

LONDON - Voters, politicians and markets are being offered contrasting visions of the outcome of Britain's imminent national election depending on which opinion polls they read.

One is a near consensus view that Britain is heading for its first hung parliament since 1974 with no single party in overall control; the other sees a comfortable victory for the opposition Conservatives over ruling Labour.

Most pollsters, including ComRes, ICM, Ipsos-MORI, Populus and YouGov, have reported a decline in the Conservative lead since mid-January from a double digit gap last year to between around 4 and 9 percent now.