LONDON - British bookies were yesterday rubbing their hands with glee at the prospect of a multi million pound betting bonanza after the Prime Minister fired the election starting gun. With Labour firmly in the lead in the betting stakes, William Hill are expecting a £10 million turnover during the campaign.
The same bookmaker was offering odds of 1/4 on Labour winning with a clear overall majority, with the Tories on 8/1 and the Liberal Democrats 2000/1. Odds of 10/3 were being offered on a hung parliament. Coral had Labour at 1/7 to win outright, with the Conservatives on 4/1 to do likewise and the Liberal Democrats 1000/1.