British voters on Thursday will participate in the closest national election in decades, ending months of political campaigning that at times veered into the absurd.
The two main parties, Labour and Conservative, remain neck-and-neck in the polls. If neither wins a majority of seats in Parliament, they will need to gain the support of smaller parties, which range from Scottish nationalists to vehement Eurosceptics, to form a government.
There are serious issues at stake in the election. The Conservatives have promised a referendum on whether to stay in the European Union. The future of the union between England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland -- the countries in the United Kingdom -- is under intense debate after last year’s unsuccessful Scottish independence referendum.
Yet, the election campaign has not been short of comic moments. The party leaders -- including Labour's Ed Miliband and Conservative leader and current Prime Minister David Cameron -- have been heaped with ridicule, and sometimes thoroughly earned it, in the build-up to the 2015 election.
1. Even children tire of David Cameron
2. Edward Miliband vows that his election promises are carved in stone
3. Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg goes bowling ...
4. ... While Miliband plays pool
5. Cameron tells us how he really feels
The prime minister accidentally called the election 'career defining,' instead of 'country defining,' at a campaign event in Yorkshire.
6. Miliband became the least likely sex symbol of all time
He was regularly compared to cartoon character Wallace from "Wallace & Gromit." He was incessantly teased for making gaffes, being clumsy and looking weird.
Then, something strange happened. Miliband grew a huge female fan base, which recast him as a nerd-chic hero and lovable underdog, and #Milifandom was born. (Unfortunately for Miliband, the teenager who started the craze is not old enough to vote, and her parents support the Conservatives.)
#milifandom @debbiemanley *screeeeeam* pic.twitter.com/cZU1iCz7hP
— Teresa McMahon (@teresamcmahon4) April 28, 2015
#EdMiliband should replace zayn in one direction#milifandom pic.twitter.com/8cgGSinj8P
— last (@onepoundfifty) April 26, 2015
7. Miliband even got mobbed by a hen party
8. But his party’s attempt to woo women voters fell pretty flat
9. The bacon sandwich-eating contest
After Miliband earned widespread ridicule last year for his inelegant eating of a bacon sandwich, the other party leaders tried to prove they could do it better.
First, Clegg had a go.
Then, U.K. Independence Party leader Nigel Farage thought he’d show how it's done.
Cameron decided not to risk a mess, and tackled a hot dog with a knife and fork -- earning even more ridicule.
10. The tough-guy contest
Miliband offers fighting talk on Britain’s Channel 4 television.
Clegg tells British radio that he pictures Labour finance chief Ed Balls when kickboxing.
Cameron brags to a bunch of kids about using martial art jiujitsu on UKIP leader Farage, but then tells the adults he was just joking.
All of which is summed up perfectly in this mash-up by the BBC’s "Newsnight" program: