General Election By  Graham Sharpe
BOOKMAKERS WILLIAM HILL say political punters cannot decide who will be Prime Minister as a result of the General Election - and they offer odds of 10/11 (stake £11 to win £10) for each of David Cameron and Ed Miliband to end up in Number 10 - and Hills don't rule out a seats' dead-heat, offering 1/9 there will be a Hung Parliament, and quoting 25/1 for Conservatives and Labour to end up with the same number of seats.
'With this General Election the toughest to predict of any we have ever taken bets on we've always believed that many shrewd political punters would wait until almost the last minute to place their bets, so that they would be in possession of as much information about the Parties and candidates.We expect to see a great betting surge as the campaign comes to an end' said Hill's spokesman Graham Sharpe.'This will be the first eight figure betting turnover General Election and some £25million is likely to be at stake on the outcome.'
PRIME MINISTER ON AUGUST 1......10/11 David Cameron; 10/11 Ed Miliband
WHO'LL WIN MOST SEATS? 1/6 Cons; 7/2 Labour; 25/1 Dead Heat
HOW MANY SEATS?.....CONS- 8/11 285+ ; 284 or fewer- Evens: LAB- 6/5  273+ ; 8/13 272 or fewer.....LIB DEMS- 5/4 27+; 4/7 26 or fewer......SNP- 4/7 50+; 5/4 49 or fewer; UKIP - 5/4 FOUR or more; 4/7 THREE or fewer.
IT SEEMS INEVITABLE that at least one, if not more, of the 'Big 4' Party leaders will either fail to be elected or will have to quit for failing to lead the Party to an acceptable Election result - and William Hill make Nick Clegg Even money favourite (bet £1 to make a £1 profit) to be the first to go, with David Cameron 3/1 (stake £1 to win £3) second favourite, Nigel Farage 4/1 third favourite and Ed Miliband 5/1 outsider of the four.
Of the four Hills believe Nigel Farage is least likely to win a seat in Parliament - making him 8/11 favourite to win in S Thanet, while Nick Clegg is 1/2 to win in Sheffield Hallam; (Hills offer 13/8 that both Clegg and Farage win; 7/2 they both lose) Ed Miliband is 1/40 to win Doncaster Nth; David Cameron 1/100 to retain Witney.
**Scot Lab leader Jim Murphy is 11/10 to win his seat in E Renfrewshire- where the SNP are 8/11 favs. Natalie Bennett, leader of the Greens is 28/1 to win in Holborn St Pancras.
FIRST LEADER TO QUIT..Evens Clegg; 3/1 Cameron; 4/1 Farage; 5/1 Miliband.
GENERAL ELECTION OUTCOME(s).....1/9 Hung Parliament; 7/4 Lab minority; 7/2 Con-LD coalition; 4/1 Con minority; 6/1 Con majority; 8/1 Coalition involving SNP; 8/1 Lab-LD coalition; 25/1 Coalition involving DUP; 28/1 Lab majority; 33/1 Con-Lab coalition; 50/1 Coalition involving Greens; 500/1 Lib Dem majority; 500/1 Ukip majority.
LIB DEMS TO be in Coalition govt: 11/8 Yes; 8/15 No.
EU Referendum by 2019?...1/2 No; 6/4 Yes.
WHEN WILL NEXT GOVERNMENT BE CONFIRMED: 2/1 NOT before June 1; 5/2 May 9-12; 7/2 May 13-16; 4/1 Before May 9; 8/1 May 17-31.
LARGEST GENERAL ELECTION BET WITH WILLIAM HILL (or, indeed, ANY bookmaker); £200,000 at 2/9 on Hung Parliament - potential profit £44,444. William Hill predit this will be the first General Election with an eight figure sum gambled.
ODDS FOR EVERY CONSTITUENCY:
http://sports.williamhill.com/bet/en-gb/betting/t/12061/General-Election---Constituency-Betting.html