1970s Impasse Evoked as Market Sees U.K. Election Turmoil

Investors are preparing for political turmoil not seen in Britain in at least 40 years, with the possibility that an election with no clear winner is followed by a referendum on leaving the European Union.

Polls suggest neither David Cameron’s Conservative Party nor the Labour opposition is going to win a majority in the May 2015 vote. With the Liberal Democrats hemorrhaging support since they went into coalition in 2010, and Tory and Labour lawmakers expressing hostility to forming alliances, a post-election deal is much less likely, political analysts say.