VOTERS are set to reject both the Conservative and Labour parties on a record scale in Thursday’s European and local elections.

A Populus poll for The Times also reports one in seven people in areas with all-postal voting saying that they had not received ballot papers by last weekend.

The poll undertaken over the weekend, suggests that the two main parties may win no more than half the total votes cast, by far their worst performance in any nationwide election. Turnout may be about a third, with the two parties together winning the backing of merely one in six adults.

The Liberal Democrats, in third place, and the UK Independence Party could gain more members of the European Parliament.

Predictions of the outcome are complicated because of the four English regions (the North West, the North East, Yorkshire and Humberside and the East Midlands) which have all-postal voting. Most people who will vote in these regions have probably already done so.

The controversial all-postal ballot experiment was in difficulty last night when a small council ward near Manchester decided to set up two traditional polling booths for the election on Thursday. The fiasco follows signs that tens of thousands of ballot papers may be missing in the post.

The main losers in the election look like being Michael Howard and the Conservatives, who have been haemorrhaging support to the UK Independence Party. Tory support in the European elections could fall from 36 per cent in 1999 to around 24 per cent.

The Tories’ problems have been a welcome distraction for Labour from what is likely to be an even worse result than its performance in 1999. Labour could slip from 28 to between 25 and 26 per cent.

Labour looks set to lose seats in the local elections to both the Tories and Lib Dems.

The UKIP could rise from 7 to around 13 per cent, implying a rise on its present total of three MEPs.

Any gains by the UKIP would be largely at the Tories’ expense and would be a huge embarrassment for Mr Howard.

Senior Tories had been talking of improving on their 1999 showing and of treating the elections as a springboard for the general election. As The Times reported yesterday, Mr Howard will be urged to carry out a full review of campaigning amid complaints of an absence of a “game plan” for the elections and confusion over whether to attack or ignore the UKIP.

Liam Fox, the joint party chairman, is being privately criticised for failing to provide a clear message, especially after Tony Blair neutralised the intended campaign theme by promising a referendum on a European constitution.

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