国际英语新闻：British leaders clash over economy in final TV debate

In addition, the three leaders also discussed how to rebuild Britain's manufacturing industry. Cameron said investing in research and apprenticeship will help. The prime minister said the government is investing large sums in green and digital industry, adding that the Tories would cut this to give corporation tax reductions for banks. Clegg said onto the Britain's manufacturing, the first imperative is to get the banks lending again.

Such issues as immigration, housing, Britain's entry into the single European currency, state benefits and education also topped the agenda during the debate among the three leaders.

Britain's leading economic think tank the Institute for Fiscal Studies earlier criticized that voters are being kept in the dark by all three main political parties, which have failed to disclose the scale of tax rises and public sector cuts required to tackle the financial crisis.

From left to right: Conservative party leader, David Cameron, Liberal Democrat leader, Nick Clegg, and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, participate in a televised debate at the University of Birmingham

Brown treated the debate as a chance to save his campaign after he was caught on microphone branding a 65-year-old woman who he had just had a talk with as "a bigot".

With only a week to go to the election, some opinion polls put Brown's governing Labor in third place, behind the Liberal Democrats, the third and largely ignored party in British politics for the past 90 years.

But the survey showed that the election remains a three-horse race although opposition Conservative party are still ahead.