GAFFES LITTER UK CAMPAIGN TRAIL

It's been a day of gaffes on the campaign trail in the UK.

On Thursday, British voters will go to the polls in European and local elections.

But the leaders of the two parties expected by pollsters to come first and second in the European vote - have had a difficult day.

As Olly Barratt reports from London.

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The day didn't start well for Ed Miliband.

Up bright and early, the Labour leader was busy telling Good Morning Britain how out of touch his political rivals are when the presenters pressed him on his shopping bill.

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His day didn't get better. A recording then emerged from a local radio interview on the campaign trail in Wiltshire.

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Ed Miliband leads the opposition Labour Party - now advised ahead of next May's general election by US democratic strategist David Axelrod.

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But that relationship's early days was marked by Mr Axelrod tweeting his support of Mr Miliband, and spelling his name wrong.

Ed Miliband's difficult day brings back memories of his predecessor as Labour leader Gordon Brown, and a disastrous day campaigning for him when prime minister in 2010.

He was filmed talking to a Labour supporter.

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But then his microphone was left on as he got in his car...

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Calling supporters bigots doesn't often go down well and Mr Brown was forced to visit Gillian Reynolds later in the day to apologise.

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Returning to elections 2014 - it's also been a tough few days for the anti-immigration, anti-EU UKIP party.

Some polls have them winning the european elections but leader Nigel Farage was criticised for what some felt were racist comments about Romanian immigrants in a radio interview with LBC.

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In an effort to prove UKIP isn't racist - it organised a carnival, in Croydon in South London, complete with a steel band.

However, when the steel band realised they'd been booked for a UKIP carnival - they refused to play, and left.

Nigel Farage decided, in the end, not to turn up either.

He and Ed Miliband the voters won't give up on them on Thursday.

OB, SOC