This is the first election I can remember where the main reason for not voting for both the main parties are the party leaders. Both of whom are 110% supporters of the war. Plus Howard has some other charming qualities.

"Mr Howard is Labour's cabbie, driving the disenchanted Labour voter home." (Mary Riddell, writing in today's Observer.) I think that sums things up pretty well.

I think the Lib-Dems are going to do a lot better than people are expecting. In any seat where the Lib-Dems are running second to the Tories, the party loyalty that has held Labour voters, in seats they know they aren't going to win, will, I suspect, have virtually melted away.
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There's a sort of reverse bandwagon effect, so far as both Labour and the Tories are concerned. They both need to look like losers, in order to persuade people who don't much like them to vote for them.

"Don't worry - we aren't going to win the election, so you can vote for us Tories and give Tony a message you don't like him."

"All right, you don't like me much - but if you don't vote Labour there's a real chance you'll get Howard, and you hate him even more than you hate me."

I paraphrase, of course.