Iraq Overshadows Brit Elections

(CBS/AP)  Voters cast ballots Thursday in Britain's national election, a heated race in which Prime Minister Tony Blair's fight for a third term could be hampered by public anger over the Iraq war.

Although Blair's Labour Party is expected to win the election, anti-war sentiment could keep him from securing the landslide victories he won in 1997 and 2001.

Meanwhile, New York police say two toy grenades, altered to explode with gunpowder, blew up at 3:50 a.m. local time outside the British Consulate in midtown Manhattan. No injuries or claims of responsibility were reported; there was slight damage to the building.

"The fact that the explosion happened today is seen as significant," reports CBS News Correspondent Steve Holt in London. "In discussing times that Britain might be vulnerable to terrorist attack, police officials here have singled out today's general election" as one of those times.

Few expect Blair's main rival, Conservative Party leader Michael Howard to become prime minister, but the Tories could pare back the number of seats Labour holds in the House of Commons. Blair's party had a huge 161-seat majority in the outgoing legislature; the new house will have 646 members.

If Labour's majority shrinks significantly, it could badly damage Blair, who would wield less power than in his first two terms and lose standing within his party.

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