Exit polls indicated on Thursday that the Labor Party may be heading toward historic losses in Britain, leaving Prime Minister Gordon Brown clinging to power.

The exit polls showed Brown's party could sustain its worst defeat in 79 years, though it appeared neither Labor nor the Conservative Party would win enough seats to nail down a majority in Parliament on their own, the Daily Mail has reported.

Its Labor sources indicated Brown would resort to offering Liberal Democrats a referendum on voting reform in return for their support to keep his coalition government going, The British newspaper said.

The newspaper further said that Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg has previously hinted Brown would have to go as part of any deal. Foreign Secretary David Miliband is a possible successor.

Home Secretary Alan Johnson said Brown should be given time to make a decision.

Johnson said, "Gordon deserves the dignity to look at these things and make up his own mind."

Brown had the constitutional right to try to re-establish a governing coalition, other officials have said.

They believed No. 10 Downing was tantalizingly close as the British parliamentary elections played out, conservative Party leaders said.

According to the reports, a Times of London poll released Thursday backed up their confidence, indicating the Tories would make huge gains.

In a final push for votes Wednesday, Conservative leader David Cameron told supporters at a rally in Bristol not to "let fear triumph over hope. A Conservative government can get our economy moving again, can tackle our social problems, can make politics accountable." (With Inputs from Agencies)