Two opposition parties to resume campaigning after Manchester bombing

LONDON (Reuters) - Two British opposition parties said on Wednesday they would resume election campaigning later this week, days after it was suspended following a suicide bombing that killed 22 people at a concert venue in Manchester. Ahead of the June 8 election, the UK Independence Party (UKIP) will launch its policy pledges on Thursday, and Labour's national campaign will restart on Friday. Political parties had agreed to suspend campaigning after Monday's attack. While high-profile events remained cancelled on Wednesday some individual candidates said they were already resuming campaigning locally. Opinion polls, the publication of which has also been paused, suggest Prime Minister Theresa May's ruling Conservatives are on track to win the election, although her double-digit poll lead had been narrowing before the attack. UKIP had been due to launch a manifesto setting out its election policy promises on Wednesday, but postponed it after the attack. "We are all horrified by the horrific events that took place in Manchester. Following those events it is right and proper that political parties suspended their campaigns for a short period as a mark of respect," UKIP leader Paul Nuttall said in a statement. "But we cannot be cowed or allow our way of life to be undermined by those who wish to do us harm ... The best response we can make is to ensure that the democratic process continues and therefore I have decided that we must to go ahead with the launch of the UKIP general election manifesto tomorrow." (Reporting by Kylie MacLellan and William James, editing by Estelle Shirbon)