Britain is holding a general election on Thursday that is widely expected to return the opposition Labour Party to power and end nearly a decade and a half of Conservative rule.
The country’s first national poll since Boris Johnson led a landslide victory for the Tories in 2019 is taking place after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak made a surprise call for it to be held six months ahead of schedule.
His gamble appears to have backfired badly, as polls during the six-week campaign – and for the past two years – have pointed to a landslide defeat for his right-wing party.
That would almost certainly put Labour leader Keir Starmer, 61, in Downing Street as the leader of the largest party in parliament.
The centre-left Labour Party looks set to win a historic victory in its first general election since 2005, with pre-election polls forecasting its biggest ever win.
But Starmer took nothing lightly, urging voters not to sit at home. “The future of Britain is on the ballot paper,” he said. “But change will only happen if you vote for it.”
Long Night
Voting began at 7am at more than 40,000 polling stations across the country, ranging from church halls, community centres and schools to unusual locations such as pubs and even ships.
At 10 pm broadcasters announce the exit polls, which usually give an accurate picture of the performance of the main parties.
Results from Britain’s 650 constituencies will be counted overnight, and by dawn on Friday the winning party is expected to have 326 seats – the threshold needed for a parliamentary majority.
Polls suggest voters will punish the Tories after 14 years of chaotic rule and could oust several government ministers, with even Sunak himself unlikely to be safe.
This will make him the first Prime Minister who will not be able to retain his seat in the general elections.
“I understand that people are disappointed with our party,” he acknowledged Wednesday. “But tomorrow’s vote … is a vote about the future.”
endorsement
Sunak, 44, is widely seen as having run a disappointing campaign, with anger most prominent over his decision to skip early D-Day commemorations in France.
In a fresh blow on Wednesday, The Sun newspaper switched its allegiance to the Labour Party – a significant endorsement given it has backed the winner of every election for decades.
This includes the Financial Times, The Economist and The Sunday Times, as well as traditionally left-wing newspapers The Guardian and The Daily Mirror, which support the party.
Meanwhile, three major polls suggested Labour was on the verge of a record victory, the Tories were heading for their worst ever result and the centrist Liberal Democrats emerged in third place.
YouGov, Focaldata and More in Common all predict that Labour will win at least 430 seats, up from the 418 it won under Tony Blair in 1997.
All three predicted the Conservative Party could fall to a record low of less than 127.
The Liberal Democrats are expected to win dozens of seats – up from the 15 they currently hold – while Nigel Farage’s anti-immigrant Reform UK party is likely to win a handful.
Both YouGov and More in Common have predicted the Brexit key figure will become an MP for an eighth time.
‘National renewal’
If the predictions prove correct, Sunak will meet the head of state, King Charles III, on Friday and submit his resignation from the post of Prime Minister.
Starmer will soon meet the Monarch and accept an invitation to lead the next government and become prime minister.
The Labour leader will then head to Downing Street – the office and residence of British leaders – where he will be expected to deliver a speech before making ministerial appointments.
It would be a remarkable political advancement for the former human rights lawyer and chief prosecutor, who was first elected as an MP in 2015.
He has promised a “decade of national renewal”, but faces the daunting task of reviving crumbling public services and a slumping economy.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
