U.K. voters head to the polls in historic election that could end 14 years of Conservative power: Live updates
Sunak heads to polling station to cast vote in general electionSupport trulyindependent journalismFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorThe UK heads to the polls on Thursday to cast their votes in a general election to set the country’s political trajectory over the next five years.While populist parties are enjoying success on mainland Europe, victory looks likely to go to the centre-left Labour Party, according to opinion polls during the campaign.Under Britain’s first-past-the-post electoral system, candidates who secure the most votes in each of the 650 races for a parliamentary seat automatically enter the House of Commons. The party which wins in a majority of constituencies secures the right to form a government.Following 14 years of Conservative rule, marked by austerity, Brexit, the Covid pandemic and an inflationary crisis, Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour Party has retained a commanding lead in polling over the course of the six-week campaign.Rishi Sunak is the third Tory leader since Britain’s last general election in 2019, having been installed by the party after the implosion of his predecessor Liz Truss’s premiership, who herself had taken over from Boris Johnson after he was ousted by MPs.Mr Sunak is battling to avoid a historic defeat, pre-election polls suggest, as he faces the fresh challenge of the ascendant hard-right Reform UK party, led by Brexit architect and former Ukip leader Nigel Farage.Show latest update 1720082779Pinned: How to vote in the General Election – From finding a polling station to filling out your ballotOpinion polling has consistently suggested the election will mark the end of 14 years of Conservative governance, with Labour flying ahead in projected voting intention. Some surveys predict smaller parties including the Lib Dems, Greens and Nigel Farage’s Reform UK could pick up record numbers of seats.The true picture will remain unclear until Friday. Before that, the electorate must take to their local polling stations to cast their votes (if they have not done so already via a postal vote).To ensure everyone gets a fair and equal chance to participate in this democratic process, there are a number of rules in place, which must be followed in and around polling stations.Here’s everything you need to know about polling day:Salma Ouaguira4 July 2024 09:461720104219What is the exit poll and is it accurate?Exit polls take place at about 144 polling stations across the country, with tens of thousands of people asked to privately fill in a replica ballot as they leave, to get an indication of how they voted.Typically, fieldworkers of the polling company Ipsos Mori descend on the same polling stations at every election, these have been chosen to be demographically representative of the country, with rural and urban seats, and weighted slightly in favour of marginal areas.The accuracy of exit polls seems to have improved over time. In 1974, the first British exit poll predicted a Labour majority of 132, but the actual majority was three.But in each of the past few elections the exit poll, which is published shortly after 10pm, has produced a very accurate projection of the actual result.In 2015, the exit poll proved more accurate than opinion polls at the time, but it did not predict a Conservative majority.The accuracy of exit polls seems to have improved over time (Jane Barlow/PA) More
