Labour hoping for historic win as voters in UK go to the polls
Britain voted yesterday in a general election that polls predict will hand the opposition Labour party a landslide win and end nearly a decade-and-ahalf of Conservative rule.
The first national ballot since Boris Johnson won the Tories a decisive victory in 2019 follows Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s surprise call to hold an election six months earlier than required.
His gamble looks set to backfire spectacularly, with polls throughout the six-week campaign – and for the last two years – pointing to a heavy defeat for his right-wing party.
That would almost certainly put Labour leader Keir Starmer, 61, in Downing Street, as leader of the largest party in parliament.
Centre-left Labour is projected to win its first general election since 2005 by historic proportions, with a flurry of election-eve polls all forecasting its biggest-ever victory.
But Starmer was taking nothing for granted as he urged voters not to stay at home. “Britain’s future is on the ballot,” he said. “But change will only happen if you vote for it.”
Voting began at 7am (0600 GMT) in more than 40,000 polling stations across the country, from church halls, community centres and schools to more unusual venues such as pubs and even a ship.
Sunak was among the early birds, casting his ballot at his Richmond and Northallerton constituency in Yorkshire, northern England. Starmer voted around two hours later in his north London seat, shortly before Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey.
Hannah Tinsley, 26, a trainee lawyer who was voting in south London, told AFP that it was “important” for young people to cast their ballots. (AFP)