British voters are heading to the polls Thursday for a crucial general election that is being seen as a referendum on 14 years of Conservative rule.
The snap vote, called by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, is being held months earlier than necessary and caught much of his party by surprise.
The opposition Labour party suffered its worst defeat since 1935 in the last general election, but has since rebuilt itself under the leadership of Keir Starmer.
Thursday’s vote follows a six-week campaign in which all major parties have scoured the country in search of votes. Much of the debate has revolved around the economy, the cost of living, the state of Britain’s public services, and tax and immigration.
Britain has had three Conservative prime ministers since the last general election in 2019, which Boris Johnson won by a landslide.
But after much of the country and his party soured on Johnson, Conservative party members voted in 2022 to replace him with Liz Truss, who became the shortest-serving prime minister in British history. Conservative Members of Parliament (MPs) then voted to replace her with Sunak.
During the campaign, Nigel Farage – one of the most prominent champions of Brexit – announced his return to frontline politics to lead the nascent hard-right Reform UK party.
Sunak, Starmer, Farage and the heads of all other major parties are expected to make appearances at their own local polling stations throughout the day.
Around 46.5 million Brits are eligible to vote in the election. They are casting their ballots in 650 separate constituencies across the nations of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, with 326 seats required for a party to form a majority government.
The snap vote, called by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, is being held months earlier than necessary and caught much of his party by surprise.
The opposition Labour party suffered its worst defeat since 1935 in the last general election, but has since rebuilt itself under the leadership of Keir Starmer.
Thursday’s vote follows a six-week campaign in which all major parties have scoured the country in search of votes. Much of the debate has revolved around the economy, the cost of living, the state of Britain’s public services, and tax and immigration.
Britain has had three Conservative prime ministers since the last general election in 2019, which Boris Johnson won by a landslide.
But after much of the country and his party soured on Johnson, Conservative party members voted in 2022 to replace him with Liz Truss, who became the shortest-serving prime minister in British history. Conservative Members of Parliament (MPs) then voted to replace her with Sunak.
During the campaign, Nigel Farage – one of the most prominent champions of Brexit – announced his return to frontline politics to lead the nascent hard-right Reform UK party.
Sunak, Starmer, Farage and the heads of all other major parties are expected to make appearances at their own local polling stations throughout the day.
Around 46.5 million Brits are eligible to vote in the election. They are casting their ballots in 650 separate constituencies across the nations of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, with 326 seats required for a party to form a majority government.
Britons are expected to bring Keir Starmer's Labour Party to power, sweeping away Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's Conservatives after 14 often turbulent years.
Opinion polls put Starmer's centre-left party on course for a landslide victory but also suggest many voters simply want change after a period of infighting and turmoil under the Conservatives that led to five prime ministers in eight years.
This means Starmer, a 61-year-old former human rights lawyer, could take office with one of the biggest to-do lists in British history but without a groundswell of support or the financial resources to tackle it.
"Today, Britain can begin a new chapter," Starmer told voters in a statement on Thursday. "We cannot afford five more years under the Conservatives. But change will only happen if you vote Labour."
Voting ends at 10 p.m. (2100 GMT) when an exit poll will give the first indication of the outcome. Detailed official results are expected in the early hours of Friday.
If the opinion polls are correct, Britain will follow other European countries in punishing their governments after a cost of living crisis that stemmed from the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Unlike France it looks set to move to the centre left and not further right.
Labour has held a poll lead of between 15 and 20 points since shortly after Sunak was chosen by his lawmakers in October 2022 to replace Liz Truss who resigned after 44 days, having sparked a bond market meltdown and a collapse in sterling.
Modelling by pollsters predicts Labour is on course for one of the biggest election victories in British history, with a likely majority in parliament that would exceed those achieved by Tony Blair or Margaret Thatcher, although a high number of voters are undecided and turnout could be low.
Such an outcome would have been unthinkable at Britain's last election in 2019 when Boris Johnson won a large victory for the Conservatives, with politicians predicting that the party would be in power for at least 10 years as Labour was finished.
Starmer, the former chief prosecutor of England and Wales, took over Labour from veteran socialist Jeremy Corbyn after it suffered its worst defeat for 84 years in 2019, and dragged it back to the centre.
At the same time, the Conservatives in Westminster have imploded, ripped apart by scandal under Johnson and the rancour that followed the vote to leave the European Union, and a failure to deliver on the demands of its broad 2019 voter base.
While Johnson destroyed the party's reputation for integrity, Truss eroded its long-held economic credibility, leaving Sunak to steady the ship. During his time inflation returned to target from its 41-year high of 11.1% and he resolved some Brexit tensions, but the polls have not budged.
Sunak's election campaign has been hit by a string of gaffes. He announced the vote in driving rain, his early departure from a D-Day event in France angered veterans, and allegations of election gambling among aides reignited talk of scandal.
The unexpected arrival of Nigel Farage to lead the right-wing Reform UK has also eaten into the Conservatives' vote, while the centrist Liberal Democrats are predicted to fare well in the party's affluent heartlands in southern England.
Opinion polls put Starmer's centre-left party on course for a landslide victory but also suggest many voters simply want change after a period of infighting and turmoil under the Conservatives that led to five prime ministers in eight years.
This means Starmer, a 61-year-old former human rights lawyer, could take office with one of the biggest to-do lists in British history but without a groundswell of support or the financial resources to tackle it.
"Today, Britain can begin a new chapter," Starmer told voters in a statement on Thursday. "We cannot afford five more years under the Conservatives. But change will only happen if you vote Labour."
Voting ends at 10 p.m. (2100 GMT) when an exit poll will give the first indication of the outcome. Detailed official results are expected in the early hours of Friday.
If the opinion polls are correct, Britain will follow other European countries in punishing their governments after a cost of living crisis that stemmed from the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Unlike France it looks set to move to the centre left and not further right.
Labour has held a poll lead of between 15 and 20 points since shortly after Sunak was chosen by his lawmakers in October 2022 to replace Liz Truss who resigned after 44 days, having sparked a bond market meltdown and a collapse in sterling.
Modelling by pollsters predicts Labour is on course for one of the biggest election victories in British history, with a likely majority in parliament that would exceed those achieved by Tony Blair or Margaret Thatcher, although a high number of voters are undecided and turnout could be low.
Such an outcome would have been unthinkable at Britain's last election in 2019 when Boris Johnson won a large victory for the Conservatives, with politicians predicting that the party would be in power for at least 10 years as Labour was finished.
Starmer, the former chief prosecutor of England and Wales, took over Labour from veteran socialist Jeremy Corbyn after it suffered its worst defeat for 84 years in 2019, and dragged it back to the centre.
At the same time, the Conservatives in Westminster have imploded, ripped apart by scandal under Johnson and the rancour that followed the vote to leave the European Union, and a failure to deliver on the demands of its broad 2019 voter base.
While Johnson destroyed the party's reputation for integrity, Truss eroded its long-held economic credibility, leaving Sunak to steady the ship. During his time inflation returned to target from its 41-year high of 11.1% and he resolved some Brexit tensions, but the polls have not budged.
Sunak's election campaign has been hit by a string of gaffes. He announced the vote in driving rain, his early departure from a D-Day event in France angered veterans, and allegations of election gambling among aides reignited talk of scandal.
The unexpected arrival of Nigel Farage to lead the right-wing Reform UK has also eaten into the Conservatives' vote, while the centrist Liberal Democrats are predicted to fare well in the party's affluent heartlands in southern England.
