Britain will hold a general election on Thursday, with opinion polls predicting a landslide victory for the opposition Labour Party, bringing to an end nearly 15 years of Conservative rule.
The first nationwide vote since Prime Minister Boris Johnson handed the Conservatives a landslide victory in 2019 came after Chancellor Rishi Sunak suddenly called for an election six months earlier than planned.
His gamble appears to have backfired spectacularly, with opinion polls over the six-week election period, and over the past two years, showing major defeats for his right-wing party.
That would almost certainly mean Labour leader Keir Starmer, 61, would be in Downing Street as leader of Parliament’s largest party.
The centre-left Labour Party is expected to win a historic victory in the first general election since 2005, with a series of opinion polls in the days leading up to the election predicting its biggest win ever.
But Starmer urged voters to stay at home and was taking nothing for granted. “The future of Britain depends on your vote,” he said. “But change will only happen if you vote.”
“People are not satisfied”
Voting began at 7am (6am GMT) in more than 40,000 polling stations across the country, ranging from church halls, community centres and schools to more unusual locations such as pubs and boats.
Sunak was one of the early risers, voting in Richmond-Northallerton in Yorkshire, north of England, while Starmer cast his vote about two hours later in a north London constituency, shortly before Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey.
Many voters told AFP they were disillusioned but still intended to exercise their democratic right to vote.
“I have no trust in any political party – they don’t have enough power to run the country,” said Robin Moore, 60, an architect from Rotherhithe, east London.
But a 20-year-old university student who gave only his first name, Balakot, was more optimistic.
“There’s a lot going on. The cost of living is rising, it’s very hard to buy a house. Now is the perfect time to vote and hopefully get the right people into government.”
“If we see some change, that’s a good thing for everybody,” she said.
Polls close at 10pm (21:00 GMT) after which broadcasters will publish exit polls pinpointing the election results for the major parties.
Results from Britain’s 650 constituencies were gradually announced overnight, with the winning party expected to secure 326 seats – the threshold for a parliamentary majority – by dawn on Friday.
Opinion polls suggest even Mr Sunak’s seat may not be safe as voters could punish the Conservatives after 14 years of chaotic rule and expel a string of ministers.
If that happens, he will be the first sitting prime minister to fail to retain his seat in a general election.
“I know people are unhappy with our party,” he acknowledged Wednesday, “but tomorrow’s vote is a vote about the future.”
– Recommendation –
Mr Sunak, 44, is widely seen as having run a disastrous election campaign, highlighted by anger over his decision to leave early the anniversary of the Normandy landings in France.
In a new blow on Wednesday, The Sun newspaper switched sides to Labour, a significant endorsement given that the paper has backed the winners of every election for the past few decades.
The party has also been supported by the Financial Times, The Economist and The Sunday Times, as well as traditionally left-leaning publications such as the Guardian and the Daily Mirror.
Meanwhile, three major opinion polls suggest Labour is on the brink of a record victory, the Conservatives’ worst ever result and the centrist Liberal Democrats are set to return to third place.
YouGov, Focaldata and More in Common all predicted that Labour would win at least 430 seats, surpassing the 418 seats won by Tony Blair’s government in 1997.
They predicted the Conservative Party’s approval rating could fall below its all-time low of 127.
The Liberal Democrats are expected to gain dozens of seats, up from their current 15, and Nigel Farage’s anti-immigration Reform Britain Party is also expected to win several.
Both YouGov and More in Common predict that a pro-Brexit representative will finally become an MP on his eighth try.
– “A decade of national revival” –
If predictions prove correct, Sunak will visit head of state King Charles III on Friday to offer his resignation as prime minister.
Starmer met the Queen shortly afterwards and accepted her invitation to lead the next government as Prime Minister.
The Labour leader will then head to Downing Street, the official residence and home of the British Prime Minister, to deliver a speech before appointing Cabinet ministers.
It would be the culmination of a political breakthrough for the former human rights lawyer and chief prosecutor, who was first elected to parliament in 2015.
The prime minister has promised a “decade of national renewal” but faces the daunting task of revitalising ageing public services and a stagnating economy.
