Labour eyes win as UK voters go to polls

LONDON:

Britain voted Thursday in a general election that polls predict will hand the opposition Labour party a landslide win and end nearly a decade-and-a-half 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 7:00 am (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.

Many voters told AFP they were disillusioned but still planned to exercise their democratic right to vote.

“I have no confidence in any party. They are not good enough to run the country,” said Robin Moore, a 60-year-old architect in Rotherhithe in east London.

A 20-year-old university student, who asked to be identified just by her first name Barakot, was more optimistic, however.

“Lots of things are going on, the cost-of-living crisis, being able to buy a house is so hard. It’s the right moment to vote, hopefully to get the right people in” government.

“It’s good for everyone if we see some changes,” she said.

Voting closes at 10:00 pm (2100 GMT). Broadcasters then announce exit polls, which typically provide an accurate picture of how the main parties have performed.

Results from the UK’s 650 constituencies trickle in overnight, with the winning party expected to hit 326 seats -- the threshold for a parliamentary majority -- as dawn breaks Friday.

Polls suggest voters will punish the Tories after 14 years of often chaotic rule and could oust a string of government ministers, with talk that even Sunak’s seat might not be safe.

That would make him the first sitting prime minister not to retain his seat in a general election.

“I appreciate people have frustrations with our party,” he conceded on Wednesday. “But tomorrow’s vote... is a vote about the future.”