Voters head to polls across UK in general election

Britons head to the polls in a general election widely expected to emphatically return the opposition Labour Party to power and end nearly a decade-and-a-half of Conservative rule.

The country's first national ballot since Boris Johnson's landslide victory for the Tories in 2019 will be held on Thursday, following Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's surprise call to hold it 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."

Long night

Voting begins at 7:00 am 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.

At 10:00 pm, 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 himself 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."

Endorsements

Sunak, 44, is widely seen as having run a dismal campaign, with anger over his decision to leave D-Day commemorations in France early the standout moment.

In new blows Wednesday, The Sun newspaper switched allegiance to Labour - a key endorsement given the tabloid has backed the winner at every election for several decades.

It follows the Financial Times, the Economist and The Sunday Times as well as traditionally left-leaning papers The Guardian and The Daily Mirror, also endorsing the party.

Meanwhile, three large-scale surveys indicated Labour was on the brink of a record victory, with the Tories set for their worst-ever result and the centrist Liberal Democrats resurgent in third.

YouGov, Focaldata and More in Common all projected Labour would secure at least 430 seats, topping the 418 under Tony Blair in 199 7.

The Conservatives could plunge to a record low of less than 127, the trio predicted.

The Lib Dems were tipped to scoop dozens of seats - up from their current tally of 15 - while Nigel Farage's anti-immigrant Reform UK party was set to win a handful.

YouGov and More in Common both forecast the Brexit figurehead would finally become an MP at the eighth time of asking.