Voting under way in UK election expected to deliver landslide Labour win
Al Jazeera
Voters set to punish Conservatives after 14 years of chaos, as anger mounts over economic crisis and crumbling services.
Polling stations have opened in the United Kingdom for a general election expected to deliver a landslide victory for the opposition Labour Party after nearly a decade and a half of Conservative rule.
Voting began at 7am (06:00 GMT) on Thursday in more than 40,000 polling stations across the country, with an exit poll after polls close at 10pm (21:00 GMT), when counting will also start.
The centre-left Labour is projected to win its first general election since 2005, with several election eve polls forecasting its biggest-ever victory.
But Labour leader Keir Starmer, 61, 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.”
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called the election six months earlier than expected against a gloomy backdrop of a cost-of-living crisis, a declining National Health Service and mounting distrust in institutions.
