UK Voters Head to Polls in ‘Historic’ Ballot with Potential to Shape Nation’s Future

Britons go to the polls this Thursday for the country's snap general election, with polling stations in 650 constituencies across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland opening at 07:00 GMT.

The election - the first to be held in December in nearly 100 years – has been dubbed a truly historic one, with the potential to shape Britain’s future for decades to come.

After the polls close at 22:00 GMT, counting will begin immediately, with most results due to be announced in the early hours of Friday morning.

A total of 650 MPs will be chosen under the first-past-the-post system used for general elections, in which the candidate who secures the most votes in each individual constituency is elected.

Anyone aged 18 or over is eligible to vote, as long as they are a British citizen or a qualifying citizen of the Commonwealth or Republic of Ireland and have registered to vote.

Voters do not require a polling card, but will need to give their name and address at their local polling station.

People can only vote for one candidate or their ballot paper will not be counted, with many having already chosen the name of their favoured candidate as they opted to vote by post.

Elections in the UK traditionally take place every four or five years. After the 2010 general election, the coalition government enacted the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 which set fixed term parliaments of five years.

However, in October, MPs voted for a second snap poll in as many years.

What the Polls Say

A majority of polling data suggests that Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party will gain the most votes in Thursday’s general election.

YouGov’s final MRP model, based on 105,612 interviews conducted from 4-11 December and published on Wednesday, predicted that the Conservatives will win 43 per cent of the vote.

​Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party looks set to win 34 percent, while the Liberal Democrats and Brexit Party are on course to receive 12 percent and 3 percent, respectively.

According to the MRP poll, the Tories will win a working majority of 28 seats at Thursday’s election, which if proven to be accurate, would give Boris Johnson the mandate he seeks to secure the UK’s exit from the European Union.

However, the margin of error for the most recent MRP poll could see the Conservatives win just 311 seats, meaning that the pollster "absolutely cannot rule out the 2019 election producing a hung Parliament," a statement on YouGov’s website said.

Another eve-of-election poll of more than 1,600 voters by BMG Research for The Independent put Tories at 41 percent to Labour’s 32 and the Liberal Democrats’ 14.

Final Party Messages as Election Polls Tighten

Party leaders spent Wednesday travelling to key marginals urging voters to back their vision for the country.

Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn told supporters Thursday’s vote provided them with an opportunity to “shock the establishment by voting for hope”.

He warned of the implications of a Johnson victory, saying:

“He will make it worse. He will open our NHS to takeover by American mega corporations and carry on with more cuts. Tomorrow, vote for hope. Vote for real change.”

PM Boris Johnson, who began his last campaigning day delivering milk to doorsteps in West Yorkshire before flying to South Wales and Essex, appealed to voters to “vote today to break the gridlock, vote to get Brexit done, vote to unleash Britain’s potential”.

“Enough is enough. This election is our chance to end the gridlock but the result is on a knife-edge,” said Johnson.