London, Rishi Sunak's future as British Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party hangs in the balance as the United Kingdom goes to the polls on Thursday.
Around 46.5 million Britons have the right to vote in elections. The electorate votes for members of Parliament in 650 constituencies, of which 326 are required for a majority in the first-past-the-post system.
Sunak, 44, faces voter angst against the ruling Conservatives after 14 years in power and has had to deal with falling far behind the Labor Party led by Keir Starmer, 61, during the six weeks of the campaign. Both leaders concluded their election speeches with contrasting messages, with Sunak urging voters not to hand a "supermajority" to the "tax-increasing" Labor and Starmer downplaying the prospect of a landslide victory for fear that low turnout would hurt the final result.
On Thursday, around 40,000 polling stations open across the country at 7 a.m. local time, when voters mark a cross next to their chosen candidate on a paper ballot. From this year, carrying an ID document to the polling booths has become mandatory in elections, which are open to all registered adult voters resident in the United Kingdom, including Indians as Commonwealth citizens.
Once the votes are cast and the booths officially close at 10pm local time, attention turns to the final exit poll shortly afterwards, offering a fair snapshot of what to expect across the UK. . Counting begins immediately across the country and the first results are expected shortly before midnight local time.
Stop Labor's supermajority is the central message that British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was trying to convey on the final day of campaigning on Wednesday, when the majority of incumbent Conservatives all but conceded his defeat in the general election.
“This is what unites us. We need to stop the Labor supermajority from raising your taxes. The only way to do that is to vote Conservative tomorrow,” Sunak said on social media, as he focused on rallying support in the final hours of the campaign.
The strategy of the British Indian leader and his team in the last hours was to canvass his traditional voters to reduce the gap of his widely expected defeat after Conservative victories in the last three general elections. The opposition called it a scare tactic to incite Conservative voters into action, hoping to keep Labour's majority below that won by former Prime Minister Tony Blair, led by the Labor Party in 1997, with 179 seats. .
"Thursday's vote is now about forming a strong enough opposition. We have to read the writing on the wall: it's over, and we have to prepare for the reality and frustration of the opposition," Suella Braverman, dismissed as Home Minister by Rishi. Sunak told 'The Telegraph'.
Meanwhile, former Prime Minister Boris Johnson appeared as a surprise activist at an event in London to warn against an “overwhelming majority” that would be handed over to the Starmer-led Labor Party.
“When Rishi asked me to come help, of course, I couldn't say no. "We are all here because we love our country," Johnson said to a cheering conservative crowd.
Meanwhile, the Labor Party was keen to quash this message of its victory as a foregone conclusion to fight any complacency within the ranks and among its own voter base.
"People say polls predict the future; they don't predict the future, every vote counts, every vote must be earned... It's not a 'job done,'" Starmer warned.
Polling experts have predicted low turnout, which stood at 67 per cent in the last general election in December 2019, when Johnson won a solid majority with his "get Brexit done" message. If opinion polls are to be believed, the ruling Conservatives are in line to win between 53 and 150 seats, with Labor predicted to win a landslide victory.
The vote, called by Sunak, is being held months earlier than necessary and took much of his party by surprise.
The 2019 general election resulted in a Conservative victory. The party won 365 seats. The Labor Party won 202 seats.
Around 46.5 million Britons have the right to vote in elections. The electorate votes for members of Parliament in 650 constituencies, of which 326 are required for a majority in the first-past-the-post system.
Sunak, 44, faces voter angst against the ruling Conservatives after 14 years in power and has had to deal with falling far behind the Labor Party led by Keir Starmer, 61, during the six weeks of the campaign. Both leaders concluded their election speeches with contrasting messages, with Sunak urging voters not to hand a "supermajority" to the "tax-increasing" Labor and Starmer downplaying the prospect of a landslide victory for fear that low turnout would hurt the final result.
On Thursday, around 40,000 polling stations open across the country at 7 a.m. local time, when voters mark a cross next to their chosen candidate on a paper ballot. From this year, carrying an ID document to the polling booths has become mandatory in elections, which are open to all registered adult voters resident in the United Kingdom, including Indians as Commonwealth citizens.
Once the votes are cast and the booths officially close at 10pm local time, attention turns to the final exit poll shortly afterwards, offering a fair snapshot of what to expect across the UK. . Counting begins immediately across the country and the first results are expected shortly before midnight local time.
Stop Labor's supermajority is the central message that British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was trying to convey on the final day of campaigning on Wednesday, when the majority of incumbent Conservatives all but conceded his defeat in the general election.
“This is what unites us. We need to stop the Labor supermajority from raising your taxes. The only way to do that is to vote Conservative tomorrow,” Sunak said on social media, as he focused on rallying support in the final hours of the campaign.
The strategy of the British Indian leader and his team in the last hours was to canvass his traditional voters to reduce the gap of his widely expected defeat after Conservative victories in the last three general elections. The opposition called it a scare tactic to incite Conservative voters into action, hoping to keep Labour's majority below that won by former Prime Minister Tony Blair, led by the Labor Party in 1997, with 179 seats. .
"Thursday's vote is now about forming a strong enough opposition. We have to read the writing on the wall: it's over, and we have to prepare for the reality and frustration of the opposition," Suella Braverman, dismissed as Home Minister by Rishi. Sunak told 'The Telegraph'.
Meanwhile, former Prime Minister Boris Johnson appeared as a surprise activist at an event in London to warn against an “overwhelming majority” that would be handed over to the Starmer-led Labor Party.
“When Rishi asked me to come help, of course, I couldn't say no. "We are all here because we love our country," Johnson said to a cheering conservative crowd.
Meanwhile, the Labor Party was keen to quash this message of its victory as a foregone conclusion to fight any complacency within the ranks and among its own voter base.
"People say polls predict the future; they don't predict the future, every vote counts, every vote must be earned... It's not a 'job done,'" Starmer warned.
Polling experts have predicted low turnout, which stood at 67 per cent in the last general election in December 2019, when Johnson won a solid majority with his "get Brexit done" message. If opinion polls are to be believed, the ruling Conservatives are in line to win between 53 and 150 seats, with Labor predicted to win a landslide victory.
The vote, called by Sunak, is being held months earlier than necessary and took much of his party by surprise.
The 2019 general election resulted in a Conservative victory. The party won 365 seats. The Labor Party won 202 seats.
