The two main British political leaders, the Labour Keir Starmer and the Conservative Rishi Sunak, voted this Thursday in the general elections that are being held in the United Kingdomon a quiet, slightly sunny day with strong participation early in the morning.
Some 46 million Britons are expected to vote on the composition of the 650-seat, first-past-the-post House of Commons in a voting session that began at 06:00 GMT and will continue until 21:00 GMT.
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The first to vote was British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who arrived shortly after polling stations opened at 06:00 GMT at his polling station in Northallerton, northern England, together with his wife Akshata Murty.
He conservative leader He said “good morning” to the journalists waiting for him at the Kirby Sigston centre in Northallerton, a town in the county of North Yorkshire, where the constituency for which he hopes to be re-elected as MP is located.
Almost two hours later, Starmer, the favourite to win the election, turned up at his polling station in his Holborn & St Pancras constituency in London, together with his wife, Victoria.
The couple allowed themselves to be photographed by the media upon their arrival, smiling and holding hands.
Many early voters
With no mid-day turnout figures yet, voting was taking place without incident and many Britons opted to cast their ballots early in the morning before going to work, as it is not a public holiday.
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For the first time in a British general election, voters must bring some form of photo ID to polling stations, including a passport, driving licence or travel card for pensioners.
According to polls, Starmer’s Labour Party is the favourite to win the election, potentially ending 14 years of Conservative rule.
The bulk of the results are expected to come out after 03:00 local time (02:00 GMT).), when there will be a clear picture of who will reach the majority to form a government -326 seats-.
Polls do not predict a ‘hung parliament’ – when no party wins a majority – so there will be no need to resort to a coalition.
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Polls predict Labour’s victory
Experts and polls are predicting a Labour victory, which could even surpass the number of seats won by Labour’s Tony Blair in 1997 – 418 seats.
If the polls are correct, several ministers are likely to lose their seats in the general election.s, including Penny Mordaunt, the leader of the House of Commons and so far seen as the favourite to succeed Sunak if he steps down.
It is also expected that the Reform UK Partyof anti-immigration populist politician Nigel Farage, to gain some seats.
The main British networks – BBC, ITV and Sky – are expected to broadcast an exit poll by the firm Ipsos at the close of polling, but the first results will not be published until an hour later – 23:00 local time (22:00 GMT).
On Friday morning, King Charles III of the United Kingdom is expected to call the leader who won the election to come to the palace Buckinghamthe official residence of the royal family, where he will ask you to form the new UK Government.
Once this constitutional formality has been completed, the new prime minister will make the short drive to Downing Street to address the country and begin appointing his ministers.
