Voters in the U.K. are casting their ballots in a national election to choose the 650 lawmakers who will sit in Parliament for the next five years. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak surprised his own party on May 22 when he called the election, which could have taken place as late as January 2025.
After 14 years in power under five different prime ministers, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak 's Conservatives are widely expected to lose to the main opposition party, the left-of-center Labour Party led by Keir Starmer. Sunak's party has struggled to reassure voters on issues including the rising cost of living and a crisis in the National Health Service.
Polls opened at 7 a.m. and will close at 10 p.m. on Thursday night. Even before in-person voting began, hundreds of thousands of people had cast their ballot by postal vote.
An exit poll commissioned by the main U.K. broadcasters will be published as soon as the polls close, giving an indication of the likely result.
Counting will begin immediately but most of the results will only be announced in the early hours of Friday.