London: Less than 24 hours remain as the United Kingdom is heading for a high-stakes election scheduled for Thursday (July 4), as pollsters have predicted that Labour will win the polls by a landslide margin to end 14 years of Conservative rule. The final days of the campaigning are marked by relentless efforts by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his chief rival Keir Starmer, who is expected to become the next premier.
The Labour Party is on course to win the upcoming elections with a large majority, ending 14 years of Conservative rule, with a margin of 20 points in the opinion polls. Some opinion polls have predicted that Starmer could achieve a historic achievement with a greater victory margin than Tony Blair, under whom Labour won 418 seats in 1997.
On the other hand, Sunak's chances have been plagued with economic crises, infighting within the party, a controversy surrounding his abrupt departure from D-Day commemorations in France and a betting scandal that have all but put the brakes on his future as the British PM. A recent Telegraph poll showed that Sunak, 43, could be the first PM to lose his own seat in a general election.
UK Elections 2024: What are the timings?
People throughout the United Kingdom will choose all 650 members of the House of Commons on July 4 for a term of up to five years. The party that commands a majority in the Commons, either alone or in coalition, will form the next government and its leader will be the prime minister. That means the results will determine the political direction of the government, between the right-wing Conservatives and the left-leaning Labour.
Both Sunak and Starmer will attempt to use the last hours of campaigning to drive their respective messages home before polling booths in the UK open at 7 am local time (11:30 am IST) on Thursday. Voting will continue till the booths close at 10 pm (2:30 am IST Friday) after which a traditional election night exit poll will give a clearer picture and who will emerge as a victor in the high-stakes contest.
When will the results be announced?
Results from the UK general elections 2024 will start trickling in from 10 pm (2:30 am IST) onwards, with most of the constituency results expected by the early hours of Friday. A party needs a majority of 326 seats in the House of Commons to form the government. Blyth and Ashington is expected to be the first constituency to declare the results at an estimated time of 11:30 pm, followed by Basildon and Billericay.
It is estimated that the final results will pour in between 6 am and 7 am (10:30 am-11:30 am IST) on Friday as dawn breaks over Britain. The timings can be affected by issues such as delays in verifying and counting ballots or recounts. By Friday noon (in India), we can expect the results of all 650 seats in the British parliament.
Who are the main parties?
The Sunak-led Conservatives, also known as Tories, are pitted against Starmer-led Labour Party, as per tradition in the UK election. Apart from that, the Scottish National Party, which campaigns for Scottish independence; Liberal Democrats; and Democratic Unionist Party, which seeks to maintain ties between Britain and Northern Ireland, are currently the three largest parties in Parliament.
A far-right party called the Reform UK led by politician Nigel Farage, formed by Tory rebels, may siphon votes from the Conservatives. Even though Reform is unlikely to win many seats in parliament, it could split the right-of-centre vote across the country. The environmentalist Green Party will also look to sweep up disaffected voters from bigger parties.
What are key battles to watch in the UK?
All eyes would be on the Richmond and Northallerton seat, where Sunak is contested amid predictions that he will lose his seat to Labour's Tom Wilson, among other candidates like Reform UK's Lee Taylor and Kevin Foster from the Green Party. The results are expected to be declared around 4 am (local time).
Around 15 minutes later, the result will be declared in Holborn and St Pancras, where Starmer would be looking to retain his seat against 12 candidates, including Mehreen Malik from the Conservative Party. Nigel Farage, who is contesting for a seat in the Parliament for the eighth time, is widely expected to win from Clacton in southeast England.
Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who was expelled from the party over his stance on anti-Semitism within the party in 2020, is expected to contest independently from the Islington North seat, which he has held since 1983. Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats, and John Swinney of SNP also look to dent the Conservative vote bank with wins in southern England and Scotland respectively.
(with agency inputs)
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