Keir Starmer tells voters ‘at this time we are able to start a brand new chapter’

Keir Starmer has declared that Britain can “begin a new chapter” if the country votes Labour today.

The party is on the brink of a historic General Election victory, which would mark one of the most sensational political comebacks ever. The country has the chance to boot out the Tories after 14 years of misery. Polling stations are open from 7am to 10pm.

In an election day message to the nation, Mr Starmer said: “Britain’s future is on the ballot. Today, vote to turn the page on the last 14 years.” Appealing to people to put their trust in him, he urged: “Vote for a changed Labour Party that is now ready to serve and change Britain.”

But in a warning against complacency, he added: “Change will only happen if you vote for it.”

Mr Starmer has said he will get on with the job of fixing Britain right away if he enters 10 Downing Street tomorrow. He is promising to revive the economy, put 6,500 more teachers in schools and bring down NHS waiting lists by putting on millions of extra hospital appointments. The party has also vowed to put more police on the streets, bring down household bills with GB Energy and restore control of the country’s borders.

Mr Starmer said: “Today, Britain can begin a new chapter. A new age of hope and opportunity after 14 years of chaos and decline. This is a great nation, with boundless potential. The British people deserve a government that matches their ambition. Today is the chance to begin the work of rebuilding Britain with Labour.”

He went on: “The choice today is clear. Between a changed Labour Party that stands ready to restore politics to service and rebuild Britain. Or a Tory party that crashed our economy, left public services in ruin, and now wants to give us Liz Truss 2.0 with more unfunded spending promises. We cannot afford five more years under the Conservatives.”

In a final election dash Mr Starmer yesterday visited a farm in Whitland, South Wales, and a basketball stadium just outside Glasgow before finishing with an election campaign rally in Redditch in Worcestershire.

The Labour leader accused the Conservatives of “voter suppression” after ministers suggested the election had already been won. Party strategists fear people may not bother going to polling stations as they think the result has already been decided. Mr Starmer said: “You can see what the Tories are up to, they’re trying to invite people not to exercise their democratic right to go out and vote, trying to dissuade people from voting. That is a terrible place for the Tory Party to have got to.

“A once respected party is now saying… nothing that is positive, everything is negative, effectively, to run a campaign to suppress the vote. My message has been positive throughout, which is if you want change you have to go out and vote for it. I do know there are undecideds out there that need convincing that change is possible, that need convincing to go out and vote.”

Earlier, Cabinet minister Mel Stride said Mr Starmer will likely win “the largest majority any party has ever achieved”.

During the past six weeks of the campaign, the Labour leader has been targeting many constituencies that were won comfortably by the Tories at the last election. Some 43 of the 57 different seats he has visited are Conservative held, including Cannock Chase where Mr Sunak’s party has a notional majority of 19,879.

The PM has held events in 54 different constituencies. Some 45 are seats he is defending including nine where his party has enormous notional majorities of more than 20,000, such as Hinckley & Bosworth in Leicestershire (22,851), Thirsk & Malton in North Yorkshire (23,337) and Honiton & Sidmouth in Devon (26,229).