UK GENERAL ELECTION 2024 LIVE: Voting begins as polling stations open

The UK will see a national weather divide on General Election day, with 22C (72F) sunshine in southern England but 50mph winds and rain in the North and Scotland.

South-eastern parts of the country especially areas around London will experience the brightest and warmest weather today as voters head to polling stations.

But strong winds and chillier temperatures will hit further north as well as showers in West and North West Scotland, North West England and Northern Ireland.

Read the full story on MailOnline:

As millions of voters descend on polling stations today, Britons have answered the all-important question: Which election candidates would you Snog, Marry or Avoid?

MailOnline took to the streets and put Brits on the spot as they reluctantly picked between Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and Reform UK’s Nigel Farage. Read the story and watch the videos here:

Rishi Sunak made the short journey from his grade II-listed manor house to vote at Kirby Sigston Village Hall in his Richmond constituency.

Mr Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty arrived in a Range Rover and walked hand-in-hand into the village hall, which is surrounded by rolling fields.

Swallows nesting in the eaves of the hall dipped over the heads of the waiting media while a dairy farmer next door turned out his cattle.

Mr Sunak, wearing a white shirt underneath a blue jumper, greeted the photographers outside the polling station.

He left without commenting and was driven away, followed by police protection officers.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty have arrived to cast their vote in the 2024 General Election at Kirby Sigston Village Hall in North Yorkshire:

Rishi Sunak said yesterday that 132,000 voters in the most tightly fought seats could decide whether the UK has a hung Parliament or Labour majority.

And DANIEL HANNAN argues today that this is why anyone who does not want to hand Sir Keir Starmer untrammelled power should carefully read this guide:

Photographs show the polling station team at the Agape Centre in south Belfast preparing the room ahead of voting opening in the 2024 General Election:

Polls have opened across the UK in today’s general election after Rishi Sunak made an 11th-hour plea for voters to prevent a ‘socialist supermajority’ wrecking Britain.

From 7am until 10pm, millions of Britons will head to polling stations to cast their vote in the first Westminster contest since 2019. A series of opinion polls in the run-up to today have shown Labour on course for a huge landslide win.

Here is the full story from MailOnline’s political correspondent Greg Heffer:

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, writing on social media site X as polls opened, said: ‘Change. Today, you can vote for it.’

Ahead of 7am, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak posted a series of messages on the same site, which urged voters to ‘stop the Labour supermajority’.

Green Party co-leader Adrian Ramsay, also writing on X, said: ‘Today’s the opportunity to vote for real hope and real change, in Waveney Valley, and across the country.’

Reform UK, led by Nigel Farage, posted an image asking people to ‘vote with your heart’, adding: ‘Vote for real change today. Vote Reform UK.’

The SNP tweeted: ‘Vote SNP to deliver independence, rejoin the EU, scrap the two-child benefit cap, invest in the just transition, protect free tuition.’

North of the border, Scotland’s First Minister has urged ‘every single SNP voter’ to turn out today in what he said will be an ‘incredibly close’ contest throughout the country.

Addressing supporters at a pre-election rally in Leith yesterday evening, John Swinney said the Conservatives were going to be ‘heavily defeated’ by the Labour Party in England.

But he added that there were ‘narrow margins’ between Labour and the SNP north of the border.

After polling stations close at 10pm tonight, the counting process begins in 650 constituencies across the UK.

The crunch time will be between 3am and 4am when the bulk of the results will flood in. Read the full guide from MailOnline’s deputy political editor David Wilcock:

Ending a campaign that was dominated by headline-catching stunts, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey drove off in a pink Cadillac convertible with his deputy Daisy Cooper after his last election campaign stop.

The Lib Dem leader gave a stump speech at Hammond’s End Farm in Harpenden to the tune of ABBA’s Take A Chance On Me.

Sir Ed said he had enjoyed the campaign, which saw him travel the entire length of the UK, cover 6,000 miles on the Lib Dem’s Yellow Hammer One bus and bungee 160 feet.

He added: ‘Communities are angry. The water companies have been allowed to pour their filthy sewage into our rivers, lakes and onto our beaches. This has to change. The Conservatives have got to go.’

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said the UK ‘cannot afford’ five more years under the Conservatives, adding Britain can ‘begin a new chapter’ under his party.

He said yesterday: ‘Britain’s future is on the ballot.’

Sir Keir was also cheered by activists as he spoke at a community centre in Redditch, Worcestershire, as his campaigning came to a close.

He said: ‘That’s what we are fighting for, let’s continue that fight. If you want change, you have to vote for it.’

As the bookies’ favourite to be the next prime minister, Sir Keir said he was pleased with Labour’s campaign and his party was ‘ready for what comes next’.

Britons should ensure they have the correct photo identification to vote before heading to the polling station today, the Electoral Commission has warned.

This year is the first time in the UK that everybody wanting to vote in person at a general election will have to show ID before receiving a ballot paper.

Not all types of photo ID will be accepted at polling stations, but a passport, driving licence or blue badge are valid. Read the full guide on MailOnline:

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said today represents a ‘pivotal moment’ for the country’s future as he claimed Labour would ‘wield their unchecked power’ to increase taxes should they secure a ‘supermajority’.

Mr Sunak was joined by his parents Usha and Yashvir Sunak and his wife, Akshata Murty, for the final stump speech of the election campaign yesterday evening.

He stood for a photo with his family after giving a speech at Romsey Rugby Club, north of Southampton where he grew up.

‘This underdog will fight to the final whistle,’ Mr Sunak said.

The Prime Minister called on Tory activists to continue campaigning, claiming they had ‘urgent work to do’ to ‘save the UK’ from a Labour government.

An exit poll, published shortly after 10pm tonight, will provide the first indication of how the election has gone on a national level.

These take place at polling stations across the UK, with tens of thousands of people asked to privately fill in a replica ballot as they leave, to get an indication of how they voted.

The first of the 650 seats are likely to declare their results from 11.30pm.

Polling stations all opened at 7am today – among them this one at Kirby Sigston in North Yorkshire, where Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is expected to vote later.

Good morning and welcome to MailOnline’s live coverage as polling stations open for UK voters to have their say at the General Election after weeks of campaigning.

Millions of people will cast their vote between 7am and 10pm, with opinion polls suggesting Labour is on course to secure a big majority in the House of Commons.

Follow MailOnline’s live coverage for updates throughout today.