Polls open throughout UK as Brits take to the poll field for historic vote – updates
The polls have officially opened for General Election 2024 as Brits head to the ballot boxes after 14 years of Tory rule.
Polling stations opened at 7am and will close at 10pm tonight. If you are in the queue outside your polling station at 10pm you will still be allowed to vote, but if you arrive after 10pm you will not be able to cast a ballot.
But voters risk being turned away from polling stations unless they arrive with a key item.
Following a change in the law, voters who cast their ballot in person must bring valid photo ID. Make sure to check which type of ID is valid before setting out to vote as some are not accepted.
Party leaders urge supporters to get out and vote
Political leaders across the UK have already shared messages this morning urging their supporters to flock to the ballot box to lend their support.
This campaigning blitz on polling day is often referred to as a “Get Out The Vote” (GOTV) operation.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, writing on social media site X as polls opened, said: “Change. Today, you can vote for it.”
Change.
Today, you can vote for it.
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) July 4, 2024
Ahead of 7am, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak posted a series of messages on the same site, formerly known as Twitter, 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 #WaveneyValley, 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: “#VoteSNP to deliver independence, rejoin the EU, scrap the two-child benefit cap, invest in the just transition, protect free tuition.”
Polling day means one key thing – adorable dogs…
It’s gone 7am on polling day which can only mean one thing – the long awaited return of dogs at polling stations!
The hashtag has gone viral at every general election since 2010 as voters shared hilarious images of their beloved pooches who sadly are not always permitted inside polling stations and have to wait outside next to the UK’s iconic signs.
And a few such images have already gone out on social media this morning…
Dad just told us we can’t vote squirrels out #dogsatpollingstations pic.twitter.com/GB4FRGKygu
— Dudley (@agoldentale) July 4, 2024
Keep them coming folks! Today is a long day and pictures of pooches are always welcome.
What happens if there is a change of government after the election?
If polls are to be believed, the General Election will result in a Labour victory, ending the party’s 14-year hiatus from power.
It would be only the fourth change of governing party in half a century.
Changes of government occur at dizzying speed.
After the election results return the winner overnight, the victorious party enters No 10 the following morning.
The defeated party’s leader typically steps out onto Downing Street to make a farewell statement, before being driven to Buckingham Palace for an audience with the King to formally tender their resignation.
Then, it is the prime minister-elect’s turn to go and see the monarch, where they are formally appointed and asked to form an administration.
They head to Downing Street to address the nation for the first time as prime minister – usually at about lunchtime.
It is customary for the newcomer to be greeted by the Cabinet Secretary and Principal Private Secretary at the door of No 10, before being clapped in by staff lining the corridor.
POLLS ARE OPEN!
It’s 7am which means the polls have officially opened and Brits are now voting for their next government!
REMINDER: What you need to vote today
In a matter of minutes, polling stations will open for the 2024 general election. Millions of people are registered to vote on July 4, but there is still one major pitfall to avoid if you want your voice to be heard.
Under new legislation, this will be the first general election in which in-person voters must show a form of photo ID in order to be issued with their ballot paper. Without the correct ID, you will be turned away from your polling station.
The local elections on May 2 were the first in which the new legislation applied – and even ex-prime minister Boris Johnson got caught out when he appeared at his polling station with just an envelope bearing his name and address. He was turned away, but came back later with the right ID to cast his vote.
You can vote if: you are a British citizen, Irish and EU citizen, or eligible Commonwealth citizen; if you are 18 or over; and have registered to vote in your area. You cannot vote if you are serving time in prison.
All your questions and exactly what you need to vote can be found here:
Starmer drawing inspiration from Southgate seat
Sir Keir Starmer said he has drawn inspiration from sitting in the same seat as Gareth Southgate on his flights to and from Scotland.
He told reporters on the plane to his final campaign stop: “It’s fantastic to be sitting in his seat.
“I didn’t realise until we were on it earlier that it was the England team plane, so it’s fantastic to sit in it. I do draw inspiration.
“But just as every time – you may have noticed a football theme to the campaign – every time we have come out the tunnel onto the pitch, this is a boyhood dream.”
He added: “I hope this plane isn’t used for quite a while to bring them back.”
Nigel Farage’s complaint that Channel 4 racism sting was ‘set up’ thrown out by Ofcom
Nigel Farage’s complaints about an undercover investigation that found racism and homophobia within Reform UK’s campaign have been thrown out by Ofcom.
The Reform UK leader claimed a Channel 4 News report into his local campaign in Clacton had been a “set up”, alleging a canvasser caught making offensive remarks was an actor and had been putting on a performance for the cameras.
Mr Farage said he had “never been surer of anything” that it had been a “set up” and had urged Ofcom to look into the matter. But the media regulator has dismissed complaints about Channel 4’s footage.
Ofcom said it received more than 270 complaints about the broadcaster’s investigation which it “urgently assessed”. It concluded: “For all of these complaints, we have concluded that they do not raise substantive issues warranting further investigation.”
Nigel Farage’s complaint that Channel 4 racism sting was ‘set up’ thrown out by Ofcom
PICTURED: Starmer makes final campaign stop before polls open
Labour leader Keir Starmer met with candidate Chris Bloor and supporters in Redditch on the last leg of the 2024 General Election campaign.
Opposition was ‘frustrating’ says Starmer
Labour leader Keir Starmer admitted being in opposition was incredibly frustrating.
Speaking with reporters, he said: “I’m quite pleased to have this opportunity. I can’t tell you how frustrating opposition is – it’s been the least productive nine years of my life.
“Being in opposition, voting and losing for nine years, is not doing what I came into politics to do – I didn’t come into politics relatively late in life, when I did have other things I could have done, to be on the opposition benches – I’ve been on there far too long so I’m really pleased to have the opportunity.”
Starmer says Labour is prepared for Government
Keir Starmer has said Labour is ready to for the next Government and added the party made serious preperations during the short-lived Liz Truss premiership.
Speaking to reporters, Mr Starmer said: “Yes. What I’ve said to the team is nobody is to get complacent, this has been drilled into them for 18 months, we started the serious preparations during the Liz Truss period – I said we need to be ready for an election any time.
“That was when I first took the decision to move pretty well all of the LOTO staff into headquarters, it’s when I got Morgan McSweeney in to become the election chief, and I said I want one team, this team needs to be ready, and we must never be complacent, but we must be ready for an election at any time.
“But I’ve also said to all of the shadow cabinet and all of the teams “you are going to have to hit the ground running, you cannot get ahead of yourself, but we will be unforgiven if we are not prepared and therefore we have been doing a lot of preparation for government. It’s why I brought Sue Gray in because I knew that, we’re not going to get a period of time of grace, we’ve got to start this work straight away.
“All of the engagements and contacts I’ve been doing, and I’ve said to the shadow cabinet, I don’t want you having a phone call or a meeting the day after the election that you could have had six months before the election.
“So I’m confident that we’ll be ready, I’m not going to pretend it’s not going to be difficult.”
Starmer gives last speech of election campaign
Sir Keir Starmer has given his last speech of the election campaign at a community centre in Redditch.
Speaking to cheering activists for the final time before polls open, the Labour leader signed off saying: “Imagine a Britain moving forward together with a Labour government.
“That’s what we are fighting for, let’s continue that fight.
“If you want change, you have to vote for it.”
This is the welcome Keir Starmer was given at his final campaign event in Worcestershire. After this it’s all out of his hands pic.twitter.com/c28ALGCzVN
— Dave Burke (@DaveBurke12) July 3, 2024
OPINION: ‘Britain can be better than this – vote for change, vote for Labour’
Tomorrow you have the chance to vote for change.
You have the chance to vote for hope. You have the chance to vote for a better future. Only Labour is offering the country a way forward. Only Labour can fix our public services, usher in a new age of prosperity and restore this nation’s pride.
The alternative does not bear thinking about. The country could not withstand another five years of Conservative rule. A party which has done so much damage in the last 14 years would visit only more ruination, scandal, division and poverty on the United Kingdom.
At this election, the Tories will be judged on their actions and they will be found unanimously guilty.
Remember there was a time when satisfaction with NHS was at a record high and the situation now where the only record high is the number on the waiting list. Remember there was a time under Labour when the young were looked after in sure start centres, child poverty was close to being abolished and families were supported through tax credits.
And then look at the situation now where more than 14 million people, including four million kids, are living below the breadline, where foodbanks are handing out a record number of parcels and where too many pensioners are forced to choose between heating and eating.
Look at your local area and ask if it has got better in the last 14 years. Everywhere can be seen the scars left by austerity from the boarded up shops, the closed signs on libraries, leisure centres and police stations to the potholes in the roads. An estimated 12 million people cannot see an NHS dentist. Our seas, rivers and waters are contaminated by sewage. Thousands of bus routes have been axed. Crimes go unreported, yet prisoners are freed early. Trains are overpriced, overcrowded and unreliable.
This is the legacy of a Conservative Party that has broken Britain. It is the legacy of a party which has overseen the steepest fall in living standards and the highest rise in taxes since the Second World War.
By every measure they have failed, but what makes the failure so galling, so hard to digest, is the arrogant way they have governed. They divided the country by calling a referendum on Brexit and then signed a botched deal that has left us weaker and poorer. They gave us the austerity government of David Cameron, the feeble tenure of Theresa May and then the morally bankrupt days of Boris Johnson.
Read more: ‘Britain can be better than this – vote for change, vote for Labour’
Starmer in ‘celebratory mood’ as Labour leader makes final push for votes
The Mirror’s Dave Burke is following Labour leader Keir Starmer as he travels the country to persuade people to vote for the party tomorrow.
Burke said in a post shared to X/Twitter: “Celebratory mood here as Keir Starmer makes his final campaign appearance before polls open.
“He’s told us over and [over] again that there’s a spring in his team’s step.
Celebratory mood here as Keir Starmer makes his final campaign appearance before polls open. He’s told us over and again that there’s a spring in his team’s step pic.twitter.com/YlTxXr5jAm
— Dave Burke (@DaveBurke12) July 3, 2024
Starmer says Britain will not rejoin EU in his lifetime
Keir Starmer has said the UK will not seek to rejoin the EU, the single market or customs union in his lifetime.
The Labour leader told reporters he did not believe the UK would re-enter the trading block, effectively ruling out rejoining even if he wins a second term, according to The Guardian.
He did insist, however, that his government could secure a better deal with the EU in certain industries.
Mr Starmer added: “I do think we could get a better deal than the botched deal we got under Boris Johnson on the trading front, in research and development and on security.”
Interactive map shows where party leaders went on General Election campaign trail
An interactive map shows where the Labour and Liberal Democrats focused their visits on Conservative seats.
In the final days of the election campaign, the main party leaders continued their efforts on seats the Tories are defending.
But they are not all margianals though with some having massive Tory majorities at the last election.
Interactive map shows where party leaders went on General Election campaign trail
Nigel Farage says he’s part of ‘similar phenomenon’ to Andrew Tate
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said young men are under threat for being young men as he defended his decision to campaign with a man convicted of assaulting his girlfriend.
Mr Farage said he was part of “a similar phenomenon” to misogynistic influencer Andrew Tate as polling shows young men are flocking to his party.
The leading Brexiteer said there was a “feeling that young blokes aren’t allowed to be young blokes” amid warnings not to drink too much or shout offensive chants at football matches.
He suggested young males would be spurred on to follow Reform UK as they had been Tate, who is awaiting trial in Romania on charges of human trafficking and rape – charges which Tate denies. “If someone like Andrew Tate can build up a following like that, well maybe politically this is something very significant,” he said.
Nigel Farage says he’s part of ‘similar phenomenon’ to Andrew Tate
Rishi Sunak begins his long goodbye from Yorkshire – but locals have little sympathy
Rishi Sunak begins his long goodbye from Yorkshire today. He came, he saw and he coveted the life of a country squire in “the Surrey of the North”.
The ancient, castellated town of Richmond, towering over the River Swale, was to be his forever-safe Tory seat, base camp for the summit in No10. “This is where they send their future leaders,” protests one local voter yesterday. “Last time, it was William Hague.”
And now the dream is over. Even if he survives as MP – by no means a foregone conclusion – his squirearchy is ending. Opinion polls suggest the contest with Labour candidate Tom Wilson, 29, who works for the NHS and grew up locally, is very close.
This could be the first time in history that a serving Prime Minister has lost his seat – while all about are losing theirs because of him. In the winding stone streets of Richmond, I saw a sprinkling of Lib Dem placards, and a lone independent, but not one for Sunak. No Conservative office in the main square, no sign of canvassers. And scant sympathy from some of the electors on whom his future depends.
Rishi Sunak begins his long goodbye from Yorkshire – but locals have little sympathy
Lib Dem leader drives off in pink Cadillac in latest campaign stunt
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.
Confetti and pyrotechnics blasted out before Sir Ed and Ms Cooper sat in the back of the car and departed.
Sir Ed told a crowd of assembled supporters: “We have a special job to kick the Conservatives out of government and then to start repairing the terrible damage they’ve done to our country.”
He said he had enjoyed the campaign, which saw him travel the entire length of the UK, travel 6,000 miles on the Lib Dem’s Yellow Hammer One bus and bungee 160 feet.
But 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. And in so many parts of our great United Kingdom the Liberal Democrats have shown that we are the party to get the Conservatives out.”
General Election poll tracker LIVE: Labour set for historic landslide victory
The latest polls have made for some uncomfortable reading for Tory PM Rishi Sunak with multiple pollsters predicting a wipeout for his party.
Millions of Brits will cast their vote tomorrow, but the polls are giving Labour a significant lead.
Of course, whether this actually happens is yet to be seen.
General Election poll tracker LIVE: Labour set for historic landslide victory
Not everyone in Clacton is happy with Farage
The Mirror’s Sophie Huskisson is following Nigel Farage on the campaign trail as he makes a final rally appearance in Clacton.
In a post shared to X/Twitter, she said: “Lots of people out here at Nigel Farage’s final rally before the General Election.
“Clearly a lot of support for him in Clacton but there’s a resident beside me who has booed, shouted w***ker, and told me she is ‘devastated’ to see a rally like this here.”
Lots of people out here at Nigel Farage’s final rally before the General Election
Clearly a lot of support for him in Clacton but there’s a resident beside me who has booed, shouted w***er, and told me she is “devastated” to see a rally like this here pic.twitter.com/67NnIfH9bM
— Sophie Huskisson (@soph_husk) July 3, 2024
Nigel Farage narrowly avoids woman in mobility scooter while on army vehicle
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has entered his party’s rally at Clacton pier on an army vehicle to the tune of Without Me by Eminem.
The vehicle drove through the crowds before reversing, narrowly avoiding contact with a woman in a mobility scooter.
The Reform UK leader Mr Farage later addressed the crowd in Clacton on immigration, saying: “How are you getting on for dentists in Clacton? Well then you should have come by dinghy.”
He added: “This is unfair, this is wrong and this needs to stop and stop now.”
He went on to start a chant: “We want our country back.”
MPs will have summer holidays shortened if Labour win
MPs are set to have their summer holidays shortened this year if Keir Starmer becomes PM.
The Labour leader revealed he plans to cut the length of the summer break so his Government can hit the ground running. The House of Commons typically breaks up in the penultimate week of July and does not return until the first week of September.
But Mr Starmer said he wants more time to get his first bits of legislation through if he takes the top job on Friday. he told reporters in Wales it would otherwise be tricky to make a fast start.
Poll Position with Kevin Maguire
Tonight join Kevin Maguire and Michael Crick on the eve of the General Election to look at the poll projections and discuss what happens next in the campaign.
Watch live from 6pm tonight here.
Poll has Labour winning 4 times as many seats as Tories
YouGov pollsters have said Labour will win 431 seats, which almost matches a similar figure produced by More in Common (430 seats).
In the company’s final MRP poll before voting begins on Thursday, YouGov forecast the Tories would secure 102 seats, with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak facing “wipeouts in North East, North West and Wales”.
The Liberal Democrats are forecast to win 72, with Reform UK on three and the Green Party on two.
The SNP are forecast to win 18 seats.
According to YouGov polling, 89 seats remain “tossups”.
Starmer vows to do whatever he can to preserve Tata Steel jobs
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has said he will do whatever he can to preserve jobs at Port Talbot’s steelworks, but refused to say how much money he would be willing to spend to prevent its closure.
He said: “The most important thing is to work with Tata Steel on the plan that they’re putting in place, that’s what I want to do. That’s what the First Minister (Vaughan Gething) here wants to do.
“That is vitally important and, as you would expect, even in opposition we have been having discussions to try and make sure that what at one stage looked might happen in the next few days doesn’t happen.
“I’m pleased that for the time being at least, the situation is better at Tata Steel, but if we’re elected into government I will double down, working with the Welsh Government, to make sure we can do whatever we can to preserve jobs and to preserve steel-making here in Wales, because it’s very, very important.”
BREAKING: Rishi Sunak ‘afraid of losing his seat’
Tory PM Rishi Sunak has reportedly expressed concern that he could lose his safe seat as the Conservatives brace for electoral wipeout.
Mr Sunak is said to have told friends he’s afraid of being defeated in his Richmond and Northallerton constituency, where he was elected with a majority of 27,210 in 2019.
Should Mr Sunak lose his seat, it would make him the first serving PM to lose his seat.
Starmer urges Scots to vote Labour to oust Tories
The route to a Labour government is through Scotland, Sir Keir Starmer has said, as he hit out at the SNP.
Speaking at a campaign event in Glasgow, the Labour leader said: “I want a Labour government to have Scotland at its heart. The route to a Labour government runs through Scotland, has always run through Scotland.
“And I want voters in Scotland – not to send a message, the SNP say, the most important election for I don’t know how long, and they say what? Send a message.
“Send someone, an SNP MP, to sit on the opposition benches for this important period of history, and say a few things across the aisle. I don’t want Scotland to send a message, I want Scotland to send a government.”
PM Sunak insists he had ‘good chat’ with Boris during shock appearance
Rishi Sunak said he had a “very good chat” with Boris Johnson as the ex-prime minister made a surprise appearance at a Tory rally.
The current and former occupant of Downing Street were not seen together during Tuesday night’s event.
Asked whether he had met his predecessor, the Prime Minister told reporters in Hampshire: “Of course. I had a very good chat with him.
“What you saw is all Conservatives … united in warning the country about the dangers of what Keir Starmer would mean, undoing all the progress that we’ve made.
“And as Boris rightly pointed out, just at the moment where we have gone through Covid, the impact of the war in Ukraine and we’re now cutting people’s taxes and can look forward to a better future, we would throw all that away if Keir Starmer was in power.”
Sunak denies Tories have gone too far right
Rishi Sunak has denied that the Tories have left centrist voters behind.
Asked if he had veered too far to the right with the possibility of votes being taken by the Liberal Democrats, the Prime Minister said “no”.
He added: “I think that our plan is one that is squarely in what the mainstream majority of the British public want. Having your taxes cut, your pension protected, and our borders secure I just think are what common sense majority of the British people want.”
Mr Sunak also told reporters he is fully responsible for Thursday’s result as “the leader of the party”.
How to get an emergency proxy vote for July 4 General Election
Brits will go to the polls in a historic General Election tomorrow to choose the government for the next five years.
Whatever the issues that matter most to you, it’s vital that you vote to have your say on how the country is run. If you’re registered to vote but an unforeseen circumstance means that you will not be able to get to the polling station on July 4, you may still be able to get an emergency proxy vote.
The deadline for normal proxy votes, where someone goes to the polling station on your behalf, has already passed. But under certain conditions, you could still be entitled to an emergency proxy vote.
According to the Electoral Commission – who set the rules for how UK elections are run – this must be a reason that you were not aware of before the normal proxy vote deadline. This might include being taken to hospital, or being forced to work away last minute.
How to get an emergency proxy vote for July 4 General Election
