LiveUpdated
Thursday 12 December 2019 12:16
Voting has started in the first December election for almost a century, with the political future of both Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn hanging in the balance.
Polling stations are open across the UK until 10pm in the third general election since 2015 and the results are expected in the early hours of Friday.
An exit poll will also be unveiled at the close of polls – providing the first indication of the result of the 2019 election.
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Arrest made after suspicious device found at polling station
A man has been arrested after a suspicious device was found at a polling station in Motherwell, Scotland.
A bomb squad were called to the Glen Tower flats around 1am on Thursday morning.
They carried out a controlled explosion as a precaution and determined it was a “non-viable device”.
Jeremy Corbyn votes in general election
UK heads to ballot box as polls open for ‘most important vote in a generation’
Polling stations have opened across the country for the “most important general election in a generation”.
After a campaign defined by Brexit, the NHS and accusations of bias and fake news, members of the public are casting their vote in the third general election in under five years.
The two largest parties have presented vastly different visions for the country, with Boris Johnson’s Conservatives focusing on Brexit and Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour highlighting the health service and inequality.
The official exit poll, a joint survey for BBC News, ITV News and Sky News, will be announced as soon as voting closes at 10pm.
In 2017, the exit poll correctly predicted a hung parliament, while in 2015 it accurately projected that the Conservatives would be the largest party but failed to predict the small Tory majority in the final result.
Final poll shows Tories with 11-point lead over Labour
The final opinion poll for the general election – by Ipsos MORI and the Evening Standard – shows the Conservatives on 44%, Labour on 33%, Liberal Democrats on 12%, the Greens on 3% and the Brexit Party on just 2%. The poll was undertaken before voting opened in the general election this morning.
Gideon Skinner, Head of Political Research at Ipsos MORI, said: “Labour has squeezed the Liberal Democrat vote share over the course of the campaign, but our final poll suggests this has not been enough to prevent the Conservatives scenting victory. Overall, the Conservatives have managed to keep their vote from 2017 more successfully than Labour, while Boris Johnson retains his lead over Jeremy Corbyn as the most preferred PM.
“The country is not unanimous though, with clear splits by age as well as by other groups, and the number of people who said they might still change their mind is slightly higher than in 2017, with potential for more switching between Labour and the Liberal Democrats. And despite a record number saying the election outcome is very important to them, there are signs that the public is not wholly enthusiastic about the choices they face from either party.”
What time will key seats declare their results and when is the exit poll?
Put the kettle on, it is going to be a long night.
After weeks of dodgy photo opportunities, awkward encounters with voters and little sleep, 650 parliamentary candidates are waiting for voters to decide their fate.
Election nights always provide surprises, and this poll is likely to be no exception.
So if you are worried about missing anything, here is our guide for the moments worth staying up for.
Greta Thunberg urges the public to vote ‘for the planet’
SNP’s Nicola Sturgeon votes in election
Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has cast her vote in the General Election campaign.
The SNP leader was joined by her partner Peter Murrell, as well as the party’s Glasgow East candidate David Linden, at Broomhouse Community Hall in Uddingston.
Voters wading through flooded streets in Bermondsey
A burst water main in Bermondsey is apparently forcing voters to wade through water in order to reach the polling booths this morning.
Resident Hannah Tookey, tweeted: “It was too deep to wade through the middle, even in wellies.”
David Cameron is trending on Twitter on polling day
After warning against the chaos of a government led by Ed Miliband back in 2015, David Cameron has now urged voters to back the Conservatives in the second general election since he quit in the earthquake result of the EU referendum in 2016.
But it’s not going down well.
“Absolute Joke you are,” posted the former Manchester United football player Gary Neville. “Started this mess and ran!”
Inside Politics: Voters head to the polls after final pitches
After weeks on the campaign trail, Boris Johnson, Jeremy Corbyn and the other party leaders will be joining voters at the polls today to cast their ballots in their own constituencies.
The airwaves will be politics-free until the polls close at 10pm, giving the candidates time to catch up on sleep for the long night ahead. Johnson will be thinking of his own constituency in Uxbridge and South Ruislip, where he faces a strong challenge from Labour, while Jo Swinson, the Lib Dem leader, is also under pressure from the SNP in East Dunbartonshire. All eyes will be on that all-important exit poll at 10pm, kicking off a night that will decide the political fortunes of many.
Hundreds of students could be denied vote due to registration error
Up to 200 students in Cardiff could be denied a vote in the general election this week due to registration errors.
Students who registered to vote say they were not told their applications had missing information – such as room numbers in addresses – which has made them “invalid”.
Cardiff Council said it had been unable to contact around 200 people who supplied incomplete addresses in their applications, to ensure they were registered in time for Thursday.
Boris Johnson casts vote in general election – alongside his dog
Dogs at polling stations dominate social media
As with every British general election, voters are posting images of their dogs at polling stations. Here are some of the best (cutest) dogs, so far.
Cold and wet weather for polling day
The UK is predicted to have a cold and wet election day across the country with two weather warnings in place for ice in Scotland.
Voters will need to wrap up warm as they head to the polls on Thursday with rain throughout the day and temperatures in single figures for much of the country.
Weather forecasters have said surfaces and roads could be slippery, with voters advised to take care when walking or driving.
This is from the Times’ deputy political editor, Steven Swinford.
Eve of election poll makes election outcome uncertain
An eve-of-election poll by BMG Research for The Independent has put Conservatives on 41 per cent, Labour on 32 and Liberal Democrats on 14, pointing towards a small overall majority for Boris Johnson’s party but leaving open the possibility of a hung parliament.
The survey of more than 1,600 voters, conducted between 6 and 11 December, found headline voting figures unchanged from a similar poll last week.
If repeated on 12 December, they point to a Johnson majority of around 25-30 in the House of Commons, freeing the prime minister to press ahead with taking the UK out of the EU on 31 January.
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