UK general election 2024 live: Polls open as voters pick new government | AP News

Polls are open in the United Kingdom for the country’s first parliamentary election in almost five years.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak cast his ballot Thursday in a national election that will determine if he remains in office.

Sunak, who tried to bring stability to a Conservative Party in chaos when he was picked as leader in October 2022, spent the past six weeks trying to persuade voters across the U.K. to give his party another term after 14 years in power.

Pollsters and politicians widely expect the Labour Party to win for the first time since 2005.

Sunak’s campaign got off to a soggy start when he called the snap election in a downpour outside 10 Downing Street in May.

He had been expected to wait until the fall, when expected improvements in the economy would give him a better chance.

Sunak voted shortly after polls opened in his constituency in Yorkshire in northern England.

Sunak surprised pundits and most of his own lawmakers six weeks ago when he set the election for July 4, at least three months earlier than expected.

While most observers thought the vote would take place in the fall, Sunak gambled on a summer election, hoping that positive economic news would help him persuade voters that Conservative policies were beginning to work.

The decision was so startling that it landed the Tories in hot water. Allegations have emerged that party members and police officers assigned to protect government officials had placed wagers on a summer election, suggesting they had inside information and damaging Sunak’s ability to claim that his party is more trustworthy than Labour.

Commentators had been speculating about the timing of the election for months because the parliamentary term was scheduled to end in mid-December. While each parliament is elected for up to five years, the prime minister can call an election whenever it is most advantageous politically.

▶ Read more about how the how the election works.

The economy: Britain has struggled with high inflation and slow economic growth, which have combined to make most people feel poorer.

Immigration: Thousands of asylum seekers and economic migrants have crossed the English Channel in flimsy inflatable boats in recent years, triggering criticism that the government has lost control of Britain’s borders.

Health care: Britain’s National Health Service, which provides free health care to everyone, is plagued with long waiting lists for everything from dental care to cancer treatment.

The environment: Sunak has backtracked on a series of environmental commitments, pushing back the deadline for ending the sale of gasoline- and diesel-powered passenger vehicles and authorizing new oil drilling in the North Sea.

▶ Read more about how the how the election works.

People throughout the United Kingdom will elect all 650 members of the House of Commons, one for each local constituency. There are no primaries or run-offs, just a single round of voting today, July 4.

Britain uses a “first past the post” system of voting, which means that the candidate that finishes top in each constituency will be elected, even if they don’t get 50% of the vote. This has generally cemented the dominance of the two largest parties, Conservatives and Labour, because it is difficult for smaller parties to win seats unless they have concentrated support in particular areas.

The party that commands a majority in the Commons, either alone or with the support of another party, will form the next government and its leader will be prime minister.

That means the results will determine the political direction of the government, which has been led by the center-right Conservatives for the past 14 years. The center-left Labour Party is widely seen to be in the strongest position.

▶ Read more about how the how the election works.

British voters are picking a new government today, voting in a parliamentary election that is widely expected to bring the Labour Party to power against a gloomy backdrop of economic malaise, mounting distrust in institutions and a fraying social fabric.

A jaded electorate is delivering its verdict on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservative Party, which has been in power since 2010.

The center-left Labour Party led by Keir Starmer has had a steady and significant lead in opinion polls for months, but its leaders have warned against taking the election result for granted, worried their supporters will stay home.