LONDON: The future of Rishi Sunak as Britain’s Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party hangs in the balance as polling booths opened across the UK on Thursday, with millions expected to turn out to cast their votes in the general election.
Sunak, 44, is up against voter angst towards the incumbent Tories after 14 years in power and has had to contend with trailing far behind 61-year-old Keir Starmer led Labour Party throughout the six-week campaign.
Both leaders wrapped up their poll pitches with contrasting messages — Sunak urging voters to not hand “tax-raising” Labour a “supermajority” and Starmer playing down the prospect of a landslide win for fear of a low turnout impacting the final outcome.
Candidates are being fielded for 650 constituencies across England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, with 326 required for a majority in the first past the post system. Besides the two main parties, voters will be choosing from a list of candidates representing the Liberal Democrats, Green Party, Scottish National Party (SNP), SDLP, Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), Sinn Fien, Plaid Cymru, the anti-immigration Reform Party and several contesting as Independent.
Around 40,000 polling booths opened across the country at 7am local time as an estimated 46 million registered voters began turning out to mark a cross next to their chosen candidate on a paper ballot. Since this year, carrying an identification document to the polling booth has become compulsory in UK elections, which are open to all registered adult voters resident in the UK — including Indians as Commonwealth citizens. Several voters have already cast their vote in a postal ballot, which can also be handed in to their local councils if pending.
“Stop Labour’s supermajority” is the central message British Prime Minister Sunak was trying to drive home as he wrapped up his campaign, even as most of the incumbent Conservatives all but conceded defeat in the general election.
“Labour will put up your taxes. Again and again and again,” posted Sunak on social media as the catch-all message to wind up the campaign trail.
The Labour Party, meanwhile, was keen to override this message of its win as a foregone conclusion to fight against any complacency within the ranks and among its own voter base.
“It isn’t ‘job done’,” cautioned Starmer.
The last general election was held in December 2019, when Boris Johnson won 365 seats, giving him an 80-seat majority. Labour won 202 seats, the Scottish National Party (SNP) 48, the Liberal Democrats 11, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) eight, Sinn Fein seven, Plaid Cymru four, the SDLP two, the Alliance party one, and the Greens one.
The UK has a five-year general election cycle and Sunak had until January 2025 to go to the polls but chose a surprise summer election when he named July 4 as the date in May.
PTI

Agencies