Tories expected to lose as polls open in UK PM election

Polls have opened in the UK general election with the Labour Party, the main opposition, projected to end 14 years of Conservative rule.

Polling stations opened at 7am and will close at 10pm when the election can be called for any of the parties.

HOW ELECTIONS WORK IN THE UK

Voters will elect 650 members of parliament representing as many constituencies.

A party needs to win at least 50 percent of the seats — 326 — to secure a majority in the House of Commons.

The party with the majority of seats in parliament will then be asked by King Charles III to form a government and choose its prime minister.

Members of the House of Lords, the upper chamber, are appointed rather than elected.

If no party wins a majority, there is a hung parliament. If this occurs, the largest party can then form a coalition with other parties.

Rishi Sunak, UK prime minister, who is representing the Conservative Party on the ballot, has been projected to lose to Keir Starmer of Labour.

Members of the Conservative Party are informally referred to as the Tories.

ELECTIONS HOLDING EARLIER THAN USUAL

The last general election was held in December 2019.

Elections in the UK must be held no more than five years apart. However, the date for a general election is at the behest of the prime minister.

This means Sunak had until December to call an election. In a surprise move, the prime minister called for a snap vote last month.

The 44-year-old former financier succeeded Liz Truss in October 2022 after her tax-slashing plans derailed her tenure.

Sunak has been unable to stem the turmoil within his party, with his handling of the economy dividing opinions.

The prime minister’s immigration policies have also earned him few friends.

Banking on the party’s recent success in local council elections and opinion polls, Starmer said the election would allow the country to end the “chaos” of Sunak’s Conservative government.

“No matter what else is said and done, that opportunity for change is what this election is about,” Starmer said.

Other parties on the ballot include the Liberal Democrats led by Ed Davey, Reform UK led by Nigel Farage, Scottish National Party (SNP) led by John Swinney, and the Green Party co-led by Carla Denyer and Adrian Ramsay.