Polls to open across the UK as millions head out to vote - general election 2024 live

This is the video that Labour leader Keir Starmer has put out on social media as polls open in the UK general election. With a significant lead in polling before the day, Starmer is widely expected to become the next UK prime minister.

Larry Elliott is the Guardian’s economics editor

Labour’s post-election honeymoon will be short-lived unless it takes immediate action to deliver on workers’ rights and brings a swift end to 14 years of public sector pay restraint, the president of the TUC has said.

Matt Wrack, also the general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU), said Sir Keir Starmer should convene a summit with unions within days to plan how a new government would deliver for workers if Labour is victorious in Thursday’s election.

“Unions should be invited in quickly to set out their priorities,” Wrack said in an interview with the Guardian as Starmer prepares for an expected landslide victory.

Wrack said there were issues that required urgent action, including delivering on Labour’s New Deal for workers, resolving long-running public sector strikes and boosting wages.

Read more here: Labour must take immediate action to deliver on workers’ rights, says union chief

Good morning everybody, Martin Belam here. This is the deal with comments. They are open on the blog today. The Representation of the People Act outlaws the reporting of how people voted, so you can let everyone know you cast a vote, but please don’t say how you voted. I know I can trust you to behave yourselves. I will chip in where I think I can add any value and/or joy.

As the UK goes to the polls on Thursday, our community team want to hear from voters about what’s happening where they are.

If you voted, how was your experience? Were there queues or was it quiet? Did you go alone or with others? Did you have any issues voting, such as problems with a proxy vote, or voter registration or ID? If so, tell us about it. Were you able to vote in the end?

You can find out how to get in touch with the team here, and some of your contributions may end up on the live blog if you give permission.

As well as the introduction of new photo ID requirements in England, Scotland and Wales, this election is also different from 2019 because a number of boundary changes have been implemented.

With only 77 constituencies remaining unchanged, the boundary review changes which seat many people will be voting in. You can check which is your constituency with our interactive tool here.

Don’t get caught out like Boris Johnson did in May’s local elections. For the first time in a UK general election people in England, Scotland and Wales will need to produce photo ID at polling stations on Thursday to be able to vote in person. Northern Ireland introduced voter ID in 2002. Here is what you need to know.

The main things to use are either a passport or a driving licence. Passports can be from the UK, EU or Commonwealth, driving licences from the UK and EU. Documents from Norway, Iceland are Liechtenstein are also accepted, as are driving licences from the Isle of Man or any of the Channel Islands.

There are also a mind-boggling 18 other types of document that can be used, including concessionary travel pass for older and disabled people. Student ID is not accepted.

The ID can have expired, as long as you still look like the photo. You can find more details here.

Voting has begun across the UK for a general election which polling suggests could bring an end to 14 years of the Conservative party in government, and see Labour opposition leader Keir Starmer installed in Downing Street as the new prime minister.

Polling stations will be open until 10pm, and for the first time in England, Scotland and Wales general election voters will be required to provide photo identification before voting in person. Northern Ireland introduced voter ID in 2002.

Prime minister Rishi Sunak called the election six weeks ago in a rain-soaked speech outside No 10 where he had to battle against the sounds of 1997 New Labour anthem Things Can Only Get Better by D:Ream being blasted out by a protester, and his campaign has been uphill ever since. The Conservatives have barely made a dent into Labour’s polling lead, which has consistently shown Starmer’s party to be about 20 points ahead, much higher than the swing needed to reverse the party’s dismal 2019 general election result.

The Conservative campaign has been bedevilled with scandal, as people close to the PM and Tory candidates were accused of betting on the timing of the election, leading to a police investigation. The last few days of the campaign have seen the Tories seize desperately on the Labour leader saying he intends to carve out some time with his family each week to claim he would “clock off” from being PM at 6pm, and claim that people should vote Conservative to avoid Labour winning a “supermajority” – a meaningless concept that has no formal existence in the Westminster system. Sunak has repeatedly used a discredited line that Labour policies will add more than £2,000 to tax bills.

Labour have faced their own problems, with selection rows over Diane Abbott and Faiza Shaheen overshadowing the early days of the campaign, and accusations that the party is putting forward an uninspiring programme that has undone much of the enthusiasm younger voters had developed for Labour during the years that Jeremy Corbyn was leader. Corbyn is standing as an independent candidate for his old seat in North Islington. Disquiet over the party’s approach to Israel’s conflict in Gaza is also expected to cost the party votes, especially in urban areas and areas with significant Muslim populations. Comments Starmer made in recent days about Bangladeshi immigrants have landed badly with that community.

Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey has tried to use a stunt-laden campaign to attract coverage of his party’s policies as it attempts to overtake the SNP and once again become the third largest party in the House of Commons.

For their part, the SNP with Westminster leader Stephen Flynn and recently installed first minister of Scotland John Swinney have campaigned on a platform insisting that however people feel about the government in Holyrood, this election is a chance to send a strong Scottish voice to London. Labour are looking to reclaim seats in Scotland’s central belt that had for many, many years been traditional Labour heartlands. Polls have Labour and SNP closer than they have been for years in Scotland.

In Wales, Labour’s campaign has been hindered by controversy swirling around donations to first minister Vaughan Gething’s leadership campaign, which Plaid Cymru will hope they can exploit. In Northern Ireland, DUP interim leader Gavin Robinson is defending a narrow majority in Belfast East. George Galloway is attempting to hold the Rochdale seat he won in a February byelection for the Workers Party of Britain. The Green Party of England and Wales have made four seats in England their main target.

The early surprise of the campaign was Nigel Farage’s decision to seize leadership of the Reform UK party from Richard Tice. MRP polling models have suggested the party might win as many as 18 seats, or indeed none at all. Predictions they would surge in polling have during the campaign have broadly not been met, but Farage has said his intention is to build a movement to oppose Labour that will put him in a position to become prime minister in 2029.

• It is Martin Belam with you on the blog for the next few hours – do drop me a line at martin.belam@theguardian.com if you like, especially if you spot errors, mistakes, omissions, have questions, or just want to send me a picture of your dog enjoying the election.

With 15 minutes to go until polling stations open, a reminder that they close at 10pm today, Thursday 4 July.

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.

If you are in the UK, you will have been sent a polling card which will tell you which polling station to go to. If you have not got that card for whatever reason, you can enter your address into wheredoivote.co.uk.

Some other rules:

• If you make a mistake on your ballot paper, you can ask a member of staff for a replacement (as long as you’ve not put your voting paper in the ballot box)

• You will be provided with a pencil, but may use your own if you prefer to

• You are not allowed to take photographs inside the polling station

• Some polling stations allow dogs inside, others don’t

From the moment six weeks ago that Rishi Sunak announced the election in pouring rain outside 10 Downing Street, his campaign has faced a series of setbacks, from the backlash triggered by his early return from a D-day commemoration, to a betting scandal in which a Conservative politician was discovered to have bet on the date of the election. The Guardian’s political media editor, Jim Waterson, explains how the party’s campaign fell apart and whether it stood a chance to begin with:

It is the King’s duty as head of state to appoint a prime minister, and he is travelling from Scotland to Windsor Castle, ready to be on stand-by after being in Edinburgh for Holyrood Week.

The role is one of the few remaining personal prerogatives of the sovereign, because Charles does not act on advice nor need to consult anyone before doing so.

But the overriding requirement is to appoint someone who can command the confidence of the House of Commons – usually the leader of the party with an overall majority of seats in the Commons – to form a government.

If Keir Starmer leads the Labour Party to victory, Charles could be set for the third prime minister of his less than two-year reign: his first was Liz Truss, and the King welcomed Rishi Sunak as his second PM just six weeks after acceding to the throne.

Depending on the election outcome, Charles is set to hold a private audience with the leader of the winning party at Buckingham Palace in London on Friday. They will be invited by the King to form a government and become prime minister.

On the last day of campaigning, the UK’s most tattooed woman met the UK’s richest-ever prime minister:

Come with me to another country, far, far away, where things are a little bit different. In this fantastical land, young people can live and work in any country in Europe. You can swim in a river without catching Weil’s disease, or see your doctor.

Things aren’t perfect in this country, but 40,000 people rely on food banks instead of 3.1 million. People live half a year longer. Five-year-olds are taller.

Reader, you’ll never guess what. That country is Britain! Or it was until 2010, when a parade of five Conservative prime ministers, seven chancellors and eight home secretaries (two of whom were Suella Braverman) climbed behind the wheel of Britain’s temperamental but mostly reliable family hatchback, and drove it into a hedge.

What the hell just happened? If you’re feeling nostalgic, or just possibly a little angry, here is a recap of the lurches, plunges and nausea of 14 years on the Tory rollercoaster.

Results come in throughout the night after polls close at 10pm, with the very earliest expected by about 1am. Houghton and Sunderland South is historically one of the quickest, if not often the first, constituencies to declare. The national record is 10.43pm for the declaration for its predecessor seat, Sunderland South, set in 2001.

Houghton and Sunderland South competes every year – with youths running from polling to counting stations as fast as they can with boxes holding ballots – with Newcastle.

All seats seats should be declared by 7am, with perhaps a few exceptions.

The UK uses a voting system called “first past the post” (a horse racing term), which means that voters vote for a candidate in their constituency, rather than a party, and the candidate with the most votes wins and becomes a member of parliament.

The UK – England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales – is divided into 650 constituencies. The party with the most MPs then has the chance to form government, either because it wins the majority of seats in the parliament, or makes a deal with one or more other parties to do so. If the party with the most seats forms government, its leader becomes the prime minister.

This means that millions of votes for a party won’t necessarily translate to seats. For example, in 2015 more than 3.8 million people voted for Nigel Farage’s Ukip party, but this resulted in only one seat in parliament. If the UK had a proportional system like many other countries, the party would have won 82 seats.

A candidate who is least liked in a constituency can still win if the opposition is divided.

This election, a higher number of voters than usual may try to get past this system by voting tactically – casting their ballot not for their preferred candidate, but rather for the candidate most likely to unseat their least preferred candidate.

The UK – that is England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland – is divided into 650 constituencies, a geographical electoral division or district.

Voters cast a ballot for the person they want to represent their constituency in the UK Houses of Parliament. Candidates run as members of political parties with the key parties including: the Labour party, the Conservative party, Liberal Democrats, Scottish National party, Green party, Reform UK, Sinn Féin and the Democratic Unionist party. Candidates can also run as independents.

The candidate with the most votes in that constituency is elected as a member of parliament (MP).

The party with the most MPs then forms a government if it has a majority (at least 326 seats).

Wind and rain are no match for a roughly three in five eligible Britons who turn out to vote every five years. If anything, it makes them more determined.

Voter turnout is not generally affected by weather conditions, records suggest.

According to the Parliament website, despite the last general election in 2019 being the wettest since records began in 1931, turnout was actually higher (67.3%) than in 2001 (59.4%) and 2005 (61.4%) when polling day fell in June and May respectively.

The most recent figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the UK’s public body for official data, show there are about 49 million people registered to vote in the UK.

Could those be winds of… change?

Winds of up to 40mph are set to blow accross the UK today, according to the Met Office.

Showers are also expected across west and northwest Scotland, northwest England and across Northern Ireland on Thursday, according to the forecaster.

Southeast England will experience the brightest, warmest weather with areas around London expected to reach temperatures of up to 22C.

Chillier weather is predicted further north with most of the day’s rainfall expected in northwest Scotland, the forecaster said.

Liam Eslick, meteorologist at the Met Office, told PA:

It’s going to be quite a windy day across much of the UK.

The strongest winds are going to be towards Northern Ireland, the western parts of Scotland and northern England - so we could see winds getting up to around 35, maybe even possibly 40mph, especially around the coasts of Scotland.

It’s going to be a windy day for most people but it is going to be bright for central and southern England as well as Wales.”

Campaigning has ended and voters are set to decide who will lead the UK for the next five years, with the country’s newspapers covering the parties final pitches – while making a few suggestions of their own.

“Starmer hails ‘new age of hope’ as Britain votes in historic election”, reads the Guardian’s front page. The paper’s lead story notes that Rishi Sunak’s closest allies have already appeared “to concede defeat”, while the final opinion polls show Labour is on track for an unprecedented victory.

“On the last day of a fractious six-week campaign, the Guardian was told Sunak had confided to members of his inner circle that he was fearful of losing his own seat”, the paper reports.

With voters about to go to the polls, the Mirror unsurprisingly comes out with an endorsement for Keir Starmer. Against a stark, black background, its headline reads “Vote for change. Vote Labour”.

Perhaps more surprisingly, the Sun’s front page also come out in support for Labour, with “Time for a new manager”. Despite the waning impact of newspaper endorsements over recent years, there had been fevered speculation over who the Sun would back.

It’s the first time since 2005 that the Rupert Murdoch-owned tabloid has endorsed Labour and the editorial outlining its case is decidedly lukewarm, labelling Starmer an “ex-remainer” who wants “closer ties with Brussels”. It does however praise him for “dragging his party back to the centre ground of British politics”.

The Times – another Murdoch-owned paper – also offered cautious support for Starmer. The historic scale this election is underline in its headline: “Labour set for ‘biggest majority since 1832’”.

In an editorial headlined “Leap in the dark”, the paper states that “democracy requires change” and tellingly stopped short of urging people to vote Conservative. There is little enthusiasm in its message though, with the paper writing that “Sir Keir has left the British people with little clue as to his intentions in government”.

The Mail carries no such equivocations, with its front page dominated by a warning that votes for Reform will ensure a Labour victory. The headline reads “Vote Farage, get them …” above a picture of Starmer and his deputy, Angela Rayner.

The paper’s election day edition promises a tactical voting guide, that reads “If Labour win today, I warn you not to own a home, run a business, drive a car”; a clear allusion to former Labour leader Neil Kinnock’s celebrated speech, in the days before the 1983 election.

North of the border, the Mail’s Scottish edition tells voters to “Back Rishi and beat the SNP”, accompanied by a full page image of Nicola Sturgeon who resigned as first minister more than a year ago.

Scotland’s Daily Record also turns to recent political history, with a reference to Shepard Fairey’s iconic “Hope” poster of Barack Obama. Under an image of Keir Starmer shaded in red and blue, the paper urges voters to back Labour with the headline “Change”.

The front page of Scotland’s National reads as a direct rebuke to the Record’s headline, with “Change? What Change?” Outlining the areas in which the paper believes Starmer’s Labour will be identical to the Tories, the front page concludes by stating “in Westminster nothing ever changes”.

Across the entirety of its front page, the Express urges Britain to “Vote Tory”. Above the headline, the paper appears to take some time to convince itself of its position, acknowledging that frustration at the government is “understandable” and that it is the right of all voters to register there “protest”, however it concludes by saying it will carry the “torch of Conservatism until it is burning bright again.”

The i reports that “Labour’s lead narrows in final poll but Starmer still on course for landslide”. The paper notes that “most cabinet minister fear for their futures”.

The Financial Times says that Starmer is poised for a “200-plus majority”. “Tories braced for bleak night as polls put Labour on track for landslide win”, is the paper’s headline.

Telegraph readers would be forgiven for forgetting there was an election on, with only one small story on “postal vote chaos” indicating that it’s polling day.

The paper’s main headline reads “Homeowners face council tax raid under Labour”.

Finally, the Star’s front page simply carries a picture of a pair of oversized clown shoes and the headline “Toodle pip!”.

The paper’s front page story is just five lines long and reads “Remeber Bozo. Remember Partygate. Remember Lettuce Liz. Remember Rishi and D-Day. Remember to vote.”

Today is the day! With one hour to go, in caravans, castles, cricket clubs, and, who knows, a laundromat, a hairdresser, someone’s living room across the UK, staff at polling stations are on their way to unlock the doors, or inside making tea, or thumping a pile of ballot papers on a desk to get them straight, as they prepare to open in what is likely to be a particularly memorable election.

As Britons prepare fill their ballots in today, Labour is in the lead over the Conservatives. We will be bringing you results as they happen after polls close at 10pm BST.

Today is about the fun and excitement and power, even, of voting with me, Helen Sullivan, and my colleagues Martin Belam, Léonie Chao-Fong, Amy Sedghi and Andrew Sparrow. Our political reporters will be sending analysis and news live from around the country. It is, for journalists, a day that is about consuming many, many biscuits. We’ll be with you throughout the day, night and all of Friday as results come in.

Let’s begin.