UK Election 2024: Labour Projected to Win by a Landslide

The UK will hold its first national election in almost five years on Thursday, with opinion polls suggesting that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's Conservative Party will be punished for failing to deliver on promises made during 14 years in power. Polls are open in the United Kingdom for the country's first parliamentary election in almost five years. Here's what to know: The exit polls result are in, suggesting that Labour is headed for a huge majority in Britain's election. The poll, released moments after polls closed on Thursday, indicates that Labour leader Keir Starmer will be the country's next prime minister.

Voters in London said they were hoping for change and stability as they cast their ballots on Thursday in an election that is widely expected to bring the Labour Party to power after 14 years of Conservative government. At 10 p.m. local time (2100GMT), polls across the U.K. will close -- and exit poll results will be broadcast on British news channels moments later. Britain's exit poll is conducted by pollster Ipsos and asks people at scores of polling stations to fill out a replica ballot showing how they have voted.

It usually provides a reliable -- though not exact -- projection of the final result. Here's a look at the parties, who's leading them and what they're promising: Conservatives Labour Liberal Democrats Reform UK Scottish National Party (SNP) Green Party. One of the significant unknowns in the U.K election is how the turnout will influence the outcome. The number of people who voted won't be known until after polls close. The U.K.

has 67 million residents and 46 million were registered to vote in the last general election in 2019. Turnout at that time was 67%. In local elections in May -- when Conservatives suffered heavy losses in council seats and mayoral offices -- turnout averaged 30%, the Institute for Government, an independent think tank, reported. Conservatives expressed optimism that reports of high turnout on Thursday could help them overcome polls that have suggested a widespread Labour victory. On the other hand, with a double-digit lead in the polls ahead of election day, Labour fears supporters will be complacent and won't vote.

They've urged their supporters to go to the polling stations and vote. Nathaniel Dye believes he probably won't live to see Britain's next election. But the music teacher diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer is doing everything he can to make sure the Labour Party wins this one. Dismayed by delays in his diagnosis by the National Health Service, the 38-year-old says he feels let down by the Conservative-led government, which health policy experts say has failed to adequately fund the NHS. As a result, he played a central role in the launch of Labour's election platform earlier this month, going on national television to urge voters to back the party.

'I've seen underfunding of the NHS and mismanagement of the NHS cause real problems in the way I've been treated,' he told The Associated Press. 'And I suppose I consider it the most natural thing in the world to talk to people on a personal level and say, 'What can we do to improve things?''' No public service is as central to life in the United Kingdom as the NHS, and it is failing to deliver on its promise to provide free health care to everyone. The NHS is creaking under the weight of an aging and growing population, years of funding constraints, and fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. That means people are waiting longer for everything from primary care appointments to elective surgery and cancer treatment. Some 52% of people were dissatisfied with the NHS last year, 29 percentage points higher than in 2020, according to the British Social Attitudes Survey, conducted annually since 1983.

Voters in the north London borough of Islington started to gather even before the polling station opened as the historically Labour Party stronghold tantalizingly considers the possibility of a change in government after 14 years of Conservative rule. James Erskine, who works in advertising, said he was unable to forgive Conservative austerity policies that he believes have decimated public services, such as the National Health Service. Even so, he wanted to vote for something rather than against something. 'I think nothing has gone well in the last 14 years, and I think it's really important that the right result happens,'' he said. 'I was even excited that we might get a different opposition to the big two parties.

I don't actually think that will happen, but that would be amazing. I just see this as the potential for a seismic shift, and that's what I'm hoping for.' Erskine did not disclose who he voted for. The U.K.'s economy barely had time to recover from the battering of COVID-19 before it was hit by a global surge in energy and food prices largely triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. While inflation has slowed from its 2022 high of 11%, millions across the U.K. are still feeling the squeeze from a persistent cost-of-living crisis.

Since calling for the general election, Prime Minister Sunak has been at pains to repeat a key message on the campaign trail: The economy is turning a corner. Inflation is down. Things are looking up. That's not the reality for millions across the United Kingdom who are still feeling the squeeze from high food, energy and housing prices. The persistent cost-of-living crisis is a top concern for voters in this parliamentary election.

Although inflation has returned to near-normal levels after skyrocketing in recent years, energy bills and items on store shelves still cost more than they did before the pandemic, when they started their steep climb. And while wages are starting to rise, mortgages and rents have soared along with interest rates, taking large chunks out of many household incomes. The British election has gone to the dogs. If you were watching news coverage of the election in the U.K., you would be forgiven for thinking canines were going to polls. In fact, they were.

Joey, the Shih Tzu, waits outside the polling station as their owner votes in the general election at St James' Church, Goldenacre, in Edinburgh, Scotland, Thursday July 4, 2024. A dog waits for its owner outside the polling station at Coulsdon Memorial Park, Croydon, England, during voting in the 2024 General Election, Thursday July 4, 2024. A voter waits with his dog after casting his vote at the Cherry Tree public house which is being used a polling station in Urpeth, County Durham, northern England, Thursday, July 4, 2024. A voter leaves a polling station after casting his vote with his dog in Kingston, London, Thursday, July 4, 2024. A dog sits outside a polling station in Southfields in London, Thursday, July 4, 2024.

Joey, the Shih Tzu, waits outside the polling sta