Voters go to the polls in the UK General Election

Blackleaf

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Voting in the UK general election is under way at more than 40,000 polling stations across the country.

Polls opened at 07:00 BST on Thursday, with counting starting once voting ends at 22:00 BST.

A total of 650 Westminster MPs will be elected, with about 46.9 million people registered to vote. 326 seats are needed for victory.


General election 2017: Voters to go to the polls

BBC News
8 June 2017



Voting in the UK general election is under way at more than 40,000 polling stations across the country.

Polls opened at 07:00 BST on Thursday, with counting starting once voting ends at 22:00 BST.

A total of 650 Westminster MPs will be elected, with about 46.9 million people registered to vote.

That is up from the last general election, in 2015, when there were 46.4 million registered voters.

Some votes have already been cast, through postal voting, which accounted for 16.4% of the total electorate at the 2015 general election. People with an undelivered postal vote can still deliver it by hand to their local polling station.

Overall turnout in 2015, when the Conservatives won 331 out of 650 seats, was 66.4%, up from 2010.


Will Theresa May or Jeremy Corbyn walk into Number 10 Downing Street tomorrow?

Most polling stations are in schools, community centres and parish halls, but pubs, a launderette and a school bus have been used in the past.

Police have increased security at polling stations, including patrols by armed officers in some areas, following the recent terror attacks.

A handful of seats are expected to be declared by midnight, with the final results expected on Friday afternoon.

Unusually, no local elections are taking place at the same time, so results might come through earlier than in recent general elections.

In 2015 the first seat to declare was Houghton and Sunderland South, at 22:48 BST.

To form a majority in the House of Commons one party must win 326 seats - in 2015 a Conservative majority was not confirmed until 13:34 BST.


Dogs at polling stations have become a familiar sight

The weather forecast is for some rain in south-west England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales on Thursday, with south-east England remaining cloudy and dry.

Polls close at 22:00 BST, but officials say anyone in a polling station queue at this time should be able to cast their vote.

The BBC's main election programme, fronted by David Dimbleby, starts at 21:55 BST, with live coverage from scores of counts.

Dimbleby, fronting his 10th election night broadcast, will be joined by Mishal Husain, Emily Maitlis, Jeremy Vine.


David Dimbleby will front BBC television coverage

Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland will have their own overnight programmes but will join Huw Edwards from 07:00 BST on 9 June.

On the radio, an overnight broadcast by BBC Radio 4 will be hosted by Jim Naughtie and Carolyn Quinn.

On BBC Radio 5 live, the overnight show will be hosted by Stephen Nolan and Emma Barnett.

Full coverage of the results as they come in will be on the BBC politics online live page and front page scorecard, with all the big breaking stories from around the country and analysis by correspondents.

General election 2017: Voters to go to the polls - BBC News
 
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Blackleaf

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Oct 9, 2004
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Tory majority 50 seats or more.

I think that'll happen.

Here in the Bolton South East constituency I have voted for the Conservative candidate Sarah Pochin:

SARAH POCHIN
Bolton South East

STANDING WITH THERESA MAY




Helping Theresa May deliver a good Brexit deal for the people of Bolton.

Supporting the town centre regeneration of Bolton and Farnworth promised but not delivered by Labour.

Campaigns for investment in Bolton SE securing jobs for the future and ensuring our young people have the skills needed.


I just have a feeling though that the Muslim Labour candidate Yasmin Qureshi will remain Bolton South East's MP, as she has been since 2010. All the Muzzies will vote for her.
 

Danbones

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thank gawd hillary could only run in one country
;)
who is soros supporting in this selection I wonder?
 

tay

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Canadians can Vote as well........and I voted Corbyn because May reminds me of Clinton......


https://goodcountry.org/global-vote/elections/united-kingdom


Now there’s a website that gives everyone worldwide the chance to cast their ballot. Global VoteGlobal Vote is the brainchild of Simon Anholt, a U.K. independent policy adviser who has worked with leaders of more than 50 countries. The global vote is part of his Good Country movement, which aims to improve leadership for the good of humanity.

https://www.thestar.com/news/world/...uch-competition-not-enough-collaboration.html
 

Blackleaf

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Canadians can Vote as well........and I voted Corbyn because May reminds me of Clinton......


https://goodcountry.org/global-vote/elections/united-kingdom


Now there’s a website that gives everyone worldwide the chance to cast their ballot. Global VoteGlobal Vote is the brainchild of Simon Anholt, a U.K. independent policy adviser who has worked with leaders of more than 50 countries. The global vote is part of his Good Country movement, which aims to improve leadership for the good of humanity.

https://www.thestar.com/news/world/...uch-competition-not-enough-collaboration.html

I don't think those votes will be part of the official result.

To vote at the UK general election you must be registered to vote and: be living in the United Kingdom; be 18 years of age or over on polling day; be a British, Irish or qualifying Commonwealth citizen.
 

Blackleaf

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Why not? Russian hacks will be.



Party leaders vote in the election (I wonder which party each of them will be voting for)


Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May and her husband Philip voted in Sonning, Berkshire, part of her Maidenhead constituency.


In Islington, north London, Labour's Jeremy Corbyn voted at Pakeman Primary School.


The Liberal Democrats' Tim Farron braved the rain in Kendal, Cumbria - where cameramen had a dust-up as they tried to picture him leaving the polling station.


UKIP leader Paul Nuttall leaves a polling station in Congleton, Cheshire, after voting.


Green Party of England and Wales co-leader Caroline Lucas was with her husband as she voted in Brighton.


Scotland's First Minister, the SNP's Nicola Sturgeon, cast her vote in Glasgow.

General election: Some numbers

46.9 million: The number of people eligible to vote on polling day
1.1 million: The number who have joined the electorate since 2016
3,304: The number of candidates standing across all parties
974: The number of female candidates standing in the General Election
326: The number of seats needed for a working majority
17: The government's majority at the end of the 2015-17 parliament
97: The number of seats Labour needs to gain to win a majority
650: The number of constituencies across the UK


Two great British institutions: Beer and democracy


Most polling stations are set up village halls, community centres, schools, or churches. In Oxfordshire they take a different approach.

Voters head to... trains and mobile libraries

Not always a local hall or school, polling stations can come in all shapes and sizes.

Here are some of those displaying a strong novelty polling station game:



Voters head into this polling station - a train carriage at Leeming Bar Station, North Yorkshire.


Borrow a book and cast your vote here at a farm shop in Brockley, north Somerset


An Ali shuffle might come in handy to dodge the punch bags when voting in a gym in Liverpool.


A polling station has been set up in a launderette and nail bar in Headington in Oxford.


And no, it's not the most compact multi-use polling station in the country. Just a sign near one in Sheffield.

#dogs at polling stations. The trend you knew was coming
Posted at
10:20


TWITTER@KCATCLARKE

As people across the UK cast their votes in the general election their paw-fect pooches have also been exercising their voting rights, and predictably the hashtag #DogsAtPollingstations has become a social media trend.

Many posted images of their dogs online after polling booths opened this morning and the hashtag has been used tens of thousands of times with more than 8,000 tweets sent in the first two hours of voting.

The election trend also appeared last month in local elections.

Some of the best pictures, from BBC Trending, are here: BBC Trending - BBC News











http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/election-2017-40171454
 
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Tecumsehsbones

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As has been the case since Polish people have been coming to Britain in large numbers, the government estimates that approximately 20% of eligible voters will not have their votes recorded because they believe the requirement of "going to the polls and voting" can be fulfilled by shouting one's political preference at a person who "looks like a Pole" before passing out in a pool of one's own vomit.
 

Blackleaf

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what the polls say Final election polls predict wide array of results as betting firms predict a Conservative majority in the 80s today

One firm - ICM - gave the Tories a 12 point lead, on 46% versus Labour’s 34%


By Lynn Davidson, Whitehall Correspondent
7th June 2017
The Sun

A RAFT of final polls forecast a wide array of different election results, as betting firms predicted a Tory majority in the 80s today.

With the beleaguered polling industry’s reputation again on the line, one firm – ICM – gave the Tories a 12 point lead, on 46% versus Labour’s 34%.


ICM gave the Tories a 12 point lead, but Kantar put them three points apart

And respected pollsters ComRes put Theresa May’s party 10 points ahead of Labour on 44 per cent.

When “don’t know” voters were included on the basis of who they preferred as PM, the Tory lead rose 12 points to 46 per cent.

ComRes analysis showed half of 2015 Ukip voters had now turned to the Tories – a total of 2m votes.


ComRes suggest half of 2015 Ukip voters had now turned to the Tories

And it revealed the Lib Dems were shedding voters to both major parties with two fifths saying they would vote either Tory or Labour.

At least six pollsters issued their final General Election verdicts tonight – as they attempted to restore their shattered reputations.

YouGov's final figures were:

CON 42%
LAB 35%
LD 10%
UKIP 5%
GRN 2%
OTH 6%


The final poll of polls from seven different firms is:

CON 43%
LAB 36%
LIB 8%
UKIP, 5%
GRN 2%
OTH 6%


Sun Bets spokesman Tim Reynolds said bookies were convinced of a Tory majority – but far from the commanding victory expected last month.

He blamed the U-turn on social care and underwhelming TV performances by the PM for the reduction.


A prediction for the number of Conservative seats in the General Election, from April 18 until today

He said: “Just three weeks ago May looked likely to be armed with 400 Tory MPs, but we now predict a total of approximately 367.

“Even amidst YouGov’s dubious hung parliament prediction last week though, we never doubted that the Tories would increase their majority- and inevitably Corbyn’s mask slipped in the final leaders’ debate.”



He added: “Mrs May’s willingness to amend the Human Rights Act to stamp out terror is sure to get strong public backing at the polls.”

A separate projection by Tory Lord Ashcroft estimated a total of 357 Tory seats – a majority of 64 – and also predicted the SNP’s Moray seat – held by Westminster leader Angus Robertson – had a 57 per cent chance of toppling to the Tories.


The Lib Dems are shedding voters to both major parties with two fifths saying they would vote either Tory or Labour

ICM, ComRes, YouGov, Panelbase, Kantar, Survation will all publish their estimates ahead of today’s vote.

In 2015 the opinion polls got the result drastically wrong with a staggering 92 polls failing to predict a Tory majority.

Experts were forced to launch a probe and make future recommendations into research techniques.

If the ComRes figures are replicated it would give Theresa May a 74 seat majority - the biggest Tory landslide since the days of Margaret Thatcher.


The ComRes figures would give Theresa May the biggest majority since Margaret Thatcher

It came as PanelBase issued their final election poll putting the Tories ahead of Labour by eight points.

CON 44 (NC)
LAB 36 (NC)
LD 7 (NC)
UKIP 5 (NC)
GRN 2 (-1)


Pollsters Kantar - who surveyed voters before and after last weekend's terror attack - predicted only a five point lead for Theresa May.

The expressed voting intentions in their poll suggested a 43% vote share for the Conservatives, 38% for Labour, 7% for the Liberal Democrats and 4% each for UKIP and the SNP.

The Tory lead over Labour has shrunk from 10 percentage points in their last poll to 5 percentage points in this one - and from 22 percentage points since the election was first called.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/37494...s-predict-a-conservative-majority-in-the-80s/
 
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Curious Cdn

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Notice that people keep going into those polling stations but nobody is coming out.

Some 21st century Sweeny Todd? ...
 

Cliffy

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Haven't they figured it out yet. It must be past midnight on that rain drenched island. I hope Corbin takes it just so we can watch a Blackhead meltdown.
 

Tecumsehsbones

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Exit polling is saying the Tories lost the majority, and can't make it up even with DUP and the PCs.

Poor Blackshirt. His beloved BNP-Lite is dead as four o'clock.
 

Curious Cdn

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Exit polling is saying the Tories lost the majority, and can't make it up even with DUP and the PCs.

Poor Blackshirt. His beloved BNP-Lite is dead as four o'clock.

They will try to form a minority government, die on the first vote in the House and the Brits will go back to the polls, again.

... or just dissolve Parliament for good and put ole Jug Ears, the Prince of Wales in charge.

"Off with his hat!"