Britons have just hours left on Thursday to vote in the general election, a vote that promises to be historic, with the return of the centre-left Labour Party to Downing Street after 14 years of Conservative rule, and a stinging defeat for the latter.
Estimates are expected as soon as polls close at 10 p.m. (9 p.m. GMT). But results will be available several hours later, constituency by constituency, until early in the morning.
The polls predicted a landslide victory for Labour under Keir Starmer, perhaps even greater than Tony Blair’s in 1997. However, the election did not generate much enthusiasm, far from the euphoria that marked the beginning of the Blair years.
After five Conservative prime ministers, Brexit, austerity, the purchasing power crisis, and the deterioration of the public health system, the British intend to show their discontent at the ballot box and turn the page on the Conservatives.
The Tories had only one ambition in the final days of the campaign: to limit the extent of the defeat.
“You have four hours to prevent a Labour supermajority that will result in higher taxes for the rest of your life,” Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said late Thursday.
So it is Labour’s Keir Starmer, a 61-year-old former lawyer, who is expected to be given the task of forming a government by King Charles III on Friday.
His arrival in Downing Street would be that of a moderate who has refocused his party, and promises the return of “seriousness” at the head of the country.
“If you give me your trust by voting Labour, I will change the country,” Keir Starmer, who entered politics only nine years ago, promised on Thursday.
Caution
“It’s time for a change, isn’t it?” said Peter Warren, a 43-year-old sales manager, who spoke to AFP at St Albans station on the outskirts of the British capital. “I’m hopeful but I’m not sure things are going to get that much better,” he added, reflecting the prevailing caution about the expected change.
“This is going to be a landslide victory for Labour,” said Jeffreys, who voted for the Greens. “We really need a change. It’s going to make me happier,” said the 29-year-old, who works in fashion.
Robin Moore, a 60-year-old architect, says he “doesn’t trust any party.” “They’re not good enough to lead the party.”
Some 46 million voters are called to the polls to renew the 650 seats in the House of Commons, in a single-round, single-member constituency that favors the major parties.
While the outcome of these elections seems to be clear, questions remain about the extent of the Conservatives’ defeat and the score of the anti-immigration Reform UK party of former Brexit champion Nigel Farage.
According to the latest YouGov poll, Labour would win 431 seats to the Tories’ 102 – a majority without precedent since 1832. The centrist Liberal Democrats would win 78 seats and Reform UK three, allowing Nigel Farage to enter the lower house of parliament after seven failed attempts.
Humble origins
For Rishi Sunak, 44, the third Conservative prime minister in two years, these legislative elections that he had announced in the rain at the end of May mark the end of a calamitous campaign, marked by blunders such as his decision to cut short his presence at the celebrations of the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings, or his slowness to react to suspicions of fraudulent betting in his camp.
Opposite, Keir Starmer highlighted his modest origins – mother a nurse and father a toolmaker – contrasting with his multimillionaire opponent. He promised very rigorous management of public spending, without tax increases for the majority of Britons.
He is counting on restored stability, state intervention and investment in infrastructure to revive growth and restore public services.
He wants to be firm on migration issues and move closer to the European Union – without joining it, as the Brexit debates have fractured the United Kingdom.