Keir Starmer, Rishi Sunak and Ed Davey have cast their ballots as voters across the UK head to the polls in a general election that is expected to deliver the first Labour government in 14 years.
The Labour leader and his wife, Victoria, appeared to have a spring in their step, smiling, as they made the short journey on foot from their home to vote in the Holborn and St Pancras constituency.
The prime minister, who has been urged to stay on as Tory leader irrespective of how badly the Conservatives lose at the election, was also joined by his wife, Akshata Murty, arriving at their Richmond polling station in a Range Rover.
The Liberal Democrat leader waved to cameras as he voted in Surbiton with his wife, Emily, saying “good morning everybody” to the media gathered outside.
It comes as polling stations in 650 constituencies across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland opened at 7am , counting will begin immediately afterwards, and results announced in the early hours of Friday morning.
Writing on X as the polls opened, Starmer, said: “Change. Today, you can vote for it.” Sunak posted a series of messages on the same site that urged voters to “stop the Labour supermajority”, which he claimed “would mean higher taxes for a generation”.
The Lib Dems tweeted: “This election is our chance to win the change our country desperately needs.” The SNP tweeted: “VoteSNP to deliver independence, rejoin the EU, scrap the two-child benefit cap, invest in the just transition, protect free tuition.”
The contest closes six weeks of campaigning after a five-year period in which the UK has had three Conservative prime ministers.
