Labour on course to win General Election with landslide victory

Labour looked to be on course to win the General Election, with the party likely to secure a massive majority which will see them form a new government.

Exit polls released after polls closed at 10pm suggested Sir Keir Starmer was on course to become the country's new prime minister, winning 410 seats and enjoying a 170 majority.

The nation went to the polls (Image: Denise Bradley)

It looked like being a disastrous night for the Conservative party, with some polls predicting they could even suffer a wipeout of their MPs in Norfolk and Waveney.

The exit poll suggested the Tories would lose 241 seats, winning in just 131 constituencies. It would be the lowest number of Conservative MPs on record.

The exit poll also forecasts the Liberal Democrats on 61 seats, Reform UK on 13 and The Green Party on two.

Former prime minister Liz Truss was among the big names battling to hold on to their seats, with the South West Norfolk result due to be one of he last to be declared.

Liz Truss

That was one of nine Norfolk constituencies where elections were taking place - Broadland and Fakenham, Great Yarmouth, Mid Norfolk, North Norfolk, North West Norfolk, South Norfolk, South West Norfolk, Norwich North and Norwich South.

Voters also headed to the polls in Lowestoft and in the new cross-border Waveney Valley constituency,  which takes in parts of Norfolk such as Diss and Bunwell and areas of Suffolk, such as Bungay and Eye.

The exit poll in each of the past few elections has produced a very accurate projection of the actual result.

These take place at polling stations across the country, with tens of thousands of people asked to privately fill in a replica ballot as they leave, to get an indication of how they voted.

Polling stations across the UK opened at 7am, giving millions of voters the chance to decide if the Tory incumbent Rishi Sunak remains in the top job or the Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer enters Downing Street.

Mr Sunak, who had insisted the results are not a foregone conclusion despite dire poll ratings for his party, voted in his Richmond constituency.

Rishi Sunak (Image: Press Association)

On X, the prime minister had urged voters to “stop the Labour supermajority”.

Sir Keir was also joined by his wife, Victoria, as he visited a polling station in his Holborn and St Pancras constituency.

Sir Keir Starmer and his wife Victoria heading to vote (Image: Press Association)

The Labour leader told his final rally in Redditch, Worcestershire, on Wednesday night to "imagine a Britain moving forward together with a Labour government".

He added: “That’s what we are fighting for, let’s continue that fight.

“If you want change, you have to vote for it.”

As the bookies’ favourite to be the next prime minister, Sir Keir said he was pleased with Labour’s campaign and his party was “ready for what comes next”.

A victory for Sir Keir will see Labour return to power for the first time in 14 years.

Other party leaders have also cast their votes, with Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey and his wife Emily visiting a polling station in Surbiton.

Carla Denyer, co-leader of the Green Party, walked with supporters to a Bristol polling station to vote.

People across Norfolk and Waveney went to polling stations (Image: Denise Bradley)

It was the first General Election where voters had to show photographic ID before they received their ballot paper following a law change in 2022.

An average of all polls completed during the seven days to July 3 put Labour on 39pc, the party’s lowest rating since the campaign began, 18 points ahead of the Conservatives on 21pc, followed by Reform on 16pc, the Lib Dems on 11pc and the Greens on 6pc.