Polls open in 'most important general election in a generation'

Long queues have been reported outside a number of UK polling stations as initial turnout in the general election appeared strong following a closely fought campaign billed by both main parties as the “most important in a generation”.

Voters in some London constituencies tweeted photos of lines of voters, with some saying they had not previously faced such a long wait to make their choice. Similar scenes were reported elsewhere, including in Cambridge and Manchester.

Boris Johnson was the first of the main party leaders to cast his vote, arriving at Methodist Central Hall in Westminster with his dog, Dilyn, at about 8.15am to make his choice in the UK’s third general election in less than five years.

Prime ministers usually vote for themselves in the constituency they represent, but Johnson opted to cast his vote in the seat containing Downing Street rather than in his own Uxbridge and South Ruislip constituency in west London.

Jeremy Corbyn cast his vote later in his north London constituency. He was greeted by a small number of supporters as well as a protester dressed as the Sesame Street character Elmo, who was restrained by security guards as she tried to approach the Labour leader.

Jo Swinson, the Liberal Democrat leader, cast her vote at a primary school in Bearsden in her constituency of East Dunbartonshire. The Scottish National party leader, Nicola Sturgeon, voted at Broomhouse Park Community Hall in Glasgow.

The initial queues will prompt speculation about a big turnout after a six-week campaign dominated by Brexit, the NHS, claims of bias and accusations that the prime minister was ducking media scrutiny.

Emily Waterhouse, a solicitor, said she waited an hour to vote in the east London constituency of Bethnal Green and Bow, and when she left at 9.15am there were about 150 people in the queue.

There have been trials of voter ID in local elections and the Conservatives have stated that they want to bring in some form of UK-wide ID requirement for voting in the future, but for this election there is no change to the current system.

You do not need to show ID to vote in England, Scotland and Wales in a general election. You don’t even need to bring your polling card. You just need to tell polling staff your name and address. They will then cross your name off the list and give you a ballot paper.

If you’re voting in Northern Ireland, you must show photo ID.

Only the following forms of ID will be accepted at polling stations in Northern Ireland:

• A UK, Irish or EEA driving licence (photographic part) (provisional accepted).

• A UK or Irish passport.

• An Electoral Identity Card.

• A Translink Senior SmartPass.

• A Translink 60+ SmartPass.

• A Translink War Disabled SmartPass.

• A Translink Blind Person’s SmartPass.

Your photographic identification does not need to be current, so even if it is out of date you can still use it to vote. The presiding officer will have the final say over whether or not the photograph matches that of the person intending to vote. Find out more about voting in Northern Ireland.

Martin Belam

Alixe Bovey, a voter in Streatham, south London, tweeted that she had queued for 35 minutes. “In 20 years of voting in Streatham Hill, always at about this time of day, I have never encountered a queue of more than six or seven people,” she said.

Voters in two London seats reported similar experiences. “I’ve voted at the same station and time for eight years, but have never had to queue before,” Craig Fordham, 45, from Putney, told PA Media. He said he had to wait for 15 minutes.

Long queues were reported in Manchester Central, a usually safe Labour seat being defended by Lucy Powell. And Twitter users posted pictures of long lines in Cambridge, where Labour’s Daniel Zeichner is defending a 12,661 majority.

The Electoral Commission has advised that polling stations can become particularly busy towards the end of the day. However, voters in a queue at a polling station before the closing time of 10pm will be entitled to a ballot paper.

As soon as voting closes at 10pm, the results of exit polls carried out by Ipsos Mori for BBC News, ITV News and Sky News will be announced.

The exit poll is derived from voters at 144 stations being asked to fill in a mock ballot paper as they leave, disclosing how they have voted.

In the last general election, in 2017, the exit poll correctly predicted a hung parliament, while in 2015 it was more accurate than the opinion polls during the campaign but did not predict the Conservative majority that emerged.

The first official results are announced about an hour after the close of the polls. Out of 650 UK constituencies, Houghton and Sunderland South holds the record for being the quickest to return a result after declaring at 10.48pm in 2015.

The rest of the results are declared throughout the night. The majority of counts will be completed by 6am on Friday. If a party wins in 326 constituencies, it will have gained a majority.