UK goes to polls for crucial winter election

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - DECEMBER 12: Some 49 million voters are set to cast their votes on Thursday in what could be described as one of the most crucial polls in a generation. The election called by the Conservative government in September will be the third parliamentary election in four years and the fourth poll in the same period of time if the 2016 EU referendum is counted. The polls opened at 7 a.m. local time (0700GMT) and will close at 10 p.m. (2200GMT). Exit polls can be expected as soon as the polling ends, but the final result could be declared as late as Friday evening. The number of candidates who will compete for the House of Commons seats in 650 constituencies is 3,222. The poll is the second election called by a Tory premier to secure a working majority in parliament. The first such election, called by then-Prime Minister Theresa May to get a larger majority, cost her the party’s working majority in the House, forcing her to resort to a deal with Northern Ireland’s biggest party, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). To form a government, 326 seats in the parliament are needed. The latest opinion polls suggest the Conservatives would win 339 seats with 43% of the votes, but those who think a new hung parliament will succeed the previous one say past polls did not accurately reflect voting tendencies. There are more than 3 million newly registered voters who will go to the polls today. Two-thirds of those are under 35, and one-third are under 25. Younger voters are expected to make an impact on the election outcome. The main threat for the Conservative Party is rising Labour Party votes. Party leader Jeremy Corbyn increased Labour's vote share more than any of the party's leaders since 1945 based on data from the 2017 election. However, opinion polls ahead of Thursday put him at 34% support.(Footage by Tayfun Salci/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)