Britain is gearing up to vote on Thursday morning in a snap election to elect its new Parliament and Prime Minister, with national security being the top of the agenda after a series of deadly terror attacks in the country.
According to the latest opinion polls, the two strong contenders of this elections are Conservative leader PM Theresa May and Labour Party's leader, Jeremy Corbyn.
Nearly 46.9 million people in the United Kingdom are registered to vote for the elections, and a total of 650 Westminster Members of Parliament are set to be elected in the polls.
5:00 PM IST: As per the tradition, voters arrive at polling booths with their pets.
4:00 PM IST: Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn also appealed to the British voters to to vote for his party in a tweet.
If you’re young a vote for @UKLabour today could literally transform your life and save you a lot of money! Let's end tuition fees together. pic.twitter.com/LpeT5fyyXt
— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) June 8, 2017
3:30 PM IST: Tim Farron, leader of Britain's Liberal Democrat Party, arrives at a polling station in Kendal, Britain.
3:00 PM IST: The leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) Paul Nuttall arrives to vote at a polling station in Congleton, Britain.
2:30 PM IST: Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn voted at a polling station in Islington, London at noon.
2:00 PM IST: UK election: How did Britain get to a second general elections in two years? Here's an explainer:
The second general election in two years, the fourth major vote in three years but how did it all start?
1:30 PM IST:
1:15 PM IST: UK PM Theresa May and her husband Philip voted at a polling station in Sonning, Britain.
12:45 PM IST: British Prime Minister Theresa May tweeted on Thursday morning urging British voters to vote for her.
If you believe in Britain and that our best days lie ahead, give me your backing to lead Britain: https://t.co/UMLhONax0d
— Theresa May (@theresa_may) June 8, 2017
12:30 PM IST: Nicola Sturgeon, First Minister of Scotland, and candidate of the Scottish National Party (SNP) voted in Glasgow, Britain on Thursday morning.
12:00 PM IST: Polling stations, located in schools and community centres, opened at 7:00am (0600 GMT) and will close at 10:00pm. The final results of the polls will not be out until early Friday.
11: 30 AM IST: Voting begins in Britain as voters flock to various polling stations across the country to vote for their candidate.
11:20 AM IST: A polling station sign is seen in London, Britain.
11:10 AM IST: Here's all you need to know about the UK general elections in this graphic:
The UK elections explained: https://t.co/1Qp9guZ8Ib pic.twitter.com/u46I2esAoW
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) June 7, 2017
10:55 AM IST: With the polling to begin shortly, read about the four main issues in the general elections which will determine the poll results:
UK general election 2017: 4 issues that will determine the result
Prime Minister Theresa May took a big gamble a few months ago by announcing a snap election on June 8 to fathom the waters of popularity against her adversaries to settle the Brexit question once for all. Read more here.
10: 35 AM IST: Exit polls suggest a Tories win with Theresa May getting majority of votes. The final pre-poll conducted by Cmores for the Independent gave the Conservatives a 10-point lead over Corbyn's Labour party.
The poll stated that Conservatives stand at 44 percent, Labour at 34 percent, the Liberal Democrats at 9 percent, far-right UKIP at 5 percent, the Scottish National Party (SNP) at 4 percent and the Green Party at 2 percent.
It takes a total of 326 seats officially to clinch an overall majority in the House of Commons.
Former Prime Minister David Cameron-led Conservatives had won 331 seats in total, giving the Tories a significant majority in the House.
