POLLS OPEN ACROSS UK AS MILLIONS PREPARE TO VOTE IN GENERAL ELECTION

• The Prime Minister has urged disaffected Tory voters to stop Keir Starmer 
• Rishi Sunak has warned Starmer's unchecked power will have 'lasting' effects 

Polls have opened across the UK in today's general election after Rishi Sunak made an 11th-hour plea for voters to prevent a 'socialist supermajority' wrecking Britain.

From 7am until 10pm, millions of Britons will head to polling stations to cast their vote in the first Westminster contest since 2019.

A series of opinion polls in the run-up to today have shown Labour on course for a huge landslide win.

But the Prime Minister, who called the general election six weeks ago, has warned voters against handing Sir Keir Starmer unchecked power.

The Tory leader continued his campaigning against a Labour 'supermajority' with a series of overnight social media posts right up until polls opening this morning.

Writing in the Daily Mail, Mr Sunak urged disaffected Tory voters considering staying at home today or voting for Reform UK to lend their votes to the Conservatives again to stop Sir Keir.

Mr Sunak acknowledged that people are 'frustrated with me, with our party' after a tough period in which Britain has been hit by Covid and the fallout from Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

But he warned that todays' election will have 'lasting consequences' if it produces a landslide which would embolden Labour to raise taxes 'even further'.

'I need your vote to defend our vision of Britain: to back lower taxes, controlled borders and a secure future for our country,' the PM wrote.

'Join with us and we can make a difference and stop the socialist supermajority.'

Polls suggest that up to half the voters who backed the Conservatives in 2019 could desert them today, with some backing Reform, some staying at home and others even backing the Lib Dems or Labour.

Mr Sunak pointed to analysis suggesting that as few as 130,000 voters in key seats could change the course of the election, and said that a 'huge number of seats in this election will be decided by a few hundred votes'.

In his final campaign speech last night, Mr Sunak said his experience as a Southampton football fan had taught him 'that the game isn't over until the final whistle goes and that there's fight in the underdog'. 

It came as: 

• A series of mega-polls predicted a Labour landslide, but said that with dozens of seats too close to call, a Tory wipeout could still be averted if supporters turn out;
• A Labour adviser on the economy warned changes to inheritance tax would be 'on the agenda' and said pensioners 'should be taxed at least as hard as those people who are of working age';
• Sir Keir said he was 'taking nothing for granted' before later changing his tune to declare he was 'ready for government' and vowed to 'hit the ground running';
• He added that there were 'no circumstances' in which the UK would join the EU's single market or customs union in his lifetime;
• Labour's former deputy leader Harriet Harman was reported to be in the running to take over the equalities watchdog, causing concern among women's groups.

Mr Sunak hit the campaign trail in Hampshire at 2pm yesterday, kicking off with a visit to Braishfield Primary School, where Caroline Nokes is the Tory candidate in Romsey and Southampton North.

The two leaders have focused their campaigns on very different seats – with Labour targeting ambitious areas which were once considered safe for the Tories.

The Prime Minister has generally stuck to Conservative heartlands – aiming to mitigate the damage on polling day, rather than striving to secure new ground.

Analysis suggests 45 out of 54 seats visited by Mr Sunak are Conservative defences, including nine where his party has a notional majority of more than 20,000.

Ahead of his final speech of the campaign, the PM warned Labour could end up in power for '20 years' if it wins a supermajority.

Before appearing at Romsey Rugby Football Club near Southampton, he told the public: 'If you vote for anyone other than the Conservatives, you could find yourself with a Labour government not just for five years, but for ten, 15, 20 years.

'Four years ago, Keir Starmer ran for Labour leader promising to raise income tax on the top 5 per cent of earners, to abolish universal credit, to scrap tuition fees, to nationalise the utility companies, and to defend free movement.

'Starmer now says he has changed his mind on all these things. But how can you trust someone who changes their mind on so many issues? How do you know that, if it was politically expedient, he wouldn't just change his mind again on all of these questions?'

Mr Sunak added: 'His constant U-turns show two things: that he was wrong before. And that he hasn't even the courage of his own past lack of convictions.'

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2024-07-04T06:26:51Z dg43tfdfdgfd