UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak urged voters to choose the Conservative party as polling booths opened across the country for the general election. Sharing a photo with his wife, Akshata Murty, at a polling booth, the UK PM asked voters to stop the Labour "supermajority".
"The polls are open. Vote Conservative to stop the Labour supermajority which would mean higher taxes for a generation," he said in a post on X. The photo showed the couple holding hands and walking to a polling booth.
The 44-year-old Indian-origin PM faces voter angst towards the incumbent Conservative Party which has been in power for over 14 years under five prime ministers.
Throughout the six-week campaign that followed Mr Sunak's sudden call for elections, the UK PM has trailed behind 61-year-old Keir Starmer who leads the Labour Party.
“Stop Labour's supermajority” is the central message Mr Sunak was trying to drive home as he wrapped up his campaign, even as most of the incumbent Conservatives all but conceded defeat in the general election.
“Labour will put up your taxes. Again and again and again,” he posted on social media as the catch-all message to wind up the campaign trail.
Around 40,000 polling booths opened across the country at 7am local time as an estimated 46 million registered voters began turning out to mark a cross next to their chosen candidate on a paper ballot.
Once the votes are cast and the booths officially close at 10 pm local time, the focus shifts to the definitive exit poll soon after which gives a fair snapshot of what can be expected UK-wide. Counting commences up and down the country right away, with the first results expected just before midnight local time.
