Election in the UK nears close with Britons voting in last few minutes of polls.

UK Elections 2024 has boiled down to a close fight between the incumbent Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and the Labour Party's Keir Starmer. However, there are some other big faces who could be influential in the UK Polls this time.

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The UK financial sector is warming to Labour's pro-business overtures and pledges to provide stability and support, but many in the City remain wary it could be targeted to prop up Britain's stretched public finances further down the line, an analytical report on Reuters read.

Under leader Keir Starmer, the Labour Party - expected to win the polls - has assiduously courted the City of London, mindful that his plans for boosting economic growth will need a big dose of private capital.

In the last election in 2019, Starmer's predecessor Jeremy Corbyn set out a radical manifesto to increase public investment by raising taxes on companies and top earners, resulting in Labour's worst result since the 1930s.

"The most important change is that there has been a big shift in mindset by Labour towards the City in the past few years," William Wright, managing director of think-tank New Financial told Reuters.

"That is reflected in a strong sense of continuity in the reforms to capital markets and pensions underway," Wright said.

Labour, whose Rachel Reeves, a former economist at the Bank of England, is expected to become Britain's finance minister, has backed the Conservative government's post-Brexit 'Edinburgh Reforms' aimed at protecting the City's global competitiveness.

The party has also promised a review of the pensions and savings industry, which could help Britain's capital markets as well as boosting the financial resilience of the population.

But there is also speculation about changes to how capital gains and wealth are taxed, as well as Reeves' plans to change the way private equity is taxed, which would likely hit hard.

Michael Moore, chief executive of BVCA, a private equity industry body, said Labour was, however, showing willingness to back up its "pro-business mood music with engagement on substance".

Reeves had vowed to end a "loophole" that allows a portion of private equity earnings to be taxed as capital gains, rather than at the higher income tax rate, but last month signalled to the Financial Times that favourable tax treatment would continue in instances where fund managers put their own capital at risk.

The United Kingdom is voting in the general elections today. A resurgent Labour Party, under the leadership of Keir Starmer, is predicted to win a majority in the House of Commons after a 14-year rule of the Conservative Party, which has had three PMs in three years.

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Rishi Sunak scripted history on October 25, 2022, when he became the first Indian-origin Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Here's a look at his India connect.

The United Kingdom is voting in an intense election battle today. The ruling Conservative Party, led by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, and his rival Keir Starmer's Labour Party are locked in one of the most high-profile electoral battles. Here's a look at Sunak's rise to the top post two years ago.

The NHS, created after World War II to provide free healthcare to all, is a shadow of its former self, weakened by years of underfunding and the Covid-19 pandemic. But the institution remains beloved by Britons, and the malaise afflicting it was one of their primary concerns going into the country's general election today.

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The UK Labour Party is 99 per cent "certain" to secure more seats in Thursday's general election than when it won a landslide victory in 1997, a major new poll said on Tuesday.

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The United Kingdom will head to the polls on July 4 in a long-anticipated general election called on Wednesday by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. Here is a list of key candidates in the fray.

When either Rishi Sunak or Keir Starmer take to the stage to hail victory in the British election on Friday, they will be joined at their moment of triumph by either a man with a trash can on his head or someone dressed as "Elmo" from the Muppets.

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AI Steve is the artificial intelligence candidate representing businessman Steve Endacott.

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If Rishi Sunak's party fails to get a majority in the July 4 polls, it will draw the curtains on 14 years of the Conservative rule. Here's taking a look at the three major controversies from Sunak's term.

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London's stock market and the pound advanced versus the dollar today as Britons voted in a general election expected to be won by the centre-left and main opposition Labour party, reported news agency AFP. Eurozone stocks also pushed higher amid political maneuvering to try and block the far-right National Rally (RN) of Marine Le Pen from gaining power in France's legislative poll on Sunday. Gains were capped with Wall Street shut for the July 4 Independence Day holiday in the United States.

Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey arrived at the Surbiton Hill Methodist Church to cast his vote with his wife Emily Davey. Mr Davey made a name for himself with his attention-grabbing campaign.

Britain voted Thursday in a general election widely expected to hand the opposition Labour party a landslide win and end nearly a decade-and-a-half of Conservative rule.

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Green Party co-leader Carla Denyer voted early in the day. She was pictured heading to her polling booth in Bristol.

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar cast his vote this morning. He was seen leaving the polling station in Glasgow's Pollokshields Burgh Hall with his wife and their son.

Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn voted, posting a picture of himself outside a polling station with the message "Just voted for the independent candidate in Islington North. I heard he's alright."

Britain's opposition Labour Party leader Keir Starmer and his wife Victoria arrive to cast their votes at a polling station in London on July 4, 2024 as Britain holds a general election.

Britain's Prime Minister and Conservative Party leader Rishi Sunak arrives with his wife Akshata Murty to cast their votes at a polling station in Kirby Sigston, Northallerton, north of England.

The United Kingdom is on the brink of a significant political shift as the country votes today.

Where to watch coverage of UK Elections 2024:

Tune in to NDTV for extensive coverage, analysis and results as they come in. Don't miss out on the excitement as the UK prepares to elect its next government. Watch NDTV for all the latest updates and insights. 

The elections will also be covered by BBC, ITV, Sky News, Channel 4 and GB News. 

Britons headed to the polls Thursday in a general election widely expected to emphatically return the opposition Labour party to power and end nearly a decade-and-a-half of Conservative rule.

The country's first national ballot since Boris Johnson won a landslide for the Tories in 2019 follows Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's surprise call to hold it six months earlier than required.

His gamble looks set to backfire spectacularly, with polls throughout the six-week campaign -- and for the last two years -- pointing to a heavy defeat for his right-wing party.

The UK Conservatives hoped Rishi Sunak would stabilise the party and country when they made him leader following his predecessors' chaotic tenures. Instead, he has led them to the brink of electoral wipeout.

The party's MPs installed the 44-year-old former financier in October 2022, after Liz Truss's 49-day premiership imploded when spooked markets moved against her tax-slashing plans.

Sunak succeeded to a point in stabilising the country's economy but failed to stop bitter Tory infighting or to make a dent in the persistent polling lead held by the opposition Labour Party.

UK Elections 2024 has boiled down to a close fight between the incumbent Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and the Labour Party's Keir Starmer. However, there are some other big faces who could be influential in the UK Polls this time.

Here are the key contenders in UK Elections 2024:

1. Rishi Sunak

2. Keir Starmer

3. Nigel Farage

4. John Swinney

5. Ed Davey

6. Carla Denyer

Rishi Sunak's fate on the line as voting begins across 650 constituencies in Britain

The UK votes Thursday to decide whether Labour Party leader Keir Starmer can end 14 years of opposition and win the keys to 10 Downing Street, or whether - somehow - Prime Minister Rishi Sunak can buck the polls and claim what would be an extraordinary turnaround victory.

Pollsters say the question is less about a Labour win than the scale of it. Starmer's party has led the Conservatives by more than 20 points through the 6-week election campaign, according to Bloomberg's poll of polls. 

Every so-called MRP survey of the campaign - seen as the gold standard analysis technique - has pointed to a huge Labour majority in the House of Commons, ranging from 162 to 382 seats. All bar the lowest would see Labour win more seats under Starmer than in Tony Blair's 1997 landslide.

British voters go to the polls on Thursday in a general election to choose new members of parliament.

House of Commons

Voting is taking place for all 650 MPs in the lower chamber of parliament, each representing a constituency or seat.

First-past-the-post

Polls open at 7:00 am (0600 GMT) and close at 10:00 pm. Electors vote once for a candidate in their constituency, marking a cross on a ballot paper. 

Majority

For an overall majority, a party has to secure at least 326 seats. 

Function

MPs scrutinise and vote on proposals from the government, and can sit on parliamentary committees to study the work of the executive as a whole or specific issues.

2019

At the last general election, held on December 12, 2019, Boris Johnson's Conservatives were runaway winners with 365 seats, with Labour on 202.

Here are some of the key numbers as UK voters go to the polls Thursday in a general election predicted to see the ruling Conservatives dumped out of office after 14 years.

650 seats

The number of seats up for grabs across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. A party needs to secure 326 seats to have a majority in parliament.

4,515 candidates

The total number of candidates from 98 different political parties -- a record. Of them, 459 are independents and 30 percent are women.

46 million voters

There were over 46 million voters registered in the UK in December 2023, according to government data.

40,000 polling stations

There are around 40,000 polling stations across the country, according to Democracy Club.

15 Tory ministers under threat

At least 15 Conservative candidates who are ministers in Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's cabinet have been projected to lose their seats in YouGov polling.

13 million pounds in donations 

In the first three weeks of election campaigning, from May 30 to June 19, around 13 million pounds ($16.4 million) was donated to political parties, according to Electoral Commission data.

Seven water stunts

Ed Davey, leader of the smaller opposition Liberal Democrats, has taken part in seven campaign stunts involving water.

12 percent trust

Only 12 percent of Britons said they trusted political parties in a government survey from last year, down from 20 percent in 2022.

Britain's political leaders made a final frantic push for votes Wednesday on the last day of an election campaign expected to return a Labour government after 14 years of Conservative rule.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak insisted he was still "fighting hard" despite one of his closest allies conceding that the Tories were heading for an "extraordinary landslide" defeat on Thursday.

The Conservatives suffered a further blow at the 11th hour when The Sun tabloid, famous for backing election winners, endorsed Keir Starmer's Labour.

Polls overwhelmingly predict that Labour will win its first general election since 2005 -- making Starmer the party's first prime minister since Gordon Brown left office in 2010.

That outcome would see Britain swing leftwards back to the centre ground after almost a decade and a half of right-wing Conservative governments, dominated first by austerity, then Brexit and a cost-of-living crisis.

Starmer, 61, criss-crossed the UK in a bid to shore up Labour support and warn against complacency in the campaign's final hours.

Britain will hold a parliamentary election on July 4 which opinion polls indicate will hand power to Keir Starmer's Labour Party and end 14 years of Conservative Party-led government.

HOW IS THE WINNER DECIDED?

To win outright, one party needs to win at least 326 out of the 650 parliamentary seats. The leader of that party becomes prime minister.

Stop Labour's "supermajority" is the final message British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is trying to drive home on Wednesday, the final day of campaigning ahead of polling day on Thursday, as most of the incumbent Conservatives seem to have all but conceded defeat in the general election.

"This is what unites us. We need to stop the Labour supermajority that will put up your taxes. The only way to do that is to vote Conservative tomorrow," said 44-year-old Rishi Sunak on social media, as he focused on drumming up support in the last few hours of the campaign trail.

Here are some key issues at stake in the UK general election on Thursday:

- Will jaded voters turn out? -

The main opposition Labour party is widely predicted to win and has been determined not to take any risks, making for a lacklustre election campaign.

For the past two years, polling has suggested that Labour is 20 points ahead of the Conservatives, and no amount of campaigning has managed to shift the dial.

But if that indicates a desire for change after 14 years of Tory government, there does not appear to be much enthusiasm for Labour's plans.

When either Rishi Sunak or Keir Starmer take to the stage to hail victory in the British election on Friday, they will be joined at their moment of triumph by either a man with a trash can on his head or someone dressed as "Elmo" from the Muppets.

Among the more than 4,500 candidates standing for election to parliament's 650 seats are those from fringe parties, single-issue campaigners, and, in a peculiarly British tradition, those who are simply making fun of the whole thing.