Polls open in UK’s general election

British voters have started to cast their votes in the 2017 snap general election, following a fierce campaign that saw the ruling Conservative Party lose support to Labour, the main opposition.

According to Press TV, more than 40,000 polling stations across the country opened on Thursday morning and voters will have until 10 pm local time to elect the party they deem most competent to form the next government.

UK Prime Minister Theresa May, who made the surprising call for the vote in mid-April, is defending her party’s Parliament majority and has set eyes on more seats.

Labour, on the other hand, has recovered from a major disadvantage against the Tories under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership and is now hoping for a hung parliament, a scenario that some polls say is more than possible.

More than 46 million people are eligible to vote in what is the fourth major poll in the UK over the past three years, following the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, the 2015 general election, and the 2016 Brexit vote.

Some analysts have predicted a turnout of more than 70 percent given the high stakes that are at play.

Thousands of heavily armed police officers will be guarding the polling stations as terror alert remains high in the wake of the recent wave of terror attacks across the UK.

ME