British leaders vote on an election day without incident and with the Labour Party as favourites
Britain’s two main political leaders, Keir Starmer of the Labour Party and the Conservative Rishi Sunak, have already voted in the general election being held in Britain on a calm, somewhat sunny day. Some 46 million Britons are being called to vote on the composition of the 650-seat House of Commons (lower) by the single-member majority system, on a polling day that began at 7am (Peninsula time) and will last until 10pm.
The first to vote was British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who headed to his polling station in Northallerton, northern England, with his wife Akshata Murty shortly after the polls opened. The Conservative leader greeted journalists waiting for him at the Kirby Sigston centre in Northallerton, a town in the county of North Yorkshire where he hopes to be re-elected as an MP is located.
Nearly two hours later, Starmer, the favourite to win the election, did just that, appearing with his wife Victoria at his polling station in his Holborn & St Pancras constituency in London. The couple were photographed by the media as they arrived, smiling and holding hands.
The vote passed without incident, with many Britons choosing to cast their votes early in the morning before heading to work, as it is not a public holiday in the country. For the first time in a British general election, voters will be required to attend schools with some form of photo ID, which in the case of pensioners can be a passport, driving licence or transport card.
Polls show Starmer's Labour Party favourites to win this election, potentially ending 14 years of Conservative governments. The polls do not predict a the Parliament hanged (Hung Parliament, when no party gets a majority), so there will be no need to resort to a coalition. (Efe)