Voting gets underway in the general election
1 min read
Voting is underway across the country, as the public choose their MPs for the next parliament.
The general election was called by Theresa May, who is looking for the Conservative party to improve significantly on its 331 seats won in 2015.
Labour took 232 constituencies at the last election, and has seen its share in the polls increase significantly over the course of the election campaign.
The total number of people registered is just under 47 million, according to the Electoral Commission, with Labour expected to benefit if a high proportion of young people come out to vote. Overall turnout in 2015 was 66.4%.
The SNP is attempting to replicate its success at the last general election, when it won 56 of 59 seats north of the border.
The Liberal Democrats had eight MPs at the start of the last parliament, while the Greens and Ukip had one each.
Polling stations opened at 7am and will close at 10pm.
Counting then gets underway through the night, with some seats expected to declare before midnight before the bulk of announcements through the early hours of Friday morning.
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