UK election ends with 4,500 candidates vying for 650 seats

LONDON: The voting for the United Kingdom’s (UK) House of Commons election has concluded, with 4,500 candidates vying for 650 seats.

England holds 533 seats, Scotland 59, Wales 40, and Northern Ireland 18.

The 2024 United Kingdom election marks the first time in Britain that identification was mandatory for voting. Over 40,000 polling stations were established nationwide to facilitate voting.

Read more: UK election brings few hopes or fears to cautious voters

The Conservative Party, Labour Party, Liberal Democrats, and Scottish National Party are among the contenders in the closely watched electoral contest.

Polling stations in the UK were open from 7:00 am to 10:00 pm local time. Voters marked a cross on a ballot paper to choose their desired representative.

Political leaders, including Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Labour leader Keir Starmer, campaigned vigorously ahead of what could end 14 years of Conservative rule.

According to exit polls, the Labour Party is projected to secure 410 seats. There are projections that the left-leaning party might possibly surpass its own record of 418 seats under Tony Blair in 1997.

The election this year used a first-past-the-post system; the party that would win at least 326 seats would be able to form the government without coalitions.

The 2024 UK election determined candidates after significant constituency boundary changes for the first time since the 2010 general election.

Throughout the election campaign, discussions focused on the potential for a change in government. Head of Labour Party Keir Starmer consistently led in opinion polling over Rishi Sunak’s Conservative Party.

Media comparisons likened the current UK election to the 1993 Canadian federal election. Many expect a complete Conservative Party wipeout.

Read more: UK election: Nigel Farage determined to trouble Labour Party

Leading up to the election, opinion polls indicated Labour in the lead, followed by the Conservative Party and Ed Davey’s Liberal Democrats. Nigel Farage’s Reform UK (UKIP), John Swinney’s Scottish National Party, and Gavin Robinson’s Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) also contested the election. Each candidate strove to influence outcomes in their respective constituencies.