UK general election: Polls open across the country in high-stakes vote

The general election is the first since the UK's formal exit from the European Union.

Transcript

00:00Polls have opened across the UK for what is being described as a historic general election.

00:08For months, opinion polls have centre-left Labour Party poised for victory, trumping the Conservatives' 14-year rule.

00:17The Tories have conceded Labour's apparent win, but are urging voters to not hand the party a super-majority in Parliament.

00:26Polling stations opened at 7am local time Thursday morning in 650 constituencies across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

00:37Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak voted in Yorkshire, while Labour leader Keir Starmer will cast his ballot in London.

00:45The centrist Liberal Democrats, environmentalist Green Party and Nigel Farage's Reform UK also want to sweep up disaffected voters.

00:55Voting is set to continue until 10pm when the first estimated results, based on exit polls, are expected to be published.