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Here are some key issues in the UK general election on July 4:
The campaign has been largely dull, with the opposition Labour Party, widely expected to win, determined to take no risks.
Opinion polls indicate that Britons are yearning for a change of government after 14 years of Conservative rule, but are still unconvinced by Labor's plans.
Indeed, Labor has repeatedly warned that it does not have a “magic wand” to change the country.
Apathy extends to both leaders, with 72 percent having an unfavorable view of Conservative leader Rishi Sunak and 51 percent of Labor's Keir Starmer, according to a YouGov poll this month.
That raises the question of whether voters will turn out in large numbers, energized by the promise of change, or stay home, jaded by years of chaos and with little love for party leaders.
Labor figures have made no secret of their concerns about voter apathy, with dozens of seats hotly contested and up for grabs.
The turnout rate (67.3% in 2019) will provide an indicator of voters' distrust of their political class and will constitute a challenge for the next government.
In an unexpected addition to the campaign, Nigel Farage – the Brexit figurehead who has now become the voice of far-right and anti-immigration views – has entered the race to lead Reform UK.
Despite a sharp rise in polls, the United Kingdom's first-past-the-post system makes an outright victory for the 60-year-old former European parliamentarian and his party unlikely.
If he succeeds in his eighth attempt to secure a seat in parliament as MP for Clacton-on-Sea in eastern England, Farage – an ally of Donald Trump – will have even more visibility.
If he fails, his Reform Party, which currently garners around 19 percent of the vote, will still play a decisive role in the race between the Conservatives and Labor in several constituencies.
Several polls suggest that the party of Winston Churchill, Margaret Thatcher and Boris Johnson will win fewer seats than the 141 seats obtained in 1906, which would be the worst result since its creation in 1834.
British media are already speculating about Rishi Sunak's successor as leader of the fragmented party.
It remains to be seen how many big names will save their seats and what direction the centrist party can take under David Cameron (2010-2015) then to the right.
If the Reformers succeed, some conservatives would not oppose an alliance.
Nothing seems to be going well for the Scottish National Party (SNP), which has dominated the country's politics for 15 years.
The surprise resignation of charismatic Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon in 2023 has destabilized the party. His successor Humza Yousaf only lasted a year.
The left party is still the target of an investigation into its finances in which Sturgeon's husband was implicated and does not have a viable strategy to achieve independence, a fight reignited by Brexit but blocked by London.
Prime Minister John Swinney has insisted that a victory in the majority of the UK's 59 Scottish parliamentary constituencies would give him the green light to launch fresh negotiations on a new referendum with the new government in London.
The SNP currently holds 43 seats. But Labor appears determined to use its national momentum to reassert its dominance in Scotland. July 4 promises to be the first electoral test for the independence movement.
Sliding down a water slide, falling off a paddleboard, roasting marshmallows or building sandcastles, centrist Ed Davey led an offbeat campaign for this election.
His stunts and policies are aimed at carving out a niche for his Liberal Democrat party as Sunak and Starmer battle it out, Farage returns and Labor returns to the
The Liberal Democrats' rise to around 12% in the polls and their strong presence in the south of England could bring them up to 67 seats, according to a YouGov poll, up from 11 in 2019.
Such a victory would be comparable to the party's breakthrough in 2010, when it governed with the Conservatives, and would strengthen its pro-European and climate-focused policies.
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