Labour is optimistic and the Conservatives are gloomy before voters deliver their verdict on UK election day

LONDON (AP) — British voters chose a new government Thursday in a parliamentary elections widely expected to carry Labour to power amid bleak outlook economic malaisegrowing distrust of institutions and a crumbling social fabric.

A Jaded electorate gives its verdict on Prime Minister Rishi Sunaks Conservative Party, in power since 2010. Polls open in 40,000 stationsincluding churches, a laundry and a crematorium.

“Nothing has gone right in the last 14 years,” said James Erskine, a London voter who is optimistic about change. “I just see in this change the potential for radical change, and that’s what I hope for.”

While Labour's steady and significant lead in the polls appears to run counter to recent electoral shifts to the right in Europe, notably in France and Italy, many of the same populist undercurrents are found in Britain. Nigel Farage disrupted the race with his party's anti-migrant “take back our country” sentiment and undermined support for the Conservatives, who were already facing bleak prospects.

Hundreds of communities have been locked in close contests in which traditional partisan loyalties take second place to more immediate concerns about the economy, Ruined infrastructure and the National Health Service.

In Henley-on-Thames, about 40 miles west of London, voters like retired Patricia Mulcahy sensed the nation was looking for something different. The community, which usually votes Conservative, could change course this time.

The younger generation is much more interested in change, Mulcahy said. So I think whatever happens in Henley, in the country, there will be a big change. But whoever gets elected will have a hell of a job ahead of them. It won't be easy.

Britain has endured a turbulent series of years, partly the fault of the Conservatives themselves and partly not, that have left many voters pessimistic about the future of their country. The UK’s exit from the European Union, followed by the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, have battered the economy, while parties without confinement The statements of the then Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his team provoked widespread anger.

Johnson's successor, Liz Truss, further dented the economy with a package of drastic tax cuts and lasted just 49 days in power. Rising poverty and cuts to public services prompted criticism of a “broken Britain”.

The first part of the day was sunny in much of the country, a favourable time to encourage people to go to the polls.

Within the first hour of polling stations opening, Sunak made the short journey from his home to cast his ballot at Kirby Sigston village hall in his constituency of Richmond in northern England. He arrived with his wife, Akshata Murty, and walked hand-in-hand into the village hall, surrounded by rolling fields.

The centre-left Labour Party led by Keir Starmer The country has enjoyed a steady and significant lead in polls for months, but its leaders have warned against taking the election result for granted, fearing their supporters will stay home.

“Change. Today you can vote for it,” he wrote on social media platform X on Thursday.

Hours after posting that message, Starmer walked hand-in-hand with his wife, Victoria, to a polling station in London’s Kentish Town neighborhood to cast his vote. He exited through a back door, out of sight of a crowd of residents and journalists who had gathered.

Labour has failed to generate much enthusiasm with its promises to revive a sluggish economy, invest in infrastructure and make Britain a clean energy superpower.

But Starmer's campaign has not gone badly either. The party has won the support of much of the business community and backers of traditionally conservative newspapers, including the Rupert Murdoch-owned Sun tabloid, which has praised Starmer for bringing his party back to the centre of British politics.

The Conservatives have acknowledged that Labour appears to be heading for victory.

In a message to voters on Wednesday, Sunak said that if the polls were true, the country could wake up tomorrow to a Labour supermajority ready to wield its power unchecked. He urged voters to back the Conservatives to limit Labour’s power.

Former Labour candidate Douglas Beattie, author of the book How Labour Wins (and Why It Loses), said Starmer's quiet stability probably fits the current mood of the country.

The Conservatives, meanwhile, have been plagued by gaffes. The campaign got off to an inauspicious start when Sunak was soaked by rain on his way to the airport. made the announcement outside 10 Downing St. Then Sunak I came home early commemorations in France marking the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings.

Several Conservatives close to Sunak are under investigation on suspicion of using inside information to place bets on the date of the election before it is announced.

Sunak has struggled to shake off the political chaos and mismanagement that has built up around the Conservatives.

But for many voters, the lack of confidence This idea applies not only to the ruling party, but to all politicians in general. Farage has jumped into this breach.

The centrist Liberal Democrats and environmentalist Green Party They also want to attract disaffected voters.

“I don’t know who’s for me as a worker,” said Michelle Bird, a port worker in Southampton on England’s south coast who has not yet decided whether to vote Labour or Conservative. “I don’t know if it’s the devil you know or the devil you don’t know.”

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