Rishi Sunak has named Craig Mackinlay and Theresa May in the dissolution honours list, published less than an hour before the polls closed.
A list of seven new Conservative peers, including the first “bionic MP” and the former prime minister, appeared on the Government website after 9pm on July 4.
The dissolution honours list allows parties to nominate MPs who are standing down and leaving the House of Commons at the end of a parliament to enter the House of Lords.
Eight new Labour peerages were also awarded, as well as one for the Liberal Democrats and one for the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).
Dr Hilary Cass, who authored the Cass review into NHS gender services for children and young people, was also made a crossbench peer.
Oliver Dowden, the deputy prime minister and Julian Smith, the former chief whip, Ben Wallace, the former defence secretary, and Alister Jack, the Scotland Secretary, have been nominated for knighthoods. Thérèse Coffey, the former deputy prime minister, has been made a dame.
The Prime Minister also included Sir Graham Brady, the former chairman of the 1922 Committee of backbench Tory MPs and Liam Booth-Smith, who had been Mr Sunak’s chief of staff in Downing Street, in his list.
Dame Eleanor Laing, the former deputy speaker, and Sir Alok Sharma, the ex-Cop26 president and Cabinet minister, have also been made peers.
Among Sir Keir Starmer’s nominations for peerages are Dame Margaret Beckett, Harriet Harman, Margaret Hodge and Kevan Jones.
Mr Jones played a prominent role in campaigning for justice for sub-postmasters caught up in the Post Office Horizon scandal.
Mrs May, who was the first prime minister in more than 60 years to choose not to publish a dissolution honours list in 2017, has now been given a seat in the House of Lords.
Mr Mackinlay made an emotional return to the Comons in May following months in hospital, and used his first speech to raise awareness of sepsis and to ask for better provision of prosthetics for amputees.
He announced he would not stand again at the general election days afterwards, explaining it would be “impossible” to seek re-election while continuing his rehabilitation.
Dr Cass’s report into the support and treatment offered to children who believe they are transgender was welcomed widely, with Mr Sunak saying that the Government had already acted swiftly on her previous call to stop routine use of puberty blockers for under-16s.
He said: “We will continue to ensure we take the right steps to protect young people. The wellbeing and health of children must come first.”
The Liberal Democrats nominated Caroline Pidgeon, former leader on the London Assembly, who said it was a “huge honour” and that she looked forward to working to “champion liberal values, mend our broken political system and hold the government to account”.
09:24 PM BST
That’s all for today
This live blog is now closed.
But you can follow our exit poll live blog here to keep track of all the election results as they come in.
09:23 PM BST
Full list of peerage nominees
Nominations by Rishi Sunak:
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Sir Graham Brady
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Chris Grayling
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Dame Eleanor Laing
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Craig Mackinlay
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Theresa May
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Sir Alok Sharma
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Liam Booth-Smith
Nominations by Sir Keir Starmer:
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Dame Margaret Beckett
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John Cryer
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Harriet Harman
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Dame Margaret Hodge
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Kevan Jones
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Barbara Keeley
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John Spellar
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Dame Rosie Winterton
Nominations by the Liberal Democrats:
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Caroline Pidgeon
Nominations by the Ulster Unionist Party:
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Thomas Elliott
Nominations for crossbench peerages:
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Minette Batters
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Dr Hilary Cass
09:14 PM BST
Rishi Sunak announces dissolution honours an hour before polls close
Rishi Sunak’s Government has announced dissolution honours an hour before polls close.
The bionic MP Craig Mackinlay was nominated for a peerage alongside Theresa May and Dr Hilary Cass.
The former MP for South Thanet was put forward by Rishi Sunak along with the former Prime Minister and the author of the Cass review into NHS transgender care.
Others nominated by the Prime Minister include Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the backbench 1922 Committee, Sir Alok Sharma, the former energy secretary, and Dame Eleanor Laing, the ex-deputy speaker of the Commons.
Sir Keir Starmer put forward a total of eight nominees, including Dame Margaret Beckett and Harriet Harman, both of whom are former deputy leaders of the Labour Party.
09:08 PM BST
The big beast battle for East Belfast
DUP leader Gavin Robinson is facing a fierce fight to keep hold of his East Belfast seat, reports Europe Editor James Crisp in Belfast.
Mr Robinson, 39, first took the seat in 2015, ousting Ms Long, the region’s justice minister whose party is the third largest behind Sinn Fein and the DUP.
He also defeated Ms Long, 52, in the 2017 and 2019 elections and is defending a 1,819 majority from the last campaign.
But Sinn Fein is not fielding a candidate in East Belfast, where 1,600 voters usually support the nationalist party. That and boundary changes could play to Ms Long’s advantage.
If Mr Robinson does lose his seat, the DUP are expected to crowbar him into the Northern Ireland Assembly by asking one of its MLAs to stand down.
09:00 PM BST
One hour to go until exit poll
Our election results live blog is now up and running ahead of the exit poll in just one hour’s time.
We will be bringing you all the information you need to keep track of the results live as they come in.
You can follow the live blog here.
08:51 PM BST
Donaldson’s shadow looms over Northern Ireland’s election
The shadow of Sir Jeffrey Donaldson is looming over the general election in Northern Ireland, Europe Editor James Crisp reports from Belfast.
The former DUP leader resigned in March after being charged with historical sex offences, which he strenuously denies, and is not contesting the Lagan Valley seat he has held for 27 years.
Jonathan Buckley hopes to retain Lagan Valley for the DUP but faces tough competition from the Ulster Unionist Party and Alliance candidates.
Sir Jeffrey ended the DUP’s Stormont boycott over post-Brexit trading arrangements, which has divided unionism and cost it support to more hardline parties.
He made a high profile court appearance on Wednesday, a day before polls opened. It was terrible timing for the largest unionist party in Northern Ireland and could hurt potentially crucial turnout among its voters.
08:27 PM BST
What does the election mean for Northern Ireland?
In Northern Ireland, Sinn Fein will be looking to secure a third election victory in two years to bolster their demand for a referendum on Irish reunification, reports Europe Editor James Crisp in Belfast.
The nationalist party scored a historic triumph when it became the largest party in the Northern Ireland Assembly for the first time in 2022.
Now it wants to win more seats in Westminster than its unionist rivals, which it could claim as a mandate to hold a border poll, which it hopes to see by 2030.
Despite that, the campaign has focused on public services, healthcare and the cost of living, rather than reunification.
Polls last week suggest it will return seven MPs, who do not take their seat in Westminster, which would be the same as in 2019.
08:21 PM BST
In pictures: Farage and pro-Palestine protesters
08:04 PM BST
The Telegraph’s guide to surviving election night
“Once you make that decision on Thursday, there’s no going back,” Rishi Sunak wrote on X (née Twitter) this week, in an ominous warning to his followers. “Don’t do something you might regret.”
Wise words. Election night is upon us. The night ahead is a minefield dense with potential regrets, lurking in wait for the unwary citizen.
With our handy guide, however – and not to be confused with our official hour-by-hour guide here – you can make the most of your evening.
The most important thing to remember is that election night is more a marathon than a sprint, which is to say it is a lot like watching the marathon.
Read Ed Cummings’ guide on how to survive election night here.
07:43 PM BST
Pictured: Boris Johnson arrives to vote
07:32 PM BST
Have you been turned away from a polling station for not having ID?
With voters required to show photographic ID at election polling stations for the first time, reports have been circulating online about people being turned away.
My colleague Cameron Henderson is investigating and needs your help.
If you or someone you know has been turned away at a polling station today for not having voter ID, please get in touch with him via email at cameron.henderson@telegraph.co.uk.
07:25 PM BST
How the Tories could disappear – and what happens if they do
For the last century, the Conservative Party has been defined by both its electoral successes – since 1906 it has been in power for some 77 years – and its chameleonic nature, writes Sam Ashworth-Hayes.
It is ruthlessly successful, picking up and discarding policies and ideologies as required to stay in power. When it does lose, it inevitably returns, reinvented and renewed: the Terminator of British politics.
Those powers of recovery and reinvention are about to meet with their greatest test yet. The mood in the country is ugly; half of all voters – including a quarter of those who voted for it last time – want the Conservative Party wiped out entirely, taking home zero seats on polling day.
Barring a miracle, recovery in time for this election is now impossible. But recovery by 2029, or 2034, is still on the cards.
By the time the exit poll is released just after 10pm tonight, the Conservative Party will have begun its internal civil war as the differing factions seek to remake the party in their image.
Read the full article here
07:07 PM BST
David Miliband reprimanded by election watchdog for photographing ballot
David Miliband, the former foreign secretary, has been reprimanded by the Electoral Commission for photographing his ballot paper.
The ex-Labour MP shared an image on X, formerly Twitter, of his vote for Sir Keir Starmer in Holborn and St Pancras, saying: “Proud to have been able to vote for the next PM. Well past time for change.”
A spokesman for the Electoral Commission said Mr Miliband’s actins risked “the secrecy of the ballot”.
“Taking photos inside the polling station isn’t allowed as it might risk the secrecy of the ballot,” the spokesman said.
“To maintain the secrecy of the ballot, we’d discourage anyone from taking and sharing photos of a ballot paper.”
06:57 PM BST
Pictured: Dog-las Ross heads to the polls
06:30 PM BST
Similar turnout expected to 2019 despite predicted landslide
The turnout for the election is expected to be similar to 2019 despite the predicted Labour landslide, the Association of Electoral Administrators has said.
Peter Stanyon, its chief executive, said: “We’re expecting turnout to be comparable to what it was in the last general election.”
He added: “There’s certainly not been a massive drop-off or far more people voting. It’s hard to know for sure but we seem to be in about the same sort of region we were last time.”
Widespread predictions of a Labour landslide had been thought likely to lead to a lower turnout, with voters expected to believe the result was already certain.
The Conservatives claimed earlier in an email to supporters that turnout was “higher than expected”.
06:19 PM BST
Palestinian flags taken down outside polling stations
Palestinian flags are being taken down outside polling stations amid concerns of “voter intimidation”, reports Camilla Turner, Sunday Political Editor.
Several east London councils have been contacted about the flags, which residents spotted on lampposts as they went to cast their votes.
Concerned residents have complained of possible voter “interference” and “intimidation” by the presence of the flags.
Across east London and the surrounding areas, Labour candidates seeking re-election are being challenged by independents running on pro-Gaza tickets.
Read the full story here
06:13 PM BST
What do MPs do if they lose the election?
Sitting MPs who lose their seats in the election will be clearing their offices in Parliament over the coming days and weeks.
They are given one-off “winding-down payments” by Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA), the body responsible for their expenses.
The sum is equivalent to four months’ salary, minus tax and national insurance contributions, which comes to approximately £21,000.
Former MPs are also able to claim for certain costs during the winding-up period, including office rent.
Ministers who’s party loses office in an election are given severance pay equaling 25 per cent of their ministerial salary.
05:49 PM BST
Pictured: Polling stations around Britain
05:40 PM BST
Inside a new Prime Minister’s first 24 hours
One observation that incoming prime ministers tend to make when they reflect on their first 24 hours in office is just how much there is to take in, and just how little of it is set in stone, writes Gordon Rayner.
If Sir Keir Starmer wins the general election, he will, like Lord Cameron and Sir Tony Blair before him, enter No 10 with no experience whatsoever of being in government.
After a long night watching the results of the election come in, and quite possibly without having had any sleep at all, the incoming prime minister will face one of the longest and most important days of their life, having to make crucial decisions and appointments that will have long-term consequences for their premiership.
Having been handed the levers of power, they will quickly discover that everyone is looking to them for direction, rather than being handed a fixed list of jobs they have to tick off.
It is a day that will start in their constituency and, for the winner, end in Downing Street, taking in Buckingham Palace, their campaign headquarters and an awful lot of meetings.
Read the full story here
05:11 PM BST
In pictures: It’s a dog’s life
05:00 PM BST
What Telegraph readers really think about the election
04:53 PM BST
Bungling council gives voters wrong instructions at polling station
A bungling council accidentally gave voters the wrong instructions on how to vote at a polling station in Glasgow this morning.
Glasgow City Council displayed posters at Notre Dame Primary School in Partick that told voters to rank candidates in order of preference.
That is how ballots are cast under the single transferable vote system in Scottish elections – but in general elections the first-past-the-post system is used.
A council spokesman said the error was rectified “very soon” after the polling station opened at 7am on Thursday and that no voters would be disenfranchised because their first preference would be used to determine their vote.
04:48 PM BST
In pictures: Politicians at the polls
04:42 PM BST
Tories claim voter turnout higher than expected
The Conservatives have claimed voter turnout is higher than expected and that they have a “MUCH better chance” of winning the election than polls have predicted.
In an email to supporters signed off by “CCHQ data team”, the party said: “We’re getting reports from our teams on the ground.
“And the more reports we get, the more it looks like turnout is higher than expected.
“That means we could have a MUCH better chance than polls have suggested. So if you haven’t voted yet, now’s the time to get out.”
04:29 PM BST
Have you had a problem with your postal vote?
There has been chaos up and down the country in the run up to today’s general election, with thousands denied their postal vote because of delays.
My colleague Madeleine Ross is investigating the scale of the problem, which we have covered here.
If you have not been able to vote or have faced difficulties handing in your postal ballot, please let her know by emailing madeleine.ross@telegraph.co.uk.
04:18 PM BST
In pictures: More animals at polling stations
04:02 PM BST
Historians will look back in despair on 14 years of Tory rule
Looking back a hundred years from 2124, the history of what was then known as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland displays many oddities to a historian, writes historian David Abulafia.
The period from 2010 to 2024, when the Conservative party was the dominant force in politics, might better be described as the era of the Disunited Kingdom, although – ironically – incompetent devolved governments in Scotland and Wales dramatically lost their popularity and proved the need to maintain a strong Union.
It was a period of increasing polarisation in politics and society, and yet many of the troubles faced by the British government were not really of its own making.
Read the article in full here
03:50 PM BST
When will we know who has won the election?
The first indication of what the result of the election will be is the exit poll, which is released at 10pm.
Polling company Ipsos UK has sent interviewers to 133 polling stations around the country where they will ask voters who they voted for.
These answers are then used to produce a prediction of what the election result will be.
The first official results from each constituency will be announced late tonight or in the early hours of Friday morning.
By 7am, almost every seat will have declared their result, meaning the winner of the election will likely be known by then. The final result, however, could take as long as several days to be confirmed if candidates challenge the outcome in their seat.
Find out more in this explainer by my colleague Jordan Young
03:21 PM BST
Pictured: Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg votes in Somerset
03:08 PM BST
Postal vote system must be overhauled, election officers demand
Britain’s postal vote system needs to be overhauled, the Association of Electoral Administrators has warned.
Laura Lock, its deputy chief executive, said the deadline for postal vote applications should be moved five days earlier, from 11 working days before polling day to 16.
She also called for voters who do not receive their postal ballots to be allowed emergency proxy votes on polling day.
“Election teams are doing their very best to run this snap election, but with a short timetable and an election held when many are on holiday – plus print and delivery suppliers working at capacity – demand has severely tested the system,” Ms Lock said.
The number of voters applying for postal votes has rocketed in the last 15 years, from 1.7 million in 2010 to eight million in 2019 and 10 million this year.
02:51 PM BST
Why Reeves has an economic mountain to climb to create a ‘pro-growth’ Treasury
As Europe is rocked by political turmoil, Britain’s would-be first female chancellor is seeking to transform the UK into an island of stability, Tim Wallace writes.
With her hands on the public purse, Rachel Reeves wants to use her position to create the most “pro-growth” Treasury in British history.
Since the end of 2019, the UK’s economy has grown by just 1.8pc, putting it sixth among the G7 group of rich nations with only Germany performing worse.
This will be tough to change. Economies are not merely at the beck and call of politicians and it is not easy to turn around a long-term trend.
Read the full story here
02:33 PM BST
In pictures: Polling stations around the country
02:18 PM BST
Kemi Badenoch attacks council over missing postal votes
Kemi Badenoch has attacked her local council over missing postal votes following delays in delivery and printing.
More than 2,600 postal ballots have been delayed in North West Essex, where the Business Secretary is seeking re-election, as a result of “human error”.
The local council chief executive said last week that he was “mortified” by the delays and that council workers were hand-delivering ballots in an attempt to get them to voters in time.
Ms Badenoch said: “Five years ago, all but four Conservatives on Uttlesford council were voted out. People wanted ‘Change’. Instead, they got ‘Change for the WORSE’, electing an independent residents group who ran a blame-the-Tories campaign.
“The community is now saddled with council leadership unable to carry out basic functions competently…. Now they’ve potentially disenfranchised up to 2,600 postal voters by FORGETTING to send them their ballot papers. Don’t change for the worse.”
02:12 PM BST
Good afternoon
Tim Sigsworth here, taking over from my colleague Dominic Penna until 9.30pm this evening.
02:08 PM BST
‘I’ve already written my concession speech. I’ve no idea what I’ll do next’
Eerily, I’ve hardly seen my Labour opponent and their supporters in recent days, writes The Secret Tory Candidate.
I suspect they have had a direction from Labour HQ that they’ve got this seat in the bag and that their resources are best deployed elsewhere. Based on everything I’ve heard before today, I imagine that will turn out to be the correct choice.
It’s only a matter of hours now until I’ll find out the result – and whether I’ll be back in Parliament or jobless come next week.
I am quietly confident that we’ll outperform the national swing here, which has become my focus. But there’s now only a very, very limited possibility that we could have a massive surprise here and win. I just want a respectable defeat. If I lose by 7 or 8 per cent, I can live with that.
The Secret Tory Candidate: ‘I’ve no idea what I’ll do next’
01:44 PM BST
What time is the exit poll today?
The exit poll will be announced at 10pm today, just as voting ends and polling stations across the country close.
It offers a unique window on the outcome, and has an impressive track record of accurately forecasting the results.
With little campaigning taking place today, talk will turn to lighter subjects such as the dogs spotted outside polling stations, to help pass the time ahead of the all-important exit poll.
My colleague Jordan Young has more here
01:18 PM BST
Kate Garraway: The only polling card I’ve had was for Derek
Kate Garraway, the Good Morning Britain presenter, said the only polling card posted through her door was for Derek Draper, her late husband.
Ms Garrway told viewers this morning: “I haven’t had one for myself. The only polling card that’s come through the door is for Derek, sadly, who’s passed away.”
Mr Draper died aged 56 on January 5 this year, nearly four years after contracting Covid-19. Former prime ministers and celebrity friends came together to offer their condolences
The former political adviser was said to be one of the UK’s longest-suffering Covid patients, spending 13 months in hospital after testing positive in 2020.
01:09 PM BST
Tanks on the Tories’ lawn
12:56 PM BST
‘Democracy has never been sweeter’
Aldi made light of a row involving its Cuthbert the Caterpillar cake as it joked “democracy has never been sweeter”.
In 2022, Marks & Spencer has settled a copyright row with Aldi over its Colin the Caterpillar cake after the German discounter altered the appearance of its lookalike version.
The companies reached a confidential agreement out of court.
12:29 PM BST
Chancellor: Re-elect me as a strong local voice
The Chancellor has pleaded with voters to re-elect him as a “strong local voice” as he fights to keep his seat.
Jeremy Hunt is standing in the new constituency of Godalming and Ash, where polls conducted and published before the election suggested he would face a tight race against the Liberal Democrats.
Writing on X, formerly Twitter, Mr Hunt said: “[I’m] your strong local voice for Godalming Ash… After six weeks of campaigning, that big moment has arrived.”
Polls are open until 10pm and victory for Mr Sunak would mean an unprecedented fifth term of Conservative rule. A triumph for Sir Keir would see Labour return to power for the first time in 14 years.
An average of polls conducted before voting opened suggested that Labour had a lead of almost 20 points over the Tories, prompting Mr Sunak to warn against handing Labour a “blank cheque”.
12:24 PM BST
Mordaunt stands up and fights
12:17 PM BST
A dispatch from Scotland as leaders cast their ballots
Scottish political leaders have been casting their general election ballots as their parties launched a large-scale get out the vote drive, writes Daniel Sanderson.
While a Labour victory UK-wide is seen as a near-certainty, both John Swinney and Sir Keir Starmer have said the election in Scotland is tight.
Polls have generally suggested that Labour is set to end a remarkable period of nationalist dominance north of the border and win their first national election since 2010.
However, the SNP were buoyed by a late poll on Wednesday suggesting they had regained a narrow lead.
But senior nationalists fear a low turnout among their supporters, with Mr Swinney struggling to make the case that he will be able to deliver an independence referendum.
12:00 PM BST
Labour’s VAT raid: ‘I already work two jobs and cannot fathom a third’
Parents are facing a higher cost of private education if Labour wins the general election.
Labour is planning to add 20 per cent VAT to independent school fees as soon as possible if victorious, a proposal which it estimates will raise an extra £1.6 billion for pupils in the state system.
The tax raid would affect nearly three-quarters of private school families, the Saltus Wealth Index found.
Almost a third – 29 per cent – of those parents said the rising costs mean they would no longer be able to give their child or children a private education.
Tara Thorpe and Candela Orobitg-Baena round up your views
11:49 AM BST
Ed Davey casts his vote after six weeks of stunts
Sir Ed Davey was accompanied by his wife Emily Gasson after casting their votes at Surbiton Hill Methodist Church.
The Liberal Democrat leader has been front and centre of a memorable campaign in which he has taken part in a wide range of stunts.
This week, he tried out a Zumba dance class and leapt off a crane having previous fallen multiple times from a paddleboard, cycled down a steep Welsh hill and slid down a water slide.
11:38 AM BST
‘Things will get worse under Labour’: Telegraph readers share their views
Here, Telegraph readers share their views on what a Labour government might mean for them, and how they feel about it:
11:33 AM BST
Better call Nigel
11:32 AM BST
What a Portillo moment is like – from those who were there in 1997
The general election is predicted to see a string of Tory big beasts lose their seats in a wave of “Portillo moments”, writes Patrick Sawer.
In 1997, one of the defining moments of election night was the surprise defeat of Conservative defence secretary Michael Portillo, who was even being talked about as a future leader of the party.
He was beaten by his Labour opponent Stephen Twigg, who was so sure he wouldn’t win that he had refused to write a victory speech in advance.
Mr Twigg grinned sheepishly, when the returning officer, the late mayor of Enfield, Patrick Cunneen, approached the microphone to announce that he had been duly elected MP for Enfield Southgate with a majority of 1,433, on a swing of 18 per cent.
This is what the original Portillo moment was like
11:01 AM BST
Labour council tax overhaul would push up bills by £1,230
Council tax bills would rise by an average of £1,230 for more than four million households in England if Labour were to redraw the method in which the levy is calculated.
An overhaul of the property tax could add hundreds to annual bills – with some facing rises of as much as £4,609, according to an Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) analysis of house prices.
Fears of a council tax raid under Labour are growing after a frontbencher implied the system “needs to be changed”.
In a leaked recording, Darren Jones, shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, told a constituency meeting that any party who suggested revaluing council tax bands “had never been elected”.
Joe Wright and Charlotte Gifford have more here
10:49 AM BST
Labour to be told to authorise emergency prison measures within ‘first week of power’
Prison chiefs will tell an expected incoming Labour government to authorise emergency measures within the first week of taking power to avoid jails running out of space, writes Charles Hymas.
Prison service officials are expected to advise a new government that they need new legislation to increase the number of prisoners released early into the thousands under a scheme covering all jails in England and Wales.
Officials will urge ministers to make a decision as soon as possible so that risk assessments of prisoners due for early release, which with organising probation officers takes approximately six weeks, are in place before the courts return after their August break. Once courts return, jails will fill up again with convicted offenders.
A source said: “The prison service will say the next government has to make a decision in the first week. That’s mainly for operational reasons as it takes six weeks to prepare and get everything ready.”
Charles has the full story here
10:22 AM BST
Liz Truss votes as she hopes to hold on
Liz Truss has cast her vote as she fights to hold on to her South West Norfolk constituency.
The former prime minister, who spent 49 days in Downing Street in 2022, won a comfortable majority in 2019 but is being challenged by an independent candidate as well as Labour.
Ms Truss wrote on X:
10:06 AM BST
The first 24 hours in No 10
One observation that incoming prime ministers tend to make when they reflect on their first 24 hours in office is just how much there is to take in, and just how little of it is set in stone, writes Gordon Rayner.
If Sir Keir Starmer wins the general election, he will, like Lord Cameron and Sir Tony Blair before him, enter No 10 with no experience whatsoever of being in government.
After a long night watching the results of the election come in, and quite possibly without having had any sleep at all, the incoming prime minister will face one of the longest and most important days of their life, having to make crucial decisions and appointments that will have long-term consequences for their premiership.
Having been handed the levers of power, they will quickly discover that everyone is looking to them for direction, rather than being handed a fixed list of jobs they have to tick off.
It is a day that will start in their constituency and, for the winner, end in Downing Street, taking in Buckingham Palace, their campaign headquarters and an awful lot of meetings.
Gordon Rayner has this full piece
10:00 AM BST
Watch: Rishi Sunak and Akshata Murty arrive to vote
09:57 AM BST
Keir he is
09:45 AM BST
Reform UK on track to win 13 seats, final major poll shows
Reform UK is on track to win 13 MPs, the final major poll of the general election has predicted.
Mr Farage returned to frontline politics to lead the insurgent party in the second week of the election, prompting it to surge in the polls.
For the last survey of the campaign, Survation interviewed a total of 1,679 British adults for its ‘last call’, with fieldwork conducted between Monday, July 1 and Wednesday, July 3.
A previous seat-by-seat prediction that Reform would win seven seats was subsequently revised upwards to 13, while it was also on track to win 17 per cent of the popular vote.
09:40 AM BST
Lights out
09:31 AM BST
Corbyn casts his vote
Jeremy Corbyn, the former Labour leader, has cast his vote in Islington North where he is running against his former party.
Mr Corbyn, who was leader of the opposition between 2015 and 2019, has represented the London constituency since 1983.
He had the Labour whip suspended by Sir Keir Starmer in October 2020 amid a row over the scale of anti-Semitism in the party under his leadership.
Mr Corbyn was subsequently expelled from Labour when he confirmed he would stand as an independent candidate once Rishi Sunak called the general election. He has been a vocal Left-wing critic of Sir Keir on issues including public services and the conflict in Gaza.
09:11 AM BST
Stop the Labour super-majority, urges Sunak
Rishi Sunak used a post on X to urge the public to vote Tory and “stop the Labour super-majority”.
The Prime Minister uploaded a photograph of him and his wife Akshata Murty as they arrived to cast their vote this morning.
“The polls are open,” he wrote. “Vote Conservative to stop the Labour super-majority which would mean higher taxes for a generation.”
Meanwhile Steve Baker, a minister of state at the Northern Ireland Office, wrote: “Please vote Conservative today in Wycombe to prevent Labour enjoying unchallengeable power.”
09:00 AM BST
Boris Johnson: Vote against Labour’s nightmare wokery
Boris Johnson has urged his followers to vote against the “nightmare” wokery and tax rises of a future Labour government.
The former prime minister’s latest intervention comes after he appeared before Rishi Sunak at a campaign rally on Tuesday, although the two men did not share a stage.
In a video on X, the former prime minister said: “So I’m on my way to the polling station where I’m going to cast my vote against the nightmare prospect of a Left-wing government.
“More Left-wing than any since the war, with more wokery, more illegal immigration, more pointless, powerless kow-towing to Brussels, and of course ever-higher taxation for you and your family under Keir Starmer and the Labour Party. Don’t let it happen, vote Conservative today, get out and vote today, it’s a beautiful day.”
08:42 AM BST
Swinney and son
08:28 AM BST
Theresa May casts her vote with a furry friend
Theresa May appeared to reunite with a dog called Blitz as she voted in Maidenhead this morning.
The former prime minister was seen with a Border Collie as she cast her first ballot since announcing she would not stand for Parliament again. It looks as though the dog in question is Blitz, who she first met in 2018.
08:14 AM BST
Dogs – and horses! – at polling stations
With little happening on polling day itself, it is no wonder that the #DogsAtPollingStations trend has become so popular to help pass the time ahead of that all-important 10pm exit poll.
Titan the pug, decked out with Union flag sunglasses, was seen waiting by a polling station in Wadebridge, north Cornwall, while Heatherbelle Bates took her horse along as she cast her vote at Holne in Devon.
07:56 AM BST
Rishi Sunak casts his vote
Rishi Sunak and Akshata Murty, his wife, have cast their votes in the Prime Minister’s constituency.
Mr Sunak and Mrs Murty were pictured hand-in-hand arriving at Kirby Sigston Village Hall in Northallerton shortly after polls opened.
The Prime Minister is defending his Richmond and Northallerton seat, and was joined by his wife and parents on the campaign trail last night at a final event with Tory activists before polls opened.
07:52 AM BST
Farage proved a knockout with his fans in Clacton
Nigel Farage darted around in a boxing ring with heavyweight champ Derek Chisora yesterday, writes Madeline Grant.
On the outside of the building the words ONWAY UNTS hung perilously against the grey Clacton skies. No, you’re not having a stroke: welcome to the mad final day of the election campaign. Conway Units was the location; a storage facility on the outskirts of Clacton with a boxing gym in it.
Unfortunately the Clacton breeze had removed some of the letters and so it read ONWAY UNTS, like the sign at Fawlty Towers. On the way, we passed scores of Reform UK posters and enough St George’s flags to give Emily Thornberry an aneurysm.
Inside, every inch of wall was emblazoned with motivational posters. This was the gym “where winners train and losers complain”, which was on brand for Farage; pure Trumpain syntax. (Presumably though, for balance, those with boxing-related head injuries communicate only à la Biden.) As Mr Farage arrived, he was met by the eerie sight of a cavalcade of children sparring into midair.
Madeline Grant: A surreal scene by the seaside
07:38 AM BST
Sir John Curtice: Today is the day
Sir John Curtice, Britain’s foremost polling guru, declared “today is the day” as he noted not all countries have the opportunity to choose their government.
“Today is the day,” he said. “In some countries people don’t get this opportunity or freedom to vote.
“Some are fighting for peace, democracy, equality and safety.
“The opportunity to walk into a polling station unhindered by war, intimidation or the impact of weather events is our right.”
07:30 AM BST
Tactical voting calls trending among activists
The hashtag #votetactically is trending on X this morning as liberal and Left-wing voters aim to unseat the Tories.
An anti-Conservative campaign backed by activist groups has seen voters lend their support to whoever is best placed to unseat an incumbent Tory candidate, regardless of how they would have preferred to vote.
It comes after senior Tories accused Labour and the Liberal Dems of striking a secret pact to effectively stand aside for each other in target seats.
07:21 AM BST
New MPs could face legal challenges over postal vote chaos
Newly elected MPs face having their victories challenged in the courts because of postal ballot chaos, lawyers have warned.
Voters in as many as 120 constituencies have been hit by delays in delivery and printing, with many of the problems blamed on the short election timescale.
Thousands are thought not to have received their ballots in time for today’s election, leaving many unable to vote.
With analysis showing that as many as one quarter of marginal constituencies are affected, the runners-up in close seats could mount a legal challenge which might result in a by-election.
Madeline Ross, our Money Reporter, has the full story
07:16 AM BST
The Sun rises for Labour
The Sun newspaper has endorsed Labour for the first time since the 2005 election in a boost for Sir Keir Starmer, with the tabloid’s front page declaring it is “time for a new manager, and we don’t mean sack [Gareth] Southgate”.
There is no picture of Sir Keir on the front and the endorsement comes with heavy caveats, with the Sun expressing its support for Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda plan, which Labour would cancel, and the abolition of National Insurance.
But it goes on to decry the “upheaval, backstabbing and mayhem” of recent years following Tory infighting that led to three prime ministers occupying Downing Street in the space of four months.
The Sun concluded there were “plenty of concerns” remaining about Sir Keir on tax and migration, but concluded: “He has a mountain to climb, with a disillusioned electorate and low approval ratings.
“But, by dragging his party back to the centre ground of British politics for the first time since Tony Blair was in No10, Sir Keir has won the right to take charge.”
07:02 AM BST
Start the votes
06:46 AM BST
Labour could be lining up council tax raid
A Labour frontbencher has expressed frustration at the “out of date” council tax system and hinted that a tax raid on wealthy people’s homes is coming, writes our Associate Editor Gordon Rayner.
In a leaked recording, Darren Jones, the shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, admitted that Labour cannot openly talk about revaluing homes for council tax because no party that does so is ever elected.
He also suggested the whole council tax system “needs to be changed” in comments that have been seized on by the Conservatives.
The Tories say Mr Jones, who is likely to be second in command at the Treasury if Labour wins the election, has been “caught saying the quiet part out loud” and that Sir Keir Starmer intends to increase taxes on people’s homes, cars and pensions. Labour described it as “scaremongering nonsense”.
Listen to the Labour frontbencher’s comments here
06:32 AM BST
How Boris Johnson went from the Tories’ secret weapon to electoral liability
Tactical masterstroke or a sign of desperation? asks Gordon Rayner.
Rishi Sunak’s decision to call on Boris Johnson to deliver a last-minute rallying call on Tuesday night has divided opinion in the Conservative Party, but the Prime Minister no doubt felt it could not do any harm, and might just do some good.
Johnson is the greatest campaigner the Conservatives have had since Margaret Thatcher. His fizzing rhetoric about a “sledgehammer majority” for Labour only served to emphasise how flat the election campaign has been without him.
“Don’t let the Putinistas deliver the Corbynistas!” he bellowed, as he warned against the perils of voting for Reform UK, one of the endless rhetorical flourishes that makes him such a crowd-pleaser.
Sunak may have been less grateful for Johnson’s input when the former prime minister chose to make no direct reference to his successor when he introduced him on Tuesday.
Gordon Rayner: The ex-PM’s popularity is perilously low
06:29 AM BST
Please vote, urges Jo Cox’s widower
Brendan Cox, the widower of Jo Cox, urged his followers “please vote” as he shared a photograph of the murdered MP.
Ms Cox, the former Labour MP for Batley and Spen, was murdered by the far-Right extremist Thomas Mair in 2016.
In the run-up to the general election, the Jo Cox Foundation, which was set up in her name, has been urging candidates to “reject intimidation and abuse” by signing up to its “civility pledge”, committing them to acting with integrity, honour and compassion, and behaving respectfully towards others.
06:22 AM BST
Who will win? Sir John Curtice makes his final prediction
A forest of final estimates is anticipated in this final 24 hours of the campaign, writes Professor Sir John Curtice.
Unless they indicate that there has been a dramatic last-minute turnaround, it looks as though Sir Keir Starmer will become Prime Minister on Friday.
What remains uncertain is just how badly things might turn out for the Conservatives. The first uncertainty are the don’t knows.
The polls are still reporting that on average those who voted Conservative in 2019 are twice as likely as those who voted Labour to say that they do not know how they will vote on Thursday.
John Curtice: Even undecideds breaking for Sunak won’t be enough
06:15 AM BST
Good morning
Here we go! I’m Dominic Penna, The Telegraph’s Political Correspondent, guiding you through the start of election day following a dramatic six-week campaign.
Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer are gearing up for a historic general election as they prepare to face the judgment of the electorate.
Victory for Mr Sunak would mean an unprecedented fifth term of Conservative rule, while a triumph for Sir Keir would see Labour return to power for the first time in 14 years.
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