UK General Election Schedule 4 July: when can you vote and when will the result be known?

The United Kingdom will hold elections on Thursday, 4 July, for what has been primed to be a wipeout of the Conservative Party that has been governing for fourteen years. The Tories, or the Conservative Party, are responsible for the nightmare that has been Brexit, and though they were able to win the elections in 2019, the polls show that their reign is likely coming to a decisive end this year.

Major players in the race

In addition to the major parties discussed below, there are dozens of independent candidates, many of whom have been Labour Party members. The former leader of the Labor Party, Jeremy Corbyn, is one of those candidates. He mobilized an army of volunteers to get out the vote and inform residents of Islington North that he was on the ballot, just not for the party he had been a member of for over four decades. The leader of the Labour Party, Keir Starmer, oversaw the ousting of Corbyn, which has divided the party’s members.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak leads the Tory ticket, and Sir Keir Starmer leads the Labour Party, which is expected to win the largest parliamentary majority in modern British history.

Ed Davey is the leader of the Liberal Democrats, and it is also forecasted that their share of seats will grow. Davey was seen bungee jumping earlier this week to attract voters to his cause. He posted an image across his social media accounts, saying he was inspired because “a lot of people are on the cusp of doing something they’ve never done before.”

On the far-right, we have Brexiter Nigal Farage, whose party, Reform UK, has candidates who have made vile racist comments in public settings and forums that many believe should be disqualifying.

What time do the polls open and close?

Polls will open at 7 AM and close at 10 PM across the United Kingdom. To vote, you will need to bring an ID, of which many can be used so long as it has a photo of you. Additionally, the UK government, where this information can be found, informs voters that an expired ID can be used even if it is experienced for as long as “the photo on your ID must look like you.”

When will the election results be announced?

It will take time to tabulate all the votes as some citizens have voted by mail. However, after the polls close at 10 PM, initial results will begin to filter out. The first round of results can be expected around 11:30 PM. By the time voters wake up on Friday, they will know one critical piece of electoral information: whether Prime Minister Sunak was able to defend his seat.