It’s election day with a difference as polling stations operate under coronavirus restrictions across Great Britain.
On what has been dubbed Super Thursday, polling stations opened at 7am in the largest test of political opinion outside a general election, with the future of the Labour Party and the state of the Union among the issues at play.
But there were still many familiar sights, with party leaders posing for pictures after they voted and plenty of #dogsatpollingstations photos to brighten up social media.
Signs warned voters to wear masks – and that selfies were not permitted (Andrew Matthews/PA)
Voters were urged to use hand sanitiser – and to take their own pen or pencil to mark the ballot (Andrew Matthews/PA)
Super Thursday: Britons vote in a bumper crop of elections
By PAN PYLASMay 6, 2021 GMT
LONDON (AP) Millions of British voters were casting ballots Thursday in local and regional elections, and the choices of Scottish voters in particular could have huge repercussions for the future of the United Kingdom.
On what has been dubbed Super Thursday, around 50 million voters were eligible to take part in scores of elections, some of which had been postponed a year because of the pandemic that has left the U.K. with Europe’s largest coronavirus death toll.
At stake is the make-up of devolved governments in Scotland and Wales and the next mayors for England’s big cities, including London and Manchester. Thousands of council members, police commissioners and other local authorities are also seeking seats. No elections were taking place in Northern Ireland.
First published on Thu 6 May 2021 11.40 EDT
Keir Starmer thanked Labour activists for calling as many as 1.7 million voters in recent weeks, as his team braced themselves for a challenging weekend after polls closed in the UK’s first major elections to be held during the pandemic.
Party sources were downbeat about their prospects of holding Hartlepool in a crucial byelection, with activists reporting low turnout in Labour-voting areas. “It’s going to be a very, very difficult night,” said one party strategist, adding that Starmer would “take it on the chin” if the seat is lost for the first time in half a century.
Votes are being counted in the Hartlepool by-election with Labour fearing Boris Johnson’s Tories will demolish another brick in the “red wall”.
Ballots were cast across England, Scotland and Wales on Super Thursday in the largest test of political opinion outside a general election.
Results from the Holyrood election – where the issue of Scottish independence was a main feature in the campaign – will come through later on Friday and Saturday.
Before then, the Hartlepool parliamentary contest will give one of the first indications of whether Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has been able to turn around his party’s fortunes in its former northern heartlands.