Sally Sara: Voting in the UK general election has closed, with the Conservative Party expected to be defeated. Exit polls predict that Britain's Labor Party is on course for a landslide victory. Millions across the country have cast their ballots in a vote that will decide which party runs the country for the next five years. Our reporter, Michelle Rimmer, joins us now from London. Michelle, good morning. It will be some time before official results begin to come in. But what have the exit polls forecast?
Michelle Rimmer: Well, exit polls are suggesting that Britons have voted overwhelmingly for a change in government here in the UK. A poll that was produced by Ipsos, which is one of the UK's largest research agencies, is predicting that Labor will win this election with a super majority, claiming 410 seats out of a possible 650. That's an incredibly significant result for a UK election and will go down in history as one of the biggest wins if this exit polls do end up fulfilling and coming to fruition when official results come through. This means that Labor leader Keir Starmer would lead a government that has gained 209 seats since the last election in 2019. The exit polls are predicting that the Conservatives, on the other hand, will lose 241 seats, which would see them land on just 131 seats in the House of Commons, and it would make it really difficult for them to have much influence at all when it comes to passing bills. There are also some projected big wins for some of the minor parties. The Liberal Democrats are forecast to pick up 61 seats. They previously held just eight seats. And Nigel Farage's Reform UK party is predicted to pick up 13 seats, which is much more than was previously expected. So again, this is exit poll results, but there's looking to be some significant gains for the minor parties and obviously Labor as well.
Sally Sara: Michelle, we're still obviously waiting for the final results, which will be some way away. How much can we trust these predictions from the exit polls?
Michelle Rimmer: As always, exit polls are just a sample of voters. So that needs to be taken with a grain of salt. However, in the UK, this particular exit poll has a history of accurately predicting UK election outcomes within a number of seats. So it can be a good indication of what to expect. The numbers we're seeing were also predicted ahead of this election in other polls. So we've seen talk of this super majority and this being the biggest win expected for Labor from as early as early this year. And even a couple of years ago, we've been predicting this Labor win. So it is an exit poll, it needs to be taken in that way. And there'll be some time before either of the parties begin celebrating or conceding defeat. However, it is a good indication of what can be expected when official results start to come out over the coming hours.
Sally Sara: Michelle Rimmer, thank you. That's our reporter, Michelle Rimmer in London.