British voters go to the polls in a tight, hard-fought national election
Polls are open in the United Kingdom for a general election that Prime Minister Theresa May might wish she hadn't scheduled. When May called the snap election in April, her Conservative Party was 20 points ahead of the main opposition Labour Party, and she argued that she needed a larger majority in Parliament to negotiate a beneficial exit from the European Union. After two terrorist attacks, Britain's national conversation has shifted from Brexit to national security, as well as May's proposed changes to Britain's health-care system. Polls show that Labour has cut the Conservatives' lead down to single digits.
May says the Tories will foster a "stronger, fairer and more prosperous Britain," while Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn promises to govern "for the many, not the few." Voters in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland will elect 650 members to the House of Commons, the lower house of Parliament.
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