Brits go to polls with Conservative rule in jeopardy

July 4 (UPI) -- British voters cast their ballots in a snap general election on Independence Day in the United States, threatening the Conservative's 14-year governmental rule.

Polls opened at 7 a.m. and will close at 10 p.m. Thursday with citizens able to vote by mail. An exit poll commissioned by broadcasters will be published after closure.

The vote has seen a dramatic turnaround in British politics, just one election cycle removed from the Labor Party having its worst showing at the polls. Now, they appear poised to take over the government with leader Keir Starmer in the seat to become Britain's next prime minister.

But Conservatives, under current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, have spanned the country looking for the votes they need to hold onto power. The Tories, however, have been saddled with a lagging economy, protests by public service workers and issues over immigration.

That does not include the Conservative's own leadership issues. Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson left after being involved in the infamous "Party-gate" scandal during the COVID-19 pandemic, only to see his replacement Liz Truss last for less than two months on the job before Sunak.

The Labor Party last ruled in 1997 with Tony Blair as prime minister.

Sunak and Starmer were both see n casting their votes Thursday morning -- Sunak in North Yorkshire with his wife, while Starmer went to his polling station at Holborn and St. Pancras with his wife.

"Imagine a British moving forward together with a Labor government," Starmer told supporters before the vote on Wednesday, according to The Guardia n. "That's what we are fighting for, let's continue that fight. If you want change, you have to vote for it."

Starmer had said he was concerned about low turnout in the snap election, which could upend projections. Brits are casting their ballots in some 650 constituency elections nationwide.

Polling gives the Labor party a strong advantage.

The Yougov MRP poll predicts Starmer's party could win 431 seats for a majority of 212.

According to final Telegraph poll, Labor will win 39% of the vote, almost twice the 20% of poll respondents who said they will support Conservatives.