General Election 2024 LIVE: UK and Greater Manchester voters head to the polls

Polling stations in Greater Manchester and the rest of the UK have opened for the 2024 general election. Voters head to the polls to elect their new MP as the country decides its next Prime Minister.

This year’s election is being held using new constituency boundaries following a review by the boundary commissions of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland in 2023. New constituencies have been created, boundaries changed and 211 of the 650 places have been renamed.

READ MORE: The big election lesson we learned on the streets of Greater Manchester – and it’s something politicians need to listen to

In Greater Manchester, only eight constituencies, where 27 seats are up for grabs in total, remain unchanged.

Polling stations opened at 7am and will close at 10pm on Thursday evening. It is the first general election where voters have had to provide a form of photo identification to cast their ballot. Acceptable forms of ID include passports, driver’s licenses and bus passes.

An exit poll will be published at 22:00, which should give an indication of who will be the largest party in Parliament and by how many seats.

The first results are expected to be declared shortly before midnight. By 4am there should be enough results to know which party is on course to win the election and by what margin.

The election was called by Rishi Sunak on 22 May. The previous general election was held almost five years ago on 12 December 2019.

Follow our live blog for updates throughout Election Day.

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