Your guide to the General Election: Everything you need to know
It’s one of the messiest elections in living memory – but there are a few certainties you can count on.
Here is our guide to everything you need to know before you vote.
How many seats are available?
The UK has 650 parliamentary seats up for grabs, which means 326 are required for an outright majority.
However, once you take into account the fact that Sinn Fein – which won seven seats last time around – refuse to take their seats, a working majority could come in at 322.
Read more: Tories will win fewer votes than in 2017, new poll warns
Currently, the Conservatives have 298 seats, Labour has 243, the SNP have 35 and the Liberal Democrats have 21. The DUP has 10, Sinn Fein have seven, Plaid Cymru four and Greens one.
One of the reasons it’s so messy this time is the number of independents – 23, mostly either ex-Tories or ex-Labour but also Northern Irish politician Lady Sylvia Hermon, who is stepping down.
On top of that there are five MPs representing The Independent Group for Change (TIG), including Anna Soubry who is standing in Broxtowe.
Read more These are the seats where almost anything could happen /
When will the exit poll be released?
A joint exit poll is carried out by Ipsos Mori for the BBC, ITV News and Sky News, and usually gives a good indication of what to expect for the rest of the night. In 2017, it was first inkling the country had of just how bad things were going to be for Theresa May when it predicted a hung parliament.
The exit poll will be revealed at 10pm, when you can either turn off the TV and go to bed (if you’re sensible) or crack open the vino/popcorn and settle down for many hours of tense number crunching.
Which constituency will be the first to declare?
There are a clutch of northern seats that usually declare first, including Houghton & Sunderland South, three seats in Newcastle and Sunderland Central. Normally these are Labour safe seats, although with Brexit in the mix there is a slight chance of a Conservative swing.
When will things get interesting?
The first seat that is down as a ‘toss-up’ result between Labour and the SNP is Rutherglen & Hamilton West, which is expected to declare at 1pm. A slew of results will come in around this time, including Workington – a totemic Labour Leave seat that the Tories have been targeting.
Read more: Michael Heseltine tells Morning Wire why he wants the Tories to lose
What time is the first London seat declaring?
Putney and Battersea look likely to get in there first – but not until 2am. In Justine Greening’s old seat Tory candidate Will Sweet looks set to lose out to Labour’s Fleur Anderson, but it is a close race.
Battersea is another interesting contest, with the Tories trying to win it back from Labour’s Marsha de Cordova, although the polls have it as a hold. Other seats worth watching are Scotland’s Lanark & HamiltonEast, which is a toss-up between the Tories and SNP, and Ken Clarke’s old seat Rushcliffe.
Read more: The Tory battle to regain Kensington and Battersea
What seats are Tories desperate to win?
Dominic Grieve’s chances of returning as an independent MP for Beaconsfield will be revealed around 3am, around the same time as the Bedford result, which is a close-run race between Labour and the Tories.
But the seat the Tories will be really hoping to shout about at that time will be Bishop Auckland, having been heavily targeted over Brexit. Meanwhile Brecon & Radnorshire, which swung to the Lib Dems in a recent by-election, is also on their wishlist.
London’s swing seats
They might not see the biggest swings of the night, but if you’re a Londoner or commuter, your home turf will probably be declaring sometime after 3am. This is when we will see what happens in Conservative held Chelsea & Fulham, Chingford & Woodford Green and Cities of London & Westminster, the latter a contest over whether Chuka Umunna or Nickie Aiken will replace Mark Field. Meanwhile Labour should romp home in the various seats around Ealing, Lewisham and Walthamstow.
Read more: Chuka Umunna explains why he wants the City seat for the Lib Dems
As a three-way race between the Conservatives’ Felicity Buchan, Labour’s Emma Dent Coad and the Lib Dems’ Sam Gyimah, Kensington will be the most important London seat of all – that is due to declare at 4:30am.
Watch out for Esher and Walton around now – although a safe Tory seat for Dominic Raab in 2017, it’s been heavily targeted by the Lib Dems and is now on the watch list. The Lib Dems are also hoping to regain Sheffield Hallam, Nick Clegg’s old seat, after Labour’s pyrrhic victory last time.
Over in Wales, Labour could lose Ynys Mons, handing Plaid Cymru another seat in Westminster.
Read more: ‘It was very personal, very hurtful’, says ex-rebel Hammond
What about Labour Leavers?
Marked as a toss-up by Yougov, Great Grimsby could swing from Labour to the Conservatives around 3am, while Bassetlaw is likely to turn blue at 4am, after former Labour MP John Mann moved up to the Lords. Batley & Spen is also one to keep a bleary eye out for at this time. Canterbury, which swung to Labour in 2017, is also due to declare at 4am but it seems likely that Rosie Duffield will increase her majority.
When will we find out about party leaders?
Boris Johnson’s been remarkably absent from his Uxbridge constituency while he tours Labour Leave seats in the Midlands and North, but whether this gamble paid off will be revealed at around 4:30am. We will already know whether Islington North has returned Jeremy Corbyn from about 3am (they will). Things are looking decidedly more challenging for Jo Swinson in East Dunbartonshire, where the SNP stand a chance of claiming a scalp.
When will the General Election end?
Not until the fat lady sings. Or rather, until we’ve had declarations from Richmond Park (swinging from Conservative to Lib Dems) at 6am and St Ives where the parties are still duelling it out, which is due to declare at 8am.
Phew. So where is the last place to declare?
That is expected to be two seats in Cornwall at 10am – but they are both Conservative safe (ish) seats, so unless you are really dedicated you can throw in the towel before then…
How do I find out what’s happening until the bitter end?
Morning Wire’s team will be updating through the night – so make sure you stick with us throughout the night of 12 and into morning of 13 December.
Main image: Getty