LONDON // Britons voted on Thursday in a knife-edge general election that could put their country’s membership of the European Union in question and raise the likelihood of independence for Scotland.
Voters casting their ballots face a choice between a government led by prime minister David Cameron’s centre-right Conservatives or by Ed Miliband’s centre-left Labour in the closest vote in decades.
Capturing the tense mood, The Times carried a front page with the words "Judgment Day" emblazoned over a picture of the sun setting behind Big Ben, calling it the "most important election for a generation".
“I wouldn’t say it’s exciting – its more unnerving,” said Annette, a 59-year-old community worker in south London, who declined to give her last name.
“In the past there’s been a clear demarcation, where with each party you knew exactly where you stood. Whereas now, it’s a shade of grey rather than red or blue or green.”
While the leaders of both main parties insist they can win a clear majority in the 650-seat House of Commons, they will almost certainly have to work with smaller parties to form a government.
The last three polls released on Wednesday showed a dead heat between the two main parties – Conservatives and Labour.
More than 45 million Britons are eligible to vote at polling stations located everywhere from shipping containers to churches and pubs on the mainland and remote islands.
Exit polls will be released when polls close at 1am UAE time on Friday, although the final tally of seats will not become clear until Friday afternoon.
Mr Cameron voted in his Witney constituency, but there were chaotic scenes as he emerged from the polling station when he was confronted by a person dressed as Elmo from children’s show Sesame Street as part of a protest by fathers’ rights campaigners.
As she left a polling station in the city of Glasgow after casting her vote, Scottish National Party chief Nicola Sturgeon said: “My message is that we’ll stand up for Scotland but we will look to make alliances with people across the UK to make Westminster politics better.”
If neither the Conservatives nor Labour win a clear majority, they will start days and possibly weeks of negotiations with smaller parties to try and build a bloc of around 326 seats.
Latest poll data suggested that the Tories were on course to win most seats by a narrow margin, with between 274 and 289, but could be hampered in forming a government by opposition from Labour and the SNP, which wants Scotland to become independent.
Support for the SNP, which has said it would support Labour, has soared since Scotland rejected independence in a referendum last September, potentially giving Mr Miliband the upper hand in post-election horse-trading.
The centrist Liberal Democrats, junior partners in Mr Cameron’s coalition government, will also have a key role to play in negotiations and are open to working with either of the two main parties.
The UK Independence Party is only expected to win a handful of seats but could influence the result if it takes away Tory voters in marginal seats.
The new government would face its first big test when lawmakers vote on its legislative programme after a traditional speech given by Queen Elizabeth II in parliament on May 27.
The election is closely watched around the world due to the consequences it could have for the standing of Britain, a permanent member of the UN Security Council and a nuclear-armed Nato state.
“A Little England does not augur well for a US foreign policy which aims specifically to empower like-minded states to share the burden of leadership,” Jeremy Shapiro, a fellow at the Brookings Institution foreign affairs think-tank in the US, wrote this week.
Another potential issue for Britain’s global status is that Mr Cameron has promised a referendum on whether Britain, the world’s fifth biggest economy and Europe’s second largest, should leave the EU by 2017 if the Conservatives win.
“This general election will determine what Britain’s place will be in the world in a way that no other general election has done previously, but the importance of this is chronically under-discussed,” said Jeanne Park, deputy director of the Council on Foreign Relations.
* Agence France-Presse
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
Fixtures
Friday Leganes v Alaves, 10.15pm; Valencia v Las Palmas, 12.15am
Saturday Celta Vigo v Real Sociedad, 8.15pm; Girona v Atletico Madrid, 10.15pm; Sevilla v Espanyol, 12.15am
Sunday Athletic Bilbao v Getafe, 8.15am; Barcelona v Real Betis, 10.15pm; Deportivo v Real Madrid, 12.15am
Monday Levante v Villarreal, 10.15pm; Malaga v Eibar, midnight
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The five pillars of Islam
Russia's Muslim Heartlands
Dominic Rubin, Oxford
Analysis
Members of Syria's Alawite minority community face threat in their heartland after one of the deadliest days in country’s recent history. Read more
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
The five pillars of Islam
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Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
The five pillars of Islam
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Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
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RESULTS
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It Was Just an Accident
Director: Jafar Panahi
Stars: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr
Rating: 4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
Schedule for show courts
Centre Court - from 4pm UAE time
Johanna Konta (6) v Donna Vekic
Andy Murray (1) v Dustin Brown
Rafael Nadal (4) v Donald Young
Court 1 - from 4pm UAE time
Kei Nishikori (9) v Sergiy Stakhovsky
Qiang Wang v Venus Williams (10)
Beatriz Haddad Maia v Simona Halep (2)
Court 2 - from 2.30pm
Heather Watson v Anastasija Sevastova (18)
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (12) v Simone Bolelli
Florian Mayer v Marin Cilic (7)
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company%20Profile
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Essentials
The flights
Etihad and Emirates fly direct from the UAE to Delhi from about Dh950 return including taxes.
The hotels
Double rooms at Tijara Fort-Palace cost from 6,670 rupees (Dh377), including breakfast.
Doubles at Fort Bishangarh cost from 29,030 rupees (Dh1,641), including breakfast. Doubles at Narendra Bhawan cost from 15,360 rupees (Dh869). Doubles at Chanoud Garh cost from 19,840 rupees (Dh1,122), full board. Doubles at Fort Begu cost from 10,000 rupees (Dh565), including breakfast.
The tours
Amar Grover travelled with Wild Frontiers. A tailor-made, nine-day itinerary via New Delhi, with one night in Tijara and two nights in each of the remaining properties, including car/driver, costs from £1,445 (Dh6,968) per person.
Dhadak
Director: Shashank Khaitan
Starring: Janhvi Kapoor, Ishaan Khattar, Ashutosh Rana
Stars: 3
MATCH INFO
Crawley Town 3 (Tsaroulla 50', Nadesan 53', Tunnicliffe 70')
Leeds United 0
What is a calorie?
A food calorie, or kilocalorie, is a measure of nutritional energy generated from what is consumed.
One calorie, is the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of 1 kilogram of water by 1°C.
A kilocalorie represents a 1,000 true calories of energy.
Energy density figures are often quoted as calories per serving, with one gram of fat in food containing nine calories, and a gram of protein or carbohydrate providing about four.
Alcohol contains about seven calories a gram.
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl
Power: 153hp at 6,000rpm
Torque: 200Nm at 4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Price: Dh99,000
On sale: now
MATCH INFO
World Cup qualifier
Thailand 2 (Dangda 26', Panya 51')
UAE 1 (Mabkhout 45 2')
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
SPECS
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Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
Cryopreservation: A timeline
- Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
- Ovarian tissue surgically removed
- Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
- Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
- Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months