ELECTIONS LIVE: Leaders cast votes as screw-up mars Barnet polling stations

GettyScottish Labour Leader Kezia Dugdale (R) and her partner Louise Riddell arrive at St Ninian & Triduana RC Church to vote in the Scottish Parliament elections on May 5, 2016 in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Britain votes! The nation is going to the polls today after weeks of bitter campaigning, voting on everything from city mayors to regional assemblies, local councils to police and crime commissioners.

Here are the key stories:

• Polls are open! The latest national public opinion polls from Opinium put the Conservatives on 38 points ahead of Labour on 30.
• However, Labour’s Mayoral candidate Sadiq Khan leads Conservative rival Zac Goldsmith by 20 points going into election day, according to the most recent poll by YouGov.
• There has been a big screw-up in Barnet, North London. People have been left unable to vote because polling stations were sent the incorrect polling lists.
• Today’s elections will serve as a crucial early test of Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership of the Labour Party. The left-wing politician is attempting to square his popular support among the broader party against a sometimes hostile MP base.
• The Conservatives could push Labour into third place in Scotland in Scottish Parliamentary elections, as the SNP seeks to maintain its overwhelming support
• The elections come hot on the heels of a toxic row over alleged anti-Semitism within Labour’s ranks — threatening to harm the party’s electoral chances.

This is a liveblog of the day’s events and will be updated frequently. Refresh the page for the latest news, or click here.

LATEST:

1249: #DOGSOUTSIDEPOLLINGSTATIONS IS TRENDING AGAIN

Voters have from 7 a.m. BST to 10 p.m. BST to cast their votes. But in the meantime, social media users get treated a flurry of pictures of voters’ dogs waiting patiently outside the polling stations.

We picked our favourites here.

1246: REMINDER OF RESULTS TIMINGS

We’re got a long way to go under voting ends, let alone when final results come in. Here is a good guide from BBC’s Daily Politics:

1241: MORE POLITICAL PARTY MEMBERS ARE CALLING FOR POTENTIAL LEGAL ACTION OVER BARNET POLLING STATION PROBLEMS

1235: BARNET ADMIN SCREW-UP IS LEADING TO CALLS FOR A PUBLIC INQUIRY

Voters in Barnet may now technically be allowed to start voting again after the council gave the green light but it doesn’t mean the contentious situation is done and dusted.

Sophie Walker, the Women’s Equality Party mayoral candidate is filing a formal complaint and the Liberal Democrats in Barnet are calling for a public inquiry.

This is what the LibDem spokesman Alasdair Hill said in a statement:

“The Barnet Liberal Democrats are calling for a full public inquiry as to why the presiding officers at Barnet polling stations do not have the full electoral roll and only the amended list … It can only be seen as an affront to democracy. People may not be able to turn up later to vote and the lack of preparedness for today demonstrates contempt to due process and our democratic rights. We call for a full public inquiry into how this could have happened, in particular how the outsourcing of all services by the Conservative run Barnet Council could have impacted on this.”

1230: BARNET VOTING RESUMES

Barnet Council said in a statement:

“All the updated electoral registers are now in place and people can vote as normal. We are advising people who were unable to vote this morning to return again before the polling stations close if at all possible. We apologise for the problems voters have experienced.”

1201: WILL A FORMAL COMPLAINT OVER THE BARNET POLLING STATION PROBLEMS FORCE A RERUN?

After the Women’s Equality Party mayoral candidate Sophie Walker said she’s filing a formal complaint about how people were being turned away from voting this morning (you can read about it in detail here) in Barnet, it begs speculation over whether the debacle will force a re-run of voting.

However, legally this looks unlikely for now.

Law states that contesting elections can only happen:

• AFTER the results have been annouced.
• And by lodging an election petition.

It can be an incredibly lengthy process because it goes through Royal Courts of Justice, which in turn decides whether to proceed with legal action or reject a motion.

1143: FORMAL COMPLAINT MADE ABOUT THE BARNET VOTING MESS

Sophie Walker, the Women’s Equality Party mayoral candidate has filed a formal complaint, says Press Association, as cited by The Guardian and The Telegraph.

Here is an excerpt from the PA report that the Guardian published in full:

[Walker] told the Press Association: “I am very disappointed. I have spent my morning responding to messages from people upset that they could not vote. Women first got the vote 100 years ago and there are women today who have been unable to vote.”

Walker, who will be voting in Barnet later, added: “These are vital votes, particularly for smaller parties. “We will be pursuing a complaint.”

1135: #DOGSATPOLLINGSTATIONS IS POPULAR ON SOCIAL MEDIA AGAIN

Dogs are not always allowed to come in the polling station with you when you vote in Britain.

So, this usually leads to a menagerie of dogs sitting patiently outside the polling station until their owners finish voting. Over the years, the hashtag #dogsatpollingstations has trended as owners tweet, Instagram, and Snapchat cute pictures of their dogs outside.

1123: MORE FIRST HAND ACCOUNTS FLOOD IN ABOUT THE HUGE ADMIN ERROR SURROUNDING THE BARNET VOTE

Would-be voters are coming forward and explaining their dismay over not being able to vote in Barnet this morning due, what officials touted it as, an administrative error.

In the Guardian’s “Eyewitness” section — a form of crowdsourcing for on the ground reports — a user called “kirstyguard” said the Guardian’s blog is wrong and that “it is not an issue about turning up without polling cards. Everyone I witnessed this morning (including me) HAD a polling card and could not vote. It might be slowly resolving itself now but it is not an issue of people turning up without their cards.“

Elsewhere, Paul Edwards, councillor for the Underhill ward told The Telegraph:

I was at the polling station in Underhill at 7am and people were being turned away because they didn’t have the proper register in the venue.

The list they had only included the people added on to the list since last October up until the cut off point.

People were being turned away in droves. There were about 40 people turned away while I was there, people were trying to vote before work as they would not be back home in time tonight.

1114: THE DEBACLE IN TORY-STRONGHOLD BARNET IS BEING TOUTED AS A BLOW TO LABOUR TOO

Hundreds of voters in the north London borough of Barnet were “turned away” from polling stations following a major administrative error.

This could be a huge blow to the Conservative candidate for the Mayor of London — Zac Goldsmith — because Barnet is a Tory stronghold.

However, Labour MPs are just as outraged because they say that it could potentially be a huge blow to voters wanting to change the area in a Labour council instead:

1055: JEREMY CORBYN IS SNAPCHATTING HIS WAY THROUGH ELECTION DAY

Corbyn, the leader of the Labour party, is using the millennials’ go-to social media tool to show what he’s up to on election day.

You can catch him on the handle @jeremycorbynmp but here are some of the highlights so far.

JeremyCorbynMP on Snapchat

jeremycorbynmp on Snapchat

1050: YOUNGSTERS ARE BOOSTING POLLING FIGURES IN SCOTLAND

For the first time, 16 and 17-year-olds are able to vote in the Scottish parliament elections — and now this is proving to be a huge boost to overall registered voters.

According to the Electoral Commission Scotland, cited by the Guardian, the total number of Scots who have registered to vote in today’s election is 4,100,280.

To put this into perspective:

2011 — 3,950,626 registered for the Scottish parliamentary election.

2015 — 4,099,532 registered for the UK General Election.

However, while the number of registered voters seems healthy, today’s figure is notably 200,000 below the registered number of voters from the Scottish referendum in 2014.

1044: LIBDEM LEADER TIM FARRON GETS A BIT AHEAD OF HIMSELF

1035: THIS HANDY ONLINE TOOL ALLOWS YOU FIND OUT WHAT ELECTIONS YOU ARE ELIGIBLE TO VOTE IN

As we’ve established, there’s a vast array of elections going on today:

• Mayoral elections.
• Council elections.
• Welsh Assembly elections.
• Scottish Parliament elections.
• Police and crime commissioner elections.

However, it is confusing as to what you are eligible to vote in.

But a team from the London School of Economics has put together a neat tool which will tell you exactly what elections you can and can’t vote in. It’s called the Democratic Dashboard and you can check it out here.

1025: THESE ARE THE STATS LABOUR NEEDS TO BEAT TODAY

Carl Court/Getty ImagesLabour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, addresses supporters and members of the media as he launches his party’s local election campaign on April 5, 2016 in Harlow, England.

The next General Election may not be for another four years but today is milestone moment for how Labour is faring under the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn.

The Telegraph said that polling experts suggest Labour could lose around 175 council seats after today. The right-leaning newspaper then pointed out an interest set of facts about how there have only been two times when an opposition party has lost council seats.

• 1982 — Labour lost 225 seats while the Conservatives also lost 98 seats.
• 1985 — Labour lost 124 but still outperformed the Conservatives, who lost 202 seats.

So as you can see, if Labour does lose nearly 200 council seats, it could be a devastating indictment to Corbyn’s leadership.

1010: RECAP ON WHAT’S HAPPENING IN SCOTLAND

The Scottish National Party (SNP) won 56 out of 59 seats at the UK general election and it’s popularity hasn’t waned since then.

Polls show that SNP is on course to take the largest share of seats.

Scotland uses a proportional voting system to elect 129 members (MSPs) to its parliament. Each of the country’s 73 constituencies will elect one MSP, while eight larger regions will elect seven each. The Scottish National Party — led by Nicola Sturgeon — is expected to enjoy a comfortable victory. The party won 69 seats in 2011 election and was leading a Survation poll published on Tuesday with a resounding 43%.

1002: FULL ROUND UP OF CHAOS AT POLLING STATIONS IN BARNET, NORTH LONDON

Here’s a summary of what is going on in Barnet this morning, where voters are being turned away from polling stations as a result of a mix-up.

0956: — NICOLA STURGEON VOTES IN SCOTLAND

Voting is underway in Scotland as SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon casts her vote:

0952: — ENTER YOUR POSTCODE TO FIND OUT WHAT YOU ARE ELIGIBLE TO VOTE FOR TODAY

With so many different elections going on today across the country, finding out what you are voting for is more confusing than it should be. Get some clarification by entering your postcode here:

0940: — PRIME MINISTER RETURNS FROM VOTING

Here’s a picture of David Cameron with his wife Samantha Cameron after voting today in Wesminster:

Sam and I just got back from voting – whatever you’re doing today, make sure you #VoteConservative and #BackZac2016. pic.twitter.com/dfSW6aQnS8

— David Cameron (@David_Cameron) May 5, 2016

0915: — DAVID CAMERON AND JEREMY CORBYN HAVE BOTH NOW VOTED

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has cast his vote. So has Prime Minister David Cameron, according to the BBC. Pictures to follow shortly.

Just voted for @UKlabour, @SadiqKhan and @JennetteArnold#VoteLabourpic.twitter.com/vg9AiC3piC

— Jeremy Corbyn MP (@jeremycorbyn) May 5, 2016

0913: — 16 AND 17-YEAR-OLDS CAST THEIR FIRST VOTES IN SCOTLAND

Outside of Barnet, voting seems to be running smoothly across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland 16 and 17-year-olds are eligible to vote for the first time.

Election day & proud of Scotland as it will be the 1st time 16 and 17yr olds have been eligible to vote in a Scottish Parliament election!

— Scott Hay (@PotentialCIC) May 5, 2016

0855: — BARNET COUNCIL ADMITS PROBLEM

Barnet Council has admitted that there are “problems with voting registers.” Voters are being asked to come back later, though no time frame has been given.

We are aware of problems with voting registers at our polling stations. This being resolved. Please take voting cards with you.

— Barnet Council (@BarnetCouncil) May 5, 2016

Please can voters unable to vote this morning return to their polling station later if possible. We apologise for these problems.

— Barnet Council (@BarnetCouncil) May 5, 2016

There is speculation from commentator Mark Ferguson that Barnet have the “updates to the electoral register, but not the actual register.”

Apparently polling stations in Barnet have the updates to the electoral register but not the actual register. If true, that’s disastrous

— Mark Ferguson (@Markfergusonuk) May 5, 2016

0846: — THE “SHAMBLES” IN BARNET CONTINUES

Scenes are deteriorating into anger and even “tears” in Barnet, where voters have been turned away by staff, after a mix-up with polling lists.

@ArjunMittra@BarnetCouncil#LondonMayor2016. My card. Says don’t bring. 30y #eastfinchley resident left in tears. pic.twitter.com/xk8P5qt1Ps

— Karen Edge (@drkarenedge) May 5, 2016

Disenfranchised. #eastfinchley booth @7am. 9th in queue. All had polling cards. No one (none) on register. #shocker#LondonVotes (or cant)

— Ian Shapiro (@ShapiroIan) May 5, 2016

0840 — LABOUR LEADER JEREMY CORBYN ON HIS WAY TO VOTE

Jeremy Corbyn has posted on Twitter that he is on his way to vote in the Mayoral and Council elections. Corbyn said he wants to “Send David Cameron and the Conservatives a message today.” The elections across the UK will mark a critical early test in the Islington North MP’s leadership.

On my way to vote. Send David Cameron and the Conservatives a message today #VoteLabourpic.twitter.com/5X7R9CSqKY

— Jeremy Corbyn MP (@jeremycorbyn) May 5, 2016

0833 — CHUKA UMUNNA CRITICISES “NEGATIVE” TORY CAMPAIGN

Every senior Lib Dem I speak to is giving their second preference to @SadiqKhan today. Greens too.All appalled by the negative Tory campaign

— Chuka Umunna (@ChukaUmunna) May 5, 2016

0818 — ZAC GOLDSMITH AND SADIQ KHAN HAVE BOTH VOTED

The mayoral candidates for the Conservatives and Labour have both voted. Sadiq Khan was first to tweet about it at 0755. Khan arrived at his local polling station in Streatham with his wife Saadiya.

I’ve just voted. Make sure you vote today – you have until 10pm.

I’ll be a Mayor for all Londoners. pic.twitter.com/8zmE6dyHQ8

— Sadiq Khan MP (@SadiqKhan) May 5, 2016

Zac Goldsmith followed at 0816. Goldsmith is pitcured voting with his wife Alice:

Alice and I have just voted – make sure you do too. Polling stations are open until 10pm tonight. #BackZac2016pic.twitter.com/DXXGI8sklA

— Zac Goldsmith (@ZacGoldsmith) May 5, 2016

0808 — BARNET VOTERS TOLD TO “COME BACK LATER”

Voters in Barnet are being told to go away and come back later, according to local news website Times Series. The mishap is a result of a mix up with voting lists.

Voters in the town are being advised to take polling cards with them to prove their identity:

People being turned away from polling stations in #Barnet. Take polling cards with you to prove you’ve gone to the right place!

— Rebecca Pinnington (@beckypinners) May 5, 2016

0758 — APPARENT SCREW UP IN BARNET

People are reporting on Twitter that an apparent major screw-up with the lists in Barnet has left many people unable to vote. You don’t normally need your polling card to vote — but in this instance, people are being turned away without it.

Not on voter list at LB Barnet polling station. Allowed to vote as I had my polling card. Just Barnet or elsewhere too? #mayoralelections

— Peter Kenway (@pknpi) May 5, 2016

@jimwaterson yes it is. I just went to vote and none of my family is on the list. All registered.

— Charlotte Henry (@charlotteahenry) May 5, 2016

Barnet voters bring your polling card to vote. Barnet stuffed up lists and without card you might lose vote

— David Clover (@davidclover) May 5, 2016

As soon as we have more information on this, we’ll let you know.

0712 — RESULTS SCHEDULE

Wondering when results will start coming in after the polls close? Over at The Guardian, Rowena Mason has a good roundup of when we should expect to start hearing who won there. The short answer is that some results will trickle in overnight — including by-elections, and the Scottish Parliament, with council results coming in in dribs and drabs well into Friday.

The key vote that many are watching — the London mayoral race — is expected between 5PM and 10PM on Friday.

0700 — POLLS OPEN

Polls are open! If you’re eligible to vote in any of the UK’s various elections held today (more info on that below), then head along to a polling booth at any time between now and 10PM tonight.

0600 — GOOD MORNING!

Hello, and welcome to Business Insider UK’s liveblog for the 2016 elections!

Polls open in an hour in what promises to be an series of exciting elections. Here’s what you need to know going into it.

The Basics

There are a number of elections being contested across the UK today. These are:

• Mayoral elections in London, Bristol, Liverpool, and Salford.
• Council elections at 124 English councils.
• Police Commissioner elections in England and Wales (but not London).
• Northern Irish assembly elections.
• Welsh assembly elections.
• Scottish Parliament elections.
• London assembly elections.

If you’re unsure of what you’re eligible to vote in, then BuzzFeed has put together a great tool. Just enter your postcode and it’ll tell you what elections are being held in your area.

Polls are open between 7 a.m. BST and 10 p.m. BST — go to your local polling station to vote, unless you signed up in advance for a postal vote. You don’t need to take your polling card with you to vote, but if you didn’t register (or were already registered), then it’s too late now — sorry!

We’ll get exit polls immediately after polls close at 10 p.m. BST (it’s actually illegal to publish any before then), with the proper results coming in as they’re counted overnight and into tomorrow morning.

Today is a test of Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership — and David Cameron’s

Carl Court/Getty ImagesLabour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, addresses supporters and members of the media as he launches his party’s local election campaign on April 5, 2016 in Harlow, England.

These elections will be a critical early test of Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership of the Labour Party.

The veteran politician has huge support among the party base, but the Parliamentary party is far less warm towards him, amid fears his politics are too left-wing for the general public.

A strong result will be taken by his supporters as a vindication of his approach, while heavy losses could provoke open rebellion in the Commons.

The elections will also serve as a barometer of public confidence in David Cameron’s government. It has been a year since the Conservative Prime Minister returned to power with an outright (though slim) majority, allowing him to discard his coalition partners; today will give us a indication as to what Britain thinks of the Tory’s performance flying solo thus far.

Right now, it’s not looking great for Corbyn. Polling in late April suggested that Labour could be in line for the “worst council defeat in opposition in 34 years,” according the The Telegraph, with the party standing to lose as many as 220 council seats if it polls 4 points behind the Conservatives.

We’re about to discover the electoral cost of Labour’s anti-Semitism row

Over the last week or so, Labour has been caught in a ugly firestorm over allegations of anti-Semitism within the party.

Two senior Labour party members — MP Naz Shah and former London mayor Ken Livingstone — have been suspended over allegedly anti-Semitic remarks, and on Monday, the Telegraph reported that the party has secretly suspended more than 50 party members over “anti-Semitic and racist comments.”

Labour is battling to keep the crisis under control, launching an independent inquiry into the issue. But the Conservatives have hammered Labour on the issue, with David Cameron bringing it up on the eve of the elections during Wednesday’s Prime Minister’s Questions.

We will soon discover whether the row has harmed Labour in the polls.

Labour is tipped to win in London

The London mayoral election is a two-horse race between Labour’s Sadiq Khan and Ken Livingstone. Though Tory Boris Johnson has served as mayor since 2008, London as a whole is traditionally Labour heartland, and Khan is odds-on favourite to win.

Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)Former mayor of London, Ken Livingstone.

The race is complicated by the fact that one of the Labour figures suspended in the anti-Semitism row is Ken Livingstone, the former London mayor, who made (and repeatedly defended) bizarre remarks claiming that Adolf Hitler was a Zionist. Khan was swift to condemn Livingstone, but it remains to be seen whether the issue has affected his chances.

With that said, the Conservative campaign in London hasn’t been free of accusations of racism either. Rhetoric in the election has been remarkably ugly, with Goldsmith attacking Khan — a Muslim — as a “radical” and attacking his judgment for sharing a platform with alleged Islamic extremists.

Khan’s camp has countered that Goldsmith’s tactics amount to “dog-whistle racism,” intended to play on voters’ prejudices.

The Tories could move into second place in Scotland

The nationalist SNP currently has a resounding majority in the Scottish Parliament — 69 seats to second-place Labour’s 37. The SNP will be seeking to maintain this majority, while the Conservatives — who currently hold 15 seats in Holyrood — are angling to slip past Labour into second place in Scotland.

There’s a question mark over the future of the police and crime commissioner elections

The most interesting result to come out of the police and crime commissioner elections, held in England and Wales, won’t be the winners — it’ll be the turnout.

Introduced in 2012, turnout in these elections has typically been abysmal, and many are calling for them to ditched altogether.

Stay tuned for more…

Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats are battling in their first major elections since leaving government, and the Welsh and Irish assemblies are up for grabs.

We’ll be covering all the day’s events live, reporting on the ground and linking out to other coverage we’re appreciating, so check back in regularly for the latest developments and the exit polls and results after the polls close.

This is a liveblog of the day’s events and will be updated frequently. Refresh the page for the latest news, or click here.

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