Usher and Janet Jackson headline 30th Essence Festival of Culture

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The best of Black culture's policymakers, thought leaders, creatives, spiritual gurus, business movers and shakers, health experts and, of course, musical talent are poised to converge in New Orleans over the Fourth of July weekend as part of the Essence Festival of Culture.

The festival kicks off Thursday and runs through Sunday. This year, it celebrates 30 years of entertainment, networking and thought-provoking conversations to inspire solutions for issues facing urban communities. The underlying premise remains the same: purposeful partying.

Vice President Kamala Harris is scheduled to hold a conversation with Essence CEO Caroline Wanga during the Global Black Economic Forum on Saturday at the festival. The visit comes amid calls by some for the replacement of President Joe Biden on the Democratic presidential ticket following his debate with former President Donald Trump. Those types of in-depth dialogues, covering a wide-range of topics, can be expected throughout the event.

“This experience was built to celebrate 25 years of Essence magazine, Black womanhood,” said Hakeem Holmes, vice president for the Essence Festival of Culture. “Black women built this festival, Black women poured into this festival. They had a good time at this festival, made relationships and networked — all at this festival — and then they brought what they learned home with them."

Since its beginning, the festival has morphed into a multi-generational event that seeks to touch the entire Black family, by offering "a little bit of everything for everyone,'' Holmes said.

Much of that transition, Holmes said, is thanks to the city that's hosted the event every year except one. In 2006, Houston hosted the festival, while New Orleans dealt with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Lisa Alexis, director of Mayor Latoya Cantrell's Office of Cultural Economy, said 30 years of Essence has had a $327 million impact on the city.

“It started as a party with a purpose, but over the years they've expounded on that," Alexis said. “We now have the Black Global Economic Forum, the film festival, a wellness area, a marketplace. Our businesses have the opportunity through this partnership to be a part of the vendor market, and we're able to share and support one another as our cultural entrepreneurs look to grow.”

That kind of paying it forward is what helps keep the festival relevant, Holmes said.

“Relevancy is driven by our relationship to this community,” said Holmes, a New Orleans native. “We are constantly listening. … We have what folks want to see throughout this event. We have people who are coming to have conversations about things they can actionably take as next steps when they return home. And, we have the parties, too!”

Holmes said keeping long-term fans engaged in the festival is always a challenge.

“It's like expecting something new while maintaining the familiar,” he said. “I think it's like going to church every Sunday. You're gonna get a different sermon by the same person, but for whatever reason, every Sunday you're touched differently. That is the essence of the festival. It's a community gathering. It's a homecoming. It's a reunion. And I think that is what attracts and keeps people engaged.”

Holmes said the festival will be available in person and virtually (via essence.com ). "We're giving folks everything they want in a consolidated amount of time during the day and then at night, they can go and have a good time,” he said.

That good time includes a Friday night concert inside the Superdome featuring Bryan “Birdman” Williams and Friends as they, too, celebrate 30 years of Cash Money Records and its Millionaires. Juvenile, Busta Rhymes, T-Pain, The Roots and Mannie Fresh are scheduled to perform. R&B singers Jacquees and Ari Lennox and country artist Mickey Guyton also will take the stage.

Usher headlines Saturday and celebrates the 20th anniversary of his “Confessions” album, which includes hits like “Yeah,” “Burn,” “Caught Up” and “Bad Girl.” "Confessions'' has sold more than 10 million units in the U.S. Others scheduled to perform include Charlie Wilson, Ayra Starr, Big Boi, Donell Jones, Lloyd, Method Man, Sheila E. and TGT — a trio featuring Tyrese, Ginuwine and Tank.

Janet Jackson is the headliner Sunday, the final night. Victoria Monét, Keke Palmer, Teedra Moses, Tank and the Bangas, Dawn Richard, SWV, Jagged Edge, Bilal and Anthony Hamilton will also perform. The four-day event will close with the return of the all-white party and a special tribute to Frankie Beverly & Maze, curated by Grammy award-winning producer and songwriter, Bryan-Michael Cox. Beverly has said that he is stepping away from performing live, and the group has been on a farewell tour.

For the festival's first 15 years, Frankie Beverly & Maze closed the event with a massive performance, watched by thousands singing along to the group's hits, including “Before I Let Go,” “Joy and Pain" and “Happy Feelin's." In 2010, a new event producer ended the tradition to the disappointment of many festgoers despite the talent tapped to close, including Beyoncé, Mary J. Blige and Lionel Richie.

“This is our big send-off to Frankie & Maze," Holmes said. "It will be a mix of him singing and others singing to him. This will be a true, here-are-your-flowers moment.”

This year, Holmes said, organizers seek to celebrate milestones.

“To have both Usher and Janet on the same bill. Such pioneers in their genre. What we're ultimately seeing in this 30th year is a passing of the torch in culture and musically. Having Victoria Monét on the same night as Janet. That's what you'll see on the night-by-night. Chronology of acts that are reminiscent, that speak to multi-generations and give the people who they want to see,” he said.

FILE - Victoria Monet performs during the BET Awards on Sunday, June 30, 2024, at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. Monet will be performing at the 30th Essence Festival of Culture, Fourth of July weekend, 2024, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)

FILE - Frankie Beverly performs at the Essence Festival at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, July 7, 2019, in New Orleans. Beverly will be performing at the 30th Essence Festival of Culture, Fourth of July weekend, 2024, in New Orleans. (Photo by Donald Traill/Invision/AP, File)

FILE - Janet Jackson performs at the Essence Festival in New Orleans, July 8, 2018. Jackson will be performing at the 30th Essence Festival of Culture, Fourth of July weekend, 2024, in New Orleans. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP, File)

FILE - Usher performs during halftime of the NFL Super Bowl 58 football game Feb. 11, 2024, in Las Vegas. Usher will be headlining the 30th Essence Festival of Culture, Fourth of July weekend, 2024, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)

FILE - Attendees walk around the 2018 Essence Festival at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center on Friday, July 6, 2018, in New Orleans. The 30th Essence Festival of Culture, celebrating the best of Black culture’s policymakers, thought leaders, creatives, business minds, health experts and musical talent, will take place this Fourth of July weekend, 2024, in New Orleans. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP, File)

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says the British people have “delivered a sobering verdict" as he conceded that the left-of-center Labour Party has won the general election and can form a government to replace the Conservatives for the first time in 14 years.

Sunak said he took responsibility for his party’s loss, and that he had called Labour leader Keir Starmer to congratulate him on his victory.

Voters in the U.K. cast their ballots Thursday in a national election to choose the 650 lawmakers who will sit in Parliament for the next five years.

With more than half of all seats counted, Labour, led by Keir Starmer, has gained at least 326 seats, enough to have a majority in Parliament.

An exit poll suggested that after more than a decade in power under five different prime ministers, Sunak ’s Conservatives are set to have their seats in the 650-seat House of Commons cut down to 131. That would be the Tories’ worst result in the party’s two-century history and one that would leave the party in disarray.

Here's the latest:

Labour leader Keir Starmer, who is set to become the first Labour prime minister in 14 years, says his government will always put “country first, party second.”

He said a “mandate like this comes with great responsibility,” and added that his government will be focused on “national renewal.”

“We have to return politics to public service,” he said.

With more than half of all 650 seats counted, Labour looks set to secure one of its biggest ever majorities in the House of Commons.

Starmer is expected to pay a visit to King Charles III later Friday to get the monarch’s permission to form a new government.

Official results show Britain’s Labour Party has won enough seats to have a majority in the UK Parliament and will form the next government.

The party had won 326 of the 650 seats by 5 a.m. Friday as counting continued.

That means leader Keir Starmer will become prime minister and can form a majority government.

“We did it,” he said at a victory party in London. “Change begins now."

Hope is “shining once again on a country with the opportunity after 14 years to get its future back,” Starmer said.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says the British people have “delivered a sobering verdict,” and the Labour Party has won the election.

Sunak, who held onto his lawmaker's seat in North Yorkshire, told those gathered: “The Labour party has won this general election."

He said he took “responsibility” for his party’s loss, and that he had called Labour leader Keir Starmer to congratulate him on his victory.

He added that he will head to London in the coming hours, and promised that the transition to Labour will be orderly.

Sunak is expected to go to see King Charles III at Buckingham Palace on Friday to officially resign. After that, Starmer is expected to be driven to the palace to get the king’s permission to form a government.

With more than half of the 650 seats declared so far, Labour is emerging way ahead of other parties with at least 250 seats.

The governing Conservatives have 44 seats, while the left-of-center Liberal Democrats have won 32 seats.

The hard-right, anti-immigration Reform UK has won 4 seats so far.

The Scottish National Party has four seats, while the Green Party has 1 seat.

While the Labour Party appears headed for a landslide U.K. election victory, it seems clear that it has suffered in areas with big Muslim communities over its stance on the conflict in Gaza.

A prominent Labour member, Jonathan Ashworth, lost his Leicester South seat in central England to an independent candidate who had Gaza at the heart of his campaign.

Ashworth, who was expected to be appointed to the Cabinet, lost around 20,000 votes when compared to the election of 2019.

Even Labour leader Keir Starmer saw his majority in his Holborn and St. Pancras seat in north London reduced, with more than 7,000 votes going to a pro-Gaza candidate.

After the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel by Hamas militants, Starmer took a strongly pro-Israel stance and maintained it even as the death toll in Gaza swelled. Many Muslims who had been traditional Labour voters were aghast and have clearly turned to other candidates.

Nigel Farage, the leader of the hard-right Reform UK party, has been elected to Parliament.

Farage won the contest in the seaside town of Clacton-on-Sea, becoming a lawmaker at his eighth try after seven failed election attempts.

Partial results show the anti-immigration Reform, successor to the Brexit Party, has taken votes from both the Conservatives and Labour.

Farage said the party was “going to come second in hundreds of constituencies.” It is not yet clear how many seats Reform will win.

He said there is a “massive gap” in the right of British politics, and it was his job to fill it.

“My plan is to build a mass national movement over the course of the next few years,” he said.

Jeremy Corbyn, who led the Labour Party into the general elections of 2017 and 2019, has held onto his seat in north London — but this time as an independent.

Corbyn, who had been suspended from the party following a row over antisemitism, decided to stand as an independent candidate in the Islington North constituency he has represented since 1983.

Corbyn won the seat by nearly 7,000 votes over his Labour opponent. Corbyn had won the seat by more than 26,000 votes at the last election.

U.K. Defense Secretary Grant Shapps, long a key figure in the Conservative Party, has lost his seat in the general election.

Shapps lost his contest for Welwyn Hatfield, a seat north of London, by nearly 4,000 votes, or by 8 percentage points to his Labour Party opponent Andrew Lewin.

Shapps, 55, is the most senior Cabinet minister to lose their seat so far. He was widely considered to be the government’s most trusted media performers over many years and had been tipped as a potential Conservative leadership candidate to replace Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

Labour leader Keir Starmer says “voters have spoken and they are ready for change” as an exit poll points to a landslide win for his party.

Starmer spoke as he won his seat in north London but on a much-reduced majority.

Addressing the audience, he spoke of the need to return politics to “public service” and the need for “change.”

He thanked voters for electing him to serve “my home, where my kids have grown up, where my wife was born.”

“It all starts with you. Change begins in this community,” he said. “You have voted, it is now time for us to deliver.”

Reform U.K., the recently formed anti-immigration party, has won its first seat in the general election.

Lee Anderson, the former Conservative deputy chairman who defected to Reform a few months ago, held onto his seat in Ashfield in central England with 43% of the vote.

Reform has posed a serious headache to the governing Conservatives, luring many previously staunch Tory voters with its promises to cut immigration.

The exit poll suggested that the party, which is led by divisive right-wing politician Nigel Farage, could win up to 13 seats in the 650-seat House of Commons.

Count Binface, the comedy independent candidate hoping to unseat Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in his seat of Richmond and North Allerton, has appeared at a vote counting center.

The self-described intergalactic space warrior is a satirical character created by comedian David Harvey. He has said his ambition was to conquer “the entire omniverse.” He also said he hoped that his campaign will raise a smile and show that “democracy is alive”.

“There’s something wonderful that in the year of 2024 when so many countries are going to the polls and democracy is under threat like never before, it’s still possible to do what I do,” he said in a recent interview.

Labour’s Rachel Reeves, who is set to become the first female Treasury chief if her party wins the U.K. election, said she is “under no illusions” about the scale of the challenge she will face.

“The severity of the inheritance from the Conservatives is truly awful,” she told Sky News.

Reeves noted that the U.K.’s debt burden is running at 100% of the country’s national income and the tax burden at a seven-decade high.

She said she “can’t promise to turn everything around straight away.”

Reeves said the driving mission of an incoming Labour government is to kickstart economic growth.

Britain's governing Conservative Party has lost its first seat it was defending in the country's general election.

Robert Buckland, a former justice minister, lost his Swindon South seat in central England after his vote slumped by 25% compared with the last election 2019. Labour’s Heidi Alexander won the seat, returning to Parliament after she resigned in 2018 to take up a position with the mayor of London.

According to the exit poll, the Conservatives are set to lose more than 200 seats and suffer its worst result since 1906.

Voting in the U.K. is done the old-school way — no voting machines are used. Instead, voters put a pencil to paper, and all ballot papers are counted manually.

After ballot boxes are opened, the ballot papers in the box are mixed with postal vote ballot papers and the counting begins at counting centers across the U.K.

Several dozen seats are expected to be declared from now until around 0100GMT to 0200GMT – including Labour leader Keir Starmer’s London seat, Holborn and St. Pancras.

From 0200GMT onwards will be the busiest part of the night, with more than 200 seats expected to be declared.

By around 0300GMT, enough results should be known to suggest which party is on course to win.

A Labour Party candidate has won the first U.K. seat to report its result in the general election.

Bridget Phillipson, who is Labour's education spokesperson, won with a majority of 7,169 in the Houghton and Sunderland South seat in the northeast of England from the second-placed candidate.

That’s more than double the majority she won last time the seat was contested in 2019.

The candidate from the recently formed anti-immigration Reform U.K. came second, pushing the candidate from the governing Conservative Party into third.

Phillipson said the result represented a vote for “hope and unity, not decline and division.”

Leading members of Britain’s main political parties are reacting to the exit poll suggesting the opposition Labour Party winning a landslide victory and returning to power for the first time since 2010.

Labour's deputy leader Angela Rayner told Sky News that the Conservatives are getting punished by voters for “14 years of the chaos and the scandals and the decline.”

Labour’s national campaign chief, Pat McFadden, said the transformation of his party since its poor showing in the 2019 election has been “remarkable.”

“We have campaigned as a changed Labour Party, ready to change Britain,” he said.

Meanwhile, Ruth Davidson, the former leader of the Scottish Conservatives, said the exit poll pointed to a “massacre” for the party.

The projection suggests that the Conservatives will end up with its lowest number of seats in the House of Commons since 1906.

Results from Britain's exit poll suggest that the governing Conservatives are set to have their seats in the 650-seat House of Commons cut down to 131 — the Tories' worst result in the party’s two-century history and one that would leave the party in disarray.

The exit poll also forecasts the left-of-center Liberal Democrats will take 61 seats, and Nigel Farage's right-wing, anti-immigration Reform UK, which currently does not have any seats, is set to take 13 seats. The Green Party is expected to take 2.

The Scottish National Party, SNP, are expected to secure 10 seats.

As polls close across the U.K., an exit poll suggests the Labour Party is headed for a huge majority in Britain’s election.

The poll, released moments after polls closed on Thursday, indicates that Labour leader Keir Starmer will be the country’s next prime minister.

Britain’s exit poll is conducted by pollster Ipsos and asks people at scores of polling stations to fill out a replica ballot showing how they have voted. It usually provides a reliable though not exact projection of the final result.

The exit poll suggested that Labour will win 410 of the House of Commons' 650 seats, with the Conservatives taking 131 seats.

One of the significant unknowns in Thursday’s U.K election is how turnout will influence the outcome. The number of people who voted won’t be known until after polls close.

The U.K. has 67 million residents and 46 million were registered to vote in the last general election in 2019. Turnout at that time was 67%.

In local elections in May when Conservatives suffered heavy losses in council seats and mayoral offices, turnout averaged 30%, the Institute for Government, an independent think tank, reported.

Conservatives expressed optimism that reports of high turnout Thursday could help them overcome polls that have suggested a widespread Labour victory.

With a double-digit lead in the polls, Labour fears supporters will be complacent and won’t vote. They’ve urged their supporters to go to the polls.

If you were watching the news coverage of the U.K. election, you would be forgiven for thinking it has gone to the dogs.

Seemingly every news site had a gallery of images with dogs outside polling stations, patiently waiting for their owners to do their civic duty while the news business fulfilled an obligation of its own to protect the sanctity of elections.

The U.K. has restrictions on what can be reported on election days before the polls close to avoid influencing voters. Unlike the United States, where there is wall-to-wall coverage and analysis, there is no such reporting in Britain.

There are just reports that people are going to the polls, along with photos and footage of the lead candidates entering polling stations — but there is no discussion of their campaign platforms.

Thus, the puppy love.

There was Alfie, a blonde shaggy dog in Chiswick, Arnie a cockapoo wearing a rainbow color bowtie in Liverpool and Tobie, a rare ottherhound, in Norfolk. Those were on Sky News.

On the BBC, there was Lucien, a Bernese mountain dog, lying outside Antrobus Village Hall in Cheshire, Pippin, a fox red Labrador, in the Edgware part of London, and Maui, an Old English sheepdog in Wokingham.

Journalists went the extra mile to show that it wasn’t just pooches at polls — they found at least two horses, a cat, a chicken and a giant snake named Neptune.

Voters in the north London borough of Islington started to gather even before the polling station opened as the historically Labour Party stronghold tantalizingly considers the possibility of a change in government after 14 years of Conservative rule.

James Erskine, who works in advertising, said he was unable to forgive Conservative austerity policies that he believes have decimated public services, such as the National Health Service. Even so, he wanted to vote for something rather than against something.

“I think nothing has gone well in the last 14 years, and I think it’s really important that the right result happens,’’ he told The Associated Press. “I was even excited that we might get a different opposition to the big two parties. I don’t actually think that will happen, but that would be amazing. I just see this as the potential for a seismic shift, and that’s what I’m hoping for.”

Erskine did not disclose who he voted for

England’s team base at the European Championship soccer tournament in Germany is a “politics-free zone” on election day, defender John Stones says.

Stones said he had no clue about his teammates’ voting intentions.

“I couldn’t tell you about the other lads. I’m sure it it’ll be something that’ll get brought up tonight, later on, but I couldn’t tell you who they vote for. They keep it close to their chests,” he said.

That’s a stark contrast to France’s players, who have been vocal about a hard-fought parliamentary election campaign at home.

England is preparing for its Euro 2024 quarterfinal match against Switzerland on Saturday

LONDON — Britain is going to the polls Thursday at a time when public dissatisfaction is running high over a host of issues.

From the high cost of living and a stagnating economy to a dysfunctional state health care system and crumbling infrastructure, some disillusioned voters have turned to the populist Reform Party.

Its divisive leader Nigel Farage, who championed Brexit, is drawing growing numbers of Conservative voters with his pledge to “take our country back.”

Opponents have long accused Farage of fanning racist attitudes toward migrants and condemned what they call his scapegoat rhetoric. They say that underfunding of schools, hospitals and housing under governments on the right and left is the problem, not migrants.

Polls show Farage has a comfortable lead in Clacton-on-Sea — a town on England’s southeast coast where many older, white voters used to staunchly support the governing Conservatives.

It’s unclear how much impact his party will have in capturing seats and Parliament, though it could be a spoiler by siphoning votes from Conservative candidates.

Farage, who has lost seven campaigns for Parliament, was the rare party leader who didn’t go to the polls Thursday. He voted in advance by mail.

All voters in the U.K. were required to bring identification with them Thursday for the first time in a general election.

A change in the law has required voters in England, Scotland and Wales to prove their identity since 2023 by showing a passport, drivers’ license and more than a dozen other acceptable forms of ID.

Voters in Northern Ireland have had to show identification since 1985, and photo ID since 2003.

The Elections Act introduced by former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in 2022 was enforced, ironically, earlier this year when Johnson tried to vote without ID in a local election in South Oxfordshire.

He was turned away, but returned later with his identification and cast his vote.

Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey voted Thursday in an election that could see his left-of-center party gain a larger share of seats in Parliament.

Davey’s Lib Dems have been trying to make inroads in areas of southern England where Conservatives are vulnerable as their party has plunged in popularity after 14 years in power.

Davey’s stunt-filled campaign has been a publicity bonanza. He has tumbled off a paddleboard into a lake, braved roller coaster rides and bungee jumped, urging voters to take “a leap of faith.”

The party had 15 of the 650 seats in the House of Commons when Parliament was dissolved in May.

The party has vowed to improve Britain’s ailing health and social care systems, including introducing free nursing care at home. It wants to lower voting age to 16 and rejoin the European Union’s single market.

Communities all over the United Kingdom such as Henley-on-Thames are locked in tight contests in which traditional party loyalties come second to more immediate concerns about the economy, crumbling infrastructure and the National Health Service.

Though it has traditionally been a Conservative Party stronghold, the area known for its famous regatta may change its stripes. The Conservatives, which took power during the depths of the global financial crisis, have been beset by sluggish growth, declining public services and a series of scandals, making them easy targets for critics on the left and right.

“This is a blue (Conservative) town, always has been,’’ said Sam Wilkinson, a restaurant manager. “My generation won’t necessarily vote blue, not necessarily, but at the same time who else do you vote for? It’s really tricky. I’m just kind of looking out for my kids really, hopefully more money into education and the arts.”

Residents steadily streamed to the polling station, including Patricia Mulcahy, who is retired.

“The younger generation are far more interested in change,’’ she said. “So, I think whatever happens in Henley, in the country, there will be a big shift. But whoever gets in, they’ve got a heck of a job ahead of them. It’s not going to be easy.”

Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who is running for reelection as an independent, posted a photo of himself voting Thursday in his North London district.

Corbyn, a socialist who has won his seat for Labour at every general election since 1983, was suspended from the party and barred from running by Labour after his leadership faced antisemitism allegations.

He became deeply unpopular after Labour in 2019 suffered its worst defeat since 1935.

Keir Starmer was chosen as leader to replace Corbyn and he has rebuilt it and moved it closer to the center. Pollsters and politicians expect Labour to win the largest number of seats.

Labour Party leader Keir Starmer voted Thursday in an election that is widely expected to return his party to power for the first time in 14 years and make him prime minister.

Starmer, who has warned his supporters not to take the election for granted despite polls and politicians predicting a landslide, voted in his London neighborhood.

Pollsters have given Labour a double-digit lead since before the campaign began six weeks ago.

Starmer has spent his time criss-crossing Britain and urging voters to vote for change.

He has pledged to revive a sluggish economy, invest in the nation’s crumbling infrastructure and repair the broken National Health Service, which his center-left party founded in 1945.

Scottish National Party leader John Swinney has voted as his party fights to hold off a wave of support from the rival Labour Party.

Swinney, who became the SNP’s third leader in just over a year in May, has tried to bring stability to a party in turmoil.

Scotland’s long-serving First Minister Nicola Sturgeon abruptly stepped down last year during a campaign finance investigation that eventually led to criminal charges against her husband, who was the party’s chief executive.

Swinney joined the party at 15 years old, and previously led the party from 2000 to 2004.

Swinney has said that if his party wins a majority of seats in Scotland he will try to open Scottish independence negotiations with the London-based U.K. government. He wants to rejoin the European Union and the European single market.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak cast his ballot Thursday in a national election that will determine if he remains in office.

Sunak, who tried to bring stability to a Conservative Party in chaos when he was picked as leader in October 2022, spent the past six weeks trying to persuade voters across the U.K. to give his party another term after 14 years in power.

Pollsters and politicians widely expect the Labour Party to win for the first time since 2005.

Sunak’s campaign got off to a soggy start when he called the snap election in a downpour outside 10 Downing Street in May.

He had been expected to wait until the fall, when expected improvements in the economy would give him a better chance.

Sunak voted shortly after polls opened in his constituency in Yorkshire in northern England.

British voters are picking a new government on Thursday after polls opened at 7 a.m. for a parliamentary election that is widely expected to bring the opposition Labour Party to power.

Against a backdrop of economic malaise, mounting distrust of government institutions and a fraying social fabric, a fractious electorate is delivering its verdict on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservative Party, which has been in power since 2010.

The center-left Labour Party, led by Keir Starmer, has had a steady and significant lead in opinion polls for months, but Labour leaders have warned against taking the election result for granted, worried their supporters will stay home.

Sunak, for his part, has tried to rally his supporters, saying on Sunday that he still thought the Conservatives could win and defending his record on the economy.

Labour Party leader Keir Starmer speaks to his supporters at the Tate Modern in London, Friday, July 5, 2024. Labour Party leader Starmer says voters "have spoken and they are ready for change" as an exit poll points to landslide win, and is expected to be the next British Prime Minister. The Labour Party has won the general election. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak arrives at Northallerton Leisure Centre in Northallerton, North Yorkshire, for the count for the Richmond and Northallerton constituency in the 2024 General Election, Friday July 5, 2024. (Danny Lawson/PA via AP)

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage gives a victory speech after winning his seat at Clacton Leisure Centre in Clacton, England, Friday July 5, 2024. Britain's Labour Party headed for a landslide victory Friday in a parliamentary election, an exit poll suggested, as voters punished the governing Conservatives after 14 years of economic and political upheaval. (Joe Giddens/PA Wire/PA via AP)

Britain's Labour Party leader Keir Starmer shakes hands with other candidates after he was elected for the Holborn and St Pancras constituency, in London, Friday, July 5, 2024. Britain's Labour Party appears to be headed for a huge majority in the 2024 UK election, an exit poll suggested. The poll released moments after voting closed indicated that Labour leader Keir Starmer will be the country's next prime minister. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, second right, arrives at Clacton Leisure Centre in Clacton, England, during the count for the 2024 General Election, Friday July 5, 2024. Britain's Labour Party headed for a landslide victory Friday in a parliamentary election, an exit poll suggested, as voters punished the governing Conservatives after 14 years of economic and political upheaval. (Joe Giddens/PA Wire/PA via AP)

Independent candidate Count Binface speaks to a journalist as he arrives for the vote count in Britain's general election at the Richmond and Northallerton count center in Northallerton, England, Friday July 5, 2024. (Temilade Adelaja, Pool via AP)

Labour Party leader Keir Starmer with his wife Victoria make their way through supporters as they arrive at the count for the Holborn and St Pancras Parliamentary constituency where the Starmer is standing for election, in London, Friday, July 5, 2024. Britain's Labour Party appears to be headed for a huge majority in the 2024 UK election, an exit poll suggested. The poll released moments after voting closed indicated that Labour leader Keir Starmer will be the country's next prime minister. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Votes are opened and counted for the British Parliamentary constituency of Holborn and St Pancras where the Labour Party leader Keir Starmer is standing for election, in London, Thursday, July 4, 2024. Britain's Labour Party appears to be headed for a huge majority in the 2024 UK election, an exit poll suggested. The poll released moments after voting closed indicated that Labour leader Keir Starmer will be the country's next prime minister. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Members of the media watch the results of the general election exit poll on a large TV screen at the count for the Holborn and St Pancras constituency where the Labour Party leader Keir Starmer is standing for election, in London, Thursday, July 4, 2024. An exit poll suggests the Labour Party is headed for a huge majority in Britain's election, ending 14 years of Conservative rule. The poll released moments after polls closed on Thursday indicates that Labour leader Keir Starmer will be the country's next prime minister. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Boxes of votes are emptied ready to be counted for the British Parliamentary constituency of Holborn and St Pancras where the Labour Party leader Keir Starmer is standing for election, in London, Thursday, July 4, 2024. Britain's Labour Party appears to be headed for a huge majority in the 2024 UK election, an exit poll suggested. The poll released moments after voting closed indicated that Labour leader Keir Starmer will be the country's next prime minister. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Ballots arrive at the Sports Training Village, University of Bath, in Somerset, England, during the count for the 2024 General Election, Thursday, July 4, 2024. Britain’s Labour Party was headed for a huge majority in Britain’s election on Thursday, an exit poll suggested. (Jonathan Brady/PA via AP)

A count verifier watches as ballots are sorted at Macclesfield Leisure Centre, in Cheshire, England, as the count begins for the 2024 General Election, Thursday, July 4, 2024. Britain’s Labour Party was headed for a huge majority in Britain’s election on Thursday, an exit poll suggested. (Peter Byrne/PA via AP)

Anne-Marie Laffey from the Labour Party waits at a polling station in Clacton On Sea, England, Thursday, July 4, 2024. Voters in the U.K. are casting their ballots in a national election to choose the 650 lawmakers who will sit in Parliament for the next five years. Outgoing Prime Minister Rishi Sunak surprised his own party on May 22 when he called the election. (AP Photo/Thomas Krych)

A woman leaves after casting her vote at a polling station in London, Thursday, July 4, 2024. Voters in the U.K. are casting their ballots in a national election to choose the 650 lawmakers who will sit in Parliament for the next five years. Outgoing Prime Minister Rishi Sunak surprised his own party on May 22 when he called the election. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

A woman exits a polling station set up at St George's Cathedral in London, Thursday, July 4, 2024. Voters in the U.K. are casting their ballots in a national election to choose the 650 lawmakers who will sit in Parliament for the next five years. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

A dog waits for its owner outside the polling station at Coulsdon Memorial Park, Croydon, England, during voting in the 2024 General Election, Thursday July 4, 2024. Voters in the U.K. are casting their ballots in a national election to choose the 650 lawmakers who will sit in Parliament for the next five years. Outgoing Prime Minister Rishi Sunak surprised his own party on May 22 when he called the election. (James Weech/PA via AP)

A cyclist passes a van with advertising for the Reform UK Party in Clacton On Sea, England, Thursday, July 4, 2024. Voters in the U.K. are casting their ballots in a national election to choose the 650 lawmakers who will sit in Parliament for the next five years. Outgoing Prime Minister Rishi Sunak surprised his own party on May 22 when he called the election. (AP Photo/Thomas Krych)

Joey, the Shih Tzu, waits outside the polling station as their owner votes in the general election at St James' Church, Goldenacre, in Edinburgh, Scotland, Thursday July 4, 2024. (Jane Barlow/PA via AP)

A voter waits with his dog after casting his vote at the Cherry Tree public house which is being used a polling station in Urpeth, County Durham, northern England, Thursday, July 4, 2024. Britain goes to the polls Thursday after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called a general election. (AP Photo/Scott Heppell)

Scottish First Minister and SNP leader John Swinney, right, stands with local parliamentary candidate for Angus and Perthshire Glens, Dave Doogan, after casting his vote outside the 2024 General Election polling station at Burreltown Village Hall in Blairgowrie, Scotland, Thursday July 4, 2024. (Jane Barlow/PA via AP)

A sign for polling station is set up at Magdalen Hill Cemetery near Winchester, England, Thursday, July 4, 2024. (Andrew Matthews/PA via AP)

A woman holds a tray after offering hot drinks to members of the media waiting for Labour Party leader Keir Starmer to vote outside a polling station in London, Thursday, July 4, 2024. Voters in the U.K. are casting their ballots in a national election to choose the 650 lawmakers who will sit in Parliament for the next five years. Outgoing Prime Minister Rishi Sunak surprised his own party on May 22 when he called the election. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

A woman leaves after casting her vote at a polling station in London, Thursday, July 4, 2024. Voters in the U.K. are casting their ballots in a national election to choose the 650 lawmakers who will sit in Parliament for the next five years. Outgoing Prime Minister Rishi Sunak surprised his own party on May 22 when he called the election. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

A polling station volunteer puts out notices just before voting starts in London, Thursday, July 4, 2024. Britain goes to the polls Thursday after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called a general election. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

A PETA activist , People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, dressed as a bear holds a poster in front of a polling station in London, Thursday, July 4, 2024. Voters in the U.K. are casting their ballots in a national election to choose the 650 lawmakers who will sit in Parliament for the next five years. Outgoing Prime Minister Rishi Sunak surprised his own party on May 22 when he called the election, which could have taken place as late as January 2025. Polls opened at 7 a.m. and will close at 10 p.m. on Thursday night. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

A voter leaves a polling station after casting his vote with his dog in Kingston, London, Thursday, July 4, 2024. Britain goes to the polls Thursday after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called a general election. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

A dog sits outside a polling station in Southfields in London, Thursday, July 4, 2024. Voters in the U.K. are casting their ballots in a national election to choose the 650 lawmakers who will sit in Parliament for the next five years. Outgoing Prime Minister Rishi Sunak surprised his own party on May 22 when he called the election. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

People go to cast their vote in a temporary polling station next to Norbiton railway station London Thursday, July 4, 2024. Britain goes to the polls Thursday after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called a general election. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

People go to vote in a temporary polling station next to Norbiton railway station London Thursday, July 4, 2024. Britain goes to the polls Thursday after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called a general election. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

A woman goes to cast her vote in a polling station at Brompton Methodist church in Northallerton, North Yorkshire, England, Thursday, July 4, 2024. Britain goes to the polls Thursday after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called a general election.(AP Photo/)

A man walks into a temporary polling station at Wimbledon Village, London, Thursday, July 4, 2024. Voters in the U.K. are casting their ballots in a national election to choose the 650 lawmakers who will sit in Parliament for the next five years.(AP Photo/Mark Baker)

People walk past a temporary polling station near Wimbledon, London, Thursday, July 4, 2024. Voters in the U.K. are casting their ballots in a national election to choose the 650 lawmakers who will sit in Parliament for the next five years. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)

Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty leave a polling station after voting near Richmond, North Yorkshire, England, Thursday, July 4, 2024. Britain goes to the polls Thursday after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called a general election. (AP Photo/Scott Heppell )

Labour leader Keir Starmer and his wife Victoria arrive to cast their votes in the 2024 General Election at Willingham Close TRA Hall in London, Thursday July 4, 2024. (James Manning/PA via AP)

Labour Party leader Keir Starmer and wife Victoria arrive at a polling station to cast their vote in London, Thursday, July 4, 2024. Voters in the U.K. are casting their ballots in a national election to choose the 650 lawmakers who will sit in Parliament for the next five years. Outgoing Prime Minister Rishi Sunak surprised his own party on May 22 when he called the election. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

A polling station is installed inside a launderette for the 2024 General Election, in Oxford, England, Thursday July 4, 2024. (Jacob King/PA via AP)

A polling station is installed inside a launderette for the 2024 General Election, in Oxford, England, Thursday July 4, 2024. (Jacob King/PA via AP)

A man leaves after casting his ballot at a polling station installed inside a launderette for the 2024 General Election, in Oxford, England, Thursday July 4, 2024. (Jacob King/PA via AP)

A polling station sign points to where local residents can cast their votes ahead of the general election, in London, Wednesday, July 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)