Millions of people across the UK are set to vote in the general election on Thursday where the ruling Conservatives are predicted to secure an overall majority despite an energetic bid for power by the opposition Labour Party, the media reported.

Voting will begin at 7 a.m. (local time) in over 40,000 polling stations across the country, the BBC reported.

Counting will start once the voting ends at 10 p.m.

A total of 650 Westminster MPs will be elected, with about 46.9 million people registered to vote. Some votes have already been cast, through postal voting.

A handful of seats will be declared by Thursday midnight, with the final results expected on Friday afternoon.

To form a majority in the House of Commons, one party must win 326 seats.

On Wednesday, the last day of election campaigning, Prime Minister Theresa May said she was ‘feeling good’ and used her final push to pitch for what she termed as ‘fiercely patriotic’ voters across Labour Party strongholds — the West Midlands, Yorkshire and the north-east, reports the Guardian.

During a 48-hour tour of places in marginal constituencies such as Fleetwood, Bradford, Stoke, Southampton and Nottingham, she also made clear that she wanted people to vote in defiance of the terror attacks.

May also stressed to voters that there were only 11 days until the Brexit negotiations start, saying the ‘final’ choice was between her or Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.

Corbyn, attended six rallies, starting at Glasgow, Scotland at 8 a.m. and ending in Islington, London with a speech at 9 p.m., where he claimed that Labour’s anti-austerity message was the ‘new centre ground’ of British politics.

Meanwhile, Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron urged supporters to ‘send a message’ to May on issues such as Brexit and social care by supporting his party.

Campaigning in Edinburgh, Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said re-electing Scottish National Party (SNP) MPs would ensure Scotland retained a ’strong voice’ in Westminster and deny the Conservatives a “crushing majority”, reports the BBC.

At their final election rally, the Green Party called on people to ‘vote with their hearts’.

Visiting Great Yarmouth, UK Independence Party (UKIP) leader Paul Nuttall said only his party could keep the pressure on the next government to deliver a ‘real Brexit’ — with lower immigration, exclusive fishing rights for British trawlers within UK territorial waters and no ‘divorce bill’.</s>Paul Nuttall has come third in the Boston and Skegness constituency, trailing both Labour and the Conservatives by a huge margin.

The seat was held by the Tories with a majority of 16,600. Matt Warman, the Conservative candidate, received 27,271 votes to Labour's 10,699.

Mr Nuttall was a distant third, picking up just 3,308 votes - 7.7 per cent of the total. Ukip had come second in the constituency in 2015, trailing the Tories by just 4,300 votes.

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The defeat marks a disastrous night for Ukip, with the party's vote share having collapsed across the UK.

As of 3.40am on Friday, Mr Nuttall’s party had won just 1.9 per cent of the vote – a fall of 10.9 per cent on its 2015 share.

The party got less than 5 per cent of the vote in many of the seats declared so far, meaning it will lose the £500 deposit all parties must pay to field a candidate.

​Ukip sources had begun the evening talking privately of the possibility of the party gaining two seats.

They now look set to win none, with the Clacton seat that was previously held by former Ukip MP Douglas Carswell looking likely to be retaken by the Conservatives.

Shape Created with Sketch. UK Election Day 2017 Show all 38 left Created with Sketch. right Created with Sketch. Shape Created with Sketch. UK Election Day 2017 1/38 Door of Number 10 Downing Street is seen on the morning after Britain's election in London REUTERS 2/38 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn leaves his home in north London after he called on the Prime Minister to resign, saying she should "go and make way for a government that is truly representative of this country" PA 3/38 Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell arrives at Labour Headquarters on June 9, 2017 in London, England. After a snap election was called by Prime Minister Theresa May the United Kingdom went to the polls yesterday. The closely fought election has failed to return a clear overall majority winner and a hung parliament has been declared Getty Images 4/38 Caroline Lucas, co-leader of Britain's Green Party, speaks after retaining her seat in the general election, in Brighton REUTERS 5/38 Patrons watch the results for Britain's election in London REUTERS 6/38 Leader of the Liberal democrats Tim Farron celebrates beating Conservative party candidate James Airey (R) following the announcement of the results at the Westmoorland and Lonsdale constituency count at Kendal Leisure Centre on June 9, 2017 in Kendal, United Kingdom. After a snap election was called, the United Kingdom went to the polls yesterday following a closely fought election. The results from across the country are being counted and an overall result is expected in the early hours Getty Images 7/38 Paul Nuttal, leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party reacts after failing to win the seat of Boston and Skegness at the counting centre for Britain's general election in Boston REUTERS 8/38 First Minister Nicola Sturgeon arrives at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, as counting is under way for the General Election. PA 9/38 Anna McMorrin hugs Jo Stevens MP after winning Cardiff North for Labour at the Sport Wales National Centre on June 9, 2017 in Cardiff, United Kingdom. After a snap election was called, the United Kingdom went to the polls yesterday following a closely fought election. The results from across the country are being counted and an overall result is expected in the early hours Getty Images 10/38 Vince Cable wins the Twickenham election for the Liberal Democrats. Richmond and Twickenham election Rex Features 11/38 Britain's Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn rubs his face after arriving for the declaration at his constituency in London AP 12/38 Emily Thornberry speaks after holding her Islington South and Finsbury seat at the Sobell Leisure Centre in Islington, north London PA 13/38 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May listens as the declaration at her constituency is made for in the general election in Maidenhead, England, Friday, June 9, 2017. British Prime Minister Theresa May's gamble in calling an early election appeared Friday to have backfired spectacularly, after an exit poll suggested her Conservative Party could lose its majority in Parliament AP 14/38 Labour Party candidate Emily Thornberry smiles at a counting centre for BritainâÃÃ´s general election in London REUTERS 15/38 A picture shows the Elizabeth Tower, commonly referred to as Big Ben, and the Houses of Parliament in central London on June 8, 2017, on the night of Britain's general election. Prime Minister Theresa May is poised to win Britain's snap election but lose her parliamentary majority, a shock exit poll suggested on June 8, in what would be a major blow for her leadership as Brexit talks loom AFP/Getty Images 16/38 DUP candidate for Lagan Valley Jeffrey Donaldson celebrates following his election at the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn as counting is under way for the General Election PA 17/38 Britain's Home Secretary Amber Rudd attends the count for her seat at a counting centre for Britain's general election in Hastings REUTERS 18/38 Ballots are counted at a counting centre for BritainâÃÃ´s general election in London Reuters 19/38 The London Eye is illuminated in blue, representing the Conservative Party, after the first exit polls announced in Britain's general election AP 20/38 Election officials count votes in the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland EPA 21/38 The London Eye is illuminated in red, the color of the Labour Party, after first exit polls of Britain's national election announced in London AP 22/38 BBC Television centre is illuminated with the exit poll results for Britain’s general election Eddie Keogh/Reuters 23/38 Labour’s Bridget Phillipson (centre) smiles after being announced as the winner of the election for the constituency of Houghton and Sunderland South at a counting centre Reuters 24/38 Members of the election staff prepare to count ballots, in Theresa May’s constituency in Maidenhead AP 25/38 Ballot papers are checked ahead of the count at the Westmoorland and Lonsdale constituency count at Kendal Leisure Centre Getty 26/38 Ballots are counted at a counting centre for Britain’s general election in Kendal Reuters 27/38 Theresa May arrives to vote at a polling station in Maidenhead AP 28/38 Jeremy Corbyn arrives to cast his ballot at a polling station in north London EPA 29/38 Lib Dems leader Tim Farron outside a polling station at Stonecross Manor Hotel in Kendal, Cumbria PA 30/38 The leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party (Ukip) Paul Nuttall arrives to vote at a polling station in Congleton Reuters 31/38 Scottish National Party leader Nicola Sturgeon with her husband Peter Murrell (left) the CEO of the SNP after casting their votes at a polling station at Broomhouse Community Hall, Glasgow, Scotland EPA 32/38 Caroline Lucas, co-leader of Britain’s Green Party, arrives with her husband Richard Savage, to vote in Brighton Reuters 33/38 An advertising van showing caricatures of Tim Farron, Theresa May, Jeremy Corbyn and Paul Nuttall with the message who will be looking for a new job as Britain goes to the polls to elect a new government Rex 34/38 Performers pose with puppet caricatures of Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May, leader of the Liberal Democrat Party Tim Farron and leader of the Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn, in front of the Palace of Westminster Reuters 35/38 Dogs wait for their owner outside a polling station in Penally, Wales Reuters 36/38 Police officers speak with a Labour Party activist outside a polling station in London AP 37/38 Benedictine nuns from Tyburn Convent leave after voting in Britain's general election at a polling station in St John's Parish Hall, London AP 38/38 A polling station sign is seen on a telephone box outside the polling station at Rotherwick Hall, west of London Getty 1/38 Door of Number 10 Downing Street is seen on the morning after Britain's election in London REUTERS 2/38 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn leaves his home in north London after he called on the Prime Minister to resign, saying she should "go and make way for a government that is truly representative of this country" PA 3/38 Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell arrives at Labour Headquarters on June 9, 2017 in London, England. After a snap election was called by Prime Minister Theresa May the United Kingdom went to the polls yesterday. The closely fought election has failed to return a clear overall majority winner and a hung parliament has been declared Getty Images 4/38 Caroline Lucas, co-leader of Britain's Green Party, speaks after retaining her seat in the general election, in Brighton REUTERS 5/38 Patrons watch the results for Britain's election in London REUTERS 6/38 Leader of the Liberal democrats Tim Farron celebrates beating Conservative party candidate James Airey (R) following the announcement of the results at the Westmoorland and Lonsdale constituency count at Kendal Leisure Centre on June 9, 2017 in Kendal, United Kingdom. After a snap election was called, the United Kingdom went to the polls yesterday following a closely fought election. The results from across the country are being counted and an overall result is expected in the early hours Getty Images 7/38 Paul Nuttal, leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party reacts after failing to win the seat of Boston and Skegness at the counting centre for Britain's general election in Boston REUTERS 8/38 First Minister Nicola Sturgeon arrives at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, as counting is under way for the General Election. PA 9/38 Anna McMorrin hugs Jo Stevens MP after winning Cardiff North for Labour at the Sport Wales National Centre on June 9, 2017 in Cardiff, United Kingdom. After a snap election was called, the United Kingdom went to the polls yesterday following a closely fought election. The results from across the country are being counted and an overall result is expected in the early hours Getty Images 10/38 Vince Cable wins the Twickenham election for the Liberal Democrats. Richmond and Twickenham election Rex Features 11/38 Britain's Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn rubs his face after arriving for the declaration at his constituency in London AP 12/38 Emily Thornberry speaks after holding her Islington South and Finsbury seat at the Sobell Leisure Centre in Islington, north London PA 13/38 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May listens as the declaration at her constituency is made for in the general election in Maidenhead, England, Friday, June 9, 2017. British Prime Minister Theresa May's gamble in calling an early election appeared Friday to have backfired spectacularly, after an exit poll suggested her Conservative Party could lose its majority in Parliament AP 14/38 Labour Party candidate Emily Thornberry smiles at a counting centre for BritainâÃÃ´s general election in London REUTERS 15/38 A picture shows the Elizabeth Tower, commonly referred to as Big Ben, and the Houses of Parliament in central London on June 8, 2017, on the night of Britain's general election. Prime Minister Theresa May is poised to win Britain's snap election but lose her parliamentary majority, a shock exit poll suggested on June 8, in what would be a major blow for her leadership as Brexit talks loom AFP/Getty Images 16/38 DUP candidate for Lagan Valley Jeffrey Donaldson celebrates following his election at the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn as counting is under way for the General Election PA 17/38 Britain's Home Secretary Amber Rudd attends the count for her seat at a counting centre for Britain's general election in Hastings REUTERS 18/38 Ballots are counted at a counting centre for BritainâÃÃ´s general election in London Reuters 19/38 The London Eye is illuminated in blue, representing the Conservative Party, after the first exit polls announced in Britain's general election AP 20/38 Election officials count votes in the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland EPA 21/38 The London Eye is illuminated in red, the color of the Labour Party, after first exit polls of Britain's national election announced in London AP 22/38 BBC Television centre is illuminated with the exit poll results for Britain’s general election Eddie Keogh/Reuters 23/38 Labour’s Bridget Phillipson (centre) smiles after being announced as the winner of the election for the constituency of Houghton and Sunderland South at a counting centre Reuters 24/38 Members of the election staff prepare to count ballots, in Theresa May’s constituency in Maidenhead AP 25/38 Ballot papers are checked ahead of the count at the Westmoorland and Lonsdale constituency count at Kendal Leisure Centre Getty 26/38 Ballots are counted at a counting centre for Britain’s general election in Kendal Reuters 27/38 Theresa May arrives to vote at a polling station in Maidenhead AP 28/38 Jeremy Corbyn arrives to cast his ballot at a polling station in north London EPA 29/38 Lib Dems leader Tim Farron outside a polling station at Stonecross Manor Hotel in Kendal, Cumbria PA 30/38 The leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party (Ukip) Paul Nuttall arrives to vote at a polling station in Congleton Reuters 31/38 Scottish National Party leader Nicola Sturgeon with her husband Peter Murrell (left) the CEO of the SNP after casting their votes at a polling station at Broomhouse Community Hall, Glasgow, Scotland EPA 32/38 Caroline Lucas, co-leader of Britain’s Green Party, arrives with her husband Richard Savage, to vote in Brighton Reuters 33/38 An advertising van showing caricatures of Tim Farron, Theresa May, Jeremy Corbyn and Paul Nuttall with the message who will be looking for a new job as Britain goes to the polls to elect a new government Rex 34/38 Performers pose with puppet caricatures of Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May, leader of the Liberal Democrat Party Tim Farron and leader of the Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn, in front of the Palace of Westminster Reuters 35/38 Dogs wait for their owner outside a polling station in Penally, Wales Reuters 36/38 Police officers speak with a Labour Party activist outside a polling station in London AP 37/38 Benedictine nuns from Tyburn Convent leave after voting in Britain's general election at a polling station in St John's Parish Hall, London AP 38/38 A polling station sign is seen on a telephone box outside the polling station at Rotherwick Hall, west of London Getty

Mr Nuttall claimed the exit poll suggested Theresa May had “put Brexit in jeopardy”.

Writing on Twitter, he said: “If the exit poll is true then Theresa May has put Brexit in jeopardy. I said at the start this election was wrong. Hubris.”

Voters who previously backed Ukip appear to have switched to both Labour and the Tories, with both of the main parties seeing swings towards them in all of the seats that have so far announced results.

According to the general election exit poll, more Ukip voters will transfer their backing to Labour than the Tories, helping Jeremy Corbyn to increase the number of his party’s House of Commons seats from 229 to 266 and depriving Ms May of an overall majority.

The shock poll suggests the Conservatives have won 314 seats – 12 short, crucially, of the 326 threshold needed to command a parliamentary majority.

Experts suggested Ukip could be losing support among Brexit-supporting voters who are now confident that Brexit will take place whoever is in power, and therefore believe a party founded to campaign for Britain’s withdrawal from the EU is now largely redundant.

Mr Nuttall is also widely considered to be less popular among voters than former Ukip leader Nigel Farage.</s>London: Millions of people across the UK are set to vote in the general election on Thursday where the ruling Conservatives are predicted to secure an overall majority despite an energetic bid for power by the opposition Labour Party, the media reported.

Voting will begin at 7 am (local time) in over 40,000 polling stations across the country, the BBC reported.

Counting will start once the voting ends at 10 p.m.

A total of 650 Westminster MPs will be elected, with about 46.9 million people registered to vote. Some votes have already been cast, through postal voting.

A handful of seats will be declared by Thursday midnight, with the final results expected on Friday afternoon.

To form a majority in the House of Commons, one party must win 326 seats.

On Wednesday, the last day of election campaigning, Prime Minister Theresa May said she was "feeling good" and used her final push to pitch for what she termed as "fiercely patriotic" voters across Labour Party strongholds -- the West Midlands, Yorkshire and the north-east, reports the Guardian.

During a 48-hour tour of places in marginal constituencies such as Fleetwood, Bradford, Stoke, Southampton and Nottingham, she also made clear that she wanted people to vote in defiance of the terror attacks.

May also stressed to voters that there were only 11 days until the Brexit negotiations start, saying the "final" choice was between her or Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.

Corbyn, attended six rallies, starting at Glasgow, Scotland at 8 a.m. and ending in Islington, London with a speech at 9 p.m., where he claimed that Labour's anti-austerity message was the "new centre ground" of British politics.

Meanwhile, Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron urged supporters to "send a message" to May on issues such as Brexit and social care by supporting his party.

Campaigning in Edinburgh, Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said re-electing Scottish National Party (SNP) MPs would ensure Scotland retained a "strong voice" in Westminster and deny the Conservatives a "crushing majority", reports the BBC.

At their final election rally, the Green Party called on people to "vote with their hearts".

Visiting Great Yarmouth, UK Independence Party (UKIP) leader Paul Nuttall said only his party could keep the pressure on the next government to deliver a "real Brexit" -- with lower immigration, exclusive fishing rights for British trawlers within UK territorial waters and no "divorce bill".</s>Paul Nuttall has resigned as leader of the UK Independence Party following the party’s poor performance at the UK General Election.

The party performed so badly it lost its election deposit in hundreds of seats.

Nuttall, speaking from Boston, said UKIP still had a key role as the “guard dogs of Brexit” following this election, but that it would not be with him at the helm.

Speaking earlier today, former leader Nigel Farage said he would consider returning but only if the party reformed to let the leader take executive decisions.

Currently, UKIP’s internal processes mean the party leader effectively answers to the National Executive Committee, elected by members, which meets once a month.</s>Ukip leader Paul Nuttall has stood down with immediate effect after his party failed to win a single seat in the House of Commons at the General Election.

His decision to stand down after the party gained just 1.8% of the vote share nationally means the party will now be looking for its fifth leader in nine months.

A leadership contest is due to take place later this year ahead of the party's autumn conference.

Mr Nuttall, who came third in Boston and Skegness, said: "A new era must begin with a new leader."

He said he had left the foundations for the new leader to build on and ensured that the party was “still on the pitch”.

And he insisted Ukip was “more relevant than ever” and would play the role in the coming months of the “guard dogs of Brexit”.</s>Ukip leader Paul Nuttall has quit after his party lost nearly 11 per cent of its vote share.</s>Paul Nuttall has resigned as Ukip leader after his party’s woeful showing at the British general election.

The Eurosceptic party had been hoping to make gains in Thursday’s poll, with Mr Nuttall running a campaign pledging to “ensure there is no backsliding on Brexit”.

But after Ukip failed to gain a single seat in Westminster – and with Mr Nuttall coming third in Boston and Skegness – he opted to leave his position, telling reporters: “A new era must begin with a new leader.”

He said he had left the foundations for the new leader to build on and ensured that the party was “still on the pitch”.

And he insisted Ukip was “more relevant than ever” and would play the role in the coming months of the “guard dogs of Brexit”.</s>The Ukip leader Paul Nuttall has stood down after being defeated in the general election.

He finished a distant third in Boston and Skegness, behind the Conservatives and Labour.

It came just months after he failed to win the Stoke by-election which was seen as a must-win for the party.

Nationally, the party's vote share collapsed, down 11% compared to 2015, this time winning just 1.8% of the national share.

Nuttall took over the leadership of the party in November 2016 and was a senior member fo the party for many years, acting as deputy to Nigel Farage.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated regularly as new information and developments become available.

IBTimes UK is a news organisation that keeps its global audience of 55 million monthly readers in the know with quality storytelling and analysis of global relevance. Like us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/IBTimesUK/) and follow us on Twitter (https://twitter.com/IBTimesUK) where we will keep you up to date with the latest news, pictures and video as it happens. We provide comprehensive coverage of domestic and foreign news, business, sport, entertainment, science and technology, aiming to keep our intellectually curious readers interested and engaged.</s>UK Independence Party (UKIP) leader announced his after the far-right and anti-European Union party was washed out in the general election today, failing to win a single seat in the parliament.

Nuttall, who had taken over from Nigel Farage in November last year, blamed the UK's return to a two-party system for the UKIP's massive failure.

"A new era must begin with a new leader," he said.

Nuttall polled just 3,308 votes in Boston and Skegness — more than 10,000 fewer votes than the party's result in 2015 when had one MP under the first-past-the-post system.

He, however, stressed that the will remain relevant as the "guard dogs of Brexit".

"The prime minister and I suspect it will be a Tory, must know that if they begin to backtrack or barter things away then they must know they will be punished at the ballot box and that will only happen if is electorally viable and strong," the 40-year-old said in his speech.

"We are in effect the country's insurance policy on Brexit," he said.

He said it was clear " requires a new focus and new ideas" but was confident it had a "great future".

The party's dismal performance had been predicted early on when the exit poll indicated its failure to secure any seats.

Pollsters had forecast a swing of the vote from the 2015 general election to the Conservatives but the final picture reflects that almost all other parties picked up the Eurosceptic UKIP's vote share this time.

The decline in the vote was seen across the length and breadth of the UK, with the party's vote share down to around 2% nationally, splitting between Labour and the Conservatives.

There have been doubts cast on the party's very existence since it was formed with the central theme of taking the UK out of the European Union, which it took credit for in the June 2016 referendum in favour of</s>Boston (United Kingdom): Paul Nuttall resigned as leader of the anti-EU UK Independence Party on Friday after its support evaporated in the British election and it failed to win a single seat.

UKIP spearheaded the push for Brexit and Nuttall insisted that the party would still remain influential as Britain heads into divorce talks with the European Union (EU).

"A new era must begin with a new leader," Nuttall told a press conference as he resigned with immediate effect.

Under the leadership of the charismatic Brexit figurehead Nigel Farage, UKIP won 12.6 percent of the vote in the 2015 general election, though only one MP under Britain's first-past-the-post system.

UKIP's rise nudged then Conservative prime minister David Cameron into calling a referendum on Britain's EU membership.

The party was at the forefront of the Brexit campaign as 52 percent opted to leave the bloc in the shock June 2016 vote.

But after Farage quit, feeling his life's mission accomplished, the party fell into disarray.

Nuttall, a 40-year-old former university lecturer, took over in November 2016.

Farage suggested Friday he would return to frontline politics if the Brexit process was in trouble.

"I would have absolutely no choice but to do exactly that," he told BBC television.

Asked about a future role for Farage, Nuttall said: "If Nigel Farage wants to come back, I would be more than happy to do a job swap."

Farage leads the eurosceptic bloc in the European Parliament and hosts a radio chat show.
UK Independence Party leader Paul Nuttall resigns; his party's share of the popular vote of 1.8% was over 10 percentage points lower than in 2015.