Polls Open After Final Plea From Johnson: U.K. Campaign Trail

(Bloomberg) --

Boris Johnson made a final plea for U.K. voters to back him to deliver Brexit in Thursday’s general election, as polls suggested his lead over rival Jeremy Corbyn may be narrowing.

At the end of a bruising six-week campaign, the two men vying to be Britain’s next prime minister both said the country stood at a fork in the road.

At a rally in east London on Wednesday evening, Johnson warned wavering voters not to be complacent by trusting polls that predict his Conservative Party will win a majority. Just three miles away, Labour leader Corbyn hosted a rally in which he attacked the media for downplaying Labour’s chance of victory.

Must Read: An Hour-by-Hour Guide to the Election Results

For more on the election visit ELEC.

Coming Up

• 7 a.m. Polls open across the U.K.
• 10 a.m. Evening Standard/Ipsos MORI will publish a poll taken in final days of campaign
• Johnson and Corbyn vote in their London constituencies
• 10 p.m. Polls close and broadcasters publish an exit poll
• 11 p.m. First results start to come in

Polls

• Surveys carried out before polling day showed a Tory lead, but a narrowing gap
  • Savanta ComRes put the Tories on 41%, Labour on 36%, Liberal Democrats on 12%
  • Survation showed a wider gap, with the Tories on 45% and Labour on 34%, the Liveral Democrats on 9%.
• Here’s a summary of recent polls

Catching Up

• Both Johnson and Corbyn ended their campaigns in East London -- Johnson in the Olympic Park to remind voters of his success in delivering the 2012 Games as mayor of London
• Corbyn said Labour is set for victory in Thursday’s election and that the British media was both downplaying and hurting his party’s chances
• Johnson was once again accused of ducking questions after he avoided an impromptu interview by going into a walk-in fridge while out campaigning
• Labour’s economy spokesman John McDonnell said the party could yet deliver a surprise majority on Thursday
• European Union officials privately said they want Johnson’s Tories to win, to end the Brexit limbo
• Johnson warned there was a real risk of a hung parliament again

The Markets

• The pound traded up 0.10% at 1.3208 per dollar at 06:30 a.m. Thursday
• The Conservatives go into election day with a 73% chance of an overall majority, according to Betfair, while the likelihood of a hung Parliament stands at 28%.

--With assistance from Peter Flanagan and Greg Ritchie.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jessica Shankleman in London at jshankleman@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net, Adveith Nair, Adam Blenford

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