The UK will hold its first election in almost 5 years. Here's what to know

The United Kingdom will hold its first national election in almost five years on Thursday, with opinion polls suggesting that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservative Party will be punished for failing to deliver on promises made during 14 years in power. The center-right Conservatives took power during the depths of the global financial crisis and have won three more elections since. But those years have been marked by a sluggish economy, declining public services and a series of scandals. The Labour Party, which leans to the left, is far ahead in most opinion polls after focusing its campaign on a single word: Change.