The day we've all been waiting for is finally here, and hopefully, you've managed to use your vote this election day. Ahead of our Facebook live stream this evening, we've decided to round-up the key moments that you need to watch out for in the election, including the times you can expect to know which party has won, and other important questions you should be asking...
When do the election results come out?
The polls officially close at 10pm, and in terms of how soon you'll know the election day results, it all depends on how close the results actually are. Officially, it takes 326 seats of an overall majority in the House of Commons for a party to win. You can gauge roughly who's won based on when the different constituences are expected to announce their results:
**11 pm **- Sunderland and Houghton will again be hoping to declare the first seat.
1 am - Putney is expected to declare around now. The constituency voted strongly to remain in the EU and could vote in protest at Theresa May's hard Brexit stance. That said, their MP, Justine Greening, campaigned for Remain, so it's hard to know how much this will be a factor. Also look out for Nuneaton, one of the first marginal seats to be announced, and often seen to be a bellwether for the night as a whole. Ed Milliband lost here badly in 2015.
1.30 am - Traditionally pro-Labour seats, including Tooting, Wrexham and Darlington will declare their results at approximately 1.30 am. It's at this point where we'll start to discover whether Theresa May or Jeremy Corbyn's campaigning efforts have paid off.
2.00 am - Keep an eye out for Thurrock, where UKIP slashed the Tory majority to just over 500 last time.
2.30 am -3.00AM 33 more constituencies are expected to announce their results at this time, including Ynys Mon - Labour's most marginal seat in Wales. The pro-Labour seat of Islington North (Jeremy Corbyn's constituency) will announce its results. We're not expecting any major surprises here. Keep an eye out around now for Youngest MP Mhairi Black, of the SNP, will find out if she's held back Paisley & Renfrewshire South from Labour again.
**3.30 am - 4 am **- There will likely be an influx of Scottish seats announcing their results, which will be a good indicator of how the SNP fared in this election. Also watch out for Vauxhall around now. Kate Hoey, the Labour incumbent campaigned heavily to leave the EU, but this was one of the most pro-remain areas in the referendum, so will be a good indicator of how Brexit has impacted on election results.
4-5 am - it's round about now that the PM's constituency of Maidenhead will declare. Only thing to note here is that Maidenhead voted to remain in the EU - so will that impact Theresa May's majority in any way?
7 am - By this time, there may still be some seats left to declare, but it will be obvious as to which party has won. It's ok guys, you can go to bed now.
Why you need to watch Northern Ireland this election day
It's especially important to keep an eye on Northern Ireland during the election because of the impact of Brexit. The majority of Northern Ireland didn't want Brexit to happen, and following Britain's vote to leave the EU, people have been anxious about what will happen to the land border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
A reintroduction of a hard border between the two would be a disaster, and most certainly cause economic insecurity, making it more difficult for the movement of goods and of people. Currently, no party has put forward a workable plan for ensuring that goods and people will be able to continue to cross the border without checkpoints post-Brexit, so it will be interesting to keep an eye on how Northern Ireland vote. It's unlikely that participants will be voting for either Labour or Conservative though, as going by previous election results from the BBC, they tend to choose between nationalist and unionist parties.
How many young people will vote this election day?
Historically, all major parties have been keen to get older voters on their side, as they are generally more reliable in terms of actually going out and voting. Over the past few months, there have been major pushes from campaigners and celebrities to urge younger people to vote. It's no doubt that the turnout of youth voters will massively sway the polls, but how many will actually use their voice?
Although we won't know the demographics of the voters for a few days, campaigners - especially Jeremy Corbyn - are hopeful that more millenials will get involved. According to Survation, 'labour support among young voters may hold the key to this election, but it is surely troubling that BMG Research (1,374 respondents samples 21-24 April, 2017) at the very start of the campaign found almost half of 18-24 year olds were unsure whether they were registered to vote.' That said, at the time of writing there have been long queues outside of university polling stations, so maybe this is the year that all changes.
Does the Green Party stand a chance this election day?
Unlike the SNP, Green Party doesn't have much focussed regional strength, making it more difficult for them to stand a chance of gaining new seats. That said, they currently have one MP - party co-leader Caroline Lucas - in Brighton Pavillion, and the odds of them gaining a second MP on the Isle of Wight have been slashed to 10/1. With the local results due to be announced at around 3AM, so watch this space...
What about the SNP? Are they going keep their majority in Scotland?
In 2015, the SNP won 56 out of 59 seats in the general election, although polls for this year have suggested that they are likely to win around 40. Some people have argued that the SNP may have lost support from some voters after it took a stand against Brexit and pushed for Scotland to remain in the EU. The results for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk, which is Scotland's most marginal seat will be announced at around 4.30AM - tune in to see if the Tories have won it from the SNP.
How about the Liberal Democrats?
The Conservatives could face pressure from the EU-backed Lib Dems, who will most definitely be seeking to regain seats. At around 4AM, keep an eye out for constituencies like Richmond Park which Sarah Olney, who won the constituency from the Conservative's Zac Goldsmith in a byelection last December and Twickenham which Sir Vince Cable is trying to win back after he was ousted in 2015. Conversely, at 4.30Am we will see if Nick Clegg has managed to retain his seat of Sheffield Hallam.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.