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Voting is taking place in Wales, in Scotland and all over England today. There are so many elections taking place that the British press has dubbed it “Super Thursday.” Yesterday, Boris Johnson put out this brief video encouraging everyone to get out and vote.
As I write this, polls will be closing fairly soon; however, because of COVID restrictions the results of nearly all of those elections aren’t expected until Friday morning at the soonest and some won’t be resolved before Sunday. The Guardian put together a list of when certain race results will be available here.
It’s election day with a difference as polling stations operate under coronavirus restrictions across Great Britain.
On what has been dubbed Super Thursday, polling stations opened at 7am in the largest test of political opinion outside a general election, with the future of the Labour Party and the state of the Union among the issues at play.
But there were still many familiar sights, with party leaders posing for pictures after they voted and plenty of #dogsatpollingstations photos to brighten up social media.
Signs warned voters to wear masks – and that selfies were not permitted (Andrew Matthews/PA)
Voters were urged to use hand sanitiser – and to take their own pen or pencil to mark the ballot (Andrew Matthews/PA)
Dogs at polling stations: The UK s best voting day tradition explained. (PA) Polling stations have opened for voters to cast their ballots in a set of elections which could shake up British politics and have profound implications for the future of the United Kingdom. But enough of all that, election days in the UK have become about one thing and one thing only. Dogs at polling stations. Social media trend #Dogsatpollingstations has become a bit of voting day tradition in the UK. There isn’t much to it other than dog owners bring their dogs along when they cast their vote and post a picture of their canine friend exercising their democratic right outside of their local polling station.
Dogs at polling stations: The UK s best voting day tradition explained | Prestwich and Whitefield Guide prestwichandwhitefieldguide.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from prestwichandwhitefieldguide.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Dogs across the country are enjoying the extra exercise and it serves as a welcome break from politics for Brits until the polls close and all attention then turns to the count. Nobody really knows why it started but the tradition has really taken off since the 2016 Brexit referendum and has become a bit of a phenomenon. Since then, Brits have had quite a lot of voting to do. In 2019, four-legged companions accompanied their humans to schools, village halls and pubs to vote in the European Parliament elections.
Henry the labradoodle outside the polling station at Spike Island in Bristol (Claire Hayhurst/PA)