Election latest: Party leaders among millions of voters; dogs pictured at polling stations (2024)

Fergus the co*ckapoo helped his owners vote in Old Isleworth, southwest London.

Owner Maddie told Sky News: "We finally made it to the polling station and Fergus was very excited for us to vote.

"The polling staff were great and really spoilt him."

Sky News' chief political correspondent Jon Craig has done his democratic duty and voted with wife Caroline and border terrier Wilbur in Tooting, south London.

The exit poll is the first big moment of the night - the moment millions tune in for a first indication of the eventual result of the general election.

Commissioned by the broadcasters - Sky News, the BBC and ITV News - the fieldwork is carried out by Ipsos UK who will have interviewers at 133 polling stations around the country this year.

People who have just voted will be asked to privately fill in a replica ballot paper and place it into a ballot box as they leave their local community centre, church hall or station.

Researchers can only deploy to a fraction of the total constituencies in England, Scotland and Wales, so locations are chosen to best reflect the demographics of the country with an urban and rural spread.

However, many of the locations will be in marginal seats, where the swing between the main parties will be tracked.

The same polling stations are targeted year after year so the swing from the last election's exit poll, along with other data at constituency level, can be analysed by those crunching the numbers.

The data collected at the polling stations is sent back by interviewers to Ipsos UK at several stages throughout the day.

It's processed there and sent via a secure data pipeline to the broadcasters' statisticians and political scientists who are locked down in a secret location in the capital.

Electoral rules mean that no polling can be reported while people are voting - Sky News and the other broadcasters will cover it in full from 10pm.

Election coverage begins on Sky News from 9pm, and it is free, wherever you get your news.Here is how to watch and follow live.

Ivy, 18 months, was excited for her first election day in Walthamstow, northeast London.

George and Bonnie were up bright and early this morning to greet voters in Greenwich.

Sky News readers from across the UK have been sending in pictures of their dogs outside polling stations.

Here is a collection of some more that people have kindly sent in, while performing their democratic duties.

The weather for most voters across the UK has so far been fairly sunny today, with rain for a few.

Sky News weather producer Dr Chris England has the forecast for the rest of the day:

Southern Britain looks mostly dry with plenty of sunshine, although the southwest will see cloud and a little patchy rain later.

Northern and central Britain will have sunny spells and a scattering of showers, some heavy and thunder.

They will be concentrated over Scotland, merging to give some longer spells of rain in the north, but will gradually die out over northern England.

Early showers over Northern Ireland will largely fade too, as cloud and rain spread into the south.

There are strict rules broadcasters have to adhere to on polling day, which is why you won't see any political news on the Sky News website or TV channel for the next 13 hours or so.

The rules are there to prevent any influence over how people choose to vote.

Ofcom rules state that any discussion and analysis of election issues must finish when the polls open, which was at 7am today.

Broadcasters are also not allowed to publish the results of any opinion poll on election day, until the polls close at 10pm.

Over the past decade, this has meant that photos of dogs at polling stations has become a phenomenon - in lieu of more substantial political news.

We will also be keeping a close out for people taking more unusual animals with them as they exercise their democratic right - so stay tuned for potential shots of voters accompanied by horses, cats and hamsters - as well as dogs, of course.

Charli the miniature schnauzer and her best friend, Toby the co*ckerpoo, are general election veterans.

This will be their fourth.

Here they are in Shenley, Hertfordshire.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage already posted his ballot by post, so is not visiting a polling station today.

But, he was seen taking a stroll in Clacton-on-Sea as he enjoyed an ice cream.