Polling closed at 10 pm (2100 GMT) on Thursday for Britain?s snap general election, which will shape the United Kingdom?s future as it leaves the European Union.

Polls opened at 7 am (0600 GMT) and voting continued until 10 pm (2100 GMT), in which about 47 million residents registered to vote across the United Kingdom.

Security for voting day was reviewed following the recent London attack, which left at least eight dead, with the city's Metropolitan Police force implementing a "specialist and highly flexible operation" which it said could be deployed as needed.

EXIT POLL

An exit poll is expected to be published simultaneously by BBC, ITV and Sky soon after polling concludes. It is conducted by pollsters GfK and Ipsos MORI, who spoke to thousands of voters at more than 140 polling stations around the country.

An exit poll will give an indication of the outcome, although final results will not emerge until early Friday.

In 2005 and 2010, the exit poll accurately forecast the number of seats won by the largest party. In 2015, it slightly underestimated the number of seats won by the victorious Conservatives but got the order of the parties right.

HOUGHTON AND SUNDERLAND SOUTH, RESULT EXPECTED 2200 GMT

Due to be the first result of the night. It was one of the first big Leave-voting areas to declare in last year's referendum on European Union membership, shocking markets by backing Brexit more strongly than expected.

It is held by the opposition Labour Party, with a majority of nearly 13,000 votes, but will be closely watched for the fortunes of the anti-EU UK Independence Party (UKIP), which came second here in 2015 with more than 8,000 votes.

UKIP's poll share has collapsed since 2015, and this seat could give an indication of how far May's Conservatives are succeeding in mopping up former UKIP supporters.

NUNEATON, RESULT EXPECTED MIDNIGHT GMT

Considered a national bellwether seat, Nuneaton could provide an early clue of the possible swing between May's Conservatives and Labour. The Conservatives increased their majority here in 2015, despite it being a Labour target, and it provided one of the first indications the Conservatives were on course for victory.

DARLINGTON, RESULT EXPECTED 0030 GMT

This Conservative target seat, which voted in favour of leaving the EU, is held by Labour with a majority of 3,158.

A YouGov regional poll last month showed support for Conservatives had risen significantly in the northeast of England, and the Tees Valley region, in which Darlington sits, unexpectedly elected a Conservative mayor last month.

A win for May's party here could mean she is on track for a landslide nationally, according to polling expert John Curtice.

NORTHAMPTON NORTH, RESULT EXPECTED 0100 GMT

This seat has elected a lawmaker from the winning party at every British national election since it was created in 1974. It is held by the Conservatives with a majority of 3,245.

UKIP, which won more than 6,000 votes here in 2015, are not fielding a candidate so it should be a comfortable win for the Conservatives if they are to increase their national majority.

BURY NORTH, RESULT EXPECTED 0200 GMT

This is a Conservative-held marginal seat, with a majority of just 378 voters. It has been a bellwether seat so if the Conservatives lose it, despite facing no UKIP candidate, it could be a sign they are at risk of losing their majority.

MORAY, RESULT EXPECTED 0200 GMT

The seat of the pro-independence Scottish National Party's leader in Westminster, Angus Robertson, who won it with a majority of just over 9,000 in 2015. At local elections in May the Conservatives won a greater vote share here than the SNP.

If the swing seen then is repeated, Robertson would lose his seat. Moray, which voted in favour of Scotland remaining in the United Kingdom in 2014, was the closest Brexit result in Scotland, with "Remain" just 122 votes ahead of "Leave".

WREXHAM, RESULT EXPECTED 0200 GMT

This seat in Brexit-supporting Wales is held by Labour with a majority of 1,831 and has never been won by the Conservatives.

UKIP, which won more than 5,000 votes here in 2015, is not fielding a candidate this time and Curtice points to it as one to watch for signs that May could substantially increase her majority nationally.

HASTINGS AND RYE, RESULT EXPECTED 0200 GMT

This is the seat of interior minister Amber Rudd, who has played a prominent role in the election campaign and is tipped as a possible successor to Chancellor Philip Hammond. She has held it since 2010, and won a majority of 4,796 in 2015.

The Green Party, which won just under 2,000 votes there in 2015, has agreed not to field a candidate in a bid to help Labour try and unseat Rudd. Pollster YouGov's election model has predicted they could succeed in doing so.

KINGSTON AND SURBITON, RESULT EXPECTED 0200 GMT

This seat is being targeted by the pro-EU Liberal Democrats, who lost it to the Conservatives in 2015.

The area voted strongly to remain in the EU at last year's referendum. Whether the Liberal Democrats are able to overturn the Conservatives' majority of 2,834 will be a key test of how far remain supporters are willing to back May's Brexit plan.

WESTMORLAND AND LONSDALE, RESULT EXPECTED 0300 GMT

The seat of Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron. He won it with a majority of nearly 9,000 votes in 2015 but his party's expected surge in support due to its anti-Brexit stance has failed to materialise.

Cumbria, where the seat sits, voted in favour of Brexit and the Conservatives are hoping to oust Farron. They are likely to be helped by the fact UKIP, which got just over 3,000 votes there in 2015, are not standing.

BRIGHTON KEMPTOWN, RESULT EXPECTED 0400 GMT

This marginal seat is held by the Conservative minister responsible for financial services, Simon Kirby, with a majority of just 690. It voted strongly in favour of remaining in the EU.

It has been a bellwether at national elections since 1979 and the Green Party, who won more than 3,000 votes here in 2015, are not standing. Labour need to win seats like this if they are to have any chance of being the largest party nationally.

HALIFAX, RESULT EXPECTED 0430 GMT

This is one of Labour's most marginal seats, with a majority of just 428. It voted in favour of Brexit. May's Conservatives launched their election policy document here and need to win seats like this if she is to win a comfortable majority.

Prime Minister Theresa May, who came into power without a national vote last year after David Cameron´s resignation following the Brexit vote, called for a three-year-early election for June 8, saying she needed to strengthen her hand in divorce talks with the European Union by bolstering support for her Brexit plan.

If May does not handsomely beat the 12-seat majority her predecessor Cameron won in 2015, her electoral gamble will have failed. When she called the election, polls showed she was as much as 23 percentage points ahead. However, the lead has shrunk substantially since then.

MAY, CORBYN CAST VOTES

Earlier today, Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn cast his vote at the Pakeman primary school in Holloway, North London.

The politician appeared to be in an amiable mood as he smiled and waved to the media.

Speaking to the press, he said ?Thank you very much, all of you, for coming here today. It?s a day of our democracy. I?ve just voted. I?m very proud of our campaign. Thank you very much.?

On the other hand, clad in white-and-black May also cast her vote at a polling station in Sonning, Berkshire.

According to media reports, she just greeted the media with a simple ?hello? unlike her opponent.

She was also holding a polling card in her hand even though voters didn?t need to show up with one to vote. 

THE OPTIONS

The main parties across the whole of Britain are the Conservatives (centre-right), led by May, and Labour (left), led by Corbyn, followed by the Liberal Democrats (centre-left), the UK Independence Party (populist) and the Greens (left).

The Scottish Nationalists (left), Welsh nationalists Plaid Cymru (left) and four parties from Northern Ireland also won seats at the last general election in 2015.

BRITISH-PAKISTANI CONTESTING POLLS 

More than 40 men and women of Pakistani origin have taken part in the elections. Of these, around 31 are from the mainstream parties such as Labour, Conservatives, Liberal Democrats while the rest are from smaller parties or contesting as independents.

Research by Geo News correspondents showed that the Labour Party has given tickets to 13 British Pakistanis; Liberal Democrats to 11 candidates; six candidates for the Conservative; one from Scottish National Party (SNP); three for the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) and one for the Green Party.

Labour has given tickets to the highest number of candidates with a high chance of winning on safe Labour strongholds or relatively safe seats.

LONDON STOCKS, POUND DIP 

The London stock market and pound slid on Thursday, with investors nervous as Britons voted in the snap general election.

Contributing to a news-heavy day was also an ECB meeting at which the central bank hinted at the end of its easy monetary policy, describing a rosier outlook for the eurozone and dropping a long-standing commitment to cutting interest rates yet further if necessary, and a crucial testimony by sacked FBI chief James Comey in the United States.

"Super Thursday is finally here," said analyst Konstantinos Anthis at ADS Securities, referring to the key events on both sides of the Atlantic.

The British capital´s FTSE 100 index, which initially rose and then eased back, ended the day with a loss of 0.4 percent. The pound also slid.

Britain´s Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May is still set to beat main opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, despite a recent narrowing in the opinion polls. Results are not due until early Friday.

"The UK stock market would prefer a Tory victory as the party is more in favour of free market economics than Labour," said market analyst David Madden at CMC Markets.

"The ground lost by the Conservatives in the past couple of weeks has rattled some traders," he added.

The election is May´s first since taking office in July last year, after Britons voted by 52 percent to leave the European Union.

The premier called the election three years early in a bid to strengthen her slender majority going into Brexit talks, which begin on June 19, but some polls have suggested she may end up with a hung parliament in which the Conservatives would fall short of the 326 seats needed for a majority.

While the pound dipped on Thursday, it was still holding onto gains made after May called the early election.

"The pound´s recent steady performance suggests a clear win for Theresa May is discounted," NFS Macro analyst Nick Stamenkovic told AFP.

"Indeed, the pound is vulnerable to a hung parliament or the outside risk of a Labour victory."

'LITTILE CONFIDENCE'

It is the third time Britain has gone to the polls in two years, twice for a general election and once for the EU referendum, and voter fatigue appeared to be an issue among the early voters.

"I don´t think it has really been a campaign, we don´t know anything about what they are going to do about Brexit, it´s been pointless really," said Joe Kerney, 53, at a polling station in Hackney, east London.

"I have little confidence in anybody," added voter Simon Bolton, 41. "I think we lack quality in terms of who we can choose, it is very limited."

The election is May´s first since taking office after Britons voted by 52 percent to leave the European Union.

PREDICTIONS

Opinion polls reveal the outcome could be a lot tighter than had been predicted when May announced the vote on April 18.

Although surveys show the gap between the main two political parties narrowing, May´s position as prime minister seems secure.

Polls initially supported her gamble, giving her Conservative Party a double-digit lead over its nearest rival, the main opposition Labour Party.

However, the Conservatives´ advantage has eroded over the campaign, with pollster Survation giving the ruling party just a one point lead over Labour on June 4.

Another poll, released a few days earlier by YouGov, even suggested the Conservatives could fall short of a majority, meaning they would need the support of another party to govern.

ELECTORAL PROCESS 

There are 650 constituencies across the UK, meaning 326 MPs are needed for an absolute majority in parliament´s lower House of Commons.

Each constituency is won on a first-past-the-post basis, meaning the candidate with the most votes in that seat becomes its MP. Despite the focus on the party leaders, voters are not directly choosing their prime minister, only their local MP.

A parliament is elected for a maximum of five years, meaning the next general election must be held by June 2022 at the latest.