London: Millions of people across the UK are set to vote in the general election on Thursday where the ruling Conservatives are predicted to secure an overall majority despite an energetic bid for power by the opposition Labour Party, the media reported.

Voting will begin at 7 am (local time) in over 40,000 polling stations across the country, the BBC reported.

Counting will start once the voting ends at 10 p.m.

A total of 650 Westminster MPs will be elected, with about 46.9 million people registered to vote. Some votes have already been cast, through postal voting.

A handful of seats will be declared by Thursday midnight, with the final results expected on Friday afternoon.

To form a majority in the House of Commons, one party must win 326 seats.

On Wednesday, the last day of election campaigning, Prime Minister Theresa May said she was "feeling good" and used her final push to pitch for what she termed as "fiercely patriotic" voters across Labour Party strongholds -- the West Midlands, Yorkshire and the north-east, reports the Guardian.

During a 48-hour tour of places in marginal constituencies such as Fleetwood, Bradford, Stoke, Southampton and Nottingham, she also made clear that she wanted people to vote in defiance of the terror attacks.

May also stressed to voters that there were only 11 days until the Brexit negotiations start, saying the "final" choice was between her or Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.

Corbyn, attended six rallies, starting at Glasgow, Scotland at 8 a.m. and ending in Islington, London with a speech at 9 p.m., where he claimed that Labour's anti-austerity message was the "new centre ground" of British politics.

Meanwhile, Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron urged supporters to "send a message" to May on issues such as Brexit and social care by supporting his party.

Campaigning in Edinburgh, Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said re-electing Scottish National Party (SNP) MPs would ensure Scotland retained a "strong voice" in Westminster and deny the Conservatives a "crushing majority", reports the BBC.

At their final election rally, the Green Party called on people to "vote with their hearts".

Visiting Great Yarmouth, UK Independence Party (UKIP) leader Paul Nuttall said only his party could keep the pressure on the next government to deliver a "real Brexit" -- with lower immigration, exclusive fishing rights for British trawlers within UK territorial waters and no "divorce bill". </s> Polls are open across Britain today in local elections forecast to lead to devastating defeats for Labour.

Contests are being held in all Scottish and Welsh councils, more than 30 English councils and for six new regional mayors.

The results tomorrow will set the tone for the run into the general election on June 8 and Labour is braced for bruising defeats.

Jeremy Corbyn is expected to lose scores of seats to the Tories in results that will be seized upon as proof of how far he trails Theresa May.

And in Scotland the SNP is poised to complete its rout of Scottish Labour, potentially seizing the citadel of Glasgow, which Labour has run for decades.

SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon was pictured voting in the city today and her party is expected to pick up seats across Scotland and will hope to stabilise a difficult start to the general election campaign.

One bright spot for Labour is expected in Manchester where Andy Burnham should complete a straightforward victory in the race to be mayor.

But there is a too-close-to-call race in the West Midlands, where Tory Andy Street could pull off a surprise victory in Labour-dominated territory.

The patchwork of results will not directly reflect voters intentions on June 8 but will be pored over for evidence of what might happen.

A recent poll by Rob Hayward, a Conservative peer and pollster, suggested Labour is likely to lose control of Glasgow council – which it has held for 30 years - in its former heartland.

Elections expert Professor John Curtice, of Strathclyde University, said it would be 'very very surprising if Labour retains control of any council in Scotland'.

Nearly 5,000 seats are being contested in 88 councils across the country. According to one analysis, Labour could lose 75 seats in England and more than 100 in Wales.

There are also important mayoral elections in six new devolved super-regions.

Elections are also being held for new 'super-mayors' in six devolved English regions.

Labour's Steve Rotherham should also win in Liverpool, in a region with seven of its safest parliamentary seats.

The Tories will hope to take Cambridgeshire and the West of England mayoralty, which covers Bath, Bristol, North East Somerset and South Gloucestershire.

The victorious candidates will take powers over policing, planning policy and control significant funds from central government.

The mayoralties were created by George Osborne as part of his attempts to devolve powers to English regions and strengthen local government.

In recent weeks, senior Labour figures have played up the importance of the local elections , and challenged Labour's poll ratings.

Last week a senior source said polls were often wrong, as recent elections had shown and shouldn't be trusted.

The source also said the locals were 'very important' for Mr Corbyn and an 'interesting measure of how well things are going'.

'On the cycle these are seats which are not in the metropolitan areas where Labour is traditionally strong,' he told the BBC's Daily Politics.

'Therefore one would expect given that we did relatively well the last time these seats were up for grabs that we would see a decline in their numbers.'

Normally at this point in the electoral cycle, the governing party would expect to lose council elections, which are traditionally a protest vote against whoever is in No10.

But an analysis by Professors Colin Rawlings and Michael Thrasher, directors of the Elections Centre at Plymouth University, suggests the Tories will pick up 115 seats in England county council and unitary authority elections, while Labour will lose 75. Lib Dem gains could also reach three figures.

In Wales, the poll put Labour losses at 130, and Tory gains 90. Labour could lose control of Cardiff, Swansea and Newport councils.

They also warned Ukip faces the 'near annihilation' of its 2013 intake of councillors, with 100 or more losses.

Party analysts are watching closely the results in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire for signs of whether Theresa May can take seats from Labour in the Midlands.

At the weekend Mr Burnham warned there would be 'serious consequences' unless Labour reconnected with the North of England. He said there was 'too much Hampstead and not enough Hull' in today's Labour Party.

Conservative Party Chairman Patrick McLoughlin said: 'Every vote cast in the elections today really matters.

'There is a clear choice – the competence of strong Conservative councils and elected mayors who will keep local taxes down with quality local services, versus the disarray of the rest.

'Conservative councils and mayors deliver more for less, improving local services and standing up for local people.'
The British people vote locally.