Labour is hopeful and Conservatives morose as voters deliver their verdict on UK’s election day

LONDON (AP) — British voters are picking a new government Thursday in a parliamentary election that is widely expected to bring the Labour Party to power against a gloomy backdrop of economic malaise, mounting distrust in institutions and a fraying social fabric.

A jaded electorate is delivering its verdict on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservative Party, which has been in power since 2010. Polls opened at 40,000 polling stations in a vast variety of locales including church halls, a laundromat and a crematorium.