Voters turning away from queues over an hour long

(Picture: PA)

Queues of over an hour are building up at polling stations across the country as people rush to cast their ballot before the 10pm deadline.

Voters in Plymouth claim they witnessed some turn away in despair at the size of the queue outside Mount Street primary school this evening.

However, you can vote after 10pm if you are already in a queue at a polling station, regardless of whether you are inside or outside the building.

It’s been dubbed the most important election in a generation, and if the queues at polling stations today are anything to go by, that message has sunk in.

Two hours after polls opened, there were already long lines of people waiting to take part in democracy.

There was a repeat of those scenes during rush hour this evening, as voters headed to polling stations after work.

People are being urged not to turn away no matter how long their queue is.

Anyone who is in the queue before 10pm should still be able to vote.

Luckily, if there’s one thing us Brits know how to do, it’s form an orderly and polite queue – especially when there are dogs at polling stations to entertain us.

Aidan Conway in Balham said he’s never seen a queue that big during an election.

He lives in the relatively safe Labour constituency of Tooting where Dr Rosena Allin-Khan is the MP after taking over from London Mayor Sadiq Khan in 2016.

Aidan tweeted wrote: ‘I’ve been living in Balham, London for 6 years, I have never seen a queue like this at my polling station.’

To read more of our coverage of the 2019 General Election, click here

Giant queues in south London

Voters queue outside St Andrews Church polling station in Balham, just hours before voting closes (Picture:PA)

The queue at St Andrews goes round the bend(Picture: PA)

Aidan Conway took this picture of a huge queue in Balham, south London this morning (Picture: Aidan Conway)

Another huge queue at a different polling station in Balham (Picture: Andrew Cleary)

Andrew Cleary took a picture of a ‘Big old queue’ from a different polling station in Balham. He shared the snap along with a fist emoji.

Steven Swinford, the deputy editor of The Times, took a picture of a ‘100 plus’ queue in the marginal seat of Battersea, where Labour gained from the Conservatives by a margin of 2,416 votes in 2017.

He tweeted: ‘Big queue of 100+ people ahead of me at the polling station in marginal Battersea There’s 50 odd people behind me too.’

Massive turnout in this marginal constituency





Big queue of 100+ people ahead of me at the polling station in marginal Battersea Thereâs 50 odd people behind me too#GE2019 ð³ pic.twitter.com/TWNcIsAxEz — Steven Swinford (@Steven_Swinford) December 12, 2019

Martin Archer said he’s been waiting 45 minutes in a huge queue in south London, and he’s not even close to the front.

He’s voting in the safe Labour seat of Streatham, whose MP Chuka Umunna dramatically quit the Labour Party over its Brexit position.

Martin tweeted: ‘I’ve never seen such queues at the polling station before #vote’

’45-minute wait and this is where I am’

This massive line was seen at a polling station in Streatham, south London (Picture: martinarcher)

Many of the voters out this morning have said the lines are ‘full of young people’.

This could just be down to people getting up early to vote before work, but the polling stations do remain open until 10pm tonight.

If you’re finishing work late tonight, don’t worry, so long as you join the queue before the 10pm deadline, you will still be allowed to vote.

Kelly Molloy said she’s never seen a queue like it at a polling station in Clapham, where Labour MP Marsha de Cordova is fighting to stay an MP in a tight marginal with the Tories.

She tweeted: ‘The biggest queue I’ve ever seen at my polling station! ‘Get out there and vote people!’

Absolutely huge queues in Battersea and Clapham

Look at the state of this queue in Clapham (Picture: EA_unadorned)

These voters in Clapham are queuing in the road (Picture: sparklysparkly)

A nice and orderly queues forms down a high street in Battersea this morning (Picture: KarenAnneBarton)

Here’s another angle of that huge queue in Battersea on the high street (Picture: KarenAnneBarton)

Journalist Lebby Eyres said she’s lived in Jeremy Corbyn’s constituency in Islington, north London, and it’s the first time she’s had to join a queue to vote.

She tweeted: Today was the first time I have ever had to queue for any election, general, council or the referendum.

‘Squeaky bum time.’

Queueing to get into school? Must be an election

These voters are queueing to get into a polling station in Bermondsey (Picture: Chris_Kilgariff)

Dozens of people queue at the polling station in Effra road, Brixton (Picture: Joe Mellor / SWNS)

These voters can be proud of their queues

A nice and orderly queue in Woolwich, south-east London (Picture: Lori Smith)

This lot were up at the crack of dawn in Balham (Picture: ColinIzod)

Keep calm and carry on queueing! This queue in Bermondsey is very civilised (Picture: chrischofield1)