It’s decision time for the UK’s electorate and our top team of journalists, designers, film-makers, data crunchers and developers have been crafting some special editorial treats to build on our award-winning reporting. Here’s our handy guide on how to get the best out of the Guardian this general election:
Before you make your way to the polling booth
You may still be confused: the polls are showing widely different and changeable predictions. Here are a few things that might help you before you cast your vote:
1) Explore different voices
How do our journalists get beyond the cheap soundbite? Take a look at our series Voices and Votes for which we dispatched reporters to constituencies across the UK – from Hartlepool to Cambridge to Glasgow – to spend a month listening to real voters and listening to the issues that they feel are most important to them.
Columnist John Harris and film-maker John Domokos also took the road again for a new series of Anywhere but Westminster, travelling the country to take its real temperature.
2) Compare what the parties are offering
Throw the soundbites aside and look at the manifestos. How do they measure up? What are they actually promising? We have dissected every manifesto and compiled the key pledges side by side, issue by issue, party by party.
The election manifestos compared
3) Still unsure?
If you haven’t made up your mind yet, take our quiz and discover which party’s manifesto is the best fit for your own views.
4) Made up your mind? Try thinking tactically
Whichever outcome you are hoping for, we’ve identified 48 seats that could dramatically influence the result of the election. If you’re in one of those places, or if you want to know which seats to look out for as the results come in, our expert guide is a must-read:
Tactical voting guide: how to make your vote count
5) Still undecided?
Throw caution to the wind? Take a look at some of the more colourful candidates seeking your vote and see if any of them take your fancy.
Voting is now closed - what next?
Remember polling stations are open 7am until 10pm on Thursday 8 June. The exit poll is due shortly after these close. Constituencies will start to declare their vote - watch out for the Sunderland seats, which always race to be the first. We’ll be covering all the action, breaking news and developments as they happen. Here’s how you can stay informed:
1) Follow our live blog
Every bit of relevant news will be on our live blog - taking you through the day and through the night and pulling in all the best of the commentary.
2) Keep an eye on social media
Follow us on Twitter or check out some of the stories we’ll be telling on Instagram.
3) Stay up to date with the live results tracker - live from 10pm
From 10pm on Thursday 8 June we will keep you up to date with the latest results on both our website and apps. A widget will appear prominently at the top of the home page providing you with live results. Our tracker will deliver a rich and live dashboard, which will show you at a glance how the parties are doing and how the election is unfolding. You’ll be able to search for the constituencies that matter to you and keep an eye on the key battlegrounds.
If you don’t have it already, we recommend that you download the Guardian app: iOS, Android or Windows (live election results widget will not be available on Windows)
4) Receive election notifications
Specially developed for our UK election coverage by our US Mobile Innovation Lab, these new Chrome web notifications will ensure you get every update as the results come in - sign up for web notifications via the live results tracker using a Chrome browser on your Android device, or on desktop. Once signed up you’ll receive one updating alert that will automatically refresh with the latest results - so you don’t need to receive endless notification pings or keep refreshing your web pages. This should be helpful for those on the go (or struggling to sleep) who want just to see the whole picture at a quick glance.
For app users we will be sending our breaking news notifications on all the major points throughout the night. If you don’t have these switched on you can toggle them via the app settings.
5) Whilst you’re waiting for the results to come in
The majority of the results will come in long after the polls have closed at 10pm, so here’s some further reading to keep you engaged and entertained throughout the night:
Win or lose, this will be Theresa May’s last election - Jonathan Freedland
Alan Travis on how the turnout of younger voters holds key to election outcome
Our resident cartoonist David Squires has traded football for the general election in a campaign strip
The Guardian view on the election: it’s Labour
and finally ... a standout campaign from social media - Greg Knight’s bizarre Tory campaign video delights viewers
Happy voting!
