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Candidates aim to win an election in a particular geographic constituency in the UK, and almost all are members of a political party. There are 659 constituencies, and thus 659 MPs. Most voters choose who to vote for based on the candidates' parties, rather than the personalities or opinions of the candidates.
A general election must take place before each parliamentary term begins. Since the maximum term of a parliament is five years, the interval between successive general elections can exceed that period by no more than the combined length of the election campaign and time for the new parliament to assemble (typically five to eight weeks). The actual election may be held at any time before the end of the five-year term. The five years runs from the first meeting of Parliament following the election. The timing of an election is at the discretion of the incumbent Prime Minister. This timing is usually political, and thus if a government is popular the election is often "called" after around four years in power.
The Prime Minister asks the Monarch to dissolve Parliament by Royal Proclamation. The Proclamation also orders the issue of the formal Writs of Election which require an election to be held. The election is held 17 working days after the date of the Proclamation.
Since 1935 every general election has been held on a Thursday. Of the 16 general elections between 1945 and 2001, four have been in October, four in June, three in May and two in February.
The UK's Cabinet Office imposes Purdah before elections. This is a period of roughly six weeks in which Government Departments are not allowed to communicate with members of the public about any new or controversial Government initiatives (such as modernisation initiatives, administrative and legislative changes).
Anyone resident in the UK and is a citizen of the UK, the Republic of Ireland or of a Commonwealth country and is 18 or over on the date of the election is eligible to vote, unless they are a member of the House of Lords, imprisoned for a criminal offence, mentally incapable of making a reasoned judgement, or have been convicted of corrupt or illegal practices in connection with an election within the previous five years. Members of the Royal Family, including the Monarch, are eligible to vote, although in practice it would be seen as unconstitutional if they ever did. UK citizens who have moved abroad remain eligible to vote for 15 years thereafter. "Service voters" - including forces personnel, diplomats and other public servants resident overseas - are also eligible. Voters must appear on the electoral register in order to vote; they can now be added to the register until eleven working days before the election. Voting is not compulsory.
It is a first-past-the-post election system, in terms of the number of MPs from a particular party. If one party has an overall majority of MPs, they will form the next government, and their leader becomes Prime Minister. If no party has an overall majority, either two or more parties will form a coalition government, with enough total MPs for a majority, typically with the leader of the larger party becoming Prime Minister, or a single party will attempt to form a government and survive through informal alliances and agreements with other parties. Passing government legislation without a majority in the House of Commons -- as happened in the last months of the John MajorThe Right Honourable John Major CH is a British politician and was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1990 to 1997, attaining that office when he succeeded Margaret Thatcher as Conservative Party leader. Early life Major was born March 29, 1943, th government -- can be difficult.
The system is not one of proportional representationProportional Representation PR describes various multi-winner electoral systems which try to ensure that the proportional support gained by different groups is accurately reflected in the election result. Proportional representation is also used to descri (PR). A party with 20% of the vote nationally could easily end up with very few MPs. This aspect of the system attracts criticism, particularly from parties that would perform better under a PR system such as the Liberal DemocratsThe Liberal Democrats ("Lib Dems") are a social liberal political party based in the United Kingdom. The party was formed in 1988 by the merger of the Liberal Party and the short lived Social Democratic Party (the two parties had already been in an allian. On the other hand, supporters of the system cite it as a reason for the lack of extremist parties from mainstream UK politics, the infrequency of coalitions, and the direct connection between constituencies and their MP.
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