How does UK General Election work?
The United Kingdom’s electorate will head to the polls on Thursday, July 4, to elect a new government as the current administration’s term has ended.
UK general elections take place after Parliament is dissolved.
According to the Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022, parliamentary terms last five years unless the British monarch dissolves Parliament earlier at the prime minister’s request.
Although the polling day is not legally fixed, it is scheduled 25 working days after Parliament is dissolved.
The UK is divided into 650 constituencies, each of which elects one Member of Parliament (MP) to represent them in the House of Commons.
The candidate with the highest number of votes in each constituency wins a seat in the House of Commons.
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This electoral system tends to favor the two largest political parties, the Conservative Party and the Labour Party, due to their strong regional support.
Smaller parties with less concentrated regional backing find it more challenging to secure seats.
The party winning the most constituencies is invited by the British monarch to form the government.
If no party wins a majority of 326 seats in the House of Commons, a coalition government can be formed either independently or with support from another party.
Once the results are finalized, King Charles III will invite the leader of the party with the most MPs to form a government and assume the role of Prime Minister.
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The party with the second-highest number of MPs will serve as the opposition.
The newly elected UK Parliament will meet on July 9 for the oath-taking ceremony and to elect the Speaker.
This will be followed by the State Opening of Parliament, during which the new government will present its agenda in the King’s Speech.
