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|[[United Kingdom general election, 2015|2015 election]] '''•''' [[MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 2015|MPs]]
|[[United Kingdom general election, 2015|2015 election]] '''•''' [[MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 2015|MPs]]
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The '''next [[general election]] in the [[United Kingdom]]''' is proposed to take place on Thursday 8 June 2017. This requires a motion to be passed by the House of Commons, which the Prime Minister is expected to move on 19 April<ref name=":0" /> and which is expected to also be supported by the opposition parties including [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] and the [[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Liberal Democrats]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/tim-farron-general-election-liberal-democrat-leader-snap-change-country-direction-chance-june-8-a7688486.html|title=Lib Dem leader Tim Farron responds to Theresa May's general election announcement|date=18 April 2017|publisher=}}</ref>
The '''next [[general election]] in the [[United Kingdom]]''' is proposed to take place on Thursday 8 June 2017. This requires a motion to be passed by the House of Commons, which the Prime Minister is expected to move on 19 April<ref name=":0" /> and which is expected to also be supported by the opposition parties including [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]], the [[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Liberal Democrats]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/tim-farron-general-election-liberal-democrat-leader-snap-change-country-direction-chance-june-8-a7688486.html|title=Lib Dem leader Tim Farron responds to Theresa May's general election announcement|date=18 April 2017|publisher=}}</ref> and the [[Green Party of England and Wales|Green Party]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Green Party: We're ready for an early General Election|url=https://www.greenparty.org.uk/news/2017/04/18/green-party-were-ready-for-an-early-general-election/|accessdate=18 April 2017|website=GreenParty.org.uk|publisher=[[Green Party of England and Wales]]}}</ref>


The next general election was scheduled to be held on or before Thursday 7 May 2020, in line with the [[Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011]]. The date, fixed by the Act, could be changed to an earlier date in the event of a [[Motions of no confidence in the United Kingdom|motion of no confidence]] or a two-thirds supermajority of the [[House of Commons (United Kingdom)|House of Commons]]. On 18 April 2017, the Prime Minister [[Theresa May]] announced she would seek to hold an election on Thursday 8 June 2017.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-39628713|title=Theresa May seeks general election|date=18 April 2017|work=BBC News|access-date=18 April 2017|language=en-GB}}</ref>
The next general election was scheduled to be held on or before Thursday 7 May 2020, in line with the [[Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011]]. The date, fixed by the Act, could be changed to an earlier date in the event of a [[Motions of no confidence in the United Kingdom|motion of no confidence]] or a two-thirds supermajority of the [[House of Commons (United Kingdom)|House of Commons]]. On 18 April 2017, the Prime Minister [[Theresa May]] announced she would seek to hold an election on Thursday 8 June 2017.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-39628713|title=Theresa May seeks general election|date=18 April 2017|work=BBC News|access-date=18 April 2017|language=en-GB}}</ref>

Revision as of 18:26, 18 April 2017

Next United Kingdom general election
← 2015 Expected 8 June 2017
(subject to parliamentary approval)
Party Leader Current seats
Conservative Theresa May
Labour Jeremy Corbyn
SNP Nicola Sturgeon[n 1]
Liberal Democrats Tim Farron
DUP Arlene Foster[n 2]
Sinn Féin Gerry Adams[n 3]
Plaid Cymru Leanne Wood[n 4]
SDLP Colum Eastwood[n 5]
UUP Robin Swann[n 6]
Green (E&W) Caroline Lucas and
Jonathan Bartley[n 7]
[[Independents|Independents]] —
Speaker
Total —
Incumbent Prime Minister
Theresa May
Conservative
2005 election • MPs
2010 election • MPs
2015 election • MPs

The next general election in the United Kingdom is proposed to take place on Thursday 8 June 2017. This requires a motion to be passed by the House of Commons, which the Prime Minister is expected to move on 19 April[1] and which is expected to also be supported by the opposition parties including Labour, the Liberal Democrats[2] and the Green Party.[3]

The next general election was scheduled to be held on or before Thursday 7 May 2020, in line with the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011. The date, fixed by the Act, could be changed to an earlier date in the event of a motion of no confidence or a two-thirds supermajority of the House of Commons. On 18 April 2017, the Prime Minister Theresa May announced she would seek to hold an election on Thursday 8 June 2017.[1]

At general elections in the United Kingdom, voting takes place in single member constituencies to elect Members of Parliament (MPs) to seats in the House of Commons, the lower house of the Parliament. There are 650 constituencies represented in the House, though it had been proposed that this number would be reduced to 600 for the next general election. In the event of an early general election, the current constituency boundaries will remain. The leader of the party or coalition of parties that can command a majority is likely to be invited by the Queen to become the next Prime Minister.

Almost all of the major parties are expected to contest this election having changed leader since May 2015; the Scottish National Party, Sinn Féin, and Plaid Cymru are the only major parties whose leaders were serving at the previous general election. In July 2016, Theresa May replaced David Cameron as Conservative leader and Prime Minister, and in 2015, Jeremy Corbyn replaced Ed Miliband as Labour leader, while Tim Farron replaced Nick Clegg as leader of the Liberal Democrats. Paul Nuttall leads the UK Independence Party (UKIP) following Diane James' resignation shortly after being elected in September 2016, while Caroline Lucas and Jonathan Bartley jointly lead the Green Party. In November 2015, Colum Eastwood became SDLP leader and Arlene Foster became DUP leader, while Robin Swann became UUP leader in March 2017.

Electoral system

See also: Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011

Each parliamentary constituency of the United Kingdom elects one MP to the House of Commons using the "first past the post" system. If one party obtains a majority of seats, then that party is entitled to form the Government, with its leader as Prime Minister. If the election results in no single party having a majority, then there is a hung parliament. In this case, the options for forming the Government are either a minority government or a coalition government.[4]

The postponed Sixth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, reducing the number of constituencies from 650 to 600, is due to report by 2018, one year after the proposed general election. In 2016 each of the four parliamentary Boundary Commissions of the United Kingdom recommenced the review process.[5][6][7]

No changes to boundaries were made prior to 2017, so candidates and polling can be compared directly with the results by constituency in 2015.

Date of the election

The Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 introduced fixed-term Parliaments to the United Kingdom, with elections scheduled every five years following from the 2015 election on 7 May 2015.[8]

This removed the power of the monarch, acting on the advice of the Prime Minister, to dissolve Parliament before its five year maximum length, except in specific circumstances.[8] The Act permits early dissolution if the House of Commons votes by a supermajority of two thirds. A government can still lose a vote of no confidence by a majority of just over 50%, requiring it to resign. Parliament is then dissolved if no new government can be formed within 14 days of a no confidence vote.[9]

The Prime Minister has the power, by order made by Statutory Instrument under section 1(5) of the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011, to provide that the polling day is to be held up to two months later than 7 May 2020. Such a Statutory Instrument must be approved by each House of Parliament. Furthermore, individual constituencies may be forced to delay their elections. In both the 2005 and 2010 General Elections, one constituency delayed its poll owing to the death of a candidate.[10]

The referendum on EU membership resulted in a majority vote to leave the European Union; initial reactions to the result caused the pound sterling to fall in global markets.[11] Many political commentators argued that it might be necessary to hold an early general election before negotiations began to leave the EU.[12][13]

On 18 April 2017, the Prime Minister Theresa May announced she would seek to hold an election on 8 June 2017.[1] Pursuant to the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011, this would require a motion to be passed by a supermajority of two thirds in the House of Commons, which the Prime Minister is expected to move on 19 April.[1] Under the Fixed-term Parliaments Act, the Prime Minister can no longer call a general election directly, although various mechanisms allow an early election.[14]

The motion is expected to pass with the required two thirds majority in the Commons,[15] given Labour and Liberal Democrat support for the proposed date.[1] Parliament would then be dissolved 25 working days before polling day (i.e. 3 May 2017).[16] British, Irish and Commonwealth citizens living in the United Kingdom, as well as British citizens living overseas, aged 18 or over on polling day who are registered to vote by midnight twelve working days before polling day (i.e. 22 May 2017) will be able to cast their vote.[17] Anyone who qualifies as an anonymous elector has until midnight on 31 May 2017 to register.[18]

Contesting political parties and candidates

Most candidates are representatives of a political party, which must be registered with the Electoral Commission's Register of Political Parties. Candidates who do not belong to a registered party can use an "independent" label, or no label at all.

The Conservative Party and Labour Party have been the two biggest parties since 1922, and have supplied all UK Prime Ministers since 1935. Both parties will enter the election with other leaders than they had in the 2015 election.[19][20] David Cameron, who had been leader of the Conservative Party since 2005 and Prime Minister since 2010, was replaced in July 2016 by Theresa May following the referendum on the United Kingdom's membership of the European Union.[21][22] Jeremy Corbyn replaced Ed Miliband as Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition in September 2015, re-elected as leader by party members in September 2016.[23][24]

While the Liberal Democrats and their predecessors had long been the third-largest party in British politics, they lost 49 MPs in 2015, securing fewer MPs than the Scottish National Party (SNP) and fewer votes than the UK Independence Party (UKIP).[25] Tim Farron became the Liberal Democrat leader in July 2015, following the resignation of Nick Clegg.[26] The SNP, led by First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon, stand only in Scotland, but won 56 of 59 Scottish seats in 2015, an increase of 50 MPs.[27]

UKIP, then led by Nigel Farage and subsequently replaced by Diane James and then Paul Nuttall in 2016, won 12.7% of the vote in 2015 but only gained one MP, Douglas Carswell, who left the party in March 2017 to sit as an independent. In the 2015 election, The Green Party returned one MP and Plaid Cymru returned three.

In Northern Ireland, the Democratic Unionist Party, Sinn Féin, the Social Democratic and Labour Party, and the Ulster Unionist Party, who all won seats in 2015, and the Alliance Party, which contested all 18 Northern Irish seats, will likely contest the next election. Sinn Féin is expected to continue its policy of abstentionism and not take any seats won at the next general election.[28]

Campaign

Background

Prior to the proposal for a general election, the Liberal Democrats have won the Richmond Park by-election, a seat characterised by its high remain vote in the 2016 EU referendum.[29] The Conservatives held the safe seat of Sleaford and North Hykeham in December 2016.[30] In by-elections on 23 February 2017, Labour held Stoke-on-Trent Central while losing Copeland to the Conservatives, the first time a governing party had gained a seat in a by-election since 1982.[31] Local elections in England, Scotland and Wales, as well as the Manchester Gorton by-election were scheduled to take place on 4 May 2017 when the general election was announced on 18 April 2017.

Television debates

Jeremy Corbyn of the Labour Party, Tim Farron of the Liberal Democrats and Nicola Sturgeon of the SNP have all three called for televised debates.[32] The Prime Minister's office has opposed the idea of any televised debates during the campaign.[33]

Members of Parliament not standing for re election

Conservative

  1. Sir Simon Burns (Chelmsford), announced 8 January 2016[34]
  2. Kenneth Clarke (Rushcliffe), announced 6 February 2016[35]

Labour

  1. Ronnie Campbell (Blyth Valley), announced 8 May 2015[36]
  2. Pat Glass (North West Durham), announced 28 June 2016[37]
  3. Tom Blenkinsop (Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland), announced 18 April 2017[38]
  4. Alan Johnson (Hull West and Hessle), announced 18 April 2017[39]

Opinion polling

Main article: Opinion polling for the next United Kingdom general election
UK opinion polling for the 2017 election including polls which started on or before 12 April 2017 (moving average is calculated from the last ten polls)
4

Inaccurate polling at the 2015 election

Polling results for the 2015 UK general election, compared to the actual result

At the 2015 election, all major opinion polls failed to predict the election result accurately. All pollsters had forecasted a hung Parliament, underestimating the Conservative Party vote by an average of 4.2 points and overestimating the Labour Party vote by an average of 2.4 points.[40]

Almost immediately following the election, polling companies started making changes to polling practices, with recommendations from a review by the British Polling Council likely to see further alterations.[41]

Footnotes

  1. ^ Nicola Sturgeon sits as an MSP in the Scottish Parliament
  2. ^ Arlene Foster sits as an MLA in the Northern Ireland Assembly
  3. ^ Gerry Adams sits as a TD in Dáil Éireann
  4. ^ Leanne Wood sits as an AM in the National Assembly for Wales
  5. ^ Colum Eastwood sits as an MLA in the Northern Ireland Assembly
  6. ^ Robin Swann sits as an MLA in the Northern Ireland Assembly
  7. ^ Jonathan Bartley currently has no elected position.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Theresa May seeks general election". BBC News. 18 April 2017. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
  2. ^ "Lib Dem leader Tim Farron responds to Theresa May's general election announcement". 18 April 2017.
  3. ^ "Green Party: We're ready for an early General Election". GreenParty.org.uk. Green Party of England and Wales. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
  4. ^ Another hung Parliament: what next?. YouTube. 18 March 2015.
  5. ^ "Boundary review launched". Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
  6. ^ "2018 Review of Westminster Parliamentary constituencies". Boundary Commission for Scotland. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  7. ^ "2018 Review". Boundary Commission for Wales. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  8. ^ a b Horne, Alexander; Kelly, Richard. "Alexander Horne and Richard Kelly: Prerogative powers and the Fixed-term Parliaments Act". UK Constitutional Law Association. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
  9. ^ "House of Commons Debate 5 July 2010 c 23". parliament.uk. UK Parliament. 5 July 2010. Retrieved 8 September 2013.
  10. ^ "Thirsk and Malton candidate death delays poll date". BBC News. 22 April 2010. Retrieved 18 April 2017. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  11. ^ "How global markets are reacting to UK's Brexit vote". Financial Times. 24 June 2016. Retrieved 18 April 2017. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  12. ^ "Will there be an early general election? Calls for new vote after David Cameron resigns". Daily Mirror. 24 June 2016. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  13. ^ "The EU referendum reveals a nation utterly divided. An early general election is the only answer". Daily Telegraph. 24 June 2016. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  14. ^ "A constitutional expert on whether Theresa May can call an early general election". 12 July 2016.
  15. ^ "Reality Check: How do you call an early election?". BBC News. 18 April 2017. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
  16. ^ Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011, Section 3 (as amended by the Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013, Section 14). Note that 29 May 2017 is a bank holiday.
  17. ^ Electoral Commission: Deadline for registration ahead of an election. Note that 29 May 2017 is a bank holiday.
  18. ^ The deadline for the receipt and determination of anonymous electoral registration applications is one working day before the publication date of the notice of alteration to the Electoral Register (i.e. the sixth working day before polling day).
  19. ^ Kirkup, James. "By 2020, the Conservative Party leader will be... not who you expect". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  20. ^ Pope, Conor. "How will the leadership election work?". Labour List. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  21. ^ Jon Stone. "David Cameron officially resigns as the UK Prime Minister". The Independent. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
  22. ^ "PM-in-waiting Theresa May promises 'a better Britain'". BBC News. 11 July 2016. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
  23. ^ "Jeremy Corbyn wins Labour leadership contest and vows 'fightback'". BBC News. 12 September 2015. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
  24. ^ "Labour leadership: Corbyn appeals for unity after re-election". BBC News. 24 September 2016. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
  25. ^ Mason, Rowena. "SNP wants Liberal Democrats' third party parliamentary perks". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  26. ^ Perraudin, Frances. "Tim Farron outlines 'optimistic direction' for Lib Dems". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  27. ^ "Election 2015: SNP wins 56 of 59 seats in Scots landslide". BBC News. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  28. ^ McDonald, Henry. "Sinn Féin MP says party will always boycott Westminster, despite report". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  29. ^ Walker, Peter (2 December 2016). "Richmond Park byelection: Tory Brexit voters switched to us, say Lib Dems". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 April 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  30. ^ "Conservatives hold Sleaford as Labour pushed into fourth". BBC News. 9 December 2016. Retrieved 18 April 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  31. ^ "Tories in historic by-election Copeland win as Labour holds Stoke". BBC News. 24 February 2017. Retrieved 18 April 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  32. ^ Elgot, Jessica; Martinson, Jane (18 April 2017). "Theresa May rules out participating in TV debates before election" – via The Guardian.
  33. ^ Gary Gibbon (18 April 2017). "Election 2017: No TV debates this time". Channel 4 News. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
  34. ^ "Chelmsford MP Sir Simon Burns to retire at next General Election". The Enquirer. 8 January 2016.
  35. ^ McTague, Tom (6 February 2016). "This is going to be my last Parliament...One last parliament as a cavalier, maverick backbencher". The Independent. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
  36. ^ "Labour's Ronnie Campbell delighted with election win - his final one". 8 May 2015.
  37. ^ "Pat Glass on Twitter: "I have informed my CLP Chair that whenever the next General Election takes place, I will not be Labour's candidate."". Twitter.com. 28 June 2016. Retrieved 11 July 2016.
  38. ^ "Ex-Home Secretary Alan Johnson and backbencher Tom Blenkinsop announce they won't stand in General Election as party faces electoral wipeout". 18 April 2017.
  39. ^ "Alan Johnson set to stand down as MP for Hull West and Hessle". ITV News. 18 April 2017. Retrieved 18 April 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  40. ^ "General Election: 7 May 2015". British Polling Council. Retrieved 18 August 2015.
  41. ^ Wells, Anthony J. "The Polling Inquiry public meeting". UK Polling Report. Retrieved 18 August 2015.
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