Elections in the United Kingdom
Encyclopedia
There are five types of elections in the United Kingdom: United Kingdom
general elections, elections to devolved parliaments and assemblies, elections to the European Parliament
, local elections and mayoral elections. Elections are held on Election Day
, which is conventionally a Thursday. General elections have fixed dates, and must be called within five years of the opening of parliament following the last election. Other elections are held on fixed dates though in the case of the devolved assemblies and parliaments, early elections can occur in certain situations. Presently, six electoral systems are used: the single member plurality system (First Past the Post), the multi member plurality system
, party list PR
, the single transferable vote
, the Additional Member System and the Supplementary Vote.
Elections are administered locally: in each lower-tier local authority, the actual polling procedure is run by the Returning Officer
and the compiling and maintenance of the electoral roll by the Electoral Registration Officer
(except in Northern Ireland
, where the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland
assumes both responsibilities). The Electoral Commission
only sets standards for and issues guidelines to Returning Officer
s and Electoral Registration Officer
s, but is responsible for nationwide electoral administration (such as the registration of political parties and directing the administration of national referendums).
but excluding British protected person
s), the Republic of Ireland
, a Commonwealth
country (including Fiji
, Zimbabwe
and the whole of Cyprus) or a European Union
member state can apply to the Electoral Registration Officer
in the district in the UK where they reside with a 'considerable degree of permanence' to be listed in that area's Electoral Register. A person who has two homes (such as a university student who has a term-time address and lives at home during holidays) may be able to register to vote at both addresses as long as they are not in the same electoral area (though an elector can only vote once in any single election or referendum).
In addition, to qualify to appear on the Electoral Register, applicants who are Commonwealth citizen
s must either possess leave to enter or remain
in the UK or not require such leave
on the date of their application and no applicant may be a convicted person detained in prison or a mental hospital (or unlawfully at large if he/she would otherwise have been detained) or a person found guilty of certain corrupt or illegal practices.
In Northern Ireland
, a further criterion has to be fulfilled to qualify for registration: it is only possible to apply to be listed on the Electoral Register if a person has been resident in Northern Ireland for at least three months prior to the date of application.
Remand prisoners, voluntary patients in mental hospitals and people without a fixed place of residence can register to vote by making a declaration of local connection.
Members of HM Forces and their immediate family members have the option of registering as a service voter, by making a service declaration based on the last UK address.
British citizens (but not other categories of British nationals) residing outside the United Kingdom
can register as an overseas voter provided that they were on the Electoral Register in the UK within the previous 15 years. The 15 years period begins when they no longer appeared in the electoral register, not the date they moved abroad. For British citizens who moved abroad before they were 18 years old, they can still qualify for registration, with the 15 years period calculated from the date their parent(s)/guardian ceased to appear in the electoral register. Overseas voters can only vote in European Parliamentary and UK Parliamentary elections in the constituency of their last registered UK address (or for those who moved abroad as a child, the last registered UK address of their parent(s)/guardian).
Crown servant
s and British Council
employees (as well as their spouses who live abroad) employed in a post outside the UK can register by making a Crown Servant declaration, allowing them to vote in all UK elections.
An individual can register as an anonymous elector
if his/her safety (or that of any other person in the same household) would be at risk were his/her name and address to be disclosed publicly on the Electoral Register, but the application needs to be supported by a relevant court order, injunction or an attestation by a chief police officer
or a Director of Social Services
.
The right of Commonwealth and Irish citizens to vote is a legacy of the Representation of the People Act 1918
, which limited the vote to British subjects. At that time, "British subjects" included the people of Ireland — then part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
— and all other parts of the British Empire
. Though most of Ireland (see Ireland Act 1949
) and the majority of the colonies became independent nations, their citizens have retained the right to vote if they live in the United Kingdom.
In theory, members of the Royal Family
who are not members of the House of Lords (including those who are peers who lost their right to sit following the House of Lords Act 1999), as well as the Monarch
, are eligible to vote, although in practice they do not exercise that right.
, most electors are enrolled during the course of the annual canvass, which Electoral Registration Officer
s are obliged to conduct every year between August and November. Canvass forms are sent to all households which must be returned, otherwise a fine of £1000 can be imposed. One person in the household must confirm the details of all residents who are existing electors, which includes adding or deleting residents who have moved in or out and are eligible to register to vote.
Between December and early August, the rolling registration procedure applies instead. Applications must be submitted individually (unlike the annual canvass forms where one person is responsible for registering all eligible people in a household) using registration forms available from local Electoral Registration Officers or the Electoral Commission's website http://www.aboutmyvote.co.uk. Although no proof of identity or address is necessary when submitting an application, the Electoral Registration Officer can require the applicant to provide further information regarding the applicant's age, nationality, residence and whether or not they are disqualified and/or evidence to prove the applicant's age and/or nationality. Application forms can be returned to the local Electoral Registration Officer by post, by fax or by e-mail as a scanned attachment.
Special category electors do not register through the annual canvass procedure. Instead, they submit applications at any time during the year and have to renew their electoral application periodically (every one year for overseas electors and voters with a declaration of local connection and every three years for service voters).
After applications are received by the Electoral Registration Officer
, he/she must add them to a list of applications (except if they are applications to register as an anonymous elector). The list is open for inspection for five working days, during which any other elector may raise an objection to an application. The Electoral Registration Officer can initiate an application hearing if he/she considers that there are reasonable integrity concerns about the application.
In Northern Ireland
, there is no annual canvass, and instead people register individually at any time during the year. Applicants must supply their National Insurance
number or, if they do not have one, make a declaration to that effect. Proof of identity, address, three months' residency in NI and date of birth must also be included with applications, which are submitted by post to the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland
.
Knowingly giving false information to an Electoral Registration Officer
anywhere in the UK is an offence with a maximum penalty, upon conviction, of £5000 and/or six months' imprisonment.
has an Electoral Register
which is compiled by the Electoral Registration Officer
listing all registered electors. The Electoral Register
contains the name, qualifying address and electoral number of every ordinary elector, the name of every special category elector (such as service voters) and the electoral number of every anonymous elector. Any elector who was not aged 18 yet at the time of registration will also have his/her date of birth printed. Each district's Electoral Register
is subdivided into separate registers for each polling district.
Because the franchise differs between individual voters, a variety markers will be placed next to voters' names to help to identify which elections they are entitled to vote in. European Union
citizens who are not Commonwealth
or Irish
citizens have their entry prefixed either with the letter G (meaning they can only vote in local government elections) or K (meaning they can only vote in European Parliamentary and local government elections). Overseas electors are prefixed with the letter F, meaning they can only vote in European and UK Parliamentary elections. Members of the House of Lords
residing in the UK are prefixed with the letter L, meaning they can only vote in European Parliamentary and local government elections, whilst peers who are overseas electors are prefixed with the letter E, indicating that they can only vote in European Parliamentary elections.
The Register is published every year on 1 December following the 'annual canvass' period (except if there has been an election during the annual canvass period between 1 July and 1 December, in which case the publication date is 1 February in the following year). Between January and September, during the 'rolling registration' period, notices of alteration are published on the first working day of each month to add, remove or amend names. Notices of alteration are also published 5 working days before an election at any time of the year and just before the close of poll at any election to correct any clerical errors or to implement any court decisions. With the exception of a deceased elector who is removed from the Register, any individual who is added or removed from the Register must be notified by the Electoral Registration Officer
.
There are two versions of the Register - the full Register and the edited Register. The full Register can only be inspected under supervision at the office of the local Electoral Registration Officer, and must be supplied free of charge to the district's Returning Officer
, the British Library
, the Electoral Commission
, the Office for National Statistics
(only English and Welsh Registers), the General Register Office for Scotland
(only Scottish Registers), the National Library of Wales
(only English and Welsh Registers), the National Library of Scotland
(only English and Scottish Registers) and the relevant Boundary Commission. The edited Register is available for general sale from Electoral Registration Officers and can be used for any purpose. Electors can choose to opt out from appearing in the edited Register by informing their local Electoral Registration Officer.
Traditionally (with the sole exception of 1923
), the United Kingdom effectively has had a two party system arising from the use of the First-Past-The-Post system for general and local elections. Duverger's law
certainly seems borne out in the history of British parliamentary politics. Before World War I, the United Kingdom had a true two-party system, the main parties being the Tories
(which became the Conservative Party
) and the Whigs
(which became the Liberal Party), though after Catholic Emancipation
there was also a substantial Irish Parliamentary Party
. After World War II, the dominant parties have been Conservative and Labour
. No third party has come close to winning a parliamentary majority.
However, some have challenged the view that the United Kingdom still has a two party system, since the Liberal Democrats have won around 15%–25% of the votes in recent elections. The Liberal Democrats won 62 of the 646 seats in the House of Commons in the 2005 general election
, and several nationalist (regional) groupings hold seats as well, leading some spectators to regard the Westminster parliament as a "two and a half" party system.
Smaller parties receive many more votes (and seats) in the elections using a proportional system, which are the regional elections for the Scottish Parliament
, Welsh Assembly, Northern Ireland Assembly
and London Assembly
, and the European Parliament
elections. Regional parties, such as the Scottish National Party
or Plaid Cymru
receive many more votes than at general or local elections, and at European elections, the United Kingdom Independence Party
and Green Party of England and Wales
perform better. It can be argued that in these elections, there is a multi-party system
.
It is relatively easy to stand for election as an independent candidate, although wins are very rare and usually involve special circumstances (for example Martin Bell
's 1997 victory against the discredited Conservative MP Neil Hamilton
was aided by the major parties standing aside and not contesting the election). Following the 2005 general election, there were three independent MPs, the highest number since 1945, however only one of these was returned in the 2010 election. To stand as a candidate in a particular constituency, a British citizen needs the signatures of 10 people registered to vote there, and pay a deposit
of £500 (which is returned if he/she gains more than 5% of the vote in that seat).
Votes can be cast either in person at a polling station, by post or by proxy. British citizens residing abroad and registered as overseas electors cannot vote at British high commissions, embassies or consulates - their votes can only be cast either in person in the constituency where they are enrolled in the United Kingdom, by proxy (who must reside in and be eligible to vote in the UK) or by post (although this option is less popular as postal ballot packs are only despatched by returning officers at 5pm 11 working days before polling day at the earliest and must be received by the returnng officer by the close of poll to be counted).
, where one piece of photographic ID must be presented at the polling station - a NI Electoral Identity Card
, a photographic NI or GB driving licence
, a United Kingdom
or other EU passport, a Translink 60+ SmartPass, a Translink Senior SmartPass, a Translink Blind Person’s SmartPass or a Translink War Disabled SmartPass.
Having verified and marked off the voter's name and address on the list of electors, the presiding officer or poll clerk issues the ballot paper, calling out the voter's name, elector number and polling district reference, unless the voter is an anonymous elector, in which case only his/her elector number is called out. All ballot papers contain both an official mark (e.g. a watermark or perforation) and a unique identifying number; any papers issued without both these features (even if it is the presiding officer/poll clerk's mistake) will be invalid and rejected at the count. On a separate list (called the corresponding number list) the presiding officer or poll clerk writes the voter's elector number next to the unique identifying number of the ballot paper issued. However the secrecy of the vote is usually maintained, as at the close of the poll this list linking voters to their ballot paper numbers is sealed inside a packet which may only be opened by the order of a court in the event that the election result is challenged. The ballot paper is folded and then handed to the voter unfolded.
The voter marks the ballot papers in the privacy of a voting booth
. If the ballot paper has been spoilt, the presiding officer/poll clerk can issue a new one after the old ballot paper is cancelled. Before placing the ballot papers in the ballot box, the voter has to show the presiding officer or the poll clerk the official mark and the unique identifying number printed on the reverse of the ballot papers.
If a voter requests a ballot paper but his/her name has already been marked off (indicating that someone has already requested a ballot paper in his/her name), he/she can only cast a tendered ballot - even if he/she genuinely has not already cast a vote and has been the victim of personation. Also, if a voter requests a ballot paper at a polling station claiming not to have applied for a postal vote but is in fact listed as having done so, only a tendered ballot can be issued. After marking the tendered ballot in private, the voter must not place it in the ballot box. Instead, it must be returned to the Presiding Officer who will endorse it with the voter's name, elector number and polling district reference, before placing it in a special envelope. The voter's name and elector number is then written down in the 'List of Tendered Votes'. Although tendered ballots are not included at the count, they serve as a formal record that a voter has tried, but has been unable, to cast a vote and is evidence of a voter's concern about the conduct of an election. If a voter wants to make a complaint, marking a tendered ballot is the first step in pursuing the complaints procedure.
At the close of poll, the slot at the top of the ballot box is sealed by the presiding officer or poll clerk (the election and polling agents appointed by candidates can also apply their own seals to the boxes) before being transported by the presiding officer to the central counting location.
, where voters have to give a specific reason explaining why they cannot physically attend their allocated polling station). Applications for postal ballots close at 5pm 11 working days before polling day - this is also the earliest time the returning officer can despatch postal ballot packs. Postal ballots can be sent anywhere within and outside the United Kingdom, although if they are not sent to a voter's registered address, a reason must be provided to the Electoral Registration Officer as to why the postal ballot is to be sent to an alternative address.
Voters return their postal ballots together with postal voting statements filled in with their date of birth and signature either by post or by hand directly to the returning officer, or by hand to the presiding officer on polling day at a polling station situated within the constituency/ward printed on the postal ballot return envelope. However, for the postal ballot to be counted, the returning officer (or the presiding officer if returned at a polling station) must receive the ballot paper by the close of poll (usually 10pm on polling day).
at the voter's local authority by 5pm 6 working days before polling day. The proxy can either vote in person, or can apply for a postal proxy vote (though a postal proxy vote applicaion has an even earlier deadline - any such request must be received by the Electoral Registration Officer by 5pm 11 working days before polling day at the latest). A voter who has become ill or disabled after 5pm six working days before polling day can make an emergency application to vote by proxy as long as the application is received by the Electoral Registration Officer
by 5pm on polling day. Unless a close relative, a person can only vote as a proxy on behalf of a maximum of 2 other voters in any single election in each constituency/ward. When applying to vote by proxy for more than one particular election, the application must be accompanied by a relevant attestation and must be justified based on one of the following reasons: blindness; other disability; employment; on an education course; registered as a service, overseas or anonymous elector. If only applying to vote by proxy for one particular election, the elector only needs to explain why he/she cannot vote in person, but does not need an attestation. If it is only possible to get to the polling station from the registered address by air or by sea, the elector can apply for a permanent proxy vote without an attestation.
In Northern Ireland
, voters can only appoint another person to be their proxy if they can provide a specific reason explaining why they cannot physically attend their allocated polling station.
and at least one large print display version of the ballot paper to assist visually impaired voters. Though the large print version cannot be marked, it can be used for reference. Disabled voters can also request the Presiding Officer in the polling station or bring along a family member to mark their ballot papers for them if they wish. If a voter is unable to enter the polling station because of a disability, the Presiding Officer can take the ballot paper to him/her.
Although the Electoral Commission
provides electoral registration forms in a number of foreign languages http://www.aboutmyvote.co.uk/languages.aspx, by law all voting materials (e.g. ballot papers) are only printed in English
(and also in Welsh
in Wales).
of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
are elected. Following the Parliament Act 1911
, parliamentary sessions last a maximum of five years, and are ended by the dissolution of Parliament. Traditionally the dates of general elections are not fixed in advance, and the time is chosen by the governing party to maximise political advantage. The 2010 election was held on May 6, 2010.
Candidates aim to win particular geographic constituencies in the United Kingdom. Each constituency elects one MP by the first past the post system of election. At the 2005 general election, there were 646 constituencies, thus 646 MPs were elected to Parliament. Boundary changes in Scotland reduced the number of MPs from 659 at the 2001 election to 646. The party with the most seats, i.e. the most MPs, usually forms the government, and the second largest party forms Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition. Almost all successful candidates are members of a political party, with only one independent elected in the 2010 election and only four independent candidates in the entire country gaining more than a hundred votes.
. This timing is usually political, and thus if a government is popular then the election is often "called" after around four years in power.
After the 2010 general election, the coalition government
introduced a bill currently before Parliament which would set fixed term parliaments of five years. If the bill becomes law, the next general election
will be held on May 7, 2015, with subsequent elections held every five years on the first Thursday of May. The bill also contains provisions for parliament to be dissolved and an early election to be held if no government can be formed within 14 days after a vote of no confidence
in the government. Similarly, the bill allows for an election to be triggered by a vote of two-thirds of MPs in the House of Commons calling for one.
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 in each constituency. The election is held 17 working days after the date of the Proclamation, as regulated by the Representation of the People Act 1983
, s. 23 and Schedule 1 ("Parliamentary election rules"), rule 1 ("Timetable").
Since 1935 every general election has been held on a Thursday. Of the 18 general elections between 1945 and 2010, five were held in May, four each in June and October, and two in February and one each in March, April and July.
The 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).
When all of the results are known, or when one party achieves an absolute majority of the seats in the House of Commons, the first response comes from the current (and possibly outgoing) Prime Minister. If a majority in the new Parliament has been achieved by their party, they remain in office without the need for reconfirmation or reappointment—no new "term" of office is started. If a majority has not been achieved, and it is obvious that another party has the numbers to form a government, the Prime Minister submits a resignation to the Monarch. The Monarch then commissions the leader of the new majority party to form a new government. The Prime Minister has the option of attempting to remain in power even if seats have been lost. The subsequent Queen's Speech (i.e., outline of the proposed legislative programme) offers a chance for the House of Commons to cast a vote of confidence or no confidence in the government through accepting or rejecting the Queen's Speech.
By precedent, and by the absence of any formal written constitutional objection, the Monarch could dismiss the incumbent Prime Minister and seek to appoint a replacement. However, this has not occurred since the dismissal of Lord Melbourne
in 1834, and would almost certainly trigger a crisis, similar to that experienced in the 1975 Australian constitutional crisis.
The most recent Prime Ministers who, having failed to win a majority, opted not to resign immediately are Edward Heath
, in 1974 and Gordon Brown
in 2010. In 1974, after initial negotiations with the Liberal Party failed to provide a coalition deal, Heath resigned, allowing Queen Elizabeth II to commission Labour leader Harold Wilson
to form an administration. Until the Prime Minister reacts to the election result, either by deciding to remain on or resign, the Monarch has no role. Only if the Prime Minister resigns can the Monarch then commission someone else to form a government. Thus Margaret Thatcher, who was Prime Minister from 1979 to 1990, was only asked to form a government once. Similarly, Tony Blair was only ever commissioned to form a government once, in 1997. After each election, having remained in power, a Prime Minister may take the option to engage in a major or minor reshuffle
of ministers, although such a reshuffle may occur at any time so wished by the PM.
The largest party not in government becomes the Official Opposition, known as Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition. Any smaller parties not in government are collectively known as "the opposition".
Any vacancies created in the House, due to death, ennoblement, or resignation are filled by by-election
. The time-frame for these is not automatic and they can be months after the vacancy was created, or even abandoned if there is a pending general election.
elections occur every four years to elect the Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs). The first election to the unicameral Scottish Parliament that was created by the Scotland Act 1998
, was held in 1999. Elections to the Scottish Parliament are by the Additional Member System
, which is a hybrid of single member plurality and party list.
| || Total
| 1,989,222
|100.00
|—
|73
|±0
|1,991,051
|100.00
|—
|56
|±0
|129
|±0
|100.00
|}
(AMs). They began in 1999, when the unicameral Welsh Assembly, created by the Government of Wales Act 1998
, began its first session. However AMs have voted to hold the next election in 2016 to avoid a clash with the UK parliamentary general election in 2015. For elections to the Welsh Assembly the Additional Member System
is used, which is a hybrid of single member plurality and proportional representation
.
|-
| || Total || 949,252 || || || 40 || || 949,388 || || || 20 || || 60 || ||
|}
elections occur every four years on the first Thursday in May. They began in 1998, when the assembly created by the Northern Ireland Act 1998
began its first session. For elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly, the Single Transferable Vote system
, is used. The system uses preferences, and was chosen to attempt to give adequate representation to the different sectarian groups in Northern Ireland
. Elections continued even when the assembly was suspended between 2002 and 2007.
have taken place since 1979, the first year in which the parliament was directly elected. (From 1973 to 1979, members were elected by national parliaments).
Since the 1999 election, Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) representing England, Scotland and Wales have been elected in regional constituencies using the party list
, a Closed list
(i.e. candidates are chosen by parties). In Northern Ireland
the Single Transferable Vote system
has been used since 1979.
The United Kingdom is divided into twelve electoral regions, which are the three smaller nations (Scotland
, Wales
and Northern Ireland
), and nine Regions of England
.
The use of proportional representation
greatly increased the representation of minor parties. Until the 1999 election, the First Past the Post system was used, which had prevented parties with moderately large, but geographically spread out vote shares from receiving any seats. For example, in the 1989 election the Green Party
received 2,292,718 votes, constituting a 15% vote share, but no seats. The European Parliamentary Elections Act 1999
changed the system in time for the 1999 election.
From 1979 to 1989, the United Kingdom had 81 MEP
s (78 in England, Wales and Scotland, 3 in Northern Ireland). The European Parliamentary Elections Act 1993
increased the number to 87, adding five more seats in England and one more in Wales). The number was reduced to 78 for the 2004 election, and to 72 for the 2009 election
.
. A number of tiers of local council exist, at region
, county
, district/borough
and town/parish levels. A variety of voting systems are used for local elections. In Northern Ireland
and Scotland
, the single transferable vote
system is used, whilst in most of England
and Wales
the single member plurality system is used. The remainder of England (including all of the London Boroughs) and Wales use the plurality at-large
system, except for the elections of the Mayor and Assembly of the Greater London Authority
(GLA).
Local elections are held in different parts of the country each year. In years with a general election
it is usual practice to hold both general and local elections on the same day. In 2004, for the first time, local elections were held on the same day as European elections
, and London Mayoral
and Assembly
elections. The date was referred to as 'Super Thursday'.
The only Region of England which has a directly elected administration is London. London Assembly
elections began in 2000, when it was created. The Additional Member System
is used for elections to the Assembly. The Mayor is elected via the Supplementary Vote system.
did not exist in the United Kingdom until 1928. From 1688 to 1832, less than 10% of the adult male population had the right to vote.
The first act to increase the size of the electorate was the Reform Act 1832
(sometimes known as the Great Reform Act). It abolished 56 rotten borough
s (which had elected 112 MPs) and decreased the property qualification in boroughs. It gave some parliamentary representation to the industrial towns (142 MPs) by redistributing some MPs from boroughs who had disproportional representation. The electoral register was created. The overall result of the Act was that the electorate was increased to 14% of the adult male population. Although this was not a large increase, the Act was the first big step towards equal representation.
Between 1838 and 1848 a popular movement, Chartism
organised around 6 demands including universal male franchise and the secret ballot.
The Reform Act 1867
redistributed more MPs from boroughs who had disproportional representation (42) to London and industrial towns. It decreased the property qualification in boroughs, meaning all men (with an address) in boroughs could vote. The consequences were for the first time some of the working class could vote, and MPs had to take these new constituents into account. Some parties decided to become national parties. The overall effect was the that the Act increased the size of the electorate to 32% of the adult male population.
The Ballot Act 1872
replaced open elections with secret ballot system. The Corrupt and Illegal Practices Prevention Act 1883
criminalised attempts to bribe voters and standardised the amount that could be spent on election expenses. The Representation of the People Act 1884
and the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885
(the Third Reform Act) collectively increased the electorate to 56% of the adult male population.
expanded the electorate to include all men over the age of 21 and all married women over the age of 30. Later that year, the Parliamentary Qualification of Women Act 1918
gave women over 30 the right to stand for election as MPs. The first woman to become an MP was Constance Markievicz in 1918. However, she declined to take up her seat, being a member of Sinn Féin
. Nancy Astor
, elected in 1919, was the second woman to become an MP, and the first to sit in the Commons. The Equal Franchise Act 1928 lowered the minimum age for women to vote from 30 to 21, making men and women equal in terms of suffrage for the first time. The Representation of the People Act 1949
abolished additional votes for graduates (university constituencies) and the owners of business premises.
The Representation of the People Act 1969
lowered the voting age from 21 to 18. The Representation of the People Act 1985
gave British citizens abroad the right to vote for a five year period after they had left the United Kingdom. The Representation of the People Act 1989
extended the period to twenty years and citizens who were too young to vote when they left the country also became eligible.
government of Tony Blair
, there were only three types of elections: general elections, local government elections, and elections to the European Parliament. Most elections were conducted under the First Past the Post (FPTP) electoral system, though in Northern Ireland local government and European elections were conducted under the Single Transferable Vote
(STV) system. The constitutional reforms of Labour drastically changed elections, introducing elected regional assemblies and elected mayors
in certain cities. Proportional Representation
(PR) was introduced outside of Northern Ireland for the first time.
The hybrid (part PR, part FPTP) Additional Member System
was introduced in 1999 for the newly created devolved assemblies: the Scottish Parliament
, Welsh Assembly and London Assembly
and STV was used for the newly created Northern Ireland Assembly
. The regional party list
(Closed list
) system was introduced for European elections in Great Britain (which had previously used single member constituency FPTP) though Northern Ireland continues to use STV.
Labour passed the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000
, which created the Electoral Commission, which since 2000 has been responsible for the running of elections and referendums and to a limited extent regulating party funding. It also reduced the period during which British expatriates can vote, from 20 years after they emigrate to 15.
In 2008 the Ministry of Justice delivered a report that failed to conclusively recommend any particular voting system as "best" and instead simply compared working practices used in the different elections. The Minister of State for Justice, Ministry of Justice (Michael Wills
) issued a statement following its publication stating that no action would be taken on the various reports that, since 1997, have suggested a move towards proportional representation
for the UK general election until reform of the House of Lords
is completed. Critics have claimed that failure to move away from First Past the Post is disenfranchising voters.
, have long proposed that the current First Past the Post system used for general elections
be replaced with another system. The introduction of proportional representation has been advocated for some time by the Liberal Democrats, and some pressure groups such as Charter 88, Unlock Democracy
and the Electoral Reform Society
. In 1998 and 2003 Independent Commissions were formed to look into electoral reform. Following the 2005 election
, in which Labour
was elected with the lowest share of the national vote for any single party majority government in British history, more public attention was brought to the issue. The national compact newspaper The Independent
started a petition, to campaign for the introduction of a more proportional system immediately after the election, under the title "Campaign For Democracy". The broad-based Make Votes Count Coalition currently brings together those groups advocating reform.
After the UK 2010 general election, the new coalition government
agreed to stage a referendum on voting reform, which took place on 5 May 2011, with voters given the choice of switching to the Alternative Vote system or retaining the current one. The country overwhelmingly voted 'No', with only 10 districts out of 440 voting in favour.
.
Labour pledged in its manifesto for the 1997 general election
to set up a commission on alternatives to the first-past-the-post system for general elections and hold a referendum in the future on whether to change the system. The Independent Commission on the Voting System, headed by Lord Jenkins of Hillhead
and known as the Jenkins Commission
, was established in December 1997. It reported in October 1998 and suggested the Alternative vote top-up
or AV+ system.
The government had expected a recommendation which could have been implemented within the Parliament and decided that it would be impractical to have a general election using First Past the Post after a referendum decision to adopt a different system, and therefore delayed the referendum until after the next general election. Those elements within the Labour Party opposed to any change persuaded the party not to repeat the pledge for a referendum in the 2001 manifesto, and therefore none was held once the party was re-elected.
After the 2005 election, Lord Chancellor Lord Falconer said there was "no groundswell" for change, although a Cabinet committee was given the task of investigating reform. John Prescott
was made Chair; given his known opposition to change, proponents were critical and dismissive of the move. Several prominent Labour MPs have expressed a desire for investigating electoral reform, including Peter Hain
(who made a speech in the House of Commons in March 2004 arguing for the Alternative Vote), Patricia Hewitt
, Tessa Jowell
and Baroness Amos.
As mentioned above, in January 2008 the government produced a "desk-bound" review of the experience to date of new voting systems in the United Kingdom since Labour came to power in 1997. This review was non-committal as to the need for further reform, especially as regards reform of the voting system used in General Elections
.
The Conservative party
in the 2005-2010 parliament were predominantly against PR. Despite the fact that the Conservative party would have won significantly more seats in the 2005 election if PR had been used, some in the party felt it might find itself politically isolated on the right, and face Labour/Lib Dem coalition governments. Electoral reform, towards a proportional model, was desired by the Liberal Democrat party, the Green party
, and several other small parties.
Possible measures to increase turnout include:
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
general elections, elections to devolved parliaments and assemblies, elections to the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
, local elections and mayoral elections. Elections are held on Election Day
Election Day (United Kingdom)
Election Day in the United Kingdom is by tradition a Thursday, but the date for general elections is not fixed by law. Most other European countries hold all Elections on Sundays...
, which is conventionally a Thursday. General elections have fixed dates, and must be called within five years of the opening of parliament following the last election. Other elections are held on fixed dates though in the case of the devolved assemblies and parliaments, early elections can occur in certain situations. Presently, six electoral systems are used: the single member plurality system (First Past the Post), the multi member plurality system
Plurality-at-large voting
Plurality-at-large voting is a non-proportional voting system for electing several representatives from a single multimember electoral district using a series of check boxes and tallying votes similar to a plurality election...
, party list PR
Party-list proportional representation
Party-list proportional representation systems are a family of voting systems emphasizing proportional representation in elections in which multiple candidates are elected...
, the single transferable vote
Single transferable vote
The single transferable vote is a voting system designed to achieve proportional representation through preferential voting. Under STV, an elector's vote is initially allocated to his or her most preferred candidate, and then, after candidates have been either elected or eliminated, any surplus or...
, the Additional Member System and the Supplementary Vote.
Elections are administered locally: in each lower-tier local authority, the actual polling procedure is run by the Returning Officer
Returning Officer
In various parliamentary systems, a returning officer is responsible for overseeing elections in one or more constituencies.-Australia:In Australia a returning officer is an employee of the Australian Electoral Commission or a State Electoral Commission who heads the local divisional office...
and the compiling and maintenance of the electoral roll by the Electoral Registration Officer
Electoral Registration Officer
In the United Kingdom, an Electoral Registration Officer is a person who has the statutory duty to compile and maintain the electoral roll...
(except in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
, where the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland
Electoral Office for Northern Ireland
The Electoral Office for Northern Ireland is an independent, non-partisan body which assists the Chief Electoral Officer for Northern Ireland in running elections and compiling the electoral register....
assumes both responsibilities). The Electoral Commission
Electoral Commission (United Kingdom)
The Electoral Commission is an independent body set up by the UK Parliament. It regulates party and election finance and sets standards for well-run elections...
only sets standards for and issues guidelines to Returning Officer
Returning Officer
In various parliamentary systems, a returning officer is responsible for overseeing elections in one or more constituencies.-Australia:In Australia a returning officer is an employee of the Australian Electoral Commission or a State Electoral Commission who heads the local divisional office...
s and Electoral Registration Officer
Electoral Registration Officer
In the United Kingdom, an Electoral Registration Officer is a person who has the statutory duty to compile and maintain the electoral roll...
s, but is responsible for nationwide electoral administration (such as the registration of political parties and directing the administration of national referendums).
Electoral registration
The total number of names in the United Kingdom appearing in Electoral Registers published on 1 December 2010 and based on a qualifying date of 15 October 2010 was 45,844,691.Entitlement to register
Anyone who will be aged 18 or over on polling day and who is a national of the United Kingdom (all forms of British nationalityBritish nationality law
British nationality law is the law of the United Kingdom that concerns citizenship and other categories of British nationality. The law is complex because of the United Kingdom's former status as an imperial power.-History:...
but excluding British protected person
British protected person
A British protected person is a member of class of certain persons under the British Nationality Act 1981 associated with former protected states, protectorates, mandated and trust territories under British control...
s), the Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
, a Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
country (including Fiji
Fiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
, Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
and the whole of Cyprus) or a European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
member state can apply to the Electoral Registration Officer
Electoral Registration Officer
In the United Kingdom, an Electoral Registration Officer is a person who has the statutory duty to compile and maintain the electoral roll...
in the district in the UK where they reside with a 'considerable degree of permanence' to be listed in that area's Electoral Register. A person who has two homes (such as a university student who has a term-time address and lives at home during holidays) may be able to register to vote at both addresses as long as they are not in the same electoral area (though an elector can only vote once in any single election or referendum).
In addition, to qualify to appear on the Electoral Register, applicants who are Commonwealth citizen
Commonwealth citizen
A Commonwealth citizen, which replaces the former category of British subject, is generally a person who is a national of any country within the Commonwealth of Nations....
s must either possess leave to enter or remain
Leave to enter
Leave to Enter is the technical term for someone granted entry to the United Kingdom by British immigration officers.According to the United Kingdom Border Agency, a person who is neither a British citizen nor a Commonwealth citizen with the right of abode nor a person who is entitled to enter or...
in the UK or not require such leave
Right of Abode (United Kingdom)
The right of abode is a status under United Kingdom immigration law that gives an unrestricted right to live in the United Kingdom. It was introduced by the Immigration Act 1971.-British citizens:...
on the date of their application and no applicant may be a convicted person detained in prison or a mental hospital (or unlawfully at large if he/she would otherwise have been detained) or a person found guilty of certain corrupt or illegal practices.
In Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
, a further criterion has to be fulfilled to qualify for registration: it is only possible to apply to be listed on the Electoral Register if a person has been resident in Northern Ireland for at least three months prior to the date of application.
Remand prisoners, voluntary patients in mental hospitals and people without a fixed place of residence can register to vote by making a declaration of local connection.
Members of HM Forces and their immediate family members have the option of registering as a service voter, by making a service declaration based on the last UK address.
British citizens (but not other categories of British nationals) residing outside the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
can register as an overseas voter provided that they were on the Electoral Register in the UK within the previous 15 years. The 15 years period begins when they no longer appeared in the electoral register, not the date they moved abroad. For British citizens who moved abroad before they were 18 years old, they can still qualify for registration, with the 15 years period calculated from the date their parent(s)/guardian ceased to appear in the electoral register. Overseas voters can only vote in European Parliamentary and UK Parliamentary elections in the constituency of their last registered UK address (or for those who moved abroad as a child, the last registered UK address of their parent(s)/guardian).
Crown servant
Crown servant
In the United Kingdom, a Crown servant is an officer of HM Government employed under the Crown whose duties of employment are of a public nature and whose salaries are paid out of public funds.-The Official Secrets Act 1989:...
s and British Council
British Council
The British Council is a United Kingdom-based organisation specialising in international educational and cultural opportunities. It is registered as a charity both in England and Wales, and in Scotland...
employees (as well as their spouses who live abroad) employed in a post outside the UK can register by making a Crown Servant declaration, allowing them to vote in all UK elections.
An individual can register as an anonymous elector
Anonymous elector
An anonymous elector is generally a registered voter whose safety would be at risk if their details were available on a public electoral register.-Australia:In Australia, a voter anonymously registered is known as a silent elector...
if his/her safety (or that of any other person in the same household) would be at risk were his/her name and address to be disclosed publicly on the Electoral Register, but the application needs to be supported by a relevant court order, injunction or an attestation by a chief police officer
Chief police officer
Chief police officer is a phrase used in the United Kingdom to describe the position held by the most senior police officer in a police force. It refers to either one of the 53 Chief Constables, the Commissioner of the City of London Police or the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police. Such...
or a Director of Social Services
Social care in the United Kingdom
Social care is defined as the provision of social work, personal care, protection or social support services to children or adults in need or at risk, or adults with needs arising from illness, disability, old age or poverty and their families and carers...
.
The right of Commonwealth and Irish citizens to vote is a legacy of the Representation of the People Act 1918
Representation of the People Act 1918
The Representation of the People Act 1918 was an Act of Parliament passed to reform the electoral system in the United Kingdom. It is sometimes known as the Fourth Reform Act...
, which limited the vote to British subjects. At that time, "British subjects" included the people of Ireland — then part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
— and all other parts of the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
. Though most of Ireland (see Ireland Act 1949
Ireland Act 1949
The Ireland Act 1949 is a British Act of Parliament that was intended to deal with the consequences of the Republic of Ireland Act 1948 as passed by the Irish parliament...
) and the majority of the colonies became independent nations, their citizens have retained the right to vote if they live in the United Kingdom.
In theory, members of the Royal Family
British Royal Family
The British Royal Family is the group of close relatives of the monarch of the United Kingdom. The term is also commonly applied to the same group of people as the relations of the monarch in her or his role as sovereign of any of the other Commonwealth realms, thus sometimes at variance with...
who are not members of the House of Lords (including those who are peers who lost their right to sit following the House of Lords Act 1999), as well as the Monarch
Monarch
A monarch is the person who heads a monarchy. This is a form of government in which a state or polity is ruled or controlled by an individual who typically inherits the throne by birth and occasionally rules for life or until abdication...
, are eligible to vote, although in practice they do not exercise that right.
Registration procedure
In Great BritainGreat Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
, most electors are enrolled during the course of the annual canvass, which Electoral Registration Officer
Electoral Registration Officer
In the United Kingdom, an Electoral Registration Officer is a person who has the statutory duty to compile and maintain the electoral roll...
s are obliged to conduct every year between August and November. Canvass forms are sent to all households which must be returned, otherwise a fine of £1000 can be imposed. One person in the household must confirm the details of all residents who are existing electors, which includes adding or deleting residents who have moved in or out and are eligible to register to vote.
Between December and early August, the rolling registration procedure applies instead. Applications must be submitted individually (unlike the annual canvass forms where one person is responsible for registering all eligible people in a household) using registration forms available from local Electoral Registration Officers or the Electoral Commission's website http://www.aboutmyvote.co.uk. Although no proof of identity or address is necessary when submitting an application, the Electoral Registration Officer can require the applicant to provide further information regarding the applicant's age, nationality, residence and whether or not they are disqualified and/or evidence to prove the applicant's age and/or nationality. Application forms can be returned to the local Electoral Registration Officer by post, by fax or by e-mail as a scanned attachment.
Special category electors do not register through the annual canvass procedure. Instead, they submit applications at any time during the year and have to renew their electoral application periodically (every one year for overseas electors and voters with a declaration of local connection and every three years for service voters).
After applications are received by the Electoral Registration Officer
Electoral Registration Officer
In the United Kingdom, an Electoral Registration Officer is a person who has the statutory duty to compile and maintain the electoral roll...
, he/she must add them to a list of applications (except if they are applications to register as an anonymous elector). The list is open for inspection for five working days, during which any other elector may raise an objection to an application. The Electoral Registration Officer can initiate an application hearing if he/she considers that there are reasonable integrity concerns about the application.
In Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
, there is no annual canvass, and instead people register individually at any time during the year. Applicants must supply their National Insurance
National Insurance
National Insurance in the United Kingdom was initially a contributory system of insurance against illness and unemployment, and later also provided retirement pensions and other benefits...
number or, if they do not have one, make a declaration to that effect. Proof of identity, address, three months' residency in NI and date of birth must also be included with applications, which are submitted by post to the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland
Electoral Office for Northern Ireland
The Electoral Office for Northern Ireland is an independent, non-partisan body which assists the Chief Electoral Officer for Northern Ireland in running elections and compiling the electoral register....
.
Knowingly giving false information to an Electoral Registration Officer
Electoral Registration Officer
In the United Kingdom, an Electoral Registration Officer is a person who has the statutory duty to compile and maintain the electoral roll...
anywhere in the UK is an offence with a maximum penalty, upon conviction, of £5000 and/or six months' imprisonment.
Electoral Register
Each district council or unitary authorityUnitary authority
A unitary authority is a type of local authority that has a single tier and is responsible for all local government functions within its area or performs additional functions which elsewhere in the relevant country are usually performed by national government or a higher level of sub-national...
has an Electoral Register
Electoral register
The electoral roll is a listing of all those registered to vote in a particular area. The register facilitates the process of voting, helps to prevent fraud and may also be used to select people for jury duty...
which is compiled by the Electoral Registration Officer
Electoral Registration Officer
In the United Kingdom, an Electoral Registration Officer is a person who has the statutory duty to compile and maintain the electoral roll...
listing all registered electors. The Electoral Register
Electoral register
The electoral roll is a listing of all those registered to vote in a particular area. The register facilitates the process of voting, helps to prevent fraud and may also be used to select people for jury duty...
contains the name, qualifying address and electoral number of every ordinary elector, the name of every special category elector (such as service voters) and the electoral number of every anonymous elector. Any elector who was not aged 18 yet at the time of registration will also have his/her date of birth printed. Each district's Electoral Register
Electoral register
The electoral roll is a listing of all those registered to vote in a particular area. The register facilitates the process of voting, helps to prevent fraud and may also be used to select people for jury duty...
is subdivided into separate registers for each polling district.
Because the franchise differs between individual voters, a variety markers will be placed next to voters' names to help to identify which elections they are entitled to vote in. European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
citizens who are not Commonwealth
Commonwealth
Commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has sometimes been synonymous with "republic."More recently it has been used for fraternal associations of some sovereign nations...
or Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
citizens have their entry prefixed either with the letter G (meaning they can only vote in local government elections) or K (meaning they can only vote in European Parliamentary and local government elections). Overseas electors are prefixed with the letter F, meaning they can only vote in European and UK Parliamentary elections. Members of the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
residing in the UK are prefixed with the letter L, meaning they can only vote in European Parliamentary and local government elections, whilst peers who are overseas electors are prefixed with the letter E, indicating that they can only vote in European Parliamentary elections.
The Register is published every year on 1 December following the 'annual canvass' period (except if there has been an election during the annual canvass period between 1 July and 1 December, in which case the publication date is 1 February in the following year). Between January and September, during the 'rolling registration' period, notices of alteration are published on the first working day of each month to add, remove or amend names. Notices of alteration are also published 5 working days before an election at any time of the year and just before the close of poll at any election to correct any clerical errors or to implement any court decisions. With the exception of a deceased elector who is removed from the Register, any individual who is added or removed from the Register must be notified by the Electoral Registration Officer
Electoral Registration Officer
In the United Kingdom, an Electoral Registration Officer is a person who has the statutory duty to compile and maintain the electoral roll...
.
There are two versions of the Register - the full Register and the edited Register. The full Register can only be inspected under supervision at the office of the local Electoral Registration Officer, and must be supplied free of charge to the district's Returning Officer
Returning Officer
In various parliamentary systems, a returning officer is responsible for overseeing elections in one or more constituencies.-Australia:In Australia a returning officer is an employee of the Australian Electoral Commission or a State Electoral Commission who heads the local divisional office...
, the British Library
British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom, and is the world's largest library in terms of total number of items. The library is a major research library, holding over 150 million items from every country in the world, in virtually all known languages and in many formats,...
, the Electoral Commission
Electoral Commission (United Kingdom)
The Electoral Commission is an independent body set up by the UK Parliament. It regulates party and election finance and sets standards for well-run elections...
, the Office for National Statistics
Office for National Statistics
The Office for National Statistics is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the Parliament of the United Kingdom.- Overview :...
(only English and Welsh Registers), the General Register Office for Scotland
General Register Office for Scotland
The General Register Office for Scotland was a non-ministerial directorate of the Scottish Government that administered the registration of births, deaths, marriages, divorces and adoptions in Scotland. It was also responsible for the statutes relating to the formalities of marriage and conduct...
(only Scottish Registers), the National Library of Wales
National Library of Wales
The National Library of Wales , Aberystwyth, is the national legal deposit library of Wales; one of the Welsh Government sponsored bodies.Welsh is its main medium of communication...
(only English and Welsh Registers), the National Library of Scotland
National Library of Scotland
The National Library of Scotland is the legal deposit library of Scotland and is one of the country's National Collections. It is based in a collection of buildings in Edinburgh city centre. The headquarters is on George IV Bridge, between the Old Town and the university quarter...
(only English and Scottish Registers) and the relevant Boundary Commission. The edited Register is available for general sale from Electoral Registration Officers and can be used for any purpose. Electors can choose to opt out from appearing in the edited Register by informing their local Electoral Registration Officer.
Party system
United Kingdom general election, 1923
-Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987*-External links:***...
), the United Kingdom effectively has had a two party system arising from the use of the First-Past-The-Post system for general and local elections. Duverger's law
Duverger's law
In political science, Duverger's law is a principle which asserts that a plurality rule election system tends to favor a two-party system. This is one of two hypotheses proposed by Duverger, the second stating that “the double ballot majority system and proportional representation tend to...
certainly seems borne out in the history of British parliamentary politics. Before World War I, the United Kingdom had a true two-party system, the main parties being the Tories
Tory
Toryism is a traditionalist and conservative political philosophy which grew out of the Cavalier faction in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. It is a prominent ideology in the politics of the United Kingdom, but also features in parts of The Commonwealth, particularly in Canada...
(which became the Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
) and the Whigs
British Whig Party
The Whigs were a party in the Parliament of England, Parliament of Great Britain, and Parliament of the United Kingdom, who contested power with the rival Tories from the 1680s to the 1850s. The Whigs' origin lay in constitutional monarchism and opposition to absolute rule...
(which became the Liberal Party), though after Catholic Emancipation
Catholic Emancipation
Catholic emancipation or Catholic relief was a process in Great Britain and Ireland in the late 18th century and early 19th century which involved reducing and removing many of the restrictions on Roman Catholics which had been introduced by the Act of Uniformity, the Test Acts and the penal laws...
there was also a substantial Irish Parliamentary Party
Irish Parliamentary Party
The Irish Parliamentary Party was formed in 1882 by Charles Stewart Parnell, the leader of the Nationalist Party, replacing the Home Rule League, as official parliamentary party for Irish nationalist Members of Parliament elected to the House of Commons at...
. After World War II, the dominant parties have been Conservative and Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
. No third party has come close to winning a parliamentary majority.
However, some have challenged the view that the United Kingdom still has a two party system, since the Liberal Democrats have won around 15%–25% of the votes in recent elections. The Liberal Democrats won 62 of the 646 seats in the House of Commons in the 2005 general election
United Kingdom general election, 2005
The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....
, and several nationalist (regional) groupings hold seats as well, leading some spectators to regard the Westminster parliament as a "two and a half" party system.
Smaller parties receive many more votes (and seats) in the elections using a proportional system, which are the regional elections for the Scottish Parliament
Scottish Parliament
The Scottish Parliament is the devolved national, unicameral legislature of Scotland, located in the Holyrood area of the capital, Edinburgh. The Parliament, informally referred to as "Holyrood", is a democratically elected body comprising 129 members known as Members of the Scottish Parliament...
, Welsh Assembly, Northern Ireland Assembly
Northern Ireland Assembly
The Northern Ireland Assembly is the devolved legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and to appoint the Northern Ireland Executive...
and London Assembly
London Assembly
The London Assembly is an elected body, part of the Greater London Authority, that scrutinises the activities of the Mayor of London and has the power, with a two-thirds majority, to amend the mayor's annual budget. The assembly was established in 2000 and is headquartered at City Hall on the south...
, and the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
elections. Regional parties, such as the Scottish National Party
Scottish National Party
The Scottish National Party is a social-democratic political party in Scotland which campaigns for Scottish independence from the United Kingdom....
or Plaid Cymru
Plaid Cymru
' is a political party in Wales. It advocates the establishment of an independent Welsh state within the European Union. was formed in 1925 and won its first seat in 1966...
receive many more votes than at general or local elections, and at European elections, the United Kingdom Independence Party
United Kingdom Independence Party
The United Kingdom Independence Party is a eurosceptic and right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. Whilst its primary goal is the UK's withdrawal from the European Union, the party has expanded beyond its single-issue image to develop a more comprehensive party platform.UKIP...
and Green Party of England and Wales
Green Party of England and Wales
The Green Party of England and Wales is a political party in England and Wales which follows the traditions of Green politics and maintains a strong commitment to social progressivism. It is the largest Green party in the United Kingdom, containing within it various regional divisions including...
perform better. It can be argued that in these elections, there is a multi-party system
Multi-party system
A multi-party system is a system in which multiple political parties have the capacity to gain control of government separately or in coalition, e.g.The Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition in the United Kingdom formed in 2010. The effective number of parties in a multi-party system is normally...
.
It is relatively easy to stand for election as an independent candidate, although wins are very rare and usually involve special circumstances (for example Martin Bell
Martin Bell
Martin Bell, OBE, is a British UNICEF Ambassador, a former broadcast war reporter and former independent politician...
's 1997 victory against the discredited Conservative MP Neil Hamilton
Neil Hamilton (politician)
Mostyn Neil Hamilton is a former British barrister, teacher and Conservative MP. Since losing his seat in 1997 and leaving politics, Hamilton and his wife Christine have become media celebrities...
was aided by the major parties standing aside and not contesting the election). Following the 2005 general election, there were three independent MPs, the highest number since 1945, however only one of these was returned in the 2010 election. To stand as a candidate in a particular constituency, a British citizen needs the signatures of 10 people registered to vote there, and pay a deposit
Deposit (politics)
A deposit is a sum of money that a candidate must pay in return for the right to stand for election to certain political offices, particularly seats in legislatures.-United Kingdom:...
of £500 (which is returned if he/she gains more than 5% of the vote in that seat).
Polling procedure
A person may only cast a vote if he/she is on the Electoral Register - even if he/she would otherwise qualify to vote. If, because of a clerical error, an elector's name has been left off the Electoral Register, the Electoral Registration Officer can amend the Register up to 9pm on polling day. Because the franchise between electors varies (for example, EU citizens who are not Commonwealth or Irish citizens cannot vote in UK Parliamentary elections), ballot papers are only issued after checking the marker in the Electoral Register before an elector's name which helps to identify which elections the individual is eligible to vote in.Votes can be cast either in person at a polling station, by post or by proxy. British citizens residing abroad and registered as overseas electors cannot vote at British high commissions, embassies or consulates - their votes can only be cast either in person in the constituency where they are enrolled in the United Kingdom, by proxy (who must reside in and be eligible to vote in the UK) or by post (although this option is less popular as postal ballot packs are only despatched by returning officers at 5pm 11 working days before polling day at the earliest and must be received by the returnng officer by the close of poll to be counted).
In person
Polling stations are usually open from 7am to 10pm on polling day. Voters receive a poll card from the returning officer at their local authority with details of their allocated polling place. They are not required to show the poll card (unless they are an anonymous elector) or any other form of identification at the polling place in order to vote, except in Northern IrelandNorthern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
, where one piece of photographic ID must be presented at the polling station - a NI Electoral Identity Card
Northern Ireland Electoral Identity Card
The Northern Ireland Electoral Identity Card is a photographic identity card issued by the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland, used primarily to prove the holder's identity when voting at a polling station in Northern Ireland...
, a photographic NI or GB driving licence
Driving licence in the United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, the driving licence is the official document which authorises its holder to operate various types of motor vehicle on public roads. In England, Scotland and Wales they are administered by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency and in Northern Ireland by the Driver & Vehicle...
, a United Kingdom
British passport
British passports may be issued to people holding any of the various forms of British nationality, and are used as evidence of the bearer's nationality and immigration status within the United Kingdom or the issuing state/territory.-Issuing:...
or other EU passport, a Translink 60+ SmartPass, a Translink Senior SmartPass, a Translink Blind Person’s SmartPass or a Translink War Disabled SmartPass.
Having verified and marked off the voter's name and address on the list of electors, the presiding officer or poll clerk issues the ballot paper, calling out the voter's name, elector number and polling district reference, unless the voter is an anonymous elector, in which case only his/her elector number is called out. All ballot papers contain both an official mark (e.g. a watermark or perforation) and a unique identifying number; any papers issued without both these features (even if it is the presiding officer/poll clerk's mistake) will be invalid and rejected at the count. On a separate list (called the corresponding number list) the presiding officer or poll clerk writes the voter's elector number next to the unique identifying number of the ballot paper issued. However the secrecy of the vote is usually maintained, as at the close of the poll this list linking voters to their ballot paper numbers is sealed inside a packet which may only be opened by the order of a court in the event that the election result is challenged. The ballot paper is folded and then handed to the voter unfolded.
The voter marks the ballot papers in the privacy of a voting booth
Voting booth
A voting booth or polling booth is a room or cabin in a polling station where voters are able to cast their vote in private to protect the secrecy of the ballot. Commonly the entrance to the voting booth is a retractable curtain...
. If the ballot paper has been spoilt, the presiding officer/poll clerk can issue a new one after the old ballot paper is cancelled. Before placing the ballot papers in the ballot box, the voter has to show the presiding officer or the poll clerk the official mark and the unique identifying number printed on the reverse of the ballot papers.
If a voter requests a ballot paper but his/her name has already been marked off (indicating that someone has already requested a ballot paper in his/her name), he/she can only cast a tendered ballot - even if he/she genuinely has not already cast a vote and has been the victim of personation. Also, if a voter requests a ballot paper at a polling station claiming not to have applied for a postal vote but is in fact listed as having done so, only a tendered ballot can be issued. After marking the tendered ballot in private, the voter must not place it in the ballot box. Instead, it must be returned to the Presiding Officer who will endorse it with the voter's name, elector number and polling district reference, before placing it in a special envelope. The voter's name and elector number is then written down in the 'List of Tendered Votes'. Although tendered ballots are not included at the count, they serve as a formal record that a voter has tried, but has been unable, to cast a vote and is evidence of a voter's concern about the conduct of an election. If a voter wants to make a complaint, marking a tendered ballot is the first step in pursuing the complaints procedure.
At the close of poll, the slot at the top of the ballot box is sealed by the presiding officer or poll clerk (the election and polling agents appointed by candidates can also apply their own seals to the boxes) before being transported by the presiding officer to the central counting location.
By post
Voters can apply to receive a postal ballot either for specific elections or on a permanent basis until further notice without having to give a reason (except in Northern IrelandNorthern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
, where voters have to give a specific reason explaining why they cannot physically attend their allocated polling station). Applications for postal ballots close at 5pm 11 working days before polling day - this is also the earliest time the returning officer can despatch postal ballot packs. Postal ballots can be sent anywhere within and outside the United Kingdom, although if they are not sent to a voter's registered address, a reason must be provided to the Electoral Registration Officer as to why the postal ballot is to be sent to an alternative address.
Voters return their postal ballots together with postal voting statements filled in with their date of birth and signature either by post or by hand directly to the returning officer, or by hand to the presiding officer on polling day at a polling station situated within the constituency/ward printed on the postal ballot return envelope. However, for the postal ballot to be counted, the returning officer (or the presiding officer if returned at a polling station) must receive the ballot paper by the close of poll (usually 10pm on polling day).
By proxy
Any person who is eligible to vote (he/she does not necessarily have to be on the Electoral Register already) can be appointed by another voter as his/her proxy, but for the proxy to be able to vote in an election the proxy application must be received by the Electoral Registration OfficerElectoral Registration Officer
In the United Kingdom, an Electoral Registration Officer is a person who has the statutory duty to compile and maintain the electoral roll...
at the voter's local authority by 5pm 6 working days before polling day. The proxy can either vote in person, or can apply for a postal proxy vote (though a postal proxy vote applicaion has an even earlier deadline - any such request must be received by the Electoral Registration Officer by 5pm 11 working days before polling day at the latest). A voter who has become ill or disabled after 5pm six working days before polling day can make an emergency application to vote by proxy as long as the application is received by the Electoral Registration Officer
Electoral Registration Officer
In the United Kingdom, an Electoral Registration Officer is a person who has the statutory duty to compile and maintain the electoral roll...
by 5pm on polling day. Unless a close relative, a person can only vote as a proxy on behalf of a maximum of 2 other voters in any single election in each constituency/ward. When applying to vote by proxy for more than one particular election, the application must be accompanied by a relevant attestation and must be justified based on one of the following reasons: blindness; other disability; employment; on an education course; registered as a service, overseas or anonymous elector. If only applying to vote by proxy for one particular election, the elector only needs to explain why he/she cannot vote in person, but does not need an attestation. If it is only possible to get to the polling station from the registered address by air or by sea, the elector can apply for a permanent proxy vote without an attestation.
In Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
, voters can only appoint another person to be their proxy if they can provide a specific reason explaining why they cannot physically attend their allocated polling station.
Accessibility
All polling stations are legally required to be wheelchair-accessible and be equipped with a tactile voting deviceTactile voting device
A tactile voting device is a plastic device that can be fixed onto a ballot paper to enable visuallyimpaired people to mark their ballot paper in secret.The device consists of a number of flaps...
and at least one large print display version of the ballot paper to assist visually impaired voters. Though the large print version cannot be marked, it can be used for reference. Disabled voters can also request the Presiding Officer in the polling station or bring along a family member to mark their ballot papers for them if they wish. If a voter is unable to enter the polling station because of a disability, the Presiding Officer can take the ballot paper to him/her.
Although the Electoral Commission
Electoral Commission (United Kingdom)
The Electoral Commission is an independent body set up by the UK Parliament. It regulates party and election finance and sets standards for well-run elections...
provides electoral registration forms in a number of foreign languages http://www.aboutmyvote.co.uk/languages.aspx, by law all voting materials (e.g. ballot papers) are only printed in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
(and also in Welsh
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
in Wales).
General elections
United Kingdom general elections are held following a dissolution of Parliament. All the Members of Parliament (MPs) forming the House of CommonsBritish House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
are elected. Following the Parliament Act 1911
Parliament Act 1911
The Parliament Act 1911 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It is constitutionally important and partly governs the relationship between the House of Commons and the House of Lords which make up the Houses of Parliament. This Act must be construed as one with the Parliament Act 1949...
, parliamentary sessions last a maximum of five years, and are ended by the dissolution of Parliament. Traditionally the dates of general elections are not fixed in advance, and the time is chosen by the governing party to maximise political advantage. The 2010 election was held on May 6, 2010.
Candidates aim to win particular geographic constituencies in the United Kingdom. Each constituency elects one MP by the first past the post system of election. At the 2005 general election, there were 646 constituencies, thus 646 MPs were elected to Parliament. Boundary changes in Scotland reduced the number of MPs from 659 at the 2001 election to 646. The party with the most seats, i.e. the most MPs, usually forms the government, and the second largest party forms Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition. Almost all successful candidates are members of a political party, with only one independent elected in the 2010 election and only four independent candidates in the entire country gaining more than a hundred votes.
Timing
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 (a total of typically around four weeks). 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 MinisterPrime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
. This timing is usually political, and thus if a government is popular then the election is often "called" after around four years in power.
After the 2010 general election, the coalition government
Cameron Ministry
David Cameron is Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, after being invited by Queen Elizabeth II to form a new government after the resignation as Prime Minister of Gordon Brown on 11 May 2010. Leading a coalition government formed by the Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats, the coalition...
introduced a bill currently before Parliament which would set fixed term parliaments of five years. If the bill becomes law, the next general election
Next United Kingdom general election
The United Kingdom general election of 2010 was held on Thursday 6 May 2010 to elect members to the House of Commons. The election took place in 650 constituencies across the United Kingdom under the first-past-the-post system. None of the parties achieved the 326 seats needed for an overall majority...
will be held on May 7, 2015, with subsequent elections held every five years on the first Thursday of May. The bill also contains provisions for parliament to be dissolved and an early election to be held if no government can be formed within 14 days after a vote of no confidence
Motion of no confidence
A motion of no confidence is a parliamentary motion whose passing would demonstrate to the head of state that the elected parliament no longer has confidence in the appointed government.-Overview:Typically, when a parliament passes a vote of no...
in the government. Similarly, the bill allows for an election to be triggered by a vote of two-thirds of MPs in the House of Commons calling for one.
The Prime Minister asks the Monarch
British monarchy
The monarchy of the United Kingdom is the constitutional monarchy of the United Kingdom and its overseas territories. The present monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, has reigned since 6 February 1952. She and her immediate family undertake various official, ceremonial and representational duties...
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 in each constituency. The election is held 17 working days after the date of the Proclamation, as regulated by the Representation of the People Act 1983
Representation of the People Act 1983
The Representation of the People Act 1983 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It changed the British electoral process in the following ways:* Amended the Representation of the People Act 1969....
, s. 23 and Schedule 1 ("Parliamentary election rules"), rule 1 ("Timetable").
Since 1935 every general election has been held on a Thursday. Of the 18 general elections between 1945 and 2010, five were held in May, four each in June and October, and two in February and one each in March, April and July.
The Cabinet Office
Cabinet Office
The Cabinet Office is a department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for supporting the Prime Minister and Cabinet of the United Kingdom....
imposes Purdah
Purdah (pre-election period)
Purdah is a now less-common term to describe the pre-election period, used in United Kingdom politics to describe the time between an announced election and the final election result...
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).
Post-election
Polls close at 10 p.m. and the votes are, in most constituencies, counted immediately. The earliest results are declared by about 11 p.m., with most having been declared by 3 or 4 a.m.; some constituencies do not declare their results until the following day.When all of the results are known, or when one party achieves an absolute majority of the seats in the House of Commons, the first response comes from the current (and possibly outgoing) Prime Minister. If a majority in the new Parliament has been achieved by their party, they remain in office without the need for reconfirmation or reappointment—no new "term" of office is started. If a majority has not been achieved, and it is obvious that another party has the numbers to form a government, the Prime Minister submits a resignation to the Monarch. The Monarch then commissions the leader of the new majority party to form a new government. The Prime Minister has the option of attempting to remain in power even if seats have been lost. The subsequent Queen's Speech (i.e., outline of the proposed legislative programme) offers a chance for the House of Commons to cast a vote of confidence or no confidence in the government through accepting or rejecting the Queen's Speech.
By precedent, and by the absence of any formal written constitutional objection, the Monarch could dismiss the incumbent Prime Minister and seek to appoint a replacement. However, this has not occurred since the dismissal of Lord Melbourne
William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne
William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, PC, FRS was a British Whig statesman who served as Home Secretary and Prime Minister . He is best known for his intense and successful mentoring of Queen Victoria, at ages 18-21, in the ways of politics...
in 1834, and would almost certainly trigger a crisis, similar to that experienced in the 1975 Australian constitutional crisis.
The most recent Prime Ministers who, having failed to win a majority, opted not to resign immediately are Edward Heath
Edward Heath
Sir Edward Richard George "Ted" Heath, KG, MBE, PC was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and as Leader of the Conservative Party ....
, in 1974 and Gordon Brown
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...
in 2010. In 1974, after initial negotiations with the Liberal Party failed to provide a coalition deal, Heath resigned, allowing Queen Elizabeth II to commission Labour leader Harold Wilson
Harold Wilson
James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, FSS, PC was a British Labour Member of Parliament, Leader of the Labour Party. He was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the 1960s and 1970s, winning four general elections, including a minority government after the...
to form an administration. Until the Prime Minister reacts to the election result, either by deciding to remain on or resign, the Monarch has no role. Only if the Prime Minister resigns can the Monarch then commission someone else to form a government. Thus Margaret Thatcher, who was Prime Minister from 1979 to 1990, was only asked to form a government once. Similarly, Tony Blair was only ever commissioned to form a government once, in 1997. After each election, having remained in power, a Prime Minister may take the option to engage in a major or minor reshuffle
Cabinet shuffle
In the parliamentary system a cabinet shuffle or reshuffle is an informal term for an event that occurs when a head of government rotates or changes the composition of ministers in their cabinet....
of ministers, although such a reshuffle may occur at any time so wished by the PM.
The largest party not in government becomes the Official Opposition, known as Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition. Any smaller parties not in government are collectively known as "the opposition".
Any vacancies created in the House, due to death, ennoblement, or resignation are filled by by-election
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
. The time-frame for these is not automatic and they can be months after the vacancy was created, or even abandoned if there is a pending general election.
Scottish Parliament elections
Scottish ParliamentScottish Parliament
The Scottish Parliament is the devolved national, unicameral legislature of Scotland, located in the Holyrood area of the capital, Edinburgh. The Parliament, informally referred to as "Holyrood", is a democratically elected body comprising 129 members known as Members of the Scottish Parliament...
elections occur every four years to elect the Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs). The first election to the unicameral Scottish Parliament that was created by the Scotland Act 1998
Scotland Act 1998
The Scotland Act 1998 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It is the Act which established the devolved Scottish Parliament.The Act will be amended by the Scotland Bill 2011, if and when it receives royal assent.-History:...
, was held in 1999. Elections to the Scottish Parliament are by the Additional Member System
Additional Member System
The Additional Member System is the term used in the United Kingdom for the mixed member proportional representation voting system used in Scotland, Wales and the London Assembly....
, which is a hybrid of single member plurality and party list.
2011 Election results
|-| || Total
| 1,989,222
|100.00
|—
|73
|±0
|1,991,051
|100.00
|—
|56
|±0
|129
|±0
|100.00
|}
Welsh Assembly elections
Welsh Assembly elections normally occur every four years. They elect the Members of the National Assembly for WalesMembers of the National Assembly for Wales
The National Assembly for Wales is composed of 60 members known as AMs or Assembly Members...
(AMs). They began in 1999, when the unicameral Welsh Assembly, created by the Government of Wales Act 1998
Government of Wales Act 1998
This is about the Act that set up the Welsh Assembly. For the newer Government of Wales Act 2006, see that article.The Government of Wales Act 1998 This is about the Act that set up the Welsh Assembly. For the newer Government of Wales Act 2006, see that article.The Government of Wales Act 1998...
, began its first session. However AMs have voted to hold the next election in 2016 to avoid a clash with the UK parliamentary general election in 2015. For elections to the Welsh Assembly the Additional Member System
Additional Member System
The Additional Member System is the term used in the United Kingdom for the mixed member proportional representation voting system used in Scotland, Wales and the London Assembly....
is used, which is a hybrid of single member plurality and proportional representation
Proportional representation
Proportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. PR means that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system if 30% of voters support a particular...
.
2011 Electoral results
- Overall turnout: 42.2%
|-
| || Total || 949,252 || || || 40 || || 949,388 || || || 20 || || 60 || ||
|}
- Welsh Assembly Election 1999Welsh Assembly election, 1999The first National Assembly for Wales elections were held on 6 May 1999. The overall turnout of voters was 46.3%. Although the Welsh Labour Party were the biggest party, they did not gain enough seats to form a majority government and instead entered into coalition with the Liberal Democrats...
- Welsh Assembly Election 2003Welsh Assembly election, 2003The National Assembly for Wales election, 2003 was the second general election to the National Assembly for Wales. It was held on 1 May 2003.The election was characterised by a resurgence for the Labour Party, whilst Plaid Cymru saw a reduction in support and the number of Assembly Members they...
- Welsh Assembly Election 2007National Assembly for Wales election, 2007The 2007 National Assembly election was held on Thursday 3 May 2007 to elect members to the National Assembly for Wales. It was the third general election. On the same day local elections in England and Scotland, and the Scottish Parliament election took place...
- Welsh Assembly Election 2011National Assembly for Wales election, 2011The National Assembly for Wales election 2011 was the most recent election for the National Assembly. The poll was held on Thursday, 5 May 2011 and decided the incumbency for all the assembly's seats...
Northern Ireland Assembly elections
Northern Ireland AssemblyNorthern Ireland Assembly
The Northern Ireland Assembly is the devolved legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and to appoint the Northern Ireland Executive...
elections occur every four years on the first Thursday in May. They began in 1998, when the assembly created by the Northern Ireland Act 1998
Northern Ireland Act 1998
The Northern Ireland Act 1998 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which established a devolved legislature for Northern Ireland, the Northern Ireland Assembly, after decades of direct rule from Westminster....
began its first session. For elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly, the Single Transferable Vote system
Single transferable vote
The single transferable vote is a voting system designed to achieve proportional representation through preferential voting. Under STV, an elector's vote is initially allocated to his or her most preferred candidate, and then, after candidates have been either elected or eliminated, any surplus or...
, is used. The system uses preferences, and was chosen to attempt to give adequate representation to the different sectarian groups in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
. Elections continued even when the assembly was suspended between 2002 and 2007.
- Northern Ireland Assembly Election 1998Northern Ireland Assembly election, 1998-Seats summary:-Details:Although the SDLP won the most first preference votes, the Ulster Unionists won the most seats in the Assembly. This has been attributed to several reasons, including:...
- Northern Ireland Assembly Election 2003Northern Ireland Assembly election, 2003The second elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly, which at the time of the elections had been suspended for just over a year, were held on Wednesday 26 November 2003. Six members were elected by Single Transferable Vote from each of Northern Ireland's eighteen Westminster Parliamentary...
- Northern Ireland Assembly Election 2007Northern Ireland Assembly election, 2007The third elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly were held on 7 March 2007 when 108 new members were elected. The election saw endorsement of the St Andrews Agreement and the two largest parties, the Democratic Unionist Party and Sinn Féin, along with the Alliance Party, increase their...
European Parliament elections
Elections to the European ParliamentEuropean Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
have taken place since 1979, the first year in which the parliament was directly elected. (From 1973 to 1979, members were elected by national parliaments).
Since the 1999 election, Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) representing England, Scotland and Wales have been elected in regional constituencies using the party list
Party-list proportional representation
Party-list proportional representation systems are a family of voting systems emphasizing proportional representation in elections in which multiple candidates are elected...
, a Closed list
Closed list
Closed list describes the variant of party-list proportional representation where voters can only vote for political parties as a whole and thus have no influence on the party-supplied order in which party candidates are elected...
(i.e. candidates are chosen by parties). In Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
the Single Transferable Vote system
Single transferable vote
The single transferable vote is a voting system designed to achieve proportional representation through preferential voting. Under STV, an elector's vote is initially allocated to his or her most preferred candidate, and then, after candidates have been either elected or eliminated, any surplus or...
has been used since 1979.
The United Kingdom is divided into twelve electoral regions, which are the three smaller nations (Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
and Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
), and nine Regions of England
Regions of England
In England, the region is the highest tier of sub-national division used by central Government. Between 1994 and 2011, the nine regions had an administrative role in the implementation of UK Government policy, and as the areas covered by elected bodies...
.
The use of proportional representation
Proportional representation
Proportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. PR means that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system if 30% of voters support a particular...
greatly increased the representation of minor parties. Until the 1999 election, the First Past the Post system was used, which had prevented parties with moderately large, but geographically spread out vote shares from receiving any seats. For example, in the 1989 election the Green Party
Green Party of England and Wales
The Green Party of England and Wales is a political party in England and Wales which follows the traditions of Green politics and maintains a strong commitment to social progressivism. It is the largest Green party in the United Kingdom, containing within it various regional divisions including...
received 2,292,718 votes, constituting a 15% vote share, but no seats. The European Parliamentary Elections Act 1999
European Parliamentary Elections Act 1999
The European Parliamentary Elections Act 1999 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Its long title is "An Act to amend the European Parliamentary Elections Act 1978 so as to alter the method used in Great Britain for electing Members of the European Parliament to make other amendments...
changed the system in time for the 1999 election.
From 1979 to 1989, the United Kingdom had 81 MEP
Member of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,...
s (78 in England, Wales and Scotland, 3 in Northern Ireland). The European Parliamentary Elections Act 1993
European Parliamentary Elections Act 1993
The European Parliamentary Elections Act 1993 is an Act of Parliament that amended the procedures on European elections in the United Kingdom, amending the European Assembly Elections Act 1978...
increased the number to 87, adding five more seats in England and one more in Wales). The number was reduced to 78 for the 2004 election, and to 72 for the 2009 election
European Parliament election, 2009 (United Kingdom)
The European Parliament election was the United Kingdom's component of the 2009 European Parliament election, the voting for which was held on Thursday 4 June 2009, coinciding with the 2009 local elections in England. Most of the results of the election were announced on Sunday 7 June, after...
.
| Year | Date | Members | Constituencies |
|---|---|---|---|
| European Parliament election, 1979 | 7 June 1979 | 81 | 79 |
| European Parliament election, 1984 | 14 June 1984 | 81 | 79 |
| European Parliament election, 1989 | 15 June 1989 | 81 | 79 |
| European Parliament election, 1994 | 9 June 1994 | 87 | 85 |
| European Parliament election, 1999 | 10 June 1999 | 87 | 12 |
| European Parliament election, 2004 | 10 June 2004 | 78 | 12 |
| European Parliament election, 2009 European Parliament election, 2009 (United Kingdom) The European Parliament election was the United Kingdom's component of the 2009 European Parliament election, the voting for which was held on Thursday 4 June 2009, coinciding with the 2009 local elections in England. Most of the results of the election were announced on Sunday 7 June, after... |
4 June 2009 | 72 | 12 |
Regional and local elections
In local elections, councillors are elected forming the local administrations of the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. A number of tiers of local council exist, at region
Region
Region is most commonly found as a term used in terrestrial and astrophysics sciences also an area, notably among the different sub-disciplines of geography, studied by regional geographers. Regions consist of subregions that contain clusters of like areas that are distinctive by their uniformity...
, county
County
A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain modern nations. Historically in mainland Europe, the original French term, comté, and its equivalents in other languages denoted a jurisdiction under the sovereignty of a count A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain...
, district/borough
Borough
A borough is an administrative division in various countries. In principle, the term borough designates a self-governing township although, in practice, official use of the term varies widely....
and town/parish levels. A variety of voting systems are used for local elections. In Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
and Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, the single transferable vote
Single transferable vote
The single transferable vote is a voting system designed to achieve proportional representation through preferential voting. Under STV, an elector's vote is initially allocated to his or her most preferred candidate, and then, after candidates have been either elected or eliminated, any surplus or...
system is used, whilst in most of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
the single member plurality system is used. The remainder of England (including all of the London Boroughs) and Wales use the plurality at-large
Plurality-at-large voting
Plurality-at-large voting is a non-proportional voting system for electing several representatives from a single multimember electoral district using a series of check boxes and tallying votes similar to a plurality election...
system, except for the elections of the Mayor and Assembly of the Greater London Authority
Greater London Authority
The Greater London Authority is the top-tier administrative body for Greater London, England. It consists of a directly elected executive Mayor of London, currently Boris Johnson, and an elected 25-member London Assembly with scrutiny powers...
(GLA).
Local elections are held in different parts of the country each year. In years with a general election
General election
In a parliamentary political system, a general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.The term...
it is usual practice to hold both general and local elections on the same day. In 2004, for the first time, local elections were held on the same day as European elections
European Parliament election, 2004 (UK)
The European Parliament election, 2004 was the UK part of the European Parliament election, 2004. It was held on 10 June. It was the first European election to be held in the United Kingdom using postal-only voting in four areas. It coincided with local and London elections.The Conservative Party...
, and London Mayoral
London mayoral election, 2004
The 2004 election to the post of Mayor of London took place on 10 June 2004. It was being held on the same day as other local elections and the UK part of the 2004 European Parliament elections, so Londoners had a total of five votes on three ballot papers. Polling opened at 07:00 local time, and...
and Assembly
London Assembly election, 2004
An election to the Assembly of London took place on 10 June 2004, along with the London mayoral election, 2004.The Assembly is elected by the Additional Member System. There are fourteen directly elected constituencies, nine of which were won by the Conservatives and five by the Labour Party...
elections. The date was referred to as 'Super Thursday'.
The only Region of England which has a directly elected administration is London. London Assembly
London Assembly
The London Assembly is an elected body, part of the Greater London Authority, that scrutinises the activities of the Mayor of London and has the power, with a two-thirds majority, to amend the mayor's annual budget. The assembly was established in 2000 and is headquartered at City Hall on the south...
elections began in 2000, when it was created. The Additional Member System
Additional Member System
The Additional Member System is the term used in the United Kingdom for the mixed member proportional representation voting system used in Scotland, Wales and the London Assembly....
is used for elections to the Assembly. The Mayor is elected via the Supplementary Vote system.
19th century
The system of universal suffrageUniversal suffrage
Universal suffrage consists of the extension of the right to vote to adult citizens as a whole, though it may also mean extending said right to minors and non-citizens...
did not exist in the United Kingdom until 1928. From 1688 to 1832, less than 10% of the adult male population had the right to vote.
The first act to increase the size of the electorate was the Reform Act 1832
Reform Act 1832
The Representation of the People Act 1832 was an Act of Parliament that introduced wide-ranging changes to the electoral system of England and Wales...
(sometimes known as the Great Reform Act). It abolished 56 rotten borough
Rotten borough
A "rotten", "decayed" or pocket borough was a parliamentary borough or constituency in the United Kingdom that had a very small electorate and could be used by a patron to gain undue and unrepresentative influence within Parliament....
s (which had elected 112 MPs) and decreased the property qualification in boroughs. It gave some parliamentary representation to the industrial towns (142 MPs) by redistributing some MPs from boroughs who had disproportional representation. The electoral register was created. The overall result of the Act was that the electorate was increased to 14% of the adult male population. Although this was not a large increase, the Act was the first big step towards equal representation.
Between 1838 and 1848 a popular movement, Chartism
Chartism
Chartism was a movement for political and social reform in the United Kingdom during the mid-19th century, between 1838 and 1859. It takes its name from the People's Charter of 1838. Chartism was possibly the first mass working class labour movement in the world...
organised around 6 demands including universal male franchise and the secret ballot.
The Reform Act 1867
Reform Act 1867
The Representation of the People Act 1867, 30 & 31 Vict. c. 102 was a piece of British legislation that enfranchised the urban male working class in England and Wales....
redistributed more MPs from boroughs who had disproportional representation (42) to London and industrial towns. It decreased the property qualification in boroughs, meaning all men (with an address) in boroughs could vote. The consequences were for the first time some of the working class could vote, and MPs had to take these new constituents into account. Some parties decided to become national parties. The overall effect was the that the Act increased the size of the electorate to 32% of the adult male population.
The Ballot Act 1872
Ballot Act 1872
The Ballot Act 1872 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that introduced the requirement that parliamentary and local government elections in the United Kingdom be held by secret ballot.-Background:...
replaced open elections with secret ballot system. The Corrupt and Illegal Practices Prevention Act 1883
Corrupt and Illegal Practices Prevention Act 1883
The Corrupt and Illegal Practices Prevention Act 1883 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It was a continuation of policy to make voters free from the intimidation of landowners and politicians...
criminalised attempts to bribe voters and standardised the amount that could be spent on election expenses. The Representation of the People Act 1884
Representation of the People Act 1884
In the United Kingdom, the Representation of the People Act 1884 and the Redistribution Act of the following year were laws which further extended the suffrage in Britain after the Disraeli Government's Reform Act 1867...
and the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885
Redistribution of Seats Act 1885
The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was a piece of electoral reform legislation that redistributed the seats in the House of Commons, introducing the concept of equally populated constituencies, in an attempt to equalise representation across...
(the Third Reform Act) collectively increased the electorate to 56% of the adult male population.
20th century
The Representation of the People Act 1918Representation of the People Act 1918
The Representation of the People Act 1918 was an Act of Parliament passed to reform the electoral system in the United Kingdom. It is sometimes known as the Fourth Reform Act...
expanded the electorate to include all men over the age of 21 and all married women over the age of 30. Later that year, the Parliamentary Qualification of Women Act 1918
Parliamentary Qualification of Women Act 1918
The Parliament 1918 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.It gave women over 21 the right to stand for election as an MP. This meant that women could stand for elections before actually being legally allowed to vote themselves. The Parliament (Qualification of Women Act) 1918 is an Act...
gave women over 30 the right to stand for election as MPs. The first woman to become an MP was Constance Markievicz in 1918. However, she declined to take up her seat, being a member of Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...
. Nancy Astor
Nancy Astor, Viscountess Astor
Nancy Witcher Astor, Viscountess Astor, CH, was the first woman to sit as a Member of Parliament in the British House of Commons.Constance Markievicz was the first woman elected to the House of Commons in December 1918 after running for the Sinn Féin party in 1918 General Election, but in line...
, elected in 1919, was the second woman to become an MP, and the first to sit in the Commons. The Equal Franchise Act 1928 lowered the minimum age for women to vote from 30 to 21, making men and women equal in terms of suffrage for the first time. The Representation of the People Act 1949
Representation of the People Act 1949
The Representation of the People Act 1949 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Act consolidated previous electoral law, but also made some changes to administration....
abolished additional votes for graduates (university constituencies) and the owners of business premises.
The Representation of the People Act 1969
Representation of the People Act 1969
The Representation of the People Act 1969 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It extended suffrage to 18-20 year olds. Previously, only those 21 or over were permitted to vote...
lowered the voting age from 21 to 18. The Representation of the People Act 1985
Representation of the People Act 1985
The Representation of the People Act 1985 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom concerning British electoral law.The Act allows British citizens who are resident outside the United Kingdom to qualify as "overseas electors" in the constituency for which they were last registered for a...
gave British citizens abroad the right to vote for a five year period after they had left the United Kingdom. The Representation of the People Act 1989
Representation of the People Act 1989
The Representation of the People Act 1989 is an act by the Parliament of the United Kingdom.It extended the time that a British citizen could have lived abroad and still vote from 5 years to 20 years, and extended this right to people who were too young to vote at the time of leaving Britain....
extended the period to twenty years and citizens who were too young to vote when they left the country also became eligible.
Labour (post-1997) reforms
Prior to 1997, and the Labour PartyLabour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
government of Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
, there were only three types of elections: general elections, local government elections, and elections to the European Parliament. Most elections were conducted under the First Past the Post (FPTP) electoral system, though in Northern Ireland local government and European elections were conducted under the Single Transferable Vote
Single transferable vote
The single transferable vote is a voting system designed to achieve proportional representation through preferential voting. Under STV, an elector's vote is initially allocated to his or her most preferred candidate, and then, after candidates have been either elected or eliminated, any surplus or...
(STV) system. The constitutional reforms of Labour drastically changed elections, introducing elected regional assemblies and elected mayors
Mayors in the United Kingdom
In England, the office of mayor or lord mayor had long been ceremonial posts, with few or no duties attached to it. A mayor's term of office denotes the municipal year. The most famous example is that of the Lord Mayor of the City of London....
in certain cities. Proportional Representation
Proportional representation
Proportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. PR means that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system if 30% of voters support a particular...
(PR) was introduced outside of Northern Ireland for the first time.
The hybrid (part PR, part FPTP) Additional Member System
Additional Member System
The Additional Member System is the term used in the United Kingdom for the mixed member proportional representation voting system used in Scotland, Wales and the London Assembly....
was introduced in 1999 for the newly created devolved assemblies: the Scottish Parliament
Scottish Parliament
The Scottish Parliament is the devolved national, unicameral legislature of Scotland, located in the Holyrood area of the capital, Edinburgh. The Parliament, informally referred to as "Holyrood", is a democratically elected body comprising 129 members known as Members of the Scottish Parliament...
, Welsh Assembly and London Assembly
London Assembly
The London Assembly is an elected body, part of the Greater London Authority, that scrutinises the activities of the Mayor of London and has the power, with a two-thirds majority, to amend the mayor's annual budget. The assembly was established in 2000 and is headquartered at City Hall on the south...
and STV was used for the newly created Northern Ireland Assembly
Northern Ireland Assembly
The Northern Ireland Assembly is the devolved legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and to appoint the Northern Ireland Executive...
. The regional party list
Party-list proportional representation
Party-list proportional representation systems are a family of voting systems emphasizing proportional representation in elections in which multiple candidates are elected...
(Closed list
Closed list
Closed list describes the variant of party-list proportional representation where voters can only vote for political parties as a whole and thus have no influence on the party-supplied order in which party candidates are elected...
) system was introduced for European elections in Great Britain (which had previously used single member constituency FPTP) though Northern Ireland continues to use STV.
Labour passed the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000
Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000
The Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that sets out how political parties, elections and referendums are to be regulated in the United Kingdom...
, which created the Electoral Commission, which since 2000 has been responsible for the running of elections and referendums and to a limited extent regulating party funding. It also reduced the period during which British expatriates can vote, from 20 years after they emigrate to 15.
In 2008 the Ministry of Justice delivered a report that failed to conclusively recommend any particular voting system as "best" and instead simply compared working practices used in the different elections. The Minister of State for Justice, Ministry of Justice (Michael Wills
Michael Wills
Michael David Wills, Baron Wills is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Swindon North from 1997 to 2010. He was a Minister of State at the Ministry of Justice, a position he held from 29 June 2007....
) issued a statement following its publication stating that no action would be taken on the various reports that, since 1997, have suggested a move towards proportional representation
Proportional representation
Proportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. PR means that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system if 30% of voters support a particular...
for the UK general election until reform of the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
is completed. Critics have claimed that failure to move away from First Past the Post is disenfranchising voters.
Electoral reform
Some British parties, mainly the Liberal DemocratsLiberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
, have long proposed that the current First Past the Post system used for general elections
United Kingdom general elections
This is a list of United Kingdom general elections since the first in 1802. The members of the 1801–1802 Parliament had been elected to the former Parliament of Great Britain and Parliament of Ireland, before being co-opted to serve in the first Parliament of the United Kingdom, so that Parliament...
be replaced with another system. The introduction of proportional representation has been advocated for some time by the Liberal Democrats, and some pressure groups such as Charter 88, Unlock Democracy
Unlock Democracy
Unlock Democracy is a UK pressure group, based in Islington, in London. The organisation campaigns for a more participatory democracy in the UK, founded upon a written constitution. Unlock Democracy works to promote democratic reform across the political spectrum and is not aligned with any...
and the Electoral Reform Society
Electoral Reform Society
The Electoral Reform Society is a political pressure group based in the United Kingdom which promotes electoral reform. It is believed to be the oldest organisation concerned with electoral systems in the world.-Aims:...
. In 1998 and 2003 Independent Commissions were formed to look into electoral reform. Following the 2005 election
United Kingdom general election, 2005
The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....
, in which Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
was elected with the lowest share of the national vote for any single party majority government in British history, more public attention was brought to the issue. The national compact newspaper The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
started a petition, to campaign for the introduction of a more proportional system immediately after the election, under the title "Campaign For Democracy". The broad-based Make Votes Count Coalition currently brings together those groups advocating reform.
After the UK 2010 general election, the new coalition government
Cameron Ministry
David Cameron is Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, after being invited by Queen Elizabeth II to form a new government after the resignation as Prime Minister of Gordon Brown on 11 May 2010. Leading a coalition government formed by the Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats, the coalition...
agreed to stage a referendum on voting reform, which took place on 5 May 2011, with voters given the choice of switching to the Alternative Vote system or retaining the current one. The country overwhelmingly voted 'No', with only 10 districts out of 440 voting in favour.
Parliamentary and party positions
The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Electoral Reform is a cross party group consisting of 150 MPs that support electoral reform, chaired by Richard BurdenRichard Burden
Richard Burden is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Birmingham Northfield since 1992. Together with close friend and fellow ex-Young Liberal Peter Hain M.P., he was an enthusiastic supporter of the ill-fated Alternative Vote system in the May 2011...
.
Labour pledged in its manifesto for the 1997 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1997
The United Kingdom general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997, more than five years after the previous election on 9 April 1992, to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party ended its 18 years in opposition under the leadership of Tony Blair, and won the general...
to set up a commission on alternatives to the first-past-the-post system for general elections and hold a referendum in the future on whether to change the system. The Independent Commission on the Voting System, headed by Lord Jenkins of Hillhead
Roy Jenkins
Roy Harris Jenkins, Baron Jenkins of Hillhead OM, PC was a British politician.The son of a Welsh coal miner who later became a union official and Labour MP, Roy Jenkins served with distinction in World War II. Elected to Parliament as a Labour member in 1948, he served in several major posts in...
and known as the Jenkins Commission
Jenkins Commission (UK)
The Independent Commission on the Voting System, popularly known as the Jenkins Commission after its chairman Roy Jenkins, was a commission into possible reform of the United Kingdom electoral system.-The commission:...
, was established in December 1997. It reported in October 1998 and suggested the Alternative vote top-up
Alternative Vote Top-up
The Alternative Vote Plus , or Alternative Vote Top-up, is a semi-proportional voting system. AV+ was invented by the 1998 Jenkins Commission which first proposed the idea as a system that could be used for elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom.As the name suggests, AV+ is an additional...
or AV+ system.
The government had expected a recommendation which could have been implemented within the Parliament and decided that it would be impractical to have a general election using First Past the Post after a referendum decision to adopt a different system, and therefore delayed the referendum until after the next general election. Those elements within the Labour Party opposed to any change persuaded the party not to repeat the pledge for a referendum in the 2001 manifesto, and therefore none was held once the party was re-elected.
After the 2005 election, Lord Chancellor Lord Falconer said there was "no groundswell" for change, although a Cabinet committee was given the task of investigating reform. John Prescott
John Prescott
John Leslie Prescott, Baron Prescott is a British politician who was Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007. Born in Prestatyn, Wales, he represented Hull East as the Labour Member of Parliament from 1970 to 2010...
was made Chair; given his known opposition to change, proponents were critical and dismissive of the move. Several prominent Labour MPs have expressed a desire for investigating electoral reform, including Peter Hain
Peter Hain
Peter Gerald Hain is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for the Welsh constituency of Neath since 1991, and has served in the Cabinets of both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, firstly as Leader of the House of Commons under Blair and both Secretary of State for...
(who made a speech in the House of Commons in March 2004 arguing for the Alternative Vote), Patricia Hewitt
Patricia Hewitt
Patricia Hope Hewitt is an Australian-born British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Leicester West from 1997 until 2010. She served in the Cabinet until 2007, most recently as Health Secretary....
, Tessa Jowell
Tessa Jowell
Tessa Jowell is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Dulwich and West Norwood since 1992. Formerly a member of both the Blair and Brown Cabinets, she is currently the Shadow Minister for the Olympics and Shadow Minister for London.-Early life:Tessa Jane...
and Baroness Amos.
As mentioned above, in January 2008 the government produced a "desk-bound" review of the experience to date of new voting systems in the United Kingdom since Labour came to power in 1997. This review was non-committal as to the need for further reform, especially as regards reform of the voting system used in General Elections
United Kingdom general elections overview
United Kingdom general elections overview, an overview of United Kingdom General Election results since 1922. This 1922 election was the first election in the new United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, after the creation of the Irish Free State removed Southern Ireland from the UK.-...
.
The Conservative party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
in the 2005-2010 parliament were predominantly against PR. Despite the fact that the Conservative party would have won significantly more seats in the 2005 election if PR had been used, some in the party felt it might find itself politically isolated on the right, and face Labour/Lib Dem coalition governments. Electoral reform, towards a proportional model, was desired by the Liberal Democrat party, the Green party
Green Party of England and Wales
The Green Party of England and Wales is a political party in England and Wales which follows the traditions of Green politics and maintains a strong commitment to social progressivism. It is the largest Green party in the United Kingdom, containing within it various regional divisions including...
, and several other small parties.
Arguments for proportional representation
- It would be more representative of the electorate, as votes cast would be roughly proportional to seats.
- No votes would be wasted if PR was used and there would be less tactical votingTactical votingIn voting systems, tactical voting occurs, in elections with more than two viable candidates, when a voter supports a candidate other than his or her sincere preference in order to prevent an undesirable outcome.It has been shown by the Gibbard-Satterthwaite theorem that any voting method which is...
(which is harmful to democracy because it causes people to vote for a different party than they support). - It would widen voter choice, smaller parties would have a more realistic chance of winning seats.
- It would probably reduce the large majority that the many governments enjoy, therefore it would produce weaker governments than with First-Past-the-Post because the governing party would have a smaller majority. This means that the effects of executive dominanceElective dictatorshipAn "elective dictatorship" is a phrase coined by the former Lord Chancellor of the United Kingdom, Lord Hailsham, in a Richard Dimbleby Lecture at the BBC in 1976. It describes the state in which Parliament is dominated by the government of the day...
would be reduced: the House of Commons would be less of a rubber stamp and the government might be forced to compromise. Genuine debate, with meaningful impact on legislation, might be reintroduced in the Commons. - It might produce coalition governments (as in the Scottish Parliament). Advocates argue this would lead to much more emphasis on consensus, and better represent the combined will of the electorate, because coalitions include several parties.
- PR is already used for the regional, European and mayoral elections; general elections should follow suit.
- PR constituencies may range in size, allowing more natural boundaries to be created and maintained over time.
Arguments for first past the post
- The direct link that the FPTP system provides - between voters and their local Member of ParliamentMember of ParliamentA Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
- would be lost if certain Proportional RepresentationProportional representationProportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. PR means that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system if 30% of voters support a particular...
systems were adopted. However this would not be the case if a hybrid PR system were used, such as the Additional Member SystemAdditional Member SystemThe Additional Member System is the term used in the United Kingdom for the mixed member proportional representation voting system used in Scotland, Wales and the London Assembly....
(used for the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly) or alternative vote top-upAlternative Vote Top-upThe Alternative Vote Plus , or Alternative Vote Top-up, is a semi-proportional voting system. AV+ was invented by the 1998 Jenkins Commission which first proposed the idea as a system that could be used for elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom.As the name suggests, AV+ is an additional...
(suggested by the Jenkins CommissionJenkins Commission (UK)The Independent Commission on the Voting System, popularly known as the Jenkins Commission after its chairman Roy Jenkins, was a commission into possible reform of the United Kingdom electoral system.-The commission:...
), or if a majoritarian system - such as the Supplementary Vote used for Mayoral elections, or the Alternative Vote - were selected. The Single Transferable VoteSingle transferable voteThe single transferable vote is a voting system designed to achieve proportional representation through preferential voting. Under STV, an elector's vote is initially allocated to his or her most preferred candidate, and then, after candidates have been either elected or eliminated, any surplus or...
- used for elections within many organisations in the United Kingdom and for local elections in both Northern Ireland and Scotland - allows for multi-member constituencies elected via a proportional system but retains the constituency link because MPs are elected as individual representative as opposed to being elected from party lists. This system is used in the Republic of IrelandRepublic of IrelandIreland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
and means that every voter has a direct link to not one, but between 3 and 5 members, directly elected by their constituency. - FPTP tends to produce strong governments, which supporters see as an advantage (coalition governmentCoalition governmentA coalition government is a cabinet of a parliamentary government in which several political parties cooperate. The usual reason given for this arrangement is that no party on its own can achieve a majority in the parliament...
s would be a rarity), and the only coalitions (prior to 2010) in the 20th or 21st centuries have happened at times of emergency, usually when one party does not have an overall majority in the House of Commons. - Coalition governments cannot deliver a single party's electoral mandateMandate (politics)In politics, a mandate is the authority granted by a constituency to act as its representative.The concept of a government having a legitimate mandate to govern via the fair winning of a democratic election is a central idea of democracy...
, because there has to be consensus on policy with other parties. Coalitions could give small parties disproportionate power. - Similarly, smaller parties may be constantly in government by changing their allegiances between larger parties despite having no real mandate themselves.
- Coalitions are not formed until after elections, thus unexpected combinations of parties and policies may emerge in negotiations after an election to form a coalition government.
- Parties seen as 'extreme' by the establishment parties, such as the British National PartyBritish National PartyThe British National Party is a British far-right political party formed as a splinter group from the National Front by John Tyndall in 1982...
, might be able to win seats and gain some political power if they had enough votes nationwide. Some think it would be irresponsible to give 'extremists' the opportunity to have any political power. However, as is the case in Germany, extremist parties are limited to only 5% of seats, and therefore they never are able to gain meaningful power: A similar stance could be adopted in Britain.
Low turnout
As in many Western democracies, voter apathy is a current concern, after a dramatic decline in election turnout recently. Turnout fell from 77% in 1992, and 71% in 1997, to a historic low of 59% in 2001. It increased to 61% in 2005, and 65% in 2010. The main reasons identified for low turnout are:- Lack of variation between the ideologies of the main parties. As Will Self said: "You could not split the three main parties with an anorexic piece of cigarette paper."
- Decline in partisanship (many voters are no longer permanently loyal to one party).
- Reduction in the popularity of various party leaderships.
- Dissatisfaction with parties' record on public services, education, transport etc.
- Lack of interest in the election campaign.
- Voters believing their vote will have no effect on the overall outcome. There is an inverse relationship between turnout in a constituency and the winning candidate's majority in that seat.
- Unpopularity of First Past The Post amongst many smaller political parties (Liberal Democrats, Green Party, SNP etc.) as well as amongst some political commentators and academics such as Medhi Hasan.
Possible measures to increase turnout include:
- Compulsory voting (seen as an extreme solution not advocated by many , although a few countries (e.g.Australia) have compulsory voting)
- Electoral reform, towards PR (a policy advocated by the Liberal Democrats, Green Party and many other minor parties)
- New ways to vote, e.g. post, telephone, internet (the scope of postal voting was increased by Labour before the last election). There were several criminal proceedings after the last general election; this highlighted weaknesses in the postal voting system and resulted in a cooling of enthusiasm for IT and proxy arrangements.
- Lowering the voting age, which has recently seen support, most notably the 'Votes for 16' campaign which was launched in 2003. Furthermore lowering the voting age to 16 is endorsed by independent commissions such as the Commission on Local Governance in England and the Human Rights Commission in Northern Ireland.
See also
- British Polling CouncilBritish Polling CouncilThe British Polling Council is an association of market research companies whose opinion polls are regularly published or broadcast in media in the United Kingdom...
- Electoral registerElectoral registerThe electoral roll is a listing of all those registered to vote in a particular area. The register facilitates the process of voting, helps to prevent fraud and may also be used to select people for jury duty...
- Electoral calendar
- Election Day (United Kingdom)Election Day (United Kingdom)Election Day in the United Kingdom is by tradition a Thursday, but the date for general elections is not fixed by law. Most other European countries hold all Elections on Sundays...
- Electoral system
- Election agentElection agentIn elections in the United Kingdom, as well as in certain other similar political systems such as India's, an election agent is the person legally responsible for the conduct of a candidate's political campaign and to whom election material is sent to by those running the election. In elections in...
- Polling agentPolling agentIn elections in the United Kingdom, a polling agent is someone appointed by either the election agent of a candidate standing for election, or where there is no election agent the candidate personally, to oversee polling at the election count....
- Counting agentCounting agentA counting agent is appointed by either the candidate standing for election or the candidate's election agent to oversee the counting at the election count.Counting agents are only seen as part of elections in the United Kingdom and the British Commonwealth...
- Polling agent
- United Kingdom general electionsUnited Kingdom general electionsThis is a list of United Kingdom general elections since the first in 1802. The members of the 1801–1802 Parliament had been elected to the former Parliament of Great Britain and Parliament of Ireland, before being co-opted to serve in the first Parliament of the United Kingdom, so that Parliament...
(for election results) - United Kingdom national and local electionsUnited Kingdom national and local elections-Scotland:*Scottish Parliament elections**Scottish Parliament election, 1999**Scottish Parliament election, 2003**Scottish Parliament election, 2007**Scottish Parliament election, 2011-Wales:*Welsh Assembly elections**Welsh Assembly election, 1999...
- List of UK by-elections (for by-election results)
- Referendums in the United KingdomReferendums in the United KingdomReferendums are only occasionally held by the government of the United Kingdom. Eleven referendums have been held so far , the first in 1973; only two of these covered the whole UK...
- Political campaignPolitical campaignA political campaign is an organized effort which seeks to influence the decision making process within a specific group. In democracies, political campaigns often refer to electoral campaigns, wherein representatives are chosen or referendums are decided...
ing on election practicalities. - Historical anomalies of the British electoral system
- University constituencyUniversity constituencyA university constituency is a constituency, used in elections to a legislature, that represents a university rather than a geographical area. University constituencies may involve plural voting, in which eligible voters are permitted to vote in both a university constituency and a geographical...
- Rotten boroughRotten boroughA "rotten", "decayed" or pocket borough was a parliamentary borough or constituency in the United Kingdom that had a very small electorate and could be used by a patron to gain undue and unrepresentative influence within Parliament....
- University constituency
- Marginal constituencies in the United KingdomMarginal constituencies in the United KingdomThis is a list of marginal seats in the United Kingdom after the results in the 2005 General Election. At the next General Election, boundary changes will apply affecting some of these seats.__FORCETOC__-Labour - Liberal Democrat marginals:...
- Electoral Administration Act 2006Electoral Administration Act 2006The Electoral Administration Act 2006 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, passed on 11 July 2006. The Bill was amended during its passage through the House of Lords to require political parties to declare large loans; this followed the "Cash for Peerages" scandal...
- Electoral Reform SocietyElectoral Reform SocietyThe Electoral Reform Society is a political pressure group based in the United Kingdom which promotes electoral reform. It is believed to be the oldest organisation concerned with electoral systems in the world.-Aims:...
- Electoral CommissionElectoral Commission (United Kingdom)The Electoral Commission is an independent body set up by the UK Parliament. It regulates party and election finance and sets standards for well-run elections...
- United Kingdom Election ResultsUnited Kingdom Election ResultsUnited Kingdom Election Results is a website and e-book by author David Boothroyd, published in 1994. Boothroyd also authored The History of British Political Parties, published in 2001. The site includes material on elections in the United Kingdom including election results and resources for...
External links
- British Election Campaign Material from the University of Salford site
- June 2006: Boundary changes make it more difficult for Labour to win an overall majority
- NSD: European Election Database - UK
- Adam Carr's Election Archive
- Parties and elections
- The Electoral Commission Statutory organisation that regulates electoral practices
- Elections around the World: United Kingdom
- Make My Vote Count
- Jan 2008: Review of Voting Systems
- Guardian Special Report - Electoral Reform