Registered parties

In contrast with the 2007 parliamentary elections, candidates in this election can be elected on party lists or through self-nomination. In August 2011 the Strong Ukraine and People's Party – both elected into parliament in 2007 – announced that both will merge with Party of Regions.The next month Batkivschyna leader and former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko called for the opposition to run the elections on a single-party ticket.

The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland[1] (commonly referred to as the British Parliament, the Westminster Parliament or, formerly, the Imperial Parliament) is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London. Parliament alone possesses legislative supremacy and thereby ultimate power over all other political bodies in the UK and its territories. At its head is the Sovereign, Queen Elizabeth II.

The parliament is bicameral, with an upper house, the House of Lords, and a lower house, the House of Commons.[2] The Queen is the third component of the legislature.[3][4] The House of Lords includes two different types of members: the Lords Spiritual (the senior bishops of the Church of England) and the Lords Temporal (members of the Peerage) whose members are not elected by the population at large, but are appointed by the Sovereign on advice of the Prime Minister.[5]

Prior to the opening of the Supreme Court in October 2009 the House of Lords also performed a judicial role through the Law Lords. The House of Commons is a democratically elected chamber with elections to it held at least every five years.[6] The two Houses meet in separate chambers in the Palace of Westminster (commonly known as the Houses of Parliament), in London. By constitutional convention, all government ministers, including the Prime Minister, are members of the House of Commons or, less often, the House of Lords, and are thereby accountable to the respective branches of the legislature.

The Parliament of Great Britain was formed in 1707 following the ratification of the Treaty of Union by both the Parliament of England and Parliament of Scotland passing Acts of Union. However, in practice the parliament was a continuation of the English parliament with the addition of Scottish MPs and peers. Parliament was further enlarged by the ratification by the Parliament of Great Britain and the Parliament of Ireland of the Act of Union (1800), which abolished the Irish Parliament; this added 100 Irish members to the Commons and 32 to the Lords to create the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It has been called "the mother of parliaments",[7] its democratic institutions having set the standards for many democracies throughout the world,[8] and the United Kingdom parliament is the largest Anglophone legislative body in the world.[9]

In theory, supreme legislative power is vested in the Queen-in-Parliament; in practice in modern times, real power is vested in the House of Commons, as the Sovereign generally acts on the advice of the Prime Minister, and the powers of the House of Lords have been limited.[10]

Parliament is an essential part of UK politics. Its main roles are:

Examining and challenging the work of the government (scrutiny)

Debating and passing all laws (legislation)

Enabling the government to raise taxes

General elections

When Parliament is dissolved every seat in the House of Commons becomes vacant and a general election is held. Each constituency in the UK elects one MP (Member of Parliament) to a seat in the House of Commons. The political party that wins a majority of seats in the House of Commons usually forms the Government.

How often are general elections held?

The date of the next general election is set at 7 May 2015 after the Fixed Term Parliament Act was passed on 15 September 2011.

The act provides for general elections to be held on the first Thursday in May every five years. There are two provisions that trigger an election other than at five year intervals.

A motion of no confidence is passed in Her Majesty's Government by a simple majority and 14 days elapses without the House passing a confidence motion in any new Government formed

A motion for a general election is agreed by two thirds of the total number of seats in the Commons including vacant seats (currently 434 out of 650)

Previous to this act, the duration of a Parliament was set at five years, although many were dissolved before that, at the request of the Prime Minister to the Queen.

How does it work?

MPs are elected from a choice of candidates by a simple majority system in which each person casts one vote. The candidate with the most votes then becomes the MP for that constituency.

Candidates may be from a political party registered with the Electoral Commission or they may stand as an 'Independent' rather than represent a registered party.

Where do people vote?

Most voting takes place in polling stations but anyone eligible to vote can apply for a postal vote. British citizens living abroad are also entitled to a postal vote as long as they have been living abroad for less than 15 years.

Parliamentary constituencies

The UK is currently divided into 650 parliamentary constituencies, each of which is represented by one MP in the House of Commons. Although constituencies vary widely in area, the average number of voters in each constituency is approximately 68,175.

Constituency breakdown

There are currently 533 constituencies in England, 59 in Scotland, 40 in Wales and 18 in Northern Ireland.

Boundary Commissions

Constituency boundaries were kept under review by four permanent Boundary Commissions, one each for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Commissions made reports at regular intervals recommending any necessary changes due to population change or changes in local government boundaries.

Voting systems in the UK

The House of Commons, devolved assemblies and mayors in the UK are elected using different voting systems. The House of Commons and the House of Lords use a variety of voting systems for internal elections.

Voting systems

Voting systems, also known as electoral systems, are the method by which we elect representatives. A voting system determines the rules on how parties and candidates are elected.

A number of different voting systems are used to elect mayors and representatives to the House of Commons, Scottish Parliament, National Assembly for Wales, Northern Ireland Assembly, European Parliament and, UK local authorities.

First-past-the-post

First-past-the-post is used to elect MPs to the House of Commons and for local elections in England and Wales.

Under first-past-the-post, the UK or local authority is divided into numerous voting areas, i.e. constituencies or wards. At a general or local election, voters put a cross (X) next to their preferred candidate on a ballot paper.

Ballot papers are then counted and the candidate that has received the most votes is elected to represent the constituency or ward.

Alternative Vote (AV)

The Alternative Vote is used to elect the majority of chairs of select committees in the House of Commons. The AV is also used for the election of the Lord Speaker and by-elections for hereditary peers.

Under AV, voters rank candidates in order of preference by marking 1, 2, 3 and so on next to names of candidates on a ballot paper. A voter can rank as many or as few candidates as they like or just vote for one candidate.

Ballot papers are then counted by using the first preference votes (i.e. those with a number 1 marked next to their name). If a candidate receives more than 50 per cent of the first preference votes then they are elected.

If no candidate reaches this 50 per cent threshold, then the candidate with the fewest first preference votes is eliminated. Their second preference votes are then reallocated to the remaining candidates. If after this stage one candidate has more votes than the other remaining candidates put together, that candidate is elected.

If not, the process of elimination and reallocation of preference votes is repeated until one candidate has more votes than the other remaining candidates put together, and is then elected.

Supplementary Vote (SV)

The Supplementary Vote system is used to elect the Mayor of London and other elected mayors in England and Wales.

The SV system is very similar to the AV system. Under SV, voters are limited to a first and second preference choice. A voter marks a cross in one column for their first preference candidate and another cross in a second column for their second preference (if they wish to do so).

The ballot papers are counted and if a candidate received more than 50 per cent of the first preference votes on the first count, then they are elected.

If no candidate reaches the 50 per cent threshold, the two candidates with the highest number of votes are retained and the other candidates are eliminated. The second preferences on the ballot papers of the eliminated candidates are counted and any cast for the two remaining candidates are transferred. The candidate with the most votes at the end of this process is elected.

Single Transferable Vote (STV)

The Single Transferable Vote system is used to elect the Deputy Speakers in the House of Commons. STV is also used for electing the Northern Ireland Assembly, local elections in Scotland and Northern Ireland and European Parliament elections in Northern Ireland.

Multi-member constituencies are required for STV which means constituencies are normally larger but elect several representatives rather than just one.

Under STV, voters rank candidates in order of preference by marking 1, 2, 3 and so on next to the names of candidates on a ballot paper. A voter can rank as many or as few candidates as they like or just vote for one candidate.

Each candidate needs a minimum number of votes to be elected. This number is calculated according to the number of seats and votes cast and is called a quota.The first preference votes for each candidate are added up and any candidate who has achieved this quota is elected.

If a candidate has more votes than are needed to fill the quota, that candidate’s surplus votes are transferred to the remaining candidates. Votes that would have gone to the winner instead go to the second preference listed on those ballot papers.

If candidates do not meet the quota, the candidate with the fewest first preference votes is eliminated and the second preference votes are transferred to other candidates. These processes are repeated until all the seats are filled.

Additional Member System (AMS)

The Additional Member System is used to elect the Scottish Parliament, the National Assembly for Wales and the London Assembly.

Under AMS, voters are given two votes; one for an individual candidate and one for a party. Individual candidates are elected to single-member constituencies using first-past-the-post (or the second ballot or alternative vote). Under the second, party vote, representatives (additional members) are elected proportionally to a larger region.

The percentage of votes obtained by the parties in the party vote (second ballot) determines the overall number of representatives including those elected for the single member constituencies after taking into account the seats gained in each region by each party in the first ballot.

Closed Party List

The Closed Party List system is used to elect Members of the European Parliament, with the exception of Northern Ireland which uses Single Transferable Vote.

A voter marks a cross on the ballot paper next to the party’s name they wish to support. Once the ballot papers have been counted, each party gets the number of seats proportionate to the number of votes it has received in each constituency.

Multi-member constituencies are required for the Closed Party List which means constituencies are normally larger but elect several representatives rather than just one.

As voters choose parties rather than candidates, it is for the parties to determine the order in which candidates appear on the list and are then elected.

General elections

UK parliamentary election results, 1950–2010

See also: United Kingdom general elections overview

United Kingdom general elections are held following a dissolution of Parliament. All the Members of Parliament (MPs) forming the House of Commons 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.[61]

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.[62]

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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 Minister. 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.[63]

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).

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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 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.

Current issues

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Electoral reform This article contains weasel words: vague phrasing that often accompanies biased or unverifiable information. Such statements should be clarified or removed. (March 2009)

Some British parties, mainly the Liberal Democrats, 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.[65] 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.

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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 Burden.

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.[clarification needed] 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[who?] 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.

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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 voting (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 dominance 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.

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Arguments for first past the post

The direct link that the FPTP system provides - between voters and their local Member of Parliament - would be lost if certain Proportional Representation systems were adopted. However this would not be the case if a hybrid PR system were used, such as the Additional Member System (used for the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly) or alternative vote top-up (suggested by the Jenkins Commission), or if a majoritarian system - such as the Supplementary Vote used for Mayoral elections, or the Alternative Vote - were selected. The Single Transferable Vote - 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 Ireland 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 governments 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 mandate, 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 Party, 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.

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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.[66] 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.[67]

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. Template:Publisher=www.newstatesman.com/blogs/the-staggers/2010/05/electoral-reform-stay-table

Possible measures to increase turnout include:

Compulsory voting (seen as an extreme solution not advocated by many[citation needed], 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.

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