How do elections and voting work in the UK, for the Life in the UK test?

How do elections and voting work in the UK, for the Life in the UK test?

In a General Election, voters in each local area choose one MP, and the candidate with the most votes wins. A General Election is held at least every five years, and the party that wins the most areas usually forms the government.

Learn the steps in the order a voter meets them: register, receive a poll card, vote, and then see who forms the government.

How did Britain become a democracy?

Britain was not always a democracy. At the start of the 19th century only a small group of men could vote. They were over 21 and owned a certain amount of property.

The Chartists, a group active in the 1830s and 1840s, asked for six changes. They wanted the vote for every man, elections every year, equal regions, secret ballots, the right for any man to stand as an MP, and pay for MPs. People at the time saw the campaign as a failure, but by 1918 most of these ideas had become real.

A simple timeline helps. In 1918 the vote went to women over 30. In 1928 men and women over 21 had equal voting rights. In 1969 the age came down to 18. The UK has had a fully democratic system since 1928.

How is an MP chosen?

The country is divided into areas called constituencies. Each one elects one member of Parliament, or MP. All the MPs together make up the House of Commons.

The system is called first past the post. Whoever gets the most votes in the constituency wins, even if the lead is small. If an MP dies or resigns, a by-election takes place in that constituency to choose a new one.

The party with the most MPs usually forms the government. If no party has a majority, two parties may join together. This is called a coalition.

Most MPs belong to a party. A few are independents and usually stand for one issue that matters in their area. The main parties are the Conservative Party, the Labour Party, the Liberal Democrats, and parties for Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish interests.

Who can vote?

Most adult citizens of the UK can vote, with a few exceptions. Citizens of the Commonwealth and of Ireland who live in the UK can also vote in all public elections.

The voting age is 18. A good memory hook is that 18 appears twice in this chapter, for voting and for standing as a candidate, so those two ages match.

How do you register and vote?

To vote, your name must be on the electoral register. You register through your local council. The register is updated every year in September or October, when a form goes to every household. Northern Ireland uses a different method, called individual registration, where each person fills in their own form.

Before the election you receive a poll card. It tells you where your polling station is and the date of the election. In Scotland the place is called a polling place. The station is open from 7.00 am to 10.00 pm.

When you arrive, staff ask for your name and address. In Northern Ireland you must also show photo ID. You take your ballot paper to a booth and fill it in alone. Nobody may tell you how to vote. You then put the paper in the ballot box. If getting there is hard, you can ask for a postal ballot when you register.

Today this has changed: you now need photo ID to vote in person in UK general elections and in local elections in England, and in some other elections in Great Britain. Learn the handbook version for the test, and keep the new rule for real life.

Who can stand as a candidate?

Most citizens of the UK, Ireland or the Commonwealth who are 18 or over can stand for public office. There are exceptions, including members of the armed forces, civil servants and people found guilty of certain crimes. Members of the House of Lords cannot stand for the Commons, but they can stand for other public offices.

Local councillors are elected too. For most local authorities, elections are held in May every year.

What do the devolved bodies add?

Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own elected bodies. Members are chosen by a form of proportional representation, which is a different system from the one used for MPs. Learn what the handbook says, because the test follows the handbook: the Senedd has 60 members, the Scottish Parliament has 129 and the Northern Ireland Assembly has 90.

Today this has changed: the Senedd now has 96 members. Keep the handbook number for the test.

How can you reach the people you vote for?

Every elected member has a duty to serve the people in their area. Many MPs, Senedd members and Scottish Parliament members hold local meetings, called surgeries, where you can talk to them in person. Parties also send out canvassers before an election. You do not have to tell a canvasser how you plan to vote.

Practise with the free practice test and read the full chapter on government, law and your role. Two related pages are government and law for the test and the monarchy and the constitution.

Check yourself

Can you list the years that changed who could vote, and who gained the vote each time?

Without looking, can you describe the steps from registering to putting a ballot paper in the box?

Can you say the difference between a General Election and a by-election in one sentence?