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In the UK, voting is due to take place on Thursday 4 July after Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced an early general election on 22 May.
Polling will begin at 7am and close at 10pm, with exit polls outlining voting intentions due to begin around 9pm.
Results for most constituencies are expected early on Friday morning.
The Labour Party is currently leading the opinion polls by a large margin.
Mr Sunak insisted the predicted Conservative defeat would not stop him campaigning “until the very last moment”.
If you haven’t yet decided who you’re going to vote for, here’s all the information you need.
What is my constituency? Who is my MP?
The UK is currently divided into 650 constituencies. Each constituency is represented by a Member of Parliament in the House of Commons.
To find out what your constituency is and who your MP is (MPs become “candidates” when a general election is called), the Electoral Commission (the independent body that oversees elections in the UK and regulates political funding) Online Tools Enter your postcode to see a full list of candidates and your nearest polling station.
What is noteworthy is British constituency boundaries have been changed.
According to the UK Parliament, around 90 percent of UK constituencies have changed in some way, so it’s worth double-checking to see who your local candidates are.
District boundaries are reviewed regularly to ensure that all districts are roughly the same size and that local connections are respected. These reviews allow districts to be redrawn to reflect changes in population or to reflect changes in the boundaries of the constituencies that make up the districts.
Which parties are standing in the general election?
The major parties standing in the 2024 general election are:
- Labor Party
- Conservative Party
- LDP
- Green Party of England and Wales
- Reform Britain
- Plaid Cymru
- Scottish National Party (SNP)
- Democratic Unionist Party (DUP)
Additionally, 459 independent candidates are running in 317 constituencies.
Elsewhere, the British Labour Party is standing candidates in 152 constituencies, the Social Democrats in 122 and the Co-operative Party in 48.
The Official Monster Madness Party has 22 candidates running, while the Women’s Party has just 16. Overall, 101 parties are running.
Who should I vote for?
Education, immigration, taxes and climate are just some of the issues dominating political headlines in the run up to the general election.
Because the policies of each political party vary widely, it’s worth spending some time researching what each party has to say about the issues that matter to you.
If you’re still having trouble deciding, there’s also an online quiz that will tell you which party’s policies are most in line with your own.
I We have summarised the manifestos of each of the major parties below.
Labor
The Labour Party, founded in 1900, includes an ambitious plan in its manifesto to raise £8.6 billion in new tax revenue.
Other pledges include introducing VAT on private school tuition fees, criminal penalties for polluting water suppliers and two million extra NHS appointments.
Read our analysis of the Labour manifesto here.
conservatives
The Conservative party, founded in 1834, has its manifesto highlighting proposals including plans to cut personal tax, a proposed rewrite of international immigration rules and a tougher triple lock on pensions.
Read our analysis of the Conservative manifesto here.
LDP
Founded in 1988 by a coalition of the Liberal and Social Democrat parties, both of which were powerful in the 19th and early 20th centuries and were founded in 1859, the Liberal Democrats’ manifesto includes pledges to build at least 150,000 new council and social housing units each year, repeal anti-protest laws and end tax evasion.
Read our analysis of the Liberal Democrats manifesto here.
Green Party
The Green Party of England and Wales, formed in 1990, has pledged to stop “all new fossil fuel projects”, reform the tax system and give “nature rights of its own”.
Read our analysis of the Green Party manifesto here.
Reform Britain
Reform UK, which was founded in 2019 as the Brexit Party, has pledged to freeze all “non-essential immigration” to the UK, halve foreign aid and abolish VAT on energy bills.
Read more about Reform UK’s manifesto here.
Plaid Cymru
Plaid Cymru, formed in 1925, has pledged to achieve Welsh independence, recruit 500 more GPs, rejoin the EU and single market, provide fair funding for Wales and increase child benefit by £20 a week.
Read the Pride Camry Manifesto here.
Scottish National Party (SNP)
Founded in 1934, the SNP pledges to achieve Scottish independence from the UK, protect the NHS from privatisation, abolish Trident, increase maternity pay, invest more in hospitals, schools and road and rail infrastructure, scrap the Rwanda Plan, rejoin the EU and demand an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
Read the SNP manifesto here.
Democratic Unionist Party (DUP)
Founded in 1971, the DUP is committed to restoring Northern Ireland’s status within the UK in the context of Brexit, including the application of EU law and the removal of the resulting internal maritime border, and wants a more liberal approach to immigration to fill labour shortages, oppose euthanasia and improve access to health services.
Read the DUP manifesto here.
How are candidates selected to run for Parliament?
Before a general election, political parties must select candidates to run in all the constituencies in which they plan to run.
Candidates who wish to stand in a UK general election must meet certain criteria to be considered for candidacy.
Applicants must meet the following criteria:
- 18 years or older
- British national
- Citizen of the Republic of Ireland
- are nationals of a Commonwealth country who do not need permission to enter or remain in the UK, or who have permission to remain in the UK indefinitely
The following people are ineligible to run for parliament:
- Police personnel
- Members of the military
- Civil servants and judges
- People who are the subject of a bankruptcy restriction order or a debt relief restriction order in England or Wales
- People declared bankrupt in Northern Ireland
- People whose property has been seized in Scotland
Once Parliament is dissolved, up-and-coming MPs can declare their candidacy for the elections and others can also declare their candidacy.
Every candidate must have an election agent (or they can act as their own agent). An election agent is a person who is legally responsible for the proper management of the election campaign, especially financially.
Political parties select candidates to run on their behalf in elections. Independent candidates do not need to be selected by a political party to run in elections.
Each political party has its own procedure for selecting parliamentary candidates, which is set out in the party’s constitution. This usually involves filing applications for constituencies, shortlisting candidates, shortlisting candidates and then a final selection.
Candidates applying for the Labour Party must have been members of the party for at least 12 consecutive months and be members of a trade union.
But for the Conservative Party, applicants must pass the Parliamentary Assessment Board (PAB) to be on a national “approved list” before applying. This is the final stage of the application process, which takes around five hours and sees candidates assessed by MPs, peers, party volunteers and professional executives.
To join the PAB, candidates must be continuous party members for three months.
all Applicants must comply with the following legal regulations:
- Stand for election
- How to conduct election campaigns
- How much they can spend before the election and from whom they can accept donations (donations can include money, goods, or services)
- Records that must be kept
How to report post-election contributions