What is the upcoming UK General Election?

The election that is to vote for change, or trust the current direction

4th July 2024, everyone in the UK will wake up and have the chance to vote in a general election. Voting will go on through out the day, by the night millions of votes will be counted. When everyone wakes up the next morning, a decision will be made. Either the UK has a new prime minister and a new government through Labour or one of the smaller parties, or the conservatives will continue to lead the country.

However, how does the general election work? Who are the parties and what do they believe in? Who has won in the past?

How does a party win?

You may have heard the term ‘first past the post,’ this is the way the election winner is chosen. The UK is divided into constituencies, small areas that are governed by an MP (Member of Parliament). There are currently 650 constituencies within the UK. London itself has 73 constituencies. Within each one, candidates can put themselves forward to either represent a party or run as an independent. The individual with the most votes in that constituency becomes the MP for that area and whichever party they represent will get 1 seat in parliament. ‘First past the post’ is when a party has reached 326 seats. This party has a ‘majority’ and will form the next government.

What happens if there is no majority?

If a party wins 326 seats, they have the majority and can form the next government. But if no party secures this magic number, then it is called a ‘hung parliament.’ The current party will remain in power until a majority one is formed. There are no more votes, but the parties will go into negotiation to form a majority. For example, in the 2010 election, the conservatives formed a majority with the Liberal Democrats known as a coalition government. If there is a hung parliament, then the current party has the first opportunity to form a majority. This was done in 2017, when the conservatives negotiated with a ‘confidence and supply’ agreement with the Democratic Unionist Party of Northern Ireland.

Who are the parties this time around?

Labour: Led by Sir Keir Starmer, originally a group formed from social democrats, trade unions, and democratic socialists. They were last in government in 2010 when they lost the general election to David Cameron’s conservatives. Some of the previous notable leaders have been Jeremy Corbyn in 2015 - 2020, Gordan Brown in 2007 - 2010, Tony Blair in 1994 – 2007, Clement Attlee in 1935 – 1955. Their current core ‘missions’ are to build more, create a Great British clean energy company, restore the NHS, and increase policing. – Centre Left

Conservative: Led by Rishi Sunak, is the oldest party in the UK and second oldest in the world. They have been in power for the last 14 years, having won elections in 2019, 2017, 2015, and 2010. They have gone through many leaders in that time, Rishi Sunak (October 2022 – Present), Liz Truss (September 2022 – October 2022), Boris Johnson (July 2019 – September 2022), Theresa May (July 2016 – June 2019), David Cameron (December 2005 – July 2016). Previous notable leaders have included John Major, Margaret Thatcher, Winston Churchill, and Sir Robert Peel. Their main ‘missions’ include, introducing ‘National Service’ for 18-year-olds, deporting undocumented immigrants to Rwanda, Pensions triple lock, reducing inflation, and abolishing national insurance. – Centre Right

Liberal Democrats: Led by Sir Ed Davey, they have taken different forms but can be seen to go back 200 years. They were last in government in 2010 through a coalition with the Conservatives. This was the first time the Lib Dems were in government in over 65 years. - Centrist

Reform UK: Led by Richard Tice, they were formed in 2018 with Nigel Farage as a right-wing group formerly known as the Brexit Party. They are known as hard-lined Eurosceptics. – Right Wing Populism

Green: Led by Carla Denyer. They strongly believe in a greener future, greener homes, greener schools, greener transport, and greener water. They are also advocates for abolishing the ‘first past the post’ system. They believe in proportional representation; a party would gain a share of seats in Parliament based on its national vote share. – Left wing

Scottish National Party: Led by John Swinney. The focus for the SNP is Scottish independence. They are the largest party in Scotland. – Centre Left and social democratic

There are other general parties and regional parties such as: Plaid Cymru, DUP, SF, SDLP, UUP, Alliance, Monster Raving Looney Party, Count Binface, and others.

Who will win?

Currently, according to polls Labour are expected to form a majority by an overwhelming amount. Prior to election day, several large-scale polls will be conducted, although these are not a guarantee they give an indication of where people are likely to place their votes. At the time of writing, one was conducted on the 28th May. The results of this poll were: Conservative: 66 seats, Labour 485 seats, Lib Dem 59 seats, Reform 0 seats, SNP 17 seats. Compared to the previous election in 2019 where Conservatives won 365 seats and labour won 203 seats. The current predictions highlight a momentous swing towards labour.

There are 5 weeks until the election which seems like a short amount of time, but in election speak this is a huge amount of time. The current polling predictions are likely to change, there are TV debates, scandals, and plenty of canvassing to be done. However, the 4th July election will be a well-remembered one, either for the sweeping victory from labour, or for the last-minute change of heart by much of the country.

We have highlighted the general rules of the general election, between now and the election we will post more about what is happening on the election.