At Stake in this Election: 

• All 650 seats in the British House of Commons

Government Structure:  

• Chief of State: King CHARLES III (since 8 September 2022) 

• Head of Government: Prime Minister Rishi SUNAK (since 25 October 2022) 

• Assembly: bicameral Parliament with a 784-seat House of Lords and a 650-seat House of Commons

Electoral System:  

• The King is a hereditary monarch. 

• The leader of the majority party or coalition becomes the Prime Minister. 

• The House of Lords has a variable number of members depending on appointments, eligibility standards, and official leaves of absence. Members may be appointed by the monarch (667 life peers), inherit their seat (91 hereditary peers), or assume their seat due as part of a religious appointment (26 clergy). There were 784 eligible members of the House of Lords as of December 2023. 

• In the House of Commons, all 650 members are directly elected by plurality vote from single-seat constituencies. All members serve 5-year terms, and there are no term limits.

Last Election: 

In the 2019 general election, the Conservative Party won the largest share of seats (365), followed by the Labour Party (202) and eight additional parties. Voter turnout was 68%.

Information for Voters: 

Voting and elections / Pleidleisio ac etholiadau (in English and Welsh)

New/Unique in this Election:  

Prime Minister Rishi SUNAK called a snap election on in May 2024, dissolving the House of Commons seven months ahead of the January 2025 electoral deadline. This will be the first UK general election in which voters are required to present a photo ID at the polling place. Additionally, UK citizens who have been living overseas for more than 15 years will now be eligible to vote in their last constituency of record. This change could re-enfranchise over 3 million voters.

Key Deadlines: 

• Candidate filing deadline:  7 June 2024 

• Voter registration deadline: 18 June 2024

Main Parties in this Election: 

• Conservative Party 

• Leader: Rishi SUNAK 

• Seats won in last election: 365 out of 650 

• Labour Party 

• Leader: Keir STARMER 

• Seats won in last election: 202 out of 650 

• Scottish National Party (SNP) 

• Leader: John SWINNEY 

• Seats won in last election: 48 out of 650 

• Liberal Democrats 

• Leader: Ed DAVEY 

• Seats won in last election: 11 out of 650 

• Democratic Unionist Party 

• Leader: Gavin ROBINSON 

• Seats won in last election: 8 out of 650 

• Sinn Fein 

• Leader: Mary Lou McDonald 

• Seats won in last election: 7 out of 650 

• Plaid Cymru 

• Leader:  Rhun ap IORWERTH 

• Seats won in last election: 365 out of 650 

• Social Democratic & Labour Party 

• Leader: Colum EASTWOOD 

• Seats won in last election: 2 out of 650 

• Alliance Party 

• Leader: Naomi LONG 

• Seats won in last election: 1 out of 650 

• Green Party 

• Leader: Carla DENYER and Adrian RAMSAY 

• Seats won in last election: 1 out of 650

Population and Registered Voters: 

• Population: 66,971,400 (2022 est.) 

• Registered Voters: 47,562,702 (2019)

Gender Data: 

• Female Population: 33,876,560 (2022 est.) 

• CEDAW Status: Signed 22 July 1981, Ratified 7 April 1986 

• Gender Quota:  N/A 

• Female Candidates in this election: Yes 

• Number of Female Legislators (pre-election): 226 out of 650 (34.8%) in the House of Commons and 228 out of 785 (29%) in the House of Lords.  

• Human Development Index (HDI) Position: 0.940, Very High, Rank 15 (2022) 

• Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: 12% 

Disability Data: 

• CRPD Status: Signed 30 March 2007, Ratified 8 June 2009  

• Projected population with a disability: 10,715,424 (2022 est.)

IFES Resources: 

• Does IFES have a presence in the UK: No   

• Election Access: Yes 

• Election Judgments:  Yes, 1 judgment