Election Day (United Kingdom)
Encyclopedia
Election Day in the United Kingdom
is by tradition a Thursday, but the date for general elections is not fixed by law. Most other European countries hold all Elections on Sundays
. Polls in the United Kingdom open at 7:00 and close at 22:00.
follows the dissolution of Parliament
by the Queen on the advice of the Prime Minister
of the day. The Prime Minister thus has the power to choose the date of the election. Thursday has been the customary day to hold elections since the 1930s.
Historically, elections took place over the course of a four-week period until 1918. Election days were then as follows:
and elections have been on Thursdays since then:
. But they were eventually held on Thursdays.
By-elections and other UK elections are also traditionally held on Thursdays though they can be held on other days - in particular when they would otherwise clash with bank holidays. The last Parliamentary by-election not to be held on a Thursday was the Hamilton by-election
of 31 May 1978. This was held on a Wednesday as the returning officer wished to avoid a clash with the opening game of the 1978 FIFA World Cup
.
In 2010, the local elections
were held on the same day as the general elections (Thursday, May 6).
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
is by tradition a Thursday, but the date for general elections is not fixed by law. Most other European countries hold all Elections on Sundays
Election Day (politics)
Election Day refers to the day when general elections are held. In many countries, general elections are always held on a Sunday, to enable as many voters as possible to participate, while in other countries elections are always held on a weekday...
. Polls in the United Kingdom open at 7:00 and close at 22:00.
UK General Elections
A General Election in the UKUnited Kingdom general elections
This is a list of United Kingdom general elections since the first in 1802. The members of the 1801–1802 Parliament had been elected to the former Parliament of Great Britain and Parliament of Ireland, before being co-opted to serve in the first Parliament of the United Kingdom, so that Parliament...
follows the dissolution of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
by the Queen on the advice of the Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
of the day. The Prime Minister thus has the power to choose the date of the election. Thursday has been the customary day to hold elections since the 1930s.
Historically, elections took place over the course of a four-week period until 1918. Election days were then as follows:
- 14 December 1918United Kingdom general election, 1918The United Kingdom general election of 1918 was the first to be held after the Representation of the People Act 1918, which meant it was the first United Kingdom general election in which nearly all adult men and some women could vote. Polling was held on 14 December 1918, although the count did...
- Saturday - 15 November 1922United Kingdom general election, 1922The United Kingdom general election of 1922 was held on 15 November 1922. It was the first election held after most of the Irish counties left the United Kingdom to form the Irish Free State, and was won by Andrew Bonar Law's Conservatives, who gained an overall majority over Labour, led by John...
- Wednesday - 6 December 1923United Kingdom general election, 1923-Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987*-External links:***...
- Thursday - 29 October 1924United Kingdom general election, 1924- Seats summary :- References :* F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987* - External links :* * *...
- Wednesday - 30 May 1929United Kingdom general election, 1929-Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987*-External links:***...
- Thursday - 27 October 1931United Kingdom general election, 1931The United Kingdom general election on Tuesday 27 October 1931 was the last in the United Kingdom not held on a Thursday. It was also the last election, and the only one under universal suffrage, where one party received an absolute majority of the votes cast.The 1931 general election was the...
- Tuesday - 14 October 1935United Kingdom general election, 1935The United Kingdom general election held on 14 November 1935 resulted in a large, though reduced, majority for the National Government now led by Conservative Stanley Baldwin. The greatest number of MPs, as before, were Conservative, while the National Liberal vote held steady...
- Thursday
and elections have been on Thursdays since then:
- 5 July 1945United Kingdom general election, 1945The United Kingdom general election of 1945 was a general election held on 5 July 1945, with polls in some constituencies delayed until 12 July and in Nelson and Colne until 19 July, due to local wakes weeks. The results were counted and declared on 26 July, due in part to the time it took to...
- 23 February 1950United Kingdom general election, 1950The 1950 United Kingdom general election was the first general election ever after a full term of a Labour government. Despite polling over one and a half million votes more than the Conservatives, the election, held on 23 February 1950 resulted in Labour receiving a slim majority of just five...
- 25 October 1951United Kingdom general election, 1951The 1951 United Kingdom general election was held eighteen months after the 1950 general election, which the Labour Party had won with a slim majority of just five seats...
- 26 May 1955United Kingdom general election, 1955The 1955 United Kingdom general election was held on 26 May 1955, four years after the previous general election. It resulted in a substantially increased majority of 60 for the Conservative government under new leader and prime minister Sir Anthony Eden against Labour Party, now in their 20th year...
- 8 October 1959United Kingdom general election, 1959This United Kingdom general election was held on 8 October 1959. It marked a third successive victory for the ruling Conservative Party, led by Harold Macmillan...
- 15 October 1964United Kingdom general election, 1964The United Kingdom general election of 1964 was held on 15 October 1964, more than five years after the preceding election, and thirteen years after the Conservative Party had retaken power...
- 31 March 1966United Kingdom general election, 1966The 1966 United Kingdom general election on 31 March 1966 was called by sitting Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson. Wilson's decision to call an election turned on the fact that his government, elected a mere 17 months previously in 1964 had an unworkably small majority of only 4 MPs...
- 18 June 1970United Kingdom general election, 1970The United Kingdom general election of 1970 was held on 18 June 1970, and resulted in a surprise victory for the Conservative Party under leader Edward Heath, who defeated the Labour Party under Harold Wilson. The election also saw the Liberal Party and its new leader Jeremy Thorpe lose half their...
- 28 February 1974United Kingdom general election, February 1974The United Kingdom's general election of February 1974 was held on the 28th of that month. It was the first of two United Kingdom general elections held that year, and the first election since the Second World War not to produce an overall majority in the House of Commons for the winning party,...
- 10 October 1974United Kingdom general election, October 1974The United Kingdom general election of October 1974 took place on 10 October 1974 to elect 635 members to the British House of Commons. It was the second general election of that year and resulted in the Labour Party led by Harold Wilson, winning by a tiny majority of 3 seats.The election of...
- 3 May 1979United Kingdom general election, 1979The United Kingdom general election of 1979 was held on 3 May 1979 to elect 635 members to the British House of Commons. The Conservative Party, led by Margaret Thatcher ousted the incumbent Labour government of James Callaghan with a parliamentary majority of 43 seats...
- 9 June 1983United Kingdom general election, 1983The 1983 United Kingdom general election was held on 9 June 1983. It gave the Conservative Party under Margaret Thatcher the most decisive election victory since that of Labour in 1945...
- 11 June 1987United Kingdom general election, 1987The United Kingdom general election of 1987 was held on 11 June 1987, to elect 650 members to the British House of Commons. The election was the third consecutive election victory for the Conservative Party under the leadership of Margaret Thatcher, who became the first Prime Minister since the 2nd...
- 9 April 1992United Kingdom general election, 1992The United Kingdom general election of 1992 was held on 9 April 1992, and was the fourth consecutive victory for the Conservative Party. This election result was one of the biggest surprises in 20th Century politics, as polling leading up to the day of the election showed Labour under leader Neil...
- 1 May 1997United Kingdom general election, 1997The United Kingdom general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997, more than five years after the previous election on 9 April 1992, to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party ended its 18 years in opposition under the leadership of Tony Blair, and won the general...
- 7 June 2001United Kingdom general election, 2001The United Kingdom general election, 2001 was held on Thursday 7 June 2001 to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. It was dubbed "the quiet landslide" by the media, as the Labour Party was re-elected with another landslide result and only suffered a net loss of 6 seats...
- 5 May 2005United Kingdom general election, 2005The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....
- 6 May 2010
Other UK elections
Local elections in England and Wales are by statute held on the first Thursday in May. This has been changed in recent years: in 2001 they were delayed while an outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease was dealt with, and in 2004 and 2009 they were delayed to coincide with elections for the European ParliamentEuropean Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
. But they were eventually held on Thursdays.
By-elections and other UK elections are also traditionally held on Thursdays though they can be held on other days - in particular when they would otherwise clash with bank holidays. The last Parliamentary by-election not to be held on a Thursday was the Hamilton by-election
Hamilton by-election, 1978
There was a by-election for the United Kingdom House of Commons in Hamilton on Wednesday 31 May 1978. It was caused by the death of Labour Party Member of Parliament Alexander Wilson.The by-election was the last in the UK to date not held on a Thursday...
of 31 May 1978. This was held on a Wednesday as the returning officer wished to avoid a clash with the opening game of the 1978 FIFA World Cup
1978 FIFA World Cup
The 1978 FIFA World Cup, the 11th staging of the FIFA World Cup, was held in Argentina between 1 June and 25 June. The 1978 World Cup was won by Argentina who beat the Netherlands 3–1 after extra time in the final. This win was the first World Cup title for Argentina, who became the fifth...
.
In 2010, the local elections
United Kingdom local elections, 2010
The 2010 United Kingdom local elections were held on Thursday 6 May 2010, when the 2010 general election also took place. Direct elections were held to all 32 London boroughs, all 36 metropolitan boroughs, 76 second-tier district authorities, 20 unitary authorities and various Mayoral posts, all in...
were held on the same day as the general elections (Thursday, May 6).