The next United Kingdom general election is scheduled to be held no later than Wednesday 15 August 2029. It will determine the composition of the House of Commons, which determines the government of the United Kingdom.
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All 650 seats in the House of Commons. 326 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 2017 election • MPs |
| 2019 election • MPs |
| 2024 election • MPs |
Background
Background of 2024 general election
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's Conservative Party lost over 240 seats and its 14-year long tenure in government. The Labour Party formed a majority government under the leadership of Keir Starmer, winning over 400 seats. Other parties including the Liberal Democrats, Reform UK and the Green Party saw an increase in their seat share in the House of Commons at expense of the Conservatives and the Scottish National Party.
This table relates to the composition of the House of Commons after the 2024 UK general election and summarises the changes in party affiliation that took place during the 2024–present Parliament.
| Affiliation | Members | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elected in 2024[2] |
July 2024[3] |
Difference | ||
| Labour[a] | 411[h] | 404 |  7
| |
| Conservative | 121 | 121 | 
| |
| Liberal Democrats | 72 | 72 |
| |
| SNP | 9 | 9 |
| |
| Sinn Féin | 7 | 7 |
| |
| DUP | 5 | 5 |
| |
| Reform UK | 5 | 5 |
| |
| Green (E&W) | 4 | 4 |
| |
| Plaid Cymru | 4 | 4 |
| |
| SDLP | 2 | 2 |
| |
| Alliance | 1 | 1 |
| |
| TUV | 1 | 1 |
| |
| UUP | 1 | 1 |
| |
| Speaker | 1 | 1 |
| |
| Independent | 6 | 13 |  7
| |
| Vacant | 0 | 0 |
| |
| Total | 650 | 650 |
| |
| Total voting[i] | 639 | 639 |
| |
| Effective majority | 181 | 167[7] |
| |
For full details of changes during the 2024–present Parliament, see By-elections and Defections, suspensions and resignations.
Electoral system
Voting eligibility
In order to vote in the general election, barring any changes in eligibility rules, one must be:[8]
- on the Electoral Register,
- aged 18 or over on polling day,
- a British citizen, a Commonwealth citizen (with leave to remain or not requiring it) or a citizen of the Republic of Ireland,
- a resident at an address in the United Kingdom (or a British citizen living abroad), and
- not legally excluded from voting (for example a convicted person detained in prison or a mental hospital, or unlawfully at large if they would otherwise have been detained, or a person found guilty of certain corrupt or illegal practices)
Individuals must be registered to vote by midnight twelve working days before polling day. Anyone who qualifies as an anonymous elector has approximately five working days before polling day to register. A person who has two homes (such as a university student who has a term-time address and lives at home during holidays) may be able to register to vote at both addresses as long as they are not in the same electoral area, but can only vote in one constituency at the general election.
Date of the election
Under the Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022, the Prime Minister has the power to call an election at any time during the five-year length of a parliamentary session. If the Prime Minister chooses not to call an election, then parliament is automatically dissolved 5 years after the day it first met,[9] and a general election is held 25 working days after dissolution.[citation needed] The 2024 parliament first met on 9 July 2024,[10] meaning that if an election isn't called, parliament will be automatically dissolved on 9 July 2029, and the latest an election could be held is 15 August 2029.
Opinion polling
Election polling
Most national opinion polls do not cover Northern Ireland, which has different major political parties from the rest of the United Kingdom. This distinction is made in the tables below in the area column, where "GB" means Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales), and "UK" means the entire United Kingdom. Plaid Cymru only stand candidates in Wales and the Scottish National Party only stand candidates in Scotland.
As of 12 July 2024[update], no voting intent opinion polls have yet been published since the 2024 general election.
| Dates conducted |
Pollster | Client | Area | Sample size |
Lab | Con | Reform | Lib Dem | Green | SNP | Others | Lead |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 Jul 2024 | 2024 general election | – | UK | – | 33.7% | 23.7% | 14.3% | 12.2% | 6.8% | 2.5% | 6.8% | 10.0 |
| GB | 34.7% | 24.4% | 14.7% | 12.5% | 6.9% | 2.5% | 4.3% | 10.3 |
Leadership approval polling
Various organisations have carried out opinion polling to gauge the opinions that voters hold towards political leaders. The polling companies listed are members of the British Polling Council (BPC) and abide by its disclosure rules.
| Dates conducted |
Pollster | Sample size |
Keir Starmer | Rishi Sunak | Nigel Farage | Ed Davey | Carla Denyer | Adrian Ramsay | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos. | Neg. | Net | Pos. | Neg. | Net | Pos. | Neg. | Net | Pos. | Neg. | Net | Pos. | Neg. | Net | Pos. | Neg. | Net | |||
| 5-8 July 2024 | YouGov | 2,102 | 44% | 47% | -3% | 23% | 70% | -47% | 27% | 65% | -38% | 34% | 29% | +5% | 13% | 16% | -3% | 7% | 14% | -7% |
Party approval polling
| Dates conducted |
Pollster | Sample size |
Lab | Con | Reform | Lib Dem | Green | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos. | Neg. | Net | Pos. | Neg. | Net | Pos. | Neg. | Net | Pos. | Neg. | Net | Pos. | Neg. | Net | |||
| 5-8 July 2024 | YouGov | 2,102 | 47% | 46% | +1% | 21% | 72% | -51% | 28% | 62% | -34% | 45% | 37% | +8% | 46% | 38% | +8% |
Notes
- ^ a b Includes 43 MPs sponsored by the Co-operative Party, who are designated Labour and Co-operative.[1] Cite error: The named reference "Labour" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ Subject to the result of the 2024 Conservative Party leadership election.
- ^ Stephen Flynn leads the SNP in the House of Commons.
- ^ Sinn Féin are abstentionists from Parliament. Michelle O'Neill leads Sinn Féin in Northern Ireland.
- ^ Liz Saville Roberts leads Plaid Cymru in the House of Commons.
- ^ Sorcha Eastwood is the sole Alliance Party MP in the House of Commons.
- ^ Robin Swann is the sole Ulster Unionist Party MP in the House of Commons.
- ^ Some media sources, such as BBC News, listed Labour's total as 412, by including the Speaker (who, to demonstrate his neutrality, had resigned his Labour Party membership on taking office).
- ^ In the current (from 2024) Parliament, the seven members of Sinn Féin follow a policy of abstentionism. They do not swear into the house, and do not take part in its formal processes (doing so would also compel a by-election).[5] The speaker and deputy speakers (expected to be two Conservative and one Labour) by convention exercise only a casting vote.[6]
References
- ^ "About: Members of Parliament". Co-operative Party. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
- ^ "Election 2024: Results". BBC News. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
- ^ Cracknell, Richard; Baker, Carl; Pollock, Loui (26 July 2024). "General election 2024 results – House of Commons Library". UK Parliament. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
- ^ "About: Members of Parliament". Co-operative Party. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
- ^ Kelly, Conor (19 August 2019). "Understanding Sinn Féin's Abstention from the UK Parliament". E-International Relations. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
- ^ Boothroyd, David. "House of Commons: Tied Divisions". United Kingdom Election Results. Archived from the original on 6 March 2008. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
- ^ Zodgekar, Ketaki; Baker, Finn (5 July 2024). "How big is the Labour government's majority?". Retrieved 24 July 2024.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Types of election, referendums, and who can vote". GOV.UK. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
- ^ Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022 (legislation.gov.uk), section 4 "Automatic dissolution of Parliament after five years"
- ^ "What happens next in the House of Commons". parliament.uk. 4 July 2024. Retrieved 8 July 2024.