UK General Election 2024 Date, Who is eligible to vote and how to register?

During UK General Election 2024, citizens across the UK get to pick their Member of Parliament (MP), who will speak for their local area in the House of Commons for a maximum of five years. The party that secures the majority of seats in the House of Commons, either independently or through a coalition, will establish the next government, with its leader assuming the role of prime minister.

Following King Charles III’s approval of UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s call to dissolve Parliament and arrange new General Elections, British citizens and political parties are preparing for an earlier-than-anticipated trip to the polls. In this electoral process, voters will elect 650 members of the House of Commons, the lower legislative body, for a standard five-year term.

UK General Election 2024 Date

The 2024 UK General Election is set for Thursday, July 4, 2024, as decided by the UK Government. This marks the first major changes since the 2010 general election and introduces a new requirement: voters must present physical identification at polling stations.

The announcement was made following a meeting between Sunak and his cabinet ministers at Downing Street. With 25 working days allocated for election preparations, the election must be held by January 28, 2025, falling in the latter half of 2024.

Parliaments have a maximum term of five years from their initial meeting date. The current parliament convened on December 17, 2019, and would have automatically dissolved on December 17, 2024.

Who is eligible to vote in UKs general election?

In a general election, each person gets one vote. The candidate with the most votes becomes the MP for the area, following a system known as “first past the post.” Here are the eligibility criteria for voting in the UK General Election 2024:

• You must be 18 years or older on polling day.
• You should be a British citizen and not legally barred from voting.
• All UK citizens living abroad can register to vote, regardless of their previous residency status, as long as they are not legally excluded.
• Members of the House of Lords cannot vote.
• If you’re unable to vote in person despite being registered, you can apply for a vote.
• You can register to vote if you have the right to enter or remain in the UK, providing proof of identity during the application process.
• If you applied for a vote before October 31, 2023, you need to reapply as it has expired.
• You must present documents like passports, driving licences, or older or disabled person’s bus passes.
• An expired photo ID is acceptable if you still resemble the photo.
• The deadline to apply for a voter authority certificate for the general election is Wednesday, June 26.

How to register for the UK general election?

Typically, you only need to register once, not for each election. Here are the services available for registering to vote in the UK General Election:

• Enroll to vote in elections or referendums.
• Opt in or out of the open register.
• If you live in the UK and need to update your name, address, or nationality, you can re-register with your new details.
• Whenever you move house, it’s important to register to vote again.
• If you change your name for any reason, you can contact your local council’s electoral services team to request a name change.

Predictions of UK General Election

The future is never certain, but by using advanced modeling techniques, we can estimate the likelihood of different outcomes in the upcoming general election. These estimates consider potential alliances between the Conservative and Reform parties, as well as between Labour, the Liberal Democrats, SNP, and Plaid Cymru.

It’s widely expected that Sunak’s Conservative Party will not win the election. Labour has consistently led in general election opinion polls since late 2021, maintaining a significant lead throughout Sunak’s time as prime minister.

While recent local elections might suggest a narrower victory for Labour compared to polling, it’s tricky to make nationwide predictions based solely on local votes in certain areas. This scenario echoes the experience of the former Labour leader in the 2017 general election, who overcame similar challenges and eventually led to a hung parliament.

Party leaders are already campaigning, but Parliament still has a few days to address pressing issues before officially dissolving 25 days before polling day. After dissolution, the Parliament formed in the 2019 general election will cease to exist, and Sunak’s government will continue to govern the country.

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