43-604: Independent Unionist has been a label sometimes used by candidates in elections in the United Kingdom , indicating a support for British unionism (not to be confused with trade unionism ). It is most popularly associated with candidates in elections for the Parliament of Northern Ireland . Such candidates supported the positions of Unionism in Northern Ireland but, for various reasons, could not reconcile to themselves to
86-641: A Director of Social Services . The right of Commonwealth and Irish citizens to vote is a legacy of the Representation of the People Act 1918 , which limited the vote to British subjects. At that time, "British subjects" included the people of Ireland — then part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland — and all other parts of the British Empire . Though most of Ireland (see Ireland Act 1949 ) and
129-485: A Crown Servant declaration, allowing them to vote in all UK elections. An individual can register as an anonymous elector if his/her safety (or that of any other person in the same household) would be at risk were his/her name and address to be disclosed publicly on the Electoral Register, but the application needs to be supported by a relevant court order, injunction or an attestation by a chief police officer or
172-457: A Thursday, and under the provisions of the Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022 the timing of general elections can be held at the discretion of the prime minister during any five-year period. All other types of elections are held after fixed periods, though early elections to the devolved assemblies and parliaments can occur in certain situations. The five electoral systems used are:
215-418: 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 (though an elector can only vote once in any single election or referendum). In addition, to qualify to appear on the Electoral Register, applicants who are Commonwealth citizens must either possess leave to enter or remain in
258-476: Is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that repealed the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 and reinstated the prior constitutional situation, by reviving the power of the monarch to dissolve and summon parliament . As the monarch exercises this power at the request of the prime minister, this restored the power of the prime minister to have a general election called at a time chosen by
301-892: The 1922 Irish general election , and would each continue to serve in the Irish Free State either as Independent TDs or, in Fitzgibbon's case, as a judge. Elections in the United Kingdom King Charles III [REDACTED] William, Prince of Wales [REDACTED] Charles III ( King-in-Council ) [REDACTED] Starmer ministry ( L ) Keir Starmer ( L ) Angela Rayner ( L ) ( King-in-Parliament ) [REDACTED] Charles III [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] The Lord Reed The Lord Hodge Andrew Bailey Monetary Policy Committee There are five types of elections in
344-543: The Electoral Office for Northern Ireland . Knowingly giving false information to an electoral registration officer anywhere in the UK is an offence with a maximum penalty, upon conviction, of £5,000 and/or six months' imprisonment. Each district council or unitary authority has an Electoral Register which is compiled by the electoral registration officer listing all registered electors. The Electoral Register contains
387-660: The Independent Unionist Association , which was distinct from other Independent Unionists. Four MPs elected to the Southern Ireland House of Commons for Dublin University at the 1921 election . They were the only MPs to attend the opening of the Parliament of Southern Ireland , as all other members, who had been elected for Sinn Féin , sat as members of the Second Dáil . All four were elected again at
430-664: The Ulster Unionist Party or other groups. It was also used by Unionists in what became the Irish Free State , as they were unionists, but not in Ulster. The label was also used in Scotland , demonstrating an association with ideology of the Unionist Party , the predecessor to the modern Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party . At the 1938 Northern Ireland general election Tommy Henderson and five defeated candidates stood for
473-404: The United Kingdom can register as an overseas voter provided that they were on the Electoral Register in the UK within the previous 15 years. The 15-year period begins when they no longer appeared in the electoral register, not the date they moved abroad. British citizens who moved abroad before they turned 18 years old can still qualify for registration, with the 15-years period calculated from
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#1733085670154516-533: The electoral registration officer (except in Northern Ireland , where the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland assumes both responsibilities). The Electoral Commission sets standards for and issues guidelines to returning officers and electoral registration officers , and is responsible for nationwide electoral administration (such as the registration of political parties and directing the administration of national referendums). The total number of names in
559-404: The electoral registration officer . The officer adds them to a list of applications (unless they are applications to register as an anonymous elector ). The list is open for inspection for five working days, during which any other elector may raise an objection to an application. The electoral registration officer can initiate an application hearing if there are reasonable integrity concerns about
602-481: The rolling registration procedure applies instead. Applications must be submitted individually (unlike the annual canvass forms where one person is responsible for registering all eligible people in a household) using registration forms available from local electoral registration officers or the Electoral Commission's website . Although no proof of identity or address is necessary when submitting an application,
645-412: The single member plurality system ( first-past-the-post ), the multi-member plurality , the single transferable vote , the additional member system , and the supplementary vote . Elections are administered locally: in each lower-tier local authority , the polling procedure is operated by the returning officer or acting returning officer, and the compiling and maintenance of the electoral roll by
688-474: The whole of Cyprus ), can apply to the electoral registration officer in the local authority area where they reside with a 'considerable degree of permanence' to be listed in that area's Electoral Register. In Scotland and Wales , those fulfilling the nationality requirements (as stated in the previous paragraph), or who otherwise hold leave to remain (limited or indefinite) in the UK, who will be aged 16 or over on polling day can register to vote, as
731-642: The Fixed Term Parliaments Act – it has led to paralysis at a time the country needed decisive action", and the Labour Party manifesto also pledged to repeal the Act, saying "A Labour government will repeal the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011, which has stifled democracy and propped up weak governments". An earlier private member's bill titled the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 (Repeal) Bill
774-458: The Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 (Repeal) Bill was published on 1 December 2020 for consideration by the parliamentary Joint Committee on the Fixed-term Parliaments Act. In evidence submitted to the joint committee from December 2020 to January 2021, legal experts highlighted a number of contentious points in the legal implications of the Bill. One of these was whether the power of dissolution created by
817-563: The Fixed-term Parliaments Act. In response to the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom ruling that the 2019 prorogation was unlawful, the act contains an ouster clause which seeks to ensure the non-justiciability of the revived prerogative powers. This could prevent the courts from making rulings in relation to the sovereign's power to dissolve Parliament. Shortly after becoming prime minister in July 2019, Boris Johnson held three votes in
860-586: The Government's Digital By Default policy , voters in England and Wales can register to the electoral roll online. Special category electors do not register through the annual canvass procedure. Instead, they submit applications at any time during the year and have to renew their electoral application periodically (every one year for overseas electors and voters with a declaration of local connection and every three years for service voters). Applications are received by
903-670: The House of Commons to try to gain its approval to call a general election, but failed to achieve the two-thirds parliamentary majority required by the Fixed-term Parliaments Act. A general election was called by passing a separate Act, the Early Parliamentary General Election Act 2019 . Ahead of this 2019 general election , the Conservative Party manifesto included a commitment to repeal the FTPA, saying "We will get rid of
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#1733085670154946-438: The UK or not require such leave on the date of their application and no applicant may be 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 . In Northern Ireland , from 1949 until 2014, a minimum of three months’ residency in the territory was required for registration. This requirement
989-455: The United Kingdom : elections to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom (commonly called 'general elections' when all seats are contested), elections to devolved parliaments and assemblies, local elections, mayoral elections, and Police and Crime Commissioner elections. Within each of those categories, there may also be by-elections . Elections are held on Election Day , which is conventionally
1032-538: The United Kingdom appearing in Electoral Registers published on 1 December 2010 and based on a qualifying date of 15 October 2010 was 45,844,691. In England , anyone who will be aged 18 or over on polling day and who is a national of the United Kingdom (all forms of British nationality but excluding British protected persons ), the Republic of Ireland , a Commonwealth country (including Fiji , Zimbabwe and
1075-589: The age for voting in the Scottish Parliament and the Senedd respectively, and local elections in both countries is 16. However, voters in Scotland and Wales under 18 are not entitled to vote in UK general elections. A person can still register at their ordinary address if they will be away temporarily (for example, away working, on holiday, in student accommodation or in hospital). A person who has two homes (such as
1118-454: The application. In Northern Ireland , there is no annual canvass, and instead people register individually at any time during the year. Applicants must supply their National Insurance number or, if they do not have one, make a declaration to that effect. Proof of identity, address, three months' residency in NI and date of birth must also be included with applications, which are submitted by post to
1161-411: The bill would in fact be derived from the royal prerogative , or whether it would be a statutory power . The Sydney constitutional law professor Anne Twomey argued that the bill could not revive the royal prerogative by definition, since a prerogative is a non-statutory executive power and common law is created by courts and not legislatures. Cambridge public law professor Alison Young stated that
1204-477: The clause may fail in practice, with Lord Lisvane describing its wording as "a probably doomed attempt to sidestep the Anisminic principle ". Lord Sumption argued that though a "sufficiently desperate" court could likely find a way to circumvent the ouster clause, its presence in the bill should serve to discourage such attempts. The joint committee published its report on the bill on 24 March 2021. The majority of
1247-422: The committee held that the ouster clause was acceptable given that "Parliament should be able to designate certain matters as ones which are to be resolved in the political rather than the judicial sphere", and could not be considered an overreach of executive authority since "the power in question is to enable the electorate to determine who should hold power". On the issue of the prerogative, the committee held that
1290-418: The constitutional situation prior to 2011. Section 3, an ouster clause , removes questions over the exercise of these powers, over any decision relating to them, and over their limits and extent from the jurisdiction of courts and tribunals. Finally, the act provides for Parliament's automatic dissolution once five years have elapsed from its first meeting after an election (section 4). The original draft of
1333-487: The course of the annual canvass , which electoral registration officers are obliged to conduct every year between August and November. Canvass forms are sent to all households, and must be returned, otherwise a fine of £1000 can be imposed. One person in the household must confirm the details of all residents who are existing electors, which includes adding or deleting residents who have moved in or out and are eligible to register to vote. Between December and early August,
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1376-495: The date their parent(s)/guardian ceased to appear in the Electoral Register. Overseas voters can only vote in UK parliamentary elections in the constituency of their last registered UK address (or for those who moved abroad as a minor, the last registered UK address of their parent(s)/guardian). British citizens who are away overseas temporarily do not need to register as overseas electors and can register to vote at their UK address. The right for overseas voters to vote in UK elections
1419-420: The electoral registration officer can require the applicant to provide further information regarding the applicant's age, nationality, residence and whether or not they are disqualified and/or evidence to prove the applicant's age and/or nationality. Application forms can be returned to the local electoral registration officer by post, by fax or by e-mail as a scanned attachment. As of June 2014, as part of
1462-509: The majority of the colonies became independent nations, their citizens have retained the right to vote if they live in the United Kingdom. In theory, members of the Royal Family who are not members of the House of Lords (including those who are peers who lost their right to sit following the House of Lords Act 1999) are eligible to vote, although in practice they do not exercise that right. In Great Britain , most electors are enrolled during
1505-438: The matter was unclear. In contrast, the former Supreme Court judges Baroness Hale and Lord Sumption , as well as a former First Parliamentary Counsel , Sir Stephen Laws , said that the prerogative could be restored by Parliament. Secondly, some specialists questioned the validity of the bill's ouster clause. Lord Lisvane and Malcolm Jack , both former Clerks of the House of Commons , as well as Alison Young, argued that
1548-509: The monarch ought to have the power to refuse a request from the prime minister to dissolve Parliament. In its statement of principles accompanying the draft bill, the government had stated that "in future Parliament will be dissolved by the Sovereign, on the advice of the Prime Minister". In the system preceding the Fixed-term Parliaments Act, however, dissolution was requested, not advised, by
1591-531: The name, qualifying address and electoral number of every ordinary elector, the name of every special category elector (such as service voters) and the electoral number of every anonymous elector. Any elector who was not aged 18 yet at the time of registration will also have his/her date of birth printed. Each district's Electoral Register is subdivided into separate registers for each polling district. Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022 The Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022 (c. 11)
1634-596: The prime minister, meaning that the monarch reserved the right to decline the request. The committee called on the government to "make it clear that the power to grant or refuse a dissolution returns to the Monarch, who in exceptional cases, may refuse the request". The Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Bill was introduced by Michael Gove , the minister for the Cabinet Office , to the House of Commons and received its first reading on 12 May 2021. On 9 February 2022,
1677-452: The prime minister. It was originally drafted as the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 (Repeal) Bill . Announced formally in the 2021 State Opening of Parliament , it received its first reading on 12 May 2021 and received Royal Assent on 24 March 2022. It was introduced by Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster , Michael Gove . The act fulfilled the government's manifesto promise to repeal
1720-510: The wording of the bill was sufficient to restore the substance, if not necessarily the form, of the constitutional situation prior to the Fixed-term Parliaments Act. The committee also recommended that the draft be retitled the Dissolution and Summoning of Parliament Bill, considering that the bill would be a fundamental constitutional statute and would do more than simply repeal the Fixed-term Parliaments Act. The committee also considered whether
1763-510: Was removed in the Northern Ireland (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014. Remand prisoners, voluntary patients in mental hospitals and people without a fixed place of residence can register to vote by making a declaration of local connection . Members of HM Forces and their immediate family members have the option of registering as a service voter , by making a service declaration based on their last UK address. British citizens (but not other categories of British nationals) residing outside
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1806-452: Was introduced by Lord Mancroft in the House of Lords in February 2020, but did not proceed beyond first reading. The act repeals the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 (section 1) and revives the powers relating to the dissolution and calling of Parliaments derived from the royal prerogative "as if the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 had never been enacted" (section 2), in effect restoring
1849-404: Was revised in 2024; both the 15-year limitation and also the requirement to have already been on an electoral register were removed. A revised online registration procedure for voters (including overseas voters) was implemented on 16 January 2024. Crown servants and British Council employees (as well as their spouses who live abroad ) employed in a post outside the UK can register by making
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