Description of Electoral System:

(courtesy of IFES election guide)

The monarchy is hereditary. In the the House of Lords, 526 members are appointed by the monarch and 92 members are inherited. In the the House of Commons 659 members are elected by popular vote to serve 5-year terms.

Electoral Systems Snapshot

(Courtesy of International IDEA)

*Click on links for definitions

WANT MORE ELECTION RELATED STATS FOR UNITED KINGDOM? Go to "election databases" on the left-hand menu of this page OR comparative data on the right-hand menu and choose your area of interest.

Most recent election

(courtesy of wikipedia)

2009 European Parliament Elections

The European Parliament election was the United Kingdom's component of the 2009 European Parliament election, the voting which was held on Thursday 4 June 2009, coinciding with local elections in England.

In total, 72 Members of the European Parliament were elected from the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland. Owing to expansion of the EU, the number of elected members for the United Kingdom was fewer than in 2004. This is because the total number of MEPs increased temporarily with the accession of Bulgaria and Romania in 2007, but was subsequently reduced again in accordance with the Treaty of Nice. The number of members elected from each region was modified by the Boundary Commission and Electoral Commission, based on the size of the electorate in each region.

Notable outcomes were the significant drop in support for the "Labour Party", the "UK Independence Party" finishing second in a major election for the first time in its history, and the election of two candidates from the nationalistic right-wing "British National Party". It was the first time the "Scotish National Party" won the largest share of the European election vote in Scotland, and it was the first time since 1918 Labour had failed to come first in a Welsh election (which the "Conservative Party" did with 21.2 percent of the popular vote). In Northern Ireland, "Democratic Unionist Party" had their worst ever European election result, while the left-wing pro-Ireland republicanism "Sinn Féin" made progress.

Past Elections

(courtesy of wikipedia)

2005 General Elections  

The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, with a reduced overall majority of 66 Members of Parliament (MPs). In 2007, Blair was succeeded as Prime Minster by Gordon Brown.¹

The general election took place in 646 constituencies across the United Kingdom, for seats in the House of Commons. All but one constituency polled on 5 May; the South Staffordshire vote was postponed and took place on 23 June due to the death of a candidate.

The election was held under the first-past-the-post system. Local elections in parts of England and in Northern Ireland were held on the same day. The polls were open for 15 hours, from 07:00 to 22:00 BST. The election came just over three weeks after the dissolution of Parliament on 11 April by Queen Elizabeth II, at the request of former Prime Minister, Tony Blair.

¹Gordon Brown, Blair's Chancellor of the Exchequer during his entire ten years in office, was appointed as Leader of the Labour Party on 24 June 2007 and as Prime Minister on 27 June 2007.