UK General Election 2024: All About How Brits Elect Their PM And New Government — Explained

As head of state, the monarch -- currently King Charles III -- nominates the leader of the biggest party in parliament as prime minister

It is predicted that Sunak may even lose his own seat in parliament, becoming the first sitting prime minister to do so

 As the United States celebrates its Independence Day on Thursday (July 4), the United Kingdom is voting to elect a new prime minister and Parliament. Several pre-poll surveys suggest the British elections will be a landslide, with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's Conservative Party likely to lose big.

The opposition Labour Party is expected to form the next British, ending 14 years of Conservative rule. It is predicted that Sunak may even lose his own seat in parliament, becoming the first sitting prime minister to do so.

As Brits vote to form their new government, here is a quick guide to how the UK choose new members of parliament.

Total Number of Seats And Candidates

There are 650 seats up for grabs across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. A party needs to secure at least 326 seats to have a majority in parliament. A total of 543 seats are in England and 57 in Scotland, with 32 in Wales and 18 in Northern Ireland.

Voting is taking place on all 650 seats in the lower chamber or the House of Commons of Parliament. A total of 4,515 candidates from 98 different political parties -- are contesting polls. Of them, 459 are independents and 30 per cent are women.

In all, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's Tories are fielding candidates in 635 seats, with 631 for Keir Starmer's Labour and 630 for the Liberal Democrats, led by Ed Davey.

Reform UK, led by Nigel Farage, has 609 with 629 for Carla Denyer and Adrian Ramsay's Greens. The remainder are running for smaller parties or as independents.

According to a report by news agency AFP, the increase is down to hard-right Reform UK's decision to end its 2019 promise not to stand against the Conservatives, and more Green party hopefuls.

Polling And Counting of Votes

The voting is set to begin at 7:00 am (UK Standard Time) and will close at 10:00 pm. Electors vote in their constituency by making a cross on a ballot paper in front of any candidate's name.

To vote in the UK, a person should be a registered voter of over 18 years of age, and either a British, Irish or qualifying Commonwealth citizen, resident in the UK or registered as an overseas voter. Prisoners and members of the unelected upper chamber of parliament, the House of Lords, cannot vote.

There were over 46 million voters registered in the UK in December 2023, according to an AFP report. This number is likely to have risen closer to the election, which was called on May 22.

For the first time this year, British citizens who have lived outside the country for more than 15 years will be eligible to vote as well.

Ballots are counted immediately after polling ends, with the results declared from late evening into July 5.

The UK general election uses the first-past-the-post system, which means the candidate and party with the most votes wins.

How Government is Formed In the UK

For an overall majority, a party has to secure at least 326 seats. But in reality, the figure is lower, as the Speaker -- an MP who is by convention elected unopposed in his or her constituency -- and their three deputies -- also MPs -- do not vote in parliament.

MPs from the pro-Irish nationalist Sinn Fein party do not take up their seats in the UK parliament because they do not recognise British sovereignty over Northern Ireland.

As head of state, the monarch -- currently King Charles III -- nominates the leader of the biggest party in parliament as prime minister.

The next biggest party becomes His Majesty's Official Opposition, with a Shadow Cabinet of MPs as counterparts to government ministers.

The leader of the opposition goes head-to-head with the prime minister in parliament every week when parliament is sitting.

There is a hung parliament if no party has an overall majority. The biggest party may decide to form a minority government, requiring the support of other parties to pass legislation.

Alternatively, it can negotiate with one or more smaller parties to govern as a formal coalition, as happened in 2010 when the Conservatives ruled with the Liberal Democrats.

How UK Parliament Function?

MPs scrutinise and vote on proposals from the government, and can sit on parliamentary committees to study the work of the executive as a whole or specific issues.

Not all policy and proposed legislation is a matter for the UK parliament in Westminster. Areas such as health, transport, environment and housing are devolved to lawmakers in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Overview of 2019 UK Polls 

At the last general election, held on December 12, 2019, Boris Johnson's Conservatives were runaway winners with 365 seats, with Labour on 202.

The Scottish National Party won 48, followed by the Liberal Democrats on 11.

Northern Ireland's pro-UK Democratic Unionist Party secured eight seats, with Sinn Fein on seven, and Welsh nationalists Plaid Cymru on four.