General Elections

In the UK, a general election must be held at least every five years. The Prime Minister can request the monarch to dissolve Parliament earlier and call an election. On polling day (normally a Thursday), voters in each of the 650 constituencies elect one MP under the first-past-the-post system. The party that wins a majority of seats forms the next government.

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If no party wins an overall majority, the result is a "hung parliament" and parties may negotiate a coalition or a minority government with a confidence-and-supply arrangement. After 2010 the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats formed a coalition; after 2017 the Conservatives ran a minority government with DUP support.

You may be asked the maximum gap between general elections (five years), what first-past-the-post means, or what a hung parliament is.

Test yourself on this topic

These questions from the official-format question bank cover the same material. Tap any question to see the correct answer and a short explanation.

1. What will you be given to vote before a general election takes place?
2. In the House of Commons the government is formed by the party gaining the majority of the seats even if they do not get the most votes
3. At what age can you vote in a General Election in the UK?
4. What tells you where your polling station or polling place is and when the election will take place?
5. If it is difficult for you to get to a polling station or polling place
6. Which party forms the government?

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