It is almost four years since the nation last cast their votes on who should run the country and after local election results and resignations of late, the public might well be wondering when they can go to the polls again.
If recent local results and polls are anything to go by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and the Conservative party are likely feeling a little nervous about the next general election.
Mr Sunak became the Tory leader on October 24 last year – following previous competitor Liz Truss stepping down as PM after just 44 days.
The win made Mr Sunak the UK’s third Prime Minister in just three months – however, many have been left wondering when the public will next get to cast their votes.
But in May’s local elections, the Tories lost 48 councils and suffered a net loss of 1,061 councillors, with Labour now the largest party of local government, taking the title from the Tories for the first time since 2002.
The prospect of a general election is one that many have been keen to know more about since those results, and even more so after June’s news that former Green Party leader Caroline Lucas will stand down as an MP at the next election.
There have also been reports Mr Sunak was in the process of ‘planning a general election’ ahead of the local election results – so, when might it come along?
Here’s all you need to know.
When is the next UK general election?
While there is no set date next general election in the UK, it must be held no later than Thursday, January 23, 2025.
This is because they have to be held no more than five years apart, no matter how many Prime Ministers there are in the meantime.
By law, the maximum term of a Parliament is five years from the day on which it first met.
The current Parliament first met on Tuesday, December 17, 2019. It would automatically dissolve on Tuesday, December 17, 2024 – unless it was dissolved earlier by The King.
The general election (aka Polling Day) would take place 25 days later, according to gov.uk.
Could the general election come sooner?
Yes, it is possible that a general election could come sooner than 2025.
A source close to the Government has said the Prime Minister could be organising a general election right now.
The Telegraph has reported that Mr Sunak believes a national poll late in 2024 would give the Conservatives the best chance of remaining in power.
It is believed this is because it will give the economy a chance to experience an upswing while also allowing the new illegal migration bill to come into effect.
The announcement of yet another Conservative leader without the input of the general public has intensified calls for a general election.
It’s been suggested Mr Sunak and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt are considering cutting the headline rate of income tax in the autumn statement – which would be implemented in April 2024.
However, the notion of calling an early election has been rejected as the Conservatives trail behind Labour in the polls.
Trackers are currently placing the Tories 18 percentage points behind on average – down from 24 points when Mr Sunak took over in October.
Who can call a general election?
The decision to hold an early election usually rests with the Prime Minister.
After the repeal of the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act, the power to dissolve Parliament was passed back to the monarch on the advice or request of the Prime Minister, rather than done by a two-thirds majority in Parliament.
However, there are still several other routes via which an election could be called.
If the government was to lose a formal confidence vote in the Commons (whether called by itself to prove the house had confidence in the government or by the opposition to prove the house did not), Parliament is dissolved and an election is called.
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Though it is slightly less clear, this could also be the case if the government was to lose another type of confidence vote, such as a King’s Speech. Conventionally, rather than constitutionally, this would call for an election.
Finally, there is always the threat of running down the clock. Despite the repeal of the FTPA, an election must still be held no more than five years after the last one.
When was the last general election?
The last general election was held on Thursday, December 12, 2019.
The main contenders were then-Conservative leader Boris Johnson and then-Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.
Also vying for votes in the 2019 election were Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon for the Scottish National Party (SNP), Plaid Cymru’s leader Adam Price and then-Liberal Democrats leader Jo Swinson, among others.
The election saw the Conservative Party win a landslide majority of 80 seats.
The Conservatives made a net gain of 48 seats and won 43.6% of the popular vote – the highest percentage for any party since 1979.
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