All data on the election in Great Britain

The polling stations are open, Great Britain is preparing for political upheavals: Surveys indicate significant losses for the Conservatives in the anticipated early elections to the British House of Commons. Has Rishi Sunak miscalculated? Data and infographics in the overview.

Big Election Day in the United Kingdom: Since early morning hours, voting for the Parliamentary election has been underway. Polling stations opened at 7:00 am (local time, 8:00 am CET). Opinion pollsters expect a landslide victory for the Labour Party. Labour leader Keir Starmer has the best chances of unseating the incumbent Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in the British government seat in Downing Street. The Conservatives were trailing the Labour Party by around 20 percentage points in the latest polls.

Approximately 46.6 million registered voters in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland have been called upon to determine the power balance in the British House of Commons on this 4th of July. The trigger for the early elections was a controversial decision by the incumbent Prime Minister Sunak: The Conservative Party leader sought a sort of liberation stroke following the debacle of the local elections in early May.

Labour leader and opposition leader Keir Starmer spoke of a "chance for a better change." After 14 years, he argued, it was time for a change. "Stop the chaos," he urged the British public during the campaign, "start a new chapter and begin the rebuilding." Sunak, on the other hand, campaigned primarily on far-reaching tax cuts and a tough immigration policy to win votes. At the same time, he presented himself as a guarantor of security and economic strength.

"Now is the moment for Britain," Sunak declared at the end of May during a speech before his office in Downing Street in the pouring rain, "to choose its future and decide whether we want to build on the achievements or whether we risk returning to the beginning without a plan and without certainty."

For the 44-year-old Sunak, this election is his first real test on a national level. He was appointed party leader of the Conservatives without a ballot in October 2022 and subsequently became Prime Minister. "I am the one who is ready to take bold actions," Sunak insisted. "I have a clear plan and that's why I will provide you and your family with security."

It remains to be seen if Sunak's promises will be enough to steer the ship back on course. "The people of Britain are yearning for a change," the leader of the Liberal Democrats (LibDem), Ed Davey, remarked. "And this election is our chance to finally bring it about." The polls indicate a very pronounced swing vote.

Britain's incumbent Prime Minister appeared restless before the vote. Two weeks before the vote, Sunak had to find a new campaign manager. Tony Lee, the Conservative Party's strategy planner, found himself under scrutiny in relation to bets on the election date.

Read about Frau Laura Sanders, who is running for the conservative Tories, possibly with insider knowledge, bet on a July election. Betting based on insider information is illegal in Britain. The case caused high waves on the island.

The list of scandals, political failures, and mistakes of the British government under Sunak is long. The conservative Tories have been in power in the House of Commons, officially known as the British Parliament, since the Labour defeat under Gordon Brown and the election victory of David Cameron in May 2010.

Cameron's Tory party was able to defend its majority in the regular scheduled parliamentary elections in 2010 and 2015, and even in the Brexit chaos following Cameron's controversial EU referendum and the unexpected elections in June 2017 and December 2019, the Conservatives managed to stay in control.

British politics, however, has not been at peace since the 2016 referendum vote on the United Kingdom's exit from the EU. The Britons have already experienced five Conservative Party prime ministers since then: After Cameron came Theresa May and later Boris Johnson, then Liz Truss for a few weeks, and finally Rishi Sunak took over the reins of power in Downing Street No. 10 from Truss in the autumn of 2022.

Looking Back: Parliamentary Election 2019

At the parliamentary elections on July 4, 2024, all 650 seats in the British Parliament are up for grabs. Elections are held throughout the United Kingdom, that is, in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. One seat is won per constituency. The 650 members of parliament represent their respective constituencies.

According to the parliamentary electoral commission, there are 543 MPs for England (previously: 533), Scotland sends 57 (instead of the previous 59), 32 come from Wales (previously: 40), and Northern Ireland continues to contribute 18 "Members of Parliament". The number and boundaries of the constituencies - the so-called Constituencies - are aligned with population figures.

Elected for five years

British electoral law determines the winner: Voters, both male and female, each have only one vote to cast. Winners in the 650 constituencies are those who receive the most votes locally. The "winner takes it all" rule of the majority electoral system favors local candidates and larger parties. The shares of votes of the losing candidates expire.

Members of the British Parliament are elected for a regular term of five years. Voters must register beforehand. The deadline for registration is June 18 for the upcoming election. Afterwards, it is free for Britons, Scots, Welsh, and Northern Irish to vote at the polling station on election day or to vote by mail beforehand.

Elections in the United Kingdom are traditionally held on a Thursday. The polling stations opened on schedule at 7:00 am (local time, 8:00 am CET) on July 4 and closed only in the late evening at 10:00 pm (CET: 11:00 pm). Immediately afterwards, the vote counting begins.

Immediately after the polling stations close, British media will publish first prognoses on the election outcome. With initial results from individual constituencies, reckoning is only in the course of the night. The count is estimated by the BBC to be completed presumably on Friday morning. At the latest then, the preliminary result should determine whether there will be a power shift in the United Kingdom after 14 years under the Conservatives or not.

Despite the Conservatives' losses predicted in the anticipated early elections to the British House of Commons, Rishi Sunak, the Conservative Party leader and incumbent Prime Minister of Great Britain, continues to campaign heavily, promising far-reaching tax cuts and a tough immigration policy to win votes.
If the polls indicating a landslide victory for the Labour Party under leader Keir Starmer are accurate, it could mark the end of the Conservative Party's 14-year reign in the British House of Commons, as the Britons have the opportunity to determine the power balance in the elections on July 4th.
The Conservative Party's controversial decision to call for early elections, which triggered the current Parliamentary election, has been met with criticism and scrutiny, especially after the party's local election losses in May.
The potential outcomes of the British House of Commons election, which includes candidates from the Conservative Party, Labour Party, Liberal Democrats, and others, will significantly impact the political landscape of Great Britain, particularly with regards to Brexit and future economic policies.