How the UK Election Works
How does the General Election work? Read on for all you need to know...
The General Election will decide which political party assumes the role of the Government in the United Kingdom. The Government has been formed by the Labour Party since their famous win under Tony Blair in 1997, yet 13 years later the Conservative Party, led by David Cameron, are on the cusp of victory once more, if the polls and betting markets are to be believed.
The Labour Party will call the date of the 2010 General Election and campaigning by all parties is already well under way. The onus is on each party to raise campaign funds, although a cap of £18,000,000 has been set on the amount that each party can spend on their election campaign.
The UK operates a 'First Past The Post' electoral system, which means that the political party which gains the most constituency seats in the House of Commons will be declared as the winner, with the leader of that party becoming the next Prime Minister.
There are 650 House of Commons seats up for grabs, with candidates from different parties standing for election in each constituency. Voters select which candidate they wish to vote for and the one with the most votes in his or her constituency wins the seat and is elected to Westminster. The number of winning candidates from each party is totted up and the party with the most seat-holders is the election victor.
Interestingly enough, this system means that it is possible for one party to gain less overall votes then another but actually go onto win the election, as occurred in 1974 when Labour won more seats in Parliament than the Conservatives, even though they had received fewer votes nationwide.
Gaining more seats than any other party is the immediate aim, however gaining an overall majority is unquestionably the chief target. An overall majority is obtained when one party wins more seats than all of the other parties combined i.e. 326 seats.
If one party does not obtain an overall majority then we have what is known as a 'Hung Parliament', which results in either a coalition government or the dissolution of Parliament. Coalition governments can often benefit smaller parties who suddenly find themselves playing critical roles in forming the government, which subsequently gives them a large sway in the decision-making process.
The UK hasn't had a Hung Parliament after an election since 1974, although one can be brought about as a result of small Government majority being eroded away by by-election results, as occurred to John Major's government in 1996.