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Next United Kingdom general election ^[1]

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All 650 seats to the House of Commons
Leader David Cameron Harriet Harman (acting leader) Nick Clegg Party Conservative Labour Liberal Democrats Leader since 6 December 2005 11 May 2010 18 December 2007 Leader's seat Witney Camberwell and Peckham Sheffield Hallam Last election 306 seats, 36.1% 258 seats, 29.0% 57 seats, 23.0% Current seats 306 258 57 Seats needed +20 +68 +269

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Template:FixBunching The next United Kingdom general election will be the election to the 56th Parliament. The election must be held by 7 May 2015, barring an Act of Parliament. Under the terms of the coalition agreement between the Conservative Party and Liberal Democrats, the two parties which make up the current government, the election will be held on 7 May 2015. ^[2] The general election will see voting take place in all Parliamentary constituencies of the United Kingdom, in order to appoint Members of Parliament (MPs) to seats in the House of Commons, the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom

This will be the 55th general election for the United Kingdom since 1801 (as opposed to previous elections going back centuries for earlier Parliaments in England, Scotland and Ireland), though the resultant Parliament will be the 56th, as the first Parliament came about after the co-option of members from the Parliament of Great Britain and the Parliament of Ireland.

An election is usually called following the dissolution of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The power to dissolve Parliament is a Royal Prerogative, exercised by the Queen on the advice of the Prime Minister. It is extremely unusual for the Sovereign to refuse a request for dissolution. The guidelines under which this might occur are known as the Lascelles Principles after the Civil Servant who set them out (note that in common with much UK constitutional law, this was a codification of existing convention rather than new policy). The PM's control over the timing of the election can be used for tactical advantage by an incumbent government. For example, the Conservatives' decisive gains in the 1983 election are party attributable to the recent victory in the Falklands War.

Under the provisions of the Septennial Act 1715, as amended by the Parliament Act 1911, the election must be held on or before Thursday 7 May 2015, barring exceptional circumstances. Since the enactment of the Septennial Act 1715, Parliament has never been allowed to expire.

The previous general election, held on 6 May 2010, elected MPs to the 55th Parliament which begins on 18 May 2010; as such, it will expire at the end of 17 May 2015. ^{[3] [4]} Since the last day that a proclamation summoning a new Parliament can be issued is this day of expiration, election timetables dictate that the latest possible date for the election is 11 June 2015. ^[4]

Prior to the 2010 general election, both the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats had pledged to introduce fixed-term elections. ^[5] As part of the Conservative – Liberal Democrat Coalition Agreement, they Government will seek to introduce fixed-term Parliaments, with the date of the next general election being 7 May 2015. ^[6] This would coincide with the 2015 Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly elections, which are held on a four-year fixed-term basis. To make the fixed-legislation meaningful, a prime minister would no longer have the power to advise the Queen to call an early election. Rather, the proposal called for early dissolutions to occur only if Parliament voted to for one by a supermajority of 55%, although a government could still lose a vote of no confidence and be replaced on a normal majority of 50% plus one. Later, the Government chose to increase the proposed supermajority to two-thirds, as is used by the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly. When doing so, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg clarified that Parliament would be dissolved if no new government could be formed within 14 days of a no-confidence vote. ^[7]

It is possible for constituencies to be forced to delay their date of polling. In each of the two preceding general elections, there has been a constituency forced to delay their vote, due to the death of a candidate. ^[8]

In the election, each parliamentary constituency of the United Kingdom elects one MP to one seat in the House of Commons using the 'first past the post' system. If one party were to obtain a majority of seats, then that party would be entitled to form the Government.

If the election results in no single party having a majority, then there is a hung parliament. In this case the options for forming the Government would be either a coalition government or a minority government. If neither is feasible, then this will usually lead to another election.

Before the previous general election the Liberal Democrats pledged to change the voting system, and the Labour Party pledged to have a referendum about changing the voting system. ^[5] The Conservatives also pledged to keep first past the post, but to cut the number of constituencies by 10%. Liberal Democrat plans were to reduce the number of MPs to 500 elected using a proportional system. The Conservative – Liberal Democrat Coalition Agreement commits the coalition government to a referendum on the introduction of alternative vote for the Commons. ^[9]

• Electoral Calculus
• UK Polling Report Voting Intentions
• TheyWantYourVote Independent information on election candidates in England, Scotland and Wales

• Boundary Commission for England
• Boundary Commission for Scotland
• Boundary Commission for Wales
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