Politics

General election 2019 explained: Date, time, schedule – How does the election process work


Britain could be gearing up to return to the polls as a December election could be on the cards. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is trying for the fourth time to take Britain to the polls today – and this time, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn says his party is ready.

Addressing the shadow cabinet this morning, Mr Corbyn said: “I have consistently said that we are ready for an election and our support is subject to a No Deal Brexit being off the table.

“We have now heard from the EU that the extension of Article 50 to January 31 has been confirmed, so for the next three months, our condition of taking no deal off the table has now been met.

“We will now launch the most ambitious and radical campaign for real change our country has ever seen.”

The Prime Minister only needs a simple majority to pass the bill he is planning to bring forward today, meaning it’s likely it will pass once Labour give their backing.

READ MORE: General election 2019 polls tracker: Who could win a snap election? 

There are 650 Members of Parliament (MPs) in the UK Parliament.

Most candidates are from a political party but there can also be independent candidates.

After a general election, the leader of the party with the most MPs is asked by the Queen to become Prime Minister and to form a government that will run the country.

The leader of the party with the second highest number of MPs becomes the Leader of the Opposition.

Currently, Conservative leader Boris Johnson is the Prime Minister and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is the leader of the Opposition.

To vote in a general election you must:

  • Be registered to vote
  • Be 18 or over on the day of the election
  • Be a British, Irish or qualifying Commonwealth citizen
  • Be resident at an address in the UK (or a British citizen living abroad who has been registered to vote in the UK in the last 15 years)
  • Not be legally excluded from voting



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