Current general election rules
The 2011 for the first Thursday of May, five years after the previous . The Act mandated that early elections could be called only when two-thirds of MPs voted to approve one, or if a government lost a vote of confidence. of 2011 scheduled a
The Conservatives Party’s 2019 manifesto pledged to replace the Act, which it did with its passing of the Dissolution and Calling of Bill in March 2022.
This act returned powers to call elections to the government. As such a can be called at any point within a five year period of the previous .
Who calls a
?The Crown retains the powers to summon, prorogue and dissolve . However, these actions are traditionally taken after the sitting requests the monarch to do so.
By convention, this also happens if the government loses a no confidence vote in the House of Commons.
Example of gaps between previous UK general elections
1945: This was the first since 1935, given that general elections were suspended by for the duration of the Second World War in Europe. Labour rejected the continued suspension of a poll while war with Japan continued. This 1945 took place less than two months after VE Day. was defeated by Clement Attlee.
1974:Â In this year, there were two general elections. Conservative PM Ted Heath requested for the Queen to dissolve as his government faced difficulties resolving issues with employment and inflation. Voters went to the polls on 28 February. The , led by ex- Harold Wilson, gained 14 seats but was left 17 seats short of an overall majority in a so called . After months of struggling to rule as a , in October 1974, Wilson called a further . Labour gained a parliamentary majority of one.
2017: Following the Conservatives’ win of a working majority in the 2015 , the next was set for May 2020 under the Fixed Term Parliament’s Act.  However the , was successful. This was because Labour MPs voted to approve an . The Conservatives lost their majority, leading them to form a with a confidence-and-supply agreement with ‘s Democratic Unionist Party. ‘s bid for an , which she hoped to “strengthen” her government’s “hand” in its attempt to negotiate the UK’s exit from
2019:Â By July 2019 the Conservative gained a new leader in following ‘s resignation over her failure to resolve Brexit. However, ‘s revised EU withdrawal agreement was not approved by MPs by the end of October. The government subsequently gunned for a . The House of Commons permitted this via the Early Parliamentary Act 2019. was dissolved on 6 November and the GE took place on 12 December.
How often are other elections?
European – A takes place every 5 years
– MS elections take place every 5 years.
– Elections take place every five years.
Germany – Federal elections take place approximately every four years.
France- Presidential elections take place every five years. National Assembly members are elected every five years. Senate members are elected every six years.
USA- Elections to the house of Representatives and Senate take place every two years respectively. In any given around one-third of the Senate and every member of the House is up for reelection. Presidential elections are held every four years.