General elections

General elections in Britain traditionally refer to the election of Members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons. They must be held 5 years after the first session of the new Parliament. Therefore elections are not fixed, and the time is chosen by the governing party to maximize political advantage. Candidates aim to win particular geographic constituencies in the UK. Almost all candidates are members of a political party and in fact the majority of voters in the UK choose the candidates' parties, rather than the personalities or opinions of the individual candidates. Although it is relatively easy to stand for election as an independent candidate, wins are very rare. Each constituency elects one MP by single member plurality system (or the first past the post system) of election. Under the plurality system, the winner of the election acts as representative of the entire electoral district, and serves with representatives of other electoral districts.. The party with the most seats, i.e. the most MPs, usually forms the government. Thus, the UK's electoral system of single-member districts with plurality victors tends to produce two large political parties. The reason: there is a big premium to combine small parties into big ones in order to edge out competitors. The largest party not in government becomes the Official Opposition, known as Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition. Any smaller parties not in government are collectively known as "the opposition". Any vacancies created in the House of Common, due to death, ennoblement, or resignation are filled through the process of by-election.

" ELECTIONS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM
Time the elections have been used in England
Time the secret ballot was adopted
Full equal voting rights for women adopted in:
Types of elections in the United Kingdom
Day of the week elections are held on
Time the general elections are held
The UK election system and its meaning
‘ ELIGIBK.ITY TO VOTE IN GREAT BRITAIN „ Г
Eligibility to vote in general
Restrictions on eligibility to vote
Is voting compulsory?
Royal Family and eligibility to vote
Eligibility of UK citizens who have moved abroad
Requirements to stand for Parliament
.v - , * * GENERAL ELECTIONS ‘
The meaning of ‘general elections’
Reasons for the non-fixed elections time
Why do the candidates prefer to be members of a political party?
Chances of independent candidates
Number of MPs each constituency elects
What is a single member plurality system?
Who forms the government?
What is the difference between Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition and “the opposition”?
I How are vacancies in the Parliament fdled?

8. At home compare and contrast the process of electing the members of Congress in the USA and MPs of the House of Commons in Great Britain using the table above and the corresponding table in Part 1 of this Lesson. In which ways are they similar and in which different? Don’t give separate descriptions of each electoral process. You may use the clues in the boxes below. There is a possible beginning of your essay below the boxes. See also: Opinion Essays in the Recommendations on Creative Writing Work).