The 2015 General Election

This blog describes the build up to the 2015 General Election which will take place on May 7th.

Are you left, right or centre?

Before we start click here to find out where on the political spectrum you are.  You should be able to workout which side you would side with. At the end of the morning take this again to see if your views have changed.

What is a general election?

In the United Kingdom this is where everybody over the age of 18 with a few exceptions*is entitled to vote for the government of the country.  Since 2011 when the Parliament Act was passed these will
 take place every five years.

* Anybody in prison or detained under the Mental Health Act cannot vote.  The Queen technically can but  never does as she must not favour any one side.

Video explaining how the general election works

Click here for a video explaining the general election in Reading West.

So how does the general election work?

England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are divided into 650 different areas called
constituencies.  Each constituency votes to a elect one person to become a Member of Parliament
(MP) to represent it in the House of  Commons in London.

When a member of the public goes to a polling station to cast their vote they are given a ballot paper which lists the names of the candidates and their political parties.

Only one candidate can be selected and to do this a cross is made in the box to the right.   That's all there is to it.  The ballot paper is folded in half and placed in a locked box ready for counting.

The votes are taken to a large hall in the consituency where volunteers start counting them.  When they have finished the candidates are told how many votes they each have won.

Then the returning officer who is the manager of the election declares the result normally on a stage or platform so that everybody in the hall can see what's happening.

Election Declaration in Witney in 2010

Click here for the declaration at Witney in 2010.

How do you work out who has won the election?

This is simple, the party with the most MPs wins but in 2015 it won't be clear probably for days after the election who has won.  Let me explain. To win an election outright a party must have an overall majority.  That means that it must have more MPs than all the other parties combined so that it can be sure of winning key votes in the House of Commons.

If there are 650 seats a party must win half of those seats plus one in order to gain an overall majority:

Winning party 325 seats plus 1 = 326

All other parties  = 324

In 2010 no party won an overall majority as the result was split as follows:

Conservatives                  307

Labour                             258

Liberal Democrats              57

Democratic Unionist.            8

Scottish Nationalist Party.     6

Others.                               14

The Conservatives after the election started talking to the Liberal Democrats to see if they could form a coalition government.  This would give them 365 seats and so exceed all other parties. The Labour Party were also talking to the Liberal Democrats and the nationalist parties in Scotland and Wales to see if they could form a government .  In the end the Liberal Democrats sided with the Conservatives as they has won the most seats.  

It is very likely that something similar will occur after the 2015 election.

So how does a Prime Minister take office?

Again it is very simple and not as difficult as it was in 2010 or as it is likely to be this year.  First, the 
losing Prime Minister if indeed they have lost must go to Buckingham Palace and offer the Queen his or her resignation.  They will also make a recommendation to the Queen that she calls for the  Leader of the Opposition to form a government as they have won the election.  If the existing PM has won they will ask the Queen for permission to form a government there and then. 

The Queen will give her permission to  the  winning party leader who is obliged to kiss the Queen's hand at which point they become Prime Minister.  So the Leader of the Opposition could go to the Palace and asks the Queen for permission to form a government.   He or she will then return to 10 Downing Street as Prime Minister.

Who are the political parties and what do they stand for?

Click here for a video describing British political parties as if they were part of the menu at MacDonalds.

Conservative Party

One of the oldest and most successful political parties in the world.  They are to the right of centre and believe strongly in business and limited state intervention such as the welfare state.

Labour Party

The Labour Party is to the left of centre and believes in having a strong welfare state and NHS and is also in favour of business.  Some say there is little choose between Labour and the Conservatives.

Liberal Democrats

Slightly to the left of centre and really believe in everything that Labour and the Conservatives believe in but to different degrees.  The key difference is that they would like to see electoral reform so that they get MPs in proportion to their support.

UKIP

To the right of the Conservative Party and are distinguished by a policy of withdrawal from the European Union and tight controls on immigration.

Scottish Nationalist Party

Their policies are similar to Labour's but are slightly more left wing.  They want the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh to have the right to raise taxes as they see fit without consultation with London.  They are also determined to see Scottish Independence.