UK General Election 2024: What you need to know about election day

Ever since UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak unexpectedly announced a general election outside 10 Downing Street in late May, the campaign has been moving very quickly. It has been filled with political scandals and mistakes along the way.

Experts who study politics and surveys predict an important election where the Labour party is likely to take power from the Conservatives. The Conservatives have been in control for 14 years but now they are in danger of losing to the Reform UK party, which leans towards right-wing populist beliefs.

Everything will be decided this Thursday when citizens in Britain go to vote in the 2024 general election.

Check out this important information about election day:

When Is The UK General Election?

The 2024 national election in the UK is scheduled for Thursday, July 4th, and polling stations will be open from 7am to 10pm.

People who are officially able to vote in the 650 areas where representatives are elected will choose the person they want to support at voting locations that are typically located at schools or community buildings.

In the UK, they use a system called first-past-the-post (FPTP) for voting. This means that the candidate who gets the most votes in a constituency becomes the MP, even if they didn't get more than half of the votes.

FPTP is not like the PR system that many European countries use, or the system used in France's recent election. France's election had two rounds of voting, with the second round scheduled for July 7th if no candidate received a majority of votes in the first round on June 30th.

Under the PR system, the number of parliamentary seats a party receives is based on the percentage of votes they get.

After voting ends in the UK, the ballots will be tabulated, and the candidates with the highest number of votes in each area (each area represents one seat in Parliament) will be announced as the winners by the early morning of July 5th.

If one party wins the most seats in an election, their leader becomes the prime minister. The leader of the party with the second most seats usually becomes the leader of the opposition. In this election, Keir Starmer is leading the Labour Party, while Sunak is heading the Conservative Party.

If no single party wins the most seats in an election, a situation called a hung parliament will occur. In this scenario, the biggest party can decide to join forces with other parties to form a coalition government.

Reason For Rishi Sunak's July 4 Elections

In the UK, there must be a general election at least every five years.

The most recent national vote took place in December 2019, giving PM Sunak until December to announce another election.

The nation was shocked when the prime minister announced a sudden election on May 22nd.

John Curtice, a politics professor at the University of Strathclyde, believes that the decision still puzzles those who are not part of Sunak's close circle.

Curtice mentioned that there are many different theories being discussed, such as the possibility that the Conservatives believed the economy would not get better by the end of the year.

Another option was that the ruling Conservative Party did not believe they would be able to stop the record number of asylum seekers from crossing the English Channel between southern England and northern France.

The Conservative party has promised to stop illegal migration, which includes a controversial proposal to send certain asylum seekers to Rwanda.

Why Are The Conservatives Doing Poorly In Polls?

From 2019 onwards, when the Conservatives claimed victory in the most recent general election by a significant margin, they have faced challenges related to their credibility and ability to govern, as noted by Jonathan Tonge, a political science professor at the University of Liverpool, in an interview with Al Jazeera.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, a scandal called "partygate" happened, which made people distrust the government and caused Boris Johnson to step down as prime minister in 2022.

Johnson was alleged to have organized a birthday celebration and other gatherings that violated the strict lockdown regulations he had implemented for the people of Britain.

He was substituted with Liz Truss, who managed a disorderly six-week term that caused markets to plummet.

Tonge mentioned that conservatives had lost the confidence of the British public, noting that Boris Johnson's reputation shifted from being well-liked to being perceived as unreliable. Following this change, Labour surpassed the ruling party in opinion polls.

Not long ago, there was a new problem when the UK Gambling Commission said it was looking into people associated with the political party. This included two Conservative candidates, Craig Williams and Laura Saunders, who were being investigated for placing bets on an election in July just three days before Sunak revealed the date. As a result, the party removed both Williams and Saunders from its list of candidates.

Tonge mentioned that the problem with competency is because the Conservatives have not made any noticeable advancements to benefit the British public in the last 14 years.

He mentioned that they have done well according to certain standards, with inflation decreasing once more and unemployment staying consistently low.

But when it comes to social issues, like the long waits for healthcare and not fulfilling promises about limiting immigration, the Conservatives have not been successful in keeping their word.

What Is Reform UK And Its Political Prospects?

Reform UK, headed by the popular leader Nigel Farage, ran in the 2019 general elections under the name Brexit Party but chose not to compete in areas held by the Conservative party.

Next, it was unable to secure any seats, but current polls show that this year the renamed party is competing with the Conservatives for the second spot.

Farage's bold and passionate campaign, filled with nationalistic language about immigration, has significantly boosted their popularity.

Curtice mentioned that Farage displays charisma and the ability to communicate effectively, qualities that are very different from Sunak's campaign. Sunak made a mistake by leaving the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings event early, which did not reflect well on his campaign.

Curtice mentioned that Reform UK's emphasis on immigration was not addressing the main reasons why people were leaving the Conservative party. Instead, they were highlighting the government's failure in implementing effective policies.

"If you are dissatisfied with the government and support Brexit while opposing immigration, Reform UK is the place for you," he stated.

What Will Happen?

Based on the most recent surveys, it looks like Labour is the top choice to win the most seats in the upcoming election.

Curtice mentioned that the polls are showing that the Conservatives are at an all-time low, dealing with a challenging "mathematical reality" as their supporters are concentrated in the constituencies they need to protect. However, unlike in 2019, Reform UK will be competing against them in those regions.

Tonge predicted that there will be a slightly lower voter turnout compared to the previous election, which was around 67.3%. This was during a time when there was widespread excitement and debate about how the UK should proceed with the outcome of the 2016 Brexit referendum.

The man explained that voter participation doesn't seem as high during this election period. There seems to be a feeling of disappointment among voters towards the main parties, Labour and the Conservatives, that have historically been the most influential in UK politics.

He mentioned that Labour's increase in popularity is more due to the collapse of the Conservative party rather than any specific popular policies.

Tonge anticipated a large number of people not feeling interested or passionate about voting for Labour, which might lead to a turnout that is a little lower than the previous election.

According to the latest predictions, he suggested that achieving over 100 seats would be a positive outcome for the Conservatives in the upcoming election. This would represent a significant decrease compared to their previous success in the 2019 general election, where they secured 365 seats.

Tonge mentioned that this outcome would spark a discussion on the beliefs and principles of the right-wing in British politics. The Conservative party would have to decide between following a more extreme path by aligning with Farage's ideas on immigration and tax reduction or distancing themselves from Reform UK and working on reestablishing themselves as a moderate right-wing party.