With the calling of a general election, here is what you need to know.
On Saturday night, the Prime Minister called for a snap election in efforts to “renew [their] mandate for another two months”, after successfully fulfilling reforms in the Ministry of Justice, Northern Ireland and within Parliament itself.
Since the announcement, the Electoral Commission has confirmed the electoral timetable for the May 2026 election, following the dissolution of the 92nd Parliament.
At the end of this week, the British people will decide who they want to serve in government, and whom will occupy Downing Street:
Registered Parties:
- The National Party, led by theRightHon
- The Social Democrats, led by theReuHR
- The Unionist Party, led by NotChocolatePlayz
- The Cosmocratic Party, led by BarendFredericShaw
- The Solidarity Party, led by opvulcan
Registered Independents:
- Leahvnx as Candidate for the Unity Party (Northern Ireland).
- hhlv101 as Independent Candidate for Northern Ireland.
- dps_alt1 as Independent Candidate for East Midlands.
- DeanRHeathcote as Independent Candidate for London.
Key dates for your diary:
- Monday 18 May – Candidate Registration closes / public campaigning begins
- Friday 22 May – Voting begins at 20:00 BST
- Saturday 23 May – Voting closes at 20:00 BST
In the UK election on May 22, all the seats in the House of Commons will be up for grabs.
How the vote will work:
Following successes with the new revised voting system used during the March election, Britons will cast two ballots when voting:
- Constituency Ballot – where voters will vote for a party to elect 54 members of the House of Commons.
- Regional Ballot – where voters will vote for an independent candidate, elected to a maximum of 6 seats in the House.
Northern Ireland parties can also register for the General Election, but will only be able to run in the Regional Ballot, with their selected candidate listed as an independent.
Where can I find more information?
The EC will release updates on the election via the election-news channel in the UK Discord server.
The BBC will broadcast its Election Night coverage on Saturday night on YouTube and in the BBC Stage channel on the UK server.