How are Elections to the Parliament Conducted?
General elections are held after Parliament has been ‘dissolved’, either by a royal proclamation or because the maximum term between elections – five years – has expired. The decision on when to hold a general election is made by the Prime Minister. For electoral purposes Britain is divided into constituencies, each of which returns one MP to the House of Commons. MPs are elected by the relative majority method – sometimes called the ‘first past the post’ principle – which means the candidate with more votes than any other is elected. In elections to the Scottish Parliament, the National Assembly for Wales, the Northern Ireland Assembly and the European Parliament forms of proportional representation (PR) are used.
