U.K. General Election: An Essential Guide on What You Must Know

(Bloomberg) --

The last thing most people want for Christmas is an election, but that is exactly what U.K. voters are going to get on Dec. 12. This will be the third time the country has gone to the polls in four and-a-half-years. Here’s what you need to know.

How did we get here?

Boris Johnson wants an early vote to restore his Conservative Party’s majority in the Parliament’s lower house, the Commons, even though the next election isn’t scheduled until 2022. Johnson calculates an election could end the political stalemate over Brexit. The last time Britain went to the polls in December was 1923.

Who’s battling?

Expect to hear most from the two biggest parties -- the Conservatives, also known as the Tories, and Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour party -- during the five-week battle. The other parties are the Liberal Democrats, Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party alongside the pro-environment Green party and independent candidates. There are also smaller parties linked to particular countries within the U.K. that win seats in the constituencies in their regions: the Scottish National Party, Plaid Cymru in Wales and four parties in Northern Ireland.

How are elections won in the U.K.?

A candidate, usually representing a political party, simply needs the most votes to win a seat in Parliament, under Britain’s first-past-the post election system.

Technically, the party with the most seats wins the election and forms the government, with the magic number at 326 MPs -- half of all of them plus one more. The bigger a party’s winning margin, the more opportunity it has for effecting its agenda. Johnson will be hoping for a sizable majority to force his Brexit deal through, alongside his other domestic priorities on the National Health Service, education and caring for an ageing population. While Britain’s political system mostly used to deliver up majorities for the Conservatives and Labour, that’s not the case any more.

What happens if no party wins outright?

A hung Parliament. When this happens, negotiations kick off between the parties. Johnson, as head of government in power before the election, would get the first crack at creating a formal coalition. He could also try to enter into so-called confidence and supply arrangement with a smaller party, with support supplied for budgets and other key votes. This is the kind of agreement the Tories have had for the past 18 months with the Democratic Unionist Party, but that arrangement has now expired, meaning negotiations would have to start again.

A third option under a hung Parliament is for the party that won the most MPs without gaining an overall majority to try to rule on their own as a minority government. This would require ad hoc agreements with smaller parties, and risks repeated defeats and another general election.

How could tactical voting affect the outcome?

This has been happening in areas where the opposition vote is usually split, and it could alter results on a national scale because party leaders could be denied the majority they seek if one of the smaller parties agrees not to field a candidate to allow a two-way battle.

Where does the Queen fit in?

As monarch, Queen Elizabeth II is head of state, and the government is formed in her name. But with no president, the prime minister holds the highest executive office. Palace officials have worked very hard to keep the Queen out of politics.

Nevertheless, Johnson must apply formally to the queen for an election to be held, and the winner must visit the monarch before Parliament starts afresh. No government decisions can be made during an election campaign as the civil service enters a period of so-called purdah.

Why is a December vote unusual?

In short -- British weather. Conventional wisdom holds that election campaigns should be conducted in the spring or fall to allow canvassers the maximum daylight to speak to potential voters after working hours and for better weather to encourage a higher turnout. With rain, floods, fog and even snow forecast for November and December by the country’s weather forecasters, the Met Office, voter turnout could be far lower than usual.

However, there could be a rise in ballot papers sent by mail in advance. With leaflets mailed to voters and millions of Christmas cards processing through the country’s postal services, expect questions about the reliability of postal voting.

Unpredictability

Politicians campaigning will be at the mercy of unexpected events. While revelers may be celebrating the season, the health service faces a crunch at this time of year, with influenza and other climate-related conditions filling hospital beds around the country. The country’s rail and roads are also at risk of closing in heavy weather, which could anger voters. An election in university term-time could also affect the outcome. Party leaders will also be under pressure to take part in televised debates.

How are the votes counted?

Britons vote for a district representative in the House of Commons. With 650 constituencies represented in Parliament there are individual counts that all happen on one day, across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Voting is carried out between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. and via mail in advance. BBC, the national broadcaster, usually commissions an exit poll to run just after 10 p.m. on election day.

Counting begins immediately in each district, with results coming in throughout the night. By early morning it becomes clearer which party is likely to have won.

To contact the reporter on this story: Kitty Donaldson in London at kdonaldson1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Flavia Krause-Jackson at fjackson@bloomberg.net, Caroline Alexander, Stuart Biggs

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