83-1129: Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since the 2024 general election by Chris Ward of the Labour Party . Before the 2024 general election the constituency was called Brighton Kemptown , though local political parties referred to it by its current name. 1950–1955 : The County Borough of Brighton wards of Elm Grove, Hanover, King's Cliff, Lewes Road, Moulsecoomb, Pier, Queen's Park, Rottingdean, and St John's. 1955–1983 : The County Borough of Brighton wards of Elm Grove, Falmer, Hanover, King's Cliff, Lewes Road, Moulsecoomb, Pier, Queen's Park, Rottingdean, and Warren. 1983–1997 : The Borough of Brighton wards of Hanover, King's Cliff, Marine, Moulsecoomb, Queen's Park, Rottingdean, Tenantry, and Woodingdean. 1997–2010 : The Borough of Brighton wards of King's Cliff, Marine, Moulsecoomb, Queen's Park, Rottingdean, Tenantry, and Woodingdean, and
166-420: A few cases one). From 1535 each Welsh county and borough was represented, by one knight or burgess. The franchise was restricted differently in different types of constituency; in county constituencies forty shilling freeholders (i.e. landowners) could vote, while in boroughs the franchise varied from potwallopers , giving many residents votes, to rotten boroughs with hardly any voters. A county borough
249-697: A form or degree of mixed-member proportional representation . The existing constituencies were created, effectively, for the first general election of the Scottish Parliament, in 1999. When created, all but two had the names and boundaries of Westminster constituencies. The two exceptions were the Orkney Holyrood constituency , covering the Orkney Islands council area , and the Shetland Holyrood constituency , covering
332-475: A larger majority to "strengthen [her] hand" in the forthcoming Brexit negotiations. Opinion polls had consistently shown strong leads for the Conservatives over Labour. From a 21-point lead, the Conservatives' lead began to diminish in the final weeks of the campaign. The Conservative Party returned 317 MPs—a net loss of 13 seats relative to 2015—despite winning 42.4% of the vote (its highest share of
415-448: A more suitable label cannot be found. Where used, "The compass point reference used will generally form a prefix in cases where the rest of the constituency name refers to the county area or a local council, but a suffix where the rest of the name refers to a population centre." This is the reason for the difference in naming between, for example, North Shropshire (a county constituency ) and Reading West (a borough constituency ). In
498-608: A number of single-member first-past-the Post constituencies, matching the way Westminster MPs are elected. Following the decision that all MEPs should be elected by some form of proportional representation , the Labour government passed the European Parliamentary Elections Act 1999 , creating eleven constituencies on Great Britain, which were first used in 1999 . The South West England constituency
581-611: A progressive candidate beating the Conservatives", including South West Surrey , the seat of Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt , in favour of the National Health Action Party candidate. The Scottish Green Party contested just three constituencies. The Liberal Democrats agreed to stand down in Brighton Pavilion . After indicating it might not nominate candidates in seats held by strongly pro-Brexit Conservative MPs, UKIP nominated 377 candidates; it
664-502: A semi-rural area, into the constituency. This added a ward where the Conservatives had been favoured, but Labour gained the seat at its landslide victory. Des Turner held it until 2010, when Simon Kirby of the Conservative Party won it. For a total of 48 years since the seat's creation, it has been Conservative -controlled (1950–1964; 1970–1997; 2010–2017). The only other party to hold the seat since its creation has been
747-408: A senior coalition partner from 2010 and as a single-party majority government from 2015 , was led by May as Prime Minister. It was defending a working majority of 17 seats against the opposition Labour Party led by Jeremy Corbyn . It was the first general election to be contested by either May or Corbyn as party leader; May had succeeded David Cameron following his resignation as prime minister
830-568: A time in the wake of the Manchester Arena bombing on 22 May. The SNP had been scheduled to release their manifesto for the election but this was delayed. Campaigning resumed on 25 May. Major political parties also suspended campaigning for a second time on 4 June, following the London Bridge attack . UKIP chose to continue campaigning. There were unsuccessful calls for polling day to be postponed. The UK's withdrawal from
913-496: A total of four seats. The Green Party retained its sole seat, but its share of the vote declined. In Northern Ireland, the DUP won 10 seats, Sinn Féin won seven, and Independent Unionist Sylvia Hermon retained her seat. The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) and Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) lost all their seats. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch first entered Parliament in this election. Negotiation positions following
SECTION 10
#1732773262168996-509: A whole returned a hung parliament with the Conservatives being the largest party by a margin of 56 MPs. Liberal Democrats and their two predecessor parties following national trends formed the third-largest party in the constituency, 1950–2010 inclusive. The 2010 general election result for the party can be seen as 0.6% behind "its" highest, at 18.6%, if including its SDP forerunner. The Liberal Democrat vote share collapsed to 3% in 2015 (behind UKIP and Green Party candidates) and remained at
1079-751: Is in the Holyrood area of Edinburgh , while the main meeting place of the Parliament of the United Kingdom is the Palace of Westminster , in the City of Westminster . There are 73 Holyrood constituencies covering Scotland , and each elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the first-past-the-post system . Also, the constituencies are grouped into eight electoral regions, and each of these regions elects seven additional members , to produce
1162-526: The 2005 United Kingdom general election , the House of Commons had 646 constituencies covering the whole of the United Kingdom. This rose to 650 in the 2010 election following the Fifth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies . Each constituency elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the " first-past-the-post " system of election. The House of Commons is one of the two chambers of
1245-733: The 2015 election . David Cameron , who had been the leader of the Conservative Party since 2005 and Prime Minister since 2010 , was replaced in July 2016 by Theresa May following the referendum on the United Kingdom's membership of the European Union . Jeremy Corbyn replaced Ed Miliband as Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition in September 2015, and was re-elected leader in September 2016. While
1328-505: The 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies which came into effect for the 2024 general election , the composition of the renamed constituency (based on the ward structure in place at 1 December 2020) was expanded slightly in order to bring the electorate within the permitted range by transferring from Brighton Pavilion part of the Hanover and Elm Grove ward – namely polling district PHEA, and that part of polling district PHEF to
1411-679: The Acts of Union 1707 , Scottish burghs were grouped into districts of burghs in the Parliament of Great Britain , except that Edinburgh was a constituency in its own right . After the Acts of Union 1800 , smaller Irish boroughs were disenfranchised, while most others returned only one MP to the United Kingdom Parliament. The Reform Act 1832 reduced the number of parliamentary boroughs in England and Wales by eliminating
1494-464: The Brexit negotiations , and led the Parliament of the United Kingdom into a period of protracted deadlock which would eventually bring about another general election two and a half years later . Each parliamentary constituency of the United Kingdom elects one MP to the House of Commons using first-past-the-post voting . If one party obtains a majority of seats, then that party is entitled to form
1577-734: The English Democrats in 7, the Women's Equality Party in 7, the Social Democratic Party in 6, the National Health Action Party in 5 and the Workers Revolutionary Party in 5, while an additional 79 candidates stood for 46 other registered political parties. In Wales, 213 candidates stood for election. Labour, Conservatives, Plaid Cymru, and Liberal Democrats contested all forty seats and there were 32 UKIP and 10 Green candidates. In Scotland,
1660-632: The European Parliament , prior to the United Kingdom's exit from the European Union (see European Parliament constituency ). In local government elections (other than for the London Assembly) electoral areas are called wards or electoral divisions . House of Commons, Scottish Parliament, Senedd and Northern Ireland Assembly constituencies are designated as either county or borough constituencies, except that in Scotland
1743-577: The Father of the House of Commons , had said he would retire in 2020 and so stood again in the 2017 election, leaving it open for him to retire possibly in 2022 (he eventually retired in 2019 when that year's national election was called). Tony Lloyd , a former Labour MP for Manchester Central who served as Greater Manchester Police and Crime Commissioner from 2012 and interim Mayor of Greater Manchester since 2015 stood in Rochdale . Eli Aldridge
SECTION 20
#17327732621681826-572: The Government , with its leader as Prime Minister . If the election results in no single party having a majority, there is a hung parliament . In this case, the options for forming the Government are either a minority government or a coalition . The Sixth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies was not due to report until 2018, and therefore this general election took place under existing boundaries, enabling direct comparisons with
1909-518: The Labour Party . Labour first won Kemptown in 1964, with a narrow majority of just seven votes. Dennis Hobden , the first Labour MP to ever be elected in Sussex , increased his majority in 1966 , but lost the seat in 1970 , and another Labour MP was not returned until 1997. The seat was a national bellwether constituency from 1979 to 2015, but in 2017 elected a Labour MP when the country as
1992-740: The Liberal Democrats and their predecessors had long been the third-largest party in British politics, they returned only 8 MPs in 2015 (having been part of the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition from 2010 until 2015)—49 fewer than at the previous election and the fewest in their modern history. Tim Farron became the Liberal Democrat leader in July 2015, following the resignation of Nick Clegg . Led by First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon ,
2075-508: The Liberal Democrats , the third- and fourth-largest parties, both lost vote share; media coverage characterised the result as a return to two-party politics . The SNP, which had won 56 of the 59 Scottish seats at the previous general election in 2015, lost 21. The Liberal Democrats made a net gain of four seats. UKIP , the third-largest party in 2015 by number of votes, saw its share of the vote reduced from 12.6% to 1.8% and lost its only seat. In Wales, Plaid Cymru gained one seat, giving it
2158-531: The Scottish Parliament (Constituencies) Act 2004 , which enabled the creation of a new set of Westminster constituencies without change to Holyrood constituencies. The new Westminster boundaries became effective for the 2005 United Kingdom general election . There are 40 Senedd constituencies covering Wales , and each elects one Member of the Senedd (MS) by the first-past-the-post system . Also,
2241-580: The Shetland Islands council area . For Westminster elections, these council areas were covered (and still are covered) by the Orkney and Shetland Westminster constituency . In 1999, under the Scotland Act 1998 , the expectation was that there would be a permanent link between the boundaries of Holyrood constituencies and those of Westminster constituencies. This link was broken, however, by
2324-587: The Stoke-on-Trent Central by-election earlier in 2017, UKIP leader Paul Nuttall contested Boston and Skegness . Former Labour MP Simon Danczuk stood as an independent candidate, after being rejected from standing with that party and then withdrawing his party membership. After the Liberal Democrats rejected David Ward , the former MP for Bradford East , for anti-semitism , he contested that seat as an independent. Ahead of
2407-513: The United Kingdom (UK), each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one member to the House of Commons . Within the United Kingdom there are five bodies with members elected by electoral districts called " constituencies " as opposed to " wards ": Between 1921 and 1973 the following body also included members elected by constituencies: Electoral areas called constituencies were previously used in elections to
2490-546: The bicameral Parliament of the United Kingdom , the other being the House of Lords . There are fourteen London Assembly constituencies covering the Greater London area, and each constituency elects one member of the assembly by the first-past-the-post system . Eleven additional members are elected from Greater London as a whole to produce a form or degree of mixed-member proportional representation . Constituency names and boundaries remain now as they were for
2573-498: The first general election of the assembly, in 2000. The assembly is part of the Greater London Authority and general elections of the assembly are held at the same time as election of the mayor of London . There are 18 Northern Ireland Assembly Constituencies : four borough (for Belfast ) and 14 county constituencies elsewhere (see below). Each elects five MLAs to the 90 member NI Assembly by means of
Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven (UK Parliament constituency) - Misplaced Pages Continue
2656-573: The general election on 7 May 2015 . This removed the power of the Prime Minister , using the royal prerogative , to dissolve Parliament before its five-year maximum length. The Act permitted early dissolution if the House of Commons voted by a supermajority of two-thirds of the entire membership of the House. On 18 April 2017, Prime Minister Theresa May announced she would seek an election on 8 June, despite previously ruling out an early election. A House of Commons motion to allow this
2739-690: The party's headquarters from an existing list of candidates, without inviting applications; candidates in non-target seats were to be appointed directly by central party offices; and successful MPs were to be confirmed by a meeting of their local parties. This was controversial with local associations. The Labour Party required sitting MPs to express their intention to stand, automatically re-selecting those who did; and it advertised for applications from party members for all remaining seats by 23 April. Having devolved selections to its Scottish and Welsh parties, Labour's National Executive Committee endorsed all parliamentary candidates on 3 May except for Rochdale ,
2822-477: The results by constituency in 2015 . To vote in the general election, one had to be: Individuals had to be registered to vote by midnight twelve working days before polling day (22 May). Anyone who qualified as an anonymous elector had until midnight on 31 May to register. A person who has two homes (such as a university student with a term-time address but lives at home during holidays) may be registered to vote at both addresses, as long as they are not in
2905-424: The single transferable vote system. Assembly Constituency boundaries are identical to their House of Commons equivalents. The constituencies below are not used for the election of members to the 11 district councils . Scottish Parliament constituencies are sometimes called Holyrood constituencies, to distinguish them from Westminster (House of Commons) constituencies. The Scottish Parliament Building
2988-598: The 2015 election. The Conservatives, Greens, and four other minor parties also stood. Despite contesting 10 seats last time, UKIP did not stand in Northern Ireland. 3,304 candidates stood for election, down from 3,631 in the previous general election. The Conservatives stood in 637 seats, Labour in 631 (including jointly with the Co-operative Party in 50) and the Liberal Democrats in 629. UKIP stood in 377 constituencies, down from 624 in 2015, while
3071-455: The 2016 EU referendum. The Conservatives held the safe seat of Sleaford and North Hykeham in December 2016. In by-elections on 23 February 2017, Labour held Stoke-on-Trent Central but lost Copeland to the Conservatives, the first time a governing party had gained a seat in a by-election since the Conservatives took Mitcham and Morden in 1982 . The general election came soon after
3154-859: The 2017 election as an independent in Manchester Gorton . In Northern Ireland , the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), Sinn Féin , the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), the Green Party of Northern Ireland and the Alliance Party contested the 2017 election. Sinn Féin maintained its abstentionist policy. The DUP, Sinn Féin, SDLP, UUP and APNI were all led by new party leaders, changed since
3237-461: The 3% level in 2017 despite the absence of UKIP and Green candidates for the seat at that election. The Green Party candidate finished in fourth place at the 2005, 2010 and 2015 elections, retaining their deposit each time, with vote shares ranging from 5.5% to 7.0%. The Greens did not field a candidate in 2017 and endorsed Labour, who subsequently gained the seat with a majority of just under 10,000 votes. The 2015 general election result had made
3320-523: The Assembly elections in March. Former employment minister Esther McVey was selected to contest Tatton . Zac Goldsmith was adopted as the candidate for Richmond Park , having lost the 2016 by-election as an independent in protest against the form of the Government's chosen expert's recommended Heathrow expansion . He had served as the seat's Conservative MP between 2010 and 2016. Kenneth Clarke ,
3403-559: The Boundary Commissions for England , Wales , Scotland and Northern Ireland the power to create names for constituencies, and does not provide a set of statutory guidelines for the Commissions to follow in doing so. Constituency names are geographic, and "should normally reflect the main population centre(s) contained in the constituency". Compass points are used to distinguish constituencies from each other when
Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven (UK Parliament constituency) - Misplaced Pages Continue
3486-728: The Conservatives won metro mayor elections in Tees Valley and the West Midlands , areas traditionally seen as Labour heartlands. Initially scheduled for 4 May, a by-election in Manchester Gorton was cancelled; the seat was contested on 8 June along with all the other seats. On 6 May, a letter from Church of England Archbishops Justin Welby and John Sentamu stressed the importance of education, housing, communities and health. All parties suspended campaigning for
3569-463: The District of Lewes wards of East Saltdean, Peacehaven East, Peacehaven North, Peacehaven West, and Telscombe Cliffs. 2010–2024 : The City of Brighton and Hove wards of East Brighton, Moulsecoomb and Bevendean, Queen's Park, Rottingdean Coastal, and Woodingdean, and the District of Lewes wards of East Saltdean and Telscombe Cliffs, Peacehaven East, Peacehaven North, and Peacehaven West. Further to
3652-436: The European Union was expected to be a key issue in the campaign, but featured less than expected. May said she called the snap election to secure a majority for her Brexit negotiations . UKIP supported a "clean, quick and efficient Brexit" and, launching his party's election campaign, Nuttall stated that Brexit was a "job half done" and UKIP MPs were needed to "see this through to the end". Labour had supported Brexit in
3735-842: The Greens stood in 468, down from 573. The SNP contested all 59 Scottish seats and Plaid Cymru stood in all 40 Welsh seats . In Great Britain, 183 candidates stood as independents ; minor parties included the Christian Peoples Alliance which contested 31 seats, the Yorkshire Party which stood in 21, the Official Monster Raving Loony Party in 12, the British National Party in 10, the Pirate Party in 10,
3818-460: The Liberal Democrats also ruled out a coalition deal with the Conservatives and SNP. Labour ruled out an electoral pact with the SNP, Liberal Democrats and Greens. Notwithstanding national arrangements, the Liberal Democrats, the Greens, and UKIP indicated they might not stand in every constituency. The Green Party of England and Wales chose not to contest 22 seats explicitly "to increase the chance of
3901-536: The Northern Ireland Assembly election on 2 March. Talks on power-sharing between the DUP and Sinn Féin had failed to reach a conclusion, with Northern Ireland thus facing either another Assembly election, or the imposition of direct rule . The deadline was subsequently extended to 29 June. Local elections in England, Scotland and Wales took place on 4 May. These saw large gains by the Conservatives, and large losses by Labour and UKIP. Notably,
3984-432: The SNP stands only in Scotland; it won 56 of the 59 Scottish seats in 2015. UKIP, then led by Nigel Farage , who was later replaced by Diane James and then by Paul Nuttall in 2016, won 12.7% of the vote in 2015 but gained only one MP, Douglas Carswell , who left the party in March 2017 to sit as an independent. After securing 3.8% of the vote and one MP in the previous general election, Green Party leader Natalie Bennett
4067-710: The SNP, the Conservatives, Labour and the Liberal Democrats stood in all 59 seats while UKIP contested 10 seats and the Greens only 3. Of the 109 candidates in Northern Ireland, Sinn Féin, the SDLP and the Alliance contested all 18 seats; the DUP stood in 17, the UUP in 14 and the Conservatives and Greens stood in 7 each. People Before Profit and the Workers' Party contested two seats while Traditional Unionist Voice and
4150-594: The UK's invocation of Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union in March 2017 to leave the EU were expected to feature significantly in the campaign, but did not as domestic issues took precedence instead. The campaign was interrupted by two major terrorist attacks: Manchester and London Bridge ; thus, national security became a prominent issue in its final weeks. The outcome of the election would have significant implications for
4233-475: The United Kingdom elected its Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) through twelve multimember European Parliament constituencies . One, Northern Ireland , used single transferable vote , while the eleven covering Great Britain used the d'Hondt method of party-list proportional representation . For its first European Parliamentary elections in 1979 Great Britain was divided into
SECTION 50
#17327732621684316-434: The centre of Brighton's LGBTQ+ community; the council estates of Whitehawk and Moulsecoomb; and beyond the racecourse affluent and genteel coastal villages like Rottingdean , Woodingdean, Saltdean and the town of Peacehaven . This constituency was created in 1950 when the two-member constituency of Brighton was split into three single-member seats. Boundary changes for the 1997 general election moved Peacehaven,
4399-493: The constituencies are grouped into five electoral regions, and each of these regions elects four additional members , to produce a form or degree of mixed-member proportional representation . The current set of Senedd constituencies is the second to be created. The first was created for the first general election of the National Assembly for Wales, in 1999. Before its withdrawal from the European Union in 2020,
4482-456: The council. The spending limits for election campaigns are different in the two, the reasoning being that candidates in county constituencies tend to need to travel farther. For by-elections to any of these bodies, the limit in all constituencies is £100,000. In the House of Commons of England , each English county elected two " knights of the shire " while each enfranchised borough elected "burgesses" (usually two, sometimes four, and in
4565-567: The distinction; the Boundary Commission for England has stated that, "as a general principle, where constituencies contain more than a small rural element they should normally be designated as county constituencies. Otherwise they should be designated as borough constituencies." In Scotland, all House of Commons constituencies are county constituencies except those in the cities of Glasgow , Edinburgh , Aberdeen , Dundee and three urban areas of Lanarkshire . In England and Wales,
4648-411: The early election, as did Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron and the Green Party . The SNP stated that it was in favour of fixed-term parliaments, and would abstain in the House of Commons vote. UKIP leader Paul Nuttall and First Minister of Wales Carwyn Jones criticised May for being opportunistic in the timing of the election, motivated by the then strong position of the Conservative Party in
4731-515: The east of Queen's Park Road. Following a local government boundary review in Brighton and Hove which came into effect in May 2023, the constituency now comprises the following from the 2024 general election: The constituency takes in the eastern part of Brighton and semi-rural suburbs and villages stretching out to the east. The seat has a large student population, from those that attend the University of Brighton and University of Sussex . From west to east it includes Queen's Park ; Kemptown ,
4814-413: The general election, crowdfunding groups such as More United and Open Britain were formed to promote candidates of similar views standing for election, and a " progressive alliance " was proposed. Former UKIP donor Arron Banks suggested a "patriotic alliance" movement. A Tactical voting spreadsheet to keep the Conservatives out of government went viral on social media. Gina Miller , who took
4897-563: The government to court over Article 50 , set out plans to tour marginal constituencies in support of pro-EU candidates. Within a few days of the election being announced, the Green Party of England and Wales and the SNP each proposed to collaborate with Labour and the Liberal Democrats to prevent a Conservative majority government. Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron quickly reaffirmed his party's opposition to an electoral pact or coalition with Labour, citing "electorally toxic" Corbyn and concerns over Labour's position on Brexit. On 22 April
4980-510: The monarch to form a government as Prime Minister, while the leader of the largest party not in government becomes the Leader of the Opposition . Other parties also form shadow ministerial teams. The leaders of the SNP, Plaid Cymru and the DUP are not MPs; hence, they appoint separate leaders in the House of Commons. The Conservative Party and the Labour Party have been the two biggest parties since 1922 , and have supplied all Prime Ministers since 1922. Both parties changed their leader after
5063-408: The new Citizens Independent Social Thought Alliance stood in one each; four independents including incumbent Sylvia Hermon also stood. Unlike in previous elections, the timetable of the snap election required parties to select candidates in just under three weeks, to meet the 11 May deadline. For the Conservatives, local associations in target seats were offered a choice of three candidates by
SECTION 60
#17327732621685146-426: The opinion polls. On 25 April, the election date was confirmed as 8 June, with dissolution on 3 May. The government announced that it intended for the next parliament to assemble on 13 June, with the state opening on 19 June. The key dates are listed below (all times are BST ): The cost of organising the election was around £140 million – slightly less than the EU referendum, of which £98 million
5229-464: The party subsequently selected candidates for McGarry's and Thomson's former seats, as well as for the three Scottish constituencies it did not win in 2015. The Liberal Democrats had already selected 326 candidates in 2016 and over 70 in 2017 before the election was called. Meetings of local party members from UKIP, the Greens and Plaid Cymru selected their candidates. Parties in Northern Ireland were not believed to have already selected candidates due to
5312-465: The position of returning officer in borough constituencies is held ex officio by the mayor or chairman of the borough or district council, and the high sheriff of the county in county constituencies. The administration of elections is carried out by the acting returning officer, who will typically be a local council's chief executive or Head of Legal Services. The role, however, is separate from these posts, and can be held by any person appointed by
5395-413: The previous common electoral quota for the whole United Kingdom and replaced it with four separate national minimal seat quotas for the respective Boundaries commissions to work to, as a result the separate national electoral quotas came into effect: England 69,534; Northern Ireland 67,145, Wales 58,383 and in Scotland only 54,741 electors. The Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011 gives
5478-434: The previous parliament – Corbyn did not vote against the triggering of Article 50. Corbyn's actions in the previous parliament therefore dispelled the doubts of Labour voters who had voted to leave the EU. However, his vision for Brexit prioritised different plans for the UK outside the EU. He wanted for Britain to still maintain the benefits of the single market and the custom union. The Liberal Democrats and Greens called for
5561-418: The previous summer, while Corbyn had succeeded Ed Miliband after he resigned following Labour's failure to win the general election two years earlier. Under the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 an election had not been due until May 2020, but Prime Minister May's call for a snap election was ratified by the necessary two-thirds vote in the House of Commons on 19 April 2017. May said that she hoped to secure
5644-718: The rotten boroughs. It also divided larger counties into two two-seat divisions , the boundaries of which were defined in the Parliamentary Boundaries Act 1832 , and gave seven counties a third member. Similar reforms were also made for Scotland and for Ireland . The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 ( 48 & 49 Vict. c. 23) equalised the population of constituencies; it split larger boroughs into multiple single-member constituencies, reduced smaller boroughs from two seats each to one, split each two-seat county and division into two single-member constituencies, and each three-seat county into single-member constituencies. The House of Commons (Redistribution of Seats) Act 1958 , eliminated
5727-448: The same electoral area, but can vote in only one constituency at the general election. On 18 May, The Independent reported that more than 1.1 million people between 18 and 35 had registered to vote since the election was announced on 18 April. Of those, 591,730 were under the age of 25. The Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 introduced fixed-term Parliaments to the United Kingdom, with elections scheduled every five years since
5810-444: The seat of suspended MP Simon Danczuk . On 7 May, Steve Rotheram announced he was standing down as MP for Liverpool Walton following his election as Liverpool City Region mayor , leaving five days to appoint a candidate by close of nominations. The SNP confirmed on 22 April that its 54 sitting MPs would be re-selected and that its suspended members Natalie McGarry and Michelle Thomson would not be nominated as SNP candidates;
5893-404: The seat the tenth-most marginal majority of the Conservative Party's 331 seats by percentage of majority. On 29 May 2024, Russell-Moyle announced that he had received a letter that he had been suspended from membership of the Labour Party, because of what he believed was a vexatious complaint, which made him ineligible to be their candidate at the 2024 United Kingdom general election . Chris Ward
5976-430: The term burgh is used instead of borough . Since the advent of universal suffrage , the differences between county and borough constituencies are slight. Formerly (see below ) the franchise differed, and there were also county borough and university constituencies. Borough constituencies are predominantly urban while county constituencies are predominantly rural . There is no definitive statutory criterion for
6059-522: The vote since 1983 ), whereas the Labour Party made a net gain of 30 seats with 40.0% (its highest vote share since 2001 and its highest increase in vote share between two general elections since 1945 ). It was the first election since 1997 in which the Conservatives made a net loss of seats or Labour a net gain of seats. The election had the closest result between the two major parties since February 1974 and resulted in their highest combined vote share since 1970 . The Scottish National Party (SNP) and
6142-486: Was expanded from the 2004 elections onward to include Gibraltar , the only British overseas territory that was part of the European Union , following a court case. 2017 United Kingdom general election Theresa May Conservative Theresa May Conservative The 2017 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 8 June 2017, two years after the previous general election in 2015 ; it
6225-877: Was just 18 years old when he challenged then Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron in his Westmorland and Lonsdale constituency. News coverage showed Aldridge balancing campaigning with revision for his A-level examinations, even missing the start of his end-of-year ball to speak at a hustings in Kendal. Those ministers defeated in 2015 who stood for election in their former seats included Vince Cable in Twickenham , Ed Davey in Kingston and Surbiton , Jo Swinson in East Dunbartonshire , and Simon Hughes in Bermondsey and Old Southwark . After coming second in
6308-401: Was passed on 19 April, with 522 votes for and 13 against, a majority of 509. The motion was supported by the Conservatives, Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Greens, while the SNP abstained. Nine Labour MPs, one SDLP MP and three independents ( Sylvia Hermon and two former SNP MPs, Natalie McGarry and Michelle Thomson ) voted against the motion. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn supported
6391-445: Was reached; the Greens said there was "too much distance" between the parties, Sinn Féin's abstentionist policy was criticised, and the SDLP admitted an agreement was unlikely. On 8 May, the SDLP rejected Sinn Féin's call for them to stand aside in some seats. Prior to the calling of the general election, the Liberal Democrats gained Richmond Park from the Conservatives in a by-election , a seat characterised by its high Remain vote in
6474-628: Was selected in his place and was subsequently elected as the Labour MP. Brighton prior to 1950 †: Lloyd Russell-Moyle was suspended from the Labour Party after Parliament had prorogued on 24 May 2024 and a day before the dissolution of Parliament on 30 May 2024. As part of an electoral pact between the SDP and Reform UK , Reform did not stand a candidate. 50°49′26″N 0°02′06″W / 50.824°N 0.035°W / 50.824; -0.035 United Kingdom constituencies In
6557-480: Was spent on administrative costs, and £42.5 million was spent on campaign costs. Most candidates were representatives of a political party registered with the Electoral Commission . Candidates not belonging to a registered party could use an "independent" label, or no label at all. The leader of the party commanding a majority of support in the House of Commons is the person who is called on by
6640-637: Was succeeded by joint leaders Caroline Lucas and Jonathan Bartley in September 2016. Smaller parties that contested the 2015 election and chose not to put forward candidates in 2017 included Mebyon Kernow , the Communist Party of Britain , the Scottish Socialist Party , and the National Front . The Respect Party , which had previously held seats, was dissolved in 2016; its former MP George Galloway stood and lost in
6723-545: Was suggested this would help the Conservatives in marginal seats. In Northern Ireland, there were talks between the DUP and UUP . Rather than engaging in a formal pact, the DUP agreed not to contest Fermanagh and South Tyrone , while the UUP chose not to stand in four constituencies. Talks took place between Sinn Féin, the SDLP and the Green Party in Northern Ireland about an anti-Brexit agreement (the Alliance Party were approached but declined to be involved) but no agreement
6806-465: Was the constituency of a county corporate , combining the franchises of both county and borough. Until 1950 there were also university constituencies , which gave graduates an additional representation. Similar distinctions applied in the Irish House of Commons , while the non-university elected members of the Parliament of Scotland were called Shire Commissioners and Burgh Commissioners. After
6889-490: Was the first since 1992 to be held on a day that did not coincide with any local elections. The governing Conservative Party led by the prime minister Theresa May remained the largest single party in the House of Commons but lost its small overall majority, resulting in the formation of a Conservative minority government with a confidence and supply agreement with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) of Northern Ireland. The Conservative Party, which had governed as
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