Current:Home > FinanceThe UK will hold its first election in almost 5 years. Here’s what to know -Infinite Edge Learning
The UK will hold its first election in almost 5 years. Here’s what to know
View
Date:2025-04-11 23:54:40
LONDON (AP) — The United Kingdom will hold its first national election in almost five years on Thursday, with opinion polls suggesting that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservative Party will be punished for failing to deliver on promises made during 14 years in power.
The center-right Conservatives took power during the depths of the global financial crisis and have won three more elections since then. But those years have been marked by a sluggish economy, declining public services and a series of scandals, making the Tories, as they are commonly known, easy targets for critics on the left and right.
The Labour Party, which leans to the left, is far ahead in most opinion polls after focusing its campaign on a single word: Change.
But the Tories face other challenges as well. The new Reform Party is siphoning off votes from the rightwing of the Conservatives after criticizing the Tory leadership for failing to control immigration.
Here is a look at the election and what’s at stake.
AP AUDIO: The UK will hold its first election in almost 5 years. Here’s what to know
Correspondent Naeun Kim reports Britain’s governing party is gambling on a summer election, to be held this Thursday, July 4.
How will the election work?
People throughout the United Kingdom will elect all 650 members of the House of Commons, one for each local constituency. There are no primaries or run-offs, just a single round of voting on July 4.
Britain uses a “first past the post” system of voting, which means that the candidate that finishes top in each constituency will be elected, even if they don’t get 50% of the vote. This has generally cemented the dominance of the two largest parties, Conservatives and Labour, because it is difficult for smaller parties to win seats unless they have concentrated support in particular areas.
How is the prime minister chosen?
Over 50 countries go to the polls in 2024
- The year will test even the most robust democracies. Read more on what’s to come here.
- Take a look at the 25 places where a change in leadership could resonate around the world.
- Keep track of the latest AP elections coverage from around the world here.
The party that commands a majority in the Commons, either alone or with the support of another party, will form the next government and its leader will be prime minister.
That means the results will determine the political direction of the government, which has been led by the center-right Conservatives for the past 14 years. The center-left Labour Party is widely seen to be in the strongest position.
Who is running?
Sunak, a former Treasury chief who has been prime minister since October 2022, is leading his party into the election. His primary opponent is Keir Starmer, a former director of public prosecutions in England and leader of the Labour Party since April 2020.
But other parties, some of which have strong regional support, could be crucial to forming a coalition government if no one wins an overall majority.
The Scottish National Party, which campaigns for Scottish independence, the Liberal Democrats, and the Democratic Unionist Party, which seeks to maintain ties between Britain and Northern Ireland, are currently the three largest parties in Parliament after the Conservatives and Labour. Many observers suggest the new Reform Party, fronted by Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage, may siphon votes from the Conservatives.
FILE - Britain’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and opposition Labour Party leader Keir Starmer, left, take part in the BBC’s Prime Ministerial Debate, in Nottingham, England, Wednesday June 26, 2024. (Phil Noble/Pool via AP, File)
FILE - A Union flag is displayed outside the Houses of Parliament, in London, Thursday, May 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)
Why are the Conservatives under pressure?
The Conservatives have faced one challenge after another since they took power in 2010. First there was the fallout from the global financial crisis, which swelled Britain’s debt and caused the Tories to impose years of austerity to balance the budget. They then led Britain out of the European Union, battled one of the deadliest COVID-19 outbreaks in western Europe, and saw inflation soar after Russia invaded Ukraine.
Regardless of the circumstances, many voters blame the Conservatives for the litany of problems facing Britain, from sewage spills and unreliable train service to the cost-of-living crisis, crime and the influx of migrants crossing the English Channel on inflatable boats.
On top of that, the party has been tarred by the repeated ethical lapses of government ministers, including lockdown-busting parties in government offices. The scandals chased former Prime Minister Boris Johnson from office and ultimately from Parliament after he was found to have lied to lawmakers. His successor, Liz Truss, lasted just 45 days after her economic policies cratered the economy.
What are the big issues?
FILE - In this Thursday, Dec. 12, 2019 file photo, a polling station signpost lies on the pavement, in Twickenham, England. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, File)
The economy: Britain has struggled with high inflation and slow economic growth, which have combined to make most people feel poorer. The Conservatives succeeded in controlling inflation, which slowed to 2% in the year through May after peaking at 11.1% in October 2022, but growth remains sluggish, raising questions about the government’s economic policies.
Immigration: Thousands of asylum seekers and economic migrants have crossed the English Channel in flimsy inflatable boats in recent years, triggering criticism that the government has lost control of Britain’s borders. The Conservatives’ signature policy for stopping the boats is a plan to deport some of these migrants to Rwanda. Critics say the plan violates international law, is inhumane, and will do nothing to stop people fleeing war, unrest and famine.
Health care: Britain’s National Health Service, which provides free health care to everyone, is plagued with long waiting lists for everything from dental care to cancer treatment. Newspapers are filled with stories about seriously ill patients forced to wait hours for an ambulance, then longer still for a hospital bed.
The environment: Sunak has backtracked on a series of environmental commitments, pushing back the deadline for ending the sale of gasoline- and diesel-powered passenger vehicles and authorizing new oil drilling in the North Sea. Critics say these are the wrong policies at a time the world is trying to combat climate change.
Why is the election being held now?
FILE - Britain’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak speaks to the media, as heavy rain falls, outside 10 Downing Street in London Wednesday, May 22, 2024, as he announces that he is to call a General Election for July 4. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)
Sunak surprised pundits and most of his own lawmakers six weeks ago when he set the election for July 4, at least three months earlier than expected.
While most observers thought the vote would take place in the fall, Sunak gambled on a summer election, hoping that positive economic news would help him persuade voters that Conservative policies were beginning to work.
The decision was so startling that it landed the Tories in hot water. Allegations have emerged that party members and police officers assigned to protect government officials had placed wagers on a summer election, suggesting they had inside information and damaging Sunak’s ability to claim that his party is more trustworthy than Labour.
Commentators had been speculating about the timing of the election for months because the parliamentary term was scheduled to end in mid-December. While each parliament is elected for up to five years, the prime minister can call an election whenever it is most advantageous politically.
veryGood! (61654)
Related
- McConnell absent from Senate on Thursday as he recovers from fall in Capitol
- Utah judge to decide if author of children’s book on grief will face trial in her husband’s death
- Matthew Stafford's Wife Kelly Stafford Shares Her Advice for Taylor Swift and Fellow Football Wives
- Judge to hear arguments over whether to dismiss Arizona’s fake elector case
- See you latte: Starbucks plans to cut 30% of its menu
- Lake Mary, Florida wins Little League World Series over Chinese Taipei in extra innings on walk-off bunt, error
- Four men found dead in a park in northwest Georgia, investigation underway
- Ravens offensive line coach Joe D'Alessandris dies at 70 after battling 'acute illness'
- Bodycam footage shows high
- Famed Coney Island Cyclone roller coaster is shut down after mid-ride malfunction
Ranking
- The Louvre will be renovated and the 'Mona Lisa' will have her own room
- Tusk says he doesn’t have the votes in parliament to liberalize Poland’s strict abortion law
- Residential real estate was confronting a racist past. Then came the commission lawsuits
- Lando Norris outruns Max Verstappen to win F1 Dutch Grand Prix
- The Grammy nominee you need to hear: Esperanza Spalding
- Horoscopes Today, August 24, 2024
- Where Hailey Bieber and Justin Bieber's Son Jack Sits in the Massive Baldwin Family Tree
- NCAA issues Notice of Allegations to Michigan for sign-stealing scandal
Recommendation
Who's hosting 'Saturday Night Live' tonight? Musical guest, how to watch Dec. 14 episode
Georgia sheriff's deputy dies days after he was shot during search, sheriff's office says
Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Color TV
Mormon Wives Influencers Reveal Their Shockingly Huge TikTok Paychecks
'Most Whopper
Great Value Apple Juice sold at Walmart stores voluntarily recalled over arsenic levels
Below Deck Mediterranean's Chef Serves Potentially Deadly Meal to Allergic Guest—and Sandy Is Pissed
Timeline of Gateway Church exodus, allegations following claims against Robert Morris