We have only a few days remaining until we make a decision on our next prime minister and MPs.
The general election will be held on July 4 and UK citizens will be able to vote for change after 14 years of Conservative rule.
The Tories, Labour and the Lib Dems started campaigning on Thursday May 23 – one week before parliament was dissolved and purdah began.
Due to a change in boundaries, many constituencies now cover different areas but, as ever, all 650 seats will be contested.
Support for the various parties has stabilised in the past few weeks. The average poll scores of the Conservatives and Labour began to decline at the beginning of June. In the meantime, support increased for the Liberal Democrats and Reform UK but to a lesser degree. However, for the past week or so, those shifts appear to have stopped.
On average, all political parties are polling consistently. This implies that Labour maintains the roughly 20-point lead over the Conservatives that it has had for the most of the election campaign.
Who is eligible to vote in the 2024 general election?
Voters must bring appropriate ID on the day – something the former prime minister Boris Johnson fell foul of at the local elections in May.
Anyone who is registered in time for the election can vote, according to the Government. To have registered, you must be 18, a British citizen, a British overseas voter, an Irish citizen or a resident of a Commonwealth country. EU residents cannot vote unless they are citizens of Commonwealth countries Malta and Cyprus.
Citizens of non-Commonwealth nations cannot vote and nor can prisoners, although convicts serving 12 months or less can vote in the unrelated Scottish Parliament elections.
As well as Labour, Lib Dem and the Conservative candidates in English, Scottish and Welsh seats, the Greens, Reform UK and others will be on most ballots.
But there is a quirk if you live in Chorley, Lancashire – where the speaker of the House, Lindsay Hoyle, is MP. The Lib Dems, the Conservatives and Labour traditionally do not stand against the sitting speaker – leaving him likely to be elected again.
Scottish and Welsh national parties the Scottish National Party (SNP) and Plaid Cymru will have candidates in their respective countries.
In Northern Ireland, the main British parties are not represented and voters have a choice of parties including the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), Sinn Fein, Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) and Alliance Party.
How to find out if you’re registered to vote
You can check if you’re registered to vote by contacting your local Electoral Registration Office online. The deadline for registering to vote has passed.
If you’re registered to vote, you will have received a polling card giving instructions on where your polling booth is. Stations are open from 7am to 10pm.
