1. General Election Assembly

2. What is a general election?
General elections usually happen every FIVE years
People vote to decide who will represent their area (constituency) in the House of Commons
Most people over 18 can vote
The House of Commons is perhaps the part of Parliament we are probably most familiar with as we are used to seeing the green benches on the news.
It is the democratically elected chamber of Parliament which means that we, the British public, are responsible for the political composition of the House.
Each MP represents an average of approximately 70,000 potential voters, in the 650 parliamentary constituencies. plus everyone else who is in their area who cannot vote (under 18s etc). There are 650 MPs
MPs represent everyone in their constituency – regardless of their political affiliations and whether they voted for them or not: it doesn’t matter whether you support them, like them voted for them or voted at all, they are your representative in Parliament.
The number of seats is decided by the Boundary Commission – an independent body which recommends the boundaries regarding Parliamentary constituencies.
At the 2010 general election the number of seats increased from 646 to 650 to reflect the growing population.
The party, or parties, with the largest number of seats in the House of Commons forms the Government (which is different from Parliament).

3. What is a general election?
There are 650 constituencies in the UK each with around 70,000 voters.

4. Manifesto Before a general election?
Manifestos
Political parties create a manifesto outlining what they would do in government.
Using their manifesto, candidates from different political parties will try to persuade people to vote for them.

5. Before a general election?
They may give interviews on TV and radio to explain why people should vote for them.
Credit © BBC
BBC
Newstatesmen
In their constituency they will talk about issues that affect the local people.
Credit © Newstatesmen

6. You can register to vote from 16-years-old!
What happens before a general election?
People over 18-years-old can vote in a general election.
You can register to vote from 16-years-old!
Register online at

7. During a general election?
People all over the UK visit polling stations to cast their vote.
At the polling station people receive a ballot paper with a list of candidates names and the parties they represent.

8. What happens on the day of a general election?X
To vote for a candidate you mark an ‘X’ next to their name.
UK general elections use First Past the Post (FPTP) voting system.

9. This is where the candidate with the most votes in each constituency wins and becomes the MP for that seat.
Example: Constituency B
Lib Dem
UKIP
Conservatives
Labour
DISREGARDED
VOTES
40249
BECOMES MP

10. DISREGARDED VOTES BECOMES MP
Example: Constituency A
Lib Dem
UKIP
Labour
Conservatives
DISREGARDED
VOTES
With FPTP it doesn’t matter how many votes you win by, as long as you receive more votes than any other candidate.
BECOMES MP
In many areas, the majority of people will not have voted for their MP.

11. What happens after a general election?
The person with the most votes in each constituency becomes an MP and takes their seat in the House of Commons.

12. What happens after a general election?
The party with the most MPs can form the government.
The leader of that party will become the Prime Minister.

13. The UK Government
The party (usually) with the majority of seats in the House of Commons:
Forms the Government
Runs departments (e.g. Home Office, Transport, Health and Social Care)
Proposes new laws to Parliament
Is accountable to Parliament
The political party with (usually) the majority of seats in the House of Commons forms the Government. The Government proposes new laws to Parliament. The Government consists of approximately 100 members, all of whom are chosen by the Prime Minister.
The Prime Minister can choose whoever they want to be a member of their Government, with the only convention being that they are accountable to Parliament, and must therefore be a member of the House of Lords or the House of Commons.
The Government runs public departments, such as Health, Transport, Schools.
It is through the creation of legislation that the departments and local authorities are required to follow Government policy. If Government policy is not reflected in legislation then there is no obligation to follow it.
Ministers are MPs or Members of the Lords who are given extra responsibilities for leading or assisting the leader of one of the Government departments.
The Cabinet consists of senior Ministers chosen by the Prime Minister – the executive committee who head Government departments and decide Government policy.
Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government departments and are generally called ‘Secretary of State’, although some have special titles, such as Chancellor of the Exchequer.
Ministers of State, Junior Ministers and Parliamentary Under–Secretaries of State assist the ministers in charge of the department.
A Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) is selected from backbench MPs as the ‘eyes and ears’ of the minister in the House of Commons.
Whips are MPs or Members of the Lords who are appointed to maintain party discipline. They make sure people vote the right way and show up.
Credit © Number 10 Flickr

14. PARLIAMENT GOVERNMENT
Commons, Lords and Monarch
Checks and challenges the Government
Makes and changes laws
Some MPs and some Lords, chosen by the Prime Minister
Runs Government departments
This is another way to think about the distinction between Parliament and Government: they are in different places (Westminster / Whitehall).
Parliament is all MPs, all Members of the House of Lords and the Monarchy
Government is just some MPs and some Peers who have been chosen by the Prime Minister to be Ministers.
If you can command the confidence of the House, you can form a Government.

15. The 2017 House of Commons is the most diverse chamber ever!
208 Women MPs
52 BAME MPs
45 LGBTQ MPs
5 MPs with disabilities
PLEASE BE AWARE THAT THESE NUMBERS WILL NEED TO BE REVIEWED REGULARLY
The UK general election took place on Thursday 8 June 2017
Highlights:
First woman Sikh MP Preet Gill MP for Birmingham Edgbaston a seat that has had a woman MP since 1953.
Layla Moran MP for Oxford West and Abingdon first MP of Palestinian descent and the first woman Lib Dem from a minority background.
Marsha De Cordova MP for Battersea she is registered blind MP and a disability rights campaigner.
Eleanor Smith MP Wolverhampton South West she is the West Midlands first African Caribbean MP.
LGBTQ MPs:
45 out LGBTQ MPs were elected on June 8, a net gain of six.
The 45 represent 7% of the new House of Commons and is the highest level of representation ever in Britain and the world, representing a rise from 2015.
19 CONSERVATIVE (6%) 19 LABOUR (7%) 7 SNP (20%)
Source:

16. 326 seats needed to win a majority
General Election 2017
326 seats needed to win a majority
A general election is when the voters of the country cast their votes to elect Members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons.  
Wherever you live in the UK, you are represented in the House of Commons by your MP 
The House of Commons is made up of 650 Members of Parliament (MPs), representing 650 areas of the UK (constituencies)  
There is normally a choice of several candidates in each constituency. People can only vote for one of the candidates and the candidate that receives most votes becomes their MP 
The party that gains the most MPs usually forms the Government
The leader of the party with the most MPs becomes Prime Minster 
Your engagement in general elections is essential to democracy
A general election is a key opportunity for people in every part of the UK to choose their MP - the person who will represent their local area (constituency) in the House of Commons for up to five years 
Your MP can speak out about issues that are important to you and your community 
MPs represent all the people in their local area, whether they voted for them or not 
Even if your MP isn’t a member of the party that forms Government, they still play a vital role in holding the Government to account

17. Every single vote counts!
SNP MP Stephen Gethins won the Fife North East seat by…
Labour MP Emma Dent Coad won the Kensington seat by…
Every single vote counts!
Talk about the BYC and votes at 16? Scottish referendum.
If you don’t think your vote counts… 1 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 12
votes

18. Thank you