Understanding the UK Parliamentary Elections: A Detailed Overview

A report by Raneem Bou Khzam, English adaptation by Nadine Sassine 


On July 4th, the British elect members of the House of Commons, which is part of Parliament, along with the House of Lords. 

The House of Lords is composed of more than 700 appointed members whose role is to scrutinize the work of the House of Commons.

The House of Commons, on the other hand, consists of 650 MPs elected by the people. Each of the 650 MPs represents an electoral district. In each district, voters aged 18 and above cast their vote for one candidate, following the "one man, one vote" principle. The candidate who receives the most votes in the district wins.

Most candidates are affiliated with a political party, with the two main parties being the Conservatives and Labour. However, there can also be independent candidates.

Once the election results are announced, the leader of the party with the most MPs is appointed by the monarch as the Prime Minister and is tasked with forming the government. The leader of the party with the second-highest number of MPs becomes the Leader of the Opposition.