Research Briefing
Since February 2001 it has been possible to get a postal vote on demand in Great Britain; voters no longer have to state a reason for applying for an absent vote or to obtain attestation of illness (etc.) from a medical practitioner or employer. As a result, the number of postal votes counted at general
Research Briefing
The new system of Individual Electoral Registration (IER) will be introduced in England and Wales on 10 June 2014 and on 19 September 2014 in Scotland. The current system still mainly relies on the Victorian idea of the ‘head of the household’ being responsible for registering everyone who lives at that property. The Electoral Commission
Research Briefing
This paper looks in brief at some of the developments relating to elections and electoral administration in the UK since the general election since 2010. It tracks the commitments in relation to elections contained in the Coalition Government’s agreement, The Coalition: Our Programme for Government, published in May 2010. Other key developments relating to elections are outlined, for example the Law Commission’s review of electoral law and proposed changes to electoral arrangements for the Northern Ireland Assembly and the National Assembly for Wales
Research Briefing
This note provides data on electorates of parliamentary constituencies at December 2011. There were 46.3 million people registered to vote in UK parliamentary elections at 1 December 2012, an increase of 247,000 on December 2011.
Research Briefing
This paper gives a history of the Parliamentary franchise and shows the incremental stages which led to universal suffrage across the UK by drawing on several of the recognised sources which have dealt with the subject and by referring to the key legislation.
Research Briefing
This Note gives details of the 2013 review in Wales, its progress and the consultation process. It should be read in conjunction with Library Standard Note 6095, Initial proposals for new constituency boundaries: Wales which looks at the extent to which the proposed constituencies can be identified with existing seats and which existing constituencies will be most affected by the proposals.
Research Briefing
The Electoral Registration and Administration Bill 2012-13 was introduced on 10 May 2012. The Bill makes provision for a legislative framework for the introduction of a new system of individual electoral registration (IER) under which electors will be registered individually instead of by household. This Note summarises the progress of the Bill. It supplements Research Paper 12/26 which was produced for the Bill’s second reading in the House of Commons on 23 May 2012.
Research Briefing
A report by the Electoral Commission on continuous electoral registration in Northern Ireland, published in November 2012, found that there had been ‘a significant and worrying decline in both the accuracy and completeness of Northern Ireland’s electoral register’ since 2008. The Note looks at the introduction of individual electoral registration in Northern Ireland and the abolition of the annual canvass.
Research Briefing
This research paper has been written to inform Members in preparation for the second reading of the Electoral Registration and Administration Bill 2012-13
Research Briefing
The Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act contains measures to set the number of UK parliamentary constituencies at 600 and to limit the permitted variation in the number of registered electors for a constituency. This note considers the possible impact by region of the proposals in the Bill and compares the sizes of constituency electorates at 1 December 2010. It looks at the variation in electorate sizes about national and regional means and about the UK Electoral Quota as defined in the Act.
Research Briefing
The 2010 General Election will use new constituency boundaries in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland the boundaries will be the same as 2005. After the election there will be 650 seats in the House of Commons, four more than the 646 now. In partisan terms, the new areas give a net benefit to the Conservatives. If the 2005 election had been fought on the new boundaries the Conservatives would have gained around 12 additional seats and Labour seven fewer.
Research Briefing
This Note provides data on the number of electors and attainers in each parliamentary constituency as at 1 December 2009, published by the Office for National Statistics on 26 February 2010.
Research Briefing
General Election 2005. House of Commons Library Research Paper 05/33
Total results (page 6 of 7)