As a British citizen or eligible resident, aged 18 or over, you have the Right to vote in elections across the UK. These happen on both local and national levels, and decide which political party, and who within it, will act as MP for your local area, as councillors within town and county councils, and ultimately who will control the UK government.
Local elections will take place at least every 4 years, though some councils will decide to run elections more frequently. In local elections, you vote for a candidate for a position within the local council, as your local councillor. While these candidates may present their own individual policies and ideas, they ultimately will either represent a nation-wide party, or stand alone as an independent. You have the choice to vote in favour of either the main party you support, or to instead vote for a local candidate whose policies may more closely reflect your views, and local concerns.
What does winning a seat mean?
The UK is divided into 650 constituencies.
Each Constituency elects one Member of Parliament (MP).
The candidate with the most votes in that Constituency wins the seat.
Winning an Election
“Winning the election” means which party wins enough seats to form the government.
The party with the most MPs normally forms the government.
After all constituencies vote, the total number of seats each party has is counted.
On a national level, you get to vote in general elections, which typically happen around every 5 years, although the government may decide to call a general election early. Similarly to local elections, you will vote for one candidate that represents a party, or acts as an independent. Whoever gains the most votes in your Constituency will then become the local Member of Parliament. From there, every MP will be counted up, and whichever party has the most MP’s, will then gain control of the government. Unlike in many other countries, the UK uses the first past the post system, meaning that the government is not decided on the total number of votes that they receive, but rather the total number of MP’s they have, and thus how many constituencies they control. As a result of this system, it is possible for a party to gain control of the government, without receiving the most votes across the UK. For example, the current Labour government under Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, was elected to government in the July 2024 general election, with only around 33% of the total vote share, while winning around 63% of the total seats in parliament.
There are however changes coming to the electoral system. On the 2nd March 2026, the Labour government proposed the “Representation of the people” bill. The bill aims to lower the minimum voting age in the UK to 16. On the gov.uk page regarding the bill, the government states the following.
“Young people represent the future of our country. Decisions the government makes now will not only affect young people today but will have an enduring impact on their entire lives. As such, it’s only Right and fair that younger people be able to vote. Further, by engaging voters early, when they are young, and allowing them to have a say in shaping their future, we will build the foundations for their lifelong participation in our electoral processes.”