The Prime Minister asks the Queen to dissolve Parliament by Royal Proclamation. The Proclamation the formal Writs of Election which require an election to be held. The election is held 17 working days after the date of the Proclamation.
Since 1935 every general election has been held on a Thursday. Of the 16 general elections between 1945 and 2001, four have been in October, four in June, three in May and two in February.
When all of the results are known, the Queen will usually invite the leader of the party winning the most seats in the House of Commons to be Prime Minister and to form a new Government. The second largest party becomes the Official Opposition. Any smaller parties are collectively known as the Opposition, even if they support the Government.
British Prime Ministers 1721-2001
| Time | Prime Minister | Poltical Party |
|---|---|---|
| 1721-42 | Walpole | |
| 1742-43 | Compton | |
| 1743-54 | Pelham | |
| 1754-56 | Pelham-Holles | |
| 1756-57 | Cavendish | |
| 1757-61 | Pitt - the Elder | |
| 1761-62 | Pelham-Holles | |
| 1762-63 | Stuart | |
| 1763-65 | Grenville | |
| 1765-66 | Rockingham | |
| 1766-68 | Pitt - the Elder | |
| 1768-70 | Grafton | |
| 1770-82 | Lord North | |
| 1782 | Rockingham | |
| 1782-83 | Shelburne | |
| 1783 | Bentinck | |
| 1783-1801 | Pitt - the Younger | |
| 1801-04 | Addington | |
| 1804-06 | Pitt - the Younger | |
| 1806-07 | Grenville | |
| 1807-09 | Bentinck | |
| 1809-12 | Perceval | |
| 1812-27 | Jenkinson | |
| 1827 | Canning | |
| 1827-28 | Robinson | |
| 1828-30 | Wellington | |
| 1830-34 | Grey | |
| 1834 | Lamb | |
| 1834-35 | Peel | |
| 1835-41 | Lamb | |
| 1841-46 | Peel | |
| 1846-52 | Russell | |
| 1852 | Derby | |
| 1852-55 | Aberdeen | |
| 1855-58 | Palmerston | |
| 1858-59 | Derby | |
| 1859-65 | Palmerston | |
| 1865-66 | Russell | |
| 1866-68 | Derby | |
| 1868 | Disraeli | |
| 1868-74 | Gladstone | |
| 1874-80 | Disraeli | |
| 1880-85 | Gladstone | |
| 1885-86 | Salisbury | |
| 1886 | Gladstone | |
| 1886-92 | Salisbury | |
| 1892-94 | Gladstone | |
| 1894-95 | Rosebery | |
| 1895-1901 | Salisbury | |
| 1902-05 | Balfour | |
| 1905-08 | Campbell-Bannerman | |
| 1908-16 | Asquith | |
| 1916-22 | George | |
| 1922-23 | Law | |
| 1923-24 | Baldwin | |
| 1924 | MacDonald? | |
| 1924-29 | Baldwin | |
| 1929-35 | MacDonald? | |
| 1935-37 | Baldwin | |
| 1937-40 | Chamberlain | |
| 1940-45 | Churchill | |
| 1945-51 | Atlee | |
| 1951-55 | Churchill | |
| 1955-57 | Eden | |
| 1957-63 | Macmillan | |
| 1963-64 | Douglas-Home | |
| 1964-70 | Wilson | |
| 1970-74 | Heath | |
| 1974-76 | Wilson | |
| 1976-79 | Callaghan | |
| 1979-90 | Thatcher | |
| 1990-97 | Major | |
| 1997-Present | Blair |
Electoral Reform
1832 Reform Act. Extended the right to vote to certain leaseholders and householders. (5% of the adult population could vote).
1867 Second Reform Act. Further extension of the voting regulations in counties and boroughs. (13% of the adult population could vote).
1872 Secret Ballot Act. Introduced voting by secret ballot, replacing the hustings?.
1884 Representation of the People Act. Any male occupying land or property with an annual rateable value of £10 could vote. (24% of the adult population could vote).
1918 Representation of the People Act. All males over the age of 21 were given the vote. Women over 30 got the vote. Women could become MPs. (75% of the adult population could vote)
1928 Representation of the People Act and Equal Franchise Act. Uniform voting rights were extended to all men and women over the age of 21. (99% of the adult population could vote).
1969 Representation of the People Act. The voting age was reduced to 18 for all men and women.
1985 Representation of the People Act. Voters who, at the time of an election, are abroad, either working or on holiday, may apply for a postal vote.
2000 Representation of the People Act. Introduced changes to electoral registration and extended postal vote provisions.
From the Electoral register there are 44,423,440 people registered to vote in the UK, 36,994,211 of them in England.
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