Dates and full timetable as Britain heads to the polls for snap election
Britain is voting in a snap general election. Here’s everything you need to know including the countdown, big dates and registering to vote.
Britain will head to the polls on June 8 for a snap general election.
Theresa May made the shock announcement outside Downing Street saying: “The country is coming together but Westminster is not.”
She left a 51-day countdown to polling day. So what is happening in that time?
The short answer is: A lot.
Here’s the timetable for what you should see over the general election campaign.
GENERAL ELECTION 2017 COUNTDOWN
Theresa May’s big reveal
Tuesday 18 April 2017 (51 days to go)
Theresa May stands outside Downing Street and announces she wants a snap general election on June 8.
She says: “At this moment of enormous national significance there should be unity here in Westminster, but instead there is division.
“The country is coming together, but Westminster is not.”
MPs give their permission
Wednesday 19 April (50 days to go)
Just after lunchtime and PMQs , Theresa May leads a vote in the House of Commons to authorise a general election.
Under the Fixed Term Parliaments Act, two-thirds of MPs (434 of them) must back her motion.
That means at least 100 or so non-Tory MPs must vote for it.
Jeremy Corbyn and Lib Dem leader Tim Farron have both welcomed the election, signalling this will easily happen.
However, there is another way an election could be forced.
It can happen if Parliament, by a simple majority (half of MPs), backs a no confidence motion in the government.
This seems very unlikely, given more than half of MPs are Tories.
Passing a no confidence motion in their own government wouldn’t be a good look as they head into an election.
General Election 2017
A big day for Brexit
Monday 29 April (40 days to go)
The other 27 nations of the EU will meet for a major summit on how to negotiate Brexit .
The outcome of this meeting will be crucial for Theresa May.
If it goes well for her she can say she is leading the country in a calm, orderly divorce from Brussels.
If it doesn’t, her critics will have timely fodder to say her Brexit plan is heading towards disaster.
Parliament dissolved – and the big push begins
Tuesday 2 May (37 days to go)
Parliament is dissolved on the 25th working day before the election.
This will technically be at one minute past midnight on Wednesday 3 May. So in practice, on the evening of Tuesday 2 May.
At this moment, MPs stop being MPs, lose their pay and privileges and, in a legal sense, there is no Parliament.
But the Prime Minister remains in charge of the country, meaning we won’t be totally leaderless if war breaks out.
This is also the start of the “short campaign” where candidates are subject to incredibly strict limits on campaign spending.
MPs will drain out of Westminster like water down a sink. Activists will pound doorsteps, phone banks and battle buses will fill up, and posters will appear behind picket fences and in terrace windows across the nation.
The local elections
Thursday 4 May (35 days to go)
Millions of people in England, Wales and Scotland will go to the polls – but not for the general election.
Instead they’ll be voting for county and unitary councillors and new ‘metro mayors’ in the local elections.
It is very rare to have two major elections so close to each other, and the result will be like a mega-poll for the general election ahead.
Bizarrely, Downing Street said the people of Manchester Gorton, which was due a by-election, would still elect an MP who would immediately have to stand again.
But it’s now been signalled the by-election will be cancelled.
France chooses its new President
Sunday 7 May (32 days to go)
France will vote in the second and final round of its Presidential election.
With National Front leader Marine Le Pen predicted to make it through to the second round, the focus will be on whether the far-right is making gains in Europe.
Candidates are revealed
Thursday 11 May (28 days to go
This is the deadline for candidates to file their nomination papers.
At this point you’ll find out who’s standing and it’ll be fully confirmed which MPs of vintage are standing down.
Deadlines to register to vote
Monday 22 May (17 days to go)
At midnight tonight will be the deadline to register to vote.
To register to vote visit gov.uk/register-to-vote and fill in 11 questions including your name, address, National Insurance number and whether you want a postal vote.
It takes less than 5 minutes.
If you’re already registered for the local elections on May 4 you don’t need to register.
Tuesday 23 May (16 days to go)
At 5pm will be the deadline to apply for a postal vote, for instance if you’re on holiday.
It will also be the deadline to apply for a postal proxy vote allowing someone else to cast your vote for you.
Wednesday 31 May (8 days to go)
At 5pm is the deadline for making an application for a proxy vote. This lets someone else vote for you.
You can still apply for an emergency proxy vote up to 5pm on polling day if you’re caught by a cancelled flight or medical crisis.
Polling Day
Thursday 8 June
Polling stations open in every town, city and village across the UK from 7am to 10pm.
Millions will cast their vote in the general election.
An exit poll at 10pm will give the first indication of which way the wind is blowing.
Counting will take place overnight, with the first seat to declare usually Sunderland before midnight.
If it’s an easy victory for one side a result could be known by 3am or 4am.
If it’s close there could still be uncertainty when Britain wakes up on the morning of Friday 9 June.
The fallout
Friday 9 June
A Labour loss would pile pressure on Jeremy Corbyn to quit, sparking the third Labour leadership election in three years which would likely last all summer.
A Tory loss, against the bookies’ odds, would spell career disaster for Theresa May and dramatically change the course of Brexit.
