How Rishi Sunak’s Announcement Will Impact Your Child’s School
Rishi Sunak’s Announcement
BRITAIN is heading for its first July election since 1945 after Rishi Sunak announced the summer vote yesterday. The vote will take place on July 4 – a term-time Thursday when youngsters would normally be at school.
Labour leader Keir Starmer will kick off his campaign this morning.
School Closures on Election Day
But local returning officers can take over any state school building to use it as a polling station. That means your child’s school could be closed on the historic election day. The school should be in touch if it will close for polling day, so keep an eye on your inbox. Ring up the school reception if you don’t hear anything one way or another.
Taking Your Child to Vote
If your kids do get the day off, you are allowed to take them into the voting booth with you. But make sure your kids behave and do not try to vote themselves – as this would be electoral fraud and would undermine democracy.
Eligibility and Registration
Every British citizen aged 18 and over is eligible to vote at the General Election. People must register to vote in the constituency where they live if they are not already, with a deadline expected around June 18. For the first time in a general election a form of ID is now needed to cast a ballot at a polling station on July 4.
Voting Procedures
If unable to make it to the polling station on Polling Day, you can apply for a postal vote or task someone with voting for you by proxy. On the ballot paper will be all the candidates vying to become the seat’s MP in alphabetical order. You have one vote, and must put an X in the box of the candidate you want to win. The UK uses the first past the post voting system – which essentially means the candidate with the most votes wins.
Key Dates to Remember
THE main date for your diaries is obviously July 4, when millions of voters will go to the polls for the General Election. But the process of formally triggering the election will take place on Friday May 24 when Parliament is prorogued, signalling the end of the parliamentary year. The following Thursday May 30 will see Parliament officially dissolved which means all current MPs cease to hold office and vacate their seats.
Election Outcome
Candidates do not need to win a majority of voters in a constituency to become the MP, just one more vote than the runner-up. Whichever party leader wins a majority of the 650 Commons seats up for grabs will be asked by the King to form the next government.
Boundary Changes
A MAJOR shake-up of the electoral map means the constituency you voted in at the last election might not actually exist or may have moved. The boundaries of lots of seats have been tweaked, either to take in areas of other seats, lose ground or be abolished altogether.