General election 2024: Key dates in the countdown to polling day
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has announced that general election will take place in July.
Now that a date has been set, the clock starts ticking on a strict timetable until polling day.
Find out below when you need to register to vote, as well as other key dates.
May 30
Dissolution of parliament. By law, this has to take place no later than 25 working days before polling day, which, in this instance, is May 30.
The days between now and May 30 will be used to complete any urgent business in the Commons and the Lords, though it also means certain pieces of legislation currently going through parliament – such as the Tobacco & Vapes Bill and the Football Governance Bill – will probably be lost or else scaled back.
June 7
Deadline for candidates to be nominated. It is highly likely that candidates for some of the 650 constituencies across the UK have yet to be picked. Political parties will be rushing to find people to fill these gaps.
June 18
Deadline to register to vote. This can be done online at gov.uk/register-to-vote.
June 19
Deadline to apply for a postal vote.
June 26
Deadline to apply for a proxy vote – in other words, for someone to vote on your behalf – and to apply for a Voter ID certificate, if you do not already have a valid form of photo identification.
This will be the first UK general election where all voters will have to show a valid form of photo ID before casting a ballot.
July 4
Election day. Polls will open from 7am to 10pm.
