United Kingdom General Election 2029

What this countdown tracks

The next United Kingdom general election, which under the Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022 must be held no later than 28 August 2029 — five years after the first sitting of the Parliament returned on 4 July 2024. Voters will elect 650 Members of Parliament to the House of Commons across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland under the first-past-the-post system, with the leader of the largest party invited by the King to form a government.

About this election

The 2024 vote returned Sir Keir Starmer's Labour Party to government with a 411-seat landslide on a 33.7 percent vote share, ending fourteen years of Conservative rule. The Conservative Party collapsed to 121 seats — its worst result since 1832 — while Reform UK took five seats on a 14.3 percent share and the Liberal Democrats surged to 72. Scottish National Party representation fell to nine seats, ending its post-2015 dominance of Scotland's Westminster benches.

Starmer's working assumption is a May 2029 polling day on the traditional first Thursday in May, although the prerogative power restored by the 2022 Act gives the Prime Minister flexibility to call earlier. Internal Labour planning documents leaked in 2026 reportedly model both a May 2028 and a spring 2029 date. The Conservatives chose Kemi Badenoch as leader in November 2024; her party trails Reform UK in most polls through 2026.

The boundary changes that took effect for the 2024 vote remain in place, and electoral law reforms — voter ID, postal vote handling and overseas franchise extension — are the operative framework.

Key issues

The defining campaign themes are likely to be NHS waiting lists and social care funding, the post-Brexit growth gap, immigration and small-boats Channel crossings, the cost-of-living legacy of the 2022–24 inflation shock, defence spending against the backdrop of Ukraine and a more demanding NATO posture, and the Labour government's record on housebuilding targets and planning reform. Reform UK's rise on the right and the Liberal Democrat–Green squeeze on the left will shape tactical voting patterns.

Past results

• 2024: Labour 411 seats, Conservative 121, Liberal Democrats 72, SNP 9, Reform UK 5, Green 4 — Labour majority of 174.
• 2019: Conservative 365, Labour 202, SNP 48, Liberal Democrats 11 — Conservative majority of 80 under Boris Johnson.
• 2017: Conservative 317, Labour 262, SNP 35, Liberal Democrats 12 — hung parliament under Theresa May.
• 2015: Conservative 330, Labour 232, SNP 56 — first Conservative majority since 1992.
• 2010: Conservative 306, Labour 258, Liberal Democrats 57 — coalition government formed under David Cameron.

How to follow

The Electoral Commission publishes the official register and rules at electoralcommission.org.uk; results are declared constituency by constituency overnight, with the BBC, ITV and Sky News running election-night specials anchored by exit-poll modelling from Sir John Curtice's NCRM team. Live results aggregate at bbc.co.uk/news/election. Polls open 07:00 to 22:00 local time across all four nations.

Related countdowns

The UK 2029 vote sits in a cluster of late-cycle European elections including the European Parliament election and the Canada federal election. For comparable Westminster-system races see the Australia federal election and the New Zealand general election.

FAQ

When is the UK 2029 general election? The latest possible date is 28 August 2029; the working assumption is the first Thursday in May 2029 (3 May), though Parliament can be dissolved earlier. Who is running? Labour under Keir Starmer defending a large majority; the Conservatives under Kemi Badenoch; Reform UK under Nigel Farage; Liberal Democrats under Sir Ed Davey; the SNP, Green Party and Plaid Cymru. Why does this election matter globally? It will set Britain's foreign-policy posture toward the EU, Ukraine, China and the United States for a five-year window, and decide whether Reform UK's right-populist surge converts into Westminster seats. Is voter ID required? Yes — photo ID has been required at polling stations since the Elections Act 2022 came into force in 2023.