UK parliamentary elections

The United Kingdom is currently divided into 650 parliamentary constituencies, each of which is represented by one member of Parliament (MP).

The Hinckley and Bosworth borough-area covers two parliamentary constituencies. You can find out more information about the current members of Parliament for these constituencies below:

• Bosworth Constituency, Dr Luke Evans MP (parliament.uk)
• Charnwood Constituency (part), Edward Argar MP (parliament.uk)

Parliamentary constituency boundaries are not the same as local authority boundaries, so sometimes the responsibility for running a parliamentary election is passed to another local authority’s Electoral Services team temporarily. Parliamentary constituency boundaries are regularly reviewed by the Boundary Commission for England. Find out the most recent information about boundary reviews.

General elections

A general election is when all 650 seats in the House of Commons become vacant and a new parliament is elected. Parliament is dissolved by the monarch and 25 working days later a polling day is held, usually on a Thursday.

By law, a general election must be held, at the latest, five years after the current parliament first met. However, the government can decide to call an election sooner.

The date of the next general election has not been announced, but as the current parliament first met on 17 December 2019, parliament will automatically dissolve on 17 December 2024 and polling day will take place 25 working days later.

The last general election took place on 12 December 2019. View the results of this election: General election Thursday 12 December 2019

Parliamentary by-elections

A parliamentary by-election happens when a seat in the House of Commons becomes vacant between general elections. 

This can happen if an MP:

• Resigns
• Dies
• Is declared bankrupt
• Takes a seat in the House of Lords
• Is convicted of a serious criminal offence
• Is the subject of a recall petition that is signed by more than 10% of eligible registered electors in their constituency

A by-election does not take place if an MP changes their political party affiliation. 

The Chief Whip of the political party to which the MP belonged decides when to put forward the motion to fill the vacancy. Then, this motion must be voted on by the other MPs so it can be some time before a parliamentary vacancy is filled. If it is towards the end of the five-year term of parliament, the vacancy may be left until the next general election.

Last updated: 02/06/2023 15:00