With today heralding the deadline for candidates to put themselves forward for the General Election in December, LSJ News has compiled a list of everything you need to know about this crucial vote.
On December 12, voters across the UK will head to the ballot box and here you can find all of the key details about the election in Lincoln, including all of the key dates and how you can register to vote at university.
How does it work?
Before we get into all of the key dates and names in this election, let’s take a moment to consider how it all actually works.
The United Kingdom of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland contains a total of 650 seats – each represented by a different Member of Parliament (MP).
When voters go to the ballot box in December, the choice they will be making is who they want as their MP.
The people putting themselves forward to be chosen as an area’s MP all represent different parties (i.e. Conservative Party, Labour Party etc.) or stand as independents.
A Prime Minister is then chosen by selecting the leader of the party which has won the most seats.
However, this can only be done if that party has won enough seats to hold a parliamentary majority – which would be 326.
If no party achieves this, then the result of the election is known as a hung parliament when different parties will then try to come together to collectively form those 326 seats – as happened when a coalition was formed between David Cameron’s Conservatives and Nick Clegg’s Liberal Democrats in 2010.
So who is running to be the MP in Lincoln?
Candidates wanting to be the MP for Lincoln have until 4pm today to put themselves forward, but we do already know the candidates for the major parties in Lincoln.
Labour Party – Karen Lee
Conservative Party – Karl McCartney
Liberal Democrats – Caroline Kenyon
Green Party – Sally Horscroft
Brexit Party – Reece Wilkes
How do I register to vote?
You can register to vote here on the Government’s website.
Students are allowed to register at both their home address and university address, but can only vote at one of them when it comes to the day itself.
Once you have registered, you will receive a polling card telling you the polling station you need to vote at.
You don’t need to take your polling card with you as they will have your name and address on file if you’re at the correct polling station.
You can vote between the hours of 7am and 10pm.
If you can’t make it to a polling station on the day, you can also apply here to vote by post.
Once you have received your voting form through the post, you can then return it to the address on the form to cast your vote – but you must do so in plenty of time to ensure it will have arrived in time for the polling stations closing.
What are the key dates in this election?
After the passing of today’s deadline, other key dates include:
- Tuesday, November 19: ITV will host a live head-to-head debate between Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn
- Thursday, November 28: A debate will be held in the Engine Shed between all of the Lincoln candidates. This event will be free for all students to attend.
- Friday, December 6: The BBC will host a live-head-to-head debate between Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn.
- Monday, December 9: The Lincolnite and BBC Radio Lincolnshire will be jointly hosting a live debate between all of the Lincoln candidates
- Thursday, December 12: Polling day
- Friday, December 13: The clear winner of the election will have emerged by this day
How can I follow the results live on the night?
On the night of the election, be sure to keep an eye on our social media’s for a special LSJ Election night.