Background: Democracy in Britain
There are currently 650 constituencies in the UK, giving the same number of Members of Parliament (MPs). These constituencies vary in size. The largest has over 100,000 people who can vote; the smallest has fewer than 30,000. Most, however, have an electorate of between 60,000 and 75,000. On the day of a general election, there is an election in each of these constituencies. These general elections are held every five years on the first Thursday in May.
Read more in Access to English: Social Studies, pp. 131-138. Then work with the tasks in the textbook and on this website.
How the General Election works
General elections on Britain explained in nearly sixty seconds.
How Parliament works
Quick explanation of the functions of the UK Parliament.
Articles and Resources
Going Further
Links
-
The main features of the Norwegian Electoral System (Task 5a, p. 140)
(regjeringen.no) -
Election 2017: The result in maps and charts (Task 6, p. 140)
(bbc.com) -
The Referendum on Electoral Reform - a Classic British Fudge
(issuu.com) Read a personal response to the referendum result -
General Election 2017 (BBC News)
(bbc.com) -
General Election 2017 (Guardian)
(theguardian.com) -
Video: A Brief History of Representation
(parliament.uk) -
House of Commons
(parliament.uk) -
House of Lords
(parliament.uk) -
UK Parliament teacher resources and lesson plans
(parliament.uk) -
Houses of Parliament 360° virtual tour
(parliament.uk) -
Political parties in Parliament
(parliament.uk) -
10 Downing Street
(gov.uk) -
Audio: The Monarchy (BBC Radio 4)
(bbc.co. uk)
