Package Delivery Failed: Signature Required

Package Delivery Failed: Signature Required

Since 1950, every constituency has been represented by a single Member of Parliament. There remains a technical distinction between county and borough constituencies; its only effects are on the amount of money candidates are allowed to spend during campaigns and the rank of the local authority co-opted Returning Officer who presides over the count. Geographic boundaries are determined by four permanent and independent Boundary Commissions, one each for England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. The commissions conduct general reviews of electoral boundaries once every 8 to 12 years, and interim reviews. In drawing boundaries, they are required to prefer local government boundaries, but may deviate from these to prevent great disparities in electorate; such disparities are given the formal term malapportionment. The proposals of the Boundary Commissions are subject to parliamentary approval, but may not be amended. After their next Periodic Reviews, the Boundary Commissions will be absorbed into the Electoral Commission, which was established in 2000. As of 2019, the UK is divided into 650 constituencies, with 533 in England, 40 in Wales, 59 in Scotland, and 18 in Northern Ireland. General elections occur whenever Parliament is dissolved. The timing of the dissolution was normally chosen by the Prime Minister (see relationship with the Government above); however, because of the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011, parliamentary terms were fixed at five years, except when the House of Commons sustains a vote of no confidence or passes an "early election" motion, the latter having to be passed by a two-thirds vote;[27] or, as in 2019, by an Enabling Act which overrides the Fixed-term Parliaments Act. The first use of this procedure was in April 2017, when MPs voted in favour of Theresa May's call for a snap election to be held that June. Even when the Fixed-term Parliaments Act was repealed in March 2022, the Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act retained Parliament's dissolution on the fifth year after its first day.[26] All elections in the UK have for some years been held on a Thursday. The Electoral Commission is unsure when this practice arose, but dates it to 1931, with the suggestion that it was made to coincide with market day; this would ease voting for those who had to travel into the towns to cast their ballot.[28] A candidate for a seat must submit nomination papers signed by ten registered voters from that area, and pay £500, which is refunded if the candidate wins at least five per cent of the vote. Such a deposit seeks to