Following the announcement by the Prime Minister that a general election will take place on 4 July, Vijay Rangarajan, Chief Executive of the Electoral Commission, said:
“The electoral community will now be putting all its planning into action, working to support voters and delivering well-run polls. I’m very grateful to all involved for their crucial work supporting our democracy.
“Voters need to be registered to take part in the election. Applying only takes five minutes at www.gov.uk/register-to-vote and must be done by 18 June. Voters can choose whether to vote at a polling station, by post or by proxy.
“For the first time at a UK general election, those voting at a polling station will need to show photo ID. Voters should check now if they have an accepted form of ID, and if not to apply for free ID, called the Voter Authority Certificate.
“It’s important that voters can hear from a range of voices over the coming weeks. We call on political parties, campaigners, volunteers and candidates to undertake their vital role responsibly and transparently so that voters can have confidence in the information they see and receive. Spending rules are in place to provide an even playing field, and we will be publishing information on donations to parties throughout the campaign for transparency.
“We also call on all campaigners to engage respectfully and constructively with opposing viewpoints. Campaigning can and should take place without anyone experiencing threats, abuse or intimidation.”
Key dates for voters in the run-up the 4th of July are:
Action Timeline
Deadline for registering to vote 23.59 Tuesday 18 June
Deadline for applying for a postal vote 17.00 Wednesday 19 June
Deadline for applying for a proxy vote 17.00 Wednesday 26 June
Deadline for applying for a Voter Authority Certificate 17.00 Wednesday 26 June
Polling day 07.00 – 22.00 Thursday 4 July
The notice of election must be issued no later than the 4th of June at 4pm by the returning officers at the local authority responsible for the elections in each area.
This will happen following the dissolution of Parliament on the 30th of May when the current MP’s will all cease to be MP’s and the UK will effectively no longer have a working parliament until after the General Election.
The closing date for nominations of candidates standing in the election will be at 4pm on Friday the 7th of June with the official list of candidate's voters will have the click of in the election announced for each area.
The new Penrith and Solway seat is expected to see at least six candidates standing to become the areas MP.
Penrith.Town will bring you all the candidates and their manifesto once the official nominated candidates are announced.
Penrith.Town will also be inviting all nominated candidates to answer your questions on why you should vote for them in a live Penrith.Town Hustings in June that planning is already underway for hosting.