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There are different types of UK elections. The most common ones are:

• General elections and other UK Parliamentary elections
• Local government
• Scottish Parliament
• Northern Ireland Assembly
• Senedd Cymru (Welsh Parliament)
• Local mayors, Mayor of London and the London Assembly
• Police and Crime Commissioner

A vote on a single issue is called a referendum. Read more about referendums.

Different elections and referendums in the UK have different rules about who can vote. This means that not everyone can vote in every situation.

Eligibility

Whether you can vote in an election or referendum will depend on:

• your age
• your nationality
• where you live
• whether you鈥檝e registered to vote

General elections (elections to the UK Parliament) usually take place every 5 years.

To vote in a general election you must:

• be registered to vote
• be 18 or over on the day of the election (鈥榩olling day鈥�)
• be a British, Irish or citizen
• be resident at an address in the UK or living abroad and registered as an overseas voter
• not be legally excluded from voting

There are 650 Members of Parliament (MPs) in the UK Parliament.

MPs are elected using the 鈥榝irst past the post鈥� system. You vote once for a candidate in your constituency and the candidate with the most votes becomes your MP.

You can .

Local government elections take place at least every 4 years. Not all local government elections take place at the same time.

Your local government will do one of the following:

• elect all the local councillors every 4 years
• elect half the local councillors every 2 years
• elect one third of the local councillors every year for 3 years and hold no elections in the 4th year

Who can vote can in a local government election

You must:

• be registered to vote
• be 18 or over on the day of the election (鈥榩olling day鈥�) (16 or over in Scotland and Wales)
• be registered at an address in the area you want to vote in
• not be legally excluded from voting

If you live in England or Northern Ireland

You can vote if you鈥檙e a British citizen or an Irish citizen.聽

You can also vote if you have permission to enter or stay in the UK, Channel Islands or Isle of Man - or you do not need permission - and you鈥檙e a:

• Commonwealth citizen聽
• citizen of Denmark, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal or Spain聽
• citizen of another EU country, if you have had permission to enter or stay - or not needed permission - since 31 December 2020, and this has continued without a break

If you live in Scotland

You can vote if you鈥檙e a British citizen or an Irish citizen.

You can also vote if you鈥檙e a citizen of another country and have permission to enter or stay in the UK, Channel Islands or Isle of Man, or you do not need permission.

If you live in Wales

You can vote if you鈥檙e a British citizen, Irish citizen or a citizen of an EU country.

You can also vote if you鈥檙e a citizen of another country and have permission to enter or stay in the UK, Channel Islands or Isle of Man, or you do not need permission.

How candidates are elected

Local government councillors in England and Wales are elected using the First Past the Post system. The ballot paper will tell you the number of candidates you can vote for.

In Scotland and Northern Ireland, councillors are elected using the Single Transferable Vote system. You rank the candidates in order of preference.

When you can vote in more than one local election

If you live in 2 different local authority areas (for example because you鈥檙e a student), you may be able to vote in both areas.

You must register to vote in both areas. The local electoral registration offices will check each application and tell you if you can register in both areas.

There are 129 Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs).

To vote in Scottish Parliament elections you must:

• be registered to vote at an address in Scotland
• be 16 or over on the day of the election (鈥榩olling day鈥�)
• not be legally excluded from voting

You can vote if you鈥檙e a British citizen or an Irish citizen.

You can also vote if you鈥檙e a citizen of another country and have permission to enter or stay in the UK, Channel Islands or Isle of Man, or you do not need permission.

MSPs are elected using the 鈥榓dditional member鈥� system. You vote once for your constituency MSP and once for an MSP to represent the wider region.

There are 90 Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) in the Northern Ireland Assembly.

To vote in Northern Ireland Assembly elections you must:

• be registered to vote
• be 18 or over on the day of the election (鈥榩olling day鈥�)
• be registered at an address in the area you want to vote in
• not be legally excluded from voting

You can vote if you鈥檙e a British or Irish citizen.

You can also vote if you have permission to enter or stay in the UK, Channel Islands or Isle of Man - or you do not need permission - and you鈥檙e a:

• Commonwealth citizen
• citizen of Denmark, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal or Spain
• citizen of another EU country, if you have had permission to enter or stay - or not needed permission - since 31 December 2020, and this has continued without a break

In Northern Ireland, MLAs are elected using the Single Transferable Vote system. You rank the candidates in order of preference.

There are 60 Members of the Senedd (MSs).

To vote in Senedd elections you must:

• be registered to vote
• be 16 or over on the day of the election (鈥榩olling day鈥�)
• live in Wales
• not be legally excluded from voting

You can vote if you鈥檙e a British citizen, Irish citizen or a citizen of an聽EU听肠辞耻苍迟谤测.

You can also vote if you鈥檙e a citizen of another country and have permission to enter or stay in the UK, Channel Islands or Isle of Man, or you do not need permission.

MSs are elected using the 鈥榓dditional member鈥� system. You vote once for your constituency MS and once for an MS to represent the wider region.

Elected local mayors

In some areas of England voters elect a mayor.

Check if your mayor is elected on your local council website.

Mayors are elected using the 鈥榝irst past the post鈥� system. You vote once for a candidate and the candidate with the most votes becomes mayor.

To vote for a local mayor, you must be eligible to vote in local elections.

Mayor of London and London Assembly

The Mayor of London makes decisions on behalf of the people of London. The 25 London Assembly Members make sure the Mayor鈥檚 decisions are in the interests of the public.

To vote in the London Mayor and London Assembly elections you must:

• be registered to vote
• be 18 or over on the day of the election (鈥榩olling day鈥�)
• be resident at an address in Greater London
• not be legally excluded from voting

You can vote if you鈥檙e a British citizen or an Irish citizen.

You can also vote if you have permission to enter or stay in the UK, Channel Islands or Isle of Man - or you do not need permission - and you鈥檙e a:

• Commonwealth citizen聽
• citizen of Denmark, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal or Spain聽
• citizen of another EU country, if you have had permission to enter or stay - or not needed permission - since 31 December 2020, and this has continued without a break

How candidates are elected

The Mayor of London is elected using the first past the post system. You vote once for a candidate and the candidate with the most votes becomes mayor.

London Assembly members are elected using the 鈥榓dditional member鈥� system. You vote once for your constituency member and once for a London-wide representative.

There are 14 constituency members and 11 London-wide members.

There are 41 Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) in England and Wales who are elected to make sure the police are run properly. There is no elected PCC for London.

To vote in a PCC election you must:

• be registered to vote
• be 18 or over on the day of the election (鈥榩olling day鈥�)
• be resident at an address in England or Wales (excluding London)
• not be legally excluded from voting

You can vote if you鈥檙e a British or Irish citizen.

You can also vote if you have permission to enter or stay in the UK, Channel Islands or Isle of Man - or you do not need permission - and you鈥檙e a:

• Commonwealth citizen
• citizen of Denmark, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal or Spain
• citizen of another EU country, if you have had permission to enter or stay - or not needed permission - since 31 December 2020, and this has continued without a break

PCCs are elected using the first past the post system. You vote once for a candidate and the candidate with the most votes becomes PCC.

A referendum is a vote on a single issue. You usually make one choice between 2 options.聽

Each referendum has different rules on who can vote in it.聽

Referendums can be:

• national, where people across the whole of the UK can vote

• regional, where only people in a certain part of the UK can vote - for example, Wales or North East England

• local, held by local councils for people in their area

In a referendum, votes are usually counted for the whole of an area, not by constituency.

Local referendums

A local referendum can be held by a local council to make a decision on an issue affecting their area. For example, whether the local council should increase council tax.聽

Contact your local council to check the rules on who can vote in a local referendum they鈥檙e holding.