The election legislation voted for by MPs, which has been rushed through the Commons and Lords, officially became law earlier this week having received Royal Assent.
This means it’s official – the date is written into the law that the next election will be brought forward to 12 December 2019.
From next week the official campaign period begins, sending ministers, party leaders and MPs far and wide across the country campaigning for votes.
Here’s how the next few weeks will pan out:
Election period timetable
6 November – Parliament dissolved
Parliament will be officially dissolved shortly after midnight and suspended from the start of the following day.
This will trigger the five week campaign period before the polling date and, as dictated by election laws, MPs will not sit in the Commons for 25 working days in the lead-up to the vote.
This also marks the beginning of “purdah”, the pre-election period during which there are restrictions on what civil servants are allowed to do.
They must continue to work but must avoid anything that could influence the election – such as by publishing a press release promoting the governing party – or that could call into question their impartiality.
During this time the governing party should not make any long term plans or policy decisions for the country unless deemed necessary.
7 November – Receipt of writ
The election writ – the legal documents authorise the holding of a general election or by-election – is issued declaring a vote will be held in each constituency.
11 November – Notice of election
The publication of notice of election must be given in constituencies no later than 4pm
14 November – Candidates’ deadline
All candidates wishing to stand in the election must have submitted their nomination papers by 4pm in order to stand in the election.
This is also the deadline for those withdrawing from the election race or for anyone wishing to make an objection to a candidate standing.
16 November – Candidate lists published
Once all the nominations have been received and confirmed, the final lists of candidates will be published.
You will be able to see the list of who is standing in your constituency by looking on your local authority website or on a noticeboard in their offices, where the names should be published.
26 November – Voter registration deadline
The final deadline to register to vote for the election, which you can do by visiting the Government website, is at midnight.
If you do not register to vote by this date you will not be able to vote in the election on 12 December.
The deadline for those wishing to apply for postal voting for the first time, or for those wishing to change preferences for proxy voting, is at 5pm.
3 December – NATO Summit
From 3 to 4 December the 2019 NATO Summit will take place in London.
This will mean that the world’s leaders – including US President Trump and European leaders – will descend on the capital whilst MPs are in full campaign flow and just a week before the final vote.
4 December – Proxy voting deadline
The deadline for those wishing to apply to vote by proxy for the first time is 5pm.
There is scope to vote by proxy if you have not applied by this date if you suffer from an emergency which will prevent you from voting.
12 December – Polling day
The polls will open from 7.oo am to 10.00 pm.
After they close at 10.00 pm exit polls will be published which will give the first indication as to what the final result will be.
The results will then be published throughout the night and early hours of the morning.
13 December – Result
By mid-morning the following day we will know what the next Parliament is going to look like.
If no majority is won the leader of the biggest party will enter into talks with others about forming a coalition government or a confidence and supply arrangement.
