Upcoming elections
What is scheduled, what is only a deadline, and what is merely expected.The difference matters, so it is stated on every entry.
2 polling days left in this Parliament · Nearest first
- 6May2027
Thursday
Local elections
Fixed dateAll local authorities in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, a tranche of English councils, and several directly elected English mayoralties.
Northern Ireland Assembly election
ExpectedExpected to be held alongside the 2027 local elections.
216days awayabout 7 months - 15Aug2029
Wednesday, not a Thursday, which is the tell that this is a backstop rather than a plan
United Kingdom general election
Latest possible dateThe latest possible date under the Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022. A Prime Minister may call one at any point before this.
1,048days awayabout 2.9 years
Contests that shaped this Parliament
By-elections and scheduled contests since 2024: the only real-world tests of the polling picture.
Nigel Farage, returned for Clacton 13 August 2026Farage holds Clacton on 63.3%
Clacton by-election
Nigel Farage resigned his seat on 8 July amid scrutiny of his personal finances and undeclared gifts, then re-contested it. Labour, the Conservatives, the Liberal Democrats, the Greens and Restore Britain all stood aside, leaving the novelty candidate Count Binface as runner-up on 26.9%. Turnout fell 13.6 points to 44.4%; majority 12,784.
Andy Burnham, returned for Makerfield 18 June 2026Burnham returns to the Commons
Makerfield by-election
Held so Andy Burnham could re-enter Parliament and stand for the Labour leadership, party rules requiring any candidate to be an MP. Restore Britain took 6.8% and third place, ahead of the Conservatives.
Hannah Spencer, the Greens' by-election winner 26 February 2026Greens win their first ever Westminster by-election
Gorton and Denton by-election
Hannah Spencer took the seat on 41% with a majority above 4,000: the party had never previously exceeded 10% in a by-election. Reform UK second, Labour third. Green membership passed 200,000 within days.
SourceWikipedia, 2026 in United Kingdom politics and government (26 February 2026)
A polling station in Swansea 7 May 2026Three sets of elections on one day
Local, Scottish Parliament and Senedd elections
UK local elections were held alongside the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Senedd elections: the first nationwide test of the post-2024 party landscape.
SourceWikipedia, 2026 United Kingdom local elections (7 May 2026)
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