Election Day in the United Kingdom is by tradition a Thursday, but the date for general elections is not fixed by law. Most other European countries hold all Elections on Sundays. Thursday, by international standard, is the fourth day of the week, falling between Wednesday and Friday. ...

UK General Elections

A General Election in the UK follows the dissolution of Parliament by the Queen on the advice of the Prime Minister of the day. The Prime Minister thus has the power to choose the date of the election. Thursday has been the customary day to hold elections since the 1930s. A general election is an election in which all members of a given political body are up for election. ... The Houses of Parliament, seen over Westminster Bridge The σParliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative institution in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories (it alone has parliamentary sovereignty). ... The British monarch or Sovereign is the monarch and head of state of the United Kingdom and its overseas territories, and is the source of all executive, judicial and (as the Queen-in-Parliament) legislative power. ... In the United Kingdom, the Prime Minister is the head of government, exercising many of the executive functions nominally vested in the Sovereign, who is head of state. ...

Historically, elections took place over the course of a four-week period until 1918. Election day was then as follows: 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ...

• 14 December 1918 - Saturday
• 15 November 1922 - Wednesday
• 6 December 1923 - Thursday
• 29 October 1924 - Wednesday
• 30 May 1929 - Thursday
• 27 October 1931 - Tuesday
• 14 October 1935 - Thursday

and elections have been on Thursdays since then: December 14 is the 348th day of the year (349th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... November 15 is the 319th day of the year (320th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 46 days remaining. ... 1922 (MCMXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... December 6 is the 340th day (341st on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1923 (MCMXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... October 29 is the 302nd day of the year (303rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 63 days remaining. ... 1924 (MCMXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... May 30 is the 150th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (151st in leap years). ... 1929 (MCMXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... October 27 is the 300th day of the year (301st in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 65 days remaining. ... 1931 (MCMXXXI) is a common year starting on Thursday. ... October 14 is the 287th day of the year (288th in Leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1935 (MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ...

• 5 July 1945
• 23 February 1950
• 25 October 1951
• 26 May 1955
• 8 October 1959
• 15 October 1964
• 31 March 1966
• 18 June 1970
• 28 February 1974
• 10 October 1974
• 3 May 1979
• 9 June 1983
• 11 June 1987
• 9 April 1992
• 1 May 1997
• 7 June 2001
• 5 May 2005

July 5 is the 186th day of the year (187th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 179 days remaining. ... 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... February 23 is the 54th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1950 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... October 25 is the 298th day of the year (299th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 67 days remaining. ... 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ... May 26 is the 146th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (147th in leap years). ... 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... October 8 is the 281st day of the year (282nd in leap years). ... 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... October 15 is the 288th day of the year (289th in Leap years). ... For the Nintendo 64 emulator, see 1964 (Emulator). ... March 31 is the 90th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (91st in Leap years), with 275 days remaining, as the final day of March. ... 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link goes to calendar) // Events January January 1 - In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa ousts president David Dacko and takes over the Central African Republic. ... June 18 is the 169th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (170th in leap years), with 196 days remaining. ... 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday. ... February 28 is the 59th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1974 (MCMLXXIV) is a common year starting on Tuesday (click on link for calendar). ... October 10 is the 283rd day of the year (284th in Leap years). ... 1974 (MCMLXXIV) is a common year starting on Tuesday (click on link for calendar). ... May 3 is the 123rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (124th in leap years). ... This page refers to the year 1979. ... June 9 is the 160th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (161st in leap years), with 205 days remaining. ... 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... June 11 is the 162nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (163rd in leap years), with 203 days remaining. ... 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... April 9 is the 99th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (100th in leap years). ... 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ... May 1 is the 121st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (122nd in leap years). ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... June 7 is the 158th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (159th in leap years), with 207 days remaining. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... May 5 is the 125th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (126th in leap years). ... 2005 (MMV) is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Other UK Elections

Local elections in the UK are by statute held on the first Thursday in May. This has been changed in recent years: in 2001 they were delayed while an outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease was dealt with, and in 2004 they were delayed to coincide with elections for the European Parliament. But they were eventually held on Thursdays. Byelections and other UK elections are also invariably held on Thursdays though can be held on other days - in particular when they would otherwise clash with bank holidays. Thursday, by international standard, is the fourth day of the week, falling between Wednesday and Friday. ... This article is about the month of May. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), sometimes called hoof-and-mouth disease, is a highly contagious but non-fatal viral disease of cattle and pigs. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The European Parliament is the parliamentary body of the European Union (EU), directly elected by EU citizens once every five years. ...

See also

• United Kingdom general elections