UK Elections in 2022 and Beyond
This briefing paper sets out the elections that are scheduled for 2022 and future years up until 2026.The elections covered include General Elections to the House of Commons, for devolved legislatures (Senedd Cymru/Welsh Parliament, Scottish Parliament, Northern Ireland Assembly), London Assembly and Mayor of London, local authorities (in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland), combined and local authority Mayors, and Police and Crime Commissioners.
This briefing paper sets out the elections that are scheduled for 2022 and future years up until 2026. The pandemic delayed elections due in 2020 to 2021, and this has affected the usual scheduling of elections.
The elections covered include General Elections to the House of Commons, for devolved legislatures (Senedd Cymru/Welsh Parliament, Scottish Parliament, Northern Ireland Assembly), London Assembly and Mayor of London, local authorities (in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland), combined and local authority Mayors, and Police and Crime Commissioners.
The following timetable sets out different authorities’ next election years and their electoral cycles. Further detail on the electoral systems is provided in the briefing.
It must be noted that the dates provided in this briefing may be subject to new legislation which may result in the dates, authorities’ boundaries or electoral cycles being changed.
The Commons Library briefing paper, Who can vote in UK elections?, sets out the voting rights for different types of elections in the UK. These are usually based on nationality, age and residence.
Elections Timetable 2022-2026Notes:
*The Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act was passed in March 2022. It repeals the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 and makes the maximum term of a Parliament (rather than the period between general elections) five years. As such, the last possible day of the following election would be January 2025.
**There are three methods of holding elections to local councils in England.
Whole cycle: all councillors are elected once every four years in whole council elections.
Thirds cycle: councillors are elected for four-year terms by thirds; that is, at each election, a third of the councillors are elected. Elections are held every year except in years when there are county council elections in the rest of England.
Halves cycle: councillors are elected for four-year terms by halves; that is, at each election, half the councillors are elected. Elections are held every two years.