Typically, every five years a General Election is held across the country for eligible voters to elect individual representatives, called a ‘Member of Parliament (MP)’ for each constituency (areas in the UK). There are 650 MPs in total and the party with the most MPs elected will form the next government.
The Prime Minister has called a ‘snap election’ which is an election called before the five-year period.
You need to register to vote in the election - and don't forget to take your ID.
Fun fact: General Elections have always been held on a Thursday, since the 1930’s!
With a new government comes an opportunity to shape their thinking about alcohol harm. There will be plenty of parliamentary time for new ideas, policies and legislation and the team at Alcohol Change UK will be working hard to make sure that policies that we know will work are at the heart of their decisions on alcohol policy.
MPs are responsible for representing the interests of their constituents i.e. you, in the House of Commons. This can be done via asking questions in debates, securing meetings with Ministers or writing to them to discuss issues that constituents have raised.
For the next five years, MPs will be able to vote on legislation that affects us all. For example, MPs can vote on updating the stand-alone comprehensive Alcohol Strategy or vote on legislation to remove the specific exclusion of alcohol dependence in the Equality Act 2010.
MPs can support their constituents who are campaigning to end alcohol harm in many ways – for example, meeting with Alcohol Change UK after the election to learn about effective prevention-focused policies, such as introducing minimum unit pricing (MUP) or raising alcohol duty in line with inflation.
Remember, you have the right to raise issues with your MP regardless of whether you voted for them!
During the election campaign, you as a voter, have the perfect opportunity to talk to the candidates in your local area about the issues that matter to you. Whether you have been personally affected, know someone who has, or simply wish to support our cause to end alcohol harm - you will have a perfect opportunity to express your views on tackling alcohol harm. And we will be with you every step of the way to help and answer your questions!
Over the next few weeks, we will provide you with , what Alcohol Change UK’s key asks are for a new government, how you can get involved and tips on how you can engage with your candidates throughout this election campaign.
