- 16:20, 11 DEC 2019
The UK will vote in a general election tomorrow (Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
People up and down the country are preparing to head to the polls for the UK general election tomorrow.
Adults over the age of 18 must think carefully about who to vote for , as the next government will have a huge impact on Brexit , the NHS and austerity.
After tomorrow, the next general election is not scheduled to take place until May 2024, by which time the UK will theoretically have left the EU.
Here's everything you need to know about how a UK general election works, and what you can expect tomorrow:
How often do we have a general election?
The UK usually has a general election once every five years.
An early general election can be called if there is a successful vote of no confidence in the government, or if two thirds of MPs vote in favour of one.
General elections are always held on a Thursday.
How to vote
In the UK, we can vote in person, by post or by proxy. It is not possible to vote online.
With just a day to go before the 2019 general election , the deadline to apply for a postal or proxy vote has passed.
The only options are voting in person at your local polling station , or - if you've had a medical emergency or unexpected work commitment - you can apply for an emergency proxy vote so somebody can vote on your behalf.
If you have a postal vote but forgot to send it, you can hand it in at your local polling station and it will still be counted.
What happens at the polling station?
At the polling station, you give staff your name and address. They will find your name in their list of registered voters, and give you a ballot paper.
On the ballot paper, you will mark the candidate who you want to vote for, and then post it into a ballot box to be counted when polls close.
How does the voting system work?
The UK is divided into 650 constituencies, and each constituency elects one MP to represent them in parliament.
Candidates usually represent a political party, but it is possible to stand as an independent.
If a political party gets more than half of the seats in parliament (326 or more) they take power and form a government.
If no-one gets a majority, the party with the most seats must try to form a coalition with another party.
Who chooses the prime minister?
In the UK, we vote for our local MP instead of for the Prime Minister directly.
Whoever is leader of the winning party becomes Prime Minister, and is appointed officially by the Queen.
This means that either Tory leader Boris Johnson or Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn will likely be the Prime Minister after the general election.
What happened at the 2017 general election?
The UK's last general election was called by then-Prime Minister Theresa May in 2017.
The Tories lost their majority and were trapped in a hung parliament. They entered into a confidence and supply agreement with the DUP .
When will we know the results of the 2019 general election?
Exit polls will be released at 10pm tomorrow, after polls have closed. These usually give a strong indication of who has won the election.
We won't know the final result until all votes have been counted, and all constituencies have declared which candidate has won.
If there are recounts, or if there is no overall majority, then this could take some time.
