A draft chapter for a new Cabinet Manual has been published after extensive disscussion which focussed on the procedure of UK government and Parliament, including procedures for hung parliaments .

‘The chapter covers the dissolution and summoning of parliament, parliamentary general elections, how governments are formed and what to do in the case of hung parliaments. It also covers restrictions on government and other activity during the electoral period, and the appointment of Ministers’. Cabinet Office

If you would like to read the draft chapter, please see the link below…

Chapter 6 – Elections and Government formations in PDF [PDF 127KB, 9 pages]

Unless you’ve been hiding on the Moon for the last few months you’re probably aware that Great Britain is currently in the grip of Parliamentary Election Fever, in which the people of Britain will vote upon which political party gets to run the country for the next five years. But did you know how much the voting system has changed down the centuries?

Up until the 19th century, the electorate comprised principally of landowners centred in smaller rural areas, but with the spread of the Industrial Revolution and the growth of many of the great cities it became necessary to revamp the political landscape considerably, and the Reform Act of 1832 set the country on the path towards becoming the modern democracy it is today by allowing a more significant proportion of the population – one out of every six adult males - to vote.

Voting privileges were extended further with the Reform Act of 1867, which doubled the number of voters from one to two million (including, for the first time, men of the so-called ‘Working Class’), and again in 1884 and 1885, which saw the electorate rise to almost three million. Voting had now become a right the majority enjoyed instead of the privileged few, though this majority did not yet include women, who had to wait until the Act of 1918, which finally allowed women over 30 the right not only to vote but stand for Parliament as well. This age limit was lowered to 21 in 1928, achieving parity with male voters, and by now there was almost universal sufferage for all.

Crucially for students, in 1969 the voting age was lowered to 18 across the genders, allowing undergraduates the right to vote for the first time!

The Devolution of 1999 altered the geography of the political landscape of the United Kingdom but did not cause any significant change to the electoral process enjoyed across the country. Currently there are 46 million registered to vote in the UK. Voting isn’t compulsory in this country as it is in others like Australia, and in recent elections voter turn-out has suffered, as low as 59% during 2001 and 61% in 2005.

However, such is the interest in the political debate this year that these low figures are hopefully not going to be repeated. So whether you’re a first time voter or a seasoned electoral veteran, don’t forget to go out before the polls close today and add your mark to what is always a pivotal moment in British history!

…read the manifestos!

Before Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg take to the stage in Manchester tonight for the historic first  televised leaders’ debate, why not take the opportunity to read the party manifestos.  All three of the big parties have their manifestos online in various guises.

Labour’s ‘A future fair for all‘ can be downloaded and read as a PDF or read on the website.  They have also embraced YouTube with animated videos too, although it can be quite tricky to spot the genuine ones amongst all the spoofs around!  The Conservative Party has a Flash version of its manifesto on its website, plus high and lower quality PDFs and a useful audio version.  The Liberal Democrats also have opted for Flash and PDF versions on its website.

To see a full profile of the leaders themselves, as well as details of the other parties with candidates standing in the election, have a look at the BBC’s ‘Parties and Issues‘ page.  Election coverage within the media might seem overpowering at times, but in the 2010 General Election, there is really no excuse for voters not to be able to escape from the bias of the  media magnates and journalists and make up their own minds based on the information that is being presented on the web for free.  And if you would prefer to read a paper copy, then the Library will soon have paper copies of the manifestos of the main parties in stock too!

[All images from Flickr and provided under creative commons licence - Conservative Party, World Economic Forum and Liberal Democrats]