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Voting systems in the UK

Until 1997 nearly all elections in Great Britain used the first-past-the-post (FPTP) voting system. Local and devolved elections in Northern Ireland used the single transferable vote (STV) system from the 1970s. University seats in the House of Commons also used STV from 1918 until their abolition in 1950.

Since 1997 several different voting systems have been introduced for different elections across the country. The types of electoral system currently used in the UK are summarised in the table below. Explanations of how the systems work are included in the full briefing.

Changes to the system to elect directly-elected mayors

In the early 2000s directly-elected mayors were introduced in some areas of England, including in London. From 2000 to 2023 mayoral elections in England used the supplementary vote (SV) system. Police and crime commissioner (PCC) elections also used SV when they were introduced in 2011.

The Elections Act 2022 abolished SV and fulfilled a Conservative Party manifesto commitment to replace SV with FPTP for all mayoral and PCC elections. Elections from May 2023 to May 2026 used FPTP.

The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act 2026, changed the voting system for mayoral and PCC elections back to SV. The first election to use SV after the change will be the Greater Manchester Combined Authority mayoral by-election on 30 July 2026.  

Changes to the system to elect members of the Senedd Cymru

The Senedd previously used AMS for its elections from 1999 to 2021. The Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Act 2024 replaced AMS with a closed list proportional system, first used in the May 2026 Senedd elections.