Election Process Gets Underway in Nottingham – My Nottingham News

Writs telling the Acting Returning Officer to run a General Election on Thursday 4 July in constituencies for Nottingham South, Nottingham East and the new Nottingham North and Kimberley was received today (Friday 31 May 2024)

A writ of election is a formal order issued on behalf of the King by the Clerk of the Crown in Chancery at the Palace of Westminster and, as is custom and law, it is delivered by Royal Mail to the Acting Returning Officer for Parliamentary Elections, which is Mel Barrett, the Chief Executive of Nottingham City Council.

Photo of writ – see the text below

Charles the Third by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Our other Realms and Territories King Head of the Commonwealth Defender of the Faith To the Returning Officer for the Nottingham North and Kimberley Constituency Greeting Whereas Parliament has dissolved We Command you that due notice being first given you do cause election to be made according to law of a Member to serve in Parliament for the said Nottingham North and Kimberley Constituency And that you do cause the name of such Member when so elected whether he be present or absent to be certified to Us in Our Chancery without delay Witness Ourself at Westminster the thirtieth day of May in the second year of Our Reign and in the year of Our Lord Two thousand and twenty-four To the Returning Officer for the Nottingham North and Kimberley Constituency A writ of a new election of a Member for the said Constituency Crown Office in Chancery, Palace of Westminster

What is a general election and how many MPs are there?

The general election is to elect Members of Parliament – or MPs – to the House of Commons.

The UK is divided into 650 areas, called constituencies, and each of these elects one MP to represent local residents at Westminster.

In Nottingham City, there are three constituencies:

Nottingham East covers Berridge, Castle, Dales,Hyson Green & Arboretum, Mapperley, Sherwood and St Ann’s

Nottingham North and Kimberley (Previously Nottingham North) is a new constituency that includes Aspley, Basford, Bestwood, Bulwell,  Bulwell Forest and Leen Valley and now includes Kimberley, Nuthall East and Strelley and Watnall and Nuthall West.

Nottingham South includes these wards: , Bilborough Clifton East, Clifton West, Lenton and Wollaton East, Meadows, Radford and Wollaton West.

How can I find out about my constituency?

You can put your postcode into the election finder from the Electoral Commission here and they will tell you which constituency you are in.

Register to vote

Anyone 18 or over can vote, if they are a British citizen, a qualifying Commonwealth citizen or a Republic of Ireland citizen with a UK address.

The deadline to register to vote in the general election is 23:59 BST on Tuesday 18 June. Click here to register to vote.

Apply for Postal or Proxy voting

If you can’t vote in person on election day, you can apply for a postal vote here.

The deadline to apply is 5pm on Wednesday 19 June.

Instead of postal voting, you can nominate a proxy, which is someone who can vote on your behalf. You and your proxy must both be registered to vote and you can apply for proxy voting here.

The deadline to apply is 5pm on Wednesday 26 June.

You can also request an emergency proxy vote after this deadline if last-minute work commitments or a medical emergency mean you cannot vote in person. You can apply for this up to 5pm on polling day.

Photo ID

Polling day is Thursday 4 July and polling stations will be open from 7am until 10pm. Residents will need to show photo ID when voting in person. See what ID is accepted here. 

If you don’t have the right ID, you can apply for a ‘Voter Authority Certificate’ here. The deadline to apply is 5pm on Wednesday 26 June.

Postal Vote Handing in rules

There is now a limit on the number of postal votes you can hand in at a polling station or at Loxley House reception, this is your own and a maximum of five for other electors.

Anyone handing in postal votes must complete a postal vote return form. If the postal vote return form is not completed correctly or you exceed the limit, the postal vote(s) will be rejected.