Factcheck LedgerReceipts, not verdicts
Request a check
Menu
Fact checks
Economy and money
Public services
Parliament and politics
Where you live
UK and the world
Data and tools

How we workEmail alertsRequest a check

First past the post: what it means

The voting system used for UK general elections: each constituency elects one MP, and the candidate with the most votes wins, even without a majority.

First past the post is the voting system used to elect MPs to the House of Commons. The UK is divided into 650 constituencies; in each, voters mark one candidate, and whoever gets the most votes wins the seat, whether or not they have more than half. It is also used for most local council elections in England and Wales and, following the Elections Act 2022, for mayoral elections in England and police and crime commissioner elections.

Why it matters when checking a claim

  • Seats and votes differ. A party's share of seats can be much larger or smaller than its share of votes. Claims about a "mandate" or a "landslide" should give both figures.
  • Other UK elections use other systems. The Scottish Parliament and Senedd use proportional systems, and Northern Ireland Assembly and Scottish council elections use the single transferable vote.

See how Scottish Parliament elections work, the Senedd voting system and where to find election results.

Also searched as: FPTP, first past the post meaning, simple plurality, UK voting system

Official definitions: UK Parliament: Voting systems in the UK · UK Parliament: Election results

Questions that use this term

Related terms

  • Turnout: The share of registered voters who voted in an election. Small differences in how it is calculated can change the figure.
  • Swing: A measure of how far support has moved between two parties since a previous election, usually the average of one party's gain and the other's loss.
  • Working majority: The number by which a government's MPs outnumber all other MPs who actually vote, after allowing for the Speaker, deputies and MPs who do not take their seats.
  • By-election: An election held to fill a single vacant seat between general elections, for example after an MP resigns, dies or is removed by a recall petition.

More parliament and elections terms: Short money · Statutory instrument · Royal Assent · Second reading · Working majority · By-election · Turnout · Swing · Division (vote in Parliament).