Preparing for a parliamentary election

You must register to vote before you can vote in UK elections or referendums.

You can register to vote when you’re:16 years old in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (and vote when you’re 18); 14 years old in Scotland (and vote in Scottish elections when you’re 16 and other elections when you’re 18)

If you’re not sure whether or not you’re registered to vote, contact your local electoral office.

If you are a student, you may be able to register to vote at both your home and term-time addresses. You cannot vote twice in the same election – that’s a criminal offence – so you should decide whether to vote in your home or university constituency. 

Did you know?

The total number of people in the UK registered to vote (as at December 2018) was  45,775,800.

Two former physiotherapists are currently in parliament:

• Ruth Jones is MP for Newport West, and Rachael Maskell is MP for York Central

Some key questions to ask candidates canvassing for your vote

• 1. What will you do to ensure people retain their current rights at work after Brexit? 
• 2. Will you help promote improved community rehabilitation by visiting a local service? 

In England:

• 3. To transform the healthcare system so that it can meet population needs, the physiotherapy workforce needs to expand. How will your party’s policies on workforce education and staff do this?
• 4. Millions of older people, people with disabilities and their carers deserve better social care. How will your party create a fair, effective and sustainable care system? 
• 5. How will you ensure that everyone is able to access first contact physiotherapists from their GP practice?

In Northern Ireland:

• 6. How do you intend to address the issue of pay parity between health and social care workers in NI and their colleagues in England, Scotland and Wales?

In Scotland and Wales:

• 7. MPs have an important role to play in promoting improvements to local health services. If elected, will you support the contribution of physiotherapy to health and well being in this constituency?

You can find everything you need to know about voting in the UK