New inquiry to examine resilience of UK electoral system

3 December 2024

A new PACAC inquiry will look at the resilience of UK general elections following the implementation of the Elections Act 2022.

The Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee will review the administration, process and conduct of the 2024 general election, and how these could be improved for future elections.

In the Electoral Commission’s report on the 2024 general election, it concluded that ‘overall, the May and July 2024 elections were well-run, and voters continue to have high levels of confidence and satisfaction in the polls’.

They did, however, note ‘a number of significant improvements necessary to support participation and trust in future elections’. These include postal voting, overseas voting, Voter ID and tackling intimidation of candidates and campaigners.

MPs on the Committee will be seeking to look more closely at these issues, as well as others, on behalf of Parliament.

Chair quote

Chair of the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, Simon Hoare MP, said: “While this year’s elections were delivered successfully, the Elections Act 2022 has placed greater burdens on our electoral system than ever before.

“With an ever-changing franchise and more demands being placed on a system which is already operating at close to full capacity, we need to make sure our processes continue to be robust and resilient for future elections.”

Terms of reference

Submissions can be made via the online evidence portal.

The Committee invites evidence on the following areas:

Postal voting
The requirement for photographic identification at the polling station
Overseas voters
Measures in place to prevent and tackle abuse and intimidation of candidates.
The voter registration processes.

Deadline for submission is Monday 27 January.

Further information

Image: House of Commons