Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011

Common card · No. 425377

The Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 (c. 14) (FTPA) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which, for the first time, set in legislation a default fixed election date for general elections in the United Kingdom. It remained in force until 2022, when it was repealed by the Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022. Since then, as before its enactment, elections are required by law to be held at least once every five years, but can be called earlier if the prime minister advises the monarch to exercise the royal prerogative to do so. Prime ministers have often employed this mechanism to call an election before the end of their five-year term, sometimes fairly early in it. Critics have said this gives an unfair advantage to the incumbent prime minister, allowing them to call a general election at a time that suits them electorally. While it was in force, the FTPA removed this longstanding power of the prime minister. Under the FTPA, general elections were automatically scheduled...

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