After becoming so used to the way the US holds elections, it is difficult for me to understand other countries, including England, choosing to call elections when they want. In the US, there are general elections every four years for the presidency and every two years for governor, senate and congressional seats. Those in-between general elections where the presidency is not determined are called mid-term elections. And the date chosen is always the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. However, there may be local elections that are called as needed by local councils.
Here, I have no idea when elections will be held. There is talk that it will be next year, but that it might be moved up to this year. Who decides? The PM? In the US, because there is a time-scale to the election process, you see advertisements for political candidates starting at a specific time in the year. Here, I would find it difficult for candidates to campaign and get their message out to the people in time for them to delve into the politician’s background and beliefs. Candidates would have to campaign continuously because they may not have time to mobilise their staff once they find out the election date. As it stands now, the election could be as early as 3 months or as late as 15 months. The British public must be extremely well-informed when it comes to politics, such that they have no problems going to the polls when elections are announced.