There are six types of election in the United Kindom:

General
elections
Local
elections
Elections to
European
Parliament
Police and Crime
Commissioner
eletions
Mayoral
elections
Elections to
devolved
parliaments
and
assemblies
History:
King Henry VI of England established in 1432 that
only male owners of property worth at least forty
shillings, a significant sum, were entitled to vote in a
county. Changes were made to the details of the system,
but there was no major reform until the Reform Act
1832. It was not until 1918 that all men over 21, and
wealthy women won the right to vote, and it was not
until 1928 that all women over 21 won the right to vote.
Suffrage in the United Kingdom was slowly changed
over the course of the 19th and 20th centuries through
the use of the Reform Acts and the Representation of
the People Acts, culminating in universal suffrage,
excluding children and convicted prisoners.
Election Day:
Elections are held on Election Day, which is
conventionally a Thursday. General elections did not
have fixed dates, with a necessity for them to be called
within five years of the opening of parliament
following the last election, before the passing of the
Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011. Other elections are
held on fixed dates, though in the case of the devolved
assemblies and parliaments early elections can occur
in certain situations
Electoral systems now used across
the United Kingdom are:
The First Past the Post system is used for UK general elections,
and also for some local government elections in England and
Wales.
The Bloc Vote system is also used for some local
government elections in England and Wales.
The Additional Member System is used for elections to
the Scottish Parliament, Welsh Assembly and London Assembly.
The Single Transferable Vote system is used in Northern Ireland
to elect the Assembly, local councils, and Members of the
European Parliament, and in Scotland to elect local councils.
The Party List System is used for European Parliament elections
in England, Scotland and Wales.
The Supplementary Vote is used to elect directly elected
mayors in England, such as the Mayor of London.


Overview:
Before you can vote in UK elections or referendums you
need to register to vote. Your name and address will then
appear on the electoral register.
You can vote:
at a polling station
by post
by proxy (getting someone else to vote for you)
You can register at 16, but you cant vote until youre 18.
When theres a local election coming up, youll be sent
a poll card telling you where and when to vote.

General elections
In a UK parliamentary general election, registered voters in
every area of the country vote for an MP to represent them in the
House of Commons. There are 650 geographical areas - these are
called constituencies.
You can vote in a UK parliamentary general election if youre
registered to vote and:
aged 18 or over on polling day
a British citizen, Commonwealth citizen or a citizen of the Irish
Republic
not legally excluded from voting
You cant vote in a UK parliamentary general election if you are:
under 18
a member of the House of Lords
a European Union citizen (and not also a British, Irish or
Commonwealth citizen)
in prison (apart from remand prisoners).

Local elections
You can vote in a UK local government election if youre registered to vote and:
aged 18 or over on polling day;
British, Irish or a Commonwealth or European Union citizen living in the UK;
not legally excluded from voting (eg because youre in prison).
Voting in more than one local election:
If you spend time living in 2 different local authority areas (because youre a
student), you may be able to vote in both.
If you want to register at 2 addresses, make 2 separate applications through
the register to vote service. The local Electoral Registration Office will look at
each application and tell you whether youre allowed to register.
How local elections work:
Local elections take place at least every 4 years. There are several types
because local authorities are organised in different ways.Depending on where
you live, either:
all of the councillors are elected every 4 years;
half of the councillors are elected every 2 years;
a third of the councillors are elected every year for 3 years, with no elections in
the 4th year.

European elections
Elections for the European Parliament take place every
5 years. The last European elections were in May
2014.There are 751 Members of the European
Parliament (MEPs), and 73 represent the UK. The UK
is divided into 12 regions, and each region has between
3 and 10 MEPs.