Election timetables – including an overlooked bonus for challenger parties

The Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013 made some important changes to election timetables, including above all ending the ludicrously short timetable for Parliamentary by-elections.

That reform is very sensible from the point of view of healthy democracy – rushed elections in which voters barely get a chance to hear from candidates just benefit incumbents.

But it’s also a very helpful reform for parties trying to gain seats in by-elections.

Longer campaigns usually benefit the best-placed challenger party at the expense of the incumbent party. Post-May we will start to see that having an impact on the rise and fall of political momentum behind parties, not to mention who wins and looses individual seats.

All of which makes this note from the House of Commons Library setting out the new timetables is very handy, even if you’re used to how the timetables have worked in the past. It also has a summary of how our fixed-term Parliaments work and sets out the local elections timetable in England and Wales.