Know where you stand

Andy Burnham became Prime Minister on 20 July 2026 without a general election after Keir Starmer resigned. On 29 September 2026 he delivered his first conference speech as PM, announcing a 10-year agenda including a National Care Service funded partly by adjusting the state pension triple lock from 2030, moves toward public ownership of water and energy, powers for councils over empty homes, and a commission on electoral reform. He has consistently ruled out calling an early election before 2029 to focus on delivery rather than campaigning.

The UK has been a signatory to the ECHR since 1951 and incorporated its rights into domestic law via the Human Rights Act 1998. The convention underpins aspects of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement with the EU, the Good Friday Agreement, and several bilateral security arrangements. In 2026 the Labour government remains committed to membership while pursuing limited reforms on migration cases, while the Conservatives and Reform UK advocate withdrawal to ease deportations of failed asylum seekers and foreign criminals.

Citizenship has been compulsory in maintained secondary schools since 2002, covering democracy, government, law, rights and political participation. In November 2025 the Labour government made it statutory in primary schools from 2028, with strengthened content on media literacy, financial literacy, climate education and democracy. Academies will also follow the revised national curriculum, though implementation challenges remain around timetable space and teacher training.

The Labour government reformed inheritance tax reliefs for agricultural and business property from April 2026. Estates now receive 100% relief on the first £2.5 million of qualifying assets, with 50% relief above that level, meaning an effective 20% tax rate on excess value. This follows the original 2024 proposal of a £1 million cap, adjusted after farmer protests and industry lobbying. Farmers argue it threatens family farm succession and raises costs amid high land values, while the government says it affects few estates and funds public services.

Voting in Mayor of London elections requires being at least 18, a British, Irish, qualifying Commonwealth or specific EU citizen, and resident in Greater London. The Mayor, currently Sadiq Khan who won a third term in 2024, oversees transport, policing, housing and environment policies affecting the wider south-east. Hundreds of thousands commute daily into London from surrounding areas but cannot vote.

Social media platforms are private companies that set their own moderation rules, including on replies and blocking. UK law under the Online Safety Act 2023 requires large platforms to protect content of democratic importance and journalistic content from disproportionate removal. US courts have ruled that when government officials use social media for official purposes, the comment sections can become public forums where viewpoint-based blocking of replies may violate free speech protections. No UK law currently mandates that platforms must permit replies to official accounts.

Rough sleeping in England reached 8,748 people over the month in June 2026, with long-term cases at a record high. Around 12-15% of rough sleepers are veterans, with an estimated 1,300-1,500 sleeping rough. Current law requires local authorities to assess if someone is vulnerable due to old age, disability, mental illness, leaving the armed forces or other special reasons before providing priority for emergency housing.

First-past-the-post elects the candidate with the most votes in each of the UK's 650 constituencies to the House of Commons. In 2024 Labour won a large majority on 34% of the vote, and recent local and devolved elections show a multi-party landscape with gains for Reform UK, Greens and others. Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced a national commission on electoral reform on 29 September 2026 and pledged Labour will fight the next election on a commitment to change the system so every vote counts.