The House of Commons currently comprises 646 constituencies, each returning a single Member of Parliament.
Parliament is elected for a maximum period of 5 years, but the Prime Minister may request the Queen to dissolve Parliament any time within that term, and to trigger a general election.
Candidates at a Parliamentary election must be 18 years of age or over at the date of nomination. A deposit of £500 must be made at the time of submitting a nomination paper.
The last Parliamentary (or General) Election was held on 5 May 2005.
