When will the next general election be? Latest odds as Boris Johnson resigns

Boris Johnson has resigned as Tory leader and all eyes are not just on his successor – but the possibility of an early general election.

The prime minister will quit as leader of his party after ministers and MPs made clear his position was untenable through a wave of resignations.

He wants to remain as PM until a successor is in place, expected to be by the time of the Conservative Party conference in October.

But the next leader may decide – or face pressure – to call an early general election.

When is the next general election due to take place in the UK?

General elections – that determine which MPs are elected to the House of Commons – must be held at a maximum of five years apart.

However, they can take place earlier than the five-year gap.

As it stands, the next general election will take place in January 2025 – five years from the day the current Parliament met for the first time on 17 December, 2019, with extra time on top for the election campaign.

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Will there be an early general election now Boris Johnson has resigned?

There is no requirement for a general election to take place with the change of a prime minister.

In fact, there have been many occasions in recent years where the PM has changed in the middle of Parliament – including the departures of Tony Blair, David Cameron and Theresa May.

The first thing that will happen in this instance is a Tory leadership contest.

Johnson has signalled his intention to stand down but remain as prime minister until October, when the results of the leadership contest are announced.

Several Tories have already said there will not be an election after Johnson is succeeded.

Conservative former cabinet minister John Whittingdale said: “Margaret Thatcher, David Cameron, Tony Blair, Theresa May, all left office and were succeeded by new leaders and new prime ministers without there being a general election and that the ship of state sales on.”

Conservative former minister Sir Bob Neill said a general election was “not constitutionally necessary”, adding: “Whatever one’s views on the prime minister, and I accept the importance of the continuity of the government, in fact there’s no need for a general election at all and there’s plenty of precedent for that.”

What are the latest odds on general election dates?

Despite Johnson’s imminent departures, bookies tend to agree that a new prime minister will go to the polls before 2025.

According to Paddy Power, the next general election will most likely be in 2024 at odds of 4/11.

The bookie says odds of a general election by the end of this year are 7/2, while the likelihood of the UK going to the polls at some point in 2023 is slightly longer at 9/2.

Who can call a general election?

It is up to the prime minister to decide when to call an election – a privilege that was removed by David Cameron in 2011 under the Fixed Term Parliaments Act.

However, Johnson revoked that law after winning the election in 2019 and put the power back into the hands of a prime minister.

A PM may decide to call an early election to capitalise on strong polling or to settle a paralysis in Parliament – such as when MPs could not decide on the future of Brexit.

The PM must ask the Queen’s permission to dissolve Parliament early – but she has the power to refuse the request if she feels the PM does not maintain the support as leader of the government.

However, the Queen has never vetoed an early election request and, as she must stay out of party politics, it is unclear if she ever would step in and overrule a sitting prime minister.