Holborn and St Pancras · Thursday 4 July

What you're voting for.

The single biggest source of confusion in politics is crediting or blaming people for things their job doesn't control. Thirty seconds on what this one does.

You're voting for

Your Member of Parliament

One MP represents this constituency in the House of Commons. They vote on national laws, taxes and budgets, and take up constituents' problems with government bodies. Here, for Holborn and St Pancras.

What this office decides

Tax and benefits. Income tax, National Insurance, Universal Credit and pensions are set by Parliament.
The NHS. Its budget and the law it runs under, in England.
Immigration and borders. Who may come, stay and work.
Crime and justice. Criminal law and sentencing.
Defence and foreign affairs. Armed forces, treaties, aid.
National housing law. Renting rules, planning law, building targets.

What it does not

Bin collections. Your council.
Local planning decisions. Your council's planning committee.
Council tax levels. Your council.
Local road repairs. Your council or the county.
Devolved matters. In Scotland and Wales, health and education are decided there.

At a general election you are choosing twice over

Your cross elects one MP for Holborn and St Pancras. Across all 650 constituencies, the same crosses decide which party can command a majority and form a government. Both happen with one mark, and they can pull in different directions: people often like a local candidate from one party and prefer another to govern, or the reverse. Nothing here tells you how to weigh that; it is one of the real choices in front of you.

Which is why positions on this page are labelled by whose they are: what this candidate says (their own words, which may differ from their party's), what was done in office (the record, where there is one), and what their party says (the manifesto they stand on, which is the programme a government would be formed to deliver).

The parties standing here: The Official Monster Raving Loony Party · Liberal Democrats · Conservative and Unionist Party · UK Independence Party (UKIP) · Reform UK · Socialist Equality Party · Green Party · Labour Party.

Candidates often campaign on things their office cannot change. That is not dishonest in itself — an MP can press a council, a councillor can lobby government — but it is worth knowing which is which. Summarised from the Local Government Association and UK Parliament descriptions of each role.

How this vote is counted: first past the post. One cross; the candidate with the most votes wins.Worked example

Every ballot with one cross is counted for that candidate. The one with the most votes wins, even without a majority. Example: A 4,000, B 3,900, C 2,100. A wins with 40% of the vote; the 60% cast for others elect nobody. There are no second preferences; a vote for a candidate who does not win has no further effect.

Next: What's at stake →Skip to the candidates