Explained in plain English
Why so many candidates?
The UK's electoral system, 'first past the post', allows anyone who pays a small deposit and gets ten signatures to stand. This low barrier means by-elections, which often attract more media attention, can see a surge in candidates, as seen in Clacton with its record 34 hopefuls.
Stories that explain this
Clacton by-election count will be much slower due to 34 candidatesThis explainer came from a news story
BriefTea explains every UK news story in 80 words — and when a story assumes something you don't know, its Knowledge Galaxy maps the background so you can explore until it makes sense. Free, no ads, no paywall.
Get BriefTea on the App Store