Boozy purpose why UK common elections are historically held on a Thursday

As millions of voters flock to the polling booths on July 4, have you ever stopped to think why a UK general election is always held on a Thursday?

It’s been tradition since 1918 with just a smattering of exceptions, and although it’s been more than 100 years since legislation tightened up the rules around when an election can be held, we still abide to it to this day.

But why is that?

Why is the election always on a Thursday?

Before 1918 – the same year suffrage was finally granted to women for the first time (although they had to be aged 30 and own property, or be married to a man with means) – elections could be held on any day of the week. It was usual for general elections to be spread out over a few days, with constituencies hosting their ballots on different days, which in theory could create a bandwagon effect for the winning party.

The 1918 Representation of the People Act restricted polling to one day, but didn’t decree which day of the week that should be – indeed, the general election that year was held on a Saturday.

Instead, convention dictated that Thursday was the most popular day for an election because workers used to get paid weekly on a Friday. It was believed that having a Friday election would suppress turnout because voters would be straight down the pub after work, and might not make it to the polling station. It was also warned they may be pressured by Conservative brewing interests while in the pub, so wouldn’t be able to make an independent choice.

Sundays were similarly ruled out because the electorate might be swayed to vote one way or another based on what their church leader preached from the pulpit. Thursdays were traditionally also market days, so voters could swing past their polling station on the way to or from market.

It might also be because Thursdays used to be the most popular ‘early-closing’ day, which allowed retail staff and service workers enough time to get to the booth after work. And some believe the psychological pull of having an election on a Thursday meant workers could do their civic duty and be ‘rewarded’ by pay-day on a Friday.

But not every election has been held on a Thursday. In 1978, the Scottish town of Hamilton hosted their by-election on a Wednesday so the vote didn’t interfere with the World Cup kick-off in Argentina the following day.