General Election 2019: voters will go to the polls before Christmas in Grantham, Stamford and Bourne; South Holland and the Deepings; Rutland and Melton; North West Cambridgeshire; and East Northamptonshire

Voters are being called to attend polling stations across the area on Thursday December 12.

Some candidates have already announced their intention to stand for election and are preparing to campaign for votes.

Others are expected to make their announcements in the coming days.

In this region, candidates are standing in the constituencies of Grantham and Stamford, which includes Bourne; Melton and Rutland; South Holland and the Deepings; North West Cambridgeshire; and East Northamptonshire.

The election will take place because Prime Minister Boris Johnson wants a Conservative majority in the House of Commons so that he can get Brexit through Parliament. The House of Lords is set to rubber stamp the call for election this afternoon.

The last General Election was in June 2017, and although won by the Conservatives, it saw then Prime Minister Theresa May lose her majority.

Elections are usually held in the summer because people are more reluctant to go out to vote in the dark or in bad weather.

The last time a General Election was held in December was 1923.

Those eligible to vote will elect a Member of Parliament in each of the 650 constituencies.

Under the UK's first-past-the-post electoral system, the candidate with the most votes becomes MP.

The party with more than half the total number of MPs gets to form a government or, if it doesn't have enough MPs it must make an agreement with one or more other parties to form a majority.

District councils are responsible for organising voting and people still have time to register to vote. No deadline for registration has yet been announced.

Voting will take place between 7am and 10pm on December 12, with results declared through the night and the following day.

Are you standing in the General Election? Get in touch now by e-mailing smeditor@stamfordmercury.co.uk

All candidates standing in the five constituencies mentioned above will be invited to submit a 350-word profile outlining why readers should cast their vote for them.

The deadline for this to be submitted is midday on Thursday, November 28.

Candidates who have let our readers know they are standing:

Grantham and Stamford constituency

Harrish Bisnauthsing (Lib Dem)

Gareth Davies (Con)

Anne Gayfer (Green Party)

Jessica Swift (Brexit)

Melton and Rutland constituency

Jim Bennett (Brexit Party)

Dr Carol Weaver (Lib Dem)

South Holland and the Deepings constituency

Sir John Hayes (Conservative)

Martin Blake (Green Party)

North West Cambridgeshire constituency

Ed Murphy (Labour)