More than 300,000 people have submitted applications to register to vote in 48 hours, figures show.

The surge came after MPs voted on Tuesday for legislation to hold an early election.

Voters will now go to the polls on 12 December, in what will be the first Christmas election since 1932.

Government figures show that a total of 139,162 applications were submitted on Tuesday, with another 177,105 lodged on Wednesday.

These are the highest and second highest number of applications made on a single day this year.


There has been an average of 37,000 weekday applications in the past month.

The majority of applications - nearly two-thirds - were from people aged 34 and under, while a third were from those under 25.

Only 4% were from those aged 65 and over, although older voters have historically turned out in greater numbers on polling day than young voters.

However, the increase in applications should not be taken as direct evidence of a surge in the numbers of people able to cast ballots.

In previous elections there have been applications from people who are too young to vote - the legal age is 18 - and from voters who are already on the electoral register.

The deadline for applying to register to vote is 26 November, with full details on how to sign up at gov.uk/register-to-vote.