The two main parties obtained their lowest share of the vote in the 2024 general election. Their vote splintered across multiple parties, fragmenting the UK political system. This article provides an initial glance at how this occurred and why such a phenomenon developed. It does this by exploring BPC-approved polling figures and analysing how key events impacted the parties' average monthly opinion poll ratings. It finds that external and internal shocks impacted the level of support parties could rely upon. These include major events like the pandemic, inflationary spikes, leadership changes, failed economic policies and "partygate".