List of United Kingdom general elections
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For by-election results, see List of UK by-elections.
For information on UK elections in general, see Elections in the United Kingdom.
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This is a list of United Kingdom general elections (elections for the UK House of Commons) since the first in 1802. The members of the 1801–1802 Parliament had been elected to the former Parliament of Great Britain and Parliament of Ireland, before being co-opted to serve in the first Parliament of the United Kingdom, so that Parliament is not included in the table below.
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Election results[edit]
In 1801 the right to vote in the United Kingdom was a severely restricted practice. Universal suffrage, on an equal basis for men and women over the age of 21, was established in 1929. Before 1918, general elections did not occur on a single day and polling was spread over several weeks. The date given in the table for elections prior to 1918 is the date Parliament assembled after the election, which could be in the year after the general election.
The majority figure given is for the difference between the number of MPs elected at the general election from the party (or parties) of the government, as opposed to all other parties (some of which may have been giving some support to the government, but were not participating in a coalition). The Speaker is excluded from the calculation. If the party in office changed the figure is re-calculated, but no allowance is made for changes after the general election. No attempt is made to define a majority before 1832, when the Reform Act disenfranchised the rotten boroughs; before then the Tory party had an undemocratically entrenched dominance. Particularly in the early part of the period the complexity of factional alignments, with both the Whig and Tory traditions tending to have some members in government and others in opposition factions simultaneously, make it impossible to produce an accurate majority figure. The figures between 1832 and about 1859 are approximate due to problems of defining what was a party in government, as the source provides figures for all Liberals rather than just the Whig component in what developed into the Liberal Party. The Whig and Peelite Prime Ministers in the table below are regarded as having the support of all Liberals.
| Election | Date | Prime Minister(s) (during term) | Winning Party | Majority | Turnout (%)[3] | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1802 (MPs) | 22 July 1802 | Henry Addington William Pitt the Younger [4] The Lord Grenville |
Tory Tory (Pittite who called himself a Whig) Whig |
... | ||
| 1806 (MPs) | 17 November 1806 | The Lord Grenville The Duke of Portland |
Whig Tory (Pittite who called himself a Whig) |
... | ||
| 1807 (MPs) | 22 June 1807 | The Duke of Portland Spencer Perceval [5] The Earl of Liverpool |
Tory (Pittite who called himself a Whig) Tory Tory |
... | ||
| 1812 (MPs) | 24 November 1812 | The Earl of Liverpool | Tory | ... | ||
| 1818 (MPs) | 4 August 1818 | The Earl of Liverpool | Tory | ... | ||
| 1820 (MPs) | 16 January 1821 | The Earl of Liverpool | Tory | ... | ||
| 1826 (MPs) | 19 June 1826 | The Earl of Liverpool George Canning [6] The Viscount Goderich The Duke of Wellington |
Tory Tory Tory Tory |
... | ||
| 1830 (MPs) | 9 August 1830 | The Duke of Wellington [7] The Earl Grey |
Tory Whig |
... | ||
| 1831 (MPs) | 25 July 1831 | The Earl Grey | Whig | 136 | ||
| At this point, the Reform Act 1832 gave suffrage to propertied male adults and disenfranchised almost all of the rotten boroughs. | ||||||
| 1832 (MPs) | 29 January 1833 | The Earl Grey The Viscount Melbourne [8] The Duke of Wellington Sir Robert Peel |
Whig Whig Conservative Conservative |
225 (L) -308 (C) |
||
| 1835 (MPs) | 19 February 1835 | Sir Robert Peel [9] The Viscount Melbourne |
Conservative Whig |
-113 (C) 113 (L) |
||
| 1837 (MPs) | 15 November 1837 | The Viscount Melbourne [10] | Whig | 29 | ||
| 1841 (MPs) | 19 August 1841 | The Viscount Melbourne [11] Sir Robert Peel [12] Lord John Russell |
Whig Conservative Whig |
77 |
||
| 1847 (MPs) | 9 August 1847 | Lord John Russell [13] The Earl of Derby |
Whig Conservative |
−72 | ||
| 1852 (MPs) | 4 November 1852 | The Earl of Derby [14] The Earl of Aberdeen [15] The Viscount Palmerston |
Conservative Peelite Whig |
7 | ||
| 1857 (MPs) | 30 April 1857 | The Viscount Palmerston [16] The Earl of Derby |
Whig Conservative |
100 |
||
| 1859 (MPs) | 31 May 1859 | The Earl of Derby [17] The Viscount Palmerston |
Conservative Liberal |
59 |
||
| 1865 (MPs) | 11 July 1865 | The Viscount Palmerston [18] The Earl Russell [19] The Earl of Derby Benjamin Disraeli |
Liberal Liberal Conservative Conservative |
81 | ||
| At this point, the Reform Act 1867 significantly widened the suffrage and disenfranchised more smaller boroughs. | ||||||
| 1868 (MPs) | 10 December 1868 | William Ewart Gladstone | Liberal | 115 | ||
| 1874 (MPs) | 5 March 1874 | Benjamin Disraeli | Conservative | 49 | ||
| 1880 (MPs) | 29 April 1880 | William Ewart Gladstone [20] The Marquess of Salisbury |
Liberal Conservative |
51 |
||
| At this point, the Representation of the People Act 1884 extended the borough franchise of 1867 to the counties, increasing the electorate to about 5,500,000 men. |
||||||
| 1885 (MPs) | 12 January 1886 | The Marquess of Salisbury [21] William Ewart Gladstone [22] |
Conservative Liberal |
−172 |
||
| 1886 (MPs) | 5 August 1886 | The Marquess of Salisbury | Conservative | 116 | ||
| 1892 (MPs) | 4 August 1892 | The Marquess of Salisbury [23] William Ewart Gladstone The Earl of Rosebery [24] The Marquess of Salisbury [25] |
Conservative Liberal Liberal Conservative |
−126 |
||
| 1895 (MPs) | 12 August 1895 | The Marquess of Salisbury | Conservative | 153 | ||
| 1900 (MPs) | 3 December 1900 | The Marquess of Salisbury Arthur Balfour Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman [26] |
Conservative Conservative Liberal |
135 |
The "khaki" election. | |
| 1906 (MPs) | 13 February 1906 | Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman H. H. Asquith |
Liberal | 129 | ||
| January 1910 (MPs) | 15 February 1910 | H. H. Asquith | Liberal | −122 | ||
| December 1910 (MPs) | 31 January 1911 | H. H. Asquith David Lloyd George |
Liberal | −126 | ||
| The election due by 1915 was not held due to World War I (1914-1918)
At this point, the Representation of the People Act 1918 gave suffrage to most of the adult population (men over 21, women over 30). |
||||||
| 1918 (MPs) | 14 December 1918 | David Lloyd George Andrew Bonar Law [27] |
Liberal (Coalition Government) Conservative |
238 |
57.2 |
The "coupon" election |
| 1922 (MPs) | 15 November 1922 | Andrew Bonar Law Stanley Baldwin |
Conservative | 74 | 73 | |
| 1923 (MPs) | 6 December 1923 | Stanley Baldwin [28] Ramsay MacDonald |
Conservative Labour |
−98 |
71.1 | |
| 1924 (MPs) | 29 October 1924 | Stanley Baldwin | Conservative | 210 | 77 | |
| At this point, the Representation of the People Act 1928 gave universal suffrage to the adult population over 21. | ||||||
| 1929 (MPs) | 30 May 1929 | Ramsay MacDonald | Labour | −42 | 76.3 | The "flapper" election |
| 1931 (MPs) | 27 October 1931 | Ramsay MacDonald | National Labour (National Government) | 492 | 76.4 | |
| 1935 (MPs) | 14 November 1935 | Stanley Baldwin Neville Chamberlain Winston Churchill Winston Churchill |
Conservative (National Government) Conservative (National Government) Conservative (Wartime Coalition) Conservative (Caretaker Government) |
242 242 609 242 |
71.1 | |
| The election due by 1940 was not held due to World War II (1939-1945) | ||||||
| 1945 (MPs) | 5 July 1945 | Clement Attlee | Labour | 146 | 72.8 | |
| At this point, the Representation of the People Act 1948 abolished plural voting, university constituencies and the few remaining two member constituencies. |
||||||
| 1950 (MPs) | 23 February 1950 | Clement Attlee | Labour | 5 | 83.9 | |
| 1951 (MPs) | 25 October 1951 | Sir Winston Churchill Sir Anthony Eden |
Conservative | 17 | 82.6 | |
| 1955 (MPs) | 26 May 1955 | Sir Anthony Eden Harold Macmillan |
Conservative | 60 | 76.8 | |
| 1959 (MPs) | 8 October 1959 | Harold Macmillan Sir Alec Douglas-Home |
Conservative | 100 | 78.7 | |
| 1964 (MPs) | 15 October 1964 | Harold Wilson | Labour | 4 | 77.1 | |
| 1966 (MPs) | 31 March 1966 | Harold Wilson | Labour | 98 | 75.8 | |
| At this point, the Representation of the People Act 1969 gave suffrage to the adult population over 18. | ||||||
| 1970 (MPs) | 18 June 1970 | Edward Heath | Conservative | 30 | 72 | |
| February 1974 (MPs) | 28 February 1974 | Harold Wilson | Labour (minority government) | −33 | 78.8 | Hung Parliament |
| October 1974 (MPs) | 10 October 1974 | Harold Wilson James Callaghan |
Labour | 3 | 72.8 | |
| 1979 (MPs) | 3 May 1979 | Margaret Thatcher | Conservative | 43 | 76 | |
| 1983 (MPs) | 9 June 1983 | Margaret Thatcher | Conservative | 144 | 72.7 | |
| 1987 (MPs) | 11 June 1987 | Margaret Thatcher John Major |
Conservative | 102 | 75.3 | |
| 1992 (MPs) | 9 April 1992 | John Major | Conservative | 21 | 77.7 | |
| 1997 (MPs) | 1 May 1997 | Tony Blair | Labour | 179 | 71.4 | |
| 2001 (MPs) | 7 June 2001 | Tony Blair | Labour | 167 | 59.4 | |
| 2005 (MPs) | 5 May 2005 | Tony Blair Gordon Brown |
Labour | 66 | 61.4 | |
| 2010 (MPs) | 6 May 2010[29] | David Cameron | Conservative (formed coalition with Liberal Democrats) | 78 | 65.1 | Hung Parliament |
| At this point, the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 was passed. Elections are now every 5 years, barring parliamentary vote. Prior to this, the election could be called at any point the Prime Minister wished | ||||||
| Next general election | By 7 May 2015 | |||||
Note: A negative majority means that there was a hung parliament (or minority parliament) following that election. For example, in the 1929 election, Labour was 42 seats short of forming a majority, and so its majority is listed as −42. In the case of the 2010 election, the combined majority for the coalition was 78.
See also[edit]
- Elections in the United Kingdom
- List of UK by-elections
- Referendums in the United Kingdom
- List of UK Conservative Party general election manifestos
- List of UK Labour Party general election manifestos
- List of UK Liberal Party general election manifestos
Notes[edit]
- ^ including Tory (1832), Conservative (from 1835), Liberal Conservative (1847–59), Liberal Unionist (1886–1910), National parties (1931–45).
- ^ including Whig (to mid-19th century), Liberal (mid-19th century to 1979), National Liberal (1922), Independent Liberal (1931), SDP-Liberal Alliance (1983–87) and Liberal Democrat (from 1992).
References[edit]
- ^ Table 2.01 "Summary Results of General Elections 1832–2005 (UK)", British electoral facts, 1832–2006, by Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher, 7th edition, 2007, ISBN 978-0-7546-2712-8, p. 59.
- ^ Election 2010 Results, BBC News.
- ^ http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2012/nov/16/uk-election-turnouts-historic#data
- ^ Died in office.
- ^ Was murdered in office.
- ^ Died in office.
- ^ Was defeated on a motion to examine the accounts of the Civil List on 15th November 1830 and resigned on 16th November
- ^ Was dismissed by William IV on 14th November 1834
- ^ Was defeated on a report on the Irish Church on 7th April 1835 and resigned on 8th April
- ^ Was defeated on a motion of no confidence on 4th June 1841 and advised the Queen to dissolve Parliament, which she did on 23rd June
- ^ Ministry met the Commons, but was defeated on an amendment to the Address on 27th August 1841 and resigned on 30th August
- ^ Was defeated on an Irish Coercion Bill on 25th June 1846 and resigned on 29th June
- ^ Was defeated on a militia Bill on 20th February 1852 and resigned on 23rd February
- ^ Was defeated on the Budget on 16th December 1852 and resigned on 19th December
- ^ Was defeated on a vote in favour of a select committee to enquire into alleged mismanagement during the Crimean War on 29th January 1855 and resigned the next day
- ^ Was defeated on a Bill, which made it a felony to plot in Britain to murder someone abroad, on 19th February 1858 and resigned on the same day
- ^ Ministry met the Commons, but was defeated on an amendment to the Address on 10th June 1859 and resigned on 11th June
- ^ Died in office
- ^ Was defeated on Parliamentary reform proposals on 18th June 1866 and resigned on 26th June
- ^ Was defeated on the Budget on 8th June 1885 and resigned the next day
- ^ Met the Commons, but was defeated on an amendment to the Address on 26th January 1886 and resigned on 28th January
- ^ Was defeated on the Government of Ireland Bill on 7th June 1886 and advised the Queen to dissolve Parliament, which she did on 26th June.
- ^ Met the Commons, but was defeated on an amendment to the Address on 11th August 1892 and resigned the same day
- ^ Was defeated on the Cordite Vote on 21st June 1895 and resigned that day
- ^ Became Prime Minister on 25th June 1895 and immediately advised the dissolution of Parliament
- ^ Became Prime Minister on 5th December 1905 and immediately advised the dissolution of Parliament
- ^ Became Prime Minister on 23rd October 1922 and immediately advised the dissolution of Parliament
- ^ Met the Commons, but was defeated on an amendment to the Address on 21st January 1924 and resigned the next day
- ^ "Gordon Brown calls 6 May general election". BBC News. 6 April 2010. Retrieved 6 April 2010.
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