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List of United Kingdom general elections

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List of United Kingdom general elections
Summary

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In the United Kingdom, general elections (for the House of Commons) have occurred 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. There have been 58 general elections held in the UK up to and including the 2024 general election.

The UK government announced that the voting age will be lowered from 18 to 16 ahead of the next general election, fulfilling a key pledge by the Labour Party elected in July 2024. The move is part of broader democratic reforms, including automatic voter registration, acceptance of bank cards as ID, and stricter rules on campaign financing to curb foreign interference. The changes aim to boost participation after the 2024 election saw a historic low turnout of 59.7% and must be approved by Parliament before implementation.

Election results

A graph showing shares of the vote received by each political party in the UK since 1832. The graph shows the UK being dominated by two political parties, the Conservative Party and the Liberal Party, until around 1900, when the Labour Party rises and takes a large share of votes away from the Liberals. Miscellaneous parties and independents represent an insignificant amount of vote share until around 1996.
978-0-7546-2712-8}}, p.&nbsp;59.</ref><ref>[https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/election2010/results &quot;Election 2010 Results&quot;], ''[[BBC News]]''.</ref><ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election/2015/results &quot;Election 2015 Results&quot;], ''[[BBC News]]''.</ref>

In 1801, the right to vote in the United Kingdom was severely restricted. Universal suffrage, on an equal basis for men and women over the age of 21, was established in 1928. Before 1918, general elections did not occur on a single day and polling was spread over several weeks.

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. A negative majority means that there was a hung parliament (or minority government) following that election. For example, at the 1929 general election, Labour was 42 seats short of forming a majority, and so its majority is listed as −42. 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 objective 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.

List of elections

19th century

ElectionNo.DatesPrime Minister appointed by Monarch
(during term)Winning partyGovernment
vote shareSeat majoritySeatsMonarch1802
(MPs)George III1806
(MPs)1807
(MPs)1812
(MPs)1818
(MPs)1820
(MPs)George IV1826
(MPs)1830
(MPs)William IV1831
(MPs)1832
(MPs)1835
(MPs)1837
(MPs)Victoria1841
(MPs)1847
(MPs)1852
(MPs)1857
(MPs)1859
(MPs)1865
(MPs)1868
(MPs)1874
(MPs)1880
(MPs)1885
(MPs)1886
(MPs)1892
(MPs)1895
(MPs)1900
(MPs)
rowspan="2"1st5 July – 28 August 1802Henry AddingtonToryN/AN/A658
(William Pitt the Younger)
2nd29 October – 17 December 1806The Lord GrenvilleWhigN/AN/A658
rowspan="2"3rd4 May – 9 June 1807The Duke of PortlandToryN/AN/A658
(Spencer Perceval)
4th5 October – 10 November 1812The Earl of Liverpool
5th17 June – 18 July 1818
6th6 March – 14 April 1820
rowspan="3"7th7 June – 12 July 1826George Canning
(The Viscount Goderich)
(The Duke of Wellington)
8th29 July – 1 September 1830The Duke of Wellington
9th28 April – 1 June 1831The Earl GreyWhigN/A135658
rowspan="4"10th10 December 1832 – 8 January 1833The Earl Grey67.0%225
(The Viscount Melbourne)
10 December 1832 – 8 January 1833(The Duke of Wellington)Conservative29.2%−308658
(Sir Robert Peel)
rowspan="2"11th6 January – 6 February 1835Sir Robert Peel42.8%−113
6 January – 6 February 1835(The Viscount Melbourne)Whig57.2%113658
12th24 July – 18 August 1837The Viscount Melbourne52.4%29
rowspan="3"13th29 June – 22 July 1841The Viscount Melbourne46.2%N/A
29 June – 22 July 1841(Sir Robert Peel)Conservative51.6%77658
29 June – 22 July 1841(Lord John Russell)Whig46.2%N/A658
rowspan="2"14th29 July – 26 August 1847Lord John Russell53.8%−72656
29 July – 26 August 1847(The Earl of Derby)Conservative42.6%N/A656
rowspan="3"15th7–31 July 1852The Earl of Derby41.9%7654
7–31 July 1852(The Earl of Aberdeen)PeeliteN/AN/A654
7–31 July 1852(The Viscount Palmerston)Whig57.9%N/A654
rowspan="2"16th27 March – 24 April 1857The Viscount Palmerston64.8%100
27 March – 24 April 1857(The Earl of Derby)Conservative33.5%N/A654
rowspan="2"17th28 April – 18 May 1859The Earl of Derby34.2%
28 April – 18 May 1859(The Viscount Palmerston)Liberal65.8%59654
rowspan="4"18th11–24 July 1865The Viscount Palmerston59.5%81658
(The Earl Russell)N/A
11–24 July 1865(The Earl of Derby)Conservative40.5%N/A658
(Benjamin Disraeli)
19th17 November – 7 December 1868William Ewart GladstoneLiberal61.2%115658
20th31 January – 17 February 1874Benjamin DisraeliConservative44.3%49652
rowspan="2"21st31 March – 27 April 1880William Ewart GladstoneLiberal54.7%51652
31 March – 27 April 1880(The Marquess of Salisbury)Conservative42.5%N/A652
rowspan="2"22nd24 November – 18 December 1885The Marquess of SalisburyConservative43.0%670
24 November – 18 December 1885(William Ewart Gladstone)Liberal47.7%−16670
23rd1–27 July 1886The Marquess of SalisburyConservative & Liberal Unionists51.4%58670
rowspan="4"24th4–26 July 1892The Marquess of Salisbury47.0%N/A
4–26 July 1892(William Ewart Gladstone)Liberal45.4%−126670
(The Earl of Rosebery)
4–26 July 1892(The Marquess of Salisbury)Conservative & Liberal Unionists47.0%N/A670
25th13 July – 7 August 1895The Marquess of Salisbury49.3%153
rowspan="3"26th26 September – 24 October 1900The Marquess of Salisbury50.2%135
(Arthur Balfour)N/A
26 September – 24 October 1900(Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman)Liberal45.1%N/A670

20th century

ElectionNo.DatePrime Minister appointed by Monarch
(during term)Winning partyGovernment
vote shareSeat majoritySeatslast=Rogersfirst=Simonurl = https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2012/nov/16/uk-election-turnouts-historic#datatitle = UK election historic turnouts since 1918 &#124; Newspublisher=theguardian.comdate=16 November 2012access-date=2013-10-05 }}Monarch1906
(MPs)Edward VII1910
(MPs)1910
(MPs)George V1918
(MPs)1922
(MPs)1923
(MPs)1924
(MPs)1929
(MPs)1931
(MPs)1935
(MPs)George VI1945
(MPs)1950
(MPs)1951
(MPs)Elizabeth II1955
(MPs)1959
(MPs)1964
(MPs)1966
(MPs)1970
(MPs)1974
(MPs)1974
(MPs)1979
(MPs)1983
(MPs)1987
(MPs)1992
(MPs)1997
(MPs)
rowspan="2"27th12 January – 8 February 1906Sir Henry Campbell-BannermanLiberal48.9%124670N/A
(H. H. Asquith)
28th15 January – 10 February 1910H. H. AsquithLiberal (minority government)43.5%−122670N/A
rowspan="2"29th3–19 December 1910H. H. Asquith44.2%−126
(David Lloyd George)
The election that would have been due by 1916 as a result of the Parliament Act 1911 was not held due to the First World War (1914–1918).
rowspan="2"30th14 December 1918David Lloyd GeorgeLiberal (coalition)53.0%23870757.2%
14 December 1918(Bonar Law)Conservative53.0%23870757.2%
rowspan="2"31st15 November 1922Bonar Law38.5%7461573.0%
(Stanley Baldwin)
rowspan="2"32nd6 December 1923Stanley BaldwinConservative (minority government)N/AN/A61571.1%
(Ramsay MacDonald)Labour (minority government)30.7%−98
33rd29 October 1924Stanley BaldwinConservative46.8%21061577.0%
34th30 May 1929Ramsay MacDonaldLabour (minority government)37.1%−4261576.3%
35th27 October 1931Ramsay MacDonaldNational Labour (National Government)67.2%49261576.4%
rowspan="4"36th14 November 1935Stanley BaldwinConservative (National Government)51.8%24261571.1%
(Neville Chamberlain)
(Winston Churchill)Conservative (war-time coalition)97.7%609
Conservative (caretaker government)51.8%242
The election due by 1940 was not held due to the Second World War (1939–1945).
37th5 July 1945Clement AttleeLabour47.7%14664072.8%
38th23 February 195046.1%562583.9%
rowspan="2"39th25 October 1951Sir Winston ChurchillConservative48.0%1762582.6%
(Sir Anthony Eden)
rowspan="2"40th26 May 1955Anthony Eden49.7%6063076.8%
(Harold Macmillan)
rowspan="2"41st8 October 1959Harold Macmillan49.4%10078.7%
(Alec Douglas-Home)
42nd15 October 1964Harold WilsonLabour44.1%463077.1%
43rd31 March 196648.0%9875.8%
44th18 June 1970Edward HeathConservative46.4%3063072.0%
45th28 February 1974Harold WilsonLabour (minority government)37.2%−3363078.8%
rowspan="2"46th10 October 1974Harold WilsonLabour39.2%363572.8%
(James Callaghan)
47th3 May 1979Margaret ThatcherConservative43.9%4363576.0%
48th9 June 198342.4%14465072.7%
rowspan="2"49th11 June 1987Margaret Thatcher42.2%10275.3%
(John Major)
50th9 April 1992John Major41.9%2165177.7%
51st1 May 1997Tony BlairLabour43.2%17965971.4%

21st century

ElectionNo.DatePrime Minister appointed by Monarch
(during term)Winning partyGovernment
vote shareSeat majoritySeatsTurnoutMonarch2001
(MPs)Elizabeth II2005
(MPs)2010
(MPs)2015
(MPs)2017
(MPs)2019
(MPs)Charles III2024
(MPs)
52nd7 June 2001Tony BlairLabour40.7%16765959.4%
rowspan="2"53rd5 May 2005Tony Blair35.2%6664661.4%
(Gordon Brown)
54th6 May 2010David CameronConservative (coalition)59.1%7865065.1%
rowspan="2"55th7 May 2015David CameronConservative36.8%1265066.1%
(Theresa May)
rowspan="2"56th8 June 2017Theresa MayConservative (confidence and supply government)42.3%−565068.8%
(Boris Johnson)
rowspan="3"57th12 December 2019Boris JohnsonConservative43.6%8065067.3%
(Liz Truss)
(Rishi Sunak)
58th4 July 2024Sir Keir StarmerLabour33.7%17465059.9%

Notes

References

de:Britische Unterhauswahlen sv:Parlamentsval i Storbritannien

References

  1. "UK to lower voting age to 16 in major electoral reform".
  2. Table 2.01 "Summary Results of General Elections 1832–2005 (UK)", in Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher, ''British electoral facts, 1832–2006'' (7th ed.), 2007, {{ISBN. 978-0-7546-2712-8, p. 59.
  3. [https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/election2010/results "Election 2010 Results"], ''[[BBC News]]''.
  4. [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election/2015/results "Election 2015 Results"], ''[[BBC News]]''.
  5. (15 November 1830). "COMMITTEE "UPON THE CIVIL LIST.".
  6. "parliament.uk". commonslibrary.parliament.uk.
  7. (15 August 1834). "PROROGATION.".
  8. "parliament.uk". commonslibrary.parliament.uk.
  9. (7 April 1835). "CHURCH OF IRELAND.".
  10. (4 June 1841). "CONFIDENCE IN THE MINISTRY— ADJOURNED DEBATE (FIFTH DAY).".
  11. (27 August 1841). "ADDRESS IN ANSWER TO THE SPEECH— ADJOURNED DEBATE, FOURTH NIGHT.".
  12. (25 June 1846). "PROTECTION OF LIFE (IRELAND) BILL—ADJOURNED DEBATE—(SIXTH NIGHT).".
  13. (20 February 1852). "LOCAL MILITIA.".
  14. (16 December 1852). "WAYS AND MEANS—FINANCIAL STATEMENT—ADJOURNED DEBATE(FOURTH NIGHT).".
  15. (29 January 1855). "ARMY (CRIMEA)—THE CONDUCT OF THE WAR, AND CONDITION OF THE ARMY. ADJOURNED DEBATE.—(SECOND NIGHT.)".
  16. (19 February 1858). "SECOND READING.".
  17. (10 June 1859). "DEBATE RESUMED. (THIRD NIGHT).".
  18. (19 June 1866). "MOTION FOR ADJOURNMENT.".
  19. Was defeated on [[1885 vote of no confidence against the government of William Gladstone. the Budget]] on [https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1885/jun/08/second-reading 8 June 1885] and resigned the next day
  20. Met the Commons, but was defeated on an amendment to the Address on [https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1886/jan/26/allotments-and-small-holdings 26 January 1886] and resigned on 28 January
  21. Was defeated on [[1886 vote of no confidence against the government of William Gladstone. the Government of Ireland Bill]] on [https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1886/jun/07/second-reading-adjourned-debate 7 June 1886] and advised the Queen to dissolve Parliament, which she did on 26 June.
  22. Met the Commons, but was defeated on an amendment to the Address on [https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1892/aug/11/division-list 11 August 1892] and resigned the same day
  23. Was defeated on [[1895 vote of no confidence against the government of the Earl of Rosebery. the Cordite Vote]] on [https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1895/jun/24/resignation-of-ministers 21 June 1895] and resigned that day
  24. Rogers, Simon. (16 November 2012). "UK election historic turnouts since 1918 | News". theguardian.com.
  25. Met the Commons, but was defeated on an amendment to the Address on [https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1924/jan/21/debate-on-the-address 21 January 1924] and resigned the next day
  26. Katritses, Thomas. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/1949631 "British By-Elections in War-Time"], [[American Political Science Review]], Vol. 36, No. 3 (Jun., 1942), pp. 525-532.
  27. (29 January 2019). "General Election 2017: full results and analysis". UK Parliament.
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