United Kingdom general election records

In the United Kingdom, general elections occur at least every five years. About 650 constituencies return a member of Parliament. Prior to 1945, electoral competition in the United Kingdom exhibited features which make meaningful comparisons with modern results difficult. Hence, unless otherwise stated, records are based on results since the 1945 general election, and earlier exceptional results are listed separately.

Glossary

For comparison purposes the following definitions have been adopted.

• Gain – victory by a party which was not victorious at the immediate previous election.
• Loss – defeat of a party which was victorious at the immediate previous election.
• Hold – victory by a party which was victorious at the immediate previous election.
• Win – victory by a party. Ambiguous term that could mean either a gain or a hold.
• Incumbent – the party which held the seat at the immediate previous election, irrespective of any intervening change of candidate or candidate's change of party.
• Third party – In England, since 1922, the "third party" has been the Liberal party through its Alliance with the SDP and their successors up to the present day Liberal Democrats. Additionally, in Scotland and Wales the Scottish National Party and Plaid Cymru are also considered to be third parties. Prior to 1922, the third party was the Labour party.
• Minor party – parties smaller than the third party
• Uncontested – an election where only one candidate is put forward. No votes are actually cast and the candidate is by default the victor.
• Notional – boundary changes occur about every 10–15 years. The political composition of many seats is changed as a result, sometimes decisively. Professors Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher have compiled notional results for the last few sets of boundary changes, predicting what the result would have been at the previous election under the new boundaries.

Numerical records

For more information about what is meant by the term "swing", see Swing (politics)

Largest swings

National swings

• 1931 general election – 14.4% swing from Labour to National Government ^{[1] : 20}
• 1945 general election – 11.8% swing from Conservative/National Liberal to Labour ^[1]
• 1997 general election – 10.2% swing from Conservative to Labour
• 1906 general election – 5.4% swing from Conservative to Liberal
• 1979 general election – 5.3% swing from Labour to Conservative
• 2010 general election – 5.1% swing from Labour to Conservative

From Conservative to Labour

• Brent North, 1997 – 18.8% (Labour gain)

From Labour to Conservative

• Bassetlaw, 2019 – 18.4% (Conservative gain)

From Labour to Liberal Democrat

• Brent East, 2005 – 29% (Liberal Democrat gain)

From Labour to SNP

• Glasgow North East, 2015 – 39.3% ^[2] (SNP gain)

From Liberal Democrat to Labour

• Brent Central, 2015 – 28.3% (Labour gain)

From Liberal Democrat to Conservative

• North Norfolk, 2019 – 17.5% (Conservative gain)

From SNP to Conservative

• Gordon, 2017 – 20.4% (Conservative gain)

Largest fall in percentage share of vote

A party's share of the vote at a general election is not always matched at subsequent general elections, but given the five-year maximum term of a Parliament since 1911, reductions of 10% or more (on the national level) or around 30% or more (in individual constituencies) are unusual.

National

Decrease	Party		Election
15.1		Liberal Democrats	2015
11.6		Conservative	1945
11.2		Conservative	1997
10.8		UKIP	2017
7.9		Labour	2019

Constituency

Decrease	Party		Constituency	Election
65.1		Irish Parliamentary	West Mayo	1918
60.6		Ind. Labour Party	Glasgow Bridgeton	1950
53.1		UUP	North Down	1979
45.8		Labour	Merthyr Tydfil	1970
45.7		Labour	Blyth	1974 Feb
41.5		UUP	North Antrim	1970
39.8		UUP	Belfast North	2001
39.7		Labour	Blaenau Gwent	2005
37.4		Ind. Labour Party	Merthyr	1935
36.8		UKIP	Clacton	2017
35.8		Liberal Democrats	Brent Central	2015 [3]
35.0		UUP	Lagan Valley	2005
34.7		Respect	Bradford West	2015
34.7		Labour	Glasgow North East	2015 [3]
34.5		Labour	West Dunbartonshire	2015 [3]
33.0		Ind. Labour Party	Glasgow Shettleston	1950
32.7		Labour	Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill	2015 [3]
31.7		Labour	Glenrothes	2015 [3]
31.6		Sinn Féin	Fermanagh and South Tyrone	1959
31.2		Labour	Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath	2015 [3]
31.2		Liberal Democrats	Sheffield Central	2015 [3]
31.1		Liberal Democrats	Dunfermline and West Fife	2015 [3]
30.5		Liberal Democrats	Hereford and South Herefordshire	2015 [3]
30.5		Democratic Labour	Lincoln	1979
30.3		Liberal Democrats	Edinburgh South	2015 [3]
30.0		UUP	North Down	2010
29.2		Liberal Democrats	Bristol West	2015 [4]

Other parties

The Scottish National and Democratic Unionist parties have never lost a 30% or larger percentage share of the vote in a single constituency.

Decrease	Party		Constituency	Election
27.0		NI Conservatives	North Down	1997
26.0		SNP	Western Isles	1987
25.3		DUP	Belfast West	1979

Largest increase in percentage share of vote

These records detail the change in the share of the vote by parties when compared to the same constituency in the previous general election. In some cases, such as Brent East in 2005 for the Liberal Democrats, the figures should be framed by the context of a by-election in that constituency between the two elections.

Increase	Party		Constituency	Election
74.1		Labour	Glasgow Gorbals	1945
43.9		SNP	Glasgow North East	2015 [3]
43.8		Liberal	Dundee West	1951
41.3		DUP	Lagan Valley	2005
41.2		SNP	Glasgow North	2015 [3]
40.8		SNP	Glasgow South West	2015 [3]
39.8		SNP	Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill	2015 [3]
39.6		SNP	Dunfermline and West Fife	2015 [3]
39.3		SNP	Glasgow North West	2015 [3]
38.9		SNP	West Dunbartonshire	2015 [3]
38.3		SNP	Motherwell and Wishaw	2015 [3]
38.2		SNP	Glenrothes	2015 [3]
37.9		SNP	Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath	2015 [3]
37.6		SNP	Inverclyde	2015
36.9		Liberal Democrats	Brent East	2005
36.5		SNP	Rutherglen and Hamilton West	2015
36.1		SNP	Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East	2015
36.1		Labour	Glasgow Shettleston	1950
35.9		Alliance	North Down	2019
35.0		SNP	Glasgow Central	2015
34.7		SNP	Glasgow South	2015
34.2		SNP	Aberdeen North	2015
34.1		SNP	Central Ayrshire	2015
33.0		SNP	Dundee West	2015
33.0		SNP	Ross, Skye and Lochaber	2015
32.8		SNP	Paisley and Renfrewshire South	2015
32.6		SNP	East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow	2015
32.2		SNP	Glasgow East	2015
31.7		SNP	East Renfrewshire	2015
31.7		SNP	Paisley and Renfrewshire North	2015
31.6		UUP	Fermanagh and South Tyrone	1959
31.4		SNP	Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey	2015
31.3		SNP	Edinburgh North and Leith	2015
31.0		SNP	Livingston	2015
30.8		SNP	Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock	2015
30.8		SNP	Edinburgh South West	2015
30.6		SNP	Dundee East	1974 Feb
30.4		SNP	Airdrie and Shotts	2015
30.3		Labour	Bristol West	2017
30.0		SNP	Midlothian	2015
29.0		Conservative	Gordon	2017

Other parties

Increase	Party		Constituency	Election
29.6		UKIP	Heywood and Middleton	2015
29.0		Conservative	Gordon	2017
24.2		Unity	Fermanagh and South Tyrone	1970
23.7		Republican Labour	Belfast West	1966
23.0		Green	Bristol West	2015

Largest winning share of the vote

The five largest shares of the vote won by any candidate, since 1918, are as follows:

Candidate	Party		Constituency	Election	% Share
George Currie		UUP	North Down	1959	98.0 [1] : 104
George Currie		UUP	North Down	1955	96.9
Knox Cunningham		UUP	South Antrim	1959	95.1
Phelim O'Neill		UUP	North Antrim	1959	94.9
Will Thorne		Labour	Plaistow	1918	94.9

Largest winning share of the vote by general election

Candidate	Party			Constituency	Election	% Share
Dan Carden		Labour	Labour	Liverpool Walton	2019	84.7
Dan Carden		Labour	Labour	Liverpool Walton	2017	85.7 [5]

Largest number of votes

The most votes received by a single individual in a general election was Sir Cooper Rawson who polled 75,205 votes when being reelected as MP for Brighton in 1931. Brighton was a two-member constituency with a larger than average electorate. The most votes received by an individual in a single-seat constituency was 69,762 for Reginald Blair in Hendon in 1935. ^{[1] : 101}

Largest majority

The largest majority received by an individual is also Sir Cooper Rawson, reelected with a majority of 62,253 (35.2% of votes) at Brighton in 1931. ^{[1] : 101} The largest majority received by a woman is 38,823 (71.4% of votes) by the Countess of Iveagh elected MP for Southend in 1931.

Lowest winning share of the vote

All general election victors receiving less than 33.33% of the vote are listed. The list is complete from 1945 onwards. Seats with more than one member are omitted.

Name	Party		Constituency	Election	% Share
Alasdair McDonnell		SDLP	Belfast South	2015	24.5 [3]
Russell Johnston		Liberal Democrats	Inverness, Nairn and Lochaber	1992	26.0
Frank Privett		Conservative	Portsmouth Central	1922	26.8 [1] : 103
John McQuade		DUP	Belfast North	1979	27.6
Ben Lake		Plaid Cymru	Ceredigion	2017	29.2
Simon Wright		Liberal Democrats	Norwich South	2010	29.4
C. W. Crook		Conservative	East Ham North	1922	29.7
Annabelle Ewing		SNP	Perth	2001	29.7
Alan Reid		Liberal Democrats	Argyll and Bute	2001	29.9
William McCrea		DUP	Mid Ulster	1983	30.0
Angus Robertson		SNP	Moray	2001	30.3
Emma Pengelly		DUP	Belfast South	2017	30.4
John Pugh		Liberal Democrats	Southport	2015	31.0 [3]
Albert Owen		Labour	Ynys Môn	2015	31.1 [3]
Margaret Bain		SNP	East Dunbartonshire	1974 October	31.2
Michael Moore		Liberal Democrats	Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale	1997	31.2
Cynog Dafis		Plaid Cymru	Ceredigion and Pembroke North	1992	31.3
Caroline Lucas		Green	Brighton Pavilion	2010	31.3
Peter Robinson		DUP	Belfast East	1979	31.4
Gordon Banks		Labour	Ochil and South Perthshire	2005	31.4
Roger Thomas		Labour	Carmarthen	1983	31.6
Alan Reid		Liberal Democrats	Argyll and Bute	2010	31.6
Phil Woolas		Labour	Oldham East and Saddleworth	2010	31.9
Gregory Campbell		DUP	East Londonderry	2001	32.1
Alasdair McDonnell		SDLP	Belfast South	2005	32.3
Russell Johnston		Liberal	Inverness	1974 October	32.4
Chris Hazzard		Sinn Féin	South Down	2019	32.4
Jim Cunningham		Labour	Coventry South East	1992	32.6
Angela Crawley		SNP	Lanark and Hamilton East	2017	32.6
Anna McCurley		Conservative	Renfrew West and Inverclyde	1983	32.7
David Simpson		DUP	Upper Bann	2015	32.7 [3]
Danny Kinahan		UUP	South Antrim	2015	32.7 [3]
Austin Mitchell		Labour	Great Grimsby	2010	32.7
Glenda Jackson		Labour	Hampstead and Kilburn	2010	32.8
Stephen Gethins		SNP	North East Fife	2017	32.9
Roger Godsiff		Labour	Birmingham Hall Green	2010	32.9
David Price-White		Conservative	Caernarfon	1945	32.9
Chris Williamson		Labour	Derby North	2010	33.0
Hamish Gray		Conservative	Ross and Cromarty	1970	33.2
Nigel Griffiths		Labour	Edinburgh South	2005	33.2

Lowest share of the vote

Major parties less than 1% of the vote

Since 1918:

% share	Candidate	Party		Constituency	Election
0.1	Paul Shea		NI Conservatives	Belfast West	2015
0.3	Lucille Nicholson		NI Conservatives	Mid Ulster	2015
0.4	Claire-Louise Leyland		NI Conservatives	Tyrone West	2015
0.4	Hamish Badenoch		NI Conservatives	Foyle	2015
0.4	Robert Rigby		NI Conservatives	Newry and Armagh	2015
0.4	Amandeep Singh Bhogal		NI Conservatives	Upper Bann	2015
0.6	Clare Salier		NI Conservatives	Belfast South	2017
0.7	Felicity Buchan		NI Conservatives	South Down	2015
0.7	Gary McLelland		Liberal Democrats	Glasgow East	2015 [3]
0.8	Eileen Baxendale		Liberal Democrats	Glasgow North East	2015 [3]
0.8	Karen Roberts		Liberal Democrats	Rhondda	2017
0.8	Liz St Clair-Legge		NI Conservatives	East Londonderry	2017
0.9	Flo Clucas		Liberal Democrats	West Bromwich West	2017
0.9	Ben France		Liberal Democrats	Dudley North	2017
0.9	Carol Freeman		NI Conservatives	Antrim North	2015
0.9	Brian Price		NI Conservatives	Upper Bann	1997
0.9	Cameron Sullivan		Liberal Democrats	Blaenau Gwent	2017

The Conservatives' worst vote outside Northern Ireland was 1.1% for A. Seaton in Pontypridd in 1918.

Labour's worst vote was 2.2% for Samuel McLaren in Glasgow Bridgeton in 1935 and in 2010 for Jonathan Todd in Westmorland and Lonsdale.

Candidates winning fewer than ten votes

Candidates in general elections since 1918 who won fewer than ten votes:

Votes	Candidate	Party	Constituency	Election
1	Catherine Taylor-Dawson	Vote For Yourself Rainbow Dream Ticket	Cardiff North	2005 [6]
3	Bobby Smith	Give Me Back Elmo	Maidenhead	2017 [7]
5	Martin Kyslun	Independent	West Derbyshire	2005 [6]
5	William Tobin	Independent	Uxbridge and South Ruislip	2019 [8]
7	Dorian Vanbraam	Renaissance Democrat	Putney	1997 [9]
7	Andres Mendoza	Communist League	Islington North	2017 [10]
8	Bobby Smith	Give Me Back Elmo	Uxbridge and South Ruislip	2019 [11]

Both W. M. Somerville in Bewdley at the 1874 United Kingdom general election and F. R. Lees in Drogheda at the 1852 United Kingdom general election received no votes. ^{[1] : 102}

Smallest majorities

Vote Majority	Candidate	Party		Constituency	Election
0	John Edmund Wentworth Addison		Conservative	Ashton-under-Lyne	1886 [lower-alpha 1]
1	Henry Duke		Conservative	Exeter	1910 [lower-alpha 2]
2	Abraham Flint		National Labour	Ilkeston	1931 [1] : 101

Since 1945

Vote Majority	Candidate	Party		Constituency	Election
2	Stephen Gethins		SNP	North East Fife	2017
2	Mark Oaten		Liberal Democrats	Winchester	1997 [lower-alpha 3]
3	Gwynoro Jones		Labour	Carmarthen	1974 Feb
3	Harmar Nicholls		Conservative	Peterborough	1966 [1] : 101
4	Michelle Gildernew		Sinn Féin	Fermanagh and South Tyrone	2010
4	George Ward		Conservative	Worcester	1945 [1] : 101
6	Eric Gandar Dower		Unionist	Caithness and Sutherland	1945 [1] : 101
7	Derek Spencer		Conservative	Leicester South	1983
7	Dennis Hobden		Labour	Brighton Kemptown	1964 [1] : 101
9	Paul Tyler		Liberal	Bodmin	1974 Feb
10	Peter Emery		Conservative	Reading	1964
10	Lester Hutchinson		Labour	Manchester Rusholme	1945
11	Anthony Meyer		Conservative	Eton and Slough	1964
12	Adrian Sanders		Liberal Democrats	Torbay	1997
12	John Jackson		Conservative	South East Derbyshire	1959
13	Ernle Money		Conservative	Ipswich	1970
14	Julian Amery		Conservative	Preston North	1964
15	John Foster		Conservative	Northwich	1945
16	Edward Shackleton		Labour	Preston South	1951
19	Walter Sweeney		Conservative	Vale of Glamorgan	1992
20	Emma Dent Coad		Labour	Kensington	2017
20	John Hollingworth		Conservative	Birmingham All Saints	1959
21	Ken Hargreaves		Conservative	Hyndburn	1983
21	Pete Wishart		SNP	Perth and North Perthshire	2017
22	Ian Austin		Labour	Dudley North	2017
22	Harmar Nicholls		Conservative	Peterborough	1974 Feb
22	Margaret Bain		SNP	East Dunbartonshire	1974 Oct [lower-alpha 4]
25	Jack Beattie		Labour	Belfast West	1951
27	William Molloy		Labour	Ealing North	1964
27	Byron Davies		Conservative	Gower	2015
28	Walter Robert Dempster Perkins		Conservative	Stroud and Thornbury	1950
29	Robert Atkins		Conservative	Preston North	1979
30	Paul Farrelly		Labour	Newcastle-under-Lyme	2017
30	George Thompson		SNP	Galloway	1974 Oct

Notes:

1. At the election, the sitting Conservative Member, John Wentworth Addison, tied with his Liberal opponent, A.B. Rowley, on 3,049 votes each. The returning officer, acting under the law at the time, gave a casting vote to Addison, giving him an effective majority of one. ^{[1] : 103}
2. At the election, the Liberal candidate, Harold St. Maur was declared elected by a majority of 4 votes, but on petition, after a lengthy hearing and several recounts at the High Court, the previous Conservative Member Henry Duke was declared elected by a single vote. ^{[1] : 103}
3. The 1997 general election result was declared void, and at the subsequent by-election the Liberal Democrat majority swelled to over 20,000 votes.
4. As well as being the smallest majority at this election only 429 votes separated the top three candidates.

Most recounts

• 7: Peterborough, 1966 ^{[1] : 102}
• 7: Brighton Kemptown, 1964
• 6: Hyndburn, 1983
• 5: Hastings and Rye, 2017
• 5: Carmarthen, February 1974
• 5: Ilkeston, 1931

Highest turnout

Highest turnouts in any general election since 1918:

• Fermanagh and South Tyrone, 1951: 93.4% ^[6]
• Darwen, 1924: 92.7% ^[6]

Lowest turnout

All turnouts below 35% from 1918 onwards:

Constituency	Election	Turnout (%)
Lambeth Kennington	1918	29.7 [6]
Birmingham Deritend	1918	30.7
Bethnal Green North East	1918	31.2
Birmingham Duddeston	1918	32.4
Limehouse	1918	33.4
Liverpool Riverside	2001	34.1
Aberdeenshire and East Kincardineshire	1918	34.2

Until 2001, the lowest turnout after 1918 was 37.4% in Orkney and Shetland in 1922.

Most candidates

Any number of candidates can be nominated for election under current UK electoral law. The only restrictions are that a candidate must be a Commonwealth or Irish citizen, not legally disqualified, with the valid nomination of ten electors from the constituency. Candidates must pay a £500 deposit which is only refunded if the candidate wins 5% or more of the votes cast.

There have been 15 occasions when there were more than ten candidates on a single ballot in a general election. Large numbers of candidates are common in London seats and in the seat of the incumbent Prime Minister (marked in bold in the below list).

Candidates	Constituency	Election	Incumbent
15	Sedgefield	2005	Tony Blair [6]
13	Maidenhead	2017	Theresa May
13	Uxbridge and South Ruislip	2015	None
12	Uxbridge and South Ruislip	2019	Boris Johnson
12	Hackney South and Shoreditch	2010	Meg Hillier
12	Luton South	2010	None
12	Witney	2015	David Cameron
11	Finchley	1983	Margaret Thatcher [12]
11	Isle of Wight	2010	Andrew Turner
11	Bethnal Green and Bow	2010	None
11	Camberwell and Peckham	2010	Harriet Harman
11	Bethnal Green and Bow	2015	Rushanara Ali
11	Camberwell and Peckham	2015	Harriet Harman
11	Hackney South and Shoreditch	2015	Meg Hillier
11	Thanet South	2015	None

Before 1983, the consecutive records were 6 candidates in Paddington North in 1918, ^[13] 7 in Tottenham in February 1974 and 9 in Devon North in 1979.

Fewest candidates

The last four seats to be uncontested at a general election were Armagh, Londonderry, North Antrim and South Antrim, at the 1951 general election. The last seats in Great Britain to be uncontested were Liverpool Scotland and Rhondda West, at the 1945 general election.

Three seats were contested only by Labour and Conservative candidates at the 1979 general election: Birmingham Handsworth, Dudley West and Salford East.

Buckingham was the only seat contested by only three candidates at the 2015 general election. Traditionally, the Speaker of the House of Commons is not opposed by major parties, so the only opposition to John Bercow was candidates from the Green Party and from UKIP. However, in the 2017 United Kingdom general election, there were 21 seats with only three candidates and in 2019 there were 20.

Candidate records

Durable general election candidates

A selection of politicians who have contested seats in at least thirteen general elections are listed:

Name	Parties	Contests	Successful	First	Last	Notes
Winston Churchill	Liberal, Conservative	16	14	1900	1959	Stood in five by-elections, first in 1899
Charles Pelham Villiers	Liberal, Liberal Unionist	15	15	1835	1895
Kenneth Clarke	Conservative	15	13	1964	2017
Edward Heath	Conservative	14	14	1950	1997
T. P. O'Connor	Irish Nationalist	14	14	1885	1929
Dennis Skinner	Labour	14	13	1970	2019
Peter Tapsell	Conservative	14	13	1959	2010	Also stood in 1957 by-election
Gerald Kaufman	Labour	14	12	1955	2015	Did not stand 1964 or 1966
Manny Shinwell	Labour	14	12	1918	1966	Also stood in 1928 by-election
Michael Foot	Labour	14	11	1935	1987	Also stood in 1960 by-election
David Winnick	Labour	14	10	1964	2017	Did not stand February 1974
David Lloyd George	Liberal	13	13	1892	1935	Also stood in 1890 by-election
Edward Turnour	Conservative	13	13	1906	1950	Also stood in 1904 by-election
Tony Benn	Labour	13	12	1951	1997	Stood in four by-elections, first in 1950
Margaret Beckett	Labour	13	11	1974 Feb	2019	Still serving

MPs defeated at consecutive general elections

On rare occasions, an MP has been defeated at a general election, returned at a by-election, only to be defeated again at the subsequent general election. Shirley Williams is distinguished by achieving this while in two different parties.

• George Galloway, 2010 and 2015^b
• William McCrea, 1997 and 2001^a
• Shirley Williams, 1979 and 1983
• Christopher Addison, 1931 and 1935
• Arthur Henderson, 1918, 1922 and 1923^b

Notes:

• ^a returned to Parliament at a subsequent general election
• ^b returned to Parliament at a subsequent by-election

Former MPs unsuccessful at subsequent general elections

Attempts

It is unusual for a defeated MP to pursue more than a couple of attempts at re-election.

• 9: Robert McIntyre, 1950, 1951, 1955, 1959, 1964, 1966, 1970, Feb 1974 and Oct 1974^a
• 5: Dave Nellist, 1997, 2001, 2005, 2010 and 2015^a
• 6: George Nicholls, Dec 1910, 1918, 1922, 1923, 1924 and 1929 (and by-elections in 1913 and 1925)^a
• 4: Fred Maddison, Dec 1910, 1918, 1922 and 1923^a
• 4: Tom Howard, 1935, 1945, 1950 and 1951 (and a by-election in 1947)^e
• 3: Mike Carr, 1997, 2001 and 2005^a
• 3: Tom Mitchell, 1959, 1964 and 1966^b
• 3: Sydney Walter Robinson, 1929, 1931 and 1945 (and a by-election in 1926)^a
• 3: Maurice Alexander, 1923, 1924, 1931^e
• 3: Thomas Edward Wing, 1922, 1924 and 1929 (and a by-election in 1920)^c
• 3: Alexander Boulton, Dec 1910, 1923 and 1924^d

Notes:

• ^a in various seats
• ^b in the same seat
• ^c two previous seats and another
• ^d one previous seat and another
• ^e one previous seat and others

Interval

Attempts at a comeback usually occur almost immediately. Those who succeeded after further general elections include:

Years	Candidate	Year of defeat	Year of re-election
18	Paul Tyler	1974 October	1992
14	Walter Ayles	1931	1945
	George Isaacs
	Somerville Hastings
	Jennie Lee
	Leah Manning
	Lucy Noel-Buxton
13	Jonathan Evans	1997	2010

Future MPs unsuccessful at previous general elections

It is unusual for a candidate who has been unsuccessful on more than a couple of occasions to finally win a seat.

• Roger Mullin, elected for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath in 2015, after standing in South Ayrshire in February 1974 and October 1974, Kirkcaldy in 1987, Paisley North in a by-election in 1990 and in 1992.
• David Ward, elected for Bradford East in 2010, after standing in Bradford North in 1992, 2001 and 2005 (and a by-election in 1990).
• Alasdair McDonnell, elected for Belfast South in 2005, after standing in 1979, 1983, 1987, 1992, 1997 and 2001 (and a by-election in 1982), and previously in North Antrim in 1970.
• Gregory Campbell, elected for East Londonderry in 2001, after standing in 1997, and previously in Foyle in 1983, 1987 and 1992.
• Martin McGuinness, elected for Mid Ulster in 1997, after standing in Foyle in 1983, 1987 and 1992.
• Michael Ward, elected for Peterborough in October 1974, after standing in February 1974, 1970 and 1966.
• Tommy Lewis, elected for Southampton in 1929, after standing in 1918, 1922, 1923 and 1924.
• A. E. Stubbs, elected for Cambridgeshire in 1945, after standing in 1918, 1922 and 1923, and in another constituency in 1929, 1931 and 1935.
• Frank Smith, elected for Nuneaton in 1929, after standing in 1924, and in various other constituencies in 1923, 1922, 1918, 1910, 1895 and 1892 (and also two by-elections in 1909 and one in 1894).
• Edwin Scrymgeour, elected for Dundee in 1922, after standing in January 1910, December 1910 and 1918 (and also in the 1908 and 1917 by-elections).
• Daniel Zeichner, elected for Cambridge in 2015, after standing in 2010, and previously in Mid Norfolk in 2005, 2001 and 1997.

Among women, namely:

• Felicity Buchan, elected for Kensington in 2019, after previously standing in South Shields in 2017 and South Down in 2015.
• Theodora Clarke, elected for Stafford in 2019, after previously standing in Bristol East in 2017 and 2015.
• Daisy Cooper, elected for St Albans in 2019, after standing in 2017, and previously in Mid Sussex in 2015 and Suffolk Coastal in 2010.
• Dehenna Davison, elected for Bishop Auckland in 2019, after standing in Sedgefield in 2017 and Kingston upon Hull North in 2015.
• Jane Hunt, elected for Loughbrough in 2019, after standing in Nottingham South in 2017 and 2015, and Leicester East in 2010 (and also a 2011 by-election).
• Wera Hobhouse, elected for Bath in 2017, after standing in North East Somerset in 2015 and Heywood and Middleton in 2010.
• Nicky Morgan, elected for Loughborough in 2010, after standing in 2005, and previously in Islington South and Finsbury in 2001.
• Tessa Munt, elected for Wells in 2010, after standing in 2005, and previously in South Suffolk in 2001 (and also a by-election that year).
• Liz Truss, elected for South West Norfolk in 2010, after standing in Calder Valley in 2005 and Hemsworth in 2001.
• Rosie Cooper, elected for West Lancashire in 2005, after standing in Liverpool Broadgreen in 1992, Knowsley North in 1987 (and also a 1986 by-election) and Liverpool Garston in 1983.
• Ann Keen, elected for Brentford and Isleworth in 1997, after standing in 1992 and 1987.
• Siobhain McDonagh, elected for Mitcham and Morden in 1997, after standing in 1992 and 1987.
• Margaret Thatcher, elected for Finchley in 1959, after previously standing in Dartford as Margaret Roberts in 1951 and 1950.
• Barbara Ayrton-Gould, elected for Hendon North in 1945, after standing in Manchester Hulme in 1935, Northwich in 1929 and 1924, and Lambeth North in 1922.
• Grace Colman, elected for Tynemouth in 1945, after standing in Sheffield Hallam in 1935 and Hythe in 1931 and 1929.
• Jean Mann, elected for Coatbridge in 1945, after standing in West Renfrewshire in 1935 and 1931.
• Ethel Bentham, elected for Islington East in 1929, after standing in 1924, 1923 and 1922.
• Helen Shaw, elected for Bothwell in 1929, after standing in 1924 and 1923.

Former MPs making a comeback at a general election

• 2019: Caroline Ansell, James Davies, Flick Drummond, Margaret Ferrier, Richard Fuller, Jason McCartney, Karl McCartney, Anne McLaughlin, John Nicolson, Sarah Olney, Kirsten Oswald, Amanda Solloway, Owen Thompson, Edward Timpson, Craig Williams
• 2017: Vince Cable, Ed Davey, David Drew, Michelle Gildernew, Zac Goldsmith, John Grogan, Stephen Lloyd, Tony Lloyd, Esther McVey, Chris Ruane, Jo Swinson, Chris Williamson
• 2015: Boris Johnson, Joan Ryan, Dawn Butler, Rob Marris, Alex Salmond
• 2010: John Cryer, Geraint Davies, Jonathan Evans, Chris Leslie, Stephen Twigg
• 2005: David Evennett, Christopher Fraser, William McCrea, Malcolm Rifkind
• 2001: Henry Bellingham, Alistair Burt, Derek Conway, Charles Hendry, Greg Knight, Andrew Mitchell, Bob Spink
• 1997: Gerry Adams, Christopher Chope, Alan Clark, Frank Doran, Huw Edwards, Michael Fallon, Ronnie Fearn, Mike Hancock, Sylvia Heal, Gerald Howarth, Ashok Kumar, Richard Livsey, Humfrey Malins, John Maples, Francis Maude, Jonathan Sayeed, John Smith
• 1992: Michael Ancram, Bryan Davies, Warren Hawksley, John Horam, Gerry Malone, Piers Merchant, Richard Ottaway, Nick Raynsford, John Spellar, Derek Spencer, Iain Sproat, Mark Robinson, Paul Tyler
• 1987: Bob Cryer, Margaret Ewing, John Garrett, Bruce Grocott, Joan Lestor, Jim Marshall, Ann Taylor, Andrew Welsh, Audrey Wise
• 1983: Margaret Beckett, Robin Corbett, Bryan Gould, Edward Loyden, Andrew MacKay, Max Madden, Brian Sedgemore
• 1979: Michael Ancram, Sydney Chapman, David Clark, Eric Cockeram, Ednyfed Hudson Davies, Terry Davis, Dick Douglas, Peggy Fenner, Peter Griffiths, John Gummer, Barry Henderson, James Hill, John Wilkinson, David Winnick
• October 1974: Donald Anderson, Jeremy Bray, Gwynfor Evans, Robert Hicks, Evan Luard, John Mackintosh, Fergus Montgomery, Enoch Powell, Nicholas Scott, Keith Speed
• February 1974 Ronald Atkins, Gwyneth Dunwoody, John Ellis, David Ennals, Ioan Evans, Winifred Ewing, Gerald Fowler, Frank Hooley, Sydney Irving, Colin Jackson, John Lee, Eric Moonman, Stanley Newens, Christopher Price, Gwilym Roberts, Arnold Shaw, Frederick Silvester, Richard Wainwright, Alan Lee Williams, Michael Winstanley
• 1970: William Clark, Albert Cooper, Julian Critchley, Charles Curran, Patrick Duffy, Anthony Fell, Edward Gardner, Alan Glyn, Alan Green, Patricia Hornsby-Smith, Geoffrey Howe, James Kilfedder, Martin McLaren, Anthony Meyer, Peter Thomas, Richard Thompson, David Walder, Montague Woodhouse
• 1966: Richard Body, Peter Tapsell

Shortest-serving general election victors

For a comprehensive list of MPs with total service of less than 365 days see List of United Kingdom MPs with the shortest service

Since 1945

Candidate	Party		Constituency	Year	Days
Alfred Dobbs		Labour	Smethwick	1945	11
John Sunderland		Labour	Preston	1945	1221
John Whittaker		Labour	Heywood and Radcliffe	1945	1371
Philip Clarke		Sinn Féin	Fermanagh and South Tyrone	1955	1523x
Thomas Mitchell		Sinn Féin	Mid-Ulster	1955	1523x
Barry McElduff		Sinn Féin	West Tyrone	2017	2224
Harry West		UUP	Fermanagh and South Tyrone	1974 Feb	2242
James Godfrey MacManaway		UUP	Belfast West	1950	2383
Harry Harpham		Labour	Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough	2015	2731
Judith Chaplin		Conservative	Newbury	1992	3161
Peter Law		Independent	Blaenau Gwent	2005	3551

Pre-1945

Candidate	Party		Constituency	Year	Days
Thomas Higgins		Irish Parliamentary	Galway North	1906	01
James Annand		Liberal	East Aberdeenshire	1906	161
Joseph Nicholas Bell		Labour	Newcastle East	1922	321
Harry Wrightson		Conservative	Leyton West	1918	321
Hugh Anderson		Irish Unionist	Londonderry North	1918	664
Pierce McCan		Sinn Féin	East Tipperary	1918	681x
Alexander Theodore Gordon		Unionist	Aberdeen and Kincardine Central	1918	681
Charles Mathew		Labour	Whitechapel and St. George's	1922	851
Robert Climie		Labour	Kilmarnock	1929	1261b
George Henry Williamson		Conservative	Worcester	1906	1283
Harold St. Maur		Liberal	Exeter	1910-12	1293
John Thom		Unionist	Dunbartonshire	1931	1424b
Richard Mathias		Liberal	Cheltenham	1910-12	1443
George Hillman		Conservative	Wakefield	1931	1441
John Barker		Liberal	Maidstone	1900	1473a
Edward Clarke		Conservative	City of London	1906	1504b
Frederick Guest		Liberal	East Dorset	1910-01	1543a
Eugene O'Sullivan		Irish Parliamentary	East Kerry	1910-01	1703
David MacDonald		Unionist	Bothwell	1918	1761
Thomas Agar-Robartes		Liberal	Bodmin	1906	1833a
Herbert Sparkes		Conservative	Tiverton	1922	1881
Hilton Philipson		National Liberal	Berwick-on-Tweed	1922	1973
Armine Wodehouse		Conservative	Saffron Walden	1900	2001
Frederick Rutherfoord Harris		Conservative	Monmouth	1900	2103a
Moreton Frewen		All-for-Ireland	Cork North-East	1910-12	2204
Arthur Willey		Conservative	Leeds Central	1922	2291
Ellis Ellis-Griffith		Liberal	Carmarthen	1923	2524b
William Ward		Conservative	Wednesbury	1931	2735b
Alfred Holland		Labour	Clay Cross	1935	2901
Charles Harvey Dixon		Conservative	Rutland and Stamford	1922	3111b
Arthur Henniker-Hughan		Unionist	Galloway	1924	3401
George Spero		Labour	Fulham West	1929	3414b
Martin Morris		Irish Unionist	Galway Borough	1900	3425

Notes

• ¹ died
• ² defeated at next general election
• ³ disqualified
• ⁴ resigned
• ⁵ succeeded to the Peerage
• ^a returned to Parliament at a subsequent election
• ^b had served previously as an MP
• ^x elected on abstentionist tickets, and serving jail sentences at the time, so the calculated length of service is somewhat theoretical.

Youngest general election victors

• Mhairi Black, Scottish National Party, elected in 2015 aged 20 years 237 days. ^[14]

Babies of the House elected at general elections

See Baby of the House of Commons

Youngest to leave the House

Name	Party		Election of Leave	Age	Notes
Thomas Teevan		UUP	1951	24	1
Edward Stanley		Conservative	1918	24	2 (re-elected 1922)
Patrick Joseph Whitty		Irish Parliamentary	1918	24	2
Henry Harrison		Irish Parliamentary	1892	24	1
Joseph Sweeney		Sinn Féin	1922	25	2x
Arthur Evans		Liberal	1923	25	1 (re-elected 1924 as Conservative)
Denis Shipwright		Conservative	1923	25	1
John Esmonde		Irish Parliamentary	1918	25	3
Stuart Donaldson		SNP	2017	25	1
Frank Owen		Liberal	1931	26	1
John Wodehouse		Liberal	1910 Jan	26	3
Hugh Lucas-Tooth		Conservative	1929	26	1 (re-elected 1945)
Bryan Ricco Cooper		Irish Unionist	1910.12	26	1
Bernadette Devlin McAliskey		Unity	1974 Feb	26	1
Jennie Lee		Labour	1931	26	1 (re-elected 1945)
Liam Mellows		Sinn Féin	1922	27	2x
Christopher Ward		Conservative	1970	27	1
David Reed		Labour	1974 Feb	28	2
Michael Ancram		Conservative	1974 Oct	29	1 (re-elected 1979)
Charles Rhys		Conservative	1929	29	1 (re-elected 1931)
Andrew Mackay		Conservative	1979	29	1 (re-elected 1983)
Margo MacDonald		SNP	1974 Feb	29	1
Pamela Nash		Labour	2015	30	1
Helene Hayman		Labour	1979	30	1
John Ryan		Labour	1979	30	1
Graham Tope		Liberal	1974 Feb	30	1
Owen Carron		Sinn Féin	1983	30	1x
Kirstene Hair		Conservative	2019	30	1
John Profumo		Conservative	1945	30	1
Arthur Evans		Conservative	1929	30	3 (re-elected 1931)
W. E. D. Allen		New Party	1931	30	3
Noel Lindsay		Conservative	1935	30	1
Stanley Henig		Labour	1970	30	1
Esmond Harmsworth		Conservative	1929	30	3

Notes:

¹ Defeated

² Constituency abolished

³ Retired

^x did not take his seat

Oldest to lose their seats

Age	Candidate	Party		Constituency	Election
87	Dennis Skinner		Labour	Bolsover	2019
83	David Winnick		Labour	Walsall North	2017
80	Charles William Bowerman		Labour	Deptford	1931
77	Thomas Dyke Acland		Liberal	Wellington	1886
76	Arthur Shirley Benn		Conservative	Sheffield Park	1931
76	Frank Smith		Labour	Nuneaton	1931
76	Edward Evans		Labour	Lowestoft	1959
76	Cecil Walker		UUP	Belfast North	2001
75	James Sexton		Labour	St Helens	1931
75	Fenner Brockway		Labour	Eton and Slough	1964
75	Syd Bidwell		Independent Labour	Ealing Southall	1992
75	Richard Taylor		Health Concern	Wyre Forest	2010
74	Henry Blundell-Hollinshead-Blundell		Conservative	Ince	1906
74	George Edwards		Labour	South Norfolk	1924
74	Enoch Powell		UUP	South Down	1987
74	Peggy Fenner		Conservative	Medway	1997
74	Tom Clarke		Labour	Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill	2015
73	James Fergusson		Conservative	Manchester North East	1906
73	Robert Hobart		Liberal	New Forest	1910 Jan
73	James Hindle Hudson		Labour	Ealing North	1955
72	George Edwards		Labour	South Norfolk	1922
72	Robert Aske		National Liberal	Newcastle upon Tyne East	1945
72	Albert Stubbs		Labour	Cambridgeshire	1950
72	Caroline Ganley		Labour	Battersea South	1951
71	John Cobbold		Conservative	Ipswich	1868
71	Sir Mark MacTaggart-Stewart		Conservative	Kirkcudbrightshire	1906
71	Arthur Strauss		Conservative	Paddington North	1918
71	Sir William Middlebrook		Liberal	Leeds South	1922
71	Sir Davison Dalziel		Conservative	Brixton	1923
71	Ben Tillett		Labour	Salford North	1931
711	David Hardie		Labour	Glasgow Rutherglen	1931
71	Leo Amery		Conservative	Birmingham Sparkbrook	1945
71	Henry Guest		Conservative	Plymouth Drake	1945
71	Rhodes Boyson		Conservative	Brent North	1997
71	Gordon Birtwistle		Liberal Democrats	Burnley	2015
71	Vince Cable		Liberal Democrats	Twickenham	2015
70	Marshall Stevens		Conservative	Eccles	1922
70	Thomas Jewell Bennett		Conservative	Sevenoaks	1923
70	Charles Wilson		Conservative	Leeds Central	1929
70	John Potts		Labour	Barnsley	1931
70	Jonah Walker-Smith		Conservative	Barrow in Furness	1945
70	Dryden Brook		Labour	Halifax	1955
70	Charles William Gibson		Labour	Clapham	1959
70	Sir Samuel Storey		Conservative	Stretford	1966
70	Hugh Jenkins		Labour	Putney	1979
70	Dudley Smith		Conservative	Warwick and Leamington	1997
70	James Hill		Conservative	Southampton Test	1997

¹Based on Hardie's earliest estimated birth year of "c. 1860", although some biographers cite a date as late as 27 January 1871, making him only 60 years old at time of that election. ^[15]

Oldest general election victors

At first election

Possibly the oldest known first-time seat winner was Bernard Kelly (born 1808) who was aged 77 when he became the first MP for the then new seat of South Donegal in Ireland at the 1885 general election. He died aged reportedly 78 on 1 January 1887. Others:

Age	Candidate	Election
75	Caleb Wright	1885
741	Sir George Harrison	1885
74	Frank Smith	1929
73	William Beadel	1885
73	Ashton Lister	1918
71	Robert Williams	1807
71	Sir John Elley	1835
70–712	John Fleming	1818
70	James Caulfeild	1852
70	Frank James	1892
70	Samuel Young	1892
703	Robert Cameron	1895
704	George Walker	1945
705	Piara Khabra	1992
69	William Cobbett	1832
69	Robert Brooks	1859
69	Robert Stickney Blaine	1885
69	Sir Robert Hobart	1906
69	Sir William Peter Griggs	1918
69	Sir George Andreas Berry	1922
69	Alfred Smith	1929
68	Sir William Earle Welby	1802
68	William Nicol	1859
68	William Raeburn	1918
68	Sir Alfred Waldron Smithers	1918
68	Ethel Bentham	1929
68	Marie Rimmer	2015
68	Mick Whitley	2019
67	George Williams	1832
67	Sir George Berkeley	1852
67	William Henry Sykes	1857
67	William John Lysley	1859
67	Spencer Charrington	1885
67	Henry Howe Bemrose	1895
67	Sir Maurice Dockrell	1918
67	Edwin Perkins	1922
67	Andrew Gilzean	1945
67	Albert Stubbs	1945
67	John McQuade	1979
67	Ernest Roberts	1979
67	Roger Mullin	2015
67	Jo Gideon	2019
66-67	John Forster FitzGerald	1852
66	William Beckett	1841
66	Sir Benjamin Guinness	1865
66	Dadabhai Naoroji	1892
66	William Beale	1906
66	George Henry Faber	1906
66	David Sanders Davies	1918
66	Henry Foreman	1918
66	Marshall Stevens	1918
66	Albert Edward Jacob	1924
66	Sir Frederick Mills	1931
66	William Allan Reid	1931
66	Richard Taylor	2001
66	Gordon Birtwistle	2010
66	Glyn Davies	2010
66	Marion Fellows	2015
65	William Moffat	1802
65	James Simmons	1806
65	Peter Rainier	1807
65	Thomas Bernard	1874
65	Hugh Law	1874
65	Alfred Lafone	1886
65	Robert Pearce	1906
65	Alfred Jephcott	1918
65	Alexander Sprot	1918
65	Joseph Leckie	1931
65	Caroline Ganley	1945
65	Mervyn Wheatley	1945
65	George Kerevan	2015

¹ Exact birth date not known but Harrison was reportedly this age when he died 5 days after the general election closed and before he took his seat.

² Exact birth date not known but Fleming, who was brought up as an adopted orphan, is usually stated to have been born in 1747.

³ Exact birthdate not known but Cameron is normally stated to have been born in 1825 and was reportedly this age at election.

⁴ Exact birthdate not known but Walker is normally stated to have born in 1874 and was reportedly this age at election.

⁵ Khabra's exact age has been the subject of some disagreement. He claimed a birth year of 1924, which would have made him 67 years old at first election, but his marriage certificate gives a birth year of 1921, and it is this figure which has been used above.

At last election

• Charles Pelham Villiers, Wolverhampton South, 1895: 93
• Samuel Young, East Cavan, 1910(D): 88
• David Logan, Liverpool Scotland, 1959: 87
• Sir Charles Burrell, New Shoreham, 1859: 85
• Isaac Holden, Keighley, 1892: 85
• Robert Cameron, Houghton-le-Spring, 1910(D): 85
• Dennis Skinner, Bolsover, 2017: 85
• Walter Wilkins, Radnorshire, 1826: 84
• William Hodgson Barrow, South Nottinghamshire, 1868: 84
• Winston Churchill, Woodford, 1959: 84
• Gerald Kaufman, Manchester Gorton, 2015: 84
• William Plumer, Higham Ferrers, 1820: 83
• Christopher Rice Mansel Talbot, Mid Glamorganshire, 1886: 83
• S. O. Davies, Merthyr Tydfil, 1970: 83 ¹
• Piara Khabra, Ealing Southall, 2005: 83
• The Earl of Carhampton, Ludgershall, 1820: 82
• William Ewart Gladstone, Midlothian, 1892: 82
• Paul Flynn, Newport West, 2017: 82
• Sir Thomas Miller, Portsmouth, 1812: 81
• Manny Shinwell, Easington, 1966: 81
• John Rankin, Glasgow Govan, 1970: 81
• David Winnick, Walsall North, 2015: 81
• Whitshed Keene, Montgomery Boroughs, 1812: c.80–81²
• Sir John Aubrey, Horsham, 1820: 80
• William Gore-Langton, Somerset East, 1841: 80
• Lord Palmerston, Tiverton, 1865: 80
• Joseph Warner Henley, Oxfordshire, 1874: 80
• Michael Thomas Bass, Derby, 1880: 80
• James Patrick Mahon, Clare, 1880: 80
• Sir Gilbert Greenall, Warrington, 1886: 80
• John Mowbray, Oxford University, 1895: 80
• John Rankin, Glasgow Govan, 1970: 80
• Edward Heath, Old Bexley and Sidcup, 1997: 80
• Peter Tapsell, Louth and Horncastle, 2010: 80
• Ann Clwyd, Cynon Valley, 2017: 80
• Murdoch Macdonald, Inverness, 1945: 79
• Ian Paisley, Antrim North, 2005: 79
• Geoffrey Robinson, Coventry North-West, 2017: 79
• Bill Cash, Stone, 2019: 79
• John Brocklehurst, 1865: 76
• Margaret Beckett, Derby South, 2019: 76
• Alice Cullen, Glasgow Gorbals, 1966: 75
• Irene Ward, Tynemouth, 1970: 75
• Gwyneth Dunwoody, Crewe and Nantwich, 2005: 74
• Eleanor Rathbone, Combined English Universities, 1945: 73
• Glenda Jackson, Hampstead and Kilburn, 2010: 73
• Angela Watkinson, Hornchurch and Upminster, 2015: 73
• Marie Rimmer, St Helens South and Whiston, 2019: 72
• Louise Ellman, Liverpool Riverside, 2017: 71
• Caroline Ganley, Battersea South, 1950: 70
• Ann Coffey, Stockport, 2017: 70
• Kate Hoey, Vauxhall, 2017: 70

¹ Davies was suspected of being considerably older than he claimed. There is evidence to suggest he was born in 1879, not 1886; if true, this would indicate he was 90 at his last election.

² Keene's birthdate is given as "c. 1731" in reference works though he was reportedly 90 years old on his death in February 1822. On this the figure is based. Unopposed return, his last contested election was in 1802 when aged 70–71.

Note: All men aged 79 or over since 1945 and over 85 since 1900 are listed, as are all women aged 70 or over.

Returning to the house after a gap

A contender for the longest gap prior to returning at a general election was possibly Henry Drummond (1786–1860), who returned to the House of Commons in the 1847 general election as member for West Surrey, after a near 35-year absence, though aged only 60. He was previously MP for Plympton Erle from 1810 to 1812.

Others, who returned at older ages than Drummond's:

• Sir Gilbert Greenall was 79 when he returned to the house in 1885, after a 5-year absence, as the member for Warrington, for which he previously sat from 1874–1880.
• Robert Carden was 78 when he returned to the house in 1880, after a 21-year absence, as the member for Barnstaple. He had sat for Gloucester from 1857–59.
• Sir Harry Verney was 78 when he returned to the house in 1880, after a 6-year absence, as the member for Buckingham, for which he previously sat from 1857–74.
• Sir John Chetwode was 77 when he returned to the house in 1841, after a 22-year absence, as member for Buckingham. He was previously MP for Newcastle-under-Lyme in 1815–18.
• Sir John Baker was 77 when he returned to the house in 1906, after a 5-year absence, as member for Portsmouth, for which he previously sat in 1892–1900.
• Sir Richard Green-Price was 76 when he returned to the house in 1880, after an 11-year absence, as member for Radnorshire. He had previously sat for Radnor Boroughs 1863–69.
• Sir Mark MacTaggart-Stewart was 75 when he returned to the house in January 1910 after a 4-year absence, as member for Kirkcudbrightshire, for which he previously sat in 1885–1906.
• John Courtenay was 74 when he returned to the house in 1812, after a 5-year absence, as member for Appleby, which he had previously sat for until 1807.
• Thomas Perronet Thompson was 74 when he returned to the house in 1857, after a four year absence, as member of Bradford, for which he previously sat in 1846-52.
• Alfred Lafone was 74 when he returned to the house in 1895, after a three-year absence, as member for Bermondsey, for which he previously sat in 1886–92.
• John Potts was 74 when he returned to the house in 1935, after a four-year absence. He had sat for Barnsley from 1922–31.
• Vince Cable was 74 when he returned to the house in 2017, after a 2-year absence, as member for Twickenham, for which he previously sat in 1997–2015.
• George Edwards was 73 when he returned to the house in 1923, after a year's absence, as member for South Norfolk, for which he previously sat in 1920–22.
• James Barr was 73 when he returned to the house in 1935 as MP for Coatbridge, after four years' absence. He was previously MP for Motherwell 1924–31.
• William Kirk was 72 or 73 when he returned to the house in 1868, after a 9-year absence, as member for Newry, for which he previously sat in 1852–59.
• Sir Nathaniel Dance-Holland was 72 when he returned to the house in 1807 as MP for East Grinstead, after five months' absence. He was previously MP for Great Bedwyn 1802–06, and East Grinstead before then.
• Sir Davison Dalziel was 72 when he returned to the house in 1924 as MP for Brixton, after nearly a year's absence. He previously sat for the same seat in 1910–23.
• Arthur Shirley Benn was 72 when he returned to the house in 1931 as MP for Sheffield Park, after two years' absence. He previously sat for Plymouth Drake in 1918–29.
• Joseph Alpass was 72 when he returned to the house in 1945 as MP for Thornbury, after 13 years absence. He previously sat for Bristol Central in 1929–31.
• Cahir Healy was 72 when he returned to the house in 1950, after a 15-year voluntary absence, as member for Fermanagh and South Tyrone. He had sat for the predecessor constituency between 1922–24 and 1931–35.
• John Arthur Roebuck was 71 when he returned to the house in 1874, after a 6-year absence, as member for Sheffield, for which he previously sat in 1847–68.
• Mathew Wilson was 71 when he returned to the house in 1874, after a 20-year absence, as member for Northern West Riding of Yorkshire. He had previously sat in two periods for Clitheroe between 1841–53.
• Sir Alexander Sprot was 71 when he returned to the house in 1924 after nearly two years' absence, as member for North Lanarkshire. He had previously sat for East Fife in 1918–22.
• Tommy Lewis was 71 when he returned to the house after a 14-year absence in 1945, as member for Southampton, for which he previously sat between 1929–31.
• William Gore-Langton was 70 when he returned to the house after a five-year absence in 1831, as member for Somerset which he previously represented until 1826.
• Edward Greene was 70 when he returned to the house after seven months' absence in 1886 United Kingdom general election, as member for Stowmarket. He had been MP for Bury St Edmunds until 1885.
• William Joseph Corbet was 70 when he returned to the house after a three-year absence in 1895, as member for East Wicklow, for which he previously sat in 1885–92.
• Charles James Monk was 70 when he returned to the house after nearly 10-year absence in 1895, as member for Gloucester. He previously sat for the borough constituency of that name in two periods between 1859 and 1885.
• Edward Reed was 70 when he returned to the house after a 5-year absence in 1900, as member for Cardiff, for which he previously sat in 1880–95.
• Robert Pearce was 70 when he returned to the house after nearly a year's absence in December 1910, as member for Leek, for which he previously sat between 1906 and January 1910.
• John Ashley Warre was 69 when he returned to the house after a 23-year absence in 1857, as member for Ripon. He previously sat for Hastings in 1831–34.
• Henry Eaton was 69 when he returned to the house after a 5-year absence in 1885, as member for Coventry, for which he previously sat in 1865–80.
• Samuel Storey was 69 when he returned to the house after a 14-year absence in January 1910, as member for Sunderland, for which he previously sat in 1881–95.
• Harry Foster was 69 when he returned to the house after 13 years absence in 1924, as member for Portsmouth Central. He was previously MP for Lowestoft in two periods between 1892 and 1910.
• Alan Clark was 69 when he returned to the house after a 5-year absence in 1997, as member for Kensington and Chelsea. He previously sat for Plymouth Sutton between 1974–92.
• William Mitford was 68 when he returned to the house after a 6-year absence in 1812, as member for New Romney. He previously sat for Bere Alston until 1806.
• John Charles Herries was 68 when he returned to the house after a 6-year absence in 1847, as member for Stamford. He previously sat for Harwich between 1823–41.
• Philip Pleydell-Bouverie was 68 when he returned to the house after a 24-year absence in 1857 as member for Berkshire. He was previously MP for Downton 1831–32.
• George Clive was 68 when he returned to the house after a 5-year absence in 1874, as member for Hereford, for which he previously sat in 1857–68.
• John Hubbard was 68 when he returned to the house after a 5-year absence in 1874, as member for the City of London. He was previously MP for Buckingham in 1859–68.
• J. T. Hibbert was 68 when he returned to the house after a 6-year absence in 1892, as member for Oldham, for which he previously sat in 1877–86.
• George Renwick was 68 when he returned to the house after an 8-year absence in 1918, as member for Newcastle upon Tyne Central. He had previously sat for the undivided Newcastle upon Tyne seat in two periods between 1900 and 1910.
• Sir Alfred Law was 68 when he returned to the house after a 7-year absence in 1929, as member for High Peak. He was previously M.P. for Rochdale in 1918–22.
• Sir Harry Burrard-Neale was 67 when he returned to the house after an absence of 9 years, in 1832, as member for Lymington, for which he previously sat on several occasions, the last ending in 1823.
• Sir Frederick Smith was 67 when he returned to the house after an absence of 4 years, in 1857, as member for Chatham, for which he previously sat in 1852–53.
• Sir Henry Bulwer was 67 when he returned to the house after a voluntary absence of 21 years, in 1868 as member for Tamworth. He was previously MP for Marylebone in 1835–37.
• Somerville Hastings was 67 when he returned after a 14-year absence in 1945, as member for Barking. He had previously been MP for Reading in 1923–24 and 1929–31.
• Tony Lloyd was 67 when he returned after a 5-year absence in 2017 as member for Rochdale. He had previously sat as MP for Manchester Central in 1997–2012.
• Sir George Philips was 66 when he returned after a two years absence in 1832 as member for South Warwickshire. He was previously MP for Wootton Bassett 1820–30.
• Alfred Billson was 66 when he returned after a 5-year absence in 1906 as member for North West Staffordshire. He had previously sat as MP for Halifax in 1897–1900.
• Sir Thomas Bramsdon was 66 when he returned after a year's absence in 1923, as member for Portsmouth Central, for which he previously sat between 1918–22.
• J.R. Clynes was 66 when he returned after 4 years' absence in 1935, as member for Manchester Platting, for which he previously sat 1906-31
• Arthur Hayday was 66 when he returned after 4 years' absence in 1935, as member for Nottingham West, for which he previously sat in 1918–31.
• Jack Kinley was 66 when he returned after 14 years' absence in 1945, as member for Bootle, for which he previously sat in 1929–31.
• Robert Aglionby Slaney was 65 when he returned after near 5-year's absence in 1857, as member for Shrewsbury, for which he had previously sat in three periods between 1826 and 1852.
• Joseph Arch was 65 when he returned after 6 years absence in 1892 as member for North West Norfolk, for which he previously sat in 1885-86.
• Arthur Hayter was 65 when he returned after 5 years absence in 1900, as member for Walsall, for which he had previously sat in 1893–95.
• John Barker was 65 when he returned after nearly 5 years absence in 1906 as member for Penryn and Falmouth. He was previously MP for Maidstone in 1900–01.
• David Marshall Mason was 65 when he returned after 13 years absence in 1931 as member for Edinburgh East. He was previously MP for Coventry 1910–18.
• Sir Herbert Williams was 65 when he returned after 4 years absence in 1950 for Croydon East. He was previously MP for Croydon South 1932-45.
• David Drew was 65 when he returned after 7 years absence in 2017, as member for Stroud, for which he had previously sat between 1997–2010.

First women general election victors

• Constance Markievicz, Dublin St Patrick's, 1918 – but did not take her seat.
• Nancy Astor, Plymouth Sutton,^y and Margaret Wintringham, Louth,^z 1922 – both first to take their seats after a general election.

Notes:

^y had entered parliament in by-election 1919 ^z had entered parliament in by-election 1921

First ethnic minority general election victors

• Dadabhai Naoroji, Finsbury Central, 1892
• Mancherjee Bhownagree, Bethnal Green, 1895 and 1900
• Shapurji Saklatvala, Battersea North, 1922 and 1924
• Diane Abbott, first woman to win, Hackney North and Stoke Newington, 1987

First general election victors from specific religions

When the UK Parliament was established in 1801, non-Anglicans were prevented from taking their seats as MPs under the Test Act 1672. However, Methodists took communion at Anglican churches until 1795, and some continued to do so, and many Presbyterians were prepared to accept Anglican communion, thus ensuring that members of these creeds were represented in the Parliament. ^[16] Some Unitarians were also elected.

The first Roman Catholic general election victors in the UK Parliament were at the 1830 general election. They included Daniel O'Connell and James Patrick Mahon in Clare.

The first Quaker general election victor was Edward Pease at the 1832 general election.

The first Moravian general election victor was Charles Hindley at the 1835 general election.

Lionel de Rothschild was the first Jewish general election victor at the 1847 general election. He was not permitted to take his seat until the passage of the Jews Relief Act 1858.

The first Catholic Apostolic general election victor was Henry Drummond also at the 1847 election.

The first Baptist general election victor was George Goodman at the 1852 general election.

The first Congregationalist general election victor was Samuel Morley at the 1865 general election.

The first declared atheist to win a general election was Charles Bradlaugh at the 1880 general election. He was not permitted to take his seat in that parliament, but was elected again at the 1885 general election and allowed to take the oath.

Dadabhai Naoroji was the first Parsi general election victor at the 1892 general election.

Piara Khabra became the first Sikh general election victor at the 1992 general election.

Terry Rooney became the first Mormon general election victor at the 1992 general election (previously taking his seat at a by-election in 1990).

The first Muslim general election victor was Mohammed Sarwar at the 1997 general election.

The first Hindu general election victor was Shailesh Vara at the 2005 general election.

The first Buddhist general election victor was Suella Braverman as Suella Fernandes at the 2015 general election.

General elections losers awarded seats on disqualification of winner

Lord Robert Grosvenor: Fermanagh and South Tyrone, 1955

Two or more sitting MPs contest general election

It is of course common for former (defeated) MPs to seek re-election, often in their old constituencies, especially if they are marginal or bellwether seats. What is quite unusual is for two MPs both sitting in the same parliament to seek re-election in the same seat. This usually occurs by reason of boundary changes or party splits.

Italics indicates constituency was newly created at that election Bold indicates the candidate who won that constituency's seat at that election

Election	Constituency	Sitting MPs
2019	Altrincham and Sale West	Graham Brady and Angela Smith
	Wokingham	John Redwood and Phillip Lee
	Finchley and Golders Green	Mike Freer and Luciana Berger
	Kensington	Emma Dent Coad and Sam Gyimah
2010	Poplar and Limehouse	Jim Fitzpatrick and George Galloway
	Brent Central	Dawn Butler and Sarah Teather
2005	Dumfries and Galloway	Russell Brown and Peter Duncan
	Bethnal Green and Bow	Oona King and George Galloway
2001	Brentwood and Ongar	Eric Pickles and Martin Bell
1992	Glasgow Garscadden	Donald Dewar and Dick Douglas
1987	South Hams	Anthony Steen and Willie Hamilton 1
1983	Meriden	Iain Mills and John Sever
	Islington North	John Grant and Michael O'Halloran
	Southwark and Bermondsey	Simon Hughes and John Tilley
	Crosby	Shirley Williams and Malcolm Thornton
	Glasgow Hillhead	Roy Jenkins and Neil Carmichael
1974 Feb	Bradford West	John Wilkinson and Edward Lyons
	Blyth	Eddie Milne and Ivor Richard
	Plymouth Devonport	Joan Vickers and David Owen
	Brentford and Isleworth	Michael Barnes and Barney Hayhoe
	Paddington	Arthur Latham and Nicholas Scott
1955	Grantham	Joseph Godber and Woodrow Wyatt
	Reading	Ian Mikardo and Frederic Bennett
	Bradford North	William Taylor and Maurice Webb
1950	Carmarthen	Rhys Hopkin Morris and Lynn Ungoed-Thomas
	Renfrewshire West	John Maclay and Thomas Scollan
	Glasgow Kelvingrove	Walter Elliot and John Lloyd Williams
	Newport	Peter Freeman and Ivor Thomas
	Sudbury and Woodbridge	John Hare and Roland Hamilton
	Stafford and Stone	Hugh Fraser and Stephen Swingler
	Newark	George Deer and Sidney Shephard
	Carlton	Kenneth Pickthorn and Florence Paton
	Thurrock	Hugh Delargy and Leslie Solley
	Walthamstow West	Clement Attlee and Lester Hutchinson
	Walsall	William Wells and John Barlow
	Poole	Mervyn Wheatley and Evelyn King
	Middlesbrough East	Hilary Marquand and Alfred Edwards
	Liverpool West Derby	David Maxwell Fyfe and Bertie Kirby
	Gateshead East	Arthur Moody and Konni Zilliacus
	Exeter	John Maude and Thomas Horabin
	Blackburn West	Ralph Assheton and John Edwards
	Stepney	Walter Edwards and Philip Piratin
	Shoreditch and Finsbury	Ernest Thurtle and John Platts-Mills
1945	Lewisham East	Assheton Pownall and Herbert Morrison
	St Marylebone	Alec Cunningham-Reid and Wavell Wakefield
	Putney	Hugh Linstead and Richard Acland
	Harrow West	Norman Bower and Hugh Lawson
	Stratford West Ham	Thomas Groves and Redvers Michael Prior
	Mossley	Austin Hopkinson and George Woods

Notes: ¹after announcing his retirement as member for Central Fife, long-serving Scottish Labour MP Willie Hamilton obtained his party's nomination in the hopeless prospect of South Hams in southern England. Hamilton insisted that he knew local parties often found themselves without candidates shortly before nominations closed, and was offering because it would help them out of difficulty; however by standing again and being "defeated" he qualified for an additional allowance.

Frequency and duration records

Longest period without a general election

The longest possible duration of a Parliament is currently five years. All period of six years or more between general elections are listed:

9 years, 7 months and 21 days: 1935 – 1945

8 years: December 1910 – 1918

6 years: 1820 – 1826

6 years: 1841 – 1847

6 years: 1859 – 1865

6 years: 1874 – 1880

6 years: 1886 – 1892

Shortest period between general elections

All periods of less than a year between general elections are listed:

7 months: November 1806 – June 1807

7 months: November/December 1885 – July 1886

7 months and 12 days: February – October 1974

8 months: September 1830 – April/May/June 1831

10 months: December 1923 – October 1924

11 months: January – December 1910

Longest continuous governments

This details the longest continuous government of each of the parties that have been in power.

Party		Appointed	Removed	Duration
	Conservative	4 May 1979	2 May 1997	17 years, 11 months and 28 days
	Labour	2 May 1997	11 May 2010	13 years and 9 days
	Liberal	5 December 1905	25 May 1915	9 years, 5 months and 20 days
	Coalition government a	24 August 1931	26 July 1945	13 years, 11 months and 2 days

^a The parties making up the National Government changed throughout this period

Election days

Currently, all British Parliamentary elections are invariably held on a Thursday. The last general election not held on a Thursday was the 1931 election, which was held on Tuesday 27 October. Prior to this, it was common to hold general elections on any day of the week (other than Sunday), and until the 1918 general election, polling (and the declaration of results) was held over a period of several weeks.

Suspended elections

On rare occasions, polling in an individual constituency may be suspended, usually as a result of the death of a candidate. The last occasion was at Thirsk and Malton in 2010, where polling was delayed for three weeks owing to the death of the UKIP candidate.

Previous examples occurred at

• South Staffordshire, 2005
• Barnsley, 1951
• Manchester Moss Side, 1950
• Kingston upon Hull Central, 1945
• Rugby, 1929
• West Derbyshire, 1923
• Kennington, 1918

Causes of general elections

Loss of a vote of confidence

• 1979
• 1924

New Prime Minister seeks a mandate

• 2019
• 2017
• 1955
• 1935
• 1931
• 1923

Prime Minister without a working majority seeks to gain one

• 2019
• October 1974
• 1966
• 1951

Prime Minister's choice of date

• 2024
• 2017 (approved by a motion of the House of Commons under the provisions of the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011)
• 2005
• 2001
• 1987
• 1983
• February 1974
• 1970
• 1959
• 1950
• 1929

Parliament had run its course

• 2015
• 2010
• 1997
• 1992
• 1964

Collapse of cooperation within Government

• 1922

End of World War

• 1945
• 1918

Miscellaneous records

Incumbents fall directly from first place to fourth place

Constituency	Election	Losing party		Gaining party
Norwich South	2015		Liberal Democrats		Labour
Belfast North	20011		UUP		DUP
Peckham	19312		Labour		Conservative

¹ UUP had been unopposed by DUP at previous elections.

² Sitting Labour MP stood instead for the Independent Labour Party and took second place.

Incumbents fall directly from first place to third place

Constituency	Election	Losing party		Gaining party
Ashfield	2019		Labour		Conservative
Clacton	2017		UKIP		Conservative
Southport	2017		Liberal Democrats		Conservative
Bristol West	2015		Liberal Democrats		Labour
Brent Central	2015		Liberal Democrats		Labour
Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk	2015		Liberal Democrats		SNP
Dumfries and Galloway	2015		Labour		SNP
Aberdeenshire West and Kincardine	2015		Liberal Democrats		SNP
Bristol North West	2010		Labour		Conservative
Colne Valley	2010		Labour		Conservative
Watford	2010		Labour		Conservative
Belfast South	2005		UUP		SDLP
Conwy	1997		Conservative		Labour
Aberdeen South	1997		Conservative		Labour
Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber	1997		Liberal Democrats		Labour
Stockton South	19831		Labour		SDP
Plymouth Devonport	19831		Labour		SDP
Caithness and Sutherland	19831		Labour		SDP
Erith and Crayford	19831		Labour		Conservative
Renfrew West and Inverclyde	19831		Labour		Conservative
Southampton Itchen	19831		Labour		Conservative
Clwyd South West	19831		Labour		Conservative
West Hertfordshire	1983		Labour		Conservative
Stevenage	1983		Labour		Conservative
East Dunbartonshire	1979		SNP		Labour
North Down	1979 2		UUP		Ind. Unionist
Mid Ulster	1974 Feb		Unity		Vanguard
Bolton West	1964		Liberal		Labour
Glasgow Bridgeton	1950 3		Ind. Labour Party		Labour
Rugby	1950		Independent		Labour
Hammersmith North	1950		Independent Labour		Labour
Grantham	1950		Independent		Conservative
Cheltenham	1950		Independent		Conservative
Stepney	1950		Communist		Labour
West Fife	1950		Communist		Labour
Caithness and Sutherland	1945		Liberal		Unionist

¹ The sitting Labour MP had defected to the SDP in 1981.

² The sitting Ulster Unionist Party MP had defected to sit as an Independent Unionist.

³ The sitting Independent Labour Party MP had defected to Labour.

Outgoing Government gains seats

When there is a decisive change in electoral sentiment, a tiny number of seats will not only buck the trend by not moving as expected, but may actually move in the opposite direction. Only elections that saw a change of government are listed, since it is fairly common for a few seats to move in divergent directions when an incumbent government is re-elected; 2005 was an exception to this case, when the Labour party scored no gains.

Italics indicates seat was regained after having been lost in a previous by-election

Constituency	Election	Gaining Party		Losing Party
Bethnal Green and Bow	2010		Labour		Respect
Blaenau Gwent	2010		Labour		Independent
Chesterfield	2010		Labour		Liberal Democrats
Dunfermline and West Fife	2010		Labour		Liberal Democrats
Glasgow East	2010		Labour		SNP
Christchurch	1997		Conservative		Liberal Democrats
Glasgow Cathcart	1979		Labour		Conservative
Clackmannan and East Stirlingshire	1979		Labour		SNP
East Dunbartonshire	1979		Labour		SNP
Carmarthen	1979		Labour		Plaid Cymru
Ashfield	1979		Labour		Conservative
Birmingham Stechford	1979		Labour		Conservative
Walsall North	1979		Labour		Conservative
Workington	1979		Labour		Conservative
Berwick and East Lothian	1974 Feb		Conservative		Labour
East Dunbartonshire	1974 Feb		Conservative		Labour
Upminster	1974 Feb		Conservative		Labour
Ipswich	1974 Feb		Conservative		Labour
North West Norfolk	1974 Feb		Conservative		Labour
Ripon	1974 Feb		Conservative		Liberal
Sutton and Cheam	1974 Feb		Conservative		Liberal
Bromsgrove and Redditch	1974 Feb		Conservative		Labour
Colne Valley	1970		Labour		Liberal
Birmingham Ladywood	1970		Labour		Liberal
Swindon	1970		Labour		Conservative
Oldham West	1970		Labour		Conservative
Dudley	1970		Labour		Conservative
Acton	1970		Labour		Conservative
Walthamstow West	1970		Labour		Conservative
Glasgow Pollok	1970		Labour		Conservative
Hamilton	1970		Labour		SNP
Carmarthen	1970		Labour		Plaid Cymru
Birmingham Perry Barr	1964		Conservative		Labour
Eton and Slough	1964		Conservative		Labour
Smethwick	1964		Conservative		Labour
South West Norfolk	1964		Conservative		Labour
South Dorset	1964		Conservative		Labour
Anglesey	1951		Labour		Liberal
Merioneth	1951		Labour		Liberal
Caithness and Sutherland	1945		Conservative		Liberal
Berwick upon Tweed	1945		Conservative		Liberal
Caernarvon	1945		Conservative		Liberal
Isle of Ely	1945		Conservative		Liberal
Barnstaple	1945		Conservative		Liberal
Wallasey	1945		Conservative		Independent
Skipton	1945		Conservative		Common Wealth
Birmingham King's Norton	1929		Conservative		Labour
Midlothian and Peebles Northern	1929		Conservative		Labour
Lancaster	1929		Conservative		Liberal

Incoming Government loses seats

Notes: In 2010 the Conservatives entered government as the largest party in a coalition and in 2015 they went from being part of a coalition to being a majority government in their own right.
In 2017 the Conservatives entered government without an overall majority and in 2019 they went from having a minority government to being a majority government in their own right.

In 2010 the Liberal Democrats entered government as a junior partner in a coalition.

Italics indicates seat was previously lost at a by-election and not regained by the incoming government at a general election

Constituency	Election	Losing Party		Gaining Party
Enfield North	2015		Conservative		Labour
Ealing Central and Acton	2015		Conservative		Labour
Lancaster and Fleetwood	2015		Conservative		Labour
Dewsbury	2015		Conservative		Labour
Wolverhampton South West	2015		Conservative		Labour
Brentford and Isleworth	2015		Conservative		Labour
City of Chester	2015		Conservative		Labour
Wirral West	2015		Conservative		Labour
Eastbourne	2010		Conservative		Liberal Democrats
Wells	2010		Conservative		Liberal Democrats
Solihull	2010		Conservative		Liberal Democrats
Dunfermline and West Fife	2010		Liberal Democrats		Labour
Chesterfield	2010		Liberal Democrats		Labour
Camborne and Redruth	2010		Liberal Democrats		Conservative
Cornwall South East	2010		Liberal Democrats		Conservative
Harrogate and Knaresborough	2010		Liberal Democrats		Conservative
Hereford and South Herefordshire	2010		Liberal Democrats		Conservative
Montgomeryshire	2010		Liberal Democrats		Conservative
Newton Abbot	2010		Liberal Democrats		Conservative
Oxford West and Abingdon	2010		Liberal Democrats		Conservative
Richmond Park	2010		Liberal Democrats		Conservative
Romsey and Southampton North	2010		Liberal Democrats		Conservative
Truro and Falmouth	2010		Liberal Democrats		Conservative
Winchester	2010		Liberal Democrats		Conservative
Glasgow Cathcart	1979		Conservative		Labour
Berwick and East Lothian	1974 Feb		Labour		Conservative
East Dunbartonshire	1974 Feb		Labour		Conservative
Clackmannan and East Stirlingshire	1974 Feb		Labour		SNP
Dundee East	1974 Feb		Labour		SNP
Blyth	1974 Feb		Labour		Independent Labour
Lincoln	1974 Feb		Labour		Democratic Labour
Cardigan	1974 Feb		Labour		Liberal
Colne Valley	1974 Feb		Labour		Liberal
Rochdale	1974 Feb		Labour		Liberal
North Antrim	1970		UUP		DUP
Fermanagh and South Tyrone	1970		UUP		Unity
Mid Ulster	1970		UUP		Unity
Birmingham Perry Barr	1964		Labour		Conservative
Eton and Slough	1964		Labour		Conservative
Smethwick	1964		Labour		Conservative
South West Norfolk	1964		Labour		Conservative
Belfast West	1951		UUP		Irish Labour
Carmarthen	1945		Labour		Liberal
Mile End	1945		Labour		Communist
Birmingham King's Norton	1929		Labour		Conservative
Bethnal Green North East	1929		Labour		Liberal
Newcastle East	1929		Labour		Liberal
Motherwell	1924		Conservative		Labour
Barrow-in-Furness	1924		Conservative		Labour
Lincoln	1924		Conservative		Labour
Liverpool West Toxteth	1924		Conservative		Labour
Birmingham King's Norton	1924		Conservative		Labour
Bilston	1924		Conservative		Labour
Peckham	1924		Conservative		Labour
London University	1924		Conservative		Independent
Ayr Burghs	1906		Liberal		Conservative
Barkston Ash	1906		Liberal		Conservative
Govan	1906		Liberal		Conservative
Hastings	1906		Liberal		Conservative
Maidstone	1906		Liberal		Conservative
Oswestry	1906		Liberal		Conservative
Rye	1906		Liberal		Conservative
St Albans	1906		Liberal		Conservative
St Andrews Burgh	1906		Liberal		Conservative
Whitby	1906		Liberal		Conservative
North Lonsdale	1906		Liberal		Liberal Unionist

Seats gained from fourth place^*

• Argyll and Bute, 2015 gained by SNP from the Liberal Democrats
• Edinburgh West, 2015 gained by SNP from the Liberal Democrats
• Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, 1997 gained by Labour from the Liberal Democrats
• Ceredigion and Pembroke North, 1992 gained by Plaid Cymru from the Liberals

Seats gained from third place^*

• North Down, 2019 gained by Alliance from an Independent
• Aberdeen South, 2017 gained by the Conservatives from the SNP
• Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock, 2017 gained by the Conservatives from the SNP
• East Renfrewshire, 2017 gained by the Conservatives from the SNP
• Gordon, 2017 gained by the Conservatives from the SNP
• Ochil and South Perthshire, 2017 gained by the Conservatives from the SNP
• Portsmouth South, 2017 gained by Labour from the Conservatives
• Stirling, 2017 gained by the Conservatives from the SNP
• Cambridge, 2015 gained by Labour from the Liberal Democrats
• Belfast East, 2010 gained by Alliance from the DUP
• Brighton Pavilion, 2010 gained by the Greens from Labour
• Watford, 2010 gained by the Conservatives from Labour
• Camborne and Redruth, 2010 gained by the Conservatives from the Liberal Democrats
• Falmouth and Camborne, 2005 gained by the Liberal Democrats from Labour
• Leeds North West, 2005 gained by the Liberal Democrats from Labour
• Lagan Valley, 2005 gained by the DUP from the UUP ¹
• West Tyrone, 2001 gained by Sinn Féin from the UUP
• Sittingbourne and Sheppey, 1997 gained by Labour from the Conservatives
• Shrewsbury and Atcham, 1997 gained by Labour from the Conservatives
• St. Albans, 1997 gained by Labour from the Conservatives
• Oldham East and Saddleworth, 1997 gained by Labour from the Conservatives ²
• Leeds North West, 1997 gained by Labour from the Conservatives
• Hastings and Rye, 1997 gained by Labour from the Conservatives
• Falmouth and Camborne, 1997 gained by Labour from the Conservatives
• Conwy, 1997 gained by Labour from the Conservatives
• Bristol West, 1997 gained by Labour from the Conservatives
• Aberdeen South, 1997 gained by Labour from the Conservatives
• Mid Ulster, 1997 gained by Sinn Féin from the DUP
• Cambridge, 1992 gained by Labour from the Conservatives
• Plymouth Devonport, 1992 gained by Labour from the SDP
• Clwyd South West, 1987 gained by Labour from the Conservatives
• Edinburgh South, 1987 gained by Labour from the Conservatives
• Strathkelvin and Bearsden, 1987 gained by Labour from the Conservatives
• Renfrew West and Inverclyde, 1987 gained by Labour from the Conservatives
• Colne Valley, 1983 gained by the Liberals from Labour
• Leeds West, 1983 gained by the Liberals from Labour
• Southwark and Bermondsey, 1983 gained by the Liberals from Labour ³
• Liverpool Mossley Hill, 1983 gained by the Liberals from the Conservatives
• Ross, Cromarty and Skye, 1983 gained by the SDP from the Conservatives ⁴
• East Dunbartonshire, 1979 gained by Labour from the SNP
• Lincoln, 1979 gained by the Conservatives from Labour
• East Dunbartonshire, October 1974 gained by the SNP from the Conservatives
• Clackmannan and East Stirlingshire, February 1974 gained by the SNP from Labour
• Isle of Wight, February 1974 gained by the Liberals from the Conservatives
• Ross and Cromarty, 1970 gained by the Conservatives from the Liberals
• Ross and Cromarty, 1964 gained by the Liberals from the National Liberals

Notes:

^* only includes examples of genuine three-or-more party competition; does not include seats gained as a result of pacts

¹ sitting member had defected from UUP to DUP

² Liberal Democrats had won a by-election in predecessor constituency in which Labour finished second

³ by-election gain confirmed at general election.

⁴ SDP candidate ran for the Alliance in seat with strong Liberal tradition.

General election victors had not contested previous election

It is unusual for a party that had not contested the seat at the previous election to win it. Since the major mainland parties now routinely contest all seats, except the Speaker's, such rare victories tend to come from independents or splinter-parties.

• Fermanagh and South Tyrone, 2015, Ulster Unionist Tom Elliott
• Blaenau Gwent, 2005: Independent Peter Law
• Bethnal Green and Bow, 2005: Respect, George Galloway
• Wyre Forest, 2001: IKHH, Richard Taylor
• North Down, 1997³: UKUP, Robert McCartney
• Tatton, 1997: Independent Martin Bell
• Caithness and Sutherland, 1983: SDP, Robert Maclennan
• Belfast West, 1983: Sinn Féin, Gerry Adams
• Mid Ulster, 1983: Democratic Unionist, William McCrea
• Belfast East, 1979: Democratic Unionist, Peter Robinson
• Belfast South, 1979:¹ Ulster Unionist, Robert Bradford
• Mid Ulster, 1979:² United Ulster Unionist, John Dunlop
• Lincoln, February 1974³: Democratic Labour, Dick Taverne
• North Antrim, February 1974⁴: DUP, Ian Paisley
• Belfast West, February 1974⁵: SDLP, Gerry Fitt
• Belfast East, February 1974: Vanguard, William Craig
• Belfast South, February 1974: Vanguard, Robert Bradford
• Mid Ulster, February 1974: Vanguard, John Dunlop
• North Antrim, 1970: PUP, Ian Paisley
• Mid Ulster, 1970: Unity, Bernadette Devlin
• Western Isles, 1970: SNP, Donald Stewart
• Caithness and Sutherland, 1964: Liberal, George Mackie

Notes:

• ¹ Vanguard broke up in the late 1970s; the sitting MP joined the Ulster Unionists.
• ² Vanguard broke up in the late 1970s; the sitting MP joined the United Ulster Unionists.
• ³ By-election gain confirmed at the general election.
• ⁴ The Protestant Unionist Party merged into the Democratic Unionist Party in 1970.
• ⁵ Sitting MP Gerry Fitt had left the Republican Labour Party for the SDLP in 1970; by 1974 Republican Labour had disintegrated.

Incumbent party did not contest

The rare occasions where the party which won the previous election did not contest the seat. Independent candidates are not included, nor are Speakers of the House of Commons. Also excluded are occasions where the party had merged into an organisation which did contest the election, such as when the Social Democratic Party and Liberal Party formed the Liberal Democrats, or the Vanguard Unionist Progressive Party merged into the Ulster Unionist Party.

Election	Constituency	Incumbent party		Notes
1997	North Down		UPUP	Sole UPUP MP had died and party had subsequently collapsed.
1983	Mid Ulster		UUUP	UUUP had dissolved and former MP stood down.
1974 February	Belfast West		Republican Labour	MP had defected to the Social Democratic and Labour Party and RLP had dissolved.
1959	Caithness and Sutherland		Unionist	Stood aside for Independent Unionist David Robertson.
1955	Fermanagh and Tyrone		Nationalist	Stood aside for Sinn Féin candidate.
1950	Chelmsford		Common Wealth	MP had defected to Labour and party decided not to contest any further elections.
1950	Glasgow Camlachie		Ind. Labour Party	MP had defected to Labour, then the ILP had performed badly in the 1948 by-election.

Major party did not run

Conservative

• Chorley, 2019¹
• Buckingham, 2017¹
• Buckingham, 2015¹
• Buckingham, 2010¹
• Glasgow North East, 2005¹
• Glasgow Springburn, 2001¹
• West Bromwich West, 1997¹
• Croydon North East, 1987¹
• Cardiff West, 1979¹
• Wirral, October 1974¹
• Wirral, February 1974¹
• Greenock, 1970
• Huddersfield West, 1959
• Pembrokeshire, 1955
• Carmarthen, 1955
• Huddersfield West, 1955
• Carmarthen, 1951
• Colne Valley, 1951
• Huddersfield West, 1951
• Carmarthen, 1950
• Huddersfield West, 1950

Labour

• Chorley, 2019¹
• Buckingham, 2017¹
• Buckingham, 2015¹
• Buckingham, 2010¹
• Glasgow North East, 2005¹
• Glasgow Springburn, 2001¹
• West Bromwich West, 1997¹
• Tatton, 1997
• Cardiff West, 1979¹
• Chelmsford, 1945
• Woodford, 1945

Liberal Democrats

• Arfon, 2019^2P
• Beaconsfield, 2019^2I
• Brighton Pavilion, 2019^2G
• Bristol West, 2019^2G
• Broxtowe, 2019^2I
• Bury St Edmunds, 2019^2G
• Caerphilly, 2019^2P
• Cannock Chase, 2019^2G
• Carmarthen East and Dinefwr, 2019^2P
• Chorley, 2019¹
• Dulwich and West Norwood, 2019^2G
• Dwyfor Meirionnydd, 2019^2P
• Exeter, 2019^2G
• Forest of Dean, 2019^2G
• Isle of Wight, 2019^2G
• Llanelli, 2019^2P
• Luton South, 2019^2I
• Pontypridd, 2019^2P
• Stroud, 2019^2G
• Vale of Glamorgan, 2019^2G
• Ynys Môn, 2019^2P
• Buckingham, 2017¹
• Brighton Pavilion, 2017
• Skipton and Ripon, 2017
• Buckingham, 2015¹
• Buckingham, 2010¹
• Glasgow North East, 2005¹
• Wyre Forest, 2005
• Glasgow Springburn, 2001¹
• Wyre Forest, 2001
• West Bromwich West, 1997¹
• Tatton, 1997

Liberal Party (pre-Liberal Democrats)

• Birmingham Handsworth, 1979
• Cardiff West, 1979¹
• Dudley West, 1979
• Ormskirk, 1979
• Salford East, 1979
• Woodford, 1945

¹: An occasion where a major party stood aside against the Speaker of the House of Commons.

²: As part of the Unite to Remain pact, the Liberal Democrats stood aside in favour of Green (2G), Plaid Cymru (2P) and independent (2I) candidates in some seats.

Victories by minor parties

Victories by independent and minor party candidates since 1945. For a complete list, see the list of UK minor party and independent MPs elected.

Election	Member	Party		Constituency
2019	Caroline Lucas		Green	Brighton Pavilion
	Stephen Farry		Alliance	North Down
2017	Caroline Lucas		Green	Brighton Pavilion
	Sylvia Hermon		Independent	North Down
2015	Caroline Lucas		Green	Brighton Pavilion
	Sylvia Hermon		Independent	North Down
	Douglas Carswell		UKIP	Clacton
2010	Caroline Lucas		Green	Brighton Pavilion
	Sylvia Hermon		Independent	North Down
	Naomi Long		Alliance	Belfast East
2005	Richard Taylor		Kidderminister Health Concern	Wyre Forest
	George Galloway		Respect Party	Bethnal Green and Bow
	Peter Law		Independent	Blaenau Gwent
2001	Richard Taylor		Kidderminister Health Concern	Wyre Forest
1997	Martin Bell		Independent	Tatton
1974 Feb	Dick Taverne		Democratic Labour	Lincoln
	Eddie Milne		Independent Labour	Blyth
1970	S. O. Davies		Independent Labour	Merthyr Tydfil

Independent candidates winning 10% or more

Independent candidates who did not win, but took 10% or more of the vote in their constituency

Constituency	Election	Candidate	Votes	Percentage	Position	Notes
Batley and Spen	2019	Paul Halloran	6,432	12.2	3
Beaconsfield	2019	Dominic Grieve	16,765	29.0	2	Previously represented the seat for the Conservatives
Birkenhead	2019	Frank Field	7,285	17.2	2	Previously represented the seat for Labour
Buckingham	2017	Scott Raven	5,638	10.7	3	Standing against the then Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow
Bradford West	2017	Salma Yaqoob	6,345	13.9	3
Chorley	2019	Mark Brexit-Smith	9,439	23.7	2	Standing against the then Speaker of the House of Commons, Lindsay Hoyle. Selected as a Brexit Party candidate, ran as an independent after the party withdrew
Ealing Southall	2001	Avtar Lit	5,764	12.3	3
East Devon	2015	Claire Wright	13,140	24.0	2
East Devon	2017	Claire Wright	21,270	35.2	2
East Devon	2019	Claire Wright	25,869	40.4	2
Fermanagh and South Tyrone	2001	Jim Dixon	6,843	13.2	4
Fermanagh and South Tyrone	2010	Rodney Connor	21,300	41.5	2	Supported by the DUP and UUP
Fylde	2015	Mike Hill	5,166	11.9	4
Hereford and South Herefordshire	2017	Jim Kenyon	5,560	11.0	3
Middlesbrough	2019	Antony High	4,548	14.2	3
Nelson and Colne	1966	Patrick Downey	5,117	13.7	3	The candidate was the uncle of Lesley Anne Downey, a victim in the Moors murders case, who stood against Labour candidate and opponent to capital punishment, Sydney Silverman on a pro-hanging platform.
Sedgefield	2005	Reg Keys	4,252	10.3	4	Standing against the then-Prime Minister Tony Blair
South West Hertfordshire	2019	David Gauke	15,919	26.0	2	Previously represented the seat for the Conservatives
West Bromwich West	1997	Richard Silvester	8,546	23.3	2	Standing against the then Speaker of the House of Commons, Betty Boothroyd
West Tyrone	2005	Kieran Deeny	11,905	27.4	2

Minor parties other strong performance

Parties without representation in Parliament which won 10% or more of the votes cast:

	Party	Constituency	Election	Candidate	Votes	Percentage	Position	Notes
	Alliance	Belfast East	1983	Oliver Napier	9,373	24.1	3
	Alliance	Belfast East	1987	John Alderdice	10,574	32.1	2
	Alliance	Belfast East	1992	John Alderdice	10,650	29.8	2
	Alliance	Belfast East	1997	Jim Hendron	9,288	23.8	3
	Alliance	Belfast East	2001	David Alderdice	5,832	15.8	3
	Alliance	Belfast East	2005	Naomi Long	15,443	36.0	2
	Alliance	Belfast East	2017	Naomi Long	3,746	12.2	3
	Alliance	Belfast South	1983	David Cook	8,945	23.9	2
	Alliance	Belfast South	1987	David Cook	6,963	21.3	2
	Alliance	Belfast South	1992	John Montgomery	5,054	15.0	3
	Alliance	Belfast South	1997	Steve McBride	5,112	12.9	4
	Alliance	Belfast South	2010	Anna Lo	5,114	15.0	4
	Alliance	Belfast South	2017	Paula Bradshaw	7,946	18.2	3
	Alliance	East Antrim	1983	Seán Neeson	7,620	20.0	3
	Alliance	East Antrim	1987	Seán Neeson	8,582	25.6	2
	Alliance	East Antrim	1992	Seán Neeson	9,132	23.3	3
	Alliance	East Antrim	1997	Seán Neeson	6,929	20.2	2
	Alliance	East Antrim	2001	John Matthews	4,483	12.5	3
	Alliance	East Antrim	2005	Seán Neeson	4,869	15.3	3
	Alliance	East Antrim	2010	Gerry Lynch	3,377	11.1	3
	Alliance	East Antrim	2017	Stewart Dickson	5,950	15.6	2
	Alliance	Lagan Valley	1983	Seamus Close	4,593	11.3	3
	Alliance	Lagan Valley	1987	Seamus Close	5,728	13.8	2
	Alliance	Lagan Valley	1992	Seamus Close	6,207	12.7	2
	Alliance	Lagan Valley	1997	Seamus Close	7,635	17.2	2
	Alliance	Lagan Valley	2001	Seamus Close	7,624	16.6	2
	Alliance	Lagan Valley	2005	Seamus Close	4,316	10.1	3
	Alliance	Lagan Valley	2010	Trevor Lunn	4,174	11.4	3
	Alliance	Lagan Valley	2017	Aaron McIntyre	4,996	11.1	3
	Alliance	North Antrim	1987	Gareth Williams	5,140	12.4	3
	Alliance	North Down	1983	John Cushnahan	9,015	22.1	2
	Alliance	North Down	1987	John Cushnahan	7,932	19.4	3
	Alliance	North Down	1992	Addie Morrow	6,611	14.7	3
	Alliance	North Down	1997	Oliver Napier	7,554	20.7	3
	Alliance	South Antrim	1983	Gordon Mawhinney	4,612	11.9	3
	Alliance	South Antrim	1987	Gordon Mawhinney	5,808	16.0	2
	Alliance	South Antrim	1992	John Blair	5,244	12.4	3
	Alliance	South Antrim	1997	David Ford	4,668	11.6	3
	Alliance	Strangford	1983	Addie Morrow	6,171	15.8	3
	Alliance	Strangford	1987	Addie Morrow	7,553	20.3	2
	Alliance	Strangford	1992	Kieran McCarthy	7,585	16.9	3
	Alliance	Strangford	1997	Kieran McCarthy	5,467	13.1	3
	Alliance	Strangford	2017	Kellie Armstrong	5,693	14.7	2
	Ashfield Ind.	Ashfield	2019	Jason Zadrozny	13,498	27.6	2
	Brexit Party	Barnsley Central	2019	Victoria Felton	11,233	30.4	2
	Brexit Party	Barnsley East	2019	Jim Ferguson	11,112	29.2	2
	Brexit Party	Bassetlaw	2019	Debbie Soloman	5,366	10.6	3
	Brexit Party	Blaenau Gwent	2019	Richard Taylor	6,215	20.6	2
	Brexit Party	Blaydon	2019	Michael Robinson	5,833	12.8	3
	Brexit Party	Caerphilly	2019	Nathan Gill	4,490	11.2	4
	Brexit Party	Chesterfield	2019	John Scotting	4,771	10.6	3
	Brexit Party	Cynon Valley	2019	Rebecca Rees-Evans	3,045	10.1	3
	Brexit Party	Doncaster Central	2019	Surjit Duhre	6,842	16.5	3
	Brexit Party	Doncaster North	2019	Andy Stewart	8,294	20.4	3
	Brexit Party	North Durham	2019	Peter Telford	4,693	11.1	3
	Brexit Party	Don Valley	2019	Paul Whitehurst	6,247	13.7	3
	Brexit Party	Easington	2019	Julie Maughan	6,744	19.5	3
	Brexit Party	Hartlepool	2019	Richard Tice	10,603	25.8	3
	Brexit Party	Hemsworth	2019	Waj Ali	5,930	13.5	3
	Brexit Party	Houghton and Sunderland South	2019	Kevin Yuill	6,165	15.5	3
	Brexit Party	Kingston upon Hull East	2019	Marten Hall	5,764	17.8	3
	Brexit Party	Kingston upon Hull North	2019	Derek Abram	4,771	13.9	3
	Brexit Party	Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle	2019	Michelle Dewberry	5,638	18.0	3
	Brexit Party	Islwyn	2019	James Wells	4,834	14.1	3
	Brexit Party	Jarrow	2019	Richard Leslie Monaghan	4,172	10.0	3
	Brexit Party	Makerfield	2019	Ross Wright	5,817	13.1	3
	Brexit Party	Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney	2019	David Jones	3,604	11.2	3
	Brexit Party	North Durham	2019	Peter Telford	4,693	11.1	3
	Brexit Party	North Tyneside	2019	Andrew Husband	5,254	10.4	3
	Brexit Party	Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford	2019	Deneice Florence-Jukes	8,032	16.6	3
	Brexit Party	Rhondda	2019	John Watkins	3,733	12.6	4
	Brexit Party	Rother Valley	2019	Allen Cowles	6,264	12.9	3
	Brexit Party	Rotherham	2019	Paul Hague	6,125	17.2	3
	Brexit Party	Sheffield South East	2019	Kirk Kus	4,478	10.7	3
	Brexit Party	South Shields	2019	Glenn Michael Thompson	6,446	17.0	3
	Brexit Party	St Helens North	2019	Malcolm Webster	5,396	11.3	3
	Brexit Party	St Helens South and Whiston	2019	Daniel Oxley	5,353	10.6	3
	Brexit Party	Sunderland Central	2019	Viral Parikh	5,047	11.6	3
	Brexit Party	Torfaen	2019	David Thomas	5,742	15.4	3
	Brexit Party	Washington and Sunderland West	2019	Howard Brown	5,439	14.5	3
	Brexit Party	Wentworth and Dearne	2019	Stephen Cavell	7,019	16.9	3
	Brexit Party	Wigan	2019	William Molloy	5,959	13.2	3
	BNP	Barking	2005	Richard Barnbrook	4,916	16.9	3
	BNP	Barking	2010	Nick Griffin	6,620	14.8	3
	BNP	Burnley	2001	Steve Smith	4,151	11.3	4
	BNP	Burnley	2005	Len Starr	4,003	10.1	5
	BNP	Dewsbury	2005	David Exley	5,066	13.1	4
	BNP	Oldham West and Royton	2001	Nick Griffin	6,552	16.4	3
	BNP	Rotherham	2010	Marlene Guest	3,906	10.4	4
	Buckinghamshire Campaign for Democracy	Buckingham	2010	John Stevens	10,331	21.4	2	Standing against the then Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow
	Burnley First	Burnley	2005	Harry Brooks	5,786	14.8	3
	Green	Brighton Pavilion	2005	Keith Taylor	9,571	22.0	3
	Green	Lewisham Deptford	2005	Darren Johnson	3,367	11.4	4
	Green	Norwich South	2010	Adrian Ramsay	7,095	14.9	4
	Liberal	Liverpool West Derby	2001	Steve Radford	4,601	14.9	2
	Liberal	Liverpool West Derby	2005	Steve Radford	3,606	11.8	3
	National Democrats	West Bromwich West	1997	Steve Edwards	4,181	11.4	3	Standing against the then Speaker of the House of Commons, Betty Boothroyd
	NHA	Wyre Forest	2015	Richard Taylor	7,221	14.6	4	Taylor had served as MP for the constituency from 2001 to 2010
	NHA	South West Surrey	2017	Louise Irvine	12,093	20.0	2
	NI Labour	Belfast East	1974 Oct	David Bleakley	8,122	14.1	3
	Orkney and Shetland Movement	Orkney and Shetland	1987	John Goodlad	3,095	14.5	4
	People Before Profit	Belfast West	2015	Gerry Carroll	6,798	19.2	2	Represented in the Dáil
	People Before Profit	Belfast West	2017	Gerry Carroll	4,132	10.2	3	Represented in the Northern Ireland Assembly and Dáil
	People Before Profit	Belfast West	2019	Gerry Carroll	6,194	16.0	3	Represented in the Northern Ireland Assembly and Dáil
	People's Justice	Birmingham Sparkbrook and Small Heath	2001	Shafaq Hussain	4,770	13.0	3
	PUP	Belfast East	2001	David Ervine	3,669	10.0	4
	PUP	Belfast South	1997	David Ervine	5,687	14.4	3
	Protestant Unionist	Belfast North	1987	George Seawright	5,671	15.4	3
	Real Unionist	North Down	1987	Bob McCartney	14,467	35.4	2
	Respect	Birmingham Sparkbrook and Small Heath	2005	Salma Yaqoob	10,498	27.5	2
	Respect	East Ham	2005	Abdul Khaliq Mian	8,171	20.7	2
	Respect	Poplar and Canning Town	2005	Oliur Rahman	6,573	17.2	3
	Respect	West Ham	2005	Lindsey German	6,039	19.5	2
	Scottish Militant Labour	Glasgow Pollok	1992	Tommy Sheridan	6,287	19.3	2
	Scottish Socialist	Glasgow Pollok	1997	Tommy Sheridan	3,639	11.1	3
	Sinn Féin	Belfast North	1997	Gerry Kelly	8,375	20.2	3
	Sinn Féin	Fermanagh and South Tyrone	1997	Gerry McHugh	11,174	23.1	2
	Sinn Féin	Foyle	1997	Mitchel McLaughlin	11,445	23.9	2
	Sinn Féin	Newry and Armagh	1997	Pat McNamee	11,218	21.1	3
	Sinn Féin	South Down	1997	Mick Murphy	5,127	10.4	3
	Sinn Féin	Upper Bann	1997	Bernadette O'Hagan	5,773	12.1	3
	Sinn Féin	West Tyrone	1997	Pat Doherty	14,280	30.9	3
	Socialist Labour	Glasgow North East	2005	Doris Kelly	4,036	14.2	3	Standing against the then Speaker of the House of Commons, Michael Martin
	TUV	North Antrim	2010	Jim Allister	7,114	16.8	2
	UUP	East Antrim	2019	Stephen Aiken	5,475	15.0	3
	UUP	Lagan Valley	2019	Robbie Buttler	8,606	19.1	3
	UUP	Fermanagh and South Tyrone	2019	Tom Elliott	21,929	43.2	2	Just 57 votes short of Sinn Féin, the highest vote share ever achieved by a party with no MPs.
	UUP	North Antrim	2019	Robin Swann	8,139	18.5	2
	UUP	North Down	2019	Alan Albert Chambers	4,936	12.1	3
	UUP	Strangford	2019	Philip Smith	4,023	10.8	3
	UUP	South Antrim	2019	Danny Kinahan	12,460	29.0	2
	UUP	Upper Bann	2019	Doug Beattie	6,197	12.4	4
	UKIP	Buckingham	2010	Nigel Farage	8,410	17.4	3	Standing against the then Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow
	UKIP	South Staffordshire	2005	Malcolm Hurst	2,675	10.4	4	Polling day delayed following death of Liberal Democrat candidate from original ballot.

Miscellaneous notable results

Party leaders or deputy leaders losing their seats

Constituency	Election	MP	Position	Party
East Dunbartonshire	2019	Jo Swinson	Leader		Liberal Democrats
Belfast North	2019	Nigel Dodds 1	Deputy leader		DUP
Moray	2017	Angus Robertson	Deputy leader		SNP
Belfast East	2015	Naomi Long	Deputy leader		Alliance
Bradford West	2015	George Galloway	Leader		Respect
Belfast East	2010	Peter Robinson	Leader		DUP
Upper Bann	2005	David Trimble	Leader		UUP
North Down	2001	Robert McCartney	Leader		UK Unionist
Belfast West	1992	Gerry Adams	Leader		Sinn Féin
Glasgow Govan	1992	Jim Sillars	Deputy Leader		SNP
Dundee East	1987	Gordon Wilson	Leader		SNP
Carmarthen	1979	Gwynfor Evans	Leader		Plaid Cymru
Cornwall North	1979	John Pardoe	Deputy Leader		Liberal
Fermanagh and South Tyrone	1974 October	Harry West	Leader		UUP
Belper	1970	George Brown	Deputy Leader		Labour
Carmarthen	1970	Gwynfor Evans	Leader		Plaid Cymru
Huddersfield West	1964	Donald Wade	Deputy Leader		Liberal
Anglesey	1951	Megan Lloyd George	Deputy Leader		Liberal
Caithness and Sutherland	1945	Archibald Sinclair	Leader		Liberal
Edinburgh Leith	1945	Ernest Brown	Leader		National Liberal
Darwen	1935	Herbert Samuel	Leader		Liberal
Seaham	1935	Ramsay MacDonald	Leader		National Labour
Burnley	1931	Arthur Henderson	Leader		Labour
Manchester Platting	1931	John Robert Clynes	Deputy Leader		Labour
Paisley	1924	H. H. Asquith	Leader		Liberal
East Fife	1918	H. H. Asquith	Leader		Liberal
East Mayo	1918	John Dillon	Leader		Irish Parliamentary
Manchester East	1906	Arthur Balfour	Leader		Conservative
West Ham South	1895	Keir Hardie	Leader		Ind. Labour Party
Londonderry City	1892	Justin McCarthy 2	Leader		Irish National Federation
South West Lancashire	1868	William Ewart Gladstone 3	Leader		Liberal

¹: Dodds was leader of the DUP at Westminster.

²: McCarthy was defeated in Londonderry City, the seat for which he had sat in the previous Parliament. He also stood in North Longford, where he was elected.

³: Gladstone was defeated in South West Lancashire, the seat for which he had sat in the previous Parliament. He also stood in Greenwich, where he was elected.

Incumbent Cabinet Members losing their seats

Constituency	Election	MP	Position	Party
Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey	2015	Danny Alexander	Chief Secretary to the Treasury		Liberal Democrats
Kingston and Surbiton	2015	Ed Davey	Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change		Liberal Democrats
Twickenham	2015	Vince Cable	Secretary of State for Business and Trade		Liberal Democrats
Galloway and Upper Nithsdale	1997	Ian Lang	Secretary of State for Business and Trade		Conservative
Edinburgh Pentlands	1997	Malcolm Rifkind	Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs		Conservative
Stirling	1997	Michael Forsyth	Secretary of State for Scotland		Conservative
Kensington and Chelsea	1997	Michael Portillo	Secretary of State for Defence		Conservative
Kettering	1997	Roger Freeman	Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster		Conservative
Braintree	1997	Tony Newton	Leader of the House of Commons		Conservative
Bristol West	1997	William Waldegrave	Chief Secretary to the Treasury		Conservative
Bath	1992	Chris Patten	Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster		Conservative
Hertford and Stevenage	1979	Shirley Williams	Secretary of State for Education and Science		Labour
Moray and Nairn	1974 February	Gordon Campbell	Secretary of State for Scotland		Conservative
Gloucester	1970	John Diamond	Chief Secretary to the Treasury		Labour
Doncaster	1964	Anthony Barber	Minister of Health		Conservative
Norwich South	1964	Geoffrey Rippon	Minister of Public Works		Conservative
Shipley	1950	Arthur Creech Jones	Secretary of State for the Colonies		Labour
Bournemouth East and Christchurch	1945	Brendan Bracken	First Lord of the Admiralty		Conservative
Crewe	1945	Donald Somervell	Home Secretary		Conservative
Stockton-on-Tees	1945	Harold Macmillan	Secretary of State for Air		Conservative
Cardiff East	1945	James Grigg	Secretary of State for War		Conservative
Birmingham Sparkbrook	1945	Leo Amery	Secretary of State for India and Burma		Conservative
Bassetlaw	1935	Malcolm MacDonald	Secretary of State for the Colonies		National Labour
Seaham	1935	Ramsay MacDonald	Leader of the House of Commons		National Labour
Birmingham Erdington	1929	Arthur Steel-Maitland	Minister of Labour		Conservative
Bradford East	1924	Fred Jowett	First Commissioner of Works		Labour
Salford South	1923	Anderson Montague-Barlow	Minister of Labour		Conservative
Bridgwater	1923	Robert Sanders	Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries		Conservative
Tauton	1922	Arthur Griffith-Boscawen 2	Minister of Health		Conservative

¹: Walker was defeated in Smethwick in the 1964 election. He was still appointed as Foreign Secretary and fought the 1965 Leyton by-election which he lost, resigning from Cabinet as a result.

²: Griffith-Boscawen was appointed Minister of Agriculture and subsequently lost the 1921 Dudley by-election. He returned to Parliament in the 1921 Taunton by-election and was promoted to Minister of Health. Subsequently in the 1922 election, he lost his Taunton seat and was unsuccessful in returning to Parliament in the 1923 Mitcham by-election

General elections having historic significance

• 2019: The first general election that had a particular Act of Parliament to trigger it.
• 2017: The first general election following the vote to leave the European Union and the subsequent invocation of Article 50. The first early general election to be held under the Fixed-term Parliaments Act.
• 2010: The first Coalition government to arise from a general election result.
• 1997: Blair, New Labour
• 1979: Thatcher, end of the post-war consensus
• 1945: Labour, Welfare State
• 1931: National Government presides over the Great Depression and Appeasement
• 1923: First Labour government emerges
• 1910 (two Liberal general election victories) Establishment of supremacy of the Commons. The Parliament Act 1911.
• 1906: Liberal landslide

First general elections for a new political party

Listed below parties which have returned MPs, either at the listed election or a later one.

• 2005: Respect Party
• 2001: Independent Community and Health Concern
• 1997: UK Independence Party*
• 1997: UK Unionist Party (in Northern Ireland)
• 1992: Liberal Democrats
• 1992: Green Party of England and Wales*
• 1983: SDP
• 1983: Ulster Popular Unionist Party (in Northern Ireland)
• 1979: Scottish Labour Party (only time – formed 1976, dissolved 1981)
• February 1974: Alliance Party (in Northern Ireland)*
• February 1974: Democratic Labour Party
• February 1974: Democratic Unionist Party (in Northern Ireland)
• February 1974: SDLP (in Northern Ireland)
• February 1974: Vanguard Unionist Progressive Party (in Northern Ireland)
• 1966: Republican Labour Party (in Northern Ireland – dissolved 1973)
• 1945: Common Wealth Party (only time)
• 1935: Scottish National Party*
• 1931: National Labour Party
• 1931: Empire Free Trade Crusade (only time)
• 1931: National Liberal Party (dissolved 1968)
• 1929: Plaid Cymru (in Wales)*
• 1922: Communist Party
• 1922: National Liberal Party (only time – dissolved 1923)
• 1922: Ulster Unionist Party (in Northern Ireland)
• 1918: National Democratic and Labour Party (only time – dissolved 1922)
• 1918: National Party (only time – formed 1917, dissolved 1921)
• 1918: National Socialist Party (only time – became Social Democratic Federation 1919)
• 1918: Sinn Féin (in Ireland)
• 1918: Unionist Party (in Scotland)
• January 1910: All-for-Ireland League
• January 1910: Scottish Prohibition Party*
• 1900: Labour Party (as Labour Representative Committee – renamed 1906)
• 1895: Independent Labour Party
• 1892: Irish National Federation
• 1892: Irish Unionist Alliance
• 1886: Liberal Unionist Party
• 1885: Crofters Party (in Scotland)
• 1885: Irish Parliamentary Party (aka Irish Nationalist)
• 1874: Home Rule League (in Ireland)
• 1859: Liberal Party
• 1852: Independent Irish Party
• 1841: Chartist*
• 1835: Conservative Party

Asterisked – first election where party fielded candidates but MPs elected at later general election. Otherwise all parties listed returned MPs at first contested election.

Last general elections for defunct political parties

Listed below are parties which had returned MPs and which ceased to exist after the listed election:

• 2015: Respect Party
• 2001: UK Unionist Party (in Northern Ireland)
• 1992: Ulster Popular Unionist Party (in Northern Ireland)
• 1987: Communist Party
• 1987: Liberal Party*
• 1987: SDP*
• 1983: United Ulster Unionist Party
• 1979: Democratic Labour Party
• October 1974: Vanguard Unionist Progressive Party (in Northern Ireland)
• February 1974: Independent Labour Party
• 1970: Republican Labour Party (Northern Ireland)
• 1966: National Liberal Party (formed 1931 – dissolved 1968)
• 1964: Unionist Party (in Scotland)
• 1945: Common Wealth Party
• 1935: National Labour Party
• 1931: Scottish Prohibition Party
• 1918: Irish Parliamentary Party (aka Irish Nationalist)
• 1918: Irish Unionist Alliance
• December 1910: All-for-Ireland League
• December 1910: Liberal Unionist Party
• 1895: Crofters Party (in Scotland)
• 1895: Irish National Federation
• 1880: Home Rule League (in Ireland)
• 1859: Chartists
• 1857: Independent Irish Party
• 1857: Radicals (before amalgamation into Liberal Party which continued to be nicknamed "Radicals")
• 1857: Whig Party
• 1832: Tory Party (before reorganisation as Conservative Party which continued to be nicknamed "Tories")

* After the Liberal Party and SDP merged to form the Liberal Democrats, some members opposed to the merger formed new parties, the continuation Liberal Party and continuation Social Democratic Party. These parties are legally distinct from their predecessors and have never won a seat in Parliament.

General elections following electoral developments

Participation in, and outcome of, general elections can be influenced by changes in electoral law or practice.

• 2019: first general election held because an Act of Parliament specifically called for one (the Early Parliamentary General Election Act 2019, enacted to bypass the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011)
• 2017: first general election held because MPs voted for an early election under the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011
• 2015: first general election scheduled automatically under the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011
• 2010: first general election following lowering of age of candidacy to 18
• 2001: first general election in which hereditary peers could vote, and stand as MPs without disclaiming peerage
• 1970: first general election following reduction of adult voting age to 18
• 1964: first general election hereditary peers were allowed to stand as MPs if peerage disclaimed
• 1955: first general election in which all seats were contested
• 1950: first general election following:

• extension of postal voting to civilian population
• abolition of university constituencies
• abolition of plural voting
• abolition of remaining two-member seat constituencies

• 1929: first general election where all adult women (aged 21 upwards) were enfranchised
• 1922: first general election following secession of Southern Ireland from the UK
• 1918: first general election in which:

• women (aged 21 upwards) were eligible only to stand and (aged 30 upwards) were enfranchised
• all adult males (aged 21 upwards) were enfranchised
• polling was held on single day
• postal voting (for armed forces personnel) was allowed

• 1885: first general election held subject to the Corrupt and Illegal Practices Prevention Act 1883
• 1874: first general election held with secret ballots
• 1868: first general election following enfranchisement of all male heads of household under the Second Reform Act
• 1832: first general election following Great Reform Act which:

• established a unified householder franchise
• comprehensively redistributed parliamentary seats, abolishing many rotten boroughs
• established 21 years as the youngest age of candidacy (reduced to 18 in 2006)

• 1830: first general election in which Roman Catholics could stand as MPs (significant in Ireland)
• 1801: first general election in which Irish voters elected MPs to Westminster, following the Act of Union, on same footing to those in England, Scotland and Wales

See also

• List of United Kingdom MPs with the shortest service
• Records of members of parliament of the United Kingdom
• Swing (politics)
• United Kingdom by-election records
• United Kingdom European Parliament election records
• United Kingdom general elections overview

References

1. Craig, F. W. S. (1968). British Parliamentary Election Statistics 1918–1968 . Glasgow: Political Reference Publications. p.  20. ISBN   0900178000.
2. Election 2015: SNP wins 56 of 59 seats in Scots landslide BBC News 8 May 2015
3. Tim Carr, The Politicos Guide to the New House of Commons 2015
4. "[No title given]". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
5. "Labour now has all 10 of the safest seats in UK, House of Commons analysis reveals". The Independent. 10 August 2017. Retrieved 13 May 2024.
6. Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher, British electoral facts (Parliamentary Research Services)
7. "Maidenhead parliamentary constituency – Election 2017". BBC News. BBC.
8. "Uxbridge & South Ruislip parliamentary constituency – Election 2019". BBC News. BBC.
9. "Putney [Archive]". www.politicsresources.net.
10. "Islington North parliamentary constituency – Election 2017". BBC News. BBC.
11. "Uxbridge & South Ruislip parliamentary constituency – Election 2019". BBC News. BBC.
12. Research Paper 05/33: General Election 2005 Archived 27 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine , House of Commons Library
13. Craig, F. W. S. (1968). British Parliamentary Election Statistics 1918–1968 . Glasgow: Political Reference Publications. p.  65. ISBN   0900178000.
14. MacAskill, Ewen; Ratcliffe, Rebecca (8 May 2015). "Mhairi Black: the 20-year-old who beat a Labour heavyweight". The Guardian.
15. James Keir Hardie 1856–1915 Archived 25 March 2014 at the Wayback Machine at Hunting Dead
16. Chris Pond, Parliament and Religious Disabilities Archived 28 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine

Further reading

• Who's Who of British MPs: Volume IV, 1945–1979 by Michael Stenton and Stephen Lees (Harvester, Brighton, 1979) ISBN   0-85527-335-6
• British Parliamentary Constituencies – A Statistical Compendium by Ivor Crewe and Anthony Fox (Faber and Faber, London, 1984) ISBN   0-571-13236-7
• British Political Facts 1900–1994 by David Butler and Gareth Butler (St. Martin's Press, New York, 1994) ISBN   0-312-12147-4