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. Major party – A party that has a realistic chance of leading government. Since 1945, every UK government has been led by the Conservatives or Labour. Parties in electoral pacts whose members take the whip of a major party and have no de facto independence are also counted as part of the major parties. For Labour, this includes the Co-operative Party. For the Conservatives, this includes the Unionist Party and the National Liberal Party. In Northern Ireland the situation is more fluid, but both the UUP and the DUP have been major parties for the unionist bloc and the Nationalist Party, the SDLP and Sinn Féin have been major parties for the nationalist bloc. 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. In Northern Ireland, where the party landscape is unstable and many apparently independent candidates are supported by other parties, "minor party" refers to parties and independents that are not members of the main nationalist or unionist blocs. 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)
National swings 1931 general election – 14.4% swing from Labour to National Government 1945 general election – 11.8% swing from Conservative/National Liberal to Labour 2024 general election – 10.8% swing from Conservative to Labour 1997 general election – 10.2% swing from Conservative to Labour
Seat swings Party from Party toConstituency ElectionSwingResultNotesConservativeReform UKClacton202445.1%Reform UK gainLabourIndependentBlythFeb 197442.3%Independent gainConservativeLiberal DemocratsNorth Shropshire202441.3%Liberal Democrats gainLabourSNPGlasgow North East201539.3%SNP gainElection 2015: SNP wins 56 of 59 seats in Scots landslide BBC News 8 May 2015ConservativeGreenNorth Herefordshire202432.7%Green gainConservativeGreenWaveney Valley202432.1%Green gainConservativeLiberal DemocratsChichester202431.0%Liberal Democrats gainLabourLiberal DemocratsBrent East200529%Liberal Democrats gainLiberal DemocratsLabourBrent Central201528.3%Labour gainLabourGreenBristol Central202428.2%Green gainSNPLabourAlloa and Grangemouth202426.6%Labour gainConservativeLabourSouth West Norfolk202426.2%Labour gainSNPConservativeGordon201720.4%Conservative gainLabourConservativeBassetlaw201918.4%Conservative gainLiberal DemocratsConservativeNorth Norfolk201917.5%Conservative gainLiberal DemocratsSNPGordon201514.4%SNP gainConservativeSNPPerth and East PerthshireOctober 197411%SNP 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 Election19.9 2024 15.1 201511.91924 11.6 1945 11.3 1997 10.8 2017 9.3 19837.9 2019
Constituency Decrease Party Constituency Election 65.1 West Mayo 1918 60.6 Glasgow Bridgeton 1950 53.1 North Down 1979 45.8 Merthyr Tydfil 1970 45.7 Blyth 1974 Feb 44.0 Clacton 2024 43.4 South West Norfolk 2024 43.0 Boston and Skegness 2024 41.5 North Antrim 1970 41.2 Great Yarmouth 202440.5 South Basildon and East Thurrock 2024 39.8 Belfast North 2001 39.7 Blaenau Gwent 200539.7North Shropshire202439.3Blackburn2024 38.6 Amber Valley 202438.4 Castle Point202437.9 South Holland and the Deepings2024 37.4 Merthyr 1935 36.8 Clacton 201736.2Dewsbury and Batley202436.0 Basildon and Billericay202435.9 Rayleigh and Wickford2024 35.8 Brent Central 2015 35.0 Lagan Valley 2005 34.7 Bradford West 2015 34.7 Glasgow North East 2015 34.5 West Dunbartonshire 2015 34.1 Leicester South 202433.9 Birmingham Perry Barr202433.7Eccles 192233.4 Maldon2024 33.0 Glasgow Shettleston 1950 32.7 Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill 2015 32.4 North East Cambridgeshire 2024 31.9 Waveney Valley 2024 31.7 Glenrothes 2015 31.6 Fermanagh and South Tyrone 195931.5North Herefordshire2024 31.2 Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath 2015 31.2 Sheffield Central 2015 31.1 Dunfermline and West Fife 2015 31.0 Ashfield 2024 30.8 Westmorland and Lonsdale 2024 30.5 Ashford 2024 30.5 Hereford and South Herefordshire 2015 30.5 Lincoln 1979 30.3 Edinburgh South 2015 30.0 North Down 2010
Other parties The Scottish National Party and Democratic Unionist Party have never lost 30% or more of the vote in a single constituency.
Decrease Party Constituency Election 27.0 North Down 1997 26.0 Western Isles 1987 25.3 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 Glasgow Gorbals 1945 43.9 Glasgow North East 2015 43.8 Dundee West 1951 42.9 North Shropshire 2024 41.3 Lagan Valley 2005 41.2 Glasgow North 2015 40.8 Glasgow South West 2015 39.8 Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill 2015 39.6 Dunfermline and West Fife 2015 39.3 Glasgow North West 2015 38.9 West Dunbartonshire 2015 38.3 Motherwell and Wishaw 2015 38.2 Glenrothes 2015 37.9 Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath 2015 37.6 Inverclyde 2015 36.9 Brent East 2005 36.5 Rutherglen and Hamilton West 2015 36.1 Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East 2015 36.1 Glasgow Shettleston 195035.9North Down2019 35.9 Honiton and Sidmouth 2024 35.0 Glasgow Central 2015 34.7 Glasgow South 2015 34.2 Aberdeen North 2015 34.1 Central Ayrshire 2015 33.9 North Herefordshire 2024 33.0 Dundee West 2015 33.0 Ross, Skye and Lochaber 2015 32.8 Paisley and Renfrewshire South 2015 32.6 East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow 2015 32.4 Waveney Valley 2024 32.2 Glasgow East 2015 31.7 East Renfrewshire 2015 31.7 Paisley and Renfrewshire North 2015 31.6 Fermanagh and South Tyrone 1959 31.4 Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey 201531.3 East Renfrewshire 2024 31.3 Edinburgh North and Leith 201531.3EBelfast South2019 31.0 Livingston 201530.9 Falkirk 2024 30.8 Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock 2015 30.8 Edinburgh South West 2015 30.6 Dundee East 1974 Feb 30.6 Bristol Central 2024 30.4 Airdrie and Shotts 2015 30.3 Bristol West 2017 30.0 Midlothian 2015
Other parties Increase Party Constituency Election 29.6 Heywood and Middleton 2015 29.0 Gordon 2017 24.2 Fermanagh and South Tyrone 1970 23.7 Belfast West 1966
Largest winning share of the vote The five largest shares of the vote won by any candidate, since 1918, are as follows: Candidate Party ConstituencyElection% ShareGeorge Currie North Down 1959 98.0George Currie North Down 1955 96.9Knox Cunningham South Antrim 1959 95.1Phelim O'Neill North Antrim 1959 94.9Will Thorne Plaistow1918 94.9
Largest winning share of the vote by general election Candidate PartyConstituencyElection% ShareDan Carden Labour Liverpool Walton 202470.6Dan Carden Labour Liverpool Walton 201984.7Dan Carden Labour Liverpool Walton 201785.7
Largest number of votes The largest number of votes cast for a single party nationally in a general election was 14,094,116 for the Conservatives under John Major in 1992, although this resulted in a parliamentary majority of just 21 seats.
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.
Largest majority The largest majority received by an individual is also Sir Cooper Rawson, re-elected with a majority of 62,253 (35.2% of votes) at Brighton in 1931. 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.
The largest majorities received by the winning party at a general election are as follows: Majority PartyElectionLeader 492 1931 Ramsay MacDonald 209 1924 Stanley Baldwin 179 1997 Tony Blair 174 2024 Keir Starmer 167 2001 Tony Blair 145 1945 Clement Attlee 144 1983 Margaret Thatcher
Lowest winning share of the vote All general election victors receiving less than 30% of the vote since 1945 onwards.
Name PartyConstituencyElection% Share Belfast South201524.5Tim Carr, The Politicos Guide to the New House of Commons 2015 Inverness, Nairn and Lochaber199226.0 South West Norfolk202426.7 Portsmouth Central192226.8 Blackburn202427.0 Belfast North197927.6 East Londonderry202427.9 North Antrim202428.3 Exmouth and Exeter East202428.7 East Antrim202428.9 Sittingbourne and Sheppey202429.1 Ceredigion201729.2 Norwich South201029.4 Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr202429.4 Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe202429.5 Dumfries and Galloway202429.6 East Ham North192229.7 Perth200129.7 Argyll and Bute200129.9
Lowest share of the vote
Major parties less than 1% of the vote Since 1918: % share Candidate Party Constituency Election 0.1 Paul Shea Belfast West 2015 0.1 Hannah Westropp South Down 2024 0.2 Samantha Rayner Newry and Armagh 2024 0.2 Stephen Lynch West Tyrone 2024 0.3 Lucille Nicholson Mid Ulster 2015 0.4 Hamish Badenoch Foyle 2015 0.4 Barry Hetherington Strangford 2024 0.4 Robert Rigby Newry and Armagh 2015 0.4 Amandeep Singh Bhogal Upper Bann 2015 0.4 Claire-Louise Leyland West Tyrone 2015 0.5 Claire Scull East Londonderry 2024 0.6 Clare Salier Belfast South 2017 0.7 Felicity Buchan South Down 2015 0.7 Gary McLelland Glasgow East 2015 0.8 Eileen Baxendale Glasgow North East 2015 0.8 Karen Roberts Rhondda 2017 0.8 Liz St Clair-Legge East Londonderry 2017 0.9 Flo Clucas West Bromwich West 2017 0.9 Ben France Dudley North 2017 0.9 Carol Freeman Antrim North 2015 0.9 Brian Price Upper Bann 1997 0.9 Cameron Sullivan 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.