british election 2010

General Election 2010: polling day through history

The first general election to be held since 1935 resulted in the landslide victory of the Labour Party led by Clement Attlee.
The count was not declared until July 26, partly due to local wakes weeks and the time it took to transport the votes of those serving overseas.
23 February 1950
Another Labour victory, but this time a slim majority of just five seats over all other parties, resulting in the party calling another general election the following year.
It was the first time that general election results were reported on television, with the programme presented by Richard Dimbleby.
25 October 1951
Although Labour polled more votes than in the 1950 election, the Conservatives formed the next Government, after gaining more seats.
This was one of only three elections where this happened – the others being 1929 and 1974.
26 May 1955
Resulted in an increased majority of 60 for Sir Anthony Eden’s Conservative Party against Clement Attlee’s Labour.
Is the earliest general election in the UK of which television coverage survives.
8 October 1959
The Conservatives, led by Harold Macmillan after the resignation of Sir Anthony Eden, again increased their majority, to 100 seats.
The election also saw Margaret Thatcher first enter Parliament as MP for Finchley.
15 October 1964
Labour won their first election since 1951, and Harold Wilson was elected Prime Minister with a majority of just four seats.
But the majority was not sustainable for a full Parliament and another election was called two years later.
31 March 1966
The Labour government – still led by Wilson – was returned with a much larger majority of 96.
The only March election to be held since 1874 and the only successful one to be held in the UK in history.
18 June 1970
Edward Heath’s Conservative Party was elected with a majority of 31, much to the surprise of most political commentators.
The result was blamed on the England football team being knocked out of the World Cup at the quarter-final stage by West Germany just four days before the election.
28 February 1974
The first of two general elections held in 1974. It resulted in a hung parliament – the only election since the World War Two not to produce an overall majority.
Heath resigned after negotiations with the Liberals to form a coalition government failed.
10 October 1974
Wilson, who took power after the February election as his party had won more seats, returned to the polls and won a tiny majority of three.
The Scottish National Party had their most successful election in history – winning 11 seats and securing their largest total number of votes in an election.
3 May 1979
The first of four consecutive general election victories for the Tories brought Margaret Thatcher to power.
The swing to the Conservatives of 5.2 per cent was the largest since 1945. Jeremy Thorpe, the former Liberal leader, lost his seat while awaiting trial at the Old Bailey for conspiracy to murder.
9 June 1983
The Tories won a landslide second term victory, taking 397 seats to Labour’s 209.
The SDP Liberal Alliance won just 23 seats despite receiving nearly as many votes as Labour.
11 June 1987
Thatcher became the first Prime Minister since the 2nd Earl of Liverpool in the 19th century to lead a party to three successive election victories.
Enoch Powell lost his seat in the election, as did Clement Freud, the Liberal.
9 April 1992
The fourth consecutive victory for the Conservatives brought John Major to power. The result was a surprise as polls had shown Neil Kinnock’s Labour to be ahead.
On Election Day The Sun ran a front-page headline which urged "the last person to leave Britain" to "turn out the lights" if Labour won the election.
1 May 1997
Labour returned to power in a landslide victory, winning 418 seats, the most the party has ever held.
The Conservatives won just 165 seats the fewest they have held since the 1906 General Election.
7 June 2001
Labour won a second landslide victory in a row, with 620 out of 641 seats unchanged. The Tories gained only one seat.
Voter turnout fell to 59 per cent, the lowest since 1918. Some bookmakers paid out for a Labour majority before polling day.
5 May 2005
Labour under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a reduced overall majority of 66.