October 1974 United Kingdom general election
| Election Name | October 1974 United Kingdom general election |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Type | parliamentary |
| Ongoing | no |
| Previous Election | February 1974 United Kingdom general election |
| Previous Year | Feb 1974 |
| Outgoing Members | List of MPs elected in the February 1974 United Kingdom general election |
| Next Election | 1979 United Kingdom general election |
| Next Year | 1979 |
| Elected Members | List of MPs elected in the October 1974 United Kingdom general election |
| Seats For Election | All 635 seats in the House of Commons |
| Majority Seats | 318 |
| Elected Mps | List of MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, October 1974 |
| Election Date | 10 October 1974 |
| Turnout | 29,189,104 72.8% (6.0 pp) |
| Leader1 | Harold Wilson |
| Leader Since1 | 14 February 1963 |
| Party1 | Labour Party (UK) |
| Leaders Seat1 | Huyton |
| Last Election1 | 301 seats, 37.2% |
| Seats1 | 319 |
| Seat Change1 | 18 |
| Popular Vote1 | 11,457,079 |
| Percentage1 | 39.2% |
| Swing1 | 2.0 pp |
| Leader2 | Edward Heath |
| Leader Since2 | 28 July 1965 |
| Party2 | Conservative Party (UK) |
| Leaders Seat2 | Sidcup |
| Last Election2 | 297 seats, 37.9% |
| Seats2 | 277 |
| Seat Change2 | 20 |
| Popular Vote2 | 10,462,565 |
| Percentage2 | 35.8% |
| Swing2 | 2.1 pp |
| Leader4 | Jeremy Thorpe |
| Leader Since4 | 18 January 1967 |
| Party4 | Liberal Party (UK) |
| Leaders Seat4 | North Devon |
| Last Election4 | 14 seats, 19.3% |
| Seats4 | 13 |
| Seat Change4 | 1 |
| Popular Vote4 | 5,346,704 |
| Percentage4 | 18.3% |
| Swing4 | 1.0 pp |
| Leader5 | William Wolfe |
| Leader Since5 | 1 June 1969 |
| Party5 | Scottish National Party |
| Leaders Seat5 | None (Contested West Lothian) |
| Last Election5 | 7 seats, 2.0% |
| Seats5 | 11 |
| Seat Change5 | 4 |
| Popular Vote5 | 839,617 |
| Percentage5 | 2.9% |
| Swing5 | 0.9 pp |
| Map Image |  |
| Map Caption | Colours denote the winning party—as shown in |
| Map2 Image |  |
| Map2 Caption | Composition of the House of Commons after the election |
| Title | Prime Minister |
| Posttitle | Prime Minister after election |
| Before Election | Harold Wilson |
| Before Party | Labour Party (UK) |
| After Election | Harold Wilson |
| After Party | Labour Party (UK) |
| Opinion Polls | Opinion polling for the 1974 United Kingdom general elections |
A general election was held in the United Kingdom on Thursday 10 October 1974 to elect 635 members of the House of Commons. It was the second general election held that year; the first year in which two general elections had been held in the same year since 1910; and the first time that two general elections had been held less than a year apart from each other since the 1923 and 1924 elections, which took place 10 months apart.
The election resulted in a narrow victory for the Labour Party, led by Prime Minister Harold Wilson, which won a wafer-thin majority of three seats, the narrowest in modern British history. It was to remain the last general election victory for the Labour Party until 1997, with the Conservative Party winning majorities in the next four general elections. It would also be the last time Labour won more seats at a national election than the Conservatives until the 1989 European Parliament election. This remains the most recent General Election that Labour made net gains in seats whilst in government.
The narrowness of the majority meant that the Labour government saw a gradual loss of its majority by 1977 through a series of by-election losses and defections, thus requiring deals with the Liberals, the Ulster Unionists, the Scottish Nationalists and the Welsh Nationalists. It led to the eventual defeat of the government in a no-confidence motion in March 1979, six months before the mandatory dissolution of Parliament was set to take place.
This election was held just seven months after the previous general election, held in February 1974, had led to a hung parliament, with Labour winning 301 seats and the Conservatives left with 297. Following the inconclusive nature of coalition talks between the Conservatives and other parties such as the Liberals and the Ulster Unionists, the Labour Leader Harold Wilson went on to form a minority government.
The October campaign was not as vigorous or exciting as the one in February. Despite continuing high inflation, Labour boasted that it had ended the miners' strike, which had dogged Heath's premiership, and had returned some stability. The Conservative Party, led by Leader of the Opposition and former Prime Minister Edward Heath, released a manifesto promoting national unity, but its chances of forming a government were hindered by the Ulster Unionist Party refusing to take the Conservative whip at Westminster in response to the Sunningdale Agreement of 1973.
Both the Conservatives and the Liberals saw their vote share decline, and Heath, who had lost three of the four elections that he contested, was ousted as Conservative leader in February 1975 and replaced with future Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. The Scottish National Party won 30% of the Scottish popular vote and 11 of Scotland's 71 seats in the party's most successful general election result until 2015.
The election was broadcast live on the BBC and was presented by David Butler, Alastair Burnet, Robert McKenzie, Robin Day and Sue Lawley.
Since Jeremy Thorpe's death in December 2014, this is the latest election where all the three major party leaders have died.
Campaign
The brief period between the elections gave Wilson the opportunity to demonstrate reasonable progress. Despite high inflation and high balance-of-trade deficits, the miners' strike, which had dogged Heath was over, and some stability had been restored. After the February election, Heath had remained largely out of the public eye.
As was expected, the campaign was not as exciting as the one in February, and overall coverage by broadcasters was significantly scaled back. The Conservatives campaigned on a manifesto of national unity in response to the mood of the public. Labour campaigned on its recent successes in government, and although the party was divided over Europe, the party's strengths outweighed that of Heath, who knew that his future relied on an election victory. Devolution was a key issue for the Liberals and the Scottish National Party, and it was now one that the two main parties also felt the need to address. The Liberals did not issue a new manifesto but simply reissued the one they had created for the last election.
Timeline
Prime Minister Harold Wilson's decision to call a general election on 10 October was reported in the newspapers that were dated back to 9 September. The announcement was made through a ministerial broadcast on television on 18 September to announce that the election would be held on 10 October, less than eight months since the previous election. The key dates were as follows:
| Friday 20 September | Dissolution of the 46th Parliament and campaigning officially begins |
| Monday 30 September | Last day to file nomination papers |
| Wednesday 9 October | Campaigning officially ends |
| Thursday 10 October | Polling day |
| Friday 11 October | The Labour Party wins control with a majority of 3 |
| Tuesday 22 October | 47th Parliament assembles |
| Tuesday 29 October | State Opening of Parliament |
Results
Labour achieved a swing of 2% against the Conservatives. It was the first time since 1922 that a government had won an overall majority with less than 40% of the vote, albeit a majority of only three seats. The Conservatives won just under 36% of the vote, their worst share since 1918. A slight drop in the Liberals' vote saw them suffer a net loss of one seat. In Scotland, the Scottish National Party added another 4 seats to their successes in the previous election and became the fourth-largest party.
Turnout was 72.8%, which was a significant decline on the February election's 78.8% turnout. UK parliament.svg)
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|+ style="caption-side: bottom; font-weight:normal" |All parties shown.
|}
| Government's new majority | 3 |
| Total votes cast | 29,189,104 |
| Turnout | 72.8% |
Votes summary
Seats summary
Results by voter characteristics
| Labour | Conservative | Other | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ethnic minority (non-White) | 81% | 9% | 10% |
| Asian | 78% | 12% | n/a |
| Afro-Caribbean | 79% | 6% | n/a |
Incumbents defeated
See also
- Labour government, 1974–1979
- List of MPs elected in the October 1974 United Kingdom general election
- October 1974 United Kingdom general election in Northern Ireland
- October 1974 United Kingdom general election in Scotland
- October 1974 United Kingdom general election in England
Notes
- 1974 Oct: Wilson makes it four, 5 April 2005, BBC News, 8 June 2018
- 10 October 1974, BBC Politics 97, 8 June 2018
- Taylor, Stan, Layton‐Henry, Zig, 1980-03-01, Immigration and ethnic relations: Political aspects—no. 3, New Community, 8, 1-2, 138–145, 10.1080/1369183X.1980.9975621, 0047-9586, subscription
- 1974 Oct: Wilson makes it four, 5 April 2005, BBC News, 8 June 2018
- 10 October 1974, BBC Politics 97, 8 June 2018
- Taylor, Stan, Layton‐Henry, Zig, 1980-03-01, Immigration and ethnic relations: Political aspects—no. 3, New Community, 8, 1-2, 138–145, 10.1080/1369183X.1980.9975621, 0047-9586, subscription
References
- 1974 Oct: Wilson makes it four, 5 April 2005, BBC News, 8 June 2018
- 10 October 1974, BBC Politics 97, 8 June 2018
- Taylor, Stan, Layton‐Henry, Zig, 1980-03-01, Immigration and ethnic relations: Political aspects—no. 3, New Community, 8, 1-2, 138–145, 10.1080/1369183X.1980.9975621, 0047-9586, subscription
Further reading
- the standard scholarly study
External links
Manifestos
- Putting Britain First, October 1974 Conservative Party manifesto
- Britain Will Win With Labour, October 1974 Labour Party manifesto
- Why Britain Needs Liberal Government, October 1974 Liberal Party manifesto
Category:General elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom
General election
Category:October 1974 in the United Kingdom
Category:Harold Wilson
Category:Edward Heath
Category:History of the Labour Party (UK)