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This is a list of United Kingdom general elections since 1802. For by-election results see List of UK by-elections. For information on UK elections in general, see Elections in the United Kingdom.
Election results
The right to vote was severely restricted at first, and that universal suffrage on an equal basis for men and women over the age of 21 was not established until 1929. Until 1918, general elections did not occur on a single day and polling was spread over several weeks. The date given in the table before 1918 is the date Parliament assembled after the election which could be in the year after the general election.
| Election | Date | Consequent Prime Minister(s) | Party | Majority
|
| 1802 (MPs)
| 22 July 1802
| Henry Addington
William Pitt the Younger
| Tory
|
|
| 1806 (MPs)
| 17 November 1806
| The Lord Grenville
| Whig
|
|
| 1807 (MPs)
|
| The Duke of Portland
Spencer Perceval
The Earl of Liverpool
| Tory
|
|
| 1818 (MPs)
|
| The Earl of Liverpool
| Tory
|
|
| 1820 (MPs)
| 16 January 1821
| The Earl of Liverpool
| Tory
|
|
| 1826 (MPs)
| 19 June 1826
| The Earl of Liverpool
George Canning
The Viscount Goderich
The Duke of Wellington
| Tory
|
|
| 1830 (MPs)
| 9 August 1830
| The Earl Grey
| Whig
|
|
| 1831 (MPs)
| 25 July 1831
| The Earl Grey
| Whig
|
|
At this point, the Reform Act 1832 gave suffrage to propertied
male adults and disenfranchised almost all of the rotten boroughs.
|
| 1832 (MPs)
| 29 January 1833
| The Earl Grey
The Viscount Melbourne
Robert Peel
| Whig
|
|
| 1835 (MPs)
| 19 February 1835
| The Viscount Melbourne
| Whig
|
|
| 1837 (MPs)
| 15 November 1837
| The Viscount Melbourne
| Whig
|
|
| 1841 (MPs)
| 19 August 1841
| Robert Peel
| Conservative
|
|
| 1847 (MPs)
| 9 August 1847
| Lord John Russell
| Whig
|
|
| 1852 (MPs)
| 4 November 1852
| The Earl of Derby
The Earl of Aberdeen
| Conservative
|
|
| 1857 (MPs)
| 30 April 1857
| The Viscount Palmerston
| Liberal
|
|
| 1859 (MPs)
| 31 May 1859
| The Viscount Palmerston
| Liberal
|
|
| 1865 (MPs)
| 1 February 1866
| The Earl Russell
The Earl of Derby
Benjamin Disraeli
| Liberal
|
|
At this point, the Reform Act 1867 significantly widened the suffrage
and disenfranchised more smaller boroughs.
|
| 1868 (MPs)
| 10 December 1868
| William Ewart Gladstone
|
|
|
| 1874 (MPs)
| 5 March 1874
| Benjamin Disraeli
| Conservative
|
|
| 1880 (MPs)
| 29 April 1880
| William Ewart Gladstone
| Liberal
|
|
| 1885 (MPs)
| 12 January 1886
| The Marquess of Salisbury
William Ewart Gladstone
|
|
|
| 1886 (MPs)
| 5 August 1886
| The Marquess of Salisbury
| Conservative
|
|
| 1892 (MPs)
| 4 August 1892
| William Ewart Gladstone
The Earl of Rosebery
| Liberal
|
|
| 1895 (MPs)
| 12 August 1895
| The Marquess of Salisbury
| Conservative
|
|
| 1900 (MPs)
| 3 December 1900
| The Marquess of Salisbury
Arthur Balfour
| Conservative
|
|
| 1906 (MPs)
| February 13 1906
| Henry Campbell-Bannerman
Herbert Henry Asquith
| Liberal
|
|
| January 1910 (MPs)
| 15 February 1910
| Herbert Henry Asquith
| Liberal
|
|
| December 1910 (MPs)
| 31 January 1911
| Herbert Henry Asquith
David Lloyd George
| Liberal
|
|
At this point, the Representation of the People Act 1918 gave suffrage
to most of the adult population (men over 21, women over 30).
|
| 1918 (MPs)
| 14 December, 1918
| David Lloyd George
| Liberal (Coalition Government)
| 238
|
| 1922 (MPs)
| 15 November, 1922
| Andrew Bonar Law
Stanley Baldwin
| Conservative
| 74
|
| 1923 (MPs)
| 6 December, 1923
| James Ramsay MacDonald
| Labour
| −98
|
| 1924 (MPs)
| 29 October, 1924
| Stanley Baldwin
| Conservative
| 210
|
At this point, the Representation of the People Act 1928 gave Universal suffrage
to the adult population over 21.
|
| 1929 (MPs)
| 30 May, 1929
| James Ramsay MacDonald
| Labour
| −42
|
| 1931 (MPs)
| 27 October, 1931
| James Ramsay MacDonald
| National Labour (National Government)
| 492
|
| 1935 (MPs)
| 14 November, 1935
| Stanley Baldwin
Neville Chamberlain
Winston Churchill
| Conservative (National Government)
| 242
|
| 1945 (MPs)
| 5 July, 1945
| Clement Attlee
| Labour
| 146
|
| At this point, the Representation of the People Act 1948 abolished plural voting, university constituencies and the few remaining two member constituencies.
|
| 1950 (MPs)
| 23 February, 1950
| Clement Attlee
| Labour
| 5
|
| 1951 (MPs)
| 25 October, 1951
| Sir Winston Churchill
| Conservative
| 17
|
| 1955 (MPs)
| 26 May, 1955
| Sir Anthony Eden
Harold Macmillan
| Conservative
| 54
|
| 1959 (MPs)
| 8 October, 1959
| Harold Macmillan
The Earl of Home
| Conservative
| 100
|
| 1964 (MPs)
| 15 October, 1964
| Harold Wilson
| Labour
| 5
|
| 1966 (MPs)
| 31 March, 1966
| Harold Wilson
| Labour
| 96
|
| 1970 (MPs)
| 18 June, 1970
| Edward Heath
| Conservative
| 31
|
At this point, the Representation of the People Act 1969 gave suffrage
to the adult population over 18.
|
| February 1974 (MPs)
| 28 February, 1974
| Harold Wilson
| Labour
| −33
|
| October 1974 (MPs)
| 10 October, 1974
| Harold Wilson
James Callaghan
| Labour
| 3
|
| 1979 (MPs)
| 3 May, 1979
| Margaret Thatcher
| Conservative
| 43
|
| 1983 (MPs)
| 9 June, 1983
| Margaret Thatcher
| Conservative
| 144
|
| 1987 (MPs)
| 11 June, 1987
| Margaret Thatcher
John Major
| Conservative
| 102
|
| 1992 (MPs)
| 9 April, 1992
| John Major
| Conservative
| 21
|
| 1997 (MPs)
| 1 May, 1997
| Tony Blair
| Labour
| 179
|
| 2001 (MPs)
| 7 June, 2001
| Tony Blair
| Labour
| 167
|
| 2005 (MPs)
| 5 May, 2005
| Tony Blair
| Labour
| 66
|
Note: A negative majority means that there was a hung parliament (or minority parliament) following that election. For example, in the 1929 election, Labour was 42 seats short of forming a majority, and so its majority is listed as −42.
Template:British elections
See also