The February 1974 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 28 February 1974. The Labour Party, led by Leader of the Opposition and former Prime Minister Harold Wilson, gained 14 seats but was seventeen short of an overall majority. The Conservative Party, led by incumbent Prime Minister Edward Heath, lost 28 seats. That resulted in a hung parliament, the first since 1929. Heath sought a coalition with the Liberals, but the two parties failed to come to an agreement and so Wilson became Prime Minister for a second time, his first with a minority government. Wilson called another early election in September, which was held in October and resulted in a Labour majority. The February election was also the first general election to be held with the United Kingdom as a member state of the European Communities (EC), which was widely known as the "Common Market".
The October 1974 United Kingdom general election took place 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 that two general elections were held in the same year since 1910; and the first time that two general elections were 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 the Labour Party, led by Prime Minister Harold Wilson, winning a bare majority of three seats. That enabled the remainder of the Labour government to take place, but it saw a gradual loss of its majority.
Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council elections are generally held three years out of every four, with a third of the council being elected each time. Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council is the local authority for the metropolitan borough of Metropolitan Borough of Stockport in Greater Manchester, England. Since the last boundary changes in 2004, 63 councillors have been elected from 21 wards. New ward boundaries are being prepared to take effect from the 2023 election.
Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council elections are generally held three years out of every four, with a third of the council being elected each time. Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council, generally known as Trafford Council, is the local authority for the metropolitan borough of Trafford in Greater Manchester, England. Since the last boundary changes in 2023, 63 councillors have been elected from 21 wards.
One third of Crawley Borough Council in West Sussex, England is elected each year, followed by one year without election. Since the last boundary changes in 2019, 36 councillors have been elected from 13 wards.
Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council elections are generally held three years out of every four, with a third of the council being elected each time. Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council, generally known as Sefton Council, is the local authority for the metropolitan borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. Since the last boundary changes in 2004, 66 councillors have been elected from 22 wards.
Durham City Council elections were generally held every four years between the reforms of 1974 and the council's abolition in 2009. Durham was a non-metropolitan district in County Durham, England. On 1 April 2009 the council's functions passed to Durham County Council, which became a unitary authority.
Elections for Ipswich Borough Council were held on Thursday 1 May 2008. One third of the seats were up for election. The Labour Party won enough seats to become the largest party gaining 3 seats. The Conservatives had been the largest party since the 2006 Ipswich Council election. The results came as a stark contrast which saw the Conservatives make significant gains from Labour across the country. Particular disappointments for the Conservatives came when they lost Rushmere and Bridge to Labour and narrowly failed to gain St Margaret's from the Liberal Democrats, while narrowly holding onto St John's by a mere 3 votes. Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats lost Whitehouse.
The 2011 United Kingdom local elections was held on Thursday May 5. In England, direct elections were held in all 36 Metropolitan boroughs, 194 Second-tier district authorities, 49 unitary authorities and various mayoral posts, meaning local elections took place in all parts of England with the exception of seven unitary authorities, and seven districts and boroughs. For the majority of English districts and the 25 unitary authorities that are elected "all out" these were the first elections since 2007. In Northern Ireland, there were elections to all 26 local councils. Elections also took place to most English parish councils.
The 1976 Broxbourne Council election was held to elect council members of the Broxbourne Borough Council, the local government authority of the borough of Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, England.
Elections to the Wigan council were held on Thursday, 8 May 1986, with one third of the seats scheduled for re-election. Since the previous election three by-elections had taken place, with Labour gaining the seat being fought in Orrell from the Conservatives as well as holding their seats in Bedford-Astley and Beech Hill. The election seen fewer contestants than any previous election since the council's creation in 1973, with a record of four seats unchallenged. Even amongst those contested there were no minor parties represented, the fewest Alliance candidates since the 1980 election and a record low of Conservative contenders at sixteen. The results were similarly record-breaking as Labour won twenty two seats, with the Conservative and Alliance majorities in their respective heartland wards - and only holds - of Swinley and Langtree reduced to slender majorities. Labour won a high of 65% share of the vote, conversely the Conservatives share fell to a low of 13.1%, with their actual vote dropping into four figures for the first time. Overall turnout rose from the preceding year's underwhelming figure of 29.2%, to a more commonplace 35.8%.
Elections to the Wigan council were held on Thursday, 5 May 1994, with one third of the seats up for election. Prior to the election, Labour had defended their seats in two by-elections for Abram and Hindley. The election suffered from a mixture of a poor contesting rate and low voter turnout. The number of candidates contesting was just 50, the lowest since 1975, with four wards going unopposed, and Lib Dems back to fighting a half of the seats, and the Conservatives less than two-thirds. The only other opposition standing were three Independent Labour candidates, one of which was the previous - but since deselected - Labour incumbent for the seat being fought in Worsley Mesnes. Voter turnout rose from the previous election's nadir, but at 30.4%, still well below average.
Elections to Wigan council were held on Thursday, 2 May 1996, with an extra vacancy in Abram to be filled. Going into the election there were noticeably fewer candidates than usual, with the total candidate number and the five uncontested wards only narrowly lower than the all-time lows set at the 1990 election. This was mainly caused by the lack of any minor party candidates, and the Liberal Democrat slate dropping by half upon the previous election, to seven - their scarcest outing since their lowest ebb throughout their merger in 1990, but more reminiscent of their patchy participation of the seventies. Turnout had been consistently poor in recent elections, and this election continued the downward trend, dropping below a quarter of the electorate for the second time to 24.2%.
The Leeds City Council elections were held on Thursday, 7 May 1992, with one third of the council's seats up for election.
The 1991 Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council elections were held on Thursday, 2 May 1991, with one third of the council as well as a double vacancy in St. Alphege to be elected. There had been a by-election in the interim, with the Independent Ratepayers & Residents gaining a seat in Shirley West from the Conservatives. The council fell to no overall control for the first time since its creation in 1973. Voter turnout was 46.0%.
Wirral Council is the local authority of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. Wirral is a metropolitan borough, one of five in Merseyside, and provides the majority of local government services in Wirral. The council is a constituent member of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority.
Elections to Wiltshire County Council were held on Thursday, 5 May 1977. The whole council of 79 members was up for election and the result was that the Conservatives took overall control, winning 57 seats, a gain of 17. They had previously had to rely on Independents. Labour ended with 14 county councillors, the Liberals and Independents four each.
The European Union (Referendum) Act 2016 was an Act of the Gibraltar Parliament, which implements the United Kingdom's European Union Referendum Act 2015 in Gibraltar. It was the first time a referendum has been held in Gibraltar on the issue of continued EU membership since the territory joined along with the United Kingdom in 1973 and was the first time that any British Overseas Territory had participated in a UK-wide referendum. The Act commenced on 26 January 2016, and received assent from the Governor of Gibraltar on 28 January 2016.
The 2018 Newham London Borough Council election was held on 3 May 2018 to elect members of Newham London Borough Council in England. This was on the same day as other local elections.
The 1987 West Dorset District Council election was held on Thursday 7 May 1987 to elect councillors to West Dorset District Council in England. It took place on the same day as other district council elections in the United Kingdom. The entire council was up for election as West Dorset returned to whole councils elections, after previously having been elected in thirds.
