The Labour Party is an centre-left political party in the United Kingdom. Formed in 1900, it is one of the two main political parties along with the Conservative Party. In all general elections since 1918, Labour has been either the governing party or the Official Opposition. Since the 2010 general election, Labour was the second largest party in the UK for 14 years until the 2024 United Kingdom General election. Since 1918, Labour have formed 13 governments.
This article encompasses detailed results of previous UK general elections, devolved national elections in Scotland and Wales, devolved London elections and European Parliament elections which the Labour Party have participated in.
The Labour Party was founded at a conference in February 1900 in London as the Labour Representation Committee (LRC). [1] The party was formed as an alliance between trade unions, ethical socialists and state socialists. [1] Following the 1906 general election, the LRC became the current Labour Party. [2]
Labour are one of the two main political parties in the United Kingdom, along with the Conservative Party. The Labour Party sits on the centre-left of the political spectrum. [8] In all general elections since 1918, Labour has been either the governing party or the Official Opposition. [9] There have been six Labour prime ministers. [7] Since 1918, Labour have formed 12 governments, compared to 13 for the Conservatives within this period. [10]
The voting system for general elections in the UK is the first past the post system. [11] The first general election the party faced, then the Labour Representation Committee, was only six months after the inauguration of the party. [12] Fifteen LRC candidates were put forward for the election, two of which were elected in 1900. [12] In 1903, the Secretary of the LRC Ramsay MacDonald and the Liberal Party's Chief Whip Herbert Gladstone formed a secret electoral pact between the two parties. [13] The party continued to grow over the following decade and by the December 1910 general election, Labour had 42 MPs. [14] [15]
Following the 1918 general election, Labour became the Official Opposition after the Conservatives went into coalition with the Liberal Party. [9] Labour's first minority governments came following the 1923 and 1929 general elections, the latter being the first time Labour were the largest party in parliament by seats won. [9] They formed their first majority government following the 1945 general election. [9] However, after winning the 1950 general election, Labour would lose the following election in 1951 to the Conservatives despite gaining their highest share of votes to date at 48.8%. [9] During the 1983 election, Labour posted their worst vote share in the post-war period at 27.6%. [9] In 1997, a party record of 418 Labour MPs were elected. [9] After losing power after the 2010 general election, Labour lost four consecutive general elections. [16] [9] At the 2019 general election, 202 Labour MPs were elected, the lowest for the party since 1935. [9] At the 2024 general election, Labour returned to power after winning the election with a 174 seat majority. [17]
Election | Leader [18] | Votes | Seats | Position | Result | Ref | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. | Share | No. | ± | Share | |||||
1900 | Keir Hardie | 62,698 | 1.8 | 2 / 670 | 2 | 0.3 | 4th | Conservative–Liberal Unionist | [19] |
1906 | 321,663 | 5.7 | 29 / 670 | 27 | 4.3 | 4th | Liberal | [20] | |
January 1910 | Arthur Henderson | 505,657 | 7.6 | 40 / 670 | 11 | 6.0 | 4th | Liberal minority | [21] |
December 1910 | George Nicoll Barnes | 371,802 | 7.1 | 42 / 670 | 2 | 6.3 | 4th | Liberal minority | [15] |
1918 [lower-alpha 1] | William Adamson | 2,245,777 | 20.8 | 57 / 707 | 15 | 8.1 | 4th | Coalition Liberal–Conservative | [25] |
1922 | J. R. Clynes | 4,237,349 | 29.7 | 142 / 615 | 85 | 23.1 | 2nd | Conservative | [27] |
1923 | Ramsay MacDonald | 4,439,780 | 30.7 | 191 / 615 | 49 | 30.1 | 2nd | Labour minority | [29] |
1924 | 5,489,087 | 33.3 | 151 / 615 | 40 | 24.6 | 2nd | Conservative | [31] | |
1929 [lower-alpha 2] | 8,370,417 | 37.1 | 287 / 615 | 136 | 47.0 | 1st | Labour minority | [34] | |
1931 | Arthur Henderson | 6,649,630 | 30.9 | 52 / 615 | 235 | 8.5 | 2nd | Conservative–Liberal–National Labour | [36] |
1935 | Clement Attlee | 8,325,491 | 38.0 | 154 / 615 | 102 | 25.0 | 2nd | Conservative–Liberal National–National Labour | [38] |
1945 | 11,967,746 | 48.0 | 393 / 640 | 239 | 61.0 | 1st | Labour | [23] | |
1950 | 13,266,176 | 46.1 | 315 / 625 | 78 | 50.4 | 1st | Labour | [23] | |
1951 | 13,948,883 | 48.8 | 295 / 625 | 20 | 47.2 | 2nd | Conservative | [23] | |
1955 | 12,405,254 | 46.4 | 277 / 630 | 18 | 44.0 | 2nd | Conservative | [23] | |
1959 | Hugh Gaitskell | 12,216,172 | 43.8 | 258 / 630 | 19 | 40.1 | 2nd | Conservative | [23] |
1964 | Harold Wilson | 12,205,808 | 44.1 | 317 / 630 | 59 | 50.3 | 1st | Labour | [23] |
1966 | 13,096,629 | 48.0 | 364 / 630 | 47 | 57.8 | 1st | Labour | [23] | |
1970 [lower-alpha 3] | 12,208,758 | 43.1 | 288 / 630 | 76 | 45.7 | 2nd | Conservative | [23] | |
February 1974 | 11,645,616 | 37.2 | 301 / 635 | 13 | 47.4 | 1st | Labour minority | [23] | |
October 1974 | 11,457,079 | 39.3 | 319 / 635 | 18 | 50.2 | 1st | Labour | [23] | |
1979 | James Callaghan | 11,532,218 | 36.9 | 269 / 635 | 50 | 42.4 | 2nd | Conservative | [23] |
1983 | Michael Foot | 8,456,934 | 27.6 | 209 / 650 | 60 | 32.2 | 2nd | Conservative | [40] |
1987 | Neil Kinnock | 10,029,807 | 30.8 | 229 / 650 | 20 | 35.2 | 2nd | Conservative | [41] |
1992 | 11,560,484 | 34.4 | 271 / 651 | 42 | 41.6 | 2nd | Conservative | [42] | |
1997 | Tony Blair | 13,518,167 | 43.2 | 418 / 659 | 145 | 63.6 | 1st | Labour | [43] |
2001 | 10,724,953 | 40.7 | 412 / 659 | 6 | 62.7 | 1st | Labour | [44] | |
2005 | 9,552,436 | 35.2 | 355 / 646 | 47 | 55.0 | 1st | Labour | [45] | |
2010 | Gordon Brown | 8,606,517 | 29.0 | 258 / 650 | 90 | 40.0 | 2nd | Conservative–Liberal Democrats [46] | [47] |
2015 | Ed Miliband | 9,347,324 | 30.4 | 232 / 650 | 26 | 35.7 | 2nd | Conservative | [50] |
2017 | Jeremy Corbyn | 12,877,918 | 40.0 | 262 / 650 | 30 | 40.3 | 2nd | Conservative minority (with DUP confidence and supply) [51] | [52] |
2019 | 10,269,051 | 32.1 | 202 / 650 | 60 | 31.1 | 2nd | Conservative | [53] | |
2024 | Keir Starmer | 9,704,655 | 33.7 | 411 / 650 | 209 | 63.2 | 1st | Labour | [54] |
Following a referendum on devolution in September 1997, the Scottish people voted 'Yes' leading to the Scotland Act 1998. [55] [56] This act led to the formation of the Scottish Parliament in 1999. [57] After Scotland voted 'No' in the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, additional powers were devolved to the Scottish Parliament after the Scotland Act 2016 reached royal assent. [56] Elections to determine the composition of the Parliament take place once every five years under the additional member system. [57] Overall, there are 73 constituency members (MSPs) and 56 regional members elected. [57] Before 2016, elections were held every four years. [57]
In the inaugural two elections, Labour were the largest party and formed a coalition with the Scottish Liberal Democrats on both occasions. [57] However, Labour narrowly lost the 2007 election to the Scottish National Party (SNP). [57] By seats won, Labour have been the third largest party in the Scottish Parliament behind the SNP and Conservatives since 2016. [57] In the most recent election in 2021, Labour suffered their worst defeat in Holyrood after returning 22 MSPs. [58]
Year | Leader | Votes | % share of votes (constituency) | % share of votes (list) | Seats | Change | Position | Resulting government | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1999 | Donald Dewar | 908,346 | 38.8 | 33.6 | 56 / 129 | — | 1st | Labour–Liberal Democrats | [57] |
2003 | Jack McConnell | 663,585 | 34.6 | 29.3 | 50 / 129 | 6 | 1st | Labour–Liberal Democrats | [57] |
2007 | 648,374 | 32.1 | 29.2 | 46 / 129 | 4 | 2nd | SNP minority | [57] | |
2011 | Iain Gray | 630,461 | 31.7 | 26.3 | 37 / 129 | 9 | 2nd | SNP majority | [57] |
2016 | Kezia Dugdale | 514,261 | 22.6 | 19.1 | 24 / 129 | 13 | 3rd | SNP minority | [57] |
2021 | Anas Sarwar | 584,392 | 21.7 | 18.9 | 22 / 129 | 2 | 3rd | SNP minority [lower-alpha 1] | [57] |
As part of Labour's 1997 winning UK general election manifesto, Labour committed to devolving power to Wales and Scotland subject to public consent from referendums. [60] In July 1997, Labour released its white paper for devolution in Wales. [60] This devolution deal would include 60 elected members who would take responsibility for £7 billion of funding. [60] Furthermore, this new Assembly would have the right to pass secondary legislation in order to modify already existing laws. [60] The devolution plans were endorsed by the public in the 1997 Welsh devolution referendum by 50.3% of the vote. [60] The Government of Wales Act 1998 would receive royal assent with the Assembly to be formed following the first election in May 1999. [60]
In 1999, the Welsh Assembly or Senedd Cymru was founded. [61] From 1999 until 2011, Welsh Assembly elections were held once every four years, they are now held every five years. [61] 40 Constituency Assembly Members (AMs) and 20 regional Assembly Members are elected at each election. [61] The current voting system is the additional member system. [61]
At every Senedd election, Labour has received the most votes and seats at each election, but has never formed a clear majority of seats. [61] Labour formed a coalition with the Welsh Liberal Democrats from 2000 to 2003. [61] From 2003 to 2007, Labour governed alone as a minority administration before serving in coalition with Plaid Cymru from 2007 to 2011. [61] Labour have governed alone as a minority administration since 2011. [61] Since 2021, Labour have had a formal cooperation agreement with Plaid Cymru to help pass budgets and to work together on several policy areas. [62]
Year | Leader [60] [63] | % share of votes (constituency) | % share of votes (list) | Seats won | Change | Position | Resulting government | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1999 | Alun Michael | 37.6 | 35.4 | 28 / 60 | — | 1st | Labour–Liberal Democrats [lower-alpha 1] | [61] |
2003 | Rhodri Morgan | 40.0 | 36.6 | 30 / 60 | 2 | 1st | Labour minority | [61] |
2007 | 32.2 | 29.6 | 26 / 60 | 4 | 1st | Labour–Plaid Cymru | [61] | |
2011 | Carwyn Jones | 42.3 | 36.9 | 30 / 60 | 4 | 1st | Labour minority | [61] |
2016 | 34.7 | 31.5 | 29 / 60 | 1 | 1st | Labour minority | [61] | |
2021 | Mark Drakeford | 39.9 | 36.2 | 30 / 60 | 1 | 1st | Labour minority | [61] |
London Assembly elections are held every four years. [64] Overall, there are 14 constituency members and 11 London-wide members who are elected by a party-list system. [64] The voting system is the additional member system. [64] [65] The assembly holds the mayor of London to account through London Assembly committees and also votes on the mayor's budget. [65] The first London Assembly election was held in 2000. [64] Labour gained the most seats out of all of the parties in 2012 (12), 2016 (12), 2021 (11) and 2024 (11). [64] [66]
Year | Assembly leader | % share of votes (constituency) | % share of votes (list) | Seats | Change | Position | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2000 | Toby Harris | 31.6 | 30.3 | 9 / 25 | — | 1st | [64] |
2004 | 24.7 | 25.0 | 7 / 25 | 2 | 2nd | [64] | |
2008 | Len Duvall | 28.0 | 27.6 | 8 / 25 | 1 | 2nd | [64] |
2012 | 42.3 | 41.1 | 12 / 25 | 4 | 1st | [64] | |
2016 | 42.3 | 41.1 | 12 / 25 | 1st | [64] | ||
2021 [lower-alpha 1] | 41.7 | 38.1 | 11 / 25 | 1 | 1st | [64] | |
2024 | 39.8 | 38.4 | 11 / 25 | 1st | [66] |
Elections to decide the Mayor of London have taken place since 2000. [67] Ken Livingstone won the inaugural mayoral election as an independent candidate, ahead of the Conservative Party in second place and the Labour Party in third. He would later become the candidate for Labour in 2004, 2008 and 2012. [67] Livingstone won for Labour in 2004 before losing to the Conservative candidate, Boris Johnson in both 2008 and 2012. [67] These elections take place every four years with the incumbent mayor being Sadiq Khan of the Labour Party since 2016. [67] The voting system for the mayoral elections from 2000 until 2021 was the supplementary vote system. [67] However, for the election in 2024, the first past the post system was used instead. [67] In 2024, Khan won a third successive term. [68]
Year | Mayoral candidate | Vote total | Vote share (%) | Mayoralty | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2000 | Frank Dobson | – | – | [67] | |
2004 | Ken Livingstone | 828,390 | 55.4 | [67] | |
2008 | 1,029,406 | 46.8 | [67] | ||
2012 | 992,273 | 48.5 | [67] | ||
2016 | Sadiq Khan | 1,310,143 | 56.8 | [67] | |
2021 [lower-alpha 1] | 1,206,034 | 55.2 | [67] | ||
2024 | 1,088,225 | 43.8 | [69] |
The first 'combined authority elections' took place in 2017 to determine six elected mayors (Metro-mayors) of different combined authorities in England. [70] These elections stemmed from the 'devolution deals' policy announced by George Osborne in 2014. [70] Combined authorities are local government institutions formed by two or more local councils. [71]
The system of voting for these elections was originally the supplementary vote system. [70] Ahead of the 2023 local elections, the first past the post system replaced the supplementary vote system for future combined authority elections. [72] As of August 2024, there are ten Labour Party Metro Mayors in: Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, Greater Manchester, East Midlands, Liverpool City region, North-East, Sheffield City region, West Midlands, West of England, West Yorkshire and York and North Yorkshire. [73] Comparatively, there is one Conservative Party Metro Mayor which is in the Tees Valley region. [73]
Year | Mayoralties won | Change | Ref |
---|---|---|---|
2017 | 2 / 6 | 2 | [74] |
2018 | 1 / 1 | 1 | [75] |
2019 | 1 / 1 | 1 | [76] |
2021 | 5 / 7 | 2 | [77] |
2022 | 1 / 1 | 1 | [78] |
2024 | 8 / 9 | 1 | [79] |
During the UK's membership of the European Union (1973–2020), the UK participated in European Parliament elections, held every five years from 1979 until 2019. [80] Elections to the European Parliament began in 1979, and were held under the first past the post system until the 1994 election. [80] From 1999 onwards, a regional list system of proportional representation system was used. [80]
Labour's best result was the 1994 election in terms of numbers of MEPs elected (62/87) and vote share (44%). [80] The party earned more votes in 2004 than in 1999 but their vote share fell due to a higher turnout. [80] In 2009, Labour finished behind the Conservatives and UKIP. [80]
Year | Leader [18] | Votes | % share of votes | Seats | Change | Position | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1979 | James Callaghan | 4,253,207 | 33 | 17 / 81 | — | 2nd | [80] |
1984 | Neil Kinnock | 4,865,261 | 37 | 32 / 81 | 15 | 2nd | [80] |
1989 | 6,153,661 | 40 | 45 / 81 | 13 | 1st | [80] | |
1994 | Margaret Beckett [lower-alpha 1] | 6,753,881 | 44 | 62 / 87 | 17 | 1st | [80] |
1999 [lower-alpha 2] [80] | Tony Blair | 2,803,820 | 28.0 [81] | 29 / 87 | 33 | 2nd | [80] |
2004 | 3,718,683 | 22.6 [82] | 19 / 78 | 10 | 2nd | [80] | |
2009 | Gordon Brown | 2,381,760 | 15.7 [83] | 13 / 72 | 6 | 3rd | [80] |
2014 | Ed Miliband | 4,020,646 | 25.4 [84] | 20 / 73 | 7 | 2nd | [80] |
2019 | Jeremy Corbyn | 2,347,255 | 14.1 [85] | 10 / 73 | 10 | 3rd | [80] |
The 2004 European Parliament election was the United Kingdom's part of the wider 2004 European Parliament election which was held between 10 and 13 June 2004 in the 25 member states of the European Union. The United Kingdom's part of this election was held on Thursday 10 June 2004. The election also coincided with the 2004 local elections and the London Assembly and mayoral elections. In total, 78 Members of the European Parliament were elected from the United Kingdom using proportional representation.
North East Fife is a county constituency in Fife, Scotland, represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament by Wendy Chamberlain of the Liberal Democrats since the 2019 general election.
Boston and Skegness is a constituency in Lincolnshire represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament by Richard Tice of Reform UK since the 2024 general election. Like all British constituencies, it elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first-past-the-post system of election. Prior to Tice's election, it was considered a safe seat for the Conservatives.
Richmond (Yorks) was a constituency in North Yorkshire in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. It was represented from 1910 by members of the Conservative Party. The last MP for Richmond was Rishi Sunak, the former Prime Minister and Conservative leader from 2022 to 2024.
Sleaford and North Hykeham is a parliamentary constituency in Lincolnshire, England which elects a single Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. It has been represented since 2016 by Dr Caroline Johnson, who is a member of the Conservative Party. The seat was created in 1997 and has always been represented by Members of Parliament (MPs) from the Conservative Party; like all British constituencies, it elects one candidate by the first-past-the-post voting system. Johnson became the MP for the constituency after a by-election in December 2016, following the resignation of the previous MP for the seat, Stephen Phillips. The constituency is considered a safe seat for the Conservatives.
Tooting is a constituency created in 1974 in Greater London. It is represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2016 by Dr. Rosena Allin-Khan, a member of the Labour Party.
English votes for English laws (EVEL) was a set of procedures of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom whereby legislation that affected only England required the support of a majority of MPs representing English constituencies. The procedures were in place between 2015 and 2021. They were developed following devolution in the United Kingdom as a result of the West Lothian question, a concern about the perceived inequity of MPs from Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, sitting in the House of Commons being able to vote on matters that affected only England, while MPs from England were unable to vote on matters that had been devolved to the Northern Ireland Assembly, the Scottish Parliament and the Senedd.
Peckham is a borough constituency in South London which returns one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Elections are held using the first-past-the-post voting system.
The region of South West England is divided into 58 parliamentary constituencies, which are made up of 16 borough constituencies and 42 county constituencies. Since the general election of July 2024, 24 are represented by Labour MPs, 22 by Liberal Democrat MPs, 11 by Conservative MPs, and 1 by a Green MP.
The Labour Party is a political party in the United Kingdom that sits on the centre-left of the political spectrum. In a broader sense, the party has been described as an alliance of social democrats, democratic socialists and trade unionists. It is the governing party of the United Kingdom, having won the 2024 general election, and is currently the largest political party by number of votes cast and number of seats in the House of Commons. There have been seven Labour prime ministers and fourteen Labour ministries. The party traditionally holds the annual Labour Party Conference during party conference season, at which senior Labour figures promote party policy.
There are five types of elections in England: elections to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, elections to the devolved London Assembly, local council elections, metro mayor elections, and the Police and crime commissioner elections, in addition to by-elections for each aforementioned election. Elections are held on Election Day, which is conventionally a Thursday.
The region of North East England is divided into 27 parliamentary constituencies which is made up of 11 borough constituencies and 16 county constituencies. Since the 2024 general election, 26 are represented by Labour MPs and one by a Conservative MP.
The region of the East of England is divided into 61 parliamentary constituencies which is made up of 14 borough constituencies and 47 county constituencies. Since the general election of July 2024, 27 are represented by Labour MPs, 23 by Conservative MPs, seven by Liberal Democrat MPs, three by Reform UK MPs, and one by a Green MP.
The region of South East England is divided into 91 parliamentary constituencies, which are made up of 27 borough constituencies and 64 county constituencies. Since the general election of July 2024, 35 are represented by Labour MPs, 30 by Conservative MPs, 24 by Liberal Democrat MPs, 1 by a Green MP, and 1 by an independent MP.
The Conservative Party, officially the Conservative and Unionist Party and also known colloquially as the Tories, is one of the two main political parties in the United Kingdom, along with the Labour Party, and has been described as both right-wing and centre-right.
A crushing election defeat for Britain's Labour party has laid bare the dilemma facing Europe's centre-left.