This is a list of the British Conservative Party general election manifestos since 1900. From 1900 to 1945, the Conservative Party general election manifesto was usually published as a form of a short personal address by the leader of the party. From 1950 the party published a more formal document.
| Election | Leader | Election winner | Manifesto title | Link to text |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Rishi Sunak | Labour | Clear Plan. Bold Action. Secure Future. | |
| 2019 | Boris Johnson | Conservative | Get Brexit Done: Unleash Britain's Potential | |
| 2017 | Theresa May | Hung (Conservative with DUP confidence & supply) | Forward, Together: Our Plan for a Stronger Britain and a Prosperous Future | |
| 2015 | David Cameron | Conservative | Strong Leadership. A Clear Economic Plan. A Brighter, More Secure Future. | |
| 2010 | David Cameron | Hung (Conservative-led coalition) | Invitation to Join the Government of Britain | |
| 2005 | Michael Howard | Labour | Are You Thinking What We're Thinking? | |
| 2001 | William Hague | Labour | Time for Common Sense | |
| 1997 | John Major | Labour | You Can Only Be Sure with the Conservatives | |
| 1992 | John Major | Conservative | The Best Future for Britain | |
| 1987 | Margaret Thatcher | Conservative | The Next Moves Forward | |
| 1983 | Margaret Thatcher | Conservative | The Challenge of Our Times | |
| 1979 | Margaret Thatcher | Conservative | 1979 Conservative Party General Election Manifesto | |
| October 1974 | Edward Heath | Labour | Putting Britain First | |
| February 1974 | Edward Heath | Hung (Labour) | Firm Action for a Fair Britain | |
| 1970 | Edward Heath | Conservative | A Better Tomorrow | |
| 1966 | Edward Heath | Labour | Action Not Words: The New Conservative Programme | |
| 1964 | Alec Douglas-Home | Labour | Prosperity with a Purpose | |
| 1959 | Harold Macmillan | Conservative | The Next Five Years | |
| 1955 | Anthony Eden | Conservative | United for Peace and Progress | |
| 1951 | Winston Churchill | Conservative | 1951 Conservative Party General Election Manifesto | |
| 1950 | Winston Churchill | Labour | This Is the Road | |
| 1945 | Winston Churchill | Labour | Winston Churchill's Declaration of Policy to the Electors | |
| 1935 | Stanley Baldwin | National Government | A Call to the Nation | |
| 1931 | Stanley Baldwin | National Government | The Nation's Duty | |
| 1929 | Stanley Baldwin | Hung (Labour) | Stanley Baldwin's Election Address | |
| 1924 | Stanley Baldwin | Conservative | Stanley Baldwin's Election Address | |
| 1923 | Stanley Baldwin | Hung (Labour) | Stanley Baldwin's Election Address | |
| 1922 | Bonar Law | Conservative | Andrew Bonar Law's Election Address | |
| 1918 | Bonar Law | Hung (Conservative-dominated coalition) | The Manifesto of Lloyd George and Bonar Law | |
| December 1910 | Arthur Balfour | Hung (Liberal with Irish Nationalist support) | Arthur Balfour's Election Address | |
| January 1910 | Arthur Balfour | Hung (Liberal with Irish Nationalist support) | Arthur Balfour's Election Address | |
| 1906 | Arthur Balfour | Liberal | Arthur Balfour's Election Address | |
| 1900 | Lord Salisbury | Conservative | The Manifesto of the Marquess of Salisbury |
The 1997 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday, 1 May 1997. The governing Conservative Party led by Prime Minister John Major was defeated in a landslide by the opposition Labour Party led by Tony Blair, achieving a 179-seat majority and a total of 418 seats. This was the first victory for the Labour party in a general election in nearly 23 years, its previous one registering a majority of 3 seats in October 1974 under the leadership of Harold Wilson. It was also Labour's first comprehensive victory over the Conservatives since the 1966 election, which had produced a 100-seat majority. This election also marked Labour's highest vote share since the 1970 election and its second highest total number of votes in history. On the other hand, it was an ignominious end to the 18-year government of the Conservatives, the longest continuous period of government of any party in modern British history. This election marked the third-largest defeat ever suffered by the Conservatives with the party left with just 165 seats—it was left devoid of any MPs outside England, with only 17 MPs north of the Midlands, and with less than 20% of MPs in London. Additionally, the party also registered its lowest share of the vote since 1832 as well as its lowest vote in absolute terms since 1929.
The 1979 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 3 May 1979 to elect 635 members to the House of Commons. The election was held following the defeat of the Labour government in a no-confidence motion on 28th March 1979, six months before the Parliament was due for dissolution in October 1979.
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 1945 United Kingdom general election was a national election held on Thursday 5 July 1945, but polling in some constituencies was delayed by some days, and the counting of votes was delayed until 26 July to provide time for overseas votes to be brought to Britain. The governing Conservative Party sought to maintain its position in Parliament but faced challenges from public opinion about the future of the United Kingdom in the post-war period. Prime Minister Winston Churchill proposed to call for a general election in Parliament, which passed with a majority vote less than two months after the conclusion of the Second World War in Europe.
The 1966 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 31 March 1966. The result was a landslide victory for the Labour Party led by incumbent Prime Minister Harold Wilson.
The 1950 United Kingdom general election was the first to be held after a full term of a majority Labour government. The general election was held on Thursday 23 February 1950, and was also the first to be held following the abolition of plural voting and university constituencies. The government's lead over the Conservative Party shrank dramatically, and Labour was returned to power but with an overall majority significantly reduced from 146 to just 5. There was a 2.8% national swing towards the Conservatives, who gained 90 seats. Labour called another general election the following year, which the Conservative Party won, returning Churchill to government after six years in opposition.
The 1951 United Kingdom general election was held twenty months after the 1950 general election, which the Labour Party had won with a slim majority of just five seats. The Labour government called a snap election for Thursday 25 October 1951 in the hope of increasing its parliamentary majority.
The 1959 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday, 8 October 1959. It marked a third consecutive victory for the ruling Conservative Party, now led by Prime Minister Harold Macmillan. For the second time in a row, the Conservatives increased their overall majority in Parliament, this time to a landslide majority of 100 seats, having gained 20 seats for a return of 365. The Labour Party, led by Hugh Gaitskell, lost 19 seats and returned 258. The Liberal Party, led by Jo Grimond, again returned only six MPs to the House of Commons, but managed to increase its overall share of the vote to 5.9%, compared to just 2.7% four years earlier.
The 1935 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 14 November. It resulted in a second landslide victory for the three-party National Government, which was led by Stanley Baldwin of the Conservative Party after the resignation of Ramsay MacDonald due to ill health earlier in the year. It is the most recent British general election to see any party or alliance of parties win a majority of the popular vote.
The 1924 United Kingdom general election was held on Wednesday 29 October 1924, as a result of the defeat of the Labour minority government, led by Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald, in the House of Commons on a motion of no confidence. It was the third general election to be held in less than two years. Parliament was dissolved on 9 October.
The 1923 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 6 December 1923. The Conservatives, led by Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin, won the most seats, but Labour, led by Ramsay MacDonald, and H. H. Asquith's reunited Liberal Party gained enough seats to produce a hung parliament. It is the most recent UK general election in which a third party won over 100 seats and the most narrow gap, of a "mere" 100 seats, between the first and third parties since. The Liberals' percentage of the vote, 29.7%, has not been exceeded by a third party at any general election since.
The 1922 United Kingdom general election was held on Wednesday 15 November 1922. It was won by the Conservative Party, led by Prime Minister Andrew Bonar Law, which gained an overall majority over the Labour Party, led by J. R. Clynes, and a divided Liberal Party.
The December 1910 United Kingdom general election was held from 3 to 19 December. It was the last general election to be held over several days and the last to be held before the First World War.
The 1900 United Kingdom general election was held between 26 September and 24 October 1900, following the dissolution of Parliament on 25 September. Also referred to as the Khaki Election, it was held at a time when it was widely believed that the Second Boer War had effectively been won.
The 2005 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 5 May 2005, to elect 646 members to the House of Commons. The governing Labour Party led by the prime minister Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, with Blair becoming the second Labour leader after Harold Wilson to form three majority governments. However, its majority fell to 66 seats; the majority it won four years earlier had been of 167 seats. This was the first time the Labour Party had won a third consecutive election. The Liberal Democrats, led by Charles Kennedy, increased its seat count for a third consecutive election, netting the most seats in its history until 2024 and the most of any of the connected British Liberal parties since 1929.
The 2015 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 7 May 2015 to elect 650 Members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons. It was the first of three general elections to be held under the rules of the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 and was the last general election to be held before the United Kingdom voted to end its membership of the European Union (EU) in June 2016. Local elections took place in most areas of England on the same day and is to date the most recent general election to coincide with local elections. The governing Conservative Party led by the prime minister, David Cameron, won an unexpected victory; opinion polls and political commentators had predicted that the results of the election would cause a second consecutive hung parliament whose composition would be similar to the previous Parliament, which was in effect from the previous national election in 2010. However, opinion polls underestimated the Conservatives, as they won 330 of the 650 seats and 36.9 per cent of the votes, giving them a majority of ten seats.
The 2019 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday, 12 December 2019, with 47,567,752 registered voters entitled to vote to elect 650 Members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons. The governing Conservative Party led by the prime minister, Boris Johnson, won a landslide victory with a majority of 80 seats, a net gain of 48, on 43.6 per cent of the popular vote, the highest percentage for any party since the 1979 general election, though with a narrower popular vote margin than that achieved by the Labour Party over the Conservatives at the 1997 general election. This was the second national election to be held in 2019 in the United Kingdom, the first being the 2019 European Parliament election.
