Opinion polling for the 1974 United Kingdom general elections

Last updated September 28, 2023

In the runup to both the February and October United Kingdom general elections, various polling organisations conducted opinion polling to gauge voting intention amongst the general public. Such polls, dating from the previous election in 1970 to the second polling day on the on 10 October 1974, are listed in this article.

Graphical summaries

UK opinion polling for the February (lower) and October (upper) 1974 election

Conservative

Labour

Liberal

October general election

Survey end date	Pollster	Client	Con	Lab	Lib	Lead
Survey end date	Pollster	Client				Lead
10 Oct	Oct 1974 general election ^[2]		35.8%	39.3%	18.3%	3.5%
9 Oct	Harris	Daily Express	34.6%	43%	19.3%	8.4%
9 Oct	ORC	Evening Standard	34.4%	41.8%	19.4%	7.4%
8 Oct	ORC	The Times	35%	44%	17%	9%
8 Oct	Marplan	The Sun	33.3%	43.8%	19.5%	10.5%
7 Oct	Gallup	The Daily Telegraph	36%	41.5%	19%	5.5%
6 Oct	Harris	Daily Express	33.5%	43.5%	20%	10%
5 Oct	NOP	Daily Mail	31%	45.5%	19.5%	14.5%
4 Oct	Marplan	News of the World	33.1%	42.9%	19.7%	9.8%
3 Oct	Gallup	The Daily Telegraph	37%	42.5%	17.5%	5.5%
3 Oct	Harris	London Weekend Television	34%	43%	20%	9%
2 Oct	Business Decisions	The Observer	35.5%	40%	20%	4.5%
30 Sep	Gallup	The Daily Telegraph	35%	42.5%	19%	7.5%
29 Sep	ORC	The Times	33%	42%	21%	9%
29 Sep	Harris	Daily Express	35%	43.5%	18.5%	8.5%
26 Sep	Gallup	The Daily Telegraph	39%	44%	15%	5%
25 Sep	Business Decisions	The Observer	36%	40%	20%	4%
25 Sep	Harris	London Weekend Television	34%	43%	20%	9%
22 Sep	Harris	Daily Express	36.5%	42.5%	19%	6%
22 Sep	Gallup	The Daily Telegraph	37.5%	42.5%	18%	5%
22 Sep	ORC	Evening Standard	31%	45%	20%	14%
20 Sep	Parliament dissolved and official campaign period begins^[3]
19 Sep	Harris	London Weekend Television	33%	45%	19%	12%
19 Sep	ORC	The Sunday Times	35%	43%	19%	8%
19 Sep	Business Decisions	The Observer	36%	39.5%	20%	3.5%
17 Sep	Gallup	The Daily Telegraph	34%	42%	20.5%	8%
15 Sep	ORC	The Times	34%	38%	23%	4%
15 Sep	NOP	Daily Mail	32%	46.6%	18.2%	14.6%
12 Sep	ORC	The Sunday Times	36%	46%	16%	10%
4 Sep	Gallup	The Daily Telegraph	37.5%	40.5%	18%	3%
12 Aug	Gallup	The Daily Telegraph	35.5%	39.5%	21%	4%
28 Jul	NOP	N/A	35.4%	44.8%	18.2%	9.4%
15 Jul	Gallup	The Daily Telegraph	35%	38%	21%	3%
17 Jun	Gallup	The Daily Telegraph	35.5%	44%	17%	8.5%
23 May	Newham South by-election
13 May	Gallup	The Daily Telegraph	33%	46.5%	17%	13.5%
7 May	1974 Scottish local elections ^[4]
2 May	1974 London local elections ^[5]
16 Apr	Gallup	The Daily Telegraph	33%	49%	15.5%	16%
24 Mar	NOP	N/A	33.6%	47.7%	15%	14.1%
18 Mar	Gallup	The Daily Telegraph	35%	43%	19%	8%
17 Mar	NOP	N/A	35.7%	43.3%	17.9%	7.6%
7 Mar	Three Day Week restrictions end^[6]
28 Feb	Feb 1974 general election ^[2]		37.9%	37.2%	19.3%	0.2%

February general election

1974

Survey end date	Pollster	Client	Con	Lab	Lib	Lead
Survey end date	Pollster	Client				Lead
28 Feb	Feb 1974 general election ^[2]		37.9%	37.2%	19.3%	0.2%
28 Feb	Harris	Daily Express	40.2%	35.2%	22%	5%
28 Feb	NOP	Daily Mail	39.5%	35.5%	22%	4%
28 Feb	ORC	Evening Standard	39.7%	36.7%	21.2%	3%
28 Feb	ORC	The Times	38.7%	34.9%	23%	3.8%
28 Feb	Marplan	London Weekend Television	36.5%	34.5%	25%	2%
27 Feb	ORC	Evening Standard	36.5%	35%	25.5%	1.5%
27 Feb	Harris	Daily Express	38%	34.5%	25%	3.5%
27 Feb	Gallup	The Daily Telegraph	39.5%	37.5%	20.5%	2%
26 Feb	NOP	Daily Mail	40.5%	35.5%	22%	5%
24 Feb	Business Decisions	N/A	35%	37.5%	23.5%	2.5%
24 Feb	Marplan	London Weekend Television	38.5%	31.5%	28%	7%
23 Feb	Harris	Daily Express	40%	33.5%	23.5%	6.5%
21 Feb	NOP	Daily Mail	43.4%	37.8%	16.9%	5.6%
21 Feb	Gallup	The Daily Telegraph	42%	40%	16.5%	2%
20 Feb	ORC	Evening Standard	41%	35%	21%	6%
18 Feb	Harris	Daily Express	43.5%	38%	17%	5.5%
18 Feb	Gallup	The Daily Telegraph	41%	40.5%	16.5%	0.5%
17 Feb	Marplan	London Weekend Television	44%	35%	17%	9%
17 Feb	Business Decisions	The Observer	40.5%	38%	19.5%	2.5%
14 Feb	ORC	The Times	42%	40%	16%	2%
14 Feb	Harris	Daily Express	46%	35%	18%	11%
14 Feb	Gallup	The Daily Telegraph	42.5%	41.5%	14%	1%
13 Feb	NOP	N/A	39.4%	42%	16.5%	2.6%
11 Feb	Gallup	The Daily Telegraph	44.5%	43%	11%	1.5%
10 Feb	Business Decisions	The Observer	44.9%	37.2%	11.9%	7.7%
10 Feb	Marplan	London Weekend Television	45%	39%	12%	6%
7 Feb	Parliament dissolved and official campaign period begins^[7]
4 Feb	Gallup	The Daily Telegraph	39.5%	42.5%	16%	3%
13 Jan	Gallup	The Daily Telegraph	40%	38%	19%	2%

1973

Survey end date	Pollster	Client	Con	Lab	Lib	Lead
Survey end date	Pollster	Client				Lead
18 Dec	Gallup	The Daily Telegraph	36%	42.5%	18.5%	6.5%
2 Dec	NOP	N/A	35.6%	43.2%	20%	7.6%
18 Nov	NOP	N/A	36.5%	39.9%	21.2%	3.4%
18 Nov	Gallup	The Daily Telegraph	36.5%	38.5%	22.5%	2%
8 Nov	Berwick-upon-Tweed, Edinburgh North, Glasgow Govan and Hove by-elections
28 Oct	NOP	N/A	37.5%	39.7%	21.3%	2.2%
21 Oct	Gallup	The Daily Telegraph	33%	39.5%	25.5%	6.5%
13 Oct	NOP	N/A	34.2%	35.4%	29.1%	1.2%
9 Sep	NOP	N/A	33.9%	40.9%	23.8%	7%
9 Sep	Gallup	The Daily Telegraph	33.5%	43%	22%	9.5%
15 Aug	NOP	N/A	28.9%	41.7%	27.6%	12.8%
12 Aug	Gallup	The Daily Telegraph	31.5%	38%	28%	6.5%
15 Jul	Gallup	The Daily Telegraph	35.5%	45%	17.5%	9.5%
26 Jul	Isle of Ely and Ripon by-elections
24 Jun	NOP	N/A	39.3%	43.9%	14.8%	4.6%
27 Jun	Manchester Exchange by-election
17 Jun	NOP	N/A	41.3%	41.6%	15.7%	0.3%
10 Jun	Gallup	The Daily Telegraph	41%	42%	14.5%	1%
7 Jun	1973 June local elections ^[8]^[9]
24 May	West Bromwich and Westhoughton by-elections
13 May	Gallup	The Daily Telegraph	38%	43.5%	14.5%	5.5%
6 May	NOP	N/A	31.9%	50.1%	16.9%	18.2%
1–30 May	1973 May local elections ^[10]^[11]
15 Apr	NOP	N/A	36.6%	45%	17%	8.4%
15 Apr	Gallup	The Daily Telegraph	38%	41%	17.5%	3%
12 Apr	1973 April local elections and Greater London Council election ^[12]^[13]^[14]
12 Mar	Gallup	The Daily Telegraph	39%	43%	16%	4%
11 Mar	NOP	N/A	38%	45.2%	14.9%	7.2%
8 Mar	1973 Northern Ireland border poll ^[15]
1 Mar	Chester-le-Street, Dundee East and Lincoln by-elections
11 Feb	Gallup	The Daily Telegraph	38%	47%	12.5%	9%
28 Jan	NOP	N/A	39.9%	42.7%	15.4%	2.8%
15 Jan	NOP	N/A	39.4%	39%	20.6%	0.4%
14 Jan	Gallup	The Daily Telegraph	38.5%	44%	15.5%	5.5%

1972

Survey end date	Pollster	Client	Con	Lab	Lib	Lead
Survey end date	Pollster	Client				Lead
17 Dec	NOP	N/A	39.7%	42.6%	15.7%	2.9%
10 Dec	Gallup	The Daily Telegraph	38%	46.5%	12.5%	8.5%
7 Dec	Sutton and Cheam and Uxbridge by-elections
3 Dec	NOP	N/A	37%	47.4%	13.7%	10.4%
19 Nov	NOP	N/A	40.5%	45.4%	12.9%	4.9%
12 Nov	Gallup	The Daily Telegraph	37.5%	45.5%	15%	8%
26 Oct	Rochdale by-election
22 Oct	Gallup	The Daily Telegraph	40%	48%	8.5%	8%
17 Sep	Gallup	The Daily Telegraph	38.5%	49.5%	9.5%	11%
13 Aug	Gallup	The Daily Telegraph	40%	49%	7.5%	9%
16 Jul	Gallup	The Daily Telegraph	39%	49%	9.5%	10%
11 Jun	Gallup	The Daily Telegraph	41%	47%	10%	6%
14 May	Gallup	The Daily Telegraph	40.5%	46.5%	11%	6%
4 May	Kingston-upon-Thames and Southwark by-elections
17 Apr	NOP	N/A	44.8%	46.8%	7.5%	2%
16 Apr	Gallup	The Daily Telegraph	43.5%	44.5%	10%	1%
13 Apr	Merthyr Tydfil by-election
12 Mar	Gallup	The Daily Telegraph	39.5%	48.5%	9.5%	9%
13 Feb	Gallup	The Daily Telegraph	40.5%	49%	8.5%	8.5%
16 Jan	Gallup	The Daily Telegraph	40.5%	48%	9%	7.5%

1971

Survey end date	Pollster	Client	Con	Lab	Lib	Lead
Survey end date	Pollster	Client				Lead
12 Dec	Gallup	The Daily Telegraph	42%	48%	7.5%	6%
14 Nov	Gallup	The Daily Telegraph	42.5%	48.5%	7%	6%
17 Oct	Gallup	The Daily Telegraph	40%	50%	8%	10%
30 Sep	Macclesfield by-election
23 Sep	Widnes by-election
20 Sep	Gallup	The Daily Telegraph	35%	54%	8.5%	19%
16 Sep	Stirling and Falkirk by-election
15 Aug	Gallup	The Daily Telegraph	42%	48.5%	7%	6.5%
12 Jul	Gallup	The Daily Telegraph	33.5%	55%	8.5%	21.5%
8 Jul	Greenwich by-election
17 Jun	Hayes and Harlington by-election
13 Jun	Gallup	The Daily Telegraph	36%	54%	8%	18%
27 May	Bromsgrove and Goole by-elections
16 May	Gallup	The Daily Telegraph	38%	50%	9.5%	12%
13 Apr	Gallup	The Daily Telegraph	44%	45.5%	9.5%	1.5%
4 Apr	Gallup	The Daily Telegraph	44.5%	48%	6%	3.5%
1 Apr	Liverpool Scotland and Arundel and Shoreham by-elections
14 Mar	Gallup	The Daily Telegraph	38.5%	50.5%	8%	12%
14 Feb	Gallup	The Daily Telegraph	41.5%	49%	8%	7.5%
17 Jan	Gallup	The Daily Telegraph	42.5%	47%	8.5%	4.5%

1970

Survey end date	Pollster	Client	Con	Lab	Lib	Lead
Survey end date	Pollster	Client				Lead
13 Dec	Gallup	The Daily Telegraph	46%	44.5%	6%	1.5%
19 Nov	Enfield West by-election
15 Nov	Gallup	The Daily Telegraph	43.5%	48%	6.5%	4.5%
22 Oct	St Marylebone by-election
18 Oct	Gallup	The Daily Telegraph	46.5%	46.5%	6.5%	Tie
13 Sep	Gallup	The Daily Telegraph	46.5%	44%	8%	2.5%
16 Aug	Gallup	The Daily Telegraph	47%	43.5%	7.5%	3%
18 June	1970 general election ^[2]		46.4%	43.1%	7.5%	3.3%

Related Research Articles

The Metropolitan Borough of Wigan is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It is named after its largest town, Wigan but covers a far larger area which includes the towns of Atherton, Ashton-in-Makerfield, Golborne, Hindley, Ince-in-Makerfield, Leigh and Tyldesley. The borough also covers the villages and suburbs of Abram, Aspull, Astley, Bryn, Hindley Green, Lowton, Mosley Common, Orrell, Pemberton, Shevington, Standish, Winstanley and Worsley Mesnes. The borough is also the second-most populous district in Greater Manchester.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vauxhall (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1950 onwards

Vauxhall is a constituency represented in the House of Commons by Florence Eshalomi of Labour Co-op since her election in 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hove (UK Parliament constituency)</span>

Hove is a borough constituency in East Sussex represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2015 by Labour's Peter Kyle.

Durham County Council elections are held every four years. Durham County Council is the local authority for the unitary authority of County Durham. The county council was first created in 1889 as an upper-tier authority, had its powers and territory reformed in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, and became a unitary authority in 2009, when the lower-tier district councils in the area were abolished. Since becoming a unitary authority, 126 councillors have been elected from 63 wards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geoffrey Finsberg</span> British Conservative politician

Geoffrey Finsberg, Baron Finsberg, was a British Conservative politician. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hampstead from 1970 to 1983, and for its successor constituency, Hampstead & Highgate, from 1983 to 1992.

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.

The first elections to the new local authorities established by the Local Government Act 1972 in England and Wales and the new Northern Ireland district councils created by the Local Government Act 1972 took place in 1973. Elections to the existing Greater London Council also took place.

This article lists the British National Party's election results in the UK parliamentary, Scottish parliamentary and Welsh Assembly elections, as well as in the European Parliament elections and at a local level.

Westminster City Council, the local authority of the City of Westminster in London, England, is elected every four years. Since the last boundary changes in 2002, 60 councillors have been elected from 20 wards. New boundary changes will come into effect for the 2022 elections, when the borough will be represented by 54 councillors in 18 three-member wards.

In the run up to the general election of 2001, several polling organisations carried out opinion polling in regards to voting intention in Great Britain. Results of such polls are displayed below.

The 2022 Manchester City Council election took place on 5 May 2022. One third of councillors on Manchester City Council were elected. This election was a part of the other local elections across the United Kingdom.

The 2022 Bury Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 5 May 2022. Due to boundary changes, all 51 councillors were elected at the same time. The election took place alongside other local elections across the United Kingdom.

The 2022 Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 5 May 2022. One third of councillors — 21 out of 63 — were elected. The election took place alongside the 2022 South Yorkshire mayoral election and other local elections across the United Kingdom.

The 2022 City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council election took place on 5 May 2022 to elect one third of councillors to the City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council. The election took place at the same time as other local elections across the United Kingdom.

The 2022 Coventry City Council election took place on 5 May 2022. One third of councillors — 18 out of 54 — on Coventry City Council were elected. The election took place alongside other local elections across the United Kingdom.

The 2022 Gateshead Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 5 May 2022. One third of councillors — 22 out of 66 — on Gateshead Metropolitan Borough Council were elected. The election took place alongside other local elections across the United Kingdom.

The 2022 Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 5 May 2022. One third of councillors — 15 out of 45 — on Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council were elected. The election took place alongside other local elections across the United Kingdom.

The 2022 Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 5 May 2022. One third—20 out of 60—of councillors on Oldham Council was elected. The election took place alongside other local elections across the United Kingdom.

The 2022 Salford City Council election took place on 5 May 2022 along with other local elections across the United Kingdom. One third—20 out of 60—of councillor seats on Salford City Council were up for election.

The 2022 Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 5 May 2022 to elect members of Sefton Council. This was on the same day as other local elections. 21 of the 66 seats were up for election, with 1 ward being uncontested.

References

↑ Wells, Anthony. "1970-1974 Polls". UK Polling Report. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
1 2 3 4 Audickas, Lukas; Cracknell, Richard; Loft, Philip (2020). UK Election Statistics: 1918-2019: A Century of Elections (PDF). House of Commons Library. p. 12.
↑ Smith, Alastair (19 July 2004). Election Timing . Cambridge University Press. p. 194. ISBN 0521833639.
↑ Faux, Ronald (5 May 1977). "SNP seizes 107 seats". The Times . pp. 1, 4.
↑ London Borough Council Elections 2 May 1974 (PDF). London: Greater London Council. 1974.
↑ Robards, Terry (8 March 1974). "3‐day Work Week Ending in Britain". The New York Times . p. 1. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
↑ Eder, Richard (8 February 1974). "British Elections Called by Heath for Month's End". The New York Times . p. 65. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
↑ "Final poll result may lie with Independents". The Times . 8 June 1973.
↑ "Liberals capture Eastbourne and exceed ambition to win 1,000 local government seats". The Times . 8 June 1973.
↑ "Three major parties find cause for satisfaction in local election results despite low poll". The Times . 14 May 1973.
↑ Damkat, Ivo (29 October 2003). "The 1973 Local Government Elections". ARK. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
↑ Greater London Council Election 12 April 1973 (PDF). London: Greater London Council. 1973.
↑ "Labour sweep to victory in London and all six of the metropolitan counties". The Times . 13 April 1973.
↑ "Labour take over metropolitan counties and 11 other councils". The Times . 14 April 1973.
↑ Whyte, Nicholas (24 February 2001). "The Referendums of 1973 and 1975". ARK. Retrieved 21 July 2021.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] Wells, Anthony. "1970-1974 Polls". UK Polling Report. Retrieved 21 July 2021.

[electionresults-2] 1 2 3 4 Audickas, Lukas; Cracknell, Richard; Loft, Philip (2020). UK Election Statistics: 1918-2019: A Century of Elections (PDF). House of Commons Library. p. 12.

[3] Smith, Alastair (19 July 2004). Election Timing . Cambridge University Press. p. 194. ISBN 0521833639.

[4] Faux, Ronald (5 May 1977). "SNP seizes 107 seats". The Times . pp. 1, 4.

[5] London Borough Council Elections 2 May 1974 (PDF). London: Greater London Council. 1974.

[6] Robards, Terry (8 March 1974). "3‐day Work Week Ending in Britain". The New York Times . p. 1. Retrieved 21 July 2021.

[7] Eder, Richard (8 February 1974). "British Elections Called by Heath for Month's End". The New York Times . p. 65. Retrieved 21 July 2021.

[8] "Final poll result may lie with Independents". The Times . 8 June 1973.

[9] "Liberals capture Eastbourne and exceed ambition to win 1,000 local government seats". The Times . 8 June 1973.

[10] "Three major parties find cause for satisfaction in local election results despite low poll". The Times . 14 May 1973.

[11] Damkat, Ivo (29 October 2003). "The 1973 Local Government Elections". ARK. Retrieved 21 July 2021.

[12] Greater London Council Election 12 April 1973 (PDF). London: Greater London Council. 1973.

[13] "Labour sweep to victory in London and all six of the metropolitan counties". The Times . 13 April 1973.

[14] "Labour take over metropolitan counties and 11 other councils". The Times . 14 April 1973.

[15] Whyte, Nicholas (24 February 2001). "The Referendums of 1973 and 1975". ARK. Retrieved 21 July 2021.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

v t e February 1974 United Kingdom general election
MPs elected Scotland Opinion polling
Incumbent Prime Minister: Edward Heath (Conservative) Appointed Prime Minister: Harold Wilson (Labour)
Parties elected to the House of Commons	Labour (Harold Wilson) Conservative (Edward Heath) Liberal (Jeremy Thorpe) Scottish National Party (William Wolfe) Ulster Unionist Party (Harry West) Vanguard (William Craig) Plaid Cymru (Gwynfor Evans) SDLP (Gerry Fitt) Democratic Unionist Party (Ian Paisley) Democratic Labour Party (Dick Taverne)
Results by area	Northern Ireland Scotland
See also	Accession of the United Kingdom to the European Communities Campbell Adamson Pro-Assembly Unionists Sunningdale Agreement Three-Day Week October 1974 United Kingdom general election

v t e October 1974 United Kingdom general election
MPs elected Scotland Wales Opinion polling
Incumbent Prime Minister: Harold Wilson (Labour) Appointed Prime Minister: Harold Wilson (Labour Party (UK)
Parties elected to the House of Commons	Labour (Harold Wilson) Conservative (Edward Heath) Liberal (Jeremy Thorpe) Scottish National Party (William Wolfe) Ulster Unionist Party (Harry West) Vanguard (William Craig) Plaid Cymru (Gwynfor Evans) SDLP (Gerry Fitt) Democratic Unionist Party (Ian Paisley)
Results by area	Northern Ireland Scotland
See also	February 1974 United Kingdom general election 1975 Conservative Party leadership election