1970 United Kingdom general election: Difference between revisions
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A pp change (which is what the swing field aims to represent here) is not the same as % change (which relates to proportions) |
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| elected_mps = List of MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1970 |
| elected_mps = List of MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1970 |
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| election_date = 18 June 1970 |
| election_date = 18 June 1970 |
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| opinion_polls = #Opinion poll summary |
| opinion_polls = #Opinion poll summary |
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| turnout = 72.0% |
| turnout = 72.0% ({{decrease}}3.8 [[Percentage point|pp]]) |
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<!-- Conservative -->| image1 = |
<!-- Conservative -->| image1 = [[File:Golda Meir and Edward Heath cropped (cropped).jpg|160x160px]] |
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| leader1 = [[Edward Heath]] |
| leader1 = [[Edward Heath]] |
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| leader_since1 = [[1965 Conservative Party leadership election|28 July 1965]] |
| leader_since1 = [[1965 Conservative Party leadership election|28 July 1965]] |
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| popular_vote1 = '''13,145,123''' |
| popular_vote1 = '''13,145,123''' |
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| percentage1 = '''46.4%''' |
| percentage1 = '''46.4%''' |
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| swing1 = {{increase}}4.5 |
| swing1 = {{increase}}4.5 [[Percentage point|pp]] |
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<!-- Labour -->| image2 = [[File:Aankomst_Premier_Wilson_en_Minister_Brown_op_vliegvel_Ypenburg,_v.l.n.r._Ministe,_Bestanddeelnr_920-1137_(crop).jpg|160x160px]] |
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<!-- Labour -->| image2 = {{CSS image crop|Image =Harold Wilson (1967).jpg|bSize = 120|cWidth = 120|cHeight = 160|oTop = 0|oLeft = 0}} |
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| leader2 = [[Harold Wilson]] |
| leader2 = [[Harold Wilson]] |
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| leader_since2 = [[1963 Labour Party leadership election (UK)|14 February 1963]] |
| leader_since2 = [[1963 Labour Party leadership election (UK)|14 February 1963]] |
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| popular_vote2 = 12,208,758 |
| popular_vote2 = 12,208,758 |
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| percentage2 = 43.1% |
| percentage2 = 43.1% |
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| swing2 = {{decrease}}4.9 |
| swing2 = {{decrease}}4.9 [[Percentage point|pp]] |
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<!-- Liberal |
<!-- Liberal -->| image3 = {{eppt|Liberal Party (UK)}} |
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| leader3 = [[Jeremy Thorpe]] |
| leader3 = [[Jeremy Thorpe]] |
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| leader_since3 = [[1967 Liberal Party leadership election|18 January 1967]] |
| leader_since3 = [[1967 Liberal Party leadership election|18 January 1967]] |
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| popular_vote3 = 2,117,035 |
| popular_vote3 = 2,117,035 |
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| percentage3 = 7.5% |
| percentage3 = 7.5% |
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| swing3 = {{decrease}}1.0 |
| swing3 = {{decrease}}1.0 [[Percentage point|pp]] |
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| map_image = UK General Election, 1970.svg |
| map_image = UK General Election, 1970.svg |
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| map_size = 200px |
| map_size = 200px |
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| map_caption = Colours denote the winning party—as shown in {{slink||Results}} |
| map_caption = Colours denote the winning party—as shown in {{slink||Results}} |
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| map2_image = |
| map2_image = File:1970 UK GE Westminster diagram.svg |
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| map2_caption = Composition of the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]] after the election |
| map2_caption = Composition of the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]] after the election |
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| title = [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|Prime Minister]] |
| title = [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|Prime Minister]] |
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| posttitle = Prime Minister after election |
| posttitle = Prime Minister after election |
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| after_party = Conservative Party (UK) |
| after_party = Conservative Party (UK) |
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}} |
}} |
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The '''1970 United Kingdom general election''' was held on Thursday 18 June 1970. It resulted in a surprise victory for the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]] under leader [[Edward Heath]], which defeated the governing [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] under Prime Minister [[Harold Wilson]]. The [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal Party]], under its new leader [[Jeremy Thorpe]], lost half its seats. The Conservatives, including the [[Ulster Unionist Party]] (UUP), secured a majority of 30 seats. This general election was the first in which people could vote from the age of 18, after passage of the [[Representation of the People Act 1969|Representation of the People Act]] the previous year, and the first UK election |
The '''1970 United Kingdom general election''' was held on Thursday 18 June 1970. It resulted in a surprise victory for the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]] under leader [[Edward Heath]], which defeated the governing [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] under Prime Minister [[Harold Wilson]]. The [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal Party]], under its new leader [[Jeremy Thorpe]], lost half its seats. The Conservatives, including the [[Ulster Unionist Party]] (UUP), secured a majority of 30 seats. This general election was the first in which people could vote from the age of 18, after passage of the [[Representation of the People Act 1969|Representation of the People Act]] the previous year, and the first UK election in which party affiliations of candidates were put on the ballots.<ref>[https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1968/dec/10/use-of-political-descriptions-in HC Deb 10 December 1968 vol 775 cc242-87]</ref> |
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Most opinion polls prior to the election indicated a comfortable Labour victory, and put Labour up to 12.4% ahead of the Conservatives. On election day, however, a late swing gave the Conservatives a 3.4% lead and ended almost six years of Labour government, although Wilson remained leader of the Labour Party in opposition. Writing in the aftermath of the election, the political scientist [[Richard Rose (political scientist)|Richard Rose]] described the Conservative victory as "surprising" and noted a significant shift in votes between the two main parties.<ref name="RoseTimes">{{cite book |author1=Richard Rose |author-link1=Richard Rose (political scientist) |title=The Times Guide to the House of Commons 1970 |date=1970 |publisher=Times Newspapers Limited |location=London |page=31 |chapter=Voting Trends Surveyed}}</ref> ''[[The Times]]'' journalist George Clark wrote that the election would be "remembered as the occasion when the people of the United Kingdom hurled the findings of the opinion polls back into the faces of the pollsters".<ref name="ClarkTimes">{{cite book |author1=George Clark |title=The Times Guide to the House of Commons 1970 |date=1970 |publisher=Times Newspapers Limited |location=London |page=26 |chapter=The General Election Campaign, 1970}}</ref> |
Most opinion polls prior to the election indicated a comfortable Labour victory, and put Labour up to 12.4% ahead of the Conservatives. On election day, however, a late swing gave the Conservatives a 3.4% lead and ended almost six years of Labour government, although Wilson remained leader of the Labour Party in opposition. Writing in the aftermath of the election, the political scientist [[Richard Rose (political scientist)|Richard Rose]] described the Conservative victory as "surprising" and noted a significant shift in votes between the two main parties.<ref name="RoseTimes">{{cite book |author1=Richard Rose |author-link1=Richard Rose (political scientist) |title=The Times Guide to the House of Commons 1970 |date=1970 |publisher=Times Newspapers Limited |location=London |page=31 |chapter=Voting Trends Surveyed}}</ref> ''[[The Times]]'' journalist George Clark wrote that the election would be "remembered as the occasion when the people of the United Kingdom hurled the findings of the opinion polls back into the faces of the pollsters".<ref name="ClarkTimes">{{cite book |author1=George Clark |title=The Times Guide to the House of Commons 1970 |date=1970 |publisher=Times Newspapers Limited |location=London |page=26 |chapter=The General Election Campaign, 1970}}</ref> |
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Frontbench Labour politicians [[George Brown, Baron George-Brown|George Brown]] and [[Jennie Lee, Baroness Lee of Asheridge|Jennie Lee]] were voted out at this election. |
Frontbench Labour politicians [[George Brown, Baron George-Brown|George Brown]] and [[Jennie Lee, Baroness Lee of Asheridge|Jennie Lee]] were voted out at this election. |
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This marked the end of a series of elections where both main parties won over 40% of the vote. This would not occur again for the Conservatives for [[1979 United Kingdom general election|nine years]]; Labour would wait [[1997 United Kingdom general election|27]]. |
This marked the end of a series of elections where both main parties won over 40% of the vote. This would not occur again for the Conservatives for [[1979 United Kingdom general election|nine years]]; Labour would wait [[1997 United Kingdom general election|27]]. |
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The result was cast as a two-party politics outcome, with no third party reaching 10% of the (total) vote. Such an outcome would not happen again until [[2017 United Kingdom general election|the 2017 election]]. |
The result was cast as a two-party politics outcome, with no third party reaching 10% of the (total) vote. Such an outcome would not happen again until [[2017 United Kingdom general election|the 2017 election]]. |
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As [[1966 FIFA World Cup|defending world champions]], England's venture in the World Cup attracted a much keener public interest than the general election did.<ref>{{citation |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/enwiki/static/vote2001/in_depth/election_battles/1970_over.stm|title=Heath: The victory few predicted |work=BBC News |access-date=31 May 2018}}</ref> However an analysis by pollster [[Matt Singh]] for the 50th anniversary of the election concluded that the late swing had been caused by the weak economic data and that there was "no evidence" that the World Cup had influenced the outcome.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-06-19|title=Did England's World Cup defeat win the 1970 election for the Tories?|url=https://capx.co/did-englands-world-cup-defeat-win-the-1970-election-for-the-conservatives/|access-date=2020-06-19|website=CapX|language=en-GB}}</ref> |
As [[1966 FIFA World Cup|defending world champions]], England's venture in the World Cup attracted a much keener public interest than the general election did.<ref>{{citation |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/enwiki/static/vote2001/in_depth/election_battles/1970_over.stm|title=Heath: The victory few predicted |work=BBC News |access-date=31 May 2018}}</ref> However an analysis by pollster [[Matt Singh]] for the 50th anniversary of the election concluded that the late swing had been caused by the weak economic data and that there was "no evidence" that the World Cup had influenced the outcome.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-06-19|title=Did England's World Cup defeat win the 1970 election for the Tories?|url=https://capx.co/did-englands-world-cup-defeat-win-the-1970-election-for-the-conservatives/|access-date=2020-06-19|website=CapX|language=en-GB}}</ref> |
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American pollster Douglas Schoen and [[ |
American pollster Douglas Schoen and [[Oxford University]] academic [[R. W. Johnson]] asserted that [[Enoch Powell]] had attracted 2.5 million votes to the Conservatives, although the Conservative vote only increased by 1.7 million. Johnson later stated "It became clear that Powell had won the 1970 election for the Tories ... of all those who had switched their vote from one party to another, 50 per cent were working class Powellites".<ref>{{citation |first=Simon |last=Heffer |title=Like the Roman: The Life of Enoch Powell |location=London |publisher=Phoenix |year=1999 |page=568|title-link=Like the Roman: The Life of Enoch Powell }}</ref> The Professor of Political Science [[Randall Hansen]] assessed a range of studies, including some which contended that Powell had made little or no difference to the result, but concluded that "At the very least, Powell's effect was likely to have fired up the Conservative vote in constituencies which would have voted Tory in any event".<ref>{{citation |first=Randell |last=Hansen |title=Citizenship and Immigration in Post-War Britain |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2000}}</ref>{{page needed|date=June 2018}} Election night commentators [[Michael Barratt (television presenter)|Michael Barratt]] and Jeffrey Preece dismissed any special "Powell factor", as did Conservative MPs [[Reginald Maudling]], [[Timothy Raison]] and [[Hugh Dykes]].<ref name="BBC Election Results Programme 1970"/> |
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The 1970–74 Parliament has to date been the only time since the 1924–29 Parliament in which the Conservative Party were only in government for one term before returning to opposition. |
The 1970–74 Parliament has to date been the only time since the 1924–29 Parliament in which the Conservative Party were only in government for one term before returning to opposition. |
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Both BBC and [[ITN]] carried their 1970 election night broadcasts in colour, although segments broadcast from some remote locations and some BBC and ITN regional bureaus were transmitted in black-and-white. Some [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] regions were not yet broadcasting in colour at the time of the 1970 elections. |
Both BBC and [[ITN]] carried their 1970 election night broadcasts in colour, although segments broadcast from some remote locations and some BBC and ITN regional bureaus were transmitted in black-and-white. Some [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] regions were not yet broadcasting in colour at the time of the 1970 elections. |
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The [[right to vote]] in this election was widened by the Labour government's [[Sixth Reform Act]], which reduced the [[voting age]] from 21 to 18 years. The United Kingdom was the first major democratic nation to extend suffrage to this age group.<ref>{{Cite journal | |
The [[right to vote]] in this election was widened by the Labour government's [[Sixth Reform Act]], which reduced the [[voting age]] from 21 to 18 years. The United Kingdom was the first major democratic nation to extend suffrage to this age group.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Loughran |first1=Thomas |last2=Mycock |first2=Andrew |last3=Tonge |first3=Jonathan |date=2021-04-03 |title=A coming of age: how and why the UK became the first democracy to allow votes for 18-year-olds |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13619462.2021.1890589 |journal=Contemporary British History |language=en |volume=35 |issue=2 |pages=284–313 |doi=10.1080/13619462.2021.1890589 |s2cid=233956982 |issn=1361-9462}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Loughran |first1=Thomas |last2=Mycock |first2=Andrew |last3=Tonge |first3=Jonathan |date=2021-11-03 |title=Lowering the voting age: three lessons from the 1969 Representation of the People's Act |url=https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/lessons-from-the-1969-representation-of-the-peoples-act/ |access-date=2022-12-31 |website=British Politics and Policy at LSE}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Bingham |first=Adrian |date=25 June 2019 |title='The last milestone' on the journey to full adult suffrage? 50 years of debates about the voting age |url=https://www.historyandpolicy.org/index.php/policy-papers/papers/the-last-milestone-on-the-journey-to-full-adult-suffrage |access-date=2022-12-31 |website=History & Policy}}</ref> Case law subsequently established the right for [[undergraduate students]] to vote in the constituency of their university. This followed an appeal to the [[High Court of Justice|High Court]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Stephen D. Fisher & Nick Hillman |title=Do students swing elections? Registration, turnout and voting behaviour among full-time students |url=https://www.hepi.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Do-students-swing-elections.pdf |publisher=HEPI |page=4}}</ref> |
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==Timeline== |
==Timeline== |
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==Results== |
==Results== |
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This was the first general election where 18-year-olds had the right to vote. Therefore, despite 1.1 million more people voting in 1970 compared to 1966, turnout actually fell by 3%. This 72% turnout was the lowest since [[1935 United Kingdom general election|the 1935 general election]] and compared with a post-War high of 84% in [[1950 United Kingdom general election|1950]]. [[ |
This was the first general election where 18-year-olds had the right to vote. Therefore, despite 1.1 million more people voting in 1970 compared to 1966, turnout actually fell by 3%. This 72% turnout was the lowest since [[1935 United Kingdom general election|the 1935 general election]] and compared with a post-War high of 84% in [[1950 United Kingdom general election|1950]]. [[Professor Richard Rose]] described the low turnout, which he noted was "one of the lowest since the introduction of the democratic franchise", as surprising to politician and pollsters. Changes to electoral law as part of the [[Representation of the People Act 1969]] had made postal voting easier and polling stations were open an hour later than in past elections, and this would have been expected to improve turnout. On top of this it was reported by Rose that an estimated 25% of 18- to 21-year-olds who were now eligible to vote had not put their names on the electoral register, meaning the turnout was even lower than the percentage figure suggested. Rose also argued that the turnout figures in Britain were "now among the lowest in the Western world."<ref name="RoseTimes"/> Because the previous election had been in 1966, some people had not had their chance to vote in a general election until the age of 25. Labour's number of votes, 12.2 million, was ironically the same amount they had needed to win in 1964. The Conservative vote surge cost Labour in many marginal seats. Rose suggested the absolute fall in the number of Labour votes suggested that many of the party's supporters had decided to abstain. He also noted that the Labour Party's local organisation was poorer than that of the Conservatives, but did not feel this was a significant factor in Labour supporters failing to come out to vote for the Party given that this organisational difference had been the case in past elections without having this effect.<ref name="RoseTimes"/> For the Liberals, a small 1% drop in their vote share saw them lose 6 seats, 3 of which were held by the narrowest of margins. |
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In the end the Conservatives achieved a swing of 4.7%, enough to give them a comfortable working majority. As for the smaller parties, they increased their number in the Commons from 2 to 6 seats. |
In the end the Conservatives achieved a swing of 4.7%, enough to give them a comfortable working majority. As for the smaller parties, they increased their number in the Commons from 2 to 6 seats. |
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|+ style="caption-side: bottom; font-weight:normal" |All parties shown.{{efn|group=note|name=NInote|The Conservative figure includes eight [[ |
|+ style="caption-side: bottom; font-weight:normal" |All parties shown.{{efn|group=note|name=NInote|The Conservative figure includes eight [[Ulster Unionists]], and the Labour figure includes seven [[Northern Ireland Labour Party]] candidates.}} |
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|} |
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| {{party name with colour|Labour Party (UK)}} hold |
| {{party name with colour|Labour Party (UK)}} hold |
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|- |
|- |
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!scope=row|[[ |
!scope=row|[[Wolverhampton North East]] |
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| {{party name with colour|Labour Party (UK)}} |
| {{party name with colour|Labour Party (UK)}} |
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|align=right|15,358 |
|align=right|15,358 |
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| {{party name with colour|Labour Party (UK)}} hold |
| {{party name with colour|Labour Party (UK)}} hold |
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|- |
|- |
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!scope=row|[[ |
!scope=row|[[Wolverhampton South West]] |
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| {{party name with colour|Conservative Party (UK)}} |
| {{party name with colour|Conservative Party (UK)}} |
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|align=right|26,252 |
|align=right|26,252 |
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| {{party name with colour|Conservative Party (UK)}} hold |
| {{party name with colour|Conservative Party (UK)}} hold |
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|- |
|- |
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!scope=row|[[ |
!scope=row|[[Newcastle upon Tyne Central]] |
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| {{party name with colour|Labour Party (UK)}} |
| {{party name with colour|Labour Party (UK)}} |
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|align=right|4,256 |
|align=right|4,256 |
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| {{party name with colour|Labour Party (UK)}} hold |
| {{party name with colour|Labour Party (UK)}} hold |
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|- |
|- |
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!scope=row|[[ |
!scope=row|[[Newcastle upon Tyne North]] |
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| {{party name with colour|Conservative Party (UK)}} |
| {{party name with colour|Conservative Party (UK)}} |
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|align=right|15,978 |
|align=right|15,978 |
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| {{Party name with colour|Liberal Party (UK)}} hold |
| {{Party name with colour|Liberal Party (UK)}} hold |
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|- |
|- |
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!scope=row|[[ |
!scope=row|[[West Aberdeenshire]] |
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| {{Party name with colour|Liberal Party (UK)}} |
| {{Party name with colour|Liberal Party (UK)}} |
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|align=right|18,396 |
|align=right|18,396 |
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==Incumbents defeated== |
==Incumbents defeated== |
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{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size: 95%;" |
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! colspan="2" |Party |
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===Labour=== |
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!Name |
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{{div col begin}} |
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!Constituency |
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*[[Donald Dewar]] ([[Aberdeen South (UK Parliament constituency)|Aberdeen South]]) |
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!Office held whilst in Parliament or by-election |
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!Defeated by |
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*[[Brian Parkyn]] ([[Bedford (UK Parliament constituency)|Bedford]]) |
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! colspan="2" |Party |
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*[[Gwilym Roberts]] ([[South Bedfordshire (UK Parliament constituency)|South Bedfordshire]]) |
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|- |
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*[[George Brown, Baron George-Brown|George Brown]] ([[Belper (UK Parliament constituency)|Belper]]), [[Deputy Leader of the Labour Party (UK)|Deputy Leader of the Labour Party]] |
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| rowspan="1" style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |
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*[[Eric Moonman]] ([[Billericay (UK Parliament constituency)|Billericay]]) |
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| rowspan="62" |{{party shortname linked|Labour Party (UK)}} |
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*[[Christopher Price (politician)|Christopher Price]] ([[Birmingham Perry Barr (UK Parliament constituency)|Birmingham Perry Barr]]) |
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|[[Donald Dewar]] |
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*[[Ioan Evans (politician)|Ioan Evans]] ([[Birmingham Yardley (UK Parliament constituency)|Birmingham Yardley]]), [[Comptroller of the Household]] |
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|[[Aberdeen South (UK Parliament constituency)|Aberdeen South]] |
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| |
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*[[Gordon Oakes]] ([[Bolton West (UK Parliament constituency)|Bolton West]]) |
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|[[Iain Sproat]] |
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*[[Woodrow Wyatt]] ([[Bosworth (UK Parliament constituency)|Bosworth]]) |
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| style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |
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*[[Norman Haseldine]] ([[Bradford West (UK Parliament constituency)|Bradford West]]) |
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|{{party shortname linked|Conservative Party (UK)}} |
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*[[Colin Jackson (politician)|Colin Jackson]] ([[Brighouse and Spenborough (UK Parliament constituency)|Brighouse and Spenborough]]) |
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|- |
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*[[Dennis Hobden]] ([[Brighton Kemptown (UK Parliament constituency)|Brighton Kemptown]]) |
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| rowspan="1" style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |
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*[[Raymond Dobson]] ([[Bristol North East (UK Parliament constituency)|Bristol North East]]), Assistant Whip |
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|[[Edwin Brooks]] |
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*[[John Ellis (Labour politician)|John Ellis]] ([[Bristol North West (UK Parliament constituency)|Bristol North West]]) |
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|[[Bebington (UK Parliament constituency)|Bebington]] |
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| |
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*[[Jennie Lee, Baroness Lee of Asheridge|Jennie Lee]] ([[Cannock (UK Parliament constituency)|Cannock]]), [[Minister for the Arts (United Kingdom)|Minister for the Arts]] |
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|[[Eric Cockeram]] |
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*[[Ted Rowlands, Baron Rowlands|Ted Rowlands]] ([[Cardiff North (UK Parliament constituency)|Cardiff North]]) |
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| style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |
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*[[Alistair Macdonald]] ([[Chislehurst (UK Parliament constituency)|Chislehurst]]) |
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|{{party shortname linked|Conservative Party (UK)}} |
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*[[Ednyfed Hudson Davies]] ([[Conway (UK Parliament constituency)|Conway]]) |
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|- |
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*[[David Winnick]] ([[Croydon South (UK Parliament constituency)|Croydon South]]) |
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| rowspan="1" style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |
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*[[Sydney Irving]] ([[Dartford (UK Parliament constituency)|Dartford]]), [[Chairman of Ways and Means]] |
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|[[Brian Parkyn]] |
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*[[David Ennals, Baron Ennals|David Ennals]] ([[Dover (UK Parliament constituency)|Dover]]), [[Minister of State for Social Services]] |
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|[[Bedford (UK Parliament constituency)|Bedford]] |
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| |
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*[[Gwyneth Dunwoody]] ([[Exeter (UK Parliament constituency)|Exeter]]), [[Parliamentary Secretary]] at the [[Board of Trade]] |
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|[[Trevor Skeet]] |
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*[[John Dunwoody]] ([[Falmouth and Camborne (UK Parliament constituency)|Falmouth and Camborne]]) |
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| style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |
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*[[Terence Boston, Baron Boston of Faversham|Terence Boston]] ([[Faversham (UK Parliament constituency)|Faversham]]) |
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|{{party shortname linked|Conservative Party (UK)}} |
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*[[Jack Diamond, Baron Diamond|John Diamond]] ([[Gloucester (UK Parliament constituency)|Gloucester]]), [[Chief Secretary to the Treasury]] |
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|- |
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*[[Albert Murray, Baron Murray of Gravesend|Albert Murray]] ([[Gravesend (UK Parliament constituency)|Gravesend]]), [[Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport]] |
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| rowspan="1" style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |
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*[[Ben Whitaker (politician)|Benjamin Whitaker]] ([[Hampstead (UK Parliament constituency)|Hampstead]]), [[Parliamentary Secretary]] to the [[Minister of Overseas Development]] |
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|[[Gwilym Roberts]] |
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*[[Roy Roebuck]] ([[Harrow East (UK Parliament constituency)|Harrow East]]) |
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|[[South Bedfordshire (UK Parliament constituency)|Bedfordshire South]] |
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| |
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*[[Alan Lee Williams]] ([[Hornchurch (UK Parliament constituency)|Hornchurch]]) |
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|[[David Madel]] |
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*[[Arnold Shaw]] ([[Ilford South (UK Parliament constituency)|Ilford South]]) |
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| style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |
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*[[Dingle Foot|Sir Dingle Foot]] ([[Ipswich (UK Parliament constituency)|Ipswich]]), [[Solicitor General for England and Wales]] |
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|{{party shortname linked|Conservative Party (UK)}} |
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*[[John Binns (British politician)|John Binns]] ([[Keighley (UK Parliament constituency)|Keighley]]) |
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|- |
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*[[Derek Page, Baron Whaddon|John Page]] ([[Kings Lynn (UK Parliament constituency)|Kings Lynn]]) |
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| rowspan="1" style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |
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*[[Stanley Henig]] ([[Lancaster (UK Parliament constituency)|Lancaster]]) |
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|[[George Brown, Baron George-Brown|George Brown]] |
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*[[Harold Davies, Baron Davies of Leek|Harold Davies]] ([[Leek (UK Parliament constituency)|Leek]]), [[Parliamentary Private Secretary]] to the Prime Minister |
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|[[Belper (UK Parliament constituency)|Belper]] |
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|[[Deputy Leader of the Labour Party (UK)|Deputy Leader of the Labour Party]] |
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*[[William Howie, Baron Howie of Troon|William Howie]] ([[Luton (UK Parliament constituency)|Luton]]), [[Comptroller of the Household]] |
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|[[Geoffrey Stewart-Smith]] |
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*[[Jeremy Bray]] ([[Middlesbrough West (UK Parliament constituency)|Middlesbrough West]]) |
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| style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
*[[Denis Coe]] ([[Middleton and Prestwich (UK Parliament constituency)|Middleton and Prestwich]]) |
|||
|{{party shortname linked|Conservative Party (UK)}} |
|||
*[[Donald Anderson, Baron Anderson of Swansea]] ([[Monmouth (UK Parliament constituency)|Monmouth]]) |
|||
|- |
|||
*[[Bert Hazell]] ([[Norfolk North (UK Parliament constituency)|Norfolk North]]) |
|||
| rowspan="1" style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
*[[George Perry (British politician)|George Perry]] ([[Nottingham South (UK Parliament constituency)|Nottingham South]]) |
|||
|[[Eric Moonman]] |
|||
*[[John Horner (British politician)|John Horner]] ([[Oldbury and Halesowen (UK Parliament constituency)|Oldbury and Halesowen]]) |
|||
|[[Billericay (UK Parliament constituency)|Billericay]] |
|||
| |
|||
*[[Ronald Atkins]] ([[Preston North (UK Parliament constituency)|Preston North]]) |
|||
|[[Robert McCrindle]] |
|||
*[[Peter Mahon (politician)|Peter Mahon]] ([[Preston South (UK Parliament constituency)|Preston South]]) |
|||
| style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
*[[John Lee (Labour politician)|John Lee]] ([[Reading (UK Parliament constituency)|Reading]]) |
|||
|{{party shortname linked|Conservative Party (UK)}} |
|||
*[[Anne Kerr (politician)|Anne Kerr]] ([[Rochester and Chatham (UK Parliament constituency)|Rochester and Chatham]]) |
|||
|- |
|||
*[[Antony Gardner]] ([[Rushcliffe (UK Parliament constituency)|Rushcliffe]]) |
|||
| rowspan="1" style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
*[[Frank Hooley]] ([[Sheffield Heeley (UK Parliament constituency)|Sheffield Heeley]]) |
|||
|[[Christopher Price (politician)|Christopher Price]] |
|||
*[[Bob Mitchell (British politician)|Bob Mitchell]] ([[Southampton Test (UK Parliament constituency)|Southampton Test]]) |
|||
|[[Birmingham Perry Barr]] |
|||
*[[Arnold Gregory]] ([[Stockport North (UK Parliament constituency)|Stockport North]]) |
|||
| |
|||
*[[Ernest Davies (Stretford MP)|Ernest Davies]] ([[Stretford (UK Parliament constituency)|Stretford]]) |
|||
|[[Joseph Kinsey (politician)|Joseph Kinsey]] |
|||
*[[Gerry Fowler|Gerald Fowler]] ([[The Wrekin (historic UK Parliament constituency)|The Wrekin]]) |
|||
| style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
*[[John Ryan (British politician)|John Ryan]] ([[Uxbridge (UK Parliament constituency)|Uxbridge]]) |
|||
|{{party shortname linked|Conservative Party (UK)}} |
|||
*[[Malcolm Macmillan]] ([[Western Isles (UK Parliament constituency)|Western Isles]]) |
|||
|- |
|||
*[[Hugh Gray (politician)|Hugh Gray]] ([[Great Yarmouth (UK Parliament constituency)|Yarmouth]]) |
|||
| rowspan="1" style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
{{div col end}} |
|||
|[[Ioan Evans (politician)|Ioan Evans]] |
|||
|[[Birmingham Yardley]] |
|||
===Conservative=== |
|||
|[[Comptroller of the Household]] |
|||
{{div col begin}} |
|||
|[[Derek Coombs]] |
|||
*[[Kenneth Baker, Baron Baker of Dorking|Kenneth Baker]] ([[Acton (UK Parliament constituency)|Acton]]), [[1968 Acton by-election|by-election win]] |
|||
| style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
*[[Donald Williams (politician)|Donald Williams]] ([[Dudley (UK Parliament constituency)|Dudley]]), [[1968 Dudley by-election|by-election win]] |
|||
|{{party shortname linked|Conservative Party (UK)}} |
|||
*[[Esmond Wright]] ([[Glasgow Pollok (UK Parliament constituency)|Glasgow Pollok]]), [[1967 Glasgow Pollok by-election|by-election win]] |
|||
|- |
|||
*[[Bruce Campbell (barrister)|Bruce Campbell]] ([[Oldham West (UK Parliament constituency)|Oldham West]]), [[1968 Oldham West by-election|by-election win]] |
|||
| rowspan="1" style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
*[[Christopher Ward (British politician)|Christopher Ward]] ([[Swindon (UK Parliament constituency)|Swindon]]), [[1969 Swindon by-election|by-election win]] |
|||
|[[Robert Howarth]] |
|||
*[[Fred Silvester]] ([[Walthamstow West (UK Parliament constituency)|Walthamstow West]]), [[1967 Walthamstow West by-election|by-election win]] |
|||
|[[Bolton East]] |
|||
{{div col end}} |
|||
| |
|||
|[[Laurance Reed]] |
|||
===Liberal=== |
|||
| style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
{{div col begin}} |
|||
|{{party shortname linked|Conservative Party (UK)}} |
|||
*[[Wallace Lawler]] ([[Birmingham Ladywood (UK Parliament constituency)|Birmingham Ladywood]]), [[1969 Birmingham Ladywood by-election|by-election win]] |
|||
|- |
|||
*[[Michael Winstanley, Baron Winstanley|Michael Winstanley]] ([[Cheadle (UK Parliament constituency)|Cheadle]]) |
|||
| rowspan="1" style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
*[[Richard Wainwright (politician)|Richard Wainwright]] ([[Colne Valley (UK Parliament constituency)|Colne Valley]]) |
|||
|[[Gordon Oakes]] |
|||
*[[Eric Lubbock, 4th Baron Avebury|Eric Lubbock]] ([[Orpington (UK Parliament constituency)|Orpington]]), [[Liberal Chief Whip]] |
|||
|[[Bolton West]] |
|||
*[[Alasdair Mackenzie]] ([[Ross and Cromarty (UK Parliament constituency)|Ross and Cromarty]]) |
|||
| |
|||
{{div col end}} |
|||
|[[Robert Redmond]] |
|||
| style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
===Ulster Unionist Party=== |
|||
|{{party shortname linked|Conservative Party (UK)}} |
|||
{{div col begin}} |
|||
|- |
|||
*[[Henry Clark (Northern Irish politician)|Henry Clark]] ([[Antrim North (UK Parliament constituency)|Antrim North]]) |
|||
| rowspan="1" style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
*[[James Hamilton, 5th Duke of Abercorn|James Hamilton, Marquess of Hamilton]] ([[Fermanagh and South Tyrone (UK Parliament constituency)|Fermanagh and South Tyrone]]) |
|||
|[[Woodrow Wyatt]] |
|||
{{div col end}} |
|||
|[[Bosworth (UK Parliament constituency)|Bosworth]] |
|||
| |
|||
===Scottish National Party=== |
|||
|[[Adam Butler (British politician)|Adam Butler]] |
|||
{{div col begin}} |
|||
| style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
*[[Winnie Ewing]] ([[Hamilton (UK Parliament constituency)|Hamilton]]), [[1967 Hamilton by-election|by-election win]] |
|||
|{{party shortname linked|Conservative Party (UK)}} |
|||
{{div col end}} |
|||
|- |
|||
| rowspan="1" style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
===Plaid Cymru=== |
|||
|[[Norman Haseldine]] |
|||
{{div col begin}} |
|||
|[[Bradford West]] |
|||
*[[Gwynfor Evans]] ([[Carmarthen (UK Parliament constituency)|Carmarthen]]), [[1966 Carmarthen by-election|by-election win]] |
|||
| |
|||
{{div col end}} |
|||
|[[John Wilkinson (British politician)|John Wilkinson]] |
|||
| style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
===Democratic Party=== |
|||
|{{party shortname linked|Conservative Party (UK)}} |
|||
{{div col begin}} |
|||
|- |
|||
*[[Desmond Donnelly]] ([[Pembrokeshire (UK Parliament constituency)|Pembrokeshire]]), former Labour MP |
|||
| rowspan="1" style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
{{div col end}} |
|||
|[[Colin Jackson (politician)|Colin Jackson]] |
|||
|[[Brighouse and Spenborough]] |
|||
| |
|||
|[[Wilfred Proudfoot]] |
|||
| style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|{{party shortname linked|Conservative Party (UK)}} |
|||
|- |
|||
| rowspan="1" style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|[[Dennis Hobden]] |
|||
|[[Brighton Kemptown]] |
|||
| |
|||
|[[Andrew Bowden]] |
|||
| style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|{{party shortname linked|Conservative Party (UK)}} |
|||
|- |
|||
| rowspan="1" style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|[[Raymond Dobson]] |
|||
|[[Bristol North East]] |
|||
|Assistant Whip |
|||
|[[Robert Adley]] |
|||
| style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|{{party shortname linked|Conservative Party (UK)}} |
|||
|- |
|||
| rowspan="1" style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|[[John Ellis (Labour politician)|John Ellis]] |
|||
|[[Bristol North West]] |
|||
| |
|||
|[[Martin McLaren]] |
|||
| style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|{{party shortname linked|Conservative Party (UK)}} |
|||
|- |
|||
| rowspan="1" style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|[[Robert Maxwell]] |
|||
|[[Buckingham (UK Parliament constituency)|Buckingham]] |
|||
| |
|||
|[[Bill Benyon|William Benyon]] |
|||
| style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|{{party shortname linked|Conservative Party (UK)}} |
|||
|- |
|||
| rowspan="1" style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|[[Jennie Lee, Baroness Lee of Asheridge|Jennie Lee]] |
|||
|[[Cannock (UK Parliament constituency)|Cannock]] |
|||
|[[Minister for the Arts (United Kingdom)|Minister for the Arts]] |
|||
|[[Patrick Cormack]] |
|||
| style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|{{party shortname linked|Conservative Party (UK)}} |
|||
|- |
|||
| rowspan="1" style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|[[Ted Rowlands]] |
|||
|[[Cardiff North (UK Parliament constituency)|Cardiff North]] |
|||
| |
|||
|[[Michael Roberts (politician)|Michael Roberts]] |
|||
| style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|{{party shortname linked|Conservative Party (UK)}} |
|||
|- |
|||
| rowspan="1" style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|[[Alistair Macdonald]] |
|||
|[[Chislehurst (UK Parliament constituency)|Chislehurst]] |
|||
| |
|||
|[[Patricia Hornsby-Smith]] |
|||
| style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|{{party shortname linked|Conservative Party (UK)}} |
|||
|- |
|||
| rowspan="1" style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|[[Ednyfed Hudson Davies]] |
|||
|[[Conway (UK Parliament constituency)|Conway]] |
|||
| |
|||
|[[Wyn Roberts]] |
|||
| style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|{{party shortname linked|Conservative Party (UK)}} |
|||
|- |
|||
| rowspan="1" style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|[[David Winnick]] |
|||
|[[Croydon South (historic UK Parliament constituency)|Croydon South]] |
|||
| |
|||
|[[Sir Richard Thompson, 1st Baronet|Richard Thompson]] |
|||
| style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|{{party shortname linked|Conservative Party (UK)}} |
|||
|- |
|||
| rowspan="1" style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|[[Sydney Irving]] |
|||
|[[Dartford (UK Parliament constituency)|Dartford]] |
|||
|[[Chairman of Ways and Means]] |
|||
|[[Peter Trew]] |
|||
| style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|{{party shortname linked|Conservative Party (UK)}} |
|||
|- |
|||
| rowspan="1" style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|[[David Ennals]] |
|||
|[[Dover (UK Parliament constituency)|Dover]] |
|||
|[[Minister of State for Social Services]] |
|||
|[[Peter Rees, Baron Rees|Peter Rees]] |
|||
| style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|{{party shortname linked|Conservative Party (UK)}} |
|||
|- |
|||
| rowspan="1" style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|[[Stan Newens]] |
|||
|[[Epping (UK Parliament constituency)|Epping]] |
|||
| |
|||
|[[Norman Tebbit]] |
|||
| style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|{{party shortname linked|Conservative Party (UK)}} |
|||
|- |
|||
| rowspan="1" style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|[[Gwyneth Dunwoody]] |
|||
|[[Exeter (UK Parliament constituency)|Exeter]] |
|||
|[[Parliamentary Secretary]] at the [[Board of Trade]] |
|||
|[[John Hannam]] |
|||
| style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|{{party shortname linked|Conservative Party (UK)}} |
|||
|- |
|||
| rowspan="1" style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|[[John Dunwoody]] |
|||
|[[Falmouth and Camborne]] |
|||
| |
|||
|[[David Mudd]] |
|||
| style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|{{party shortname linked|Conservative Party (UK)}} |
|||
|- |
|||
| rowspan="1" style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|[[Terence Boston]] |
|||
|[[Faversham (UK Parliament constituency)|Faversham]] |
|||
| |
|||
|[[Roger Moate]] |
|||
| style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|{{party shortname linked|Conservative Party (UK)}} |
|||
|- |
|||
| rowspan="1" style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|[[Jack Diamond, Baron Diamond|John Diamond]] |
|||
|[[Gloucester (UK Parliament constituency)|Gloucester]] |
|||
|[[Chief Secretary to the Treasury]] |
|||
|[[Sally Oppenheim]] |
|||
| style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|{{party shortname linked|Conservative Party (UK)}} |
|||
|- |
|||
| rowspan="1" style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|[[Albert Murray, Baron Murray of Gravesend|Albert Murray]] |
|||
|[[Gravesend (UK Parliament constituency)|Gravesend]] |
|||
|[[Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport]] |
|||
|[[Roger Lowrey White|Roger White]] |
|||
| style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|{{party shortname linked|Conservative Party (UK)}} |
|||
|- |
|||
| rowspan="1" style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|[[Ben Whitaker (politician)|Ben Whitaker]] |
|||
|[[Hampstead (UK Parliament constituency)|Hampstead]] |
|||
|[[Parliamentary Secretary]] to the [[Minister of Overseas Development]] |
|||
|[[Geoffrey Finsberg]] |
|||
| style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|{{party shortname linked|Conservative Party (UK)}} |
|||
|- |
|||
| rowspan="1" style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|[[Roy Roebuck]] |
|||
|[[Harrow East]] |
|||
| |
|||
|[[Hugh Dykes]] |
|||
| style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|{{party shortname linked|Conservative Party (UK)}} |
|||
|- |
|||
| rowspan="1" style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|[[Peter Jackson (politician)|Peter Jackson]] |
|||
|[[High Peak (UK Parliament constituency)|High Peak]] |
|||
| |
|||
|[[Spencer Le Marchant]] |
|||
| style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|{{party shortname linked|Conservative Party (UK)}} |
|||
|- |
|||
| rowspan="1" style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|[[Alan Lee Williams]] |
|||
|[[Hornchurch (UK Parliament constituency)|Hornchurch]] |
|||
| |
|||
|[[John Loveridge]] |
|||
| style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|{{party shortname linked|Conservative Party (UK)}} |
|||
|- |
|||
| rowspan="1" style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|[[Arnold Shaw (politician)|Arnold Shaw]] |
|||
|[[Ilford South]] |
|||
| |
|||
|[[Albert Cooper (UK politician)|Albert Cooper]] |
|||
| style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|{{party shortname linked|Conservative Party (UK)}} |
|||
|- |
|||
| rowspan="1" style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|[[Dingle Foot]] |
|||
|[[Ipswich (UK Parliament constituency)|Ipswich]] |
|||
|[[Solicitor General for England and Wales]] |
|||
|[[Ernle Money]] |
|||
| style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|{{party shortname linked|Conservative Party (UK)}} |
|||
|- |
|||
| rowspan="1" style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|[[John Binns (British politician)|John Binns]] |
|||
|[[Keighley (UK Parliament constituency)|Keighley]] |
|||
| |
|||
|[[Joan Hall (UK politician)|Joan Hall]] |
|||
| style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|{{party shortname linked|Conservative Party (UK)}} |
|||
|- |
|||
| rowspan="1" style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|[[Derek Page, Baron Whaddon|John Page]] |
|||
|[[King's Lynn (UK Parliament constituency)|King's Lynn]] |
|||
| |
|||
|[[Christopher Brocklebank-Fowler]] |
|||
| style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|{{party shortname linked|Conservative Party (UK)}} |
|||
|- |
|||
| rowspan="1" style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|[[Stanley Henig]] |
|||
|[[Lancaster (UK Parliament constituency)|Lancaster]] |
|||
| |
|||
|[[Elaine Kellett-Bowman]] |
|||
| style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|{{party shortname linked|Conservative Party (UK)}} |
|||
|- |
|||
| rowspan="1" style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|[[Harold Davies, Baron Davies of Leek|Harold Davies]] |
|||
|[[Leek (UK Parliament constituency)|Leek]] |
|||
|[[Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Prime Minister]] |
|||
|[[David Knox (UK politician)|David Knox]] |
|||
| style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|{{party shortname linked|Conservative Party (UK)}} |
|||
|- |
|||
| rowspan="1" style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|[[James Dickens]] |
|||
|[[Lewisham West (UK Parliament constituency)|Lewisham West]] |
|||
| |
|||
|[[John Gummer]] |
|||
| style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|{{party shortname linked|Conservative Party (UK)}} |
|||
|- |
|||
| rowspan="1" style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|[[William Howie]] |
|||
|[[Luton (UK Parliament constituency)|Luton]] |
|||
|[[Comptroller of the Household]] |
|||
|[[Charles Simeons]] |
|||
| style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|{{party shortname linked|Conservative Party (UK)}} |
|||
|- |
|||
| rowspan="1" style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|[[Jeremy Bray]] |
|||
|[[Middlesbrough West]] |
|||
| |
|||
|[[John Sutcliffe (British politician)|John Sutcliffe]] |
|||
| style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|{{party shortname linked|Conservative Party (UK)}} |
|||
|- |
|||
| rowspan="1" style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|[[Denis Coe]] |
|||
|[[Middleton and Prestwich]] |
|||
| |
|||
|[[Alan Haselhurst]] |
|||
| style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|{{party shortname linked|Conservative Party (UK)}} |
|||
|- |
|||
| rowspan="1" style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|[[Donald Anderson, Baron Anderson of Swansea|Donald Anderson]] |
|||
|[[Monmouth (UK Parliament constituency)|Monmouth]] |
|||
| |
|||
|[[John Stradling Thomas]] |
|||
| style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|{{party shortname linked|Conservative Party (UK)}} |
|||
|- |
|||
| rowspan="1" style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|[[Bert Hazell]] |
|||
|[[North Norfolk (UK Parliament constituency)|Norfolk North]] |
|||
| |
|||
|[[Ralph Howell]] |
|||
| style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|{{party shortname linked|Conservative Party (UK)}} |
|||
|- |
|||
| rowspan="1" style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|[[George Perry (British politician)|George Perry]] |
|||
|[[Nottingham South]] |
|||
| |
|||
|[[Norman Fowler]] |
|||
| style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|{{party shortname linked|Conservative Party (UK)}} |
|||
|- |
|||
| rowspan="1" style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|[[John Horner (British politician)|John Horner]] |
|||
|[[Oldbury and Halesowen]] |
|||
| |
|||
|[[John Heydon Stokes|John Stokes]] |
|||
| style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|{{party shortname linked|Conservative Party (UK)}} |
|||
|- |
|||
| rowspan="1" style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|[[Evan Luard]] |
|||
|[[Oxford (UK Parliament constituency)|Oxford]] |
|||
| |
|||
|[[Montague Woodhouse, 5th Baron Terrington|Montague Woodhouse]] |
|||
| style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|{{party shortname linked|Conservative Party (UK)}} |
|||
|- |
|||
| rowspan="1" style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|[[Ronald Atkins]] |
|||
|[[Preston North]] |
|||
| |
|||
|[[Mary Holt]] |
|||
| style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|{{party shortname linked|Conservative Party (UK)}} |
|||
|- |
|||
| rowspan="1" style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|[[Peter Mahon (politician)|Peter Mahon]] |
|||
|[[Preston South]] |
|||
| |
|||
|[[Alan Green (MP)|Alan Green]] |
|||
| style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|{{party shortname linked|Conservative Party (UK)}} |
|||
|- |
|||
| rowspan="1" style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|[[John Lee (Labour politician)|John Lee]] |
|||
|[[Reading (UK Parliament constituency)|Reading]] |
|||
| |
|||
|[[Gerard Vaughan (British politician)|Gerard Vaughan]] |
|||
| style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|{{party shortname linked|Conservative Party (UK)}} |
|||
|- |
|||
| rowspan="1" style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|[[Anne Kerr (politician)|Anne Kerr]] |
|||
|[[Rochester and Chatham]] |
|||
| |
|||
|[[Peggy Fenner]] |
|||
| style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|{{party shortname linked|Conservative Party (UK)}} |
|||
|- |
|||
| rowspan="1" style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|[[Antony Gardner]] |
|||
|[[Rushcliffe (UK Parliament constituency)|Rushcliffe]] |
|||
| |
|||
|[[Kenneth Clarke]] |
|||
| style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|{{party shortname linked|Conservative Party (UK)}} |
|||
|- |
|||
| rowspan="1" style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|[[Frank Hooley]] |
|||
|[[Sheffield Heeley]] |
|||
| |
|||
|[[John Deane Spence|John Spence]] |
|||
| style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|{{party shortname linked|Conservative Party (UK)}} |
|||
|- |
|||
| rowspan="1" style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|[[Bob Mitchell (British politician)|Bob Mitchell]] |
|||
|[[Southampton Test]] |
|||
| |
|||
|[[James Hill (Conservative politician)|James Hill]] |
|||
| style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|{{party shortname linked|Conservative Party (UK)}} |
|||
|- |
|||
| rowspan="1" style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|[[Arnold Gregory]] |
|||
|[[Stockport North (UK Parliament constituency)|Stockport North]] |
|||
| |
|||
|[[Idris Owen]] |
|||
| style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|{{party shortname linked|Conservative Party (UK)}} |
|||
|- |
|||
| rowspan="1" style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|[[Ernest Davies (Stretford MP)|Ernest Davies]] |
|||
|[[Stretford (UK Parliament constituency)|Stretford]] |
|||
| |
|||
|[[Winston Churchill (1940–2010)|Winston Churchill]] |
|||
| style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|{{party shortname linked|Conservative Party (UK)}} |
|||
|- |
|||
| rowspan="1" style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|[[Gerry Fowler|Gerald Fowler]] |
|||
|[[The Wrekin (UK Parliament constituency)|The Wrekin]] |
|||
| |
|||
|[[Anthony Trafford]] |
|||
| style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|{{party shortname linked|Conservative Party (UK)}} |
|||
|- |
|||
| rowspan="1" style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|[[John Ryan (British politician)|John Ryan]] |
|||
|[[Uxbridge (UK Parliament constituency)|Uxbridge]] |
|||
| |
|||
|[[Charles Curran (politician)|Charles Curran]] |
|||
| style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|{{party shortname linked|Conservative Party (UK)}} |
|||
|- |
|||
| rowspan="1" style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|[[Malcolm Macmillan]] |
|||
|[[Western Isles (UK Parliament constituency)|Western Isles]] |
|||
| |
|||
|[[Donald Stewart (Scottish politician)|Donald Stewart]] |
|||
! class="unsortable" style="background-color: {{party color|Scottish National Party}}" | |
|||
|[[Scottish National Party]] |
|||
|- |
|||
| rowspan="1" style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|[[Hugh Gray (politician)|Hugh Gray]] |
|||
|[[Great Yarmouth (UK Parliament constituency)|Yarmouth]] |
|||
| |
|||
|[[Anthony Fell (politician)|Anthony Fell]] |
|||
| style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|{{party shortname linked|Conservative Party (UK)}} |
|||
|- |
|||
| style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
| rowspan="6" |{{party shortname linked|Conservative Party (UK)}} |
|||
|[[Kenneth Baker, Baron Baker of Dorking|Kenneth Baker]] |
|||
|[[Acton (UK Parliament constituency)|Acton]] |
|||
|Elected in the [[1968 Acton by-election]] |
|||
|[[Nigel Spearing]] |
|||
| rowspan="1" style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
| rowspan="1" |{{party shortname linked|Labour Party (UK)}} |
|||
|- |
|||
| style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|[[Donald Williams (politician)|Donald Williams]] |
|||
|[[Dudley (UK Parliament constituency)|Dudley]] |
|||
|Elected in the [[1968 Dudley by-election]] |
|||
|[[John Gilbert, Baron Gilbert|John Gilbert]] |
|||
| rowspan="1" style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
| rowspan="1" |{{party shortname linked|Labour Party (UK)}} |
|||
|- |
|||
| style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|[[Esmond Wright]] |
|||
|[[Glasgow Pollok (UK Parliament constituency)|Glasgow Pollok]] |
|||
|Elected in the [[1967 Glasgow Pollok by-election]] |
|||
|[[James White (Scottish politician)|James White]] |
|||
| rowspan="1" style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
| rowspan="1" |{{party shortname linked|Labour Party (UK)}} |
|||
|- |
|||
| style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|[[Bruce Campbell (barrister)|Bruce Campbell]] |
|||
|[[Oldham West]] |
|||
|Elected in the [[1968 Oldham West by-election]] |
|||
|[[Michael Meacher]] |
|||
| rowspan="1" style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
| rowspan="1" |{{party shortname linked|Labour Party (UK)}} |
|||
|- |
|||
| style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|[[Christopher Ward (British politician)|Christopher Ward]] |
|||
|[[Swindon (UK Parliament constituency)|Swindon]] |
|||
|Elected in the [[1969 Swindon by-election]] |
|||
|[[David Stoddart, Baron Stoddart of Swindon|David Stoddart]] |
|||
| rowspan="1" style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
| rowspan="1" |{{party shortname linked|Labour Party (UK)}} |
|||
|- |
|||
| style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|[[Fred Silvester]] |
|||
|[[Walthamstow West]] |
|||
|Elected in the [[1967 Walthamstow West by-election]] |
|||
|[[Eric Deakins]] |
|||
| rowspan="1" style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
| rowspan="1" |{{party shortname linked|Labour Party (UK)}} |
|||
|- |
|||
| style="background-color: {{party color|Liberal Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
| rowspan="5" |{{party shortname linked|Liberal Party (UK)}} |
|||
|[[Wallace Lawler]] |
|||
|[[Birmingham Ladywood]] |
|||
|Elected in the [[1969 Birmingham Ladywood by-election]] |
|||
|[[Doris Fisher, Baroness Fisher of Rednal|Doris Fisher]] |
|||
| rowspan="1" style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
| rowspan="1" |{{party shortname linked|Labour Party (UK)}} |
|||
|- |
|||
| style="background-color: {{party color|Liberal Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|[[Michael Winstanley]] |
|||
|[[Cheadle (UK Parliament constituency)|Cheadle]] |
|||
| |
|||
|[[Tom Normanton]] |
|||
| style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|{{party shortname linked|Conservative Party (UK)}} |
|||
|- |
|||
| style="background-color: {{party color|Liberal Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|[[Richard Wainwright (politician)|Richard Wainwright]] |
|||
|[[Colne Valley (UK Parliament constituency)|Colne Valley]] |
|||
| |
|||
|[[David Clark, Baron Clark of Windermere|David Clark]] |
|||
| rowspan="1" style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
| rowspan="1" |{{party shortname linked|Labour Party (UK)}} |
|||
|- |
|||
| style="background-color: {{party color|Liberal Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|[[Eric Lubbock]] |
|||
|[[Orpington (UK Parliament constituency)|Orpington]] |
|||
|[[Liberal Chief Whip]] |
|||
|[[Ivor Stanbrook]] |
|||
| style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|{{party shortname linked|Conservative Party (UK)}} |
|||
|- |
|||
| style="background-color: {{party color|Liberal Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|[[Alasdair Mackenzie]] |
|||
|[[Ross and Cromarty (UK Parliament constituency)|Ross and Cromarty]] |
|||
| |
|||
|[[Hamish Gray]] |
|||
| style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|{{party shortname linked|Conservative Party (UK)}} |
|||
|- |
|||
! class="unsortable" style="background-color: {{party color|Ulster Unionist Party}}" | |
|||
| rowspan="2" |[[Ulster Unionist]] |
|||
|[[Henry Clark (Northern Irish politician)|Henry Clark]] |
|||
|[[North Antrim (UK Parliament constituency)|Antrim North]] |
|||
| |
|||
|[[Ian Paisley]] |
|||
| style="background-color: {{party color|Democratic Unionist Party}}" | |
|||
|[[Democratic Unionist]] |
|||
|- |
|||
! class="unsortable" style="background-color: {{party color|Ulster Unionist Party}}" | |
|||
|[[James Hamilton, 5th Duke of Abercorn|James Hamilton]] |
|||
|[[Fermanagh and South Tyrone (UK Parliament constituency)|Fermanagh and South Tyrone]] |
|||
| |
|||
|[[Frank McManus (Irish politician)|Frank McManus]] |
|||
| style="background-color: {{party color|Unity (Northern Ireland)}}" | |
|||
|[[Unity (Northern Ireland)|Unity]] |
|||
|- |
|||
! class="unsortable" style="background-color: {{party color|Scottish National Party}}" | |
|||
|[[Scottish National Party]] |
|||
|[[Winnie Ewing]] |
|||
|[[Hamilton (UK Parliament constituency)|Hamilton]] |
|||
|Elected in the [[1967 Hamilton by-election]] |
|||
|[[Alexander Wilson (Scottish politician)|Alex Wilson]] |
|||
| rowspan="1" style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
| rowspan="1" |{{party shortname linked|Labour Party (UK)}} |
|||
|- |
|||
! class="unsortable" style="background-color: {{party color|Plaid Cymru}}" | |
|||
|[[Plaid Cymru]] |
|||
|[[Gwynfor Evans]] |
|||
|[[Carmarthen (UK Parliament constituency)|Carmarthen]] |
|||
|Elected in the [[1966 Carmarthen by-election]] |
|||
|[[Gwynoro Jones]] |
|||
| rowspan="1" style="background-color: {{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
| rowspan="1" |{{party shortname linked|Labour Party (UK)}} |
|||
|- |
|||
| |
|||
|[[Democratic Party (UK, 1969)|Democratic Party]] |
|||
|[[Desmond Donnelly]] |
|||
|[[Pembrokeshire (UK Parliament constituency)|Pembrokeshire]] |
|||
|Former Labour MP |
|||
|[[Nicholas Edwards]] |
|||
| style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | |
|||
|{{party shortname linked|Conservative Party (UK)}} |
|||
|} |
|||
==See also== |
==See also== |
||
*[[List of MPs elected in the 1970 United Kingdom general election]] |
*[[List of MPs elected in the 1970 United Kingdom general election]] |
||
*[[1970 United Kingdom general election in Northern Ireland]] |
*[[1970 United Kingdom general election in Northern Ireland]] |
||
*[[1970 United Kingdom general election in Scotland]] |
|||
*[[1970 United Kingdom local elections]] |
*[[1970 United Kingdom local elections]] |
||
Line 775: | Line 1,307: | ||
==External links== |
==External links== |
||
{{Commons category |
{{Commons category}} |
||
*[http://www.election.demon.co.uk/geresults.html United Kingdom election results—summary results 1885–1979] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080223222448/http://www.election.demon.co.uk/geresults.html |date=23 February 2008 }} |
*[http://www.election.demon.co.uk/geresults.html United Kingdom election results—summary results 1885–1979] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080223222448/http://www.election.demon.co.uk/geresults.html |date=23 February 2008 }} |
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*[https://web.archive.org/web/20170509104426/http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/man/lab70.htm ''Now Britain's strong{{snd}}let's make it great to live in''], 1970 Labour Party manifesto |
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20170509104426/http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/man/lab70.htm ''Now Britain's strong{{snd}}let's make it great to live in''], 1970 Labour Party manifesto |
||
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20170516071332/http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/man/lib70.htm ''What a Life!''], 1970 Liberal Party manifesto |
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20170516071332/http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/man/lib70.htm ''What a Life!''], 1970 Liberal Party manifesto |
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{{1970 United Kingdom general election}}{{British elections}} |
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{{British elections}} |
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{{United Kingdom European Communities membership referendum, 1975}} |
{{United Kingdom European Communities membership referendum, 1975}} |
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{{Harold Wilson}} |
{{Harold Wilson}} |
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[[Category:Harold Wilson]] |
[[Category:Harold Wilson]] |
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[[Category:Edward Heath]] |
[[Category:Edward Heath]] |
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[[Category:History of the Conservative Party (UK)]] |
Latest revision as of 18:05, 7 December 2024
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All 630 seats in the House of Commons 316 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Opinion polls | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Turnout | 72.0% (3.8 pp) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Colours denote the winning party—as shown in § Results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Composition of the House of Commons after the election | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
The 1970 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 18 June 1970. It resulted in a surprise victory for the Conservative Party under leader Edward Heath, which defeated the governing Labour Party under Prime Minister Harold Wilson. The Liberal Party, under its new leader Jeremy Thorpe, lost half its seats. The Conservatives, including the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), secured a majority of 30 seats. This general election was the first in which people could vote from the age of 18, after passage of the Representation of the People Act the previous year, and the first UK election in which party affiliations of candidates were put on the ballots.[1]
Most opinion polls prior to the election indicated a comfortable Labour victory, and put Labour up to 12.4% ahead of the Conservatives. On election day, however, a late swing gave the Conservatives a 3.4% lead and ended almost six years of Labour government, although Wilson remained leader of the Labour Party in opposition. Writing in the aftermath of the election, the political scientist Richard Rose described the Conservative victory as "surprising" and noted a significant shift in votes between the two main parties.[2] The Times journalist George Clark wrote that the election would be "remembered as the occasion when the people of the United Kingdom hurled the findings of the opinion polls back into the faces of the pollsters".[3]
The result would provide the mandate for Heath as Prime Minister to begin formal negotiations for the United Kingdom to become a member state of the European Communities (EC)—or the "Common Market" as it was more widely known at the time, before it later became the European Union; the UK officially joined the EC on 1 January 1973, along with the Republic of Ireland and Denmark.
Frontbench Labour politicians George Brown and Jennie Lee were voted out at this election.
This marked the end of a series of elections where both main parties won over 40% of the vote. This would not occur again for the Conservatives for nine years; Labour would wait 27.
The result was cast as a two-party politics outcome, with no third party reaching 10% of the (total) vote. Such an outcome would not happen again until the 2017 election.
The election was the last in which a nationwide UK party gained seats in Northern Ireland.[4] The UUP sat with the Conservative Party at Westminster, traditionally taking the Conservative parliamentary whip. To all intents and purposes the UUP functioned as the Northern Ireland branch of the Conservative Party. However, hardline unionist Ian Paisley unseated the UUP incumbent in North Antrim, a clear sign that the UUP's complete dominance over unionist politics in Northern Ireland was already starting to weaken. In 1972, in protest over the permanent prorogation of the Parliament of Northern Ireland, Westminster UUP MPs withdrew from the alliance.[5][page needed]
Election date
[edit]The date of 18 June was supposedly chosen because Harold Wilson wanted as Prime Minister to go to the polls before the introduction of decimal coinage in early 1971, for which his government had been responsible and which he thought was hugely unpopular,[6][page needed] and because Wilson sought to gain some momentum by surprising the Conservatives, who were expecting an October election.[6][page needed]
Overview
[edit]Commentators believed that an unexpectedly bad set of balance of payments figures (a £31-million trade deficit) published three days before the election and a loss of national prestige after the England football team's defeat by West Germany on 14 June in the World Cup contributed to the Labour defeat.[7]
Other factors that were cited as reasons for the Conservative victory included union indiscipline, rising prices, the risk of devaluation, the imposition of Selective Employment Tax (SET), and a set of jobless figures released on final week of the campaign showing unemployment at its highest level since 1940. Interviewed by Robin Day, the outgoing Prime Minister Harold Wilson highlighted the possibility that "complacency engendered by the opinion polls" may have resulted in a poor turnout of Labour supporters.[8]
As defending world champions, England's venture in the World Cup attracted a much keener public interest than the general election did.[9] However an analysis by pollster Matt Singh for the 50th anniversary of the election concluded that the late swing had been caused by the weak economic data and that there was "no evidence" that the World Cup had influenced the outcome.[10]
American pollster Douglas Schoen and Oxford University academic R. W. Johnson asserted that Enoch Powell had attracted 2.5 million votes to the Conservatives, although the Conservative vote only increased by 1.7 million. Johnson later stated "It became clear that Powell had won the 1970 election for the Tories ... of all those who had switched their vote from one party to another, 50 per cent were working class Powellites".[11] The Professor of Political Science Randall Hansen assessed a range of studies, including some which contended that Powell had made little or no difference to the result, but concluded that "At the very least, Powell's effect was likely to have fired up the Conservative vote in constituencies which would have voted Tory in any event".[12][page needed] Election night commentators Michael Barratt and Jeffrey Preece dismissed any special "Powell factor", as did Conservative MPs Reginald Maudling, Timothy Raison and Hugh Dykes.[8]
The 1970–74 Parliament has to date been the only time since the 1924–29 Parliament in which the Conservative Party were only in government for one term before returning to opposition.
The most notable casualty of the election was George Brown, deputy leader of the Labour Party, who lost to the Conservative candidate in the Belper constituency. Brown had held the seat since 1945. Labour Minister for the Arts, Jennie Lee lost her Cannock seat, held by Labour since 1935 on a swing of 10.7% to the Conservatives in what Richard Rose called "the biggest upset" of the election.[13]
Unusually for the Liberal Party, the by-elections between 1966 and 1970 had proved almost fruitless, with many Liberal candidates losing deposits. The one exception was its by-election gain of Birmingham Ladywood in June 1969; this was promptly lost in the 1970 general election. The party found itself struggling to introduce its new leader Jeremy Thorpe to the public, owing to the extensive coverage and attention paid to Enoch Powell. The election result was poor for the Liberals, with Thorpe only narrowly winning his own seat in North Devon.[7] Indeed, of the six MPs returned, three (Thorpe, David Steel and John Pardoe) were elected by a majority of less than 1,000 votes.[14]
The BBC's election coverage was led by Cliff Michelmore, along with Robin Day, David Butler and Robert McKenzie.[7] There were periodic cutaways to the BBC regions. This coverage has been rerun on BBC Parliament on several occasions, including on 18 July 2005 as a tribute to Edward Heath after his death the previous day. Its most recent screening was on the 20th of June 2020, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of its first transmission.[15] The BBC coverage was parodied by Monty Python's Flying Circus in its famous "Election Night Special" sketch.
Both BBC and ITN carried their 1970 election night broadcasts in colour, although segments broadcast from some remote locations and some BBC and ITN regional bureaus were transmitted in black-and-white. Some ITV regions were not yet broadcasting in colour at the time of the 1970 elections.
The right to vote in this election was widened by the Labour government's Sixth Reform Act, which reduced the voting age from 21 to 18 years. The United Kingdom was the first major democratic nation to extend suffrage to this age group.[16][17][18] Case law subsequently established the right for undergraduate students to vote in the constituency of their university. This followed an appeal to the High Court.[19]
Timeline
[edit]The Prime Minister, Harold Wilson, visited Buckingham Palace on 18 May and asked the Queen to dissolve Parliament on 29 May, announcing that the election would be held on 18 June. The key dates were as follows:
Friday 29 May | Dissolution of the 44th Parliament and campaigning officially begins |
Monday 8 June | Last day to file nomination papers |
Wednesday 17 June | Campaigning officially ends |
Thursday 18 June | Polling day |
Friday 19 June | The Conservative Party wins power with a majority of 31 |
Monday 29 June | 45th Parliament assembles |
Thursday 2 July | State Opening of Parliament |
Opinion poll summary
[edit]Summary of the final polling results before the general election.[20]
Party | Marplan | Gallup | National opinion polls (NOP) | Opinion Research Centre (OPC) | Harris | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | 41.5% | 42.0% | 44.1% | 46.5% | 46.0% | |
Labour | 50.2% | 49.0% | 48.2% | 45.5% | 48.0% | |
Liberal | 7.0% | 7.5% | 6.4% | 6.5% | 5.0% | |
Other parties | 1.3% | 1.5% | 1.3% | 1.5% | 1.0% | |
Labour lead | 8.7% | 7.0% | 4.1% | −1.0% | 2.0% | |
Fieldwork dates | 11–14 June | 14–16 June | 12–16 June | 13–17 June | 20 May – 16 June | |
Sample size | 2,267 | 2,190 | 1,562 | 1,583 | 4,841 |
Results
[edit]This was the first general election where 18-year-olds had the right to vote. Therefore, despite 1.1 million more people voting in 1970 compared to 1966, turnout actually fell by 3%. This 72% turnout was the lowest since the 1935 general election and compared with a post-War high of 84% in 1950. Professor Richard Rose described the low turnout, which he noted was "one of the lowest since the introduction of the democratic franchise", as surprising to politician and pollsters. Changes to electoral law as part of the Representation of the People Act 1969 had made postal voting easier and polling stations were open an hour later than in past elections, and this would have been expected to improve turnout. On top of this it was reported by Rose that an estimated 25% of 18- to 21-year-olds who were now eligible to vote had not put their names on the electoral register, meaning the turnout was even lower than the percentage figure suggested. Rose also argued that the turnout figures in Britain were "now among the lowest in the Western world."[2] Because the previous election had been in 1966, some people had not had their chance to vote in a general election until the age of 25. Labour's number of votes, 12.2 million, was ironically the same amount they had needed to win in 1964. The Conservative vote surge cost Labour in many marginal seats. Rose suggested the absolute fall in the number of Labour votes suggested that many of the party's supporters had decided to abstain. He also noted that the Labour Party's local organisation was poorer than that of the Conservatives, but did not feel this was a significant factor in Labour supporters failing to come out to vote for the Party given that this organisational difference had been the case in past elections without having this effect.[2] For the Liberals, a small 1% drop in their vote share saw them lose 6 seats, 3 of which were held by the narrowest of margins.
In the end the Conservatives achieved a swing of 4.7%, enough to give them a comfortable working majority. As for the smaller parties, they increased their number in the Commons from 2 to 6 seats.
The Scottish National Party won its first ever seat at a general election (they had won several by-elections previously, going back as far as 1945), although they did lose Hamilton, which they won in a by-election in 1967.
Candidates | Votes | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Leader | Stood | Elected | Gained | Unseated | Net | % of total | % | No. | Net % | |
Conservative | Edward Heath | 628 | 330 | 80 | 3 | +77 | 52.4 | 46.4 | 13,145,123 | +4.5 | |
Labour | Harold Wilson | 625 | 288[note 1] | 1 | 77 | −76 | 45.7 | 43.1 | 12,208,758 | −4.9 | |
Liberal | Jeremy Thorpe | 332 | 6 | 0 | 6 | −6 | 1.0 | 7.5 | 2,117,035 | −1.0 | |
SNP | William Wolfe | 65 | 1 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 0.2 | 1.1 | 306,802 | +0.6 | |
Plaid Cymru | Gwynfor Evans | 36 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.6 | 175,016 | +0.4 | ||
Unity | N/A | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | +2 | 0.3 | 0.50 | 140,930 | N/A | |
Independent | N/A | 40 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 | 39,264 | 0.0 | ||
Communist | John Gollan | 58 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 | 37,970 | −0.1 | ||
Protestant Unionist | Ian Paisley | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 35,303 | N/A | |
Republican Labour | Gerry Fitt | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 30,649 | N/A | |
Independent Labour | N/A | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 24,685 | +0.1 | |
Ind. Conservative | N/A | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 | 24,014 | +0.1 | ||
Democratic Party | Desmond Donnelly | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 | 15,292 | N/A | ||
National Democratic | David Brown | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 | 14,276 | N/A | ||
National Front | John O'Brien | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 11,449 | N/A | ||
National Democratic | Gerry Quigley | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 10,349 | N/A | ||
Vectis National Party | R. W. Cawdell | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 1,607 | N/A | ||
Independent Liberal | N/A | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 1,456 | 0.0 | ||
World Government | Gilbert Young | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 1,016 | N/A | ||
Mebyon Kernow | Len Truran | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 960 | N/A | ||
Ind. Labour Party | Emrys Thomas | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 847 | 0.0 | ||
British Movement | Colin Jordan | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 704 | N/A | ||
Independent Progressive | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 658 | N/A | |||
Socialist (GB) | N/A | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 376 | 0.0 | ||
Young Ideas | Screaming Lord Sutch | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 142 | N/A | ||
British Commonwealth | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 117 | N/A |
Government's new majority | 30 |
Total votes cast | 28,305,534 |
Turnout | 72% |
Votes summary
[edit]Seats summary
[edit]Televised declarations
[edit]These declarations were covered live by the BBC where the returning officer was heard to say "duly elected".
Constituency | Winning party 1966 | Constituency result by party | Winning party 1970 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Con | Lab | Lib | Others | |||||
Guildford | Conservative | 27,203 | 13,108 | 8,822 | Conservative hold | |||
Cheltenham | Conservative | 22,823 | 14,213 | 8,431 | Conservative hold | |||
Salford West | Labour | 14,310 | 16,986 | Labour hold | ||||
Wolverhampton North East | Labour | 15,358 | 17,251 | 1,592 | Labour hold | |||
Salford East | Labour | 9,583 | 15,853 | 3,000 | Labour hold | |||
Wolverhampton South West | Conservative | 26,252 | 11,753 | 2,459 | 318 | Conservative hold | ||
Newcastle upon Tyne Central | Labour | 4,256 | 13,671 | 1,433 | Labour hold | |||
Newcastle upon Tyne North | Conservative | 15,978 | 12,518 | Conservative hold | ||||
Exeter | Labour | 21,680 | 20,409 | 6,672 | Conservative gain | |||
North Devon | Liberal | 18,524 | 5,268 | 18,893 | 175 | Liberal hold | ||
West Aberdeenshire | Liberal | 18,396 | 6,141 | 12,847 | 2,112 | Conservative gain |
Incumbents defeated
[edit]See also
[edit]- List of MPs elected in the 1970 United Kingdom general election
- 1970 United Kingdom general election in Northern Ireland
- 1970 United Kingdom general election in Scotland
- 1970 United Kingdom local elections
Notes
[edit]- ^ a b The seat and vote count figures for Labour given here include the Speaker of the House of Commons
- ^ The Conservative figure includes eight Ulster Unionists, and the Labour figure includes seven Northern Ireland Labour Party candidates.
References
[edit]- ^ HC Deb 10 December 1968 vol 775 cc242-87
- ^ a b c Richard Rose (1970). "Voting Trends Surveyed". The Times Guide to the House of Commons 1970. London: Times Newspapers Limited. p. 31.
- ^ George Clark (1970). "The General Election Campaign, 1970". The Times Guide to the House of Commons 1970. London: Times Newspapers Limited. p. 26.
- ^ Keohane, Dan (2000), Security in British Politics 1945–99, p. 183
- ^ Bell, Stuart; Seldon, Anthony, The Heath Government 1970–74: A Reappraisal
- ^ a b Haines, Joe (2003), Glimmers of Twilight, London: Politico's Publishers
- ^ a b c "1970: Heath's surprise victory", BBC News, 5 April 2005, retrieved 31 May 2018
- ^ a b BBC Election Results Programme, 18–19 July 1970
- ^ "Heath: The victory few predicted", BBC News, retrieved 31 May 2018
- ^ "Did England's World Cup defeat win the 1970 election for the Tories?". CapX. 19 June 2020. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
- ^ Heffer, Simon (1999), Like the Roman: The Life of Enoch Powell, London: Phoenix, p. 568
- ^ Hansen, Randell (2000), Citizenship and Immigration in Post-War Britain, Oxford University Press
- ^ Richard Rose (1970). "Voting Trends Surveyed". The Times Guide to the House of Commons 1970. London: Times Newspapers Ltd. p. 31.
- ^ The Times Guide to the House of Commons 1970. London: Times Newspapers Ltd. 1970. p. 250.
- ^ BBC Election 1970, BBC Parliament, archived from the original on 25 October 2010
- ^ Loughran, Thomas; Mycock, Andrew; Tonge, Jonathan (3 April 2021). "A coming of age: how and why the UK became the first democracy to allow votes for 18-year-olds". Contemporary British History. 35 (2): 284–313. doi:10.1080/13619462.2021.1890589. ISSN 1361-9462. S2CID 233956982.
- ^ Loughran, Thomas; Mycock, Andrew; Tonge, Jonathan (3 November 2021). "Lowering the voting age: three lessons from the 1969 Representation of the People's Act". British Politics and Policy at LSE. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
- ^ Bingham, Adrian (25 June 2019). "'The last milestone' on the journey to full adult suffrage? 50 years of debates about the voting age". History & Policy. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
- ^ Stephen D. Fisher & Nick Hillman. "Do students swing elections? Registration, turnout and voting behaviour among full-time students" (PDF). HEPI. p. 4.
- ^ Abrams, M. (1970), "The Opinion Polls and the 1970 British General Election", The Public Opinion Quarterly, 34 (2): 317–324, doi:10.1086/267808
Further reading
[edit]- Butler, David E.; et al. (1971), The British General Election of 1970, the standard scholarly study.
- Craig, F. W. S. (1989), British Electoral Facts: 1832–1987, Dartmouth: Gower, ISBN 0900178302
External links
[edit]- United Kingdom election results—summary results 1885–1979 Archived 23 February 2008 at the Wayback Machine
Manifestos
[edit]- A Better Tomorrow, 1970 Conservative Party manifesto
- Now Britain's strong – let's make it great to live in, 1970 Labour Party manifesto
- What a Life!, 1970 Liberal Party manifesto