UK general election, 1997
The 1 May 1997 UK general election brought the first change in UK Government for 18 years. The Labour Party led by Tony Blair defeated the incumbent Conservative Party, causing a major change to the political landscape of the United Kingdom.
Results
Turnout 31,286,284
Seats 659
| Party |
Votes |
Seats |
Loss/Gain |
Share of Vote (%) |
| Labour |
13,518,167 |
418 |
+ 147 |
45.2 |
| Conservative |
9,590,916 |
165 |
- 181 |
30.7 |
| Liberal Democrats |
5,242,947 |
46 |
+ 26 |
16.8 |
| Referendum |
811,849 |
0 |
|
2.6 |
| SNP |
621,550 |
6 |
+ 3 |
2.0 |
| Ulster Unionist |
258,349 |
10 |
+ 1 |
0.8 |
| SDLP |
190,814 |
3 |
- 1 |
0.6 |
| Plaid Cymru |
161,030 |
4 |
|
0.5 |
| Sinn Fein |
126,921 |
2 |
+ 2 |
0.4 |
| Democratic Unionist |
107,348 |
2 |
- 1 |
0.3 |
| UK Independence |
105,722 |
0 |
|
0.3 |
| Green |
63,991 |
0 |
|
0.3 |
| Alliance (NI) |
62,972 |
0 |
|
0.2 |
| Socialist Labour |
52,109 |
0 |
|
0.2 |
| Liberal |
45,166 |
0 |
|
0.1 |
| BNP |
35,832 |
0 |
|
0.1 |
| Natural Law |
30,604 |
0 |
|
0.1 |
| Prolife Alliance |
19,332 |
0 |
|
0.1 |
| UK Unionist |
12,817 |
1 |
|
0.0 |
| Progressive Unionist |
10,928 |
0 |
|
0.0 |
| National Democrat |
10,829 |
0 |
|
0.0 |
| Conservative (NI) |
9,858 |
0 |
|
0.0 |
| Scottish Socialist |
9,740 |
0 |
|
0.0 |
| Socialist |
9,486 |
0 |
|
0.0 |
| Monster Raving Loony |
7,906 |
0 |
|
0.0 |
| Rainbow |
3,745 |
0 |
|
0.0 |
| National Front |
2,716 |
0 |
|
0.0 |
| Workers |
2,480 |
0 |
|
0.0 |
| Mebyon Kernow |
1,906 |
0 |
|
0.0 |
| WRP |
1,178 |
0 |
|
0.0 |
The result declared for the constituency of Winchester showed a margin of victory of just 2 votes for the Liberal Democrats. The defeated Conservative candidate challenged the result on the grounds that errors by election officials (failures to stamp certain votes) had changed the result, forcing a by-election on 20 November which was won by the Liberal Democrats with a much larger majority.
Overall Picture
The election has been described as a bloodbath for the ruling Tories. They lost all seats outside of England, and several prominent members, including
Labour won their largest parliamentary majority (179) to date, and the Liberal Democrats more than doubled their number of seats.
The Referendum Party came fourth with about 800,000 votes on a platform of seeking a referendum on the relationship with the European Union and may have taken some votes from the Conservatives; the next six parties only stood in one of Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.
See also MPs elected in the UK general election, 1997.
Referenced By
Alan Campbell (politician) | Alan Clark | Alistair Burt | Alistair James Hendrie Burt | Andrew David Lansley | Andrew David Smith | Andrew Lansley | Andrew Smith | Andy King | Anthony Blair | Anthony C. L. Blair | Anthony Charles Lynton Blair | Anthony Colman | Anthony John Colman | Antony Baldry | Antony Brian Baldry | Antony Harold Newton | Archibald John Norman | Archie Norman | Ashok Kumar (politician) | Barbara Follett | Baron Newton of Braintree | Baron Waldegrave of North Hill | Baroness Maddock | Barry Gardiner | Barry Strachan Gardiner | Beverley Hughes | Beverley June Hughes | Bob Blizzard | Bob Marshall-Andrews | Bob McCartney | Brian Cotter | Brian Iddon | Brian Joseph Cotter | Brian Mawhinney | British Conservative Party | British Labour Party | British Tory Party | British elections | Cash-for-questions affair | Cash for questions | Chris Mullin (politician) | Christopher John Mullin | Claire Curtis-Thomas | Clare Curtis-Tansley | Colin Burgon | Conservative Party (UK) | Conservative and Unionist Party | Damian Green | Damian Howard Green | Dan Norris | Daphne Barbara Follett | David Chaytor | David Drew | David Elliott Drew | David Hunt | David John Mellor | David Mellor | David Michael Chaytor | Derek Conway | Derek Leslie Conway | Diana Maddock | Diana Mary Organ | Doug Naysmith | Education in England | Edward Davey | Edward Jonathon Davey | Elizabeth Blackman | Elizabeth Marion Blackman | Exeter | Exeter, England | Fifty-Second Parliament of the United Kingdom | Frank Dobson | Frank Field | Frank Gordon Dobson | George Gideon Oliver Osborne | George Osborne | Geraint Davies | Geraint Richard Davies | Gillian Patricia Shephard | Gillian Shephard | Gillian Shepherd | Gisela Gschaider Stuart | Gisela Stuart | Gordon McMaster | Granita | Greg Knight | Gregory Knight | Harold Best | Hazel Anne Blears | Hazel Blears | Helpless | Henry Bellingham | Henry Campbell Bellingham | Hilton Dawson | Huw Edwards (politician) | Huw William Edmund Edwards | Ian Arthur Cawsey | Ian Cawsey | Jack Cunningham ...
|
