United Kingdom general election, 2015 - Wikipedia United Kingdom general election, 2015 United Kingdom general election, 2015 ← 2010 7 May 2015 2017 → ← outgoing members elected members → All 650 seats in the House of Commons 326 seats needed for a majority Opinion polls Turnout 66.4 % ( 1.3 % ) First party Second party Leader David Cameron Ed Miliband Party Conservative Labour Leader since 6 December 2005 25 September 2010 Leader 's seat Witney Doncaster North Last election 306 seats, 36.1 % 258 seats, 29.0 % Seats won 330 * 232 Seat change 24 26 Popular vote 11,334,226 9,347,273 Percentage 36.8 % 30.4 % Swing 0.7 % 1.5 % Third party Fourth party Leader Nicola Sturgeon Nick Clegg Party SNP Liberal Democrat Leader since 14 November 2014 18 December 2007 Leader 's seat Did not stand Sheffield Hallam Last election 6 seats, 1.7 % 57 seats, 23.0 % Seats won 56 8 Seat change 50 49 Popular vote 1,454,436 2,415,916 Percentage 4.7 % 7.9 % Swing 3.1 % 15.2 % Colours denote the winning party, as shown in the main table of results. * Figure does not include the Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow, who was included in the Conservative seat total by some media outlets. Prime Minister before election David Cameron Conservative Subsequent Prime Minister David Cameron Conservative 2001 election MPs 2005 election MPs 2010 election MPs 2015 election MPs 2017 election MPs The United Kingdom general election of 2015 was held on 7 May 2015 to elect 650 members to the House of Commons. It was the first general election at the end of a fixed - term Parliament. Local elections took place in most areas on the same day. Polls and commentators had predicted the outcome would be too close to call and would result in a second hung parliament similar to the 2010 election. Opinion polls were eventually proven to have underestimated the Conservative vote as they unexpectedly won an outright majority, which bore resemblance to their victory at the 1992 general election. Having governed in coalition with the Liberal Democrats since 2010, the Conservatives won 330 seats and 36.9 % of the vote, this time winning a working majority of twelve seats. The British Polling Council began an inquiry into the substantial variance between opinion polls and the actual result. Forming the first Conservative majority government since 1992, David Cameron became the first Prime Minister to continue in office immediately after a term of at least four years with a larger popular vote share since 1900, and the only Prime Minister other than Margaret Thatcher to continue in office immediately after a term of at least four years with a greater number of seats. The Labour Party, led by Ed Miliband, saw a small increase in its share of the vote to 30.4 %, but incurred a net loss of seats to return 232 MPs. This was its lowest seat tally since the 1987 general election. Senior Labour Shadow Cabinet members, notably Ed Balls, Douglas Alexander, and Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy, were defeated. The Scottish National Party, enjoying a surge in support since the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, recorded a number of huge swings of over 30 % ( including a record - breaking swing of 39.3 % achieved in Glasgow North East ) from Labour, as it won 56 of the 59 Scottish seats to become the third - largest party in the Commons. The Liberal Democrats, led by outgoing Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, had their worst result since their formation in 1988, holding just eight out of their previous 57 seats with Cabinet ministers Vince Cable, Ed Davey and Danny Alexander losing their seats. UKIP came third in terms of votes with 12.6 %, but only won one seat, with party leader Nigel Farage failing to win the seat of South Thanet. The Green Party won its highest - ever share of the vote with 3.8 %, and retained the Brighton Pavilion seat with an increased majority, though did not win any additional seats. Labour 's Miliband ( as national leader ) and Murphy ( as Scottish leader ) both resigned, as did Clegg. Farage claimed that his resignation was rejected by his party, and he remained in post. In Northern Ireland, the Ulster Unionist Party returned to the Commons with two MPs after a five - year absence, while the Alliance Party lost its only seat despite an increase in total vote share. The Conservative Party majority meant that Cameron was able to fulfil a manifesto commitment to renegotiate British membership of the European Union. That renegotiation was followed by a referendum in June 2016, which resulted in the British electorate voting to withdraw from the European Union by 52 % to 48 % and led to the resignation of Cameron as Prime Minister. The new Prime Minister, Theresa May, called in April 2017 for a snap general election with the stated aim of securing a majority for Brexit negotiations ; it received parliamentary approval the following day, and was arranged for Thursday 8 June 2017. Contents 1 Election process 2 Date of the election 2.1 Timetable 3 MPs not standing for re-election 4 Contesting political parties and candidates 4.1 Overview 4.2 Great Britain - based 4.2. 1 Minor parties 4.3 Northern Ireland 4.4 Pacts and possible coalitions 4.5 Candidates 5 Campaign 5.1 Possibility of a hung Parliament 5.2 Government finance 6 Television debates 7 Endorsements 8 Opinion polling 8.1 Predictions one month before the vote 8.2 Final predictions before the vote 8.3 Exit poll 8.4 Opinion polling inaccuracies and scrutiny 9 Results 9.1 Geographic voting distribution 9.2 Outcome 9.3 Voter demographics 9.4 Gender 9.5 Seats which changed allegiance 9.6 General election records broken in 2015 9.6. 1 Youngest elected MP 9.6. 2 Largest swing 9.6. 3 Lowest winning vote share 10 Aftermath 10.1 Resignations 10.2 Financial markets 10.3 Electoral reform 10.4 Daily Telegraph investigation of abuse of Wikipedia 10.5 Telegraph Media Group fined 10.6 Election petition 10.7 Party election spending investigation 11 See also 12 Footnotes 13 References 14 External links 14.1 Polls and forecasts 14.2 Constitutional issues 14.3 News sites 14.4 Manifestos 14.5 Boundary Commissions 14.6 Results Election process See also : Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011 The Fixed - term Parliaments Act 2011 ( as amended by the Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013 ) led to the dissolution of the 55th Parliament on 30 March 2015 and the scheduling of the election on 7 May, the House of Commons not having voted for an earlier date. There were local elections on the same day in most of England, with the exception of Greater London. No other elections were scheduled to take place in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, apart from any local by - elections. All British, Irish and Commonwealth citizens over the age of 18 on the date of the election were permitted to vote. In general elections, voting takes place in all parliamentary constituencies of the United Kingdom to elect members of parliament ( MPs ) to seats in the House of Commons, the dominant ( historically termed the lower ) house of Parliament. Each parliamentary constituency of the United Kingdom elects one MP to the House of Commons using the `` first - past - the - post '' system. If one party obtains a majority of seats, then that party is entitled to form the Government. If the election results in no single party having a majority, then there is a hung parliament. In this case, the options for forming the Government are either a minority government or a coalition government. Although the Conservative Party planned the number of parliamentary seats to be reduced from 650 to 600, through the Sixth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies under the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011, the review of constituencies and reduction in seats was delayed by the Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013 amending the 2011 Act. The next boundary review is now set to take place in 2018 ; thus, the 2015 general election was contested using the same constituencies and boundaries as in 2010. Of the 650 constituencies, 533 were in England, 59 in Scotland, 40 in Wales and 18 in Northern Ireland. In addition, the 2011 Act mandated a referendum in 2011 on changing from the current `` first - past - the - post '' system to an alternative vote ( instant - runoff ) system for elections to the Commons. The Conservative -- Liberal Democrat coalition agreement committed the coalition government to such a referendum. The referendum was held in May 2011 and resulted in the retention of the existing voting system. Before the previous general election the Liberal Democrats had pledged to change the voting system, and the Labour Party pledged to have a referendum about any such change. The Conservatives, however, promised to keep the first - past - the - post system, but to reduce the number of constituencies by 10 %. Liberal Democrat plans were to reduce the number of MPs to 500, and for them to be elected using a proportional system. Ministers increased the amount of money that parties and candidates were allowed to spend on the election by 23 %, a move decided against Electoral Commission advice. The election saw the first cap on spending by parties in individual constituencies during the 100 days before Parliament 's dissolution on 30 March : £ 30,700, plus a per - voter allowance of 9p in county constituencies and 6p in borough seats. An additional voter allowance of more than £ 8,700 is available after the dissolution of Parliament. UK political parties spent £ 31.1 m in the 2010 general election, of which the Conservative Party spent 53 %, the Labour Party spent 25 % and the Liberal Democrats 15 %. This was the first UK general election to use individual rather than household voter registration. Date of the election A church used as a polling station in Bath on 7 May 2015 See also : Fixed - term Parliaments Act 2011 An election is called following the dissolution of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The 2015 general election was the first to be held under the provisions of the Fixed - term Parliaments Act 2011. Prior to this, the power to dissolve Parliament was a royal prerogative, exercised by the sovereign on the advice of the prime minister. Under the provisions of the Septennial Act 1716, as amended by the Parliament Act 1911, an election had to be announced on or before the fifth anniversary of the beginning of the previous parliament, barring exceptional circumstances. No sovereign had refused a request for dissolution since the beginning of the 20th century, and the practice had evolved that a prime minister would typically call a general election to be held at a tactically convenient time within the final two years of a Parliament 's lifespan, to maximise the chance of an electoral victory for his or her party. Prior to the 2010 general election, the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats pledged to introduce fixed - term elections. As part of the Conservative -- Liberal Democrat coalition agreement, the Cameron ministry agreed to support legislation for fixed - term Parliaments, with the date of the next general election being 7 May 2015. This resulted in the Fixed - term Parliaments Act 2011, which removed the prime minister 's power to advise the monarch to call an early election. The Act only permits an early dissolution if Parliament votes for one by a two - thirds supermajority, or if a vote of no confidence is passed by a majority and no new government is subsequently formed within 14 days. However, the prime minister had the power, by order made by Statutory Instrument under section 1 ( 5 ) of the Fixed - term Parliaments Act 2011, to fix the polling day to be up to two months later than 7 May 2015. Such a Statutory Instrument must be approved by each House of Parliament. Under section 14 of the Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013, the Fixed - term Parliaments Act 2011 was amended to extend the period between the dissolution of Parliament and the following general election polling day from 17 to 25 working days. This had the effect of moving forward the date of the dissolution of the Parliament to 30 March 2015. Timetable The key dates were : Monday 30 March Dissolution of Parliament ( the 55th ) and campaigning officially began Saturday 2 May Last day to file nomination papers, to register to vote, and to request a postal vote Thursday 7 May Polling day Monday 18 May New Parliament ( the 56th ) assembled Wednesday 27 May State Opening of Parliament MPs not standing for re-election Main article : List of MPs who stood down at the United Kingdom general election, 2015 While at the previous election there had been a record 148 MPs not standing for re-election, the 2015 election saw 90 MPs standing down. These comprised 38 Conservative, 37 Labour, 10 Liberal Democrat, 3 Independent, 1 Sinn Féin and 1 Plaid Cymru MP. The highest - profile members of parliament leaving were : Gordon Brown, a former Prime Minister, Leader of the Labour Party ( both 2007 -- 2010 ) and Chancellor of the Exchequer ( 1997 -- 2007 ) ; and William Hague, the outgoing First Secretary of State and Leader of the House of Commons and former Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs ( 2010 -- 2014 ), Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition ( both 1997 -- 2001 ). Alongside Brown and Hague, 17 former cabinet ministers stood down at the election, including Stephen Dorrell, Jack Straw, Alistair Darling, David Blunkett, Sir Malcolm Rifkind and Dame Tessa Jowell. The highest profile Liberal Democrat to stand down was former leader Sir Menzies Campbell, while the longest - serving MP ( the `` Father of the House '' ) Sir Peter Tapsell also retired, having served from 1959 to 1964 and then continuously since the 1966 general election. Contesting political parties and candidates A sign in Woking showing opening hours of polling stations, including the advice that people queueing outside polling stations at 10.00 pm `` will be entitled to apply for a ballot paper '' Overview Main article : List of parties contesting the United Kingdom general election, 2015 As of 9 April 2015, the deadline for standing for the general election, the Electoral Commission 's Register of Political Parties included 428 political parties registered in Great Britain, and 36 in Northern Ireland. Candidates who did not belong to a registered party could use an `` independent '' label, or no label at all. The Conservative Party and the Labour Party had been the two biggest parties since 1922, and had supplied all UK prime ministers since 1935. Polls predicted that these parties would together receive between 65 % and 75 % of votes, and would together win between 80 % and 85 % of seats ; and that, as such, the leader of one of those parties would be the prime minister after the election. The Liberal Democrats had been the third party in the UK for many years ; but as described by various commentators, other parties had risen relative to the Liberal Democrats since the 2010 election. The Economist described a `` familiar two - and - a-half - party system '' ( Conservatives, Labour, and the Liberal Democrats ) that `` appears to be breaking down '' with the rise of the United Kingdom Independence Party ( UKIP ), the Greens and the Scottish National Party ( SNP ). Newsnight and The Economist described the country as moving into a six - party system, with the Liberal Democrats, SNP, UKIP and Greens all being significant. Ofcom, in their role regulating election coverage in the UK, ruled that, for the general election and local elections in May 2015, the major parties in Great Britain were the Conservatives, Labour and Liberal Democrats, with UKIP a major party in England and Wales, the SNP a major party in Scotland, and Plaid Cymru ( PC ) in Wales, and that the Greens were not a major party. The BBC 's guidelines were similar but excluded UKIP from the category of `` larger parties '' in Great Britain, and instead stated that UKIP should be given `` appropriate levels of coverage in output to which the largest parties contribute and, on some occasions, similar levels of coverage ''. Seven parties ( Conservative, Labour, Liberal Democrat, UKIP, SNP, PC and Green ) participated in the election leadership debates. Great Britain - based The Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron stood for a second - term in office. Ed Miliband was leader of the opposition and leader of the Labour Party after winning a leadership election against his brother David Miliband. Nick Clegg and the Liberal Democrats showed a great fall in the polls after entering a coalition government with the Conservatives. UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage stood in the South Thanet constituency. Nicola Sturgeon is the fifth First Minister of Scotland and the leader of the Scottish National Party, in office since 2014. She is the first woman to hold either position. Natalie Bennett, leader of the Green Party of England and Wales. She contested in Holborn and St Pancras. The main Great Britain - based parties -- several parties operate in Northern Ireland only, which has a mainly separate political culture -- are listed below in order of seats being contested : Conservative Party : led by David Cameron, the prime minister. The Conservative Party was the larger party in the coalition government, having won the most seats ( 306 ) at the 2010 election. The party stood in 647 seats ( every seat except for two in Northern Ireland and the Speaker 's seat ). Labour Party : led by Ed Miliband, the leader of the opposition. Labour had been in power from 1997 to 2010. The party constituted Her Majesty 's Most Loyal Opposition ( also called the Official Opposition ) after the 2010 election, having won 258 seats. It stood in 631 of Great Britain 's 632 constituencies, missing only the Speaker 's seat. Liberal Democrats : led by Nick Clegg, the deputy prime minister. The Liberal Democrats were the junior member of the 2010 -- 15 coalition government, having won 57 seats. They contested the same 631 seats as the Labour Party. UK Independence Party ( UKIP ) : led by Nigel Farage, a Member of the European Parliament, who had not previously been in parliament but was standing in South Thanet in the general election. UKIP won the fourth-most votes at the 2010 election, but failed to win any seats. It subsequently won two seats at by - elections in 2014 - both having been sitting Conservative MPs who resigned from the party, stood down voluntarily from their seat to fight a by - election, and won it for their new party - and won the highest share of votes at the 2014 European elections. It contested 624 seats across the United Kingdom. Green parties : two distinct but co-operating Green parties operate in Great Britain : the Green Party of England and Wales ( GPEW ) and the Scottish Green Party, with opinion polling generally making no distinction between the two. The Green Party of England and Wales is led by Natalie Bennett, who had not previously been elected to Westminster, but stood in Holborn and St Pancras at the general election. The GPEW won the fourth - largest share of votes in the 2014 European elections, ahead of the Liberal Democrats. The Scottish Green Party is co-led by Patrick Harvie MSP and councillor Maggie Chapman, neither of whom were standing for election to Westminster. Caroline Lucas was elected as the only Green MP in 2010, in which the two parties received a combined 1 % of the vote and were seventh overall. The Greens stood in 568 seats in Great Britain. Scottish National Party ( SNP ) : led by Nicola Sturgeon, who is First Minister of Scotland and did not stand in the general election. The SNP only contested seats in Scotland and stood in all 59 Scottish constituencies. The party received the second-most votes in Scotland and sixth-most overall in 2010, winning six seats. It won the 2011 election to the Scottish Parliament and had a surge of support since the Scottish independence referendum in September 2014, in which it was the main political party behind the losing Yes campaign. Most projections suggested that it would be the third - largest party overall after the 2015 election, in terms of seats won, overtaking the Liberal Democrats. Plaid Cymru : led by Leanne Wood, who is a member of the Welsh Assembly and did not stand in the general election. Plaid Cymru organises only in Wales, where it contested all 40 Welsh constituencies. The party has three MPs and was fourth in Wales ( eighth in Great Britain ) by vote share in 2010, later finishing third in the 2011 Welsh Assembly elections. Minor parties Dozens of other minor parties stood in Great Britain. The Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition, founded as an electoral alliance of socialist parties in 2010, had 135 candidates and was the only other party to have more than 40 candidates. Respect came into the election with one MP ( George Galloway ), who was elected at the 2012 Bradford West by - election, but stood just four candidates. The British National Party, which finished fifth with 1.9 % of the vote for its 338 candidates at the 2010 general election, stood only eight candidates following a collapse in support. 753 other candidates stood at the general election, including all independents, Northern Ireland - based party candidates, and candidates from other parties. Northern Ireland See also : List of political parties in Northern Ireland The main parties in Northern Ireland ( which had 18 constituencies ) described by Ofcom, the BBC and others, in alphabetical order, were : Alliance Party of Northern Ireland : the Alliance Party had one MP, Naomi Long, who had been elected for the first time in 2010. ( Long lost her seat in 2015. ) It was fifth in the 2010 election by vote share, fifth overall in 2011 and sixth in 2014. Alliance has a relationship with the Liberal Democrats in Great Britain : the party 's former leader sits in the House of Lords as a Liberal Democrat, but Alliance 's one MP elected in 2010 sat on the opposition benches in the Commons and not with the Liberal Democrats on the government benches. The party contested all 18 Northern Irish constituencies in 2015. Democratic Unionist Party ( DUP ) : the DUP won eight seats in 2010, making it the largest Northern Ireland political party, and the fourth biggest in the UK as a whole. The party also won the 2011 Northern Ireland Assembly election, but was second in the 2014 European election. It contested 16 Northern Irish constituencies, having entered into an electoral pact with the Ulster Unionist Party in the remaining two. Sinn Féin : Sinn Féin won the most votes in Northern Ireland in 2010, but came second in seats, winning five constituencies. It was second in the 2011 Assembly elections, but first in the 2014 European elections. Sinn Féin follows an abstentionist policy with respect to the Commons, and has never so far taken its seats there. The party also operates in the Republic of Ireland, where it does take seats in parliament. It was standing in all 18 Northern Irish constituencies. Michelle Gildernew lost her seat in 2015, which she had held by only 4 votes in 2010, thus reducing the SF MPs from 5 to 4. Social Democratic and Labour Party ( SDLP ) : the SDLP was third in terms of votes and seats in the 2010 and 2011 elections, and fourth in the 2014 European elections. Prior to dissolution, the party had three MPs. The SDLP has a relationship with the Labour Party in Great Britain, with SDLP MPs generally following the Labour whip. The party was expected to have supported Labour in the event of a hung Parliament and contested all 18 constituencies at the election. Ulster Unionist Party ( UUP ) : in 2010 the UUP shared an electoral alliance with the Conservative Party, and finished fourth in terms of votes in Northern Ireland, but won no seats. The party has one MEP, having placed third in the 2014 European elections. It was fourth in the 2011 Assembly elections. The UUP contested 15 seats ; the party did not run in two seats because of its electoral pact with the DUP, and also did not nominate a candidate against former UUP member and incumbent independent MP Sylvia Hermon. Smaller parties in Northern Ireland included Traditional Unionist Voice ( standing in seven seats ) and the Green Party in Northern Ireland ( standing in five seats ). In 2015 TUV and the Greens each held one seat in the Legislative Assembly. The North Down seat was retained by independent Sylvia Hermon. The Northern Ireland Conservatives and UKIP fielded candidates, whereas Labour and the Liberal Democrats do not contest elections in Northern Ireland. Pacts and possible coalitions Coalitions have been rare in the United Kingdom, because the first - past - the - post system has usually led to one party winning an overall majority in the Commons. However, with the outgoing Government being a coalition and with opinion polls not showing a large or consistent lead for any one party, there was much discussion about possible post-election coalitions or other arrangements, such as confidence and supply agreements. Some UK political parties that only stand in part of the country have reciprocal relationships with parties standing in other parts of the country. These include : Labour ( in Great Britain ) and SDLP ( in Northern Ireland ) Liberal Democrats ( in Great Britain ) and Alliance ( in Northern Ireland ) SNP ( in Scotland ) and Plaid Cymru ( in Wales ) Plaid Cymru also recommended supporters in England to vote Green, while the SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon said she would vote for Plaid Cymru were she in Wales, and Green were she in England. Green Party of England and Wales ( in England and Wales ), Scottish Greens ( in Scotland ) and the Green Party in Northern Ireland ( in Northern Ireland ) On 17 March 2015 the Democratic Unionist Party and the Ulster Unionist Party agreed an election pact, whereby the DUP would not stand candidates in Fermanagh and South Tyrone ( where Michelle Gildernew, the Sinn Féin candidate, won by only four votes in 2010 ) and in Newry and Armagh. In return the UUP would stand aside in Belfast East and Belfast North. The SDLP rejected a similar pact suggested by Sinn Féin to try to ensure that an agreed nationalist would win that constituency. The DUP also called on voters in Scotland to support whichever pro-Union candidate was best placed to beat the SNP. Candidates Main article : Candidates standing in the United Kingdom general election, 2015 The deadline for parties and individuals to file candidate nomination papers to the acting returning officer ( and the deadline for candidates to withdraw ) was 4 p.m. on 9 April 2015. The total number of candidates was 3,971 ; the second - highest number in history, slightly down from the record 4,150 candidates at the last election in 2010. There were a record number of female candidates standing in terms of both absolute numbers and percentage of candidates : 1,020 ( 26.1 % ) in 2015, up from 854 ( 21.1 % ) in 2010. The proportion of female candidates for major parties ranged from 41 % of Alliance Party candidates to 12 % of UKIP candidates. According to UCL 's Parliamentary Candidates UK project the major parties had the following percentages of black and ethnic minority candidates : the Conservatives 11 %, the Liberal Democrats 10 %, Labour 9 %, UKIP 6 %, the Greens 4 %. The average age of the candidates for the seven major parties was 45. The youngest candidates were all aged 18 : Solomon Curtis ( Labour, Wealden ) ; Niamh McCarthy ( Independent, Liverpool Wavertree ) ; Michael Burrows ( UKIP, Inverclyde ) ; Declan Lloyd ( Labour, South East Cornwall ) ; and Laura - Jane Rossington ( Communist Party, Plymouth Sutton and Devonport ). The oldest candidate was Doris Osen, 84, of the Elderly Persons ' Independent Party ( EPIC ), who was standing in Ilford North. Other candidates aged over 80 included three long - serving Labour MPs standing for re-election : Sir Gerald Kaufman ( aged 84 ; Manchester Gorton ), Dennis Skinner ( aged 83 ; Bolsover ) and David Winnick ( aged 81 ; Walsall North ). A number of candidates -- including two for Labour and two for UKIP -- were suspended from their respective parties after nominations were closed. Independent candidate Ronnie Carroll died after nominations were closed. Campaign Possibility of a hung Parliament Hung Parliaments have been unusual in post-War British political history, but with the outgoing Government a coalition and opinion polls not showing a large or consistent lead for any one party, it was widely expected and predicted throughout the election campaign that no party would gain an overall majority, which could have led to a new coalition or other arrangements such as confidence and supply agreements. This was also associated with a rise in multi-party politics, with increased support for UKIP, the SNP and the Greens. The question of what the different parties would do in the event of a hung result dominated much of the campaign. Smaller parties focused on the power this would bring them in negotiations ; Labour and the Conservatives both insisted that they were working towards winning a majority government, while they were also reported to be preparing for the possibility of a second election in the year. In practice, Labour were prepared to make a `` broad '' offer to the Liberal Democrats in the event of a hung Parliament. Most predictions saw Labour as having more potential support in Parliament than the Conservatives, with several parties, notably the SNP, having committed to keeping out a Conservative government. Conservative campaigning sought to highlight what they described as the dangers of a minority Labour administration supported by the SNP. This proved effective at dominating the agenda of the campaign and at motivating voters to support them. The Conservative victory was `` widely put down to the success of the anti-Labour / SNP warnings '', according to a BBC article and others. Labour, in reaction, produced ever stronger denials that they would co-operate with the SNP after the election. The Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties rejected the idea of a coalition with the SNP. This was particularly notable for Labour, to whom the SNP had previously offered support : their manifesto stated that `` the SNP will never put the Tories into power. Instead, if there is an anti-Tory majority after the election, we will offer to work with other parties to keep the Tories out. '' SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon later confirmed in the Scottish leaders ' debate on STV that she was prepared to `` help make Ed Miliband prime minister. '' However, on 26 April, Miliband ruled out a confidence and supply arrangement with the SNP too. Miliband 's comments suggested to many that he was working towards forming a minority government. The Liberal Democrats said that they would talk first to whichever party won the most seats. They later campaigned on being a stabilising influence should either the Conservatives or Labour fall short of a majority, with the slogan `` We will bring a heart to a Conservative Government and a brain to a Labour one. '' Both Labour and the Liberal Democrats ruled out coalitions with UKIP. Ruth Davidson, leader of the Scottish Conservatives, asked about a deal with UKIP in the Scottish leaders ' debate, replied, `` No deals with UKIP. '' She continued that her preference and the Prime Minister 's preference in a hung Parliament was for a minority Conservative government. UKIP say they could support a minority Conservative government through a confidence and supply arrangement in return for a referendum on EU membership before Christmas 2015. They also spoke of the DUP joining UKIP in this arrangement. UKIP and DUP said they would work together in Parliament. The DUP welcomed the possibility of a hung Parliament and the influence that this would bring them. The party 's deputy leader, Nigel Dodds, said the party could work with the Conservatives or Labour, but that the party is `` not interested in a full - blown coalition government ''. Their leader, Peter Robinson, said that the DUP would talk first to whichever party wins the most seats. The DUP said they wanted, for their support, a commitment to 2 % defence spending, a referendum on EU membership, and a reversal of the under - occupation penalty. They opposed the SNP being involved in government. The UUP also indicated that they would not work with the SNP if it wanted another independence referendum in Scotland. The Green Party of England & Wales, Plaid Cymru and the Scottish National Party all ruled out working with the Conservatives, and agreed to work together `` wherever possible '' to counter austerity. Each would also make it a condition of any agreement with Labour that Trident nuclear weapons was not replaced ; the Green Party of England and Wales stated that `` austerity is a red line. '' Both Plaid Cymru and the Green Party stated a preference for a confidence and supply arrangement with Labour, rather than a coalition. The leader of the SDLP, Alasdair McDonnell, said, `` We will be the left - of - centre backbone of a Labour administration '', and that, `` the SDLP will categorically refuse to support David Cameron and the Conservative Party ''. Sinn Féin reiterated their abstentionist stance. In the event, the Conservatives did secure an overall majority, rendering much of the speculation and positioning moot. Government Finance The deficit, who was responsible for it and plans to deal with it were a major theme of the campaign. While some smaller parties opposed austerity, the Conservatives, Labour, Liberal Democrats and UKIP all supported some further cuts, albeit to different extents. Conservative campaigning sought to blame the deficit on the previous Labour government. Labour, in return, sought to establish their fiscal responsibility. With the Conservatives also making several spending commitments ( e.g. on the NHS ), commentators talked of the two main parties ' `` political crossdressing '', each trying to campaign on the other 's traditional territory. Television debates Main article : United Kingdom general election debates, 2015 The first series of televised leaders ' debates in the United Kingdom was held in the previous election. After much debate and various proposals, a seven - way debate with the leaders of Labour, the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, UKIP, Greens, SNP and Plaid Cymru was held. with a series of other debates involving some of the parties. The campaign was notable for the absence of party posters on roadside hoardings. It was suggested that 2015 saw `` the death of the campaign poster ''. Endorsements Main article : Endorsements in the United Kingdom general election, 2015 Various newspapers, organisations and individuals endorsed parties or individual candidates for the election. Opinion polling Main articles : Opinion polling for the 2015 United Kingdom general election and Opinion polling in United Kingdom constituencies, 2010 -- 15 Conservative Labour Liberal Democrats UKIP Greens Throughout the 55th parliament of the United Kingdom, first and second place in the polls without exception alternated between the Conservatives and Labour. Labour took a lead in the polls in the second half of 2010, driven in part by a collapse in Liberal Democrat support. This lead rose up to approximately 10 points over the Conservative Party during 2012, whose ratings dipped alongside an increase in UKIP support. UKIP passed the Liberal Democrats as the third-most popular party at the start of 2013. Following this, Labour 's lead over the Conservatives began to fall as UKIP gained support from them as well, and by the end of the year Labour were polling at 39 %, compared to 33 % for the Conservative Party and 11 % for UKIP. UKIP received 26.6 % of the vote at the European elections in 2014, and though their support in the polls for Westminster never reached this level, it did rise up to over 15 % through that year. 2014 was also marked by the Scottish independence referendum. Despite the ' No ' vote winning, support for the Scottish National Party rose quickly after the referendum, and had reached 43 % in Scotland by the end of the year, up 23 points from the 2010 general election, largely at the expense of Labour ( − 16 points in Scotland ) and the Liberal Democrats ( − 13 points ). In Wales, where polls were less frequent, the 2012 -- 2014 period saw a smaller decline in Labour 's lead over the second - placed Conservative Party, from 28 points to 17. These votes went mainly to UKIP ( + 8 points ) and Plaid Cymru ( + 2 points ). The rise of UKIP and SNP, alongside the smaller increases for Plaid Cymru and the Green Party ( from around 2 % to 6 % ) saw the combined support of the Conservative and Labour party fall to a record low of around 65 %. Within this the decline came predominantly from Labour, whose lead fell to under 2 points by the end of 2014. Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrat vote, which had held at about 10 % since late 2010, declined further to about 8 %. Early 2015 saw the Labour lead continue to fall, disappearing by the start of March. Polling during the election campaign itself remained relatively static, with the Labour and Conservative parties both polling between 33 -- 34 % and neither able to establish a consistent lead. Support for the Green Party and UKIP showed slight drops of around 1 -- 2 points each, while Liberal Democrat support rose up to around 9 %. In Scotland, support for the SNP continued to grow with polling figures in late March reaching 54 %, with the Labour vote continuing to decline accordingly, while Labour retained their ( reduced ) lead in Wales, polling at 39 % by the end of the campaign, to 26 % for the Conservatives, 13 % for Plaid Cymru, 12 % for UKIP and 6 % for the Liberal Democrats. The final polls showed a mixture of Conservative leads, Labour leads and ties with both between 31 -- 36 %, UKIP on 11 -- 16 %, the Lib Dems on 8 -- 10 %, the Greens on 4 -- 6 %, and the SNP on 4 -- 5 % of the national vote. In addition to the national polls, Lord Ashcroft funded from May 2014 a series of polls in marginal constituencies, and constituencies where minor parties were expected to be significant challengers. Among other results, Lord Ashcroft 's polls suggested that the growth in SNP support would translate into more than 50 seats ; that there was little overall pattern in Labour and Conservative Party marginals ; that the Green Party MP Caroline Lucas would retain her seat ; that both Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg and UKIP leader Nigel Farage would face very close races to be elected in their own constituencies ; and that Liberal Democrat MPs would enjoy an incumbency effect that would lose fewer MPs than their national polling implied. As with other smaller parties, their proportion of MPs remained likely to be considerably lower than that of total, national votes cast. Several polling companies included Ashcroft 's polls in their election predictions, though several of the political parties disputed his findings. Predictions one month before the vote The first - past - the - post system used in UK general elections means that the number of seats won is not closely related to vote share. Thus, several approaches were used to convert polling data and other information into seat predictions. The table below lists some of the predictions. ElectionForecast was used by Newsnight and FiveThirtyEight. May2015.com is a project run by the New Statesman magazine. Seat predictions draw from nationwide polling, polling in the constituent nations of Britain and may additionally incorporate constituency level polling, particularly the Ashcroft polls. Approaches may or may not use uniform national swing ( UNS ). Approaches may just use current polling, i.e. a `` nowcast '' ( e.g. Electoral Calculus, May2015.com and The Guardian ), or add in a predictive element about how polling shifts based on historical data ( e.g. ElectionForecast and Elections Etc. ). An alternative approach is to use the wisdom of the crowd and base a prediction on betting activity : the Sporting Index column below covers bets on the number of seats each party will win with the midpoint between asking and selling price, while FirstPastThePost.net aggregates the betting predictions in each individual constituency. Some predictions cover Northern Ireland, with its distinct political culture, while others do not. Parties are sorted by current number of seats in the House of Commons : Party ElectionForecast ( Newsnight Index ) as of 9 April 2015 Electoral Calculus as of 12 April 2015 Elections Etc as of 3 April 2015 The Guardian as of 12 April 2015 May2015.com as of 12 April 2015 Sporting Index as of 12 April 2015 First Past the Post as of 12 April 2015 Conservatives 284 278 289 281 271 267 283 Labour 274 284 266 271 277 272 279 Liberal Democrats 28 17 22 29 26 25 28 DUP 8 Included under Other GB forecast only Included under Other Included under Other No market 8.7 SNP 41 48 49 50 54 42 38 UKIP 5 6 7 SDLP Included under Other GB forecast only Included under Other Included under Other No market 2.7 Plaid Cymru 3.3 Greens 1.25 Other 8 18 ( including 18 NI seats ) GB forecast only, but above may not sum to 632 due to rounding 18 ( including 18 NI seats ) 19 ( including 18 NI seats & Respect 1 ) No market Respect 0.5 UUP 0.9 Speaker 1 Sinn Féin 4.5 Independent Unionist 1 Overall result ( probability ) Hung parliament ( 93 % ) Hung parliament ( 60 % ) Hung parliament ( 80 % ) Hung parliament Hung parliament Hung parliament Hung parliament Other predictions were published. An election forecasting conference on 27 March 2015 yielded 11 forecasts of the result in Great Britain ( including some included in the table above ). Averaging the conference predictions gives Labour 283 seats, Conservatives 279, Liberal Democrats 23, UKIP 3, SNP 41, Plaid Cymru 3 and Greens 1. In that situation, no two parties ( excluding a Lab - Con coalition ) would have been able to form a majority without the support of a third. On 27 April, Rory Scott of the bookmaker Paddy Power predicted Conservatives 284, Labour 272, SNP 50, UKIP 3, and Greens 1. LucidTalk for the Belfast Telegraph predicted for Northern Ireland : DUP 9, Sinn Féin 5, SDLP 3, Sylvia Hermon 1, with the only seat change being the DUP gaining Belfast East from Alliance. Final predictions before the vote Percentage shares of votes, as predicted in the first week of May : Party BMG TNS - BNRB Opinium ICM YouGov Ipsos MORI Ashcroft Comres Panelbase Populus Survation Average Conservative 33.7 33 35 34 34 36 33 35 31 33 31.4 33.6 Labour 33.7 32 34 35 34 35 33 34 33 33 31.4 33.5 UKIP 12 14 12 11 12 11 11 12 16 14 15.7 12.7 Liberal Democrats 10 8 8 9 10 8 10 9 8 10 9.6 10.0 Green 6 6 5 6 5 5 4.8 4.5 SNP 5 5 5 5 5 5 4.7 4.6 Other 2.6 0.5 1.9 1.8 Lead Tie Con + 1 Con + 1 Lab + 1 Tie Con + 1 Tie Con + 1 Lab + 2 Tie Tie Tie Includes Plaid Cymru Seats predicted on 7 May : Party ElectionForecast ( Newsnight Index ) Electoral Calculus Elections Etc The Guardian May2015.com Sporting Index First Past the Post Mean Conservatives 278 280 285 273 273 286 279 279.1 Labour 267 274 262 273 268 269 270 269.0 SNP 53 52 53 52 56 46 49 51.6 Liberal Democrats 27 21 25 27 28 26.5 25 25.6 DUP 8 Included under Other GB forecast only Included under Other Included under Other No market 8.7 UKIP 3.3 2.5 SDLP Included under Other GB forecast only Included under Other Included under Other No market 2.7 Plaid Cymru 3.35 3.1 3.2 Greens 1.15 0.7 1.0 Other Sinn Féin 5 UUP 1 Sylvia Hermon 1 Speaker 1 18 ( including 18 NI seats ) 1, although its GB forecast only, 18 NI seats 18 ( including 18 NI seats ) 19 ( including 18 NI seats & Respect 1 ) No market Sinn Féin 4.7 Hermon 1 Speaker 1 UUP 1 Respect 0.6 Overall result ( probability ) Hung parliament ( 100 % ) Hung parliament ( 92 % ) Hung parliament ( 91 % ) Hung parliament Hung parliament Hung parliament Hung parliament Hung parliament Exit poll A surprising exit poll, collected by Ipsos MORI and GfK on behalf of the BBC, ITN and Sky News, was published at 10 pm at the end of voting : Parties Seats Conservative Party 316 Labour Party 239 Scottish National Party 58 Liberal Democrats 10 UK Independence Party Green Party Others 23 Conservatives 10 short of majority This predicted the Conservatives to be 10 seats short of an absolute majority, although with the 5 predicted Sinn Féin MPs not taking their seats, it was likely to be enough to govern. ( In the event, Michelle Gildernew lost her seat, reducing the number of Sinn Féin MPs to 4. ) The exit poll was markedly different from the pre-election opinion polls, which had been fairly consistent ; this led many pundits and MPs to speculate that the exit poll was inaccurate, and that the final result would have the two main parties closer to each other. Former Liberal Democrat leader Paddy Ashdown vowed to `` eat his hat '' and former Labour `` spin doctor '' Alastair Campbell promised to `` eat his kilt '' if the exit poll, which predicted huge losses for their respective parties, was right. As it turned out, the results were even more favourable to the Conservatives than the poll predicted, with the Conservatives obtaining 330 seats, an absolute majority. Ashdown and Campbell were presented with hat - and kilt - shaped cakes ( labelled `` eat me '' ) on BBC Question Time on 8 May. Opinion polling inaccuracies and scrutiny Polling results for the 2015 UK General Election, compared to the actual result With the eventual outcome in terms of both votes and seats varying substantially from the bulk of opinion polls released in the final months before the election, the polling industry received criticism for their inability to predict what was a surprisingly clear Conservative victory. Several theories have been put forward to explain the inaccuracy of the pollsters. One theory was that there had simply been a very late swing to the Conservatives, with the polling company Survation claiming that 13 % of voters made up their minds in the final days and 17 % on the day of the election. The company also claimed that a poll they carried out a day before the election gave the Conservatives 37 % and Labour 31 %, though they said they did not release the poll ( commissioned by the Daily Mirror ) on the concern that it was too much of an outlier with other poll results. However, it was reported that pollsters had in fact picked up a late swing to Labour immediately prior to polling day, not the Conservatives. It was reported after the election that private pollsters working for the two largest parties actually gathered more accurate results, with Labour 's pollster James Morris claiming that the issue was largely to do with surveying technique. Morris claimed that telephone polls that immediately asked for voting intentions tended to get a high `` Do n't know '' or anti-government reaction, whereas longer telephone conversations conducted by private polls that collected other information such as views on the leaders ' performances placed voters in a much better mode to give their true voting intentions. Another theory was the issue of ' shy Tories ' not wanting to openly declare their intention to vote Conservative to pollsters. A final theory, put forward after the election, was the ' Lazy Labour ' factor, which claimed that Labour voters tend to not vote on polling day whereas Conservative voters have a much higher turnout. The British Polling Council announced an inquiry into the substantial variance between the opinion polls and the actual election result. The inquiry published preliminary findings in January 2016, concluding that `` the ways in which polling samples are constructed was the primary cause of the polling miss ''. Their final report was published in March 2016. The British Election Study team have suggested that weighting error appears to be the cause. Results Votes, of total, by party Conservative ( 36.8 % ) Labour ( 30.4 % ) UKIP ( 12.6 % ) Liberal Democrats ( 7.9 % ) SNP ( 4.7 % ) Green ( 3.8 % ) DUP ( 0.6 % ) Plaid Cymru ( 0.6 % ) Sinn Féin ( 0.6 % ) UUP ( 0.4 % ) SDLP ( 0.3 % ) Other ( 1.3 % ) MPs, of total, by party Conservative ( 50.8 % ) Labour ( 35.7 % ) SNP ( 8.6 % ) Liberal Democrats ( 1.2 % ) DUP ( 1.2 % ) Sinn Féin ( 0.6 % ) Plaid Cymru ( 0.5 % ) Social Democratic & Labour Party ( 0.5 % ) UUP ( 0.3 % ) Green ( 0.2 % ) Speaker ( 0.2 % ) Independent Unionist ( 0.2 % ) UKIP ( 0.2 % ) For results by county / region and analysis, see Results breakdown of the United Kingdom general election, 2015. For results by constituency, see Results of the United Kingdom general election, 2015 by parliamentary constituency. Main article : List of MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 2015 After all 650 constituencies had been declared, the results were : Party Leader MPs Votes Of total Of total Conservative Party David Cameron 330 50.8 % 330 / 650 11,299,609 36.8 % Labour Party Ed Miliband 232 35.7 % 232 / 650 9,347,273 30.4 % Scottish National Party Nicola Sturgeon 56 8.6 % 56 / 650 1,454,436 4.7 % Liberal Democrats Nick Clegg 8 1.2 % 8 / 650 2,415,916 7.9 % Democratic Unionist Party Peter Robinson 8 1.2 % 8 / 650 184,260 0.6 % Sinn Féin Gerry Adams 0.6 % 4 / 650 176,232 0.6 % Plaid Cymru Leanne Wood 0.5 % 3 / 650 181,704 0.6 % Social Democratic & Labour Party Alasdair McDonnell 0.5 % 3 / 650 99,809 0.3 % Ulster Unionist Party Mike Nesbitt 0.3 % 2 / 650 114,935 0.4 % UK Independence Party Nigel Farage 0.2 % 1 / 650 3,881,099 12.6 % Green Party Natalie Bennett 0.2 % 1 / 650 1,157,630 3.8 % Speaker John Bercow 0.2 % 1 / 650 34,617 0.1 % Independent Unionist Sylvia Hermon 0.2 % 1 / 650 17,689 0.06 % ↓ 330 24 8 56 232 Conservative SNP Labour The following table shows final election results as reported by BBC News and The Guardian. e d Summary of the May 2015 House of Commons of the United Kingdom results Political party Leader MPs Votes Candidates Total Gained Lost Net Of total ( % ) Total Of total ( % ) Change ( % ) Conservative David Cameron 647 330 38 10 + 28 50.8 11,299,609 36.9 + 0.8 Labour Ed Miliband 631 232 24 48 − 24 35.7 9,347,273 30.4 + 1.5 UKIP Nigel Farage 624 0 − 1 0.2 3,881,099 12.6 + 9.5 Liberal Democrat Nick Clegg 631 8 0 48 − 48 1.2 2,415,916 7.9 − 15.1 SNP Nicola Sturgeon 59 56 50 0 + 50 8.6 1,454,436 4.7 + 3.1 Green Natalie Bennett England & Wales Patrick Harvie / Maggie Chapman Scotland Steven Agnew Northern Ireland 575 0 0 0 0.2 1,157,630 3.8 + 2.8 DUP Peter Robinson 16 8 0 1.2 184,260 0.6 0.0 Plaid Cymru Leanne Wood 40 0 0 0 0.5 181,704 0.6 0.0 Sinn Féin Gerry Adams 18 0 − 1 0.6 176,232 0.6 0.0 UUP Mike Nesbitt 15 0 + 2 0.3 114,935 0.4 N / A SDLP Alasdair McDonnell 18 0 0 0 0.5 99,809 0.3 0.0 Independent N / A 170 0 − 4 0.2 101,897 0.3 N / A Alliance David Ford 18 0 0 − 1 0 61,556 0.2 + 0.1 TUSC Dave Nellist 128 0 0 0 0 0 36,490 0.1 + 0.1 Speaker John Bercow 0 0 0 0.2 34,617 0.1 0.0 National Health Action Richard Taylor & Clive Peedell 13 0 0 0 0 0 12,999 0.1 0.0 TUV Jim Allister 7 0 0 0 0 0 16,538 0.1 0.0 Respect George Galloway 0 0 − 1 0 9,989 0.0 − 0.1 CISTA Paul Birch 34 0 0 0 0 0 6,566 0.0 New Other parties N / A 0 0 0 0 0 65,537 0.0 N / A People Before Profit Collective 0 0 0 0 0 6,978 0.0 0.0 Yorkshire Party Richard Carter 14 0 0 0 0 0 6,811 0.0 New English Democrat Robin Tilbrook 35 0 0 0 0 0 6,531 0.0 − 0.2 Mebyon Kernow Dick Cole 6 0 0 0 0 0 5,675 0.0 0.0 Lincolnshire Independent Marianne Overton 5 0 0 0 0 0 5,407 0.0 0.0 Liberal Steve Radford 0 0 0 0 0 4,480 0.0 0.0 Monster Raving Loony Alan `` Howling Laud '' Hope 27 0 0 0 0 0 3,898 0.0 0.0 Independent Save Withybush Save Lives Chris Overton 0 0 0 0 0 3,729 0.0 New Socialist Labour Arthur Scargill 8 0 0 0 0 0 3,481 0.0 0.0 Christian Peoples Sidney Cordle 17 0 0 0 0 0 3,260 0.0 0.0 Christian Jeff Green 9 0 0 0 0 0 3,205 0.0 − 0.1 No description N / A 0 0 0 0 0 3,012 0.0 N / A Workers ' Party John Lowry 5 0 0 0 0 0 2,724 0.0 0.0 North East Party Hilton Dawson 0 0 0 0 0 2,138 0.0 0.0 Poole People Mike Howell 0 0 0 0 0 1,766 0.0 New BNP Adam Walker 8 0 0 0 0 0 1,667 0.0 − 1.9 Residents for Uttlesford John Lodge 0 0 0 0 0 1,658 0.0 New Rochdale First Party Farooq Ahmed 0 0 0 0 0 1,535 0.0 New Communist Robert David Griffiths 9 0 0 0 0 0 1,229 0.0 New Pirate Laurence Kaye 6 0 0 0 0 0 1,130 0.0 0.0 National Front Kevin Bryan 7 0 0 0 0 0 1,114 0.0 0.0 Communities United Kamran Malik 5 0 0 0 0 0 1,102 0.0 New Reality Mark `` Bez '' Berry 0 0 0 0 0 1,029 0.0 New The Southport Party David Cobham 0 0 0 0 0 992 0.0 New All People 's Party Prem Goyal 0 0 0 0 0 981 0.0 New Peace John Morris 0 0 0 0 0 957 0.0 New Bournemouth Independent Alliance David Ross 0 0 0 0 0 903 0.0 New Socialist ( GB ) Collective 10 0 0 0 0 0 899 0.0 New Scottish Socialist Executive Committee 0 0 0 0 0 875 0.0 0.0 Alliance for Green Socialism Mike Davies 0 0 0 0 0 852 0.0 0.0 Your Vote Could Save Our Hospital Sandra Allison 0 0 0 0 0 849 0.0 New Wigan Independents Gareth Fairhurst 0 0 0 0 0 768 0.0 New Animal Welfare Vanessa Hudson 0 0 0 0 0 736 0.0 0.0 Something New James Smith 0 0 0 0 0 695 0.0 New Consensus Helen Tyrer 0 0 0 0 0 637 0.0 New National Liberal National Council 0 0 0 0 0 627 0.0 New Independents Against Social Injustice Steve Walmsley 0 0 0 0 0 603 0.0 New Independence from Europe Mike Nattrass 5 0 0 0 0 0 578 0.0 New Whig Waleed Ghani 0 0 0 0 0 561 0.0 New Guildford Greenbelt Group Susan Parker 0 0 0 0 0 538 0.0 New Class War Ian Bone 7 0 0 0 0 0 526 0.0 New Above and Beyond Mark Flanagan 5 0 0 0 0 0 522 0.0 New Northern Mark Dawson 5 0 0 0 0 0 506 0.0 New Workers Revolutionary Sheila Torrance 7 0 0 0 0 0 488 0.0 0.0 Left Unity Kate Hudson 0 0 0 0 0 455 0.0 New Liberty GB Paul Weston 0 0 0 0 0 418 0.0 New People First Collective 0 0 0 0 0 407 0.0 New Total 3,921 650 30,697,525 Jump up ^ 66 parties are grouped together as ' other parties '. None of those parties contested more than 2 constituencies, or gained more than 300 votes Jump up ^ This column shows the change in vote share percentage from the 2010 general election to the 2015 general election. It does not account for by - elections. Jump up ^ BBC News includes the Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, in the MP tally and the vote tally for the Conservatives. See About these results, BBC News ( 30 April 2015 ). In this table, however, the speaker ( who usually does not vote in the Commons ) is listed separately, and has been removed from the Conservative tally. Jump up ^ The UUP did not run itself in 2010 ; instead, it ran candidates under the Ulster Conservatives and Unionists banner. Jump up ^ Several MPs who were each formally affiliated with a party at the beginning of the 55th Parliament were either suspended or had resigned from their parties by the time Parliament was dissolved and became independents ; see here for details. Jump up ^ BBC News lists the National Health Action Party together with Independent Community and Health Concern ( formerly known as Independent Kidderminster Hospital and Health Concern ), which is affiliated with the larger party, for a total of 20,210 votes. The Guardian lists each party separately. Health Concern received 7,211 of the votes attributed to the National Health Action Party. Jump up ^ 66 parties, none of which contested more than 2 constituencies, each with under 300 votes Jump up ^ The BBC groups together the votes under the Scottish Christian Party ( 1,467 votes ) ; Christian Party ( 1,040 votes ) ; and Christian ( 698 votes ) labels, for a total of 3,205 votes. The Guardian lists these designations separately. Jump up ^ Candidates who do not specify a party or Independent are categorised as No description Vote share Conservative 36.8 % Labour 30.4 % UK Independence 12.6 % Liberal Democrat 7.9 % Scottish National 4.7 % Green 3.8 % Others 3.7 % Parliamentary seats Conservative 50.8 % Labour 35.7 % Scottish National 8.6 % Liberal Democrat 1.2 % Democratic Unionist 1.2 % Others 2.4 % Geographic voting distribution One result of the 2015 general election was that a different political party won the popular vote in each of the countries of the United Kingdom. This was reflected in terms of MPs elected : The Conservatives won in England with 319 MPs out of 533 constituencies, the SNP won in Scotland with 56 out of 59, Labour won in Wales with 25 out of 40, and the Democratic Unionist Party won in Northern Ireland with 8 out of 18. Change to 2015 from 2010 Turn out Conservatives Labour UKIP Liberal Democrat Green SNP / Plaid Cymru / Mebyon Kernow / Sinn Féin Outcome Despite most opinion polls predicting that the Conservatives and Labour were neck and neck, the Conservatives secured a surprise victory after having won a clear lead over their rivals and incumbent Prime Minister David Cameron was able to form a majority single - party government with a working majority of 12 ( in practice increased to 15 due to Sinn Féin 's 4 MPs ' abstention ). Thus the result bore resemblance to 1992. The Conservatives gained 38 seats while losing 10, all to Labour, with Employment Minister Esther McVey the most senior Conservative to lose her seat. Cameron became the first Prime Minister since Lord Salisbury in 1900 to increase his popular vote share after a full term, and is sometimes credited as being the only Prime Minister other than Margaret Thatcher ( in 1983 ) to be re-elected with a greater number of seats for his party after a ' full term '. A map of the results, showing each constituency as a hexagon of equal size, with the black lines showing separations in regions. The Labour Party polled below expectations and won 30.4 % of the vote and 232 seats, 24 fewer than their previous result in 2010, even though in 222 constituencies there was a Conservative to Labour swing, as against 151 constituencies where there was a Labour to Conservative swing. Their net loss of seats were mainly a result of their resounding defeat in Scotland, where the Scottish National Party took 40 of their 41 seats, unseating key Labour politicians such as shadow Foreign Secretary Douglas Alexander and Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy. Labour also lost a further nine seats to the Conservatives to record their lowest share of the seats since the 1987 general election. Ed Miliband subsequently tendered his resignation as Labour leader. The Scottish National Party had a stunning election, rising from just 6 seats to 56 -- winning all but 3 of the constituencies in Scotland and securing 50 % of the popular vote in Scotland. They recorded a number of record breaking swings of over 30 % including the new record of 39.3 % in Glasgow North East. They also won the seat of former Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, overturning a majority of 23,009 to win by a majority of 9,974 votes and saw Mhairi Black, then a 20 - year - old student, defeat Labour 's Shadow Foreign Secretary Douglas Alexander with a swing of 26.9 %. The Liberal Democrats, who had been in government as coalition partners, suffered the worst defeat they or the previous Liberal Party had suffered since the 1970 general election. Winning just eight seats, the Liberal Democrats lost their position as the UK 's third party and found themselves tied in fourth place with the Democratic Unionist Party of Northern Ireland in the House of Commons, with Nick Clegg being one of the few MPs from his party to retain his seat. The Liberal Democrats gained no seats, and lost 49 : 27 to the Conservatives, 12 to Labour and 10 to the SNP. The United Kingdom Independence Party ( UKIP ) were only able to hold one of their two seats and gain no new ones, despite increasing their vote share to 12.9 % ( which was third in terms of votes. ) Party leader Nigel Farage, having failed to win the constituency of South Thanet, tendered his resignation, though this was rejected by his party 's executive council and he stayed on as leader. In Northern Ireland, the Ulster Unionist Party returned to the Commons with two MPs after a five - year absence, gaining one seat from the Democratic Unionist Party and one from Sinn Féin, while Alliance lost its only Commons seat to the DUP despite an increase in total vote share. Voter demographics Polling after the election suggested the following demographic breakdown : The 2015 UK General Election vote in Great Britain Social group Con : Lab : Lib Dem : SNP : Plaid : UKIP : Green : Other / DK : Total vote 37 31 8 5 13 Gender Male 37 29 8 5 15 Female 38 33 8 0 12 Age 18 -- 29 32 36 9 5 9 7 30 -- 39 36 34 8 5 0 10 5 40 -- 49 33 33 7 5 14 50 -- 59 36 32 7 5 16 60 + 45 25 7 0 16 Age and Gender 18 -- 29 Male 34 31 10 5 10 6 30 -- 39 Male 38 31 8 5 11 5 40 -- 49 Male 34 31 7 6 16 50 -- 59 Male 33 31 7 6 18 60 + Male 44 24 7 0 18 18 -- 29 Female 29 41 8 7 8 30 -- 39 Female 33 37 8 5 0 9 5 40 -- 49 Female 33 36 7 5 12 50 -- 59 Female 38 32 7 0 14 60 + Female 46 25 8 0 14 Social Class AB 44 28 10 9 C1 38 30 9 5 11 5 C2 36 31 6 5 17 DE 29 37 6 5 0 18 Highest Educational Level GCSE or Lower 38 30 5 0 20 A-Level 37 31 8 6 11 5 University 35 34 11 5 6 6 Other 41 27 8 5 0 13 DK / Refused 32 33 6 0 18 Housing Status Own Outright 47 23 8 0 15 Mortgage 42 29 8 0 12 Social Housing 20 45 5 7 0 18 Private Rented 34 32 9 0 12 7 Do n't Know 31 38 8 0 10 6 Work Sector Private Sector 43 26 7 0 14 Public Sector 33 36 9 5 11 Household Income Under £ 20,000 29 36 7 5 17 £ 20,000 - £ 39,999 37 32 8 0 14 £ 40,000 - £ 69,999 42 29 9 5 10 £ 70,000 + 51 23 10 0 7 Newspaper Daily Express 51 13 5 0 27 Daily Mail 59 14 5 0 19 Daily Mirror / Daily Record 11 67 5 6 0 9 Daily Star 25 41 0 26 The Sun 47 24 0 19 The Daily Telegraph 69 8 8 0 0 12 The Guardian 6 62 11 14 The Independent 17 47 16 11 The Times 55 20 13 6 Gender The election led to an increase in the number of female MPs, to 191 ( 29 % of the total, including 99 Labour ; 68 Conservative ; 20 SNP ; 4 other ) from 147 ( 23 % of the total, including 87 Labour ; 47 Conservative ; 7 Liberal Democrat ; 1 SNP ; 5 other ). As before the election, the region with the largest proportion of women MPs was North East England. Seats which changed allegiance Main article : List of MPs who lost their seat in the United Kingdom general election, 2015 111 seats changed hands compared to the result in 2010 plus three by - election gains reverted to the party that won the seat at the last general election in 2010. Labour to SNP ( 40 ) Aberdeen North Aberdeen South Airdrie and Shotts Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock Central Ayrshire Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East Dumfries and Galloway Dundee West Dunfermline and West Fife East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow East Lothian East Renfrewshire Edinburgh East Edinburgh North and Leith Edinburgh South West Falkirk Glasgow Central Glasgow North Glasgow North West Glasgow South Glasgow South West Glenrothes Inverclyde Kilmarnock and Loudoun Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath Lanark and Hamilton East Linlithgow and East Falkirk Livingston Midlothian Motherwell and Wishaw North Ayrshire and Arran Ochil and South Perthshire Paisley and Renfrewshire North Paisley and Renfrewshire South Rutherglen and Hamilton West Stirling Ochil and South Perthshire Paisley and Renfrewshire North West Dunbartonshire Liberal Democrat to Conservative ( 23 ) Bath Berwick - upon - Tweed Brecon and Radnorshire Cheadle Cheltenham Chippenham Colchester Eastbourne Eastleigh Hazel Grove Kingston and Surbiton Lewes North Cornwall North Devon Portsmouth South Solihull St Austell and Newquay St Ives Taunton Deane Torbay Twickenham Wells Yeovil Liberal Democrat to Labour ( 10 ) Birmingham, Yardley Bradford East Brent Central Bristol West Burnley Cardiff Central Hornsey and Wood Green Manchester, Withington Norwich South Redcar Liberal Democrat to SNP ( 10 ) Argyll and Bute Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross East Dunbartonshire Edinburgh West Gordon Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey North East Fife Ross, Skye and Lochaber West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine Conservative to Labour ( 10 ) Brentford and Isleworth City of Chester Dewsbury Ealing Central & Acton Enfield North Hove Ilford North Lancaster and Fleetwood Wirral West Wolverhampton South West Labour to Conservative ( 8 ) Bolton West Derby North Gower Morley and Outwood Plymouth Moor View Southampton, Itchen Telford Vale of Clwyd Conservative to UKIP ( 1 ) Clacton DUP to UUP ( 1 ) South Antrim UUP to Sinn Féin ( 1 ) Fermagh and South Tyrone Alliance to DUP ( 1 ) Belfast East General election records broken in 2015 Youngest elected MP Mhairi Black, Scottish National Party, elected aged 20 years 237 days. Largest swing A swing of 39.3 % from Labour to the SNP was recorded in Glasgow North East. Lowest winning vote share Alasdair McDonnell of the SDLP won the seat of Belfast South on 24.5 % of the vote. Aftermath Resignations On 8 May, three party leaders announced their resignations within an hour of each other : Ed Miliband ( Labour ) and Nick Clegg ( Liberal Democrat ) resigned due to their parties ' worse - than - expected results in the election, although both had been re-elected to their seats in Parliament. Nigel Farage ( UKIP ) offered his resignation because he had failed to be elected as MP for Thanet South, but said he might re-stand in the resulting leadership election. However, on 11 May, the UKIP executive rejected his resignation on the grounds that the election campaign had been `` a great success '', and Farage agreed to continue as party leader. Alan Sugar, a Labour peer in the House of Lords, also announced his resignation from the Labour Party for running what he perceived to be an anti-business campaign. In response to Labour 's poor performance in Scotland, Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy initially resisted calls for his resignation by other senior party members. Despite surviving a no - confidence vote by 17 -- 14 from the party 's national executive, Murphy announced he would step down as leader on or by 16 May. Financial markets Financial markets reacted positively to the result, with the pound sterling rising against the Euro and US dollar when the exit poll was published, and the FTSE 100 stock market index rising 2.3 % on 8 May. The BBC reported : `` Bank shares saw some of the biggest gains, on hopes that the sector will not see any further rises in levies. Shares in Lloyds Banking Group rose 5.75 % while Barclays was 3.7 % higher '', adding, `` Energy firms also saw their share prices rise, as Labour had wanted a price freeze and more powers for the energy regulator. British Gas owner Centrica rose 8.1 % and SSE shares were up 5.3 % ''. BBC economics editor Robert Peston noted : `` To state the obvious, investors love the Tories ' general election victory. There are a few reasons. One ( no surprise here ) is that Labour 's threat of breaking up banks and imposing energy price caps has been lifted. Second is that investors have been discounting days and weeks of wrangling after polling day over who would form the government -- and so they are semi-euphoric that we already know who 's in charge. Third, many investors tend to be economically Conservative and instinctively Conservative. '' Electoral reform See also : Electoral reform § United Kingdom The disparity between the numbers of votes and the number of seats obtained by the smaller parties gave rise to increased calls for replacement of the ' first - past - the - post ' voting system with a more proportional system. For example, UKIP had 3.9 million votes per seat, whereas SNP had just 26,000 votes per seat, about 150 times greater representation for each vote cast. It is worth noting, however, that UKIP stood in 10 times as many seats as the SNP. Noting that UKIP 's 13 % share of the overall votes cast had resulted in the election of just one MP, Nigel Farage argued that the UK 's voting system needed reforming, saying, `` Personally, I think the first - past - the - post system is bankrupt ''. Re-elected Green Party MP Caroline Lucas agreed, saying `` The political system in this country is broken (... ) It 's ever clearer tonight that the time for electoral reform is long overdue, and it 's only proportional representation that will deliver a Parliament that is truly legitimate and better reflects the people it is meant to represent. '' Daily Telegraph investigation of abuse of Wikipedia Following the election, The Daily Telegraph detailed changes to Wikipedia pages made from computers with IP addresses inside Parliament raising suspicion that `` MPs or their political parties deliberately hid information from the public online to make candidates appear more electable to voters '' and a deliberate attempt to hide embarrassing information from the electorate. Telegraph media Group fined On 21 December 2015, the UK Information Commissioner 's Office fined the Telegraph Media Group £ 30,000 for sending ' hundreds of thousands of emails on the day of the general election urging readers to vote Conservative... in a letter from Daily Telegraph editor Chris Evans, attached to the paper 's usual morning e-bulletin '. The ICO concluded that subscribers had not expressed their consent to receive this kind of direct marketing. Election petition Four electors from Orkney and Shetland lodged an election petition on 29 May 2015 attempting to unseat Alistair Carmichael and force a by - election over what became known as ' Frenchgate '. The issue centred around the leaking of a memo from the Scotland Office about comments allegedly made by the French ambassador Sylvie Bermann about Nicola Sturgeon, claiming that Sturgeon had privately stated she would `` rather see David Cameron remain as PM '', in contrast to her publicly stated opposition to a Conservative government. The veracity of the memo was quickly denied by the French ambassador, French consul general and Sturgeon. At the time of the leak, Carmichael denied all knowledge of the leaking of the memo in a television interview with Channel 4 News. but after the election Carmichael accepted the contents of the memo were incorrect, admitted that he had lied, and that he had authorised the leaking of the inaccurate memo to the media after a Cabinet Office enquiry identified Carmichael 's role in the leak. On 9 December, an Election Court decided that although he had told a `` blatant lie '' in a TV interview, it had not been proven beyond reasonable doubt that he had committed an `` illegal practice '' under the Representation of the People Act and he was allowed to retain his seat. Party election spending investigation Main article : United Kingdom general election, 2015 party spending investigation At national party level, the Electoral Commission fined the three largest parties for breaches of spending regulations, levying the highest fines since its foundation : £ 20,000 for Labour in October 2016, £ 20,000 for the Liberal Democrats in December 2016, and £ 70,000 for the Conservative Party in March 2017. The higher fine for the Conservatives reflected both the extent of the wrongdoing ( which extended to the 2014 parliamentary by - elections in Clacton, Newark and Rochester and Strood ) and ' the unreasonable uncooperative conduct by the Party '. The Commission also found that the Party Treasurer, Simon Day, may not have fulfilled his obligations under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 and referred him for investigation to the Metropolitan Police Service. At constituency level, related alleged breaches of spending regulations led to ' unprecedented ' police investigations for possible criminal conduct of between 20 and 30 Conservative Party MPs. However, on 9 May 2017, the Crown Prosecution service decided not to prosecute the vast majority of suspects, saying that ' in order to bring a charge, it must be proved that a suspect knew the return was inaccurate and acted dishonestly in signing the declaration. Although there is evidence to suggest the returns may have been inaccurate, there is insufficient evidence to prove to the criminal standard that any candidate or agent was dishonest. ' However, on 2 June 2017, charges were brought under the Representation of the People Act 1983 against Craig Mackinlay, who was elected Conservative MP for South Thanet in 2015, his agent Nathan Gray, and a party activist, Marion Little. Appearing at Westminster Magistrates ' Court on 4 July 2017, the three pleased not guilty and were released on unconditional bail pending an appearance at Southwark Crown Court on 1 August 2017. The investigation of Party Treasurer Simon Day remained ongoing. See also The disproportionality of parliament in the 2015 election was 15.04 according to the Gallagher Index, mainly between the UKIP and Conservative Parties. British politics portal Category : UK MPs 2015 -- 17 List of MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 2015 List of MPs for constituencies in England 2015 -- 17 List of MPs for constituencies in Northern Ireland 2015 -- 17 List of MPs for constituencies in Scotland 2015 -- 17 List of MPs for constituencies in Wales 2015 -- 17 United Kingdom local elections, 2015 Footnotes Jump up ^ SNP party leader Nicola Sturgeon, a Member of the Scottish Parliament and First Minister of Scotland, participated in some of the main UK - wide televised debates, but did not stand for a Commons seat at this election. Angus Robertson, MP for Moray at the time, was the leader of the SNP delegation to the House of Commons. Jump up ^ After nominations had closed and ballot papers were printed, the Labour candidate in Banff and Buchan, Sumon Hoque, was suspended from the Labour Party when he was charged with multiple driving offences, and the Labour candidate in Wellingborough, Richard Garvie, was also suspended after a conviction for fraud Jump up ^ After nominations had closed and ballot papers were printed, two UKIP candidates were suspended from the party for offensive comments. Jump up ^ In the 20th Century so few Parliaments lasted the full five - year term that some commentators regarded four years as being a ' full term ', thus calling the 1979 -- 83 Parliament a ' full term ' References Jump up ^ `` The May 2015 UK elections : Report on the administration of the 7 May 2015 elections, including the UK Parliamentary general election '' ( PDF ). p. 3. Jump up ^ `` Election 2015 : Inquiry into opinion poll failures ''. BBC News. 8 May 2015. 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CATI Fieldwork : Tuesday / Wednesday 5 / 6 May 2015 '' ( PDF ). Lord Ashcroft. Retrieved 7 May 2015. Jump up ^ `` Daily Mail / ITV News Final Poll 6th May 2015 ''. Retrieved 6 May 2015. Jump up ^ `` Panelbase Poll 6th May 2015 '' ( PDF ). Panelbase. Retrieved 6 May 2015. Jump up ^ `` Opinion Poll ONLINE Fieldwork : 5th -- 7th May 2015 '' ( PDF ). Populus. Archived from the original ( PDF ) on 14 May 2015. Retrieved 7 May 2015. Jump up ^ `` Final Polls ''. UK Polling Report. Retrieved 6 May 2015. Jump up ^ `` U.K. General Election Predictions ''. FiveThirtyEight. Jump up ^ `` Elections Etc ''. Elections Etc. Jump up ^ `` Election 2015 : The Guardian poll projection ''. The Guardian. Retrieved 7 May 2015. Jump up ^ Cowling, David ( 3 May 2015 ). `` Election 2015 : The highs and lows of election exit polls ''. BBC News. Retrieved 7 May 2015. Jump up ^ `` Election results : Conservatives win majority ''. BBC News. 8 May 2015. 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London, UK. 12 May 2015. Jump up ^ Shriver, Lionel. `` If you want more accurate polls, stop shaming shy Tories ''. The Guardian. Jump up ^ Election 2015 : who voted for whom, The Guardian, 22 May 2015. Retrieved 25 September 2015. Jump up ^ General Election : 7 May 2015 British Polling Council, 8 May 2015 Jump up ^ `` Election 2015 : Inquiry into opinion poll failures ''. BBC News. 8 May 2015. Jump up ^ `` General Election Opinion Poll Inquiry releases preliminary findings '' ( PDF ). 19 January 2016. Jump up ^ `` Report of the Inquiry into the 2015 British general election opinion polls '' ( PDF ). 1 March 2016. Jump up ^ `` Missing non-voters and mis - weighted samples ''. British Election Study. Jump up ^ `` 2015 UK general election results ''. Th3 Electoral Commission. Retrieved 14 June 2017. Jump up ^ `` Speaker 's results : Election 2015 ''. BBC News. Retrieved 25 September 2015. Jump up ^ `` BBC News election results ''. Retrieved 25 September 2015. 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Jump up ^ Gayle, Damien. `` Alan Sugar resigns from Labour party over ' shift to left ' ''. The Guardian. Jump up ^ `` Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy to resign ''. BBC News. 16 May 2015. Jump up ^ Peston, Robert ( 8 May 2015 ). `` Shares and pound surge on election outcome ''. BBC News. Retrieved 8 May 2015. Jump up ^ Staff ( 8 May 2015 ). `` Nigel Farage resigns as UKIP leader as the party vote rises ''. BBC News. Retrieved 8 May 2015. Jump up ^ Staff ( 8 May 2015 ). `` Election 2015 : Greens ' Caroline Lucas wins in Brighton ''. BBC News. Retrieved 8 May 2015. Jump up ^ Ben Riley - Smith ( 26 May 2015 ). `` Expenses and sex scandal deleted from MPs ' Wikipedia pages by computers inside Parliament ''. The Daily Telegraph. London, UK. Retrieved 30 May 2015. Jump up ^ ' ICO fines Telegraph Media Group for election day email campaign ' ( 21 December 2015 ). Jump up ^ Carmichael facing legal challenge as campaigners raise £ 43,000 the Herald, 29 May 2015 Jump up ^ `` Alistair Carmichael legal campaign reaches £ 60,000 target ''. BBC News. 9 June 2015. Retrieved 3 July 2015. Jump up ^ Mundell criticised for refusing to say what he knew of ' Frenchgate ' memo The Herald ( Glasgow ). Retrieved 10 November 2015 Jump up ^ John, Simon ( 3 April 2015 ). `` Nicola Sturgeon secretly backs David Cameron ''. The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 26 May 2015. Jump up ^ Settle, Michael. `` Carmichael caught in his own tangled web of deceit ''. The Herald. Glasgow. Retrieved 23 May 2015. Jump up ^ `` Carmichael : Sturgeon memo could have come from anywhere in government ''. Channel 4. Retrieved 11 July 2016. Jump up ^ `` Alistair Carmichael case : Legal bid to oust Lib Dem MP fails ''. BBC News. 9 December 2015. Retrieved 9 December 2015. Jump up ^ `` Alistair Carmichael : election court throws out attempt to unseat MP ''. The Guardian. 9 December 2015. Retrieved 9 December 2015. ^ Jump up to : Laura Hughes, ' Conservatives fined £ 70,000 and MP reported to the police following an investigation into election campaign expenses ', The Daily Telegraph ( 16 March 2017 ). Jump up ^ Jessica Elgot, ' Labour fined £ 20,000 for undeclared election spending including for Ed Stone ', The Guardian ( 25 October 2016 ). Jump up ^ Rowena Mason, ' Lib Dems fined £ 20,000 for undeclared election spending ', The Guardian ( 25 October 2016 ). ^ Jump up to : Ed Howker and Guy Basnett, ' The inside story of the Tory election scandal ', The Guardian ( 23 March 2017 ). Jump up ^ The Electoral Commission, ' Investigation in respect of the Conservative and Unionist Party campaign spending returns for the 2014 European Parliamentary Election, and 2015 UK Parliamentary General Election, and in respect of the 2014 parliamentary by - elections in Clacton, Newark and Rochester and Strood ' ( 16 March 2017 ), quoting p. 38. Jump up ^ The Electoral Commission, ' Investigation in respect of the Conservative and Unionist Party campaign spending returns for the 2014 European Parliamentary Election, and 2015 UK Parliamentary General Election, and in respect of the 2014 parliamentary by - elections in Clacton, Newark and Rochester and Strood ' ( 16 March 2017 ), § § 10 - 11. Jump up ^ ' CPS statement on election expenses ' ( 10 May 2017 ). Jump up ^ `` CPS statement on election expenses CPS statement on election expenses ''. Retrieved 2 June 2017. Jump up ^ ' Conservative candidate Craig Mackinlay charged over election expenses ', http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-40129826. Jump up ^ `` Tory MP Craig Mackinlay appears in court over election expenses ''. Jump up ^ `` Tory MP Craig Mackinlay denies election spending charges ''. Jump up ^ Rowena Mason, Anushka Asthana and Rajeev Syal, ' Tory candidates did nothing wrong on election expenses, May claims ', The Guardian ( 10 May 2017 ). External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to 2015 UK General election. Progress updates, independent observers Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights Polls and forecasts Election 2015 polls and predictions UK Polling Report Blog UK Polling Report -- 2015 Election Guide UK 2015 Parliamentary Election Forecast Constitutional issues Another hung Parliament : what next ?, video from UCL Constitution Unit BBC Q&A on what happens if no - one wins the election News sites General Election 2015 -- BBC News General Election 2015 at the Guardian General Election 2015 at the Daily Telegraph Manifestos Alliance Party of Northern Ireland : Step forward, not back Communist Party of Britain : 2015 Communist Party general election manifesto Conservative Party : Strong leadership, a clear economic plan, a brighter, more secure future Democratic Unionist Party : Standing Up for Northern Ireland English Democrats Party : Putting England First Green Party in Northern Ireland : For the Common Good Green Party of England and Wales : For the common good Labour Party : Britain can be better Liberal Democrats : Stronger economy. Fairer society. Opportunity for everyone Liberal Party : General election mini manifesto 2015 Mebyon Kernow : Vote for Cornwall... and a new approach to politics Plaid Cymru : Working For Wales Scottish Green Party : An economy for the people, a society for all Scottish National Party : Stronger for Scotland Scottish Socialist Party : For an independent socialist Scotland : Standing up for Scotland 's working class majority Sinn Féin : Equality not austerity Social Democratic and Labour Party : Prosperity not austerity Socialist Labour Party : Socialist Labour Party manifesto Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition : TUSC 's general election policies UK Independence Party : Believe in Britain Ulster Unionist Party : One day, one vote, one chance for change Boundary Commissions Boundary Commission for England Boundary Commission for Northern Ireland Boundary Commission for Scotland Boundary Commission for Wales ( in Welsh ) Results Election 2015 : The Results and Tables, Rallings, Thrasher & Borisyuk, University of Plymouth House of Commons Library Briefing Paper CBP7186, 28 July 2015 : General Election 2015 United Kingdom general election, 2015 ← 2010 election Constituencies Debates MPs elected MPs who stood down MPs who lost their seat MPs by seniority Endorsements Opinion polling Parties Target seats 56th Parliament Results breakdown Results by constituency Seat gains and losses Incumbent Prime Minister : David Cameron ( Conservative ) Subsequent Prime Minister : David Cameron ( Conservative ) Incumbent Deputy Prime Minister : Nick Clegg ( Liberal Democrats ) Subsequent Deputy Prime Minister : None Parties elected to the House of Commons Conservative ( David Cameron ) Labour ( Ed Miliband ) Scottish National Party ( Nicola Sturgeon ) Liberal Democrats ( Nick Clegg ) Democratic Unionist Party ( Peter Robinson ) Sinn Féin ( Gerry Adams ) Plaid Cymru ( Leanne Wood ) Social Democratic and Labour Party ( Alasdair McDonnell ) Ulster Unionist Party ( Mike Nesbitt ) UK Independence Party ( Nigel Farage ) Green Party of England and Wales ( Natalie Bennett ) Parties only represented in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, London, or the European Parliament Green Party in Northern Ireland ( Steven Agnew ) Scottish Green Party ( Patrick Harvie / Maggie Chapman ) Traditional Unionist Voice ( Jim Allister ) Alliance Party of Northern Ireland ( David Ford ) Other Full list of parties standing candidates Results by area Northern Ireland ( list ) Scotland ( list ) Wales ( list ) England ( list ) United Kingdom local elections, 2015 Elections and referendums in the United Kingdom General elections 1801 co-option 1802 1806 1807 1812 1818 1820 1826 1830 1831 1832 1835 1837 1841 1847 1852 1857 1859 1865 1868 1874 1880 1885 1886 1892 1895 1900 1906 1910 ( Jan ) 1910 ( Dec ) 1918 1922 1923 1924 1929 1931 1935 1945 1950 1951 1955 1959 1964 1966 1970 1974 ( Feb ) 1974 ( Oct ) 1979 1992 1997 2001 2005 2015 2017 Next Local elections 1889 1890 1892 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1984 1985 1986 1989 1992 1994 1995 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 European elections 1979 1984 1989 1994 1999 2009 2014 Referendums 2011 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, 2016 Renegotiation Results Aftermath Brexit Referendum question `` Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union or leave the European Union ? '' Legislation European Union Referendum Act 2015 European Union ( Referendum ) Act 2016 ( Gibraltar ) Background Treaty of Rome UK Accession to the European Communities Treaty of Accession 1972 European Communities Act 1972 1973 EC enlargement 1975 European Communities membership referendum Single European Act European Communities ( Amendment ) Act 1986 UK rebate Black Wednesday Maastricht treaty European Communities ( Amendment ) Act 1993 European Economic Area European Economic Area Act 1993 Treaty of Amsterdam European Communities ( Amendment ) Act 1998 Treaty of Nice European Communities ( Amendment ) Act 2002 Treaty of Accession 2003 European Union ( Accessions ) Act 2003 European Constitution European Union Bill 2004 - 05 Lisbon Treaty European Union ( Amendment ) Act 2008 European Union Act 2011 European Union ( Referendum ) Bill 2013 -- 14 2014 UK European Parliament election 2015 UK general election Euroscepticism in the United Kingdom Campaign 2016 referendum campaign Issues Opinion polling Endorsements Project Fear Campaign organisations Remain Official campaign Britain Stronger in Europe Other campaigns Labour In for Britain Leave Official campaign Vote Leave Other campaigns Leave.EU Grassroots Out Labour Leave Campaign for an Independent Britain The Freedom Association Better Off Out Get Britain Out Bruges Group Televised debates The European Union : In or Out ( 2014 ) Aftermath International reactions Conservative Party leadership election Labour Party leadership election UK Independence Party leadership election ( September ) UK Independence Party leadership election ( November ) 2017 UK general election Brexit R ( Miller ) v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union United Kingdom invocation of Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union Brexit negotiations Effect of Brexit on Gibraltar Effects of Brexit on science and technology WTO Option Brexit legislation European Union ( Notification of Withdrawal ) Act 2017 European Union ( Withdrawal ) Bill 2017 - 19 European Union ( Withdrawal ) Bill 2017 - 19 ( Gibraltar ) Related Brexit : The Movie ( 2016 documentary ) Change Britain `` Enemies of the People '' London independence More United The New European ( newspaper ) Open Britain Proposed second Scottish independence referendum United Ireland Status of Akrotiri and Dhekelia and Gibraltar Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=United_Kingdom_general_election,_2015&oldid=809064814 '' Categories : United Kingdom general election, 2015 2015 elections in the United Kingdom General elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom May 2015 events in the United Kingdom Hidden categories : EngvarB from July 2016 Use dmy dates from July 2016 Pages using deprecated image syntax Articles containing potentially dated statements from April 2015 All articles containing potentially dated statements All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from May 2017 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Wikinews Afrikaans Català Cymraeg Dansk Deutsch Ελληνικά Español فارسی Føroyskt Français 한국어 Bahasa Indonesia Íslenska Italiano עברית Magyar Bahasa Melayu Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Polski Português Русский Scots Simple English Српски / srpski Suomi Svenska தமிழ் ไทย Türkçe Українська Tiếng Việt 粵語 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 6 November 2017, at 22 : 39. 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Question: how many seats did labour win in 2015
Answer: 232