# Electoral history of the Labour Party (UK)

The Labour Party is a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom. Formed in 1900, it is one of the two main political parties along with the Conservative Party. In all general elections since 1918, Labour has been either the governing party or the Official Opposition. Since the 2010 general election, Labour was the second largest party in the UK for 14 years until the 2024 United Kingdom General election. Since 1918, Labour have formed 13 governments.
This article encompasses detailed results of previous UK general elections, devolved national elections in Scotland and Wales, devolved London elections and European Parliament elections which the Labour Party have participated in.

## Background

The Labour Party was founded at a conference in February 1900 in London as the Labour Representation Committee (LRC). The party was formed as an alliance between trade unions, ethical socialists and state socialists. Following the 1906 general election, the LRC became the current Labour Party.
Labour are one of the two main political parties in the United Kingdom, along with the Conservative Party. The Labour Party sits on the centre-left of the political spectrum. In all general elections since 1918, Labour has been either the governing party or the Official Opposition. There have been six Labour prime ministers. Since 1918, Labour have formed 12 governments, compared to 13 for the Conservatives within this period.

## National results
### UK general elections

The voting system for general elections in the UK is the first past the post system. The first general election the party faced, then the Labour Representation Committee, was only six months after the inauguration of the party. Fifteen LRC candidates were put forward for the election, two of which were elected in 1900. In 1903, the Secretary of the LRC Ramsay MacDonald and the Liberal Party's Chief Whip Herbert Gladstone formed a secret electoral pact between the two parties. The party continued to grow over the following decade and by the December 1910 general election, Labour had 42 MPs.
Following the 1918 general election, Labour became the Official Opposition after the Conservatives went into coalition with the Liberal Party. Labour's first minority governments came following the 1923 and 1929 general elections, the latter being the first time Labour were the largest party in parliament by seats won. They formed their first majority government following the 1945 general election. However, after winning the 1950 general election, Labour would lose the following election in 1951 to the Conservatives despite gaining their highest share of votes to date at 48.8%. During the 1983 election, Labour posted their worst vote share in the post-war period at 27.6%. In 1997, a party record of 418 Labour MPs were elected. After losing power after the 2010 general election, Labour lost four consecutive general elections. At the 2019 general election, 202 Labour MPs were elected, the lowest for the party since 1935. At the 2024 general election, Labour returned to power after winning the election with a 174 seat majority.

#### Note

* ↑ The first election held under the Representation of the People Act 1918 in which all men over 21, and most women over the age of 30 could vote, and therefore a much larger electorate.
* ↑ First election held under the Representation of the People (Equal Franchise) Act 1928 which gave all women aged over 21 the vote.
* ↑ Franchise extended to all 18- to 20-year-olds under the Representation of the People Act 1969.

## Devolved national elections
### Scottish Parliament elections

Following a referendum on devolution in September 1997, the Scottish people voted 'Yes' leading to the Scotland Act 1998. This act led to the formation of the Scottish Parliament in 1999. After Scotland voted 'No' in the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, additional powers were devolved to the Scottish Parliament after the Scotland Act 2016 reached royal assent. Elections to determine the composition of the Parliament take place once every five years under the additional member system. Overall, there are 73 constituency members (MSPs) and 56 regional members elected. Before 2016, elections were held every four years.
In the inaugural two elections, Labour were the largest party and formed a coalition with the Scottish Liberal Democrats on both occasions. However, Labour narrowly lost the 2007 election to the Scottish National Party (SNP). By seats won, Labour have been the third largest party in the Scottish Parliament behind the SNP and Conservatives since 2016. In the most recent election in 2021, Labour suffered their worst defeat in Holyrood after returning 22 MSPs.
| Year | Leader | Votes | % share of votes (constituency) | % share of votes (list) | Seats | Change | Position | Resulting government |
| 1999 | Donald Dewar | 908,346 | 38.8 | 33.6 | 56 / 129 | — | 1st | Labour–Liberal Democrats |
| 2003 | Jack McConnell | 663,585 | 34.6 | 29.3 | 50 / 129 | 6 | 1st | Labour–Liberal Democrats |
| 2007 | Jack McConnell | 648,374 | 32.1 | 29.2 | 46 / 129 | 4 | 2nd | SNP minority |
| 2011 | Iain Gray | 630,461 | 31.7 | 26.3 | 37 / 129 | 9 | 2nd | SNP majority |
| 2016 | Kezia Dugdale | 514,261 | 22.6 | 19.1 | 24 / 129 | 13 | 3rd | SNP minority |
| 2021 | Anas Sarwar | 584,392 | 21.7 | 18.9 | 22 / 129 | 2 | 3rd | SNP minority |
* ↑ From 2021 to 2024, there was a cooperation agreement between the incumbent SNP and the Scottish Greens.

### Senedd elections

As part of Labour's 1997 winning UK general election manifesto, Labour committed to devolving power to Wales and Scotland subject to public consent from referendums. In July 1997, Labour released its white paper for devolution in Wales. This devolution deal would include 60 elected members who would take responsibility for £7 billion of funding. Furthermore, this new Assembly would have the right to pass secondary legislation in order to modify already existing laws. The devolution plans were endorsed by the public in the 1997 Welsh devolution referendum by 50.3% of the vote. The Government of Wales Act 1998 would receive royal assent with the Assembly to be formed following the first election in May 1999.
In 1999, the Welsh Assembly or Senedd Cymru was founded. From 1999 until 2011, Welsh Assembly elections were held once every four years, they are now held every five years. 40 Constituency Assembly Members (AMs) and 20 regional Assembly Members are elected at each election. The current voting system is the additional member system.
At every Senedd election, Labour has received the most votes and seats at each election, but has never formed a clear majority of seats. Labour formed a coalition with the Welsh Liberal Democrats from 2000 to 2003. From 2003 to 2007, Labour governed alone as a minority administration before serving in coalition with Plaid Cymru from 2007 to 2011. Labour have governed alone as a minority administration since 2011. Since 2021, Labour have had a formal cooperation agreement with Plaid Cymru to help pass budgets and to work together on several policy areas.
| Year | Leader | % share of votes (constituency) | % share of votes (list) | Seats won | Change | Position | Resulting government |
| 1999 | Alun Michael | 37.6 | 35.4 | 28 / 60 | — | 1st | Labour–Liberal Democrats |
| 2003 | Rhodri Morgan | 40.0 | 36.6 | 30 / 60 | 2 | 1st | Labour minority |
| 2007 | Rhodri Morgan | 32.2 | 29.6 | 26 / 60 | 4 | 1st | Labour–Plaid Cymru |
| 2011 | Carwyn Jones | 42.3 | 36.9 | 30 / 60 | 4 | 1st | Labour minority |
| 2016 | Carwyn Jones | 34.7 | 31.5 | 29 / 60 | 1 | 1st | Labour minority |
| 2021 | Mark Drakeford | 39.9 | 36.2 | 30 / 60 | 1 | 1st | Labour minority |
* ↑ Following the 1999 election, Labour initially formed a minority administration, however, by 2000 Labour had formed a coalition with the Liberal Democrats.

## Devolved regional elections
### London Assembly elections

London Assembly elections are held every four years. Overall, there are 14 constituency members and 11 London-wide members who are elected by a party-list system. The voting system is the additional member system. The assembly holds the mayor of London to account through London Assembly committees and also votes on the mayor's budget. The first London Assembly election was held in 2000. Labour gained the most seats out of all of the parties in 2012 (12), 2016 (12), 2021 (11) and 2024 (11).
| Year | Assembly leader | % share of votes (constituency) | % share of votes (list) | Seats | Change | Position |
| 2000 | Toby Harris | 31.6 | 30.3 | 9 / 25 | — | 1st |
| 2004 | Toby Harris | 24.7 | 25.0 | 7 / 25 | 2 | 2nd |
| 2008 | Len Duvall | 28.0 | 27.6 | 8 / 25 | 1 | 2nd |
| 2012 | Len Duvall | 42.3 | 41.1 | 12 / 25 | 4 | 1st |
| 2016 | Len Duvall | 42.3 | 41.1 | 12 / 25 | | 1st |
| 2021 | Len Duvall | 41.7 | 38.1 | 11 / 25 | 1 | 1st |
| 2024 | Len Duvall | 39.8 | 38.4 | 11 / 25 | | 1st |
* ↑ This election was originally due to be held in 2020 but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

### London mayoral elections

Elections to decide the Mayor of London have taken place since 2000. Ken Livingstone won the inaugural mayoral election as an independent candidate, ahead of the Conservative Party in second place and the Labour Party in third. He would later become the candidate for Labour in 2004, 2008 and 2012. Livingstone won for Labour in 2004 before losing to the Conservative candidate, Boris Johnson in both 2008 and 2012. These elections take place every four years with the incumbent mayor being Sadiq Khan of the Labour Party since 2016. The voting system for the mayoral elections from 2000 until 2021 was the supplementary vote system. However, for the election in 2024, the first past the post system was used instead. In 2024, Khan won a third successive term.
| Year | Mayoral candidate | Vote total | Vote share (%) |
| 2000 | Frank Dobson | – | – |
| 2004 | Ken Livingstone | 828,390 | 55.4 |
| 2008 | Ken Livingstone | 1,029,406 | 46.8 |
| 2012 | Ken Livingstone | 992,273 | 48.5 |
| 2016 | Sadiq Khan | 1,310,143 | 56.8 |
| 2021 | Sadiq Khan | 1,206,034 | 55.2 |
| 2024 | Sadiq Khan | 1,088,225 | 43.8 |
* ↑ This election was originally due to be held in 2020 but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

### Combined authority elections

The first 'combined authority elections' took place in 2017 to determine six elected mayors (Metro-mayors) of different combined authorities in England. These elections stemmed from the 'devolution deals' policy announced by George Osborne in 2014. Combined authorities are local government institutions formed by two or more local councils.
The system of voting for these elections was originally the supplementary vote system. Ahead of the 2023 local elections, the first past the post system replaced the supplementary vote system for future combined authority elections. As of August 2024, there are ten Labour Party Metro Mayors in: Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, Greater Manchester, East Midlands, Liverpool City region, North-East, Sheffield City region, West Midlands, West of England, West Yorkshire and York and North Yorkshire. Comparatively, there is one Conservative Party Metro Mayor which is in the Tees Valley region.
| Year | Mayoralties won | Change |
| 2017 | 2 / 6 | 2 |
| 2018 | 1 / 1 | 1 |
| 2019 | 1 / 1 | 1 |
| 2021 | 5 / 7 | 2 |
| 2022 | 1 / 1 | 1 |
| 2024 | 8 / 9 | 1 |

## European
### European Parliament elections

During the UK's membership of the European Union (1973–2020), the UK participated in European Parliament elections, held every five years from 1979 until 2019. Elections to the European Parliament began in 1979, and were held under the first past the post system until the 1994 election. From 1999 onwards, a regional list system of proportional representation system was used.
Labour's best result was the 1994 election in terms of numbers of MEPs elected (62/87) and vote share (44%). The party earned more votes in 2004 than in 1999 but their vote share fell due to a higher turnout. In 2009, Labour finished behind the Conservatives and UKIP.
| Year | Leader | Votes | % share of votes | Seats | Change | Position |
| 1979 | James Callaghan | 4,253,207 | 33 | 17 / 81 | — | 2nd |
| 1984 | Neil Kinnock | 4,865,261 | 37 | 32 / 81 | 15 | 2nd |
| 1989 | Neil Kinnock | 6,153,661 | 40 | 45 / 81 | 13 | 1st |
| 1994 | Margaret Beckett | 6,753,881 | 44 | 62 / 87 | 17 | 1st |
| 1999 | Tony Blair | 2,803,820 | 28.0 | 29 / 87 | 33 | 2nd |
| 2004 | Tony Blair | 3,718,683 | 22.6 | 19 / 78 | 10 | 2nd |
| 2009 | Gordon Brown | 2,381,760 | 15.7 | 13 / 72 | 6 | 3rd |
| 2014 | Ed Miliband | 4,020,646 | 25.4 | 20 / 73 | 7 | 2nd |
| 2019 | Jeremy Corbyn | 2,347,255 | 14.1 | 10 / 73 | 10 | 3rd |
* ↑ Margaret Beckett was leader ad interim.
* ↑ Electoral system changed from first past the post to proportional representation.