United Kingdom general election records
This is an annotated list of notable records from United Kingdom general elections from 1945 onwards (with certain exceptions). Rationale. This article limits itself to records for 1945 and onwards. Prior to 1945, electoral competition in the United Kingdom exhibited features which make meaningful comparisons with modern results difficult. Among the most significant were: Since 1945, the evolution of a stable 3-party system has tended to negate each of the above features so that, broadly speaking, elections are more comparable. In Northern Ireland, as ever, the pattern of party competition is completely different from  that in Great Britain and comparisons remain problematic. Hence, unless otherwise stated records are based on results since the 1945 general election, and earlier exceptional results are listed separately. Glossary. For comparison purposes the following definitions have been adopted. Numerical records. For more information about what is meant by the term "swing", see Swing (politics) Largest fall in percentage share of vote. A party's share of the vote at a general election is not always matched at subsequent general elections, but given the five-year maximum term of a Parliament since 1911, reductions of 10% or more (on the  national level) or around 30% or more (in individual constituencies) are unusual. Other parties. The Scottish National and Democratic Unionist parties have never lost a 30% or larger percentage share of the vote in a single constituency. Largest increase in percentage share of vote. These records detail the change in the share of the vote by parties when compared to the same constituency in the previous general election. In some cases, such as Brent East in 2005 for the Liberal Democrats, the figures should be framed by the context of a by-election in that constituency between the two elections . Largest winning share of the vote. The five largest shares of the vote won by any candidate, since 1918, are as follows: Largest number of votes. The most votes received by a single individual in a general election was Sir Cooper Rawson who polled 75,205 votes when being reelected as MP for Brighton in 1931. Brighton was a two-member constituency with a larger than average electorate. The most votes received by an individual in a single-seat constituency was 69,762 for Reginald Blair in Hendon in 1935. Largest majority. The largest majority received by an individual is also Sir  Cooper Rawson, reelected with a majority of 62,253 (35.2% of votes) at Brighton in 1931. The largest majority received by a woman is 38,823 (71.4% of votes) by the Countess of Iveagh elected MP for Southend in 1931. Lowest winning share of the vote. All general election victors receiving less than 33.33% of the vote are listed. The list is complete from 1945 onwards. Seats with more than one member are omitted. Lowest share of the vote. Major parties less than 1% of the vote. Since 1918: The Conservatives' worst vote outside Northern Ireland was 1.1% for A. Seaton in  Pontypridd in 1918. Labour's worst vote was 2.2% for Samuel McLaren in Glasgow Bridgeton in 1935 and in 2010 for Jonathan Todd in Westmorland and Lonsdale. Candidates winning fewer than ten votes. Candidates in general elections since 1918 who won fewer than ten votes: Both W. M. Somerville in Bewdley at the 1874 United Kingdom general election and F. R. Lees in Drogheda at the 1852 United Kingdom general election received no votes. Smallest majorities. Since 1945 Notes: Highest turnout. Highest turnouts in any general election since 1918: Lowest turnout. All turnouts below 35% from 1918 onwards: Until 2001 , the lowest turnout after 1918 was 37.4% in Orkney and Shetland in 1922. Most candidates. Any number of candidates can be nominated for election under current UK electoral law. The only restrictions are that a candidate must be a Commonwealth or Irish citizen, not legally disqualified, with the valid nomination of ten electors from the constituency. Candidates must pay a £500 deposit which is only refunded if the candidate wins 5% or more of the votes cast. Fourteen constituencies have seen more than ten candidates stand in a general election: Bold indicates incumbent was Prime Minister in the parliament  prior to that election Before 1983, the consecutive records were 6 candidates in Paddington North in 1918, 7 in Tottenham in February 1974 and 9 in Devon North in 1979. Fewest candidates. The last four seats to be uncontested at a general election were Armagh, Londonderry, North Antrim and South Antrim, at the 1951 general election. The last seats in Great Britain to be uncontested were Liverpool Scotland and Rhondda West, at the 1945 general election. Three seats were contested only by Labour and Conservative candidates at the 1979 general election: Birmingham Handsworth, Dudley West and Salford East. Buckingham was  the only seat contested by only three candidates at the 2015 general election. Traditionally, the Speaker of the House of Commons is not opposed by major parties, so the only opposition to John Bercow was candidates from the Green Party and from UKIP. However, in the 2017 United Kingdom general election, there were 21 seats with only three candidates and in 2019 there were 20. Candidate records. Durable general election candidates. A selection of politicians who have contested seats in at least thirteen general elections are listed: MPs defeated at consecutive general elections. On rare occasions, an MP has been  defeated at a general election, returned at a by-election, only to be defeated again at the subsequent general election. Shirley Williams is distinguished by achieving this while in two different parties. Notes: Former MPs unsuccessful at subsequent general elections. Attempts. It is unusual for a defeated MP to pursue more than a couple of attempts at re-election. Notes: Interval. Attempts at a comeback usually occur almost immediately. Those who succeeded after further general elections include: Future MPs unsuccessful at previous general elections. It is unusual for a candidate who has been unsuccessful on more than a couple of  occasions to finally win a seat. Among women, namely: Shortest-serving general election victors. For a comprehensive list of MPs with total service of less than 365 days see List of United Kingdom MPs with the shortest service Pre-1945. Notes Youngest general election victors. Babies of the House elected at general elections. "See" Baby of the House of Commons Oldest general election victors. At first election. Possibly the oldest known first-time seat winner was Bernard Kelly (born 1808) who was aged 77 when he became the first MP for the then new seat of South Donegal in Ireland at  the 1885 general election. He died aged reportedly 78 on 1 January 1887. Others: Returning to the house after a gap. A contender for the longest gap prior to returning at a general election was possibly Henry Drummond (1786–1860), who returned to the House of Commons in the 1847 general election as member for West Surrey, after a near 35-year absence, though aged only 60. He was previously MP for Plympton Erle from 1810–12. Others, who returned at older ages than Drummond's: First women general election victors. had entered parliament in by-election 1919 First general election victors  from specific religions. When the UK Parliament was established in 1801, non-Anglicans were prevented from taking their seats as MPs under the Test Act 1672. However, Methodists took communion at Anglican churches until 1795, and some continued to do so, and many Presbyterians were prepared to accept Anglican communion, thus ensuring that members of these creeds were represented in the Parliament. Some Unitarians were also elected. The first Roman Catholic general election victors in the UK Parliament were at the 1830 general election. They included Daniel O'Connell and James Patrick Mahon in Clare. The first Quaker general election victor  was Edward Pease at the 1832 general election. The first Moravian general election victor was Charles Hindley at the 1835 general election. Lionel de Rothschild was the first Jewish general election victor at the 1847 general election. He was not permitted to take his seat until the passage of the Jews Relief Act 1858. The first Catholic Apostolic general election victor was Henry Drummond also at the 1847 election. The first Baptist general election victor was George Goodman at the 1852 general election. The first Congregationalist general election victor was Samuel Morley at the 1865 general election. The first declared  atheist to win a general election was Charles Bradlaugh at the 1880 general election. He was not permitted to take his seat in that parliament, but was elected again at the 1885 general election and allowed to take the oath. Dadabhai Naoroji was the first Parsi general election victor at the 1892 general election. Piara Khabra became the first Sikh general election victor at the 1992 general election. Terry Rooney became the first Mormon general election victor at the 1992 general election (previously taking his seat at a by-election in 1990). The first Muslim general election victor was Mohammed  Sarwar at the 1997 general election. The first Hindu general election victor was Shailesh Vara at the 2005 general election. The first Buddhist general election victor was Suella Braverman as Suella Fernandes at the 2015 general election. General elections losers awarded seats on disqualification of winner. Lord Robert Grosvenor: Fermanagh and South Tyrone, 1955 Two or more sitting MPs contest general election. It is of course common for former (defeated) MPs to seek re-election, often in their old constituencies, especially if they are marginal or bellwether seats. What is quite unusual is for two MPs both sitting in the  same parliament to seek re-election in the same seat. This usually occurs by reason of boundary changes or party splits. "Italics" indicates constituency was newly created at that election Bold indicates the candidate who won that constituency's seat at that election Notes: after announcing his retirement as member for Central Fife, long-serving Scottish Labour MP Willie Hamilton obtained his party's nomination in the hopeless prospect of South Hams in southern England. Hamilton insisted that he knew local parties often found themselves without candidates shortly before nominations closed, and was offering because it would help them out  of difficulty; however by standing again and being "defeated" he qualified for an additional allowance. Frequency and duration records. Longest period without a general election. The longest possible duration of a Parliament is currently five years. All period of six years or more between general elections are listed: Shortest period between general elections. All periods of less than a year between general elections are listed: Longest continuous governments. This details the longest continuous government of each of the parties that have been in power. Election days. Currently, all British Parliamentary elections are invariably held on a Thursday. The last general  election not held on a Thursday was the 1931 election, which was held on Tuesday 27 October. Prior to this, it was common to hold general elections on any day of the week (other than Sunday), and until the 1918 general election, polling (and the declaration of results) was held over a period of several weeks. Suspended elections. On rare occasions, polling in an individual constituency may be suspended, usually as a result of the death of a candidate. The last occasion was at Thirsk and Malton in 2010, where polling was delayed for three weeks owing to the death  of the UKIP candidate. Previous examples occurred at Miscellaneous records. Outgoing Government gains seats. When there is a decisive change in electoral sentiment, a tiny number of seats will not only buck the trend by not moving as expected, but may actually move in the opposite direction. Only elections that saw a change of government are listed, since it is fairly common for a few seats to move in divergent directions when an incumbent government is re-elected; 2005 was an exception to this case, when the Labour party scored no gains. Incoming Government loses seats. Conservative. Notes: In 2010  the Conservatives entered government as the largest party in a coalition and in 2015 they went from being part of a coalition to being a majority government in their own right. In 2017 the Conservatives entered government without an overall majority and in 2019 they went from having a minority government to being a majority government in their own right. Liberal Democrats. Note: In 2010 the Liberal Democrats entered government as a junior partner in a coalition. Liberal Party (pre-Liberal Democrats). Notes: by-election loss confirmed at the general election General election victors had not contested previous election. It  is unusual for a party that had not contested the seat at the previous election to win it. Since the major mainland parties now routinely contest all seats, except the Speaker's, such rare victories tend to come from independents or splinter-parties. Notes: Incumbent party did not contest. The rare occasions where the party which won the previous election did not contest the seat. Independent candidates are not included, nor are Speakers of the House or Commons. Also excluded are occasions where the party had merged into an organisation which did contest the election, such as when the Social  Democratic Party and Liberal Party formed the Liberal Democrats, or the Vanguard Unionist Progressive Party merged into the Ulster Unionist Party. Victories by minor parties. Victories by independent and minor party candidates since 1945. For a complete list, see the list of UK minor party and independent MPs elected. Independent candidates winning 10% or more. Independent candidates who did not win, but took 10% or more of the vote in their constituency Minor parties other strong performance. Parties without representation in Parliament which won 10% or more of the votes cast: First general elections for a new political party. Listed  below parties which have returned MPs, either at the listed election or a later one. Asterisked – first election where party fielded candidates but MPs elected at later general election. Otherwise all parties listed returned MPs at first contested election. Last general elections for defunct political parties. Listed below are parties which had returned MPs and which ceased to exist after the listed election: <nowiki>*</nowiki> After the Liberal Party and SDP merged to form the Liberal Democrats, some members opposed to the merger formed new parties, the continuation Liberal Party and continuation Social Democratic Party. These parties are legally  distinct from their predecessors and have never won a seat in Parliament. General elections following electoral developments. Participation in, and outcome of, general elections can be influenced by changes in electoral law or practice.