1997 electionThe UK general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997, more than five years after the previous election on 9 April 1992. The Labour Party won the general election in a landslide victory with 418 seats, the most seats the party has ever held...
• MPsThis is a list of Members of Parliament elected to the 52nd House of Commons at the 1997 general election, held on 1 May 1997.The list is arranged by constituency...
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2001 electionThe UK general election, 2001 was held on 7 June 2001 and was dubbed "the quiet landslide" by the media. There was little change at all - outside Northern Ireland - with 620 out of 641 seats remaining unchanged. Labour enjoyed its second so-called 'landslide victory' in a row, maintaining its...
• MPsThis is a list of Members of Parliament elected to the House of Commons at the 2001 general election, held on 7 June.The list is arranged by constituency. New MPs elected since the general election and changes in party allegiance are noted at the bottom of the page...
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| 2005 election • MPs This is a list of Members of Parliament elected to the House of Commons for the Fifty-Fourth Parliament of the United Kingdom at the 2005 general election, held on 5 May 2005.The list is arranged by constituency...
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Next electionThe next United Kingdom general election will take place in all constituencies of the United Kingdom for seats in the House of Commons due on or before Thursday 3 June 2010....
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The
United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect members to the
House of CommonsThe House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 646 members, who are known as "Members...
.
The
Labour PartyThe Labour Party is a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom. Founded at the start of the 20th century, it has been seen since 1920 as the principal party of the Left in England, Scotland and Wales, but not Northern Ireland, where it has only recently begun to organise again...
under
Tony BlairAnthony Charles Lynton "Tony" Blair is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
won its third consecutive victory, but with a reduced
overall majorityIn the Parliamentary system, there is a majority government when the governing party enjoys an absolute majority of seats in the legislature or parliament...
of 66 and they failed to gain any new seats. Blair's decline in popularity was largely attributed to the decision to send British troops to invade Iraq in 2003.
The 2005 election also saw Britain gain more independent and small party members of parliament than it had done for 60 years.
The
general electionThe United Kingdom has five types of election: UK general elections, elections to national/regional parliaments and assemblies, elections to the European Parliament, local elections and mayoral elections. Elections are traditionally held on Thursdays. General elections do not have fixed dates, but...
took place in 646 constituencies across the United Kingdom, under the first-past-the-post system, for seats in the House of Commons. All but one constituency polled on 5 May; the
South StaffordshireSouth Staffordshire is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....
vote was postponed and took place on 23 June due to the death of a candidate. For details by constituency, see
2005 general election resultsResults of the United Kingdom general election, 2005.- Overall results :Speaker is included in Labour- Scottish Highlands & Islands :- Central Scotland :- Scottish Borders :- Northern Ireland :- Wales :- The Lakes, Lancashire, & Cheshire :...
.
Local elections in parts of
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and in
Northern IrelandNorthern Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and it is situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
were held on the same day. The polls were open for fifteen hours, from 07:00 to 22:00
BSTWestern European Summer Time is a summer daylight saving time scheme, 1 hour ahead of Coordinated Universal Time. It is used in the following places:* the Canary Islands* the Faroe Islands* Ireland* the Crown dependencies* the Madeira islands...
(
UTC+1Coordinated Universal Time , ) is a time standard based on International Atomic Time with leap seconds added at irregular intervals to compensate for the Earth's slowing rotation...
). The election came just over three weeks after the
dissolutionIn parliamentary systems, a dissolution of parliament is the dispersal of a legislature at the call of an election.Usually there is a maximum length of a legislature, and a dissolution must happen before the maximum time...
of
ParliamentThe Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories. It alone has parliamentary sovereignty, conferring upon it ultimate power over all other political bodies in the UK and its territories...
on 11 April by
Queen Elizabeth IIElizabeth II is the queen regnant of sixteen independent states known informally as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines,...
, at the request of the
Prime MinisterThe Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the political leader of the United Kingdom and the Head of Her Majesty's Government...
, Tony Blair.
Votes summary
Seats summary
Overview
The governing
Labour PartyThe Labour Party is a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom. Founded at the start of the 20th century, it has been seen since 1920 as the principal party of the Left in England, Scotland and Wales, but not Northern Ireland, where it has only recently begun to organise again...
, led by
Tony BlairAnthony Charles Lynton "Tony" Blair is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
, was looking to secure a third consecutive term in office and to retain a large majority. The
Conservative PartyThe Conservative and Unionist Party, more commonly known as the Conservatives, the Conservative Party, or Tory Party is a conservative political party in the United Kingdom...
was seeking to regain seats lost to both Labour and the Liberal Democrats since the
1992 General ElectionThe United Kingdom general election of 1992 was held on 9 April 1992, and was the fourth consecutive victory for the Conservative Party.John Major had won the leadership election in November 1990 succeeding the outgoing PM Margaret Thatcher....
, and move from being the
Official OppositionHer Majesty's Loyal Opposition, or the Official Opposition, in the United Kingdom is led by the Leader of the Opposition. This is usually the political party with the second-largest number of seats in the House of Commons, as the largest party will usually form Her Majesty's Government...
into government. The Liberal Democrats hoped to make gains from both main parties, but especially the Conservative Party, with a "decapitation" strategy targeting members of the
Shadow CabinetThe Shadow Cabinet is a senior group of opposition spokespeople in the Westminster system of government who together under the leadership of the Leader of the Opposition form an alternative cabinet to the government's, whose members shadow or mark each individual member of the government...
. The Lib Dems had also wished to become the governing party, but more realistically hoped of making enough gains to become the Official Opposition and/or play a major part in a parliament led by a minority Labour or Conservative government. In Northern Ireland the
Democratic Unionist PartyThe Democratic Unionist Party is the larger of the two main unionist political parties in Northern Ireland. Founded by Ian Paisley and currently led by Peter Robinson, it is currently the largest party in the Northern Ireland Assembly and the fourth-largest party in the House of Commons of the...
sought to make further gains over the
Ulster Unionist PartyThe Ulster Unionist Party is the more moderate of the two main unionist political parties in Northern Ireland...
in unionist politics, and
Sinn FéinSinn Féin is a political party in Ireland. The current party, led by Gerry Adams, was formed following a split in January 1970 and traces its origins back to the original Sinn Féin party formed in 1905. It is a major party of Irish republicanism and its political ideology is left wing...
hoped to overtake the
Social Democratic and Labour PartyThe Social Democratic and Labour Party is one of the two major nationalist parties in Northern Ireland. During the Troubles, the SDLP was consistently the most popular nationalist party in Northern Ireland, but since the Provisional IRA cease-fire in 1994, it has lost ground to its rival Sinn...
in
nationalistIrish nationalism comprises political and social movements and sentiment inspired by a love for Irish culture, language and history, and a sense of pride in Ireland and the Irish people...
politics. (Note that Sinn Féin MPs do not take their seats in the
House of CommonsThe House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 646 members, who are known as "Members...
-- they refuse to swear an oath of allegiance to the
QueenElizabeth II is the queen regnant of sixteen independent states known informally as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines,...
as required). The pro-
independenceIndependence is the self-government of a nation, country, or state by its residents and population, or some portion thereof, generally exercising sovereignty....
Scottish National PartyThe Scottish National Party is a centre-left political party which campaigns for Scottish independence. In the last few decades, the SNP has normally polled the second highest number of votes for a political party in Scotland. However, the 2009 European Election saw the party top the poll with...
and
Plaid CymruPlaid Cymru is a political party in Wales. It advocates the establishment of an independent Welsh state within the European Union.Plaid Cymru was formed in 1925 and won its first seat in 1966...
(Party of Wales) stood candidates in every constituency in Scotland and Wales respectively.
Many seats were contested by other parties, including several parties without incumbents in the House of Commons. Parties that were not represented at Westminster, but had seats in the
devolved assembliesDevolution is the statutory granting of powers from the central government of a Sovereign state to government at a subnational level, such as a regional, local, or state level...
and
European ParliamentThe European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union , it forms the bicameral legislative branch of the Union's institutions and has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
included the
Alliance Party of Northern IrelandThe Alliance Party of Northern Ireland is a political party in Northern Ireland. It has long sought to bridge the gap between the province's two main communities and is avowedly non-sectarian, being relatively moderate on matters concerning Unionism over Irish nationalism, and on religious matters...
, the
United Kingdom Independence PartyThe United Kingdom Independence Party is a conservative, Eurosceptic political party. Its principal aim is the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union. UKIP currently holds thirteen seats in the European Parliament and two in the House of Lords...
, the
Green Party of England and WalesThe Green Party of England and Wales is the principal Green political party in England and Wales which includes among its regional divisions the semi-autonomous Wales Green Party. The party is unrepresented in the House of Commons, but did have a life peer in the House of Lords until his death...
, the
Scottish Green PartyThe Scottish Green Party is the Green party of Scotland. It currently has two MSPs in the devolved Scottish Parliament, Robin Harper, representing the Lothians, and Patrick Harvie, for Glasgow....
, and the
Scottish Socialist PartyThe Scottish Socialist Party is a left-wing Scottish political party. Positioning itself significantly to the left of Scotland's centre-left parties, the SSP campaigns on a socialist economic platform and for Scottish independence....
. The
Health ConcernIndependent Kidderminster Hospital and Health Concern is a political party based in Kidderminster, United Kingdom...
party stood again as well. A full list of parties which declared their intention to run can be found on the
list of parties contesting the 2005 general election.
All parties campaigned through such tools as party
manifestoA manifesto is a public declaration of principles and intentions, often political in nature. However, manifestos relating to religious belief are rather referred to as credo. Manifestos may also be life stance-related.-Etymology:...
s,
party political broadcastA party political broadcast is a short television or radio broadcast made by a political party....
s and touring the country in what are commonly referred to as
battle busA battle bus is a luxury coach shared by reporters, political commentators and a politician, usually a party leader, to give them all access to each other as they traverse the country making speeches and other engagements during a general election campaign, especially in the United Kingdom...
es.
Reduction of the number of seats in Scotland
Several years after the
Scottish ParliamentThe Scottish Parliament is the devolved national, unicameral legislature of Scotland, located in the Holyrood area of the capital, Edinburgh. The Parliament, informally referred to as "Holyrood" , is a democratically elected body comprising 129 members known as Members of the Scottish Parliament...
had been established by the
Scotland Act 1998The Scotland Act 1998 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It is the Act which established the devolved Scottish Parliament....
, the target electorate (population) size of Westminster Parliamentary seats in
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
was adjusted to bring it in line with
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
's constituencies. Before this reform Scotland had a smaller target electoral size per constituency resulting in more seats per head of population, which had been intended to compensate Scotland for its status as a nation, its lower population density (which causes very large constituencies geographically), its distance from the seat of Parliament in Westminster and finally, because prior to 1999 Scottish law had been wholly determined by the Westminster Parliament. These problems were perceived to have been addressed with the establishment of the Scottish Parliament in 1999.
The Boundary Commission for Scotland therefore produced a plan in 2003 in which there would be 59 constituencies, reduced from 72. In 2004, the Government passed the
Scottish Parliament (Constituencies) Act 2004The Scottish Parliament Act 2004 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that amends the Scotland Act 1998 which established the Scottish Parliament...
which instituted these changes and broke the link between British and Scottish Parliamentary constituencies.
Three constituencies were left unchanged — the island seats of
Orkney and ShetlandOrkney and Shetland is a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election...
, the
Western IslesNa h-Eileanan an Iar is a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, created in 1918...
, though the latter changed its official name to the
GaelicScottish Gaelic is a member of the Goidelic branch of Celtic languages, and is distinct from the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages, which includes Welsh, Cornish, and Breton. Scottish, Manx and Irish Gaelic are all descended from Old Irish...
"Na h-Eileanan an Iar", and
EastwoodEast Renfrewshire is a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom . It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.- History :...
, which changed its name to "East Renfrewshire". Several other new constituency names were also implemented; in all these cases the new seats had altered boundaries.
Predicted result of redrawn boundaries
Although it was impossible to guarantee a wholly accurate prediction of the strength of the parties within the 59 new Scottish constituencies, estimates had been made prior to the poll on 5 May on the basis of a ward-by-ward breakdown of local council election results. An agreed set used by all media reports and most political commentators suggested that had the new boundaries been in effect in the 2001 election, Labour would have won forty-six seats, the Liberal Democrats nine, the Scottish National Party four, and the Conservatives none. This would have represented a loss of ten seats for Labour and one each for the Liberal Democrats, Scottish National Party and the Conservatives. The arithmetic was however complicated by the fact that the boundary revision had produced some seats that were notionally highly marginal.
The results of the 2005 election showed some of the highest changes of the share of the vote for particular parties occurring in Scottish seats, leading some commentators to speculate that either the notional results were in error and/or they were unable to take into account factors such as
tactical votingIn voting systems, tactical voting occurs, in elections with more than two viable candidates, when a voter supports a candidate other than his or her sincere preference in order to prevent an undesirable outcome.It has been shown by the Gibbard-Satterthwaite theorem that any voting method which is...
and people voting differently between General and Local Elections.
Actual result of redrawn boundaries
Labour won 41 seats, the Liberal Democrats 11, the Scottish National Party six, and in
Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and TweeddaleDumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale is a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom , which was first used in the general election of 2005...
the Conservatives won their only Scottish seat. Compared to the actual results of 2001 this meant a loss of fourteen seats for Labour, a gain of one seat for the SNP and Liberal Democrats, and no change for the Conservatives.
See also the list of parties standing in Scotland.
Ballot
At the close of voting (2200
BSTWestern European Summer Time is a summer daylight saving time scheme, 1 hour ahead of Coordinated Universal Time. It is used in the following places:* the Canary Islands* the Faroe Islands* Ireland* the Crown dependencies* the Madeira islands...
) the ballot boxes were sealed and returned to the counting centre where counting proceeded under the supervision of the
returning officerIn various parliamentary systems, a Returning Officer is responsible for overseeing elections in one or more constituencies.-Australia:In Australia a returning officer is an employee of the Australian Electoral Commission or a State Electoral Commission who heads the local divisional office...
who was obliged to declare the result as soon as it was known. As previously, there was serious competition amongst constituencies to be first to declare.
Sunderland SouthSunderland South is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....
repeated its performance in the last three elections and declared Labour incumbent
Chris MullinChristopher John Mullin, known as Chris Mullin, is a UK Labour politician and journalist, currently the member of Parliament for the English constituency of Sunderland South. He read Law at the University of Hull.In the 1970 general election, Mullin, aged 22, stood unsuccessfully against Liberal...
re-elected as MP with a majority of 11,059 at approximately 2245 BST (failing by two minutes to beat its previous best, but making it eligible for entry into the Guinness Book of World Records as longest consecutive delivery of first results). The vote itself represented a swing (in a safe Labour seat, in a safe Labour region) of approximately 4% to the Conservatives and 4.5% to the Liberal Democrats, somewhat below the prediction of BBC/ITV exit polls published shortly after 2200 BST.
Sunderland NorthSunderland North is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....
was the next to declare, followed by Houghton & Washington East, both Labour holds but with reductions in the incumbent majorities of up to 9%. The first Scottish seat to declare was
Rutherglen and Hamilton WestRutherglen and Hamilton West is a burgh constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which was first used in the general election of 2005...
— another safe Labour seat, also a Labour hold, but with the majority reduced by 4%. The first seat to change hands was
PutneyPutney is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.- Boundaries :...
, where Labour's majority of around 2,500 fell to a strong Conservative challenge, with a total swing of about 5,000 (6.2%). This was also the first seat to be declared for the Conservatives. The first Liberal Democrat seat to be declared was
North East FifeNorth East Fife is a constituency in Fife, Scotland, represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom currently held by Sir Menzies Campbell, former leader of the Liberal Democrats...
, the constituency of LibDem party deputy leader Sir
Menzies CampbellSir Walter Menzies Campbell CBE PC QC is a British politician, advocate and retired sprinter. He is Member of Parliament for North East Fife and was Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 2 March 2006 until 15 October 2007....
which he has held since 1987.
The Constituency of
CrawleyCrawley is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election. It is a marginal seat between the Labour Party and the Conservatives.-Boundaries:The constituency covers the...
in
West SussexWest Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering onto East Sussex , Hampshire and Surrey. The county of Sussex has been divided into East and West since the 12th century, and obtained separate county councils in 1888, but it remained a single ceremonial county until 1974 and the coming...
had the slimmest majority of any seat with
LabourThe Labour Party is a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom. Founded at the start of the 20th century, it has been seen since 1920 as the principal party of the Left in England, Scotland and Wales, but not Northern Ireland, where it has only recently begun to organise again...
holding off the
ConservativesThe Conservative and Unionist Party, more commonly known as the Conservatives, the Conservative Party, or Tory Party is a conservative political party in the United Kingdom...
by 37 votes after three recounts.
Exit polls
Following problems with
exit pollAn election exit poll is a poll of voters taken immediately after they have exited the polling stations. Unlike an opinion poll, which asks whom the voter plans to vote for or some similar formulation, an exit poll asks whom the voter actually voted for. A similar poll conducted before actual...
s in previous British elections, the BBC and ITV agreed for the first time to pool their respective data, using results from Mori and NOP. More than twenty thousand people were interviewed for the poll at one hundred and twenty polling stations across the country. The predictions were very accurate -- initial projections saw the Labour party returned to power with a majority of 66 (down from 160), and the final result (including Staffordshire South, where the election was postponed due to the death of a candidate) would indeed be a Labour majority of 66.
The projected shares of the vote on mainland Britain were Labour 37% (down 4% on 2001), Conservatives 33% (unchanged), Liberal Democrats 22% (up 3%) and other parties 8% (up 2%). The Conservatives were expected to make the biggest gains, however — forty-four seats according to the exit numbers — with the Liberal Democrats expected to take as few as two. Whilst the exit-poll-predicted vote share for the Lib Dems was accurate (22.6% vs an actual 22.0%), they had actually done better in some Lib Dem-Labour marginals than predicted on the basis of the national share of the vote, producing a net gain of 11 seats.
Election results
At 04:28 BST, it was announced that Labour had won
CorbyCorby is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It is currently a marginal seat between Labour and the Conservatives.-Boundaries:...
, giving them 324 seats in the House of Commons out of those then declared and an overall majority, Labour's total reaching 356 seats out of the 646 House of Commons seats. Labour received 35.3% of the popular vote, equating to approximately 22% of the electorate on a 61.3% turnout, up from 59.4% turnout in 2001. Increased turnout was mostly attributed to the extension and promotion of the
postal votingPostal voting describes the method of voting in an election whereby ballot papers are distributed and/or returned by post to electors, in contrast to electors voting in person at a polling station or electronically via an electronic voting system....
system, which has however been criticised by many as being too insecure increasing the risk of
Electoral fraudElectoral fraud is illegal interference with the process of an election. Acts of fraud affect vote counts to bring about a election result, whether by increasing the vote share of the favored candidate, depressing the vote share of the rival candidates or both...
.
As expected, voter disenchantment led to an increase of support for many opposition parties, and caused many eligible to vote, not to turnout. Labour achieved a third successive term in office for the first time in their history, though with reduction of the Labour majority from 163 to 67 (as it was before the declaration of South Staffordshire). As it became clear that Labour had won an overall majority,
Michael HowardMichael Howard QC, MP is a British politician. He served as the leader of the Conservative Party from November 2003 to December 2005...
, the leader of the Conservative party, announced his intention to retire from front-line politics. The final seat to declare was the delayed poll in South Staffordshire, at just after 1 a.m. on Friday 24 June.
The election was followed by further criticism of the UK electoral system. Calls for reform came particularly from Lib Dem supporters, citing that they received only just over 10% of the overall seats with 22.3% of the popular vote. The only parties to win a higher percentage of seats than they achieved in votes were Labour, the Democratic Unionist Party and Sinn Féin, and
Health ConcernIndependent Kidderminster Hospital and Health Concern is a political party based in Kidderminster, United Kingdom...
, which ran only one candidate. The results of the election give a
Gallagher index of dis-proportionalityThe Gallagher Index is used to measure the disproportionality of an electoral outcome, that is the difference between the percentage of votes received and the percentage of seats a party gets in the resulting legislature. This is especially useful for comparing proportionality across electoral...
of 16.76.
Interpretation of result
The Labour Government claimed that being returned to office for a third term for the first time ever showed the remarkable achievements of New Labour and the continued unpopularity of the Conservatives. Nevertheless, Labour's vote declined to 35.3%, the lowest share of the popular vote to have formed a majority government in the history of the UK House of Commons.
The Conservatives claimed that their increased number of seats showed disenchantment with the Labour government and was a precursor of a Conservative breakthrough at the next election. Following three consecutive elections of declining representation and then in 2001 a net gain of just one seat, 2005 was the first General Election since 1983 where the number of Conservative seats increased appreciably, although the Conservatives' vote share increased only slightly and this election did mark the third successive General Election in which the Conservatives polled below 35%.
The Liberal Democrats claimed that their continued gradual increase in seats and percentage vote showed they were in a position to make further gains from both parties. They pointed in particular to the fact that they were now in second place in roughly one hundred and ninety constituencies and that having had net losses to Labour in the 1992 General Election and having not taken a single seat off Labour in 1997, they had held their gains off Labour from the 2001 General Election and had actually made further gains from them.
The Liberal Democrats increased their percentage of the vote by 3.7%, the Conservatives by 0.6%, and Labour's dropped by 5.4%. Most seats lost by Labour changed to the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats suffered a net loss of two seats to the Conservative Party, possibly because of Lib Dem voters' tactical unwind.
The results were interpreted by the
UK mediaThe United Kingdom has an extremely diverse media with an almost unrivalled number of outlets.-Television:Analogue terrestrial television in the United Kingdom is made up of two chartered public broadcasting companies, the BBC and Channel 4 and two franchised commercial television companies, .There...
as an indicator of a breakdown in trust in the government, and in Prime Minister Tony Blair in particular.
It was the first General Election since
1929The 1929 UK general election was held on 30 May 1929, and resulted in a hung parliament. It was the first of only three elections under universal suffrage in which a party lost the popular vote but gained a plurality of seats...
that no party received more than ten million votes. It was the most "three-cornered" election since
1923The United Kingdom general election of 1923 was held on 6 December 1923. The Conservatives, led by Stanley Baldwin, won the most seats, but Labour, led by Ramsay MacDonald, and H. H. Asquith's reunited Liberal Party gained enough to produce a hung parliament...
, though the Liberal Democrats failed to match the higher national votes of the
SDP-Liberal AllianceThe SDP-Liberal Alliance was an electoral pact formed by the Social Democratic Party and the Liberal Party in the United Kingdom which was in existence from 1981 to 1988, when the bulk of the two parties merged to form the Social and Liberal Democrats, later referred to as simply the Liberal...
in the 1980s either in absolute or percentage terms. The total combined vote for Labour, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats proved to be the lowest main three party vote since
1922The UK general election of 1922 was held on 15 November 1922. It was the first election held after most of the Irish counties left the United Kingdom to form the Irish Free State, and was won by Andrew Bonar Law's Conservatives, who gained an overall majority over Labour, led by John Robert Clynes...
.
England
The average
LabourThe Labour Party is a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom. Founded at the start of the 20th century, it has been seen since 1920 as the principal party of the Left in England, Scotland and Wales, but not Northern Ireland, where it has only recently begun to organise again...
vote in England declined by approximately 7% and by varying amounts in every English Region, but with sharp variations locally. The Labour vote fell sharply in safe Labour seats and in areas with large
Muslim:A Muslim , , is an adherent of the religion of Islam. The feminine form is Muslimah . Literally, the word means "one who submits ". Muslim is the participle of the same verb of which Islam is the infinitive. Muslims believe that there is only one God, translated in Arabic as Allah...
populations, yet a few constituencies saw slight Labour increases. In particular, the Labour vote declined dramatically in the northern half of London, where 11% of voters abandoned Labour for other parties and in Bethnal Green and Bow,
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
, former Labour MP
George GallowayGeorge Galloway is a British politician, author and broadcaster, who has been a Member of Parliament since 1987, and is particularly known for his anti-war views...
, running as a candidate for the anti-war
RespectRespect – The Unity Coalition is a left wing political party in England and Wales founded on 25 January 2004 in London. Its name is an acronym standing for Respect, Equality, Socialism, Peace, Environmentalism, Community, and Trade Unionism...
, defeated
Oona KingOona Tamsyn King is a British Labour politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Bethnal Green & Bow, from 1997 until 2005, when she was defeated by RESPECT candidate George Galloway.-Early life:...
(Labour) who in the previous General Election had a majority of 10,057. Following the result, a hostile interview with
Jeremy PaxmanJeremy Dickson Paxman is a British journalist, author and television presenter. He has worked for the BBC since 1977. He is noted for a forthright and abrasive interviewing style...
attracted press attention. Labour lost the fewest votes in South West England, only 2.5% -- but Labour's vote in South West England is historically poor. Notably, the Labour Party failed to take a single seat from another party. Labour polled seventy thousand fewer votes in England than the Conservatives, yet won ninety-two more seats, attributed to the smaller average electorate in urban (usually pro-Labour) constituencies.
Labour regained one of its
by-electionA by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections...
losses,
Leicester SouthLeicester South is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament , by the first past the post voting system.- Boundaries :...
, but saw an increased Liberal Democrat majority in the other, Brent East.
The
ConservativesThe Conservative and Unionist Party, more commonly known as the Conservatives, the Conservative Party, or Tory Party is a conservative political party in the United Kingdom...
made gains in most regions of England, though their vote declined in some areas, notably
East MidlandsThe East Midlands is one of the regions of England and consists of most of the eastern half of the traditional region of the Midlands. It encompasses the combined area of Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire and most of Lincolnshire, although people often speak of...
and
YorkshireYorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the British Isles. Because of its great size, functions were increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have been subject to periodic reform. Throughout these changes, Yorkshire has continued to be recognised as...
(2% and 1.5% declines, respectively). However, even in regions where the Conservative vote declined, the Labour vote declined by a greater margin, allowing the Conservatives to make gains against Labour. Overall, the Conservatives gained approximately 1% of the vote in England from 2001. In Enfield Southgate, Conservative
David BurrowesDavid John Barrington Burrowes is a British politician. He is the Conservative Member of Parliament for Enfield Southgate and Parliamentary chairman of the Conservative Christian Fellowship.-Early life:...
ousted Labour
Stephen TwiggStephen Twigg is a British Labour Party politician. He served as the Member of Parliament for Enfield Southgate from 1997-2005. He came to prominence by defeating the sitting member for Enfield Southgate, the Conservative Cabinet minister Michael Portillo, at the 1997 general election...
, who had famously defeated
Michael PortilloMichael Denzil Xavier Portillo is a British journalist, broadcaster, and former Conservative Party politician and Cabinet Minister...
for that seat in the
1997 electionsThe UK general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997, more than five years after the previous election on 9 April 1992. The Labour Party won the general election in a landslide victory with 418 seats, the most seats the party has ever held...
.
The
Liberal DemocratsThe Liberal Democrats, often shortened to Lib Dems or just Liberals, are a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom, formed in 1988 by a merger of the Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party; the two parties had been in alliance for seven years, from shortly after the formation of...
made modest gains in all regions of England, improving by at least 1% in every region. No particular region showed greatly expanded support for the Liberal Democrats though, continuing the trend of approximately equal showings in all regions of England for them and their "decapitation policy" that targeted Conservative front-benchers failed, removing only
Tim CollinsTimothy William George Collins, CBE, is a British politician. Collins was Conservative Party Member of Parliament for Westmorland and Lonsdale in north-west England from 1997 until he lost his seat by 267 votes in the 2005 election...
in
Westmorland and LonsdaleWestmorland and Lonsdale is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-Boundaries:...
.
Former BBC presenter,
Robert Kilroy-SilkRobert Michael Kilroy-Silk is an English politician, independent Member of the European Parliament and a television presenter, best known for his daytime talk show Kilroy...
, who had joined the
United Kingdom Independence PartyThe United Kingdom Independence Party is a conservative, Eurosceptic political party. Its principal aim is the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union. UKIP currently holds thirteen seats in the European Parliament and two in the House of Lords...
(UKIP) before leaving to set up
VeritasVeritas is a political party in the United Kingdom, formed in February 2005 at Hinckley golf club by politician-celebrity Robert Kilroy-Silk following a split from the United Kingdom Independence Party . Kilroy-Silk served as party leader from formation, through the 2005 General Election, until...
, came fourth in
ErewashErewash is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-Boundaries:...
in what was the best performance by Veritas, receiving 2,957 votes. The seat was taken by Labour's
Liz BlackmanElizabeth Marion "Liz" Blackman is a British politician, and is the Labour Party Member of Parliament for Erewash. Blackman stood down from government in October 2008.- Early life :Blackman was born in 1949 in Penrith, England...
.
There were also regional surges in support for the
British National PartyThe British National Party is a far-right, whites-only political party in the United Kingdom, formed as a splinter group of the British National Front by John Tyndall in 1982. The party's current chairman is Nick Griffin, himself a former national organiser of the National Front.The BNP is not...
, who however failed to win any seats, their highest poll being 16.9% in the Labour stronghold of
BarkingBarking is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election...
, East London.
Scotland
Results in Scotland for Labour were also down, though less so than in England. Labour lost approximately 4% of the vote in East Scotland and approximately 6% of the vote in West Scotland. Labour's vote declined the most in the
EdinburghEdinburgh is the capital city of Scotland. It is the second largest Scottish city, after Glasgow, and the seventh-most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas....
area and in the north of Scotland (where Labour lost all of its rural seats).
The Conservative vote declined marginally in both East and West Scotland, but the Conservatives nonetheless managed to win a seat in the South (Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale), so maintaining their one Scottish seat in the Westminster Parliament. Having once been the largest party in Scotland (most recently in 1959), the 2001 and 2005 General Elections have done very little to reverse the downward trend that culminated in the 1997 loss of all eleven Conservative seats.
The Liberal Democrats made gains against Labour in both regions of Scotland and picked up a modest number of seats. On average, their vote rose approximately 5% across Scotland, though again this translated into few gains as the Liberal Democrat vote was not particularly concentrated.
The
Scottish National PartyThe Scottish National Party is a centre-left political party which campaigns for Scottish independence. In the last few decades, the SNP has normally polled the second highest number of votes for a political party in Scotland. However, the 2009 European Election saw the party top the poll with...
's vote declined slightly across Scotland, but they managed to win one rural and one urban seat from Labour.
Wales
The Labour Party lost approximately 6% of the vote across Wales, with losses varying by region. However, Labour managed to mitigate their losses in losing only six seats. The Conservatives returned MPs from Wales for the first time since 1997 with three Welsh seats on a slightly increased share of the vote. The Liberal Democrats also improved their share of the vote slightly and won two additional seats, one from Labour and one from
Plaid CymruPlaid Cymru is a political party in Wales. It advocates the establishment of an independent Welsh state within the European Union.Plaid Cymru was formed in 1925 and won its first seat in 1966...
. Plaid Cymru, the Welsh nationalist party, saw a slight decline in its vote, losing a seat to the Liberal Democrats.
Peter LawPeter John Law was a Welsh politician.- Labour Co-operative AM and Independent MP :For most of his career Law sat as a Labour Councillor and subsequently Labour Co-operative Assembly Member for Blaenau Gwent...
, standing as an
independentIn politics, an independent is a politician who is not affiliated with any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do not feel that any major party addresses...
candidate in protest at the imposition of an all-female candidate shortlist by the national Labour Party, managed to overturn a Labour majority of 19,313 to win
Blaenau GwentBlaenau Gwent is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.- Boundaries :...
.
Northern Ireland
In
Northern IrelandNorthern Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and it is situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
, the election was dominated in the unionist community by a battle between the
Ulster Unionist PartyThe Ulster Unionist Party is the more moderate of the two main unionist political parties in Northern Ireland...
(UUP) and the
Democratic Unionist PartyThe Democratic Unionist Party is the larger of the two main unionist political parties in Northern Ireland. Founded by Ian Paisley and currently led by Peter Robinson, it is currently the largest party in the Northern Ireland Assembly and the fourth-largest party in the House of Commons of the...
(DUP). In the nationalist community, the contest was largely between the
Social Democratic and Labour PartyThe Social Democratic and Labour Party is one of the two major nationalist parties in Northern Ireland. During the Troubles, the SDLP was consistently the most popular nationalist party in Northern Ireland, but since the Provisional IRA cease-fire in 1994, it has lost ground to its rival Sinn...
(SDLP) and
Sinn FéinSinn Féin is a political party in Ireland. The current party, led by Gerry Adams, was formed following a split in January 1970 and traces its origins back to the original Sinn Féin party formed in 1905. It is a major party of Irish republicanism and its political ideology is left wing...
.
The DUP and Sinn Féin emerged as the largest unionist and nationalist parties respectively, at the expense of the UUP and SDLP who both stood on a platform more favourable towards the Labour government's position on power sharing in Northern Ireland devolution. The UUP fared particularly badly, with leader
David TrimbleWilliam David Trimble, Baron Trimble, PC , is a politician from Northern Ireland who served as leader of the Ulster Unionist Party and was the first First Minister of Northern Ireland. He is currently a life peer for the Conservative Party.He shared the 1998 Nobel Peace Prize with John Hume of...
losing
Upper BannUpper Bann is a Parliamentary Constituency in the United Kingdom House of Commons.-Boundaries:The seat was created in boundary changes in 1983, as part of an expansion of Northern Ireland's constituencies from 12 to 17, and was predominantly made up from parts of Armagh and South Down...
and resigning as party leader on 7 May, and the party's representation reduced to one seat,
North DownNorth Down is a Parliamentary Constituency in the United Kingdom House of Commons.-Boundaries:The county constituency was first created in 1885 from the northern part of Down...
, held by
Sylvia HermonLady Hermon is a Ulster Unionist Party politician and Member of Parliament for the Northern Ireland constituency of North Down. She was married to the late Sir Jack Hermon, former Chief Constable of the Royal Ulster Constabulary.Born Sylvia Eileen Paisley in Castlecaulfield, Dungannon, County...
continuing a trend of consolidation of the Unionist, especially UUP support to the DUP. Although the UUP won more MPs at the 2001 General Election, the defection of Lagan Valley MP Jeffrey Donaldson to the DUP in January 2004 had already reversed the position.
In the nationalist community, elections since 1992 have shown a clear shift in support from the SDLP to Sinn Féin. Two of the three SDLP MPs elected in 2001 had retired, while all four of the Sinn Féin MPs stood again. Sinn Féin's victory over the SDLP in
Newry and ArmaghNewry and Armagh is a Parliamentary Constituency in the United Kingdom House of Commons.-Boundaries:The seat was created in boundary changes in 1983, as part of an expansion of Northern Ireland's constituencies from 12 to 17, and was predominantly made up from the old Armagh constituency with the...
, giving it a fifth seat, reduced the number of Northern Ireland MPs at Westminster as Sinn Féin members do not take their Westminster seats. The largest surprise in Northern Ireland came in South Belfast where the SDLP won the traditionally unionist seat, aided by a split between the two main unionist parties. This, together with their retention of two other seats did much to boost the SDLP's fortunes and morale when many commentators had been predicting a disaster as great as that which met the UUP.
See also the list of parties standing in Northern Ireland.
Formation of the government
Following the election result, Labour remained in power and Tony Blair remained
Prime MinisterThe Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the political leader of the United Kingdom and the Head of Her Majesty's Government...
,
reshufflingIn the parliamentary system a cabinet shuffle or reshuffle is an informal term for an event that occurs when a head of government rotates or changes the composition of ministers in his or her cabinet....
government positions-Cabinet from June 2005 to May 2006:-Cabinet from May 2006 to June 2007:The final cabinet of Tony Blair.Cabinet in this form from 5 May 2006 until 27 June 2007...
over the following weekend, with formal announcements made on 9 May 2005. The most senior positions of
ChancellorThe Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters. Often simply called The Chancellor, the office-holder controls HM Treasury and plays a role akin to the posts of Minister of Finance or Secretary of the...
,
Home SecretaryThe Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
and
Foreign SecretaryThe Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, commonly referred to as the Foreign Secretary, is a member of the Her Majesty's Government heading the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and responsible for relations with foreign countries, matters pertaining to the Commonwealth of...
remained the same, but a few new faces were added; most notably
David BlunkettDavid Blunkett is a British Labour politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Sheffield Brightside since 1987. Blind since birth and from a poor family in one of Sheffield's most deprived districts, he rose to become Education Secretary in Tony Blair's first Cabinet from 1997 to 2001,...
returned to cabinet as the
Work and Pensions SecretaryThe Secretary of State for Work and Pensions is a post in the UK cabinet, responsible for the Department for Work and Pensions. It was created on 8 June 2001 by the merger of the Employment part of the Department for Education and Employment and the Department of Social Security.The Ministry of...
, although he was forced to resign again due to another scandal before the end of the year that spawned a national press and opposition campaign for his dismissal.
Patricia HewittPatricia Hope Hewitt is a British politician. She is the Labour Member of Parliament for Leicester West and the former Secretary of State for Health.- Background :...
became the new
Health SecretaryHealth secretary can refer to:*The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing, Scotland*The Secretary of State for Health, United Kingdom...
,
Tessa JowellTessa Jane Helena Douglas Jowell is a British Labour politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Dulwich and West Norwood since 1992...
remained as Culture Secretary, whilst
Alan JohnsonAlan Arthur Johnson is a British Labour politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Hull West and Hessle since 1997. He has been the Home Secretary since June 2009, and before that filled a wide variety of Cabinet positions, including both Health and Education Secretary...
was promoted to Trade and Industry Secretary. In other moves
Ruth KellyRuth Maria Kelly is a British Labour politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Bolton West since 1997, athough she will stand down as an MP at the next general election...
retained the Education job and
Margaret BeckettMargaret Mary Beckett is a British Labour politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Derby South since 1983, rising to become the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party under John Smith, from 18 July 1992 to 12 May 1994, and subsequently the Acting Leader of the Party following John Smith's...
stayed put at Environment.
The new Parliament met on 11 May for the election of the
Speaker of the House of CommonsIn the United Kingdom, the Speaker of the House of Commons is the presiding officer of the House of Commons, and is seen historically as the First Commoner of the Land. The present Speaker is John Bercow, who was elected on 22 June 2009, following the resignation of Michael Martin.The Speaker...
.
New party leaders
On 6 May
Michael HowardMichael Howard QC, MP is a British politician. He served as the leader of the Conservative Party from November 2003 to December 2005...
announced he would be standing down as leader of the Conservative Party, but not before a review of the leadership rules. The formal leadership election began in October, and was ultimately won by
David CameronDavid William Donald Cameron is the leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition in the United Kingdom. He has occupied both positions since December 2005....
.
See Conservative Party (UK) leadership election, 2005The 2005 Conservative leadership election was called by party leader Michael Howard on 6 May 2005, when he announced that he would be stepping down as leader in the near future. However, he stated that he would not depart until a review of the rules for the leadership election had been conducted,...
. The following day David Trimble resigned as leader of the Ulster Unionist Party. His successor,
Sir Reg EmpeySir Reginald Norman Morgan Empey MLA is Leader of the Ulster Unionist Party and a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for East Belfast...
, was elected at the meeting of the Ulster Unionist Council on 24 June.
See Ulster Unionist Party leadership election, 2005The 2005 Ulster Unionist Party leadership election began on May 7 2005 when David Trimble resigned as leader of the Ulster Unionist Party following his party's poor performance in the 2005 general election when it lost all but one of its seats, including Trimble's own...
.
End of the term
Assuming that the law is not changed, the term of the 2005 Parliament will end on or before 10 May 2010. The delay in the time of year from the date of the end of the previous Parliament to this date is due to administrative procedures after the gathering of the Parliament. The last conceivable day upon which the
next General ElectionThe next United Kingdom general election will take place in all constituencies of the United Kingdom for seats in the House of Commons due on or before Thursday 3 June 2010....
could take place is 3 June 2010.
External links
Manifestos
- Conservatives
The Conservative and Unionist Party, more commonly known as the Conservatives, the Conservative Party, or Tory Party is a conservative political party in the United Kingdom...
: It's Time For Action/The British Dream
- Labour
The Labour Party is a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom. Founded at the start of the 20th century, it has been seen since 1920 as the principal party of the Left in England, Scotland and Wales, but not Northern Ireland, where it has only recently begun to organise again...
: Britain: forward not back
- Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats, often shortened to Lib Dems or just Liberals, are a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom, formed in 1988 by a merger of the Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party; the two parties had been in alliance for seven years, from shortly after the formation of...
: The REAL Alternative
- Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
The Alliance Party of Northern Ireland is a political party in Northern Ireland. It has long sought to bridge the gap between the province's two main communities and is avowedly non-sectarian, being relatively moderate on matters concerning Unionism over Irish nationalism, and on religious matters...
: Alliance works. Tribal politics costs (PDF File)
- British National Party
The British National Party is a far-right, whites-only political party in the United Kingdom, formed as a splinter group of the British National Front by John Tyndall in 1982. The party's current chairman is Nick Griffin, himself a former national organiser of the National Front.The BNP is not...
: Rebuilding British Democracy (Abbreviated) (PDF)
- Democratic Unionist Party
The Democratic Unionist Party is the larger of the two main unionist political parties in Northern Ireland. Founded by Ian Paisley and currently led by Peter Robinson, it is currently the largest party in the Northern Ireland Assembly and the fourth-largest party in the House of Commons of the...
: Leadership That's Working (PDF File)
- Green Party of England and Wales
The Green Party of England and Wales is the principal Green political party in England and Wales which includes among its regional divisions the semi-autonomous Wales Green Party. The party is unrepresented in the House of Commons, but did have a life peer in the House of Lords until his death...
: People, Planet, Peace
- Official Monster Raving Loony Party
The Official Monster Raving Loony Party is a registered political party established in the United Kingdom in 1983 by musician and politician David Sutch, also known as Screaming Lord Sutch .-History:...
: Vote for insanity, you know it makes sense!
- Scottish National Party
The Scottish National Party is a centre-left political party which campaigns for Scottish independence. In the last few decades, the SNP has normally polled the second highest number of votes for a political party in Scotland. However, the 2009 European Election saw the party top the poll with...
: Make Scotland Matter (PDF file)
- Plaid Cymru – The Party of Wales
Plaid Cymru is a political party in Wales. It advocates the establishment of an independent Welsh state within the European Union.Plaid Cymru was formed in 1925 and won its first seat in 1966...
: We can build a better Wales (PDF file)
- English Democrats: See Web Site- Putting England First
- Respect – The Unity Coalition
Respect – The Unity Coalition is a left wing political party in England and Wales founded on 25 January 2004 in London. Its name is an acronym standing for Respect, Equality, Socialism, Peace, Environmentalism, Community, and Trade Unionism...
: Policy
- Scottish Socialist Party
The Scottish Socialist Party is a left-wing Scottish political party. Positioning itself significantly to the left of Scotland's centre-left parties, the SSP campaigns on a socialist economic platform and for Scottish independence....
: Make Capitalism History
- Social Democratic and Labour Party
The Social Democratic and Labour Party is one of the two major nationalist parties in Northern Ireland. During the Troubles, the SDLP was consistently the most popular nationalist party in Northern Ireland, but since the Provisional IRA cease-fire in 1994, it has lost ground to its rival Sinn...
: A Better Way to a Better Ireland (PDF File)
- Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin is a political party in Ireland. The current party, led by Gerry Adams, was formed following a split in January 1970 and traces its origins back to the original Sinn Féin party formed in 1905. It is a major party of Irish republicanism and its political ideology is left wing...
: Manifesto
- Ulster Unionist Party
The Ulster Unionist Party is the more moderate of the two main unionist political parties in Northern Ireland...
: Simply British
- United Kingdom Independence Party
The United Kingdom Independence Party is a conservative, Eurosceptic political party. Its principal aim is the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union. UKIP currently holds thirteen seats in the European Parliament and two in the House of Lords...
: We want our country back