United Kingdom general election, 1950

United Kingdom general election, 1950

23 February 1950

All 625 seats in the House of Commons 313 seats needed for a majority Turnout 83.9%   First party Second party Third party   Leader Clement Attlee Winston Churchill Clement Davies Party Labour Conservative Liberal Leader since 25 October 1935 9 October 1940 2 August 1945 Leader's seat Walthamstow West Woodford Montgomeryshire Last election 393 seats, 49.7% 197 seats, 36.2% 12 seats, 9.0% Seats won 315 282* 9 Seat change 78 85 3 Popular vote 13,226,176 11,507,061 2,621,487 Percentage 46.1% 40.0% 9.1% Swing 1.6% 3.8% 0.1%

PM before election Clement Attlee Labour Subsequent PM Clement Attlee Labour

The 1950 United Kingdom general election was the first ever general election to be held after a full term of a Labour government. Despite polling over one and a half million votes more than the Conservatives, the election, held on 23 February 1950, resulted in Labour receiving a slim majority of just five seats, a stark contrast to the previous election in 1945, where they had achieved a massive 146-seat majority,^[1] although Labour in fact received more votes than they had during the 1945 election.^[2] The party would call another general election in 1951.

Significant changes since the House of Commons (Redistribution of Seats) Act 1949. Eleven new English seats were created, six abolished, and there were over 170 major alterations to constituencies across the country. Turnout increased to 83.9%, the highest turnout in an election under universal suffrage. It was also the first election to be covered on TV, although the footage was not recorded.

Both the Conservative and Labour parties entered the campaign positively. The Conservatives, now having recovered from their heavy election defeat in 1945, accepted most of the nationalisation that had taken place under the Attlee government, (which included the NHS and the mixed economy). The campaign essentially focused therefore on the potential future nationalisation of other sectors and industries, which was supported by the Labour party, and opposed by the Tories. The Liberals essentially viewed the struggle between the two parties on this issue as a class struggle.^[3]

Results

Total votes cast: 28,771,124. Turnout 83.9%.^[4] All parties shown. ^* The National Liberal results are sometimes included with the Conservatives, which in this case would bring total Conservative strength to 298 seats; votes total 12,492,404 (43.4%), however, as they were not in government, the total makes little difference.

Votes summary

Seats summary

See also

• MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1950

References

• F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987
• Nicholas, H. (1951). The British general election of 1950. London: Macmillan.