October 1974 United Kingdom general election

The October 1974 United Kingdom general election took place on Thursday 10 October 1974 to elect 635 members of the British House of Commons. It was the second general election held that year; the first year that two general elections were held in the same year since 1910; and the first time that two general elections were held less than a year apart from each other since the 1923 and 1924 elections, which took place 10 months apart. The election resulted in the Labour Party, led by Prime Minister Harold Wilson, winning a bare majority of three seats. That enabled the remainder of the Labour government to take place, but it saw a gradual loss of its majority.

October 1974 United Kingdom general election
10 October 1974
All 635 seats in the House of Commons
318 seats needed for a majority
Opinion polls
Turnout72.8%, Decrease6.0%
  First party Second party Third party
 
Liberal
Leader Harold Wilson Edward Heath Jeremy Thorpe
Party Labour Conservative Liberal
Leader since 14 February 1963 28 July 1965 18 January 1967
Leader's seat Huyton Sidcup North Devon
Last election 301 seats, 37.2% 297 seats, 37.9% 14 seats, 19.3%
Seats won 319 277[note 1] 13
Seat change Increase18 Decrease20 Decrease1
Popular vote 11,457,079 10,462,565 5,346,704
Percentage 39.2% 35.8% 18.3%
Swing Increase2.0% Decrease2.1% Decrease1.0%
Colours denote the winning party—as shown in § Results
Composition of the House of Commons after the election
Prime Minister before election

Harold Wilson
Labour

 Prime Minister after election

Harold Wilson
Labour

The election of February that year had produced an unexpected hung parliament. Coalition talks between the Conservatives and other parties such as the Liberals and the Ulster Unionists failed, which allowed Wilson to form a minority government. The October campaign was not as vigorous or exciting as the one in February. Despite continuing high inflation, Labour boasted that it had ended the miners' strike, which had dogged Heath's premiership, and had returned some stability. The Conservative Party, still led by former Prime Minister Edward Heath, released a manifesto promoting national unity, but its chances of forming a government were hindered by the Ulster Unionist Party refusing to take the Conservative whip at Westminster in response to the Sunningdale Agreement of 1973.

Both the Conservatives and the Liberals saw their vote share decline, and the Conservative Party leader, Edward Heath, who had lost three of the four elections that he contested, was ousted as party leader in February 1975 and replaced with future Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. The Scottish National Party won 30% of the Scottish popular vote and 11 of Scotland's 71 seats in the party's most successful general election result until 2015.

Subsequently, Labour's narrow parliamentary majority had disappeared by 1977 by a series of by-election losses and defections. It then required deals with the Liberals, the Ulster Unionists, the Scottish Nationalists and the Welsh Nationalists.

It was the last general election victory for the Labour Party until 1997. Each of the next four consecutive general elections produced a Conservative parliamentary majority. It would also be the last time Labour won more seats at a national election than the Conservatives until the 1989 European Parliament election. This remains the most recent General Election that Labour made net gains in seats whilst in government.

The election was broadcast live on the BBC and was presented by David Butler, Alastair Burnet, Robert McKenzie, Robin Day and Sue Lawley.[1]

Campaign

The brief period between the elections gave Wilson the opportunity to demonstrate reasonable progress. Despite high inflation and high balance-of-trade deficits, the miners' strike, which had dogged Heath was over, and some stability had been restored. After the February election, Heath had remained largely out of the public eye.

As was expected, the campaign was not as exciting as the one in February, and overall coverage by broadcasters was significantly scaled back. The Conservatives campaigned on a manifesto of national unity in response to the mood of the public. Labour campaigned on its recent successes in government, and although the party was divided over Europe, the party's strengths outweighed that of Heath, who knew that his future relied on an election victory. Devolution was a key issue for the Liberals and the Scottish National Party, and it was now one that the two main parties also felt the need to address. The Liberals did not issue a new manifesto but simply reissued the one they had created for the last election.[2][3]

Timeline

Prime Minister Harold Wilson made a ministerial broadcast on television on 18 September to announce that the election would be held on 10 October, less than eight months since the previous election. The key dates were as follows:

Friday 20 SeptemberDissolution of the 46th Parliament and campaigning officially begins
Monday 30 SeptemberLast day to file nomination papers
Wednesday 9 OctoberCampaigning officially ends
Thursday 10 OctoberPolling day
Friday 11 OctoberThe Labour Party wins control with a majority of 3
Tuesday 22 October47th Parliament assembles
Tuesday 29 OctoberState Opening of Parliament

Results

Labour achieved a swing of 2% against the Conservatives. It was the first time since 1922 that a government had won an overall majority with less than 40% of the vote, but the majority of only three seats. The Conservatives won just under 36% of the vote, their worst share since 1918. A slight drop in the Liberals' vote saw them suffer a net loss of one seat. In Scotland, the Scottish National Party added another 4 seats to their successes in the previous election and became the fourth-largest party.

Turnout was 72.8%, which was a significant decline on the February election's 78.8% turnout.

UK General Election October 1974
Candidates Votes
Party Leader Stood Elected Gained Unseated Net  % of total  % No. Net %
  Labour Harold Wilson 623 319 19 1 +18 50.2 39.2 11,457,079 +2.0
  Conservative Edward Heath 622 277[note 1] 2 22 −20 43.6 35.8 10,462,565 −2.1
  Liberal Jeremy Thorpe 619 13 1 2 −1 2.1 18.3 5,346,704 −1.0
  SNP William Wolfe 71 11 4 0 +4 1.7 2.9 839,617 +0.9
  Ulster Unionist Harry West 7 6 0 1 −1 0.9 0.9 256,065 +0.1
  Plaid Cymru Gwynfor Evans 36 3 1 0 +1 0.5 0.6 166,321 +0.1
  SDLP Gerry Fitt 9 1 0 0 0 0.2 0.6 154,193 +0.1
  National Front John Kingsley Read 90 0 0 0 0 0.4 113,843 +0.2
  Vanguard William Craig 3 3 0 0 0 0.5 0.3 92,262 +0.1
  DUP Ian Paisley 2 1 0 0 0 0.2 0.3 59,451 +0.1
  Alliance Oliver Napier 5 0 0 0 0 0.2 44,644 +0.1
  Independent Labour N/A 7 0 0 1 −1 0.2 33,317 +0.1
  Independent Republican N/A 1 1 1 0 +1 0.2 0.2 32,795 +0.2
  Republican Clubs Tomás Mac Giolla 5 0 0 0 0 0.1 21,633 +0.1
  Unionist Party NI Brian Faulkner 2 0 0 0 0 0.1 20,454 N/A
  Communist John Gollan 29 0 0 0 0 0.1 17,426 0.0
  Democratic Labour Dick Taverne 1 0 0 1 −1 0.1 13,714 +0.1
  NI Labour Alan Carr 3 0 0 0 0 0.0 11,539 0.0
  Independent N/A 32 0 0 0 0 0.0 8,812 −0.1
  Independent Ulster Unionist N/A 1 0 0 0 0 0.0 4,982 N/A
  United Democratic James Tippett 13 0 0 0 0 0.0 4,810 N/A
  Ind. Conservative N/A 4 0 0 0 0 0.0 4,559 0.0
  More Prosperous Britain Tom Keen and Harold Smith 25 0 0 0 0 0.0 4,301 0.0
  Workers Revolutionary Gerry Healey 10 0 0 0 0 0.0 3,404 0.0
  Independent Liberal N/A 3 0 0 0 0 0.0 3,277 −0.2
  Volunteer Political Ken Gibson 1 0 0 0 0 0.0 2,690 N/A
  Irish Civil Rights N/A 7 0 0 0 0 0.0 2,381 N/A
  PEOPLE Tony Whittaker 5 0 0 0 0 0.0 1,996 0.0
  Marxist-Leninist (England) John Buckle 8 0 0 0 0 0.0 1,320 0.0
  English National Frank Hansford-Miller 2 0 0 0 0 0.0 1,115 N/A
  United English National John Kynaston 1 0 0 0 0 0.0 793 N/A
  Marxist–Leninist (Ireland) Carole Reakes 3 0 0 0 0 0.0 540 N/A
  Mebyon Kernow Richard Jenkin 1 0 0 0 0 0.0 384 N/A
  Socialist (GB) N/A 1 0 0 0 0 0.0 118 N/A
All parties shown.
Government's new majority 3
Total votes cast 29,189,104
Turnout 72.8%

Votes summary
Popular vote
Labour
 
 39.25%
Conservative
 
 35.84%
Liberal
 
 18.32%
Scottish National
 
 2.88%
Others
 
 3.71%

Seats summary
Parliamentary seats
Labour
 
 50.24%
Conservative
 
 43.62%
Liberal
 
 2.05%
Scottish National
 
 1.73%
Others
 
 2.36%

Incumbents defeated
Party Name Constituency Office held whilst in Parliament Year elected Defeated by Party
Conservative Jock Bruce-Gardyne Angus South 1964 Andrew Welsh SNP
Michael Ancram Berwick and East Lothian Feb 1974 John Mackintosh Labour
Harold Gurden Birmingham Selly Oak 1955 Tom Litterick Labour
Robert Redmond Bolton West 1970 Ann Taylor Labour
Martin McLaren Bristol North West 1970 Ronald Thomas Labour
Michael Fidler Bury and Radcliffe 1970 Frank White Labour
Barry Henderson East Dunbartonshire Feb 1974 Margaret Bain SNP
James Allason Hemel Hempstead 1959 Robin Corbett Labour
Tom Iremonger Ilford North 1954 by-election Millie Miller Labour
Ernle Money Ipswich 1970 Ken Weetch Labour
Tom Boardman Leicester South Chief Secretary to the Treasury (1974) 1967 by-election Jim Marshall Labour
Jack d'Avigdor-Goldsmid Lichfield and Tamworth 1970 Bruce Grocott Labour
David Waddington Nelson and Colne 1968 by-election Doug Hoyle Labour
Montague Woodhouse Oxford 1970 Evan Luard Labour
Ian MacArthur Perth and East Perthshire 1959 Douglas Crawford SNP
Harmar Nicholls Peterborough 1950 Michael Ward Labour
Peggy Fenner Rochester and Chatham Parliamentary Under-Secretary for the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1972-1974) 1970 Robert Bean Labour
Ronald Bray Rossendale 1970 Michael Noble Labour
James Hill Southampton Test 1970 Bryan Gould Labour
Piers Dixon Truro 1970 David Penhaligon Liberal
Robert Lindsay Welwyn and Hatfield Minister of State for Foreign Affairs (1972–1974) 1955 Helene Hayman Labour
Labour Gwynoro Jones Carmarthen 1970 Gwynfor Evans Plaid Cymru
Liberal Paul Tyler Bodmin, Cornwall Feb 1974 Robert Hicks Conservative
Michael Winstanley Hazel Grove Feb 1974 Tom Arnold Conservative
Christopher Mayhew[4] Woolwich East (contested Bath) 1951 by-election Edward Brown Conservative
Independent Eddie Milne[5] Blyth 1960 by-election John Ryman Labour
Edward Griffiths[6] Sheffield Brightside 1968 by-election Joan Maynard Labour
Ulster Unionist Harry West Fermanagh and South Tyrone Leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (1974 –1979) Feb 1974 Frank Maguire Independent
Democratic Labour Dick Taverne[7] Lincoln Financial Secretary to the Treasury (1969–1970) 1962 by-election Margaret Jackson Labour

See also

Notes
  1. The seat and vote count figures for the Conservatives given here include the Speaker of the House of Commons

References
  1. Election 1974 (October) – Part 1 on YouTube, UK General Election 1974 – Results Round-up on YouTube
  2. 1974 Oct: Wilson makes it four, BBC News, 5 April 2005, retrieved 8 June 2018
  3. "10 October 1974", BBC Politics 97, retrieved 8 June 2018
  4. Elected as a Labour MP
  5. Elected as a Labour MP
  6. Elected as a Labour MP
  7. Elected as a Labour MP

Further reading
  • Butler, David E.; et al. (1975), The British General Election of October 1974, the standard scholarly study
  • Craig, F. W. S. (1989), British Electoral Facts: 1832–1987, Dartmouth: Gower, ISBN 0900178302

Manifestos
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