United Kingdom general election records

In the United Kingdom, general elections occur at least every five years. About 650 constituencies return a member of Parliament. Prior to 1945, electoral competition in the United Kingdom exhibited features which make meaningful comparisons with modern results difficult. Hence, unless otherwise stated, records are based on results since the 1945 general election, and earlier exceptional results are listed separately.

For comparison purposes the following definitions have been adopted.

• Gain – victory by a party which was not victorious at the immediate previous election.
• Loss – defeat of a party which was victorious at the immediate previous election.
• Hold – victory by a party which was victorious at the immediate previous election.
• Win – victory by a party. Ambiguous term that could mean either a gain or a hold.
• Incumbent – the party which held the seat at the immediate previous election, irrespective of any intervening change of candidate or candidate's change of party.
• Major party – A party that has a realistic chance of leading government. Since 1945, every UK government has been led by the Conservatives or Labour. Parties in electoral pacts whose members take the whip of a major party and have no de facto independence are also counted as part of the major parties. For Labour, this includes the Co-operative Party. For the Conservatives, this includes the Unionist Party and the National Liberal Party. In Northern Ireland the situation is more fluid, but both the UUP and the DUP have been major parties for the unionist bloc and the Nationalist Party, the SDLP and Sinn Féin have been major parties for the nationalist bloc.
• Third party – In England, since 1922, the "third party" has been the Liberal party through its Alliance with the SDP and their successors up to the present day Liberal Democrats. Additionally, in Scotland and Wales the Scottish National Party and Plaid Cymru are also considered to be third parties. Prior to 1922, the third party was the Labour party.
• Minor party – parties smaller than the third party. In Northern Ireland, where the party landscape is unstable and many apparently independent candidates are supported by other parties, "minor party" refers to parties and independents that are not members of the main nationalist or unionist blocs.
• Uncontested – an election where only one candidate is put forward. No votes are actually cast and the candidate is by default the victor.
• Notional – boundary changes occur about every 10–15 years. The political composition of many seats is changed as a result, sometimes decisively. Professors Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher have compiled notional results for the last few sets of boundary changes, predicting what the result would have been at the previous election under the new boundaries.

For more information about what is meant by the term "swing", see Swing (politics)

• 1931 general election – 14.4% swing from Labour to National Government^[1]: 20
• 1945 general election – 11.8% swing from Conservative/National Liberal to Labour^[1]
• 2024 general election – 10.8% swing from Conservative to Labour
• 1997 general election – 10.2% swing from Conservative to Labour

• From Conservative to Reform: Clacton, 2024 - 45.1% (Reform gain)^[a]
• From Labour to Independent: Blyth, Feb 1974 - 42.3% (Independent gain)^[a]
• From Conservative to Liberal Democrat: North Shropshire, 2024 - 41.3% (Liberal Democrat gain)^[a]
• From Labour to SNP: Glasgow North East, 2015 – 39.3%^[2] (SNP gain)
• From Conservative to Green: North Herefordshire, 2024 - 32.7% (Green gain)^[a]
• From Labour to Liberal Democrat: Brent East, 2005 – 29% (Liberal Democrat gain)
• From Liberal Democrat to Labour: Brent Central, 2015 – 28.3% (Labour gain)
• From Labour to Green: Bristol Central, 2024 - 28.2% (Green gain)^[a]
• From SNP to Labour: Alloa and Grangemouth, 2024 – 26.6% (Labour gain)^[a]
• From Conservative to Labour: South West Norfolk, 2024 – 26.2% (Labour gain)^[a]
• From SNP to Conservative: Gordon, 2017 20.4% (Conservative gain)
• From Labour to Conservative: Bassetlaw, 2019 – 18.4% (Conservative gain)
• From Liberal Democrat to Conservative: North Norfolk, 2019 – 17.5% (Conservative gain)
• From Conservative to SNP: Perth and East Perthshire, October 1974 – 11% (SNP gain).

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.

Decrease	Party		Election
19.9		Conservative	2024
15.1		Liberal Democrats	2015
11.9		Liberal	1924
11.6		Conservative	1945
10.8		UKIP	2017
7.9		Labour	2019

Decrease	Party		Constituency	Election
65.1		Irish Parliamentary	West Mayo	1918
60.6		Ind. Labour Party	Glasgow Bridgeton	1950
53.1		UUP	North Down	1979
45.8		Labour	Merthyr Tydfil	1970
45.7		Labour	Blyth	1974 Feb[b]
44.0		Conservative	Clacton	2024[b]
43.4		Conservative	South West Norfolk	2024[b]
43.0		Conservative	Boston and Skegness	2024[b]
41.5		UUP	North Antrim	1970
41.2		Conservative	Great Yarmouth	2024[b]
40.5		Conservative	South Basildon and East Thurrock	2024[b]
39.8		UUP	Belfast North	2001
39.7		Labour	Blaenau Gwent	2005
39.7		Conservative	North Shropshire	2024[b]
39.3		Labour	Blackburn	2024[b]
38.6		Conservative	Amber Valley	2024[b]
38.4		Conservative	Castle Point	2024[b]
37.9		Conservative	South Holland and the Deepings	2024[b]
37.4		Ind. Labour Party	Merthyr	1935
36.8		UKIP	Clacton	2017
36.2		Labour	Dewsbury and Batley	2024[b]
36.0		Conservative	Basildon and Billericay	2024[b]
35.9		Conservative	Rayleigh and Wickford	2024[b]
35.8		Liberal Democrats	Brent Central	2015[3]
35.0		UUP	Lagan Valley	2005
34.7		Respect	Bradford West	2015
34.7		Labour	Glasgow North East	2015[3]
34.5		Labour	West Dunbartonshire	2015[3]
34.1		Labour	Leicester South	2024[b]
33.9		Labour	Birmingham Perry Bar	2024[b]
33.4		Conservative	Maldon	2024[b]
33.0		Ind. Labour Party	Glasgow Shettleston	1950
32.7		Labour	Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill	2015[3]
32.4		Conservative	North East Cambridgeshire	2024[b]
31.9		Conservative	Waveney Valley	2024[b]
31.7		Labour	Glenrothes	2015[3]
31.6		Sinn Féin	Fermanagh and South Tyrone	1959
31.5		Conservative	North Herefordshire	2024[b]
31.2		Labour	Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath	2015[3]
31.2		Liberal Democrats	Sheffield Central	2015[3]
31.1		Liberal Democrats	Dunfermline and West Fife	2015[3]
31.0		Conservative	Ashfield	2024[b]
30.8		Conservative	Westmorland and Lonsdale	2024[b]
30.5		Conservative	Ashford	2024[b]
30.5		Liberal Democrats	Hereford and South Herefordshire	2015[3]
30.5		Democratic Labour	Lincoln	1979
30.3		Liberal Democrats	Edinburgh South	2015[3]
30.0		UUP	North Down	2010[b]

The Scottish National Party and Democratic Unionist Party have never lost 30% or more of the vote in a single constituency.

Decrease	Party		Constituency	Election
27.0		NI Conservatives	North Down	1997
26.0		SNP	Western Isles	1987
25.3		DUP	Belfast West	1979

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.

Increase	Party		Constituency	Election
74.1		Labour	Glasgow Gorbals	1945[c]
43.9		SNP	Glasgow North East	2015[3]
43.8		Liberal	Dundee West	1951
42.9		Liberal Democrats	North Shropshire	2024[d][b]
41.3		DUP	Lagan Valley	2005
41.2		SNP	Glasgow North	2015[3]
40.8		SNP	Glasgow South West	2015[3]
39.8		SNP	Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill	2015[3]
39.6		SNP	Dunfermline and West Fife	2015[3]
39.3		SNP	Glasgow North West	2015[3]
38.9		SNP	West Dunbartonshire	2015[3]
38.3		SNP	Motherwell and Wishaw	2015[3]
38.2		SNP	Glenrothes	2015[3]
37.9		SNP	Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath	2015[3]
37.6		SNP	Inverclyde	2015
36.9		Liberal Democrats	Brent East	2005
36.5		SNP	Rutherglen and Hamilton West	2015
36.1		SNP	Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East	2015
36.1		Labour	Glasgow Shettleston	1950
35.9		Alliance	North Down	2019
35.9		Liberal Democrats	Honiton and Sidmouth	2024[b]
35.0		SNP	Glasgow Central	2015
34.7		SNP	Glasgow South	2015
34.2		SNP	Aberdeen North	2015
34.1		SNP	Central Ayrshire	2015
33.9		Green	North Herefordshire	2024[b]
33.0		SNP	Dundee West	2015
33.0		SNP	Ross, Skye and Lochaber	2015
32.8		SNP	Paisley and Renfrewshire South	2015
32.6		SNP	East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow	2015
32.2		SNP	Glasgow East	2015
31.7		SNP	East Renfrewshire	2015
31.7		SNP	Paisley and Renfrewshire North	2015
31.6		UUP	Fermanagh and South Tyrone	1959
31.4		SNP	Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey	2015
31.3		Labour	East Renfrewshire	2024[b]
31.3		SNP	Edinburgh North and Leith	2015
31.3E		SDLP	Belfast South	2019
31.0		SNP	Livingston	2015
30.9		Labour	Falkirk	2024[b]
30.8		SNP	Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock	2015
30.8		SNP	Edinburgh South West	2015
30.6		SNP	Dundee East	1974 Feb[b]
30.6		Green	Bristol Central	2024[b]
30.4		SNP	Airdrie and Shotts	2015
30.3		Labour	Bristol West	2017
30.0		SNP	Midlothian	2015

Increase	Party		Constituency	Election
29.6		UKIP	Heywood and Middleton	2015
29.0		Conservative	Gordon	2017
24.2		Unity	Fermanagh and South Tyrone	1970
23.7		Republican Labour	Belfast West	1966

The five largest shares of the vote won by any candidate, since 1918, are as follows:

Candidate	Party		Constituency	Election	% Share
George Currie		UUP	North Down	1959	98.0[1]: 104
George Currie		UUP	North Down	1955	96.9
Knox Cunningham		UUP	South Antrim	1959	95.1
Phelim O'Neill		UUP	North Antrim	1959	94.9
Will Thorne		Labour	Plaistow	1918	94.9

Candidate	Party			Constituency	Election	% Share
Dan Carden		Labour	Labour	Liverpool Walton	2024	70.6
Dan Carden		Labour	Labour	Liverpool Walton	2019	84.7
Dan Carden		Labour	Labour	Liverpool Walton	2017	85.7[4]

The largest number of votes cast for a single party nationally in a general election was 14,094,116 for the Conservatives under John Major in 1992,^[5] although this resulted in a parliamentary majority of just 21 seats.

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.^[1]: 101

The largest majority received by an individual is also Sir Cooper Rawson, re-elected with a majority of 62,253 (35.2% of votes) at Brighton in 1931.^[1]: 101 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.

The largest majorities received by the winning party at a general election are as follows:^[6]

Majority	Party		Election	Leader
492		National	1931	Ramsay MacDonald
209		Conservative	1924	Stanley Baldwin
179		Labour	1997	Tony Blair
174		Labour	2024	Keir Starmer
167		Labour	2001	Tony Blair
145		Labour	1945	Clement Attlee
144		Conservative	1983	Margaret Thatcher

All general election victors receiving less than 30% of the vote since 1945 onwards.

Name	Party		Constituency	Election	% Share
Alasdair McDonnell		SDLP	Belfast South	2015	24.5[3]
Russell Johnston		Liberal Democrats	Inverness, Nairn and Lochaber	1992	26.0
Terry Jermy		Labour	South West Norfolk	2024	26.7
Frank Privett		Conservative	Portsmouth Central	1922	26.8[1]: 103
Adnan Hussain		Independent	Blackburn	2024	27.0
John McQuade		DUP	Belfast North	1979	27.6
Gregory Campbell		DUP	East Londonderry	2024	27.9
Jim Allister		TUV	North Antrim	2024	28.3
David Reed		Conservative	Exmouth and Exeter East	2024	28.7
Sammy Wilson		DUP	East Antrim	2024	28.9
Kevin McKenna		Labour	Sittingbourne and Sheppey	2024	29.1
Ben Lake		Plaid Cymru	Ceredigion	2017	29.2
Simon Wright		Liberal Democrats	Norwich South	2010	29.4
Steve Witherden		Labour	Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr	2024	29.4
David Chadwick		Liberal Democrats	Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe	2024	29.5
John Cooper		Conservative	Dumfries and Galloway	2024	29.6
C. W. Crook		Conservative	East Ham North	1922	29.7
Annabelle Ewing		SNP	Perth	2001	29.7
Alan Reid		Liberal Democrats	Argyll and Bute	2001	29.9

Since 1918:

% share	Candidate	Party		Constituency	Election
0.1	Paul Shea		NI Conservatives	Belfast West	2015
0.1	Hannah Westropp		NI Conservatives	South Down	2024
0.2	Samantha Rayner		NI Conservatives	Newry and Armagh	2024
0.2	Stephen Lynch		NI Conservatives	West Tyrone	2024
0.3	Lucille Nicholson		NI Conservatives	Mid Ulster	2015
0.4	Hamish Badenoch		NI Conservatives	Foyle	2015
0.4	Barry Hetherington		NI Conservatives	Strangford	2024
0.4	Robert Rigby		NI Conservatives	Newry and Armagh	2015
0.4	Amandeep Singh Bhogal		NI Conservatives	Upper Bann	2015
0.4	Claire-Louise Leyland		NI Conservatives	West Tyrone	2015
0.5	Claire Scull		NI Conservatives	East Londonderry	2024
0.6	Clare Salier		NI Conservatives	Belfast South	2017
0.7	Felicity Buchan		NI Conservatives	South Down	2015
0.7	Gary McLelland		Liberal Democrats	Glasgow East	2015[3]
0.8	Eileen Baxendale		Liberal Democrats	Glasgow North East	2015[3]
0.8	Karen Roberts		Liberal Democrats	Rhondda	2017
0.8	Liz St Clair-Legge		NI Conservatives	East Londonderry	2017
0.9	Flo Clucas		Liberal Democrats	West Bromwich West	2017
0.9	Ben France		Liberal Democrats	Dudley North	2017
0.9	Carol Freeman		NI Conservatives	Antrim North	2015
0.9	Brian Price		NI Conservatives	Upper Bann	1997
0.9	Cameron Sullivan		Liberal Democrats	Blaenau Gwent	2017

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 in general elections since 1918 who won fewer than ten votes:

Votes	Candidate	Party	Constituency	Election
1	Catherine Taylor-Dawson	Vote For Yourself Rainbow Dream Ticket	Cardiff North	2005[7]
3	Bobby Smith	Give Me Back Elmo	Maidenhead	2017[8]
5	Martin Kyslun	Independent	West Derbyshire	2005[7]
5	William Tobin	Independent	Uxbridge and South Ruislip	2019[9]
7	Dorian Vanbraam	Renaissance Democrat	Putney	1997[10]
7	Andres Mendoza	Communist League	Islington North	2017[11]
8	Bobby Smith	Give Me Back Elmo	Uxbridge and South Ruislip	2019[12]

Both W. M. Somerville and John Magee in Drogheda at the 1852 United Kingdom general election received no votes^[13] and George Griffith in Bewdley at the 1874 United Kingdom general election received one vote.^[14] However, in the pre-secret ballot era, some candidates stood at the hustings but for various reasons did not contest the poll, and hence could be recorded with no or few votes although in effect they were not standing. Examples include George J. Harney at Tiverton at the 1847 United Kingdom general election (no votes), William Johnston in Downpatrick at the 1857 United Kingdom general election (one vote), Humphrey Brown at the 1859 Tewkesbury by-election (no votes) and Dr Frederick R. Lees at the 1860 Ripon by-election (no votes).^[15]

Vote Majority	Candidate	Party		Constituency	Election
0	John Edmund Wentworth Addison		Conservative	Ashton-under-Lyne	1886[e]
1	Henry Duke		Conservative	Exeter	1910[f]
2	Abraham Flint		National Labour	Ilkeston	1931[1]: 101

Vote Majority	Candidate	Party		Constituency	Election
2	Stephen Gethins		SNP	North East Fife	2017
2	Mark Oaten		Liberal Democrats	Winchester	1997[g]
3	Gwynoro Jones		Labour	Carmarthen	1974 Feb
3	Harmar Nicholls		Conservative	Peterborough	1966[1]: 101
4	Michelle Gildernew		Sinn Féin	Fermanagh and South Tyrone	2010
4	George Ward		Conservative	Worcester	1945[1]: 101
6	Eric Gandar Dower		Unionist	Caithness and Sutherland	1945[1]: 101
7	Derek Spencer		Conservative	Leicester South	1983
7	Dennis Hobden		Labour	Brighton Kemptown	1964[1]: 101
9	Paul Tyler		Liberal	Bodmin	1974 Feb
10	Peter Emery		Conservative	Reading	1964
10	Lester Hutchinson		Labour	Manchester Rusholme	1945
11	Anthony Meyer		Conservative	Eton and Slough	1964
12	Adrian Sanders		Liberal Democrats	Torbay	1997
12	John Jackson		Conservative	South East Derbyshire	1959
13	Ernle Money		Conservative	Ipswich	1970
14	Julian Amery		Conservative	Preston North	1964
15	David Pinto-Duschinsky		Labour	Hendon	2024
15	John Foster		Conservative	Northwich	1945
16	Edward Shackleton		Labour	Preston South	1951
18	Neil Duncan-Jordan		Labour	Poole	2024
19	Walter Sweeney		Conservative	Vale of Glamorgan	1992
20	Emma Dent Coad		Labour	Kensington	2017
20	Richard Holden		Conservative	Basildon and Billericay	2024
21	John Hollingworth		Conservative	Birmingham All Saints	1959
21	Ken Hargreaves		Conservative	Hyndburn	1983
21	Pete Wishart		SNP	Perth and North Perthshire	2017
22	Ian Austin		Labour	Dudley North	2017
22	Harmar Nicholls		Conservative	Peterborough	1974 Feb
22	Margaret Bain		SNP	East Dunbartonshire	1974 Oct[h]
25	Jack Beattie		Labour	Belfast West	1951
27	William Molloy		Labour	Ealing North	1964
27	Byron Davies		Conservative	Gower	2015
28	Walter Robert Dempster Perkins		Conservative	Stroud and Thornbury	1950
29	Robert Atkins		Conservative	Preston North	1979
30	Paul Farrelly		Labour	Newcastle-under-Lyme	2017
30	George Thompson		SNP	Galloway	1974 Oct

Notes:

The election given is the first time they reached this number. Many of the smaller parties have had the same number of seats in numerous elections. Table is sorted by seats, and then by alphabetical order.

Seats	Party		Election	% of Seats
418		Labour	1997	63.6%
397		Conservative	1983	61.1%
72		Liberal Democrats	2024	11.1%
56		SNP	2015	8.6%
21		National Liberal	1955	3.3%
17		Liberal	1983	2.6%
12		UUP	1959	1.9%
10		DUP	2017	1.54%
8		Independent	1945	1.3%
7		Sinn Féin	2017	1.1%
6		SDP	1983	0.92%
5		Reform UK	2024	0.77%
4		Green	2024	0.65%
4		Plaid Cymru	1992	0.62%
4		SDLP	1992	0.62%
3		Ind. Labour Party	1945
3		Vanguard	Feb. 1974
2		Communist	1945
2		Ind. Conservative	1945
2		Independent Labour	1945
2		Independent Liberal	1945
2		National	1945
2		National Independent	1945
2		Nationalist	1945
2		Unity	1970
1		Alliance	2010
1		Common Wealth	1945
1		Democratic Labour	Feb. 1974
1		Independent Health Concern	2001
1		Ind. Nationalist	1951
1		Independent Progressive	1945
1		Ind. Republican	Oct. 1974
1		Ind. Unionist	1979
1		Irish Labour	1951
1		Protestant Unionist	1970
1		Republican Labour	1966
1		Respect	2005
1		TUV	2024
1		UK Unionist	1997
1		UKIP	2015
1		UPUP	1983
1		UUUP	1979

• 7: Peterborough, 1966^[1]: 102
• 7: Brighton Kemptown, 1964
• 6: Hyndburn, 1983
• 5: Hastings and Rye, 2017
• 5: Carmarthen, February 1974
• 5: Ilkeston, 1931

Highest turnouts in any general election since 1918:

• Fermanagh and South Tyrone, 1951: 93.4%^[7]
• Darwen, 1924: 92.7%^[7]

All turnouts below 35% from 1918 onwards:

Constituency	Election	Turnout (%)
Lambeth Kennington	1918	29.7[7]
Birmingham Deritend	1918	30.7
Bethnal Green North East	1918	31.2
Birmingham Duddeston	1918	32.4
Limehouse	1918	33.4
Liverpool Riverside	2001	34.1
Aberdeenshire and East Kincardineshire	1918	34.2

Until 2001, the lowest turnout after 1918 was 37.4% in Orkney and Shetland in 1922.

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.

The election with the largest number of candidates was the 2024 general election, with 4,515.^[16]

There have been 24 occasions when there were more than ten candidates on a single ballot in a general election. Large numbers of candidates are common in London seats and in the seat of the incumbent Prime Minister (marked in bold in the below list).

Candidates	Constituency	Election	Incumbent
15	Sedgefield	2005	Tony Blair[7]
13	Richmond and Northallerton	2024	Rishi Sunak
13	Maidenhead	2017	Theresa May
13	Uxbridge and South Ruislip	2015	None
12	Ealing Southall	2024	None
12	Holborn and St Pancras	2024	Keir Starmer
12	Oxford East	2024	Anneliese Dodds
12	Uxbridge and South Ruislip	2019	Boris Johnson
12	Witney	2015	David Cameron
12	Hackney South and Shoreditch	2010	Meg Hillier
12	Luton South	2010	None
11	Finchley	1983	Margaret Thatcher[17]
11	Isle of Wight	2010	Andrew Turner
11	Bethnal Green and Bow	2010	None
11	Camberwell and Peckham	2010	Harriet Harman
11	Bethnal Green and Bow	2015	Rushanara Ali
11	Camberwell and Peckham	2015	Harriet Harman
11	Hackney South and Shoreditch	2015	Meg Hillier
11	Thanet South	2015	None
11	Bethnal Green and Stepney	2024	Rushanara Ali
11	Cities of London and Westminster	2024	None
11	Dover and Deal	2024	None
11	Leeds North East	2024	Fabian Hamilton
11	Slough	2024	Tan Dhesi

Before 1983, the consecutive records were 6 candidates in Paddington North in 1918,^[18] 7 in Tottenham in February 1974 and 9 in Devon North in 1979.

The general election with the fewest candidates was 1931, where only 1,292 candidates stood – with the National Government, the major parties did not stand against each other in many seats. Since 1945, the election with the fewest candidates is 1951, with 1,376.^[19]

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. At the 2024 general election, there were no seats with fewer than five candidates.^[20]

• 2024 general election – 303 (notional)
• 1931 general election – 289
• 1945 general election – 279
• 1922 general election – 210
• 1924 general election – 206
• 1997 general election – 185

• 2001 general election – 27
• 1951 general election – 27
• 1955 general election – 28
• October 1974 general election – 28
• 1959 general election – 39

A selection of politicians who have contested seats in at least thirteen general elections are listed. Additionally, Howling Laud Hope has contested 10 general elections as of 2024, but has never won a seat.

Name	Parties	Contests	Successful	First	Last	Notes
Winston Churchill	Liberal, Conservative	16	14	1900	1959	Stood in five by-elections, first in 1899
Charles Pelham Villiers	Liberal, Liberal Unionist	15	15	1835	1895
Kenneth Clarke	Conservative	15	13	1964	2017
Edward Heath	Conservative	14	14	1950	1997
T. P. O'Connor	Irish Nationalist	14	14	1885	1929
Dennis Skinner	Labour	14	13	1970	2019
Peter Tapsell	Conservative	14	13	1959	2010	Also stood in 1957 by-election
Gerald Kaufman	Labour	14	12	1955	2015	Did not stand 1964 or 1966
Manny Shinwell	Labour	14	12	1918	1966	Also stood in 1928 by-election
Peter Bottomley	Conservative	14	11	1974 Feb	2024	Also stood in 1975 by-election
Michael Foot	Labour	14	11	1935	1987	Also stood in 1960 by-election
David Winnick	Labour	14	10	1964	2017	Did not stand February 1974
David Lloyd George	Liberal	13	13	1892	1935	Also stood in 1890 by-election
Edward Turnour	Conservative	13	13	1906	1950	Also stood in 1904 by-election
Tony Benn	Labour	13	12	1951	1997	Stood in four by-elections, first in 1950
Margaret Beckett	Labour	13	11	1974 Feb	2019

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.

• George Galloway, 2010 and 2015^b
• William McCrea, 1997 and 2001^a
• Shirley Williams, 1979 and 1983
• Christopher Addison, 1931 and 1935
• Arthur Henderson, 1918, 1922 and 1923^b

Notes:

• ^a returned to Parliament at a subsequent general election
• ^b returned to Parliament at a subsequent by-election

It is unusual for a defeated MP to pursue more than a couple of attempts at re-election.

• 9: Robert McIntyre, 1950, 1951, 1955, 1959, 1964, 1966, 1970, Feb 1974 and Oct 1974^a
• 6: Dave Nellist, 1997, 2001, 2005, 2010, 2015^a and 2024
• 6: George Nicholls, Dec 1910, 1918, 1922, 1923, 1924 and 1929 (and by-elections in 1913 and 1925)^a
• 4: Fred Maddison, Dec 1910, 1918, 1922 and 1923^a
• 4: Tom Howard, 1935, 1945, 1950 and 1951 (and a by-election in 1947)^e
• 3: Gordon Birtwistle, 2017, 2019 and 2024^b
• 3: Alan Reid, 2017, 2019 and 2024^b
• 3: Mike Carr, 1997, 2001 and 2005^a
• 3: Tom Mitchell, 1959, 1964 and 1966^b
• 3: Sydney Walter Robinson, 1929, 1931 and 1945 (and a by-election in 1926)^a
• 3: Maurice Alexander, 1923, 1924, 1931^e
• 3: Thomas Edward Wing, 1922, 1924 and 1929 (and a by-election in 1920)^c
• 3: Alexander Boulton, Dec 1910, 1923 and 1924^d

Notes:

• ^a in various seats
• ^b in the same seat
• ^c two previous seats and another
• ^d one previous seat and another
• ^e one previous seat and others

Attempts at a comeback usually occur almost immediately. Those who succeeded after further general elections include:

Years	Candidate	Year of defeat	Year of re-election
17	Paul Tyler	1974 October	1992
14	Dan Norris	2010	2024
13	Walter Ayles	1931	1945
	George Isaacs
	Somerville Hastings
	Jennie Lee
	Leah Manning
	Lucy Noel-Buxton
13	Jonathan Evans	1997	2010

It is unusual for a candidate who has been unsuccessful on more than a couple of occasions to finally win a seat.

• Nigel Farage, elected for Clacton in 2024, after standing in Salisbury in 1997, Bexhill and Battle in 2001, South Thanet in 2005 and 2015, and Buckingham in 2010, as well as two by-elections.
• Alex Easton, elected for North Down in 2024, after standing in 2015, 2017, and 2019.
• Roger Mullin, elected for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath in 2015, after standing in South Ayrshire in February 1974 and October 1974, Kirkcaldy in 1987, Paisley North in a by-election in 1990 and in 1992.
• Craig Mackinlay, elected for South Thanet in 2015, after standing in Gillingham in 1992, 1997, and 2005, and Totnes in 2001.
• David Ward, elected for Bradford East in 2010, after standing in Bradford North in 1992, 2001 and 2005 (and a by-election in 1990).
• Alasdair McDonnell, elected for Belfast South in 2005, after standing in 1979, 1983, 1987, 1992, 1997 and 2001 (and a by-election in 1982), and previously in North Antrim in 1970.
• Gregory Campbell, elected for East Londonderry in 2001, after standing in 1997, and previously in Foyle in 1983, 1987 and 1992.
• Martin McGuinness, elected for Mid Ulster in 1997, after standing in Foyle in 1983, 1987 and 1992.
• Michael Ward, elected for Peterborough in October 1974, after standing in February 1974, 1970 and 1966.
• Tommy Lewis, elected for Southampton in 1929, after standing in 1918, 1922, 1923 and 1924.
• A. E. Stubbs, elected for Cambridgeshire in 1945, after standing in 1918, 1922 and 1923, and in another constituency in 1929, 1931 and 1935.
• Frank Smith, elected for Nuneaton in 1929, after standing in 1924, and in various other constituencies in 1923, 1922, 1918, 1910, 1895 and 1892 (and also two by-elections in 1909 and one in 1894).
• Edwin Scrymgeour, elected for Dundee in 1922, after standing in January 1910, December 1910 and 1918 (and also in the 1908 and 1917 by-elections).
• Daniel Zeichner, elected for Cambridge in 2015, after standing in 2010, and previously in Mid Norfolk in 2005, 2001 and 1997.

Among women, namely:

• Felicity Buchan, elected for Kensington in 2019, after previously standing in South Shields in 2017 and South Down in 2015.
• Theodora Clarke, elected for Stafford in 2019, after previously standing in Bristol East in 2017 and 2015.
• Daisy Cooper, elected for St Albans in 2019, after standing in 2017, and previously in Mid Sussex in 2015 and Suffolk Coastal in 2010.
• Dehenna Davison, elected for Bishop Auckland in 2019, after standing in Sedgefield in 2017 and Kingston upon Hull North in 2015.
• Jane Hunt, elected for Loughbrough in 2019, after standing in Nottingham South in 2017 and 2015, and Leicester East in 2010 (and also a 2011 by-election).
• Wera Hobhouse, elected for Bath in 2017, after standing in North East Somerset in 2015 and Heywood and Middleton in 2010.
• Nicky Morgan, elected for Loughborough in 2010, after standing in 2005, and previously in Islington South and Finsbury in 2001.
• Tessa Munt, elected for Wells in 2010, after standing in 2005, and previously in South Suffolk in 2001 (and also a by-election that year).
• Liz Truss, elected for South West Norfolk in 2010, after standing in Calder Valley in 2005 and Hemsworth in 2001.
• Rosie Cooper, elected for West Lancashire in 2005, after standing in Liverpool Broadgreen in 1992, Knowsley North in 1987 (and also a 1986 by-election) and Liverpool Garston in 1983.
• Ann Keen, elected for Brentford and Isleworth in 1997, after standing in 1992 and 1987.
• Siobhain McDonagh, elected for Mitcham and Morden in 1997, after standing in 1992 and 1987.
• Margaret Thatcher, elected for Finchley in 1959, after previously standing in Dartford as Margaret Roberts in 1951 and 1950.
• Barbara Ayrton-Gould, elected for Hendon North in 1945, after standing in Manchester Hulme in 1935, Northwich in 1929 and 1924, and Lambeth North in 1922.
• Grace Colman, elected for Tynemouth in 1945, after standing in Sheffield Hallam in 1935 and Hythe in 1931 and 1929.
• Jean Mann, elected for Coatbridge in 1945, after standing in West Renfrewshire in 1935 and 1931.
• Ethel Bentham, elected for Islington East in 1929, after standing in 1924, 1923 and 1922.
• Helen Shaw, elected for Bothwell in 1929, after standing in 1924 and 1923.

• 2024: Douglas Alexander, Heidi Alexander, Mary Creagh, Nick Dakin, James Frith, Andrew George, Stephen Gethins, Tessa Munt, Pamela Nash, Dan Norris, Melanie Onn, Jo Platt, Emma Reynolds, Gareth Snell, Anna Turley
• 2019: Caroline Ansell, James Davies, Flick Drummond, Margaret Ferrier, Richard Fuller, Jason McCartney, Karl McCartney, Anne McLaughlin, John Nicolson, Sarah Olney, Kirsten Oswald, Amanda Solloway, Owen Thompson, Edward Timpson, Craig Williams
• 2017: Vince Cable, Ed Davey, David Drew, Michelle Gildernew, Zac Goldsmith, John Grogan, Stephen Lloyd, Tony Lloyd, Esther McVey, Chris Ruane, Jo Swinson, Chris Williamson
• 2015: Boris Johnson, Joan Ryan, Dawn Butler, Rob Marris, Alex Salmond
• 2010: John Cryer, Geraint Davies, Jonathan Evans, Chris Leslie, Stephen Twigg
• 2005: David Evennett, Christopher Fraser, William McCrea, Malcolm Rifkind
• 2001: Henry Bellingham, Alistair Burt, Derek Conway, Charles Hendry, Greg Knight, Andrew Mitchell, Bob Spink
• 1997: Gerry Adams, Christopher Chope, Alan Clark, Frank Doran, Huw Edwards, Michael Fallon, Ronnie Fearn, Mike Hancock, Sylvia Heal, Gerald Howarth, Ashok Kumar, Richard Livsey, Humfrey Malins, John Maples, Francis Maude, Jonathan Sayeed, John Smith
• 1992: Michael Ancram, Bryan Davies, Warren Hawksley, John Horam, Gerry Malone, Piers Merchant, Richard Ottaway, Nick Raynsford, John Spellar, Derek Spencer, Iain Sproat, Mark Robinson, Paul Tyler
• 1987: Bob Cryer, Margaret Ewing, John Garrett, Bruce Grocott, Joan Lestor, Jim Marshall, Ann Taylor, Andrew Welsh, Audrey Wise
• 1983: Margaret Beckett, Robin Corbett, Bryan Gould, Edward Loyden, Andrew MacKay, Max Madden, Brian Sedgemore
• 1979: Michael Ancram, Sydney Chapman, David Clark, Eric Cockeram, Ednyfed Hudson Davies, Terry Davis, Dick Douglas, Peggy Fenner, Peter Griffiths, John Gummer, Barry Henderson, James Hill, John Wilkinson, David Winnick
• October 1974: Donald Anderson, Jeremy Bray, Gwynfor Evans, Robert Hicks, Evan Luard, John Mackintosh, Fergus Montgomery, Enoch Powell, Nicholas Scott, Keith Speed
• February 1974 Ronald Atkins, Gwyneth Dunwoody, John Ellis, David Ennals, Ioan Evans, Winifred Ewing, Gerald Fowler, Frank Hooley, Sydney Irving, Colin Jackson, John Lee, Eric Moonman, Stanley Newens, Christopher Price, Gwilym Roberts, Arnold Shaw, Frederick Silvester, Richard Wainwright, Alan Lee Williams, Michael Winstanley
• 1970: William Clark, Albert Cooper, Julian Critchley, Charles Curran, Patrick Duffy, Anthony Fell, Edward Gardner, Alan Glyn, Alan Green, Patricia Hornsby-Smith, Geoffrey Howe, James Kilfedder, Martin McLaren, Anthony Meyer, Peter Thomas, Richard Thompson, David Walder, Montague Woodhouse
• 1966: Richard Body, Peter Tapsell

For a comprehensive list of MPs with total service of less than 365 days see List of United Kingdom MPs with the shortest service

Candidate	Party		Constituency	Year	Days
Alfred Dobbs		Labour	Smethwick	1945	11
John Sunderland		Labour	Preston	1945	1221
John Whittaker		Labour	Heywood and Radcliffe	1945	1371
Philip Clarke		Sinn Féin	Fermanagh and South Tyrone	1955	1523x
Thomas Mitchell		Sinn Féin	Mid-Ulster	1955	1523x
Barry McElduff		Sinn Féin	West Tyrone	2017	2224
Harry West		UUP	Fermanagh and South Tyrone	1974 Feb	2242
James Godfrey MacManaway		UUP	Belfast West	1950	2383
Harry Harpham		Labour	Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough	2015	2731
Judith Chaplin		Conservative	Newbury	1992	3161
Peter Law		Independent	Blaenau Gwent	2005	3551

Candidate	Party		Constituency	Year	Days
Thomas Higgins		Irish Parliamentary	Galway North	1906	01
James Annand		Liberal	East Aberdeenshire	1906	161
Joseph Nicholas Bell		Labour	Newcastle East	1922	321
Harry Wrightson		Conservative	Leyton West	1918	321
Hugh Anderson		Irish Unionist	Londonderry North	1918	664
Pierce McCan		Sinn Féin	East Tipperary	1918	681x
Alexander Theodore Gordon		Unionist	Aberdeen and Kincardine Central	1918	681
Charles Mathew		Labour	Whitechapel and St. George's	1922	851
Robert Climie		Labour	Kilmarnock	1929	1261b
George Henry Williamson		Conservative	Worcester	1906	1283
Harold St. Maur		Liberal	Exeter	1910-11	1293
John Thom		Unionist	Dunbartonshire	1931	1424b
Richard Mathias		Liberal	Cheltenham	1910-11	1443
George Hillman		Conservative	Wakefield	1931	1441
John Barker		Liberal	Maidstone	1900	1473a
Edward Clarke		Conservative	City of London	1906	1504b
Frederick Guest		Liberal	East Dorset	1910	1543a
Eugene O'Sullivan		Irish Parliamentary	East Kerry	1910	1703
David MacDonald		Unionist	Bothwell	1918	1761
Thomas Agar-Robartes		Liberal	Bodmin	1906	1833a
Herbert Sparkes		Conservative	Tiverton	1922	1881
Hilton Philipson		National Liberal	Berwick-on-Tweed	1922	1973
Armine Wodehouse		Conservative	Saffron Walden	1900	2001
Frederick Rutherfoord Harris		Conservative	Monmouth	1900	2103a
Moreton Frewen		All-for-Ireland	Cork North-East	1910-11	2204
Arthur Willey		Conservative	Leeds Central	1922	2291
Ellis Ellis-Griffith		Liberal	Carmarthen	1923	2524b
William Ward		Conservative	Wednesbury	1931	2735b
Alfred Holland		Labour	Clay Cross	1935	2901
Charles Harvey Dixon		Conservative	Rutland and Stamford	1922	3111b
Arthur Henniker-Hughan		Unionist	Galloway	1924	3401
George Spero		Labour	Fulham West	1929	3414b
Martin Morris		Irish Unionist	Galway Borough	1900	3425

Notes

• ¹ died
• ² defeated at next general election
• ³ disqualified
• ⁴ resigned
• ⁵ succeeded to the Peerage
• ^a returned to Parliament at a subsequent election
• ^b had served previously as an MP
• ^x elected on abstentionist tickets, and serving jail sentences at the time, so the calculated length of service is somewhat theoretical.

• Mhairi Black, Scottish National Party, elected in 2015 aged 20 years 237 days.^[21]

See Baby of the House of Commons

Name	Party		Election of Leave	Age	Notes
Thomas Teevan		UUP	1951	24	1
Edward Stanley		Conservative	1918	24	2 (re-elected 1922)
Patrick Joseph Whitty		Irish Parliamentary	1918	24	2
Henry Harrison		Irish Parliamentary	1892	24	1
Stuart Donaldson		SNP	2017	25	1
Arthur Evans		Liberal	1923	25	1 (re-elected 1924 as Conservative)
Denis Shipwright		Conservative	1923	25	1
Joseph Sweeney		Sinn Féin	1922	25	2x
John Esmonde		Irish Parliamentary	1918	25	3
Bernadette Devlin McAliskey		Independent Socialist	1974 Feb	26	1
Jennie Lee		Labour	1931	26	1 (re-elected 1945)
Frank Owen		Liberal	1931	26	1
Hugh Lucas-Tooth		Conservative	1929	26	1 (re-elected 1945)
Bryan Ricco Cooper		Irish Unionist	1910 Dec	26	1
John Wodehouse		Liberal	1910 Jan	26	3
Christopher Ward		Conservative	1970	27	1
Liam Mellows		Sinn Féin	1922	27	2x
David Reed		Labour	1974 Feb	28	2
Mhairi Black		SNP	2024	29	3
Nicola Richards		Conservative	2024	29	3
Andrew Mackay		Conservative	1979	29	1 (re-elected 1983)
Michael Ancram		Conservative	1974 Oct	29	1 (re-elected 1979)
Margo MacDonald		SNP	1974 Feb	29	1
Charles Rhys		Conservative	1929	29	1 (re-elected 1931)
Dehenna Davison		Conservative	2024	30	3
Kirstene Hair		Conservative	2019	30	1
Pamela Nash		Labour	2015	30	1
Owen Carron		Sinn Féin	1983	30	1x
Helene Hayman		Labour	1979	30	1
John Ryan		Labour	1979	30	1
Graham Tope		Liberal	1974 Feb	30	1
Stanley Henig		Labour	1970	30	1
John Profumo		Conservative	1945	30	1
Noel Lindsay		Conservative	1935	30	1
W. E. D. Allen		New Party	1931	30	3
Arthur Evans		Conservative	1929	30	3 (re-elected 1931)
Esmond Harmsworth		Conservative	1929	30	3

Notes:

¹ Defeated

² Constituency abolished

³ Retired

^x did not take his seat

Age	Candidate	Party		Constituency	Election
87	Dennis Skinner		Labour	Bolsover	2019
83	David Winnick		Labour	Walsall North	2017
80	Charles William Bowerman		Labour	Deptford	1931
79	Peter Bottomley		Conservative	Worthing West	2024
77	Thomas Dyke Acland		Liberal	Wellington	1886
76	Arthur Shirley Benn		Conservative	Sheffield Park	1935
76	Frank Smith		Labour	Nuneaton	1931
76	Edward Evans		Labour	Lowestoft	1959
76	Cecil Walker		UUP	Belfast North	2001
75	James Sexton		Labour	St Helens	1931
75	Fenner Brockway		Labour	Eton and Slough	1964
75	Syd Bidwell		Independent Labour	Ealing Southall	1992
75	Richard Taylor		Health Concern	Wyre Forest	2010
75	Marion Fellows		SNP	Motherwell, Wishaw and Carluke	2024
74	Henry Blundell-Hollinshead-Blundell		Conservative	Ince	1906
74	George Edwards		Labour	South Norfolk	1924
74	Enoch Powell		UUP	South Down	1987
74	Peggy Fenner		Conservative	Medway	1997
74	Tom Clarke		Labour	Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill	2015
74	Michael Fabricant		Conservative	Lichfield	2024
73	James Fergusson		Conservative	Manchester North East	1906
73	Robert Hobart		Liberal	New Forest	1910 Jan
73	James Hindle Hudson		Labour	Ealing North	1955
72	George Edwards		Labour	South Norfolk	1922
72	Robert Aske		National Liberal	Newcastle upon Tyne East	1945
72	Albert Stubbs		Labour	Cambridgeshire	1950
72	Caroline Ganley		Labour	Battersea South	1951
71	John Cobbold		Conservative	Ipswich	1868
71	Sir Mark MacTaggart-Stewart		Conservative	Kirkcudbrightshire	1906
71	Arthur Strauss		Conservative	Paddington North	1918
71	Sir William Middlebrook		Liberal	Leeds South	1922
71	Sir Davison Dalziel		Conservative	Brixton	1923
71	Ben Tillett		Labour	Salford North	1931
711	David Hardie		Labour	Glasgow Rutherglen	1931
71	Leo Amery		Conservative	Birmingham Sparkbrook	1945
71	Henry Guest		Conservative	Plymouth Drake	1945
71	Rhodes Boyson		Conservative	Brent North	1997
71	Gordon Birtwistle		Liberal Democrats	Burnley	2015
71	Giles Watling		Conservative	Clacton	2024
71	Vince Cable		Liberal Democrats	Twickenham	2015
70	Marshall Stevens		Conservative	Eccles	1922
70	Thomas Jewell Bennett		Conservative	Sevenoaks	1923
70	Charles Wilson		Conservative	Leeds Central	1929
70	John Potts		Labour	Barnsley	1931
70	Jonah Walker-Smith		Conservative	Barrow in Furness	1945
70	Dryden Brook		Labour	Halifax	1955
70	Charles William Gibson		Labour	Clapham	1959
70	Sir Samuel Storey		Conservative	Stretford	1966
70	Hugh Jenkins		Labour	Putney	1979
70	Dudley Smith		Conservative	Warwick and Leamington	1997
70	James Hill		Conservative	Southampton Test	1997

¹Based on Hardie's earliest estimated birth year of "c. 1860", although some biographers cite a date as late as 27 January 1871, making him only 60 years old at time of that election.^[22]

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:

Age	Candidate	Election
75	Caleb Wright	1885
741	Sir George Harrison	1885
74	Frank Smith	1929
73	William Beadel	1885
73	Ashton Lister	1918
71	Robert Williams	1807
71	Jim Allister	2024
71	Sir John Elley	1835
70–712	John Fleming	1818
70	James Caulfeild	1852
70	Frank James	1892
70	Samuel Young	1892
703	Robert Cameron	1895
704	George Walker	1945
705	Piara Khabra	1992
69	William Cobbett	1832
69	Robert Brooks	1859
69	Robert Stickney Blaine	1885
69	Sir Robert Hobart	1906
69	Sir William Peter Griggs	1918
69	Sir George Andreas Berry	1922
69	Alfred Smith	1929
68	Sir William Earle Welby	1802
68	Frank Hornby	1931
68	William Nicol	1859
68	William Raeburn	1918
68	Sir Alfred Waldron Smithers	1918
68	Ethel Bentham	1929
68	Marie Rimmer	2015
68	Mick Whitley	2019
67	George Williams	1832
67	Sir George Berkeley	1852
67	William Henry Sykes	1857
67	William John Lysley	1859
67	Spencer Charrington	1885
67	Henry Howe Bemrose	1895
67	Sir Maurice Dockrell	1918
67	Edwin Perkins	1922
67	Andrew Gilzean	1945
67	Albert Stubbs	1945
67	John McQuade	1979
67	Ernest Roberts	1979
67	Roger Mullin	2015
67	Jo Gideon	2019
66-67	John Forster FitzGerald	1852
66	Rupert Lowe	2024
66	William Beckett	1841
66	Sir Benjamin Guinness	1865
66	Dadabhai Naoroji	1892
66	William Beale	1906
66	George Henry Faber	1906
66	David Sanders Davies	1918
66	Henry Foreman	1918
66	Marshall Stevens	1918
66	Peter Prinsley	2024
66	Albert Edward Jacob	1924
66	Sir Frederick Mills	1931
66	William Allan Reid	1931
66	Richard Taylor	2001
66	Gordon Birtwistle	2010
66	Glyn Davies	2010
66	Marion Fellows	2015
65	Patricia Ferguson	2024
65	William Moffat	1802
65	James Simmons	1806
65	Peter Rainier	1807
65	Thomas Bernard	1874
65	Hugh Law	1874
65	Alfred Lafone	1886
65	Robert Pearce	1906
65	Alfred Jephcott	1918
65	Alexander Sprot	1918
65	Joseph Leckie	1931
65	Caroline Ganley	1945
65	Mervyn Wheatley	1945
65	George Kerevan	2015
65	Maureen Burke	2024

¹ Exact birth date not known but Harrison was reportedly this age when he died 5 days after the general election closed and before he took his seat.

² Exact birth date not known but Fleming, who was brought up as an adopted orphan, is usually stated to have been born in 1747.

³ Exact birthdate not known but Cameron is normally stated to have been born in 1825 and was reportedly this age at election.

⁴ Exact birthdate not known but Walker is normally stated to have born in 1874 and was reportedly this age at election.

⁵ Khabra's exact age has been the subject of some disagreement. He claimed a birth year of 1924, which would have made him 67 years old at first election, but his marriage certificate gives a birth year of 1921, and it is this figure which has been used above.

• Charles Pelham Villiers, Wolverhampton South, 1895: 93
• Samuel Young, East Cavan, 1910(D): 88
• David Logan, Liverpool Scotland, 1959: 87
• Sir Charles Burrell, New Shoreham, 1859: 85
• Isaac Holden, Keighley, 1892: 85
• Robert Cameron, Houghton-le-Spring, 1910(D): 85
• Dennis Skinner, Bolsover, 2017: 85
• Walter Wilkins, Radnorshire, 1826: 84
• William Hodgson Barrow, South Nottinghamshire, 1868: 84
• Winston Churchill, Woodford, 1959: 84
• Gerald Kaufman, Manchester Gorton, 2015: 84
• William Plumer, Higham Ferrers, 1820: 83
• Christopher Rice Mansel Talbot, Mid Glamorganshire, 1886: 83
• S. O. Davies, Merthyr Tydfil, 1970: 83 ¹
• Piara Khabra, Ealing Southall, 2005: 83
• The Earl of Carhampton, Ludgershall, 1820: 82
• William Ewart Gladstone, Midlothian, 1892: 82
• Paul Flynn, Newport West, 2017: 82
• Sir Thomas Miller, Portsmouth, 1812: 81
• Manny Shinwell, Easington, 1966: 81
• John Rankin, Glasgow Govan, 1970: 81
• David Winnick, Walsall North, 2015: 81
• Whitshed Keene, Montgomery Boroughs, 1812: c.80–81²
• Sir John Aubrey, Horsham, 1820: 80
• William Gore-Langton, Somerset East, 1841: 80
• Lord Palmerston, Tiverton, 1865: 80
• Joseph Warner Henley, Oxfordshire, 1874: 80
• Michael Thomas Bass, Derby, 1880: 80
• James Patrick Mahon, Clare, 1880: 80
• Sir Gilbert Greenall, Warrington, 1886: 80
• John Mowbray, Oxford University, 1895: 80
• John Rankin, Glasgow Govan, 1970: 80
• Edward Heath, Old Bexley and Sidcup, 1997: 80
• Peter Tapsell, Louth and Horncastle, 2010: 80
• Ann Clwyd, Cynon Valley, 2017: 80
• Murdoch Macdonald, Inverness, 1945: 79
• Ian Paisley, Antrim North, 2005: 79
• Geoffrey Robinson, Coventry North-West, 2017: 79
• Bill Cash, Stone, 2019: 79
• Barry Sheerman, Huddersfield, 2019: 79
• John Brocklehurst, 1865: 76
• Margaret Beckett, Derby South, 2019: 76
• Alice Cullen, Glasgow Gorbals, 1966: 75
• Irene Ward, Tynemouth, 1970: 75
• Gwyneth Dunwoody, Crewe and Nantwich, 2005: 74
• Eleanor Rathbone, Combined English Universities, 1945: 73
• Glenda Jackson, Hampstead and Kilburn, 2010: 73
• Angela Watkinson, Hornchurch and Upminster, 2015: 73
• Marie Rimmer, St Helens South and Whiston, 2019: 72
• Louise Ellman, Liverpool Riverside, 2017: 71
• Caroline Ganley, Battersea South, 1950: 70
• Ann Coffey, Stockport, 2017: 70
• Kate Hoey, Vauxhall, 2017: 70

¹ Davies was suspected of being considerably older than he claimed. There is evidence to suggest he was born in 1879, not 1886; if true, this would indicate he was 90 at his last election.

² Keene's birthdate is given as "c. 1731" in reference works though he was reportedly 90 years old on his death in February 1822. On this the figure is based. Unopposed return, his last contested election was in 1802 when aged 70–71.

Note: All men aged 79 or over since 1945 and over 85 since 1900 are listed, as are all women aged 70 or over.

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 to 1812.

Others, who returned at older ages than Drummond's:

• Sir Gilbert Greenall was 79 when he returned to the house in 1885, after a 5-year absence, as the member for Warrington, for which he previously sat from 1874–1880.
• Robert Carden was 78 when he returned to the house in 1880, after a 21-year absence, as the member for Barnstaple. He had sat for Gloucester from 1857–59.
• Sir Harry Verney was 78 when he returned to the house in 1880, after a 6-year absence, as the member for Buckingham, for which he previously sat from 1857–74.
• Sir John Chetwode was 77 when he returned to the house in 1841, after a 22-year absence, as member for Buckingham. He was previously MP for Newcastle-under-Lyme in 1815–18.
• Sir John Baker was 77 when he returned to the house in 1906, after a 5-year absence, as member for Portsmouth, for which he previously sat in 1892–1900.
• Sir Richard Green-Price was 76 when he returned to the house in 1880, after an 11-year absence, as member for Radnorshire. He had previously sat for Radnor Boroughs 1863–69.
• Sir Mark MacTaggart-Stewart was 75 when he returned to the house in January 1910 after a 4-year absence, as member for Kirkcudbrightshire, for which he previously sat in 1885–1906.
• John Courtenay was 74 when he returned to the house in 1812, after a 5-year absence, as member for Appleby, which he had previously sat for until 1807.
• Thomas Perronet Thompson was 74 when he returned to the house in 1857, after a four year absence, as member of Bradford, for which he previously sat in 1846-52.
• Alfred Lafone was 74 when he returned to the house in 1895, after a three-year absence, as member for Bermondsey, for which he previously sat in 1886–92.
• John Potts was 74 when he returned to the house in 1935, after a four-year absence. He had sat for Barnsley from 1922–31.
• Vince Cable was 74 when he returned to the house in 2017, after a 2-year absence, as member for Twickenham, for which he previously sat in 1997–2015.
• George Edwards was 73 when he returned to the house in 1923, after a year's absence, as member for South Norfolk, for which he previously sat in 1920–22.
• James Barr was 73 when he returned to the house in 1935 as MP for Coatbridge, after four years' absence. He was previously MP for Motherwell 1924–31.
• William Kirk was 72 or 73 when he returned to the house in 1868, after a 9-year absence, as member for Newry, for which he previously sat in 1852–59.
• Sir Nathaniel Dance-Holland was 72 when he returned to the house in 1807 as MP for East Grinstead, after five months' absence. He was previously MP for Great Bedwyn 1802–06, and East Grinstead before then.
• Sir Davison Dalziel was 72 when he returned to the house in 1924 as MP for Brixton, after nearly a year's absence. He previously sat for the same seat in 1910–23.
• Arthur Shirley Benn was 72 when he returned to the house in 1931 as MP for Sheffield Park, after two years' absence. He previously sat for Plymouth Drake in 1918–29.
• Joseph Alpass was 72 when he returned to the house in 1945 as MP for Thornbury, after 13 years absence. He previously sat for Bristol Central in 1929–31.
• Cahir Healy was 72 when he returned to the house in 1950, after a 15-year voluntary absence, as member for Fermanagh and South Tyrone. He had sat for the predecessor constituency between 1922–24 and 1931–35.
• John Arthur Roebuck was 71 when he returned to the house in 1874, after a 6-year absence, as member for Sheffield, for which he previously sat in 1847–68.
• Mathew Wilson was 71 when he returned to the house in 1874, after a 20-year absence, as member for Northern West Riding of Yorkshire. He had previously sat in two periods for Clitheroe between 1841–53.
• Sir Alexander Sprot was 71 when he returned to the house in 1924 after nearly two years' absence, as member for North Lanarkshire. He had previously sat for East Fife in 1918–22.
• Tommy Lewis was 71 when he returned to the house after a 14-year absence in 1945, as member for Southampton, for which he previously sat between 1929–31.
• William Gore-Langton was 70 when he returned to the house after a five-year absence in 1831, as member for Somerset which he previously represented until 1826.
• Edward Greene was 70 when he returned to the house after seven months' absence in 1886 United Kingdom general election, as member for Stowmarket. He had been MP for Bury St Edmunds until 1885.
• William Joseph Corbet was 70 when he returned to the house after a three-year absence in 1895, as member for East Wicklow, for which he previously sat in 1885–92.
• Charles James Monk was 70 when he returned to the house after nearly 10-year absence in 1895, as member for Gloucester. He previously sat for the borough constituency of that name in two periods between 1859 and 1885.
• Edward Reed was 70 when he returned to the house after a 5-year absence in 1900, as member for Cardiff, for which he previously sat in 1880–95.
• Robert Pearce was 70 when he returned to the house after nearly a year's absence in December 1910, as member for Leek, for which he previously sat between 1906 and January 1910.
• John Ashley Warre was 69 when he returned to the house after a 23-year absence in 1857, as member for Ripon. He previously sat for Hastings in 1831–34.
• Henry Eaton was 69 when he returned to the house after a 5-year absence in 1885, as member for Coventry, for which he previously sat in 1865–80.
• Samuel Storey was 69 when he returned to the house after a 14-year absence in January 1910, as member for Sunderland, for which he previously sat in 1881–95.
• Harry Foster was 69 when he returned to the house after 13 years absence in 1924, as member for Portsmouth Central. He was previously MP for Lowestoft in two periods between 1892 and 1910.
• Alan Clark was 69 when he returned to the house after a 5-year absence in 1997, as member for Kensington and Chelsea. He previously sat for Plymouth Sutton between 1974–92.
• William Mitford was 68 when he returned to the house after a 6-year absence in 1812, as member for New Romney. He previously sat for Bere Alston until 1806.
• John Charles Herries was 68 when he returned to the house after a 6-year absence in 1847, as member for Stamford. He previously sat for Harwich between 1823–41.
• Philip Pleydell-Bouverie was 68 when he returned to the house after a 24-year absence in 1857 as member for Berkshire. He was previously MP for Downton 1831–32.
• George Clive was 68 when he returned to the house after a 5-year absence in 1874, as member for Hereford, for which he previously sat in 1857–68.
• John Hubbard was 68 when he returned to the house after a 5-year absence in 1874, as member for the City of London. He was previously MP for Buckingham in 1859–68.
• J. T. Hibbert was 68 when he returned to the house after a 6-year absence in 1892, as member for Oldham, for which he previously sat in 1877–86.
• George Renwick was 68 when he returned to the house after an 8-year absence in 1918, as member for Newcastle upon Tyne Central. He had previously sat for the undivided Newcastle upon Tyne seat in two periods between 1900 and 1910.
• Sir Alfred Law was 68 when he returned to the house after a 7-year absence in 1929, as member for High Peak. He was previously M.P. for Rochdale in 1918–22.
• Nic Dakin was 68 when he returned to the house after an absence of 4 years, in 2024, as member for Scunthorpe, for which he previously sat in 2010-2019.
• Sir Harry Burrard-Neale was 67 when he returned to the house after an absence of 9 years, in 1832, as member for Lymington, for which he previously sat on several occasions, the last ending in 1823.
• Sir Frederick Smith was 67 when he returned to the house after an absence of 4 years, in 1857, as member for Chatham, for which he previously sat in 1852–53.
• Sir Henry Bulwer was 67 when he returned to the house after a voluntary absence of 21 years, in 1868 as member for Tamworth. He was previously MP for Marylebone in 1835–37.
• Somerville Hastings was 67 when he returned after a 14-year absence in 1945, as member for Barking. He had previously been MP for Reading in 1923–24 and 1929–31.
• Tony Lloyd was 67 when he returned after a 5-year absence in 2017 as member for Rochdale. He had previously sat as MP for Manchester Central in 1997–2012.
• Sir George Philips was 66 when he returned after a two years absence in 1832 as member for South Warwickshire. He was previously MP for Wootton Bassett 1820–30.
• Alfred Billson was 66 when he returned after a 5-year absence in 1906 as member for North West Staffordshire. He had previously sat as MP for Halifax in 1897–1900.
• Sir Thomas Bramsdon was 66 when he returned after a year's absence in 1923, as member for Portsmouth Central, for which he previously sat between 1918–22.
• J.R. Clynes was 66 when he returned after 4 years' absence in 1935, as member for Manchester Platting, for which he previously sat 1906-31
• Arthur Hayday was 66 when he returned after 4 years' absence in 1935, as member for Nottingham West, for which he previously sat in 1918–31.
• Jack Kinley was 66 when he returned after 14 years' absence in 1945, as member for Bootle, for which he previously sat in 1929–31.
• Robert Aglionby Slaney was 65 when he returned after near 5-year's absence in 1857, as member for Shrewsbury, for which he had previously sat in three periods between 1826 and 1852.
• Joseph Arch was 65 when he returned after 6 years absence in 1892 as member for North West Norfolk, for which he previously sat in 1885-86.
• Arthur Hayter was 65 when he returned after 5 years absence in 1900, as member for Walsall, for which he had previously sat in 1893–95.
• John Barker was 65 when he returned after nearly 5 years absence in 1906 as member for Penryn and Falmouth. He was previously MP for Maidstone in 1900–01.
• David Marshall Mason was 65 when he returned after 13 years absence in 1931 as member for Edinburgh East. He was previously MP for Coventry 1910–18.
• Sir Herbert Williams was 65 when he returned after 4 years absence in 1950 for Croydon East. He was previously MP for Croydon South 1932-45.
• David Drew was 65 when he returned after 7 years absence in 2017, as member for Stroud, for which he had previously sat between 1997–2010.

• Constance Markievicz, Dublin St Patrick's, 1918 – but did not take her seat at Westminster.
• Nancy Astor, Plymouth Sutton,^y and Margaret Wintringham, Louth,^z 1922 – first to take their seats after a general election.

Notes:

^y had entered parliament in by-election 1919 ^z had entered parliament in by-election 1921

• Dadabhai Naoroji, Finsbury Central, 1892
• Mancherjee Bhownagree, Bethnal Green, 1895 and 1900
• Shapurji Saklatvala, Battersea North, 1922 and 1924
• Diane Abbott, first ethnic minority woman to win, Hackney North and Stoke Newington, 1987

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.^[23] 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.

Lord Robert Grosvenor: Fermanagh and South Tyrone, 1955

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
• An asterisk marks the MP who was incumbent in that seat, where that seat was not newly created.

Election	Constituency	MP	Party		Notes
2024	Alloa and Grangemouth	Kenny MacAskill		Alba	Both candidates were elected in 2019 for the SNP, but MacAskill defected to Alba. Neither won re-election, with the seat being won by Brian Leishman for Labour.
		John Nicolson		SNP
	Clwyd East	James Davies		Con	Both candidates were elected as Conservatives, but Roberts was suspended and ran as an independent. Neither won re-election, with the seat being won by Labour.
		Rob Roberts		Ind
	Hitchin	Bim Afolami		Con
		Alistair Strathern		Lab
	Honiton and Sidmouth	Simon Jupp		Con
		Richard Foord		Lib Dem
	North Shropshire	Helen Morgan*		Lib Dem
		Simon Baynes		Con
	Tamworth	Sarah Edwards*		Lab
		Eddie Hughes		Con
2019	Altrincham and Sale West	Graham Brady*		Con	Smith was elected in 2017 for Labour, but had defected to the Liberal Democrats.
		Angela Smith		Lib Dem
	Wokingham	John Redwood*		Con	Both candidates were elected in 2017 for the Conservatives, but Lee had since defected to the Liberal Democrats.
		Phillip Lee		Lib Dem
	Finchley and Golders Green	Mike Freer*		Con	Berger was elected in 2017 for Labour, but had since defected to the Liberal Democrats.
		Luciana Berger		Lib Dem
	Kensington	Emma Dent Coad*		Lab	Gyimah was elected for the Conservatives, but then defected to the Liberal Democrats. Neither incumbent won re-election, with the seat being won by the Conservatives.
		Sam Gyimah		Lib Dem
2010	Poplar and Limehouse	Jim Fitzpatrick		Lab
		George Galloway		Respect
	Brent Central	Dawn Butler		Lab
		Sarah Teather		Lib Dem
2005	Dumfries and Galloway	Russell Brown		Lab
		Peter Duncan		Con
	Bethnal Green and Bow	Oona King*		Lab	Both candidates were elected in 2001 for Labour, but Galloway had since left the party and founded Respect.
		George Galloway		Respect
2001	Brentwood and Ongar	Eric Pickles*		Con	Bell contested the seat over allegations the Conservative branch was infiltrated by a local church, after unseating Neil Hamilton in 1997 over corruption allegations.[24]
		Martin Bell		Ind
1992	Glasgow Garscadden	Donald Dewar*		Lab	Both candidates were elected in 1987 for Labour, but Douglas defected to the SNP.
		Dick Douglas		SNP
1987	South Hams	Willie Hamilton		Lab	Hamilton was nominated for South Hams while intending to retire from parliament as the MP for Central Fife.
		Anthony Steen*		Con
1983	Meriden	Iain Mills*		Con
		John Sever		Lab
	Islington North	Michael O'Halloran*		Independent Labour	Grant and O'Halloran both defected to the SDP from Labour. Grant was selected as the SDP candidate and O'Halloran ran as Independent Labour. The seat was won by Labour.
		John Grant		SDP
	Southwark and Bermondsey	Simon Hughes		Lib
		John Tilley		Lab
	Crosby	Shirley Williams*		SDP
		Malcolm Thornton		Con
	Glasgow Hillhead	Roy Jenkins*		SDP
		Neil Carmichael		Lab
1974 Feb	Bradford West	John Wilkinson*		Con
		Edward Lyons		Lab
	Blyth	Eddie Milne*		Independent Labour	Both candidates were elected in 1970 for Labour, but Milne was deselected and ran as an independent.
		Ivor Richard		Lab
	Plymouth Devonport	Joan Vickers*		Con
		David Owen		Lab
	Brentford and Isleworth	Michael Barnes		Lab
		Barney Hayhoe		Con
	Paddington	Arthur Latham		Lab
		Nicholas Scott		Con
1955	Grantham	Joseph Godber*		Con
		Woodrow Wyatt		Lab
	Reading	Ian Mikardo		Lab
		Frederic Bennett		Con
	Bradford North	William Taylor*		National Liberal
		Maurice Webb		Lab
1950	Carmarthen	Rhys Hopkin Morris*		Lib
		Lynn Ungoed-Thomas		Lab
	Renfrewshire West	Thomas Scollan*		Lab
		John Maclay		National Liberal
	Glasgow Kelvingrove	John Lloyd Williams*		Lab
		Walter Elliot		Unionist
	Newport	Peter Freeman*		Lab
		Ivor Thomas		Con
	Sudbury and Woodbridge	John Hare		Con
		Roland Hamilton		Lab
	Stafford and Stone	Hugh Fraser		Con
		Stephen Swingler		Lab
	Newark	Sidney Shephard*		Con
		George Deer		Lab
	Carlton	Kenneth Pickthorn		Con
		Florence Paton		Lab
	Thurrock	Leslie Solley*		Independent Labour	Both candidates were elected in 1945 for Labour, but Solley was suspended from the party and ran for the Labour Independent Group.
		Hugh Delargy		Lab
	Walthamstow West	Clement Attlee		Lab	Hutchinson was suspended from the party and ran for the Labour Independent Group. Neither MP was the incumbent in this seat.
		Lester Hutchinson		Independent Labour
	Walsall	William Wells*		Lab
		John Barlow		National Liberal
	Poole	Mervyn Wheatley		Con
		Evelyn King		Lab
	Middlesbrough East	Alfred Edwards*		Con	Both candidates were elected in 1945 for Labour, but Edwards had since defected to the Conservatives.
		Hilary Marquand		Lab
	Liverpool West Derby	David Maxwell Fyfe		Con
		Bertie Kirby		Lab
	Gateshead East	Arthur Moody		Lab	Both candidates were elected in 1945 for Labour, but Zilliacus was suspended from the party (and had also left the Labour Independent Group) and ran as an independent.
		Konni Zilliacus		Ind
	Exeter	John Maude*		Con	Horabin was elected in 1945 for the Liberals but had defected to Labour. He moved constituency to avoid campaigning against former colleagues.
		Thomas Horabin		Lab
	Blackburn West	Ralph Assheton		Con
		John Edwards		Lab
	Stepney	Walter Edwards		Lab
		Philip Piratin		Communist
	Shoreditch and Finsbury	Ernest Thurtle		Lab	Both candidates were elected in 1945 for Labour, but Platts-Mills was suspended from the party and ran for the Labour Independent Group.
		John Platts-Mills		Independent Labour
1945	Lewisham East	Assheton Pownall*		Con
		Herbert Morrison		Lab
	St Marylebone	Alec Cunningham-Reid*		Ind. Conservative	Both candidates were elected in 1935 for the Conservatives, but two competing local Conservative Associations nominated different candidates.
		Wavell Wakefield		Con
	Putney	Hugh Linstead*		Con	Acland was elected in 1935 for the Liberals, but had since defected to the Common Wealth Party.
		Richard Acland		Common Wealth
	Harrow West	Norman Bower		Con
		Hugh Lawson		Common Wealth
	Stratford West Ham	Thomas Groves*		Ind	Groves was elected in 1935 for Labour but not reselected and ran as an independent. Neither MP won reelection, with the seat being held for Labour by Henry Nicholls.
		Redvers Michael Prior		Con
	Mossley	Austin Hopkinson*		National
		George Woods		Lab

This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (August 2008)

The longest possible duration of a Parliament is currently five years; prior to the Parliament Act 1911, it was seven years. All period of six years or more between general elections are listed:

9 years, 7 months and 21 days: 1935 – 1945

8 years: December 1910 – 1918

6 years: 1820 – 1826

6 years: 1841 – 1847

6 years: 1859 – 1865

6 years: 1874 – 1880

6 years: 1886 – 1892

All periods of less than a year between general elections are listed:

7 months: November 1806 – June 1807

7 months: November/December 1885 – July 1886

7 months and 12 days: February – October 1974

8 months: September 1830 – April/May/June 1831

10 months: December 1923 – October 1924

11 months: January – December 1910

This details the longest continuous government of each of the parties that have been in power.

Party		Appointed	Removed	Duration
	Conservative	4 May 1979	2 May 1997	17 years, 11 months and 28 days
	Labour	2 May 1997	11 May 2010	13 years and 9 days
	Liberal	5 December 1905	25 May 1915	9 years, 5 months and 20 days
	Coalition government a	24 August 1931	26 July 1945	13 years, 11 months and 2 days

^a The parties making up the National Government changed throughout this period

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.

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

• South Staffordshire, 2005
• Barnsley, 1951
• Manchester Moss Side, 1950
• Kingston upon Hull Central, 1945
• Rugby, 1929
• West Derbyshire, 1923
• Kennington, 1918

• 1979
• 1924

• 2019
• 2017
• 1955
• 1935
• 1931 (MacDonald was the existing PM, but the composition of the government had entirely changed)
• 1923

• 2019
• October 1974
• 1966
• 1951

• 2024
• 2017 (approved by a motion of the House of Commons under the provisions of the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011, an act which has since been repealed)
• 2005
• 2001
• 1987
• 1983
• February 1974
• 1970
• 1959
• 1950
• 1929

• 2015 (in this case this was the duration of the parliament under the, now repealed, Fixed Term Parliament Act 2011]
• 2010
• 1997
• 1992
• 1964

• 1922

• 1945
• 1918

Constituency	Election	Losing party		Gaining party
Ashfield	20241		Conservative		Reform UK
Walsall and Bloxwich	2024		Conservative		Labour
Norwich South	2015		Liberal Democrats		Labour
Belfast North	20012		UUP		DUP
Peckham	19313		Labour		Conservative

¹ Sitting Conservative MP defected to Reform UK and won re-election.

² UUP had been unopposed by DUP at previous elections.

³ Sitting Labour MP stood instead for the Independent Labour Party and took second place.

Constituency	Election	Losing party		Gaining party
Amber Valley	2024		Conservative		Labour
Bangor Aberconwy	2024		Conservative		Labour
Blackpool South	2024		Conservative		Labour
Basildon South and East Thurrock	2024		Conservative		Reform UK
Bridgend	2024		Conservative		Labour
Caerfyrddin	2024		Conservative		Plaid Cymru
Dover and Deal	2024		Conservative		Labour
Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes	2024		Conservative		Labour
Great Yarmouth	2024		Conservative		Reform UK
Hazel Grove	2024		Conservative		Liberal Democrats
Hull West and Haltemprice	2024		Conservative		Labour
Leigh and Atherton	2024		Conservative		Labour
Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr	2024		Conservative		Labour
Newton Aycliffe and Spennymoor	2024		Conservative		Labour
Spen Valley	2024		Conservative		Labour
Stoke-on-Trent Central	2024		Conservative		Labour
Telford	2024		Conservative		Labour
Thurrock	2024		Conservative		Labour
Wakefield and Rothwell	2024		Conservative		Labour
Whitehaven and Workington	2024		Conservative		Labour
Ashfield	2019		Labour		Conservative
Clacton	2017		UKIP		Conservative
Southport	2017		Liberal Democrats		Conservative
Bristol West	2015		Liberal Democrats		Labour
Brent Central	2015		Liberal Democrats		Labour
Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk	2015		Liberal Democrats		SNP
Dumfries and Galloway	2015		Labour		SNP
Aberdeenshire West and Kincardine	2015		Liberal Democrats		SNP
Bristol North West	2010		Labour		Conservative
Colne Valley	2010		Labour		Conservative
Watford	2010		Labour		Conservative
Belfast South	2005		UUP		SDLP
Conwy	1997		Conservative		Labour
Aberdeen South	1997		Conservative		Labour
Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber	1997		Liberal Democrats		Labour
Stockton South	19831		Labour		SDP
Plymouth Devonport	19831		Labour		SDP
Caithness and Sutherland	19831		Labour		SDP
Erith and Crayford	19831		Labour		Conservative
Renfrew West and Inverclyde	19831		Labour		Conservative
Southampton Itchen	19831		Labour		Conservative
Clwyd South West	19831		Labour		Conservative
West Hertfordshire	1983		Labour		Conservative
Stevenage	1983		Labour		Conservative
East Dunbartonshire	1979		SNP		Labour
North Down	1979 2		UUP		Ind. Unionist
Mid Ulster	1974 Feb		Unity		Vanguard
Bolton West	1964		Liberal		Labour
Glasgow Bridgeton	1950 3		Ind. Labour Party		Labour
Rugby	1950		Independent		Labour
Hammersmith North	1950		Independent Labour		Labour
Grantham	1950		Independent		Conservative
Cheltenham	1950		Independent		Conservative
Stepney	1950		Communist		Labour
West Fife	1950		Communist		Labour
Caithness and Sutherland	1945		Liberal		Unionist

¹ The sitting Labour MP had defected to the SDP in 1981.

² The sitting Ulster Unionist Party MP had defected to sit as an Independent Unionist.

³ The sitting Independent Labour Party MP had defected to Labour.

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.

Italics indicates seat was regained after having been lost in a previous by-election

Constituency	Election	Gaining Party		Losing Party
Leicester East	2024		Conservative		Labour
Bethnal Green and Bow	2010		Labour		Respect
Blaenau Gwent	2010		Labour		Independent
Chesterfield	2010		Labour		Liberal Democrats
Dunfermline and West Fife	2010		Labour		Liberal Democrats
Glasgow East	2010		Labour		SNP
Christchurch	1997		Conservative		Liberal Democrats
Glasgow Cathcart	1979		Labour		Conservative
Clackmannan and East Stirlingshire	1979		Labour		SNP
East Dunbartonshire	1979		Labour		SNP
Carmarthen	1979		Labour		Plaid Cymru
Ashfield	1979		Labour		Conservative
Birmingham Stechford	1979		Labour		Conservative
Walsall North	1979		Labour		Conservative
Workington	1979		Labour		Conservative
Berwick and East Lothian	1974 Feb		Conservative		Labour
East Dunbartonshire	1974 Feb		Conservative		Labour
Upminster	1974 Feb		Conservative		Labour
Ipswich	1974 Feb		Conservative		Labour
North West Norfolk	1974 Feb		Conservative		Labour
Ripon	1974 Feb		Conservative		Liberal
Sutton and Cheam	1974 Feb		Conservative		Liberal
Bromsgrove and Redditch	1974 Feb		Conservative		Labour
Colne Valley	1970		Labour		Liberal
Birmingham Ladywood	1970		Labour		Liberal
Swindon	1970		Labour		Conservative
Oldham West	1970		Labour		Conservative
Dudley	1970		Labour		Conservative
Acton	1970		Labour		Conservative
Walthamstow West	1970		Labour		Conservative
Glasgow Pollok	1970		Labour		Conservative
Hamilton	1970		Labour		SNP
Carmarthen	1970		Labour		Plaid Cymru
Birmingham Perry Barr	1964		Conservative		Labour
Eton and Slough	1964		Conservative		Labour
Smethwick	1964		Conservative		Labour
South West Norfolk	1964		Conservative		Labour
South Dorset	1964		Conservative		Labour
Anglesey	1951		Labour		Liberal
Merioneth	1951		Labour		Liberal
Caithness and Sutherland	1945		Conservative		Liberal
Berwick upon Tweed	1945		Conservative		Liberal
Caernarvon	1945		Conservative		Liberal
Isle of Ely	1945		Conservative		Liberal
Barnstaple	1945		Conservative		Liberal
Wallasey	1945		Conservative		Independent
Skipton	1945		Conservative		Common Wealth
Birmingham King's Norton	1929		Conservative		Labour
Midlothian and Peebles Northern	1929		Conservative		Labour
Lancaster	1929		Conservative		Liberal