2017 United Kingdom general election

The 2017 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 8 June 2017, two years after the previous general election in 2015; it was the first since 1992 to be held on a day that did not coincide with any local elections. The governing Conservative Party remained the largest single party in the House of Commons but lost its small overall majority, resulting in the formation of a Conservative minority government with a Confidence and supply agreement with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) of Northern Ireland.

The Conservative Party, which had governed as a senior coalition partner from 2010 and as a single-party majority government from 2015, was defending a working majority of 17 seats against the Labour Party, the official opposition led by Jeremy Corbyn. It was the first general election to be contested by either May or Corbyn; May had succeeded David Cameron following his resignation as prime minister the previous summer, Corbyn had succeeded Ed Miliband who resigned following Labour's failure to win the general election two years earlier.

Under the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 an election had not been due until May 2020, but Prime Minister Theresa May's call for a snap election was ratified by the necessary two-thirds vote in the House of Commons on 19 April 2017. May said that she hoped to secure a larger majority to "strengthen erhand" in the forthcoming Brexit negotiations.

Opinion polls had consistently shown strong leads for the Conservatives over Labour. From a 21-point lead, the Conservatives' lead began to diminish in the final weeks of the campaign. The Conservative Party made a net loss of 13 seats despite winning 42.4% of the vote (its highest share of the vote since 1983), whereas the Labour Party made a net gain of 30 seats with 40.0% (its highest vote share since 2001, representing its highest increase in vote share between two general elections since 1945). It was the first election since 1997 in which the Tories made a net loss of seats or Labour a net gain of seats. The election had the closest result between the two major parties since February 1974 and resulted in their highest combined vote share since 1970. The Scottish National Party (SNP) and the Liberal Democrats, the third- and fourth-largest parties, both lost vote share; media coverage characterised the result as a return to two-party politics. The SNP, which had won 56 of the 59 Scottish seats at the previous general election in 2015, lost 21. The Liberal Democrats made a net gain of four seats. UKIP, the third-largest party in 2015 by number of votes, saw its share of the vote reduced from 12.6% to 1.8% and lost its only seat.

In Wales, Plaid Cymru gained one seat, giving it a total of four seats. The Green Party retained its sole seat, but saw its share of the vote reduced. In Northern Ireland, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) won 10 seats, Sinn Féin won seven, and Independent Unionist Sylvia Hermon retained her seat. The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) and Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) lost all their seats.

Negotiation positions following the UK's invocation of Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union in March 2017 to leave the EU were expected to feature significantly in the campaign, but did not as domestic issues took precedence instead. The campaign was interrupted by two major terrorist attacks: Manchester and London Bridge; thus, national security became a prominent issue in its final weeks.

The outcome of the election would have significant implications for the Brexit negotiations and led the UK Parliament into a period of protracted deadlock which would eventually bring about another general election two and a half years later.

Electoral system

Each parliamentary constituency of the United Kingdom elects one MP to the House of Commons using the "first past the post" system. If one party obtains a majority of seats, then that party is entitled to form the Government, with its leader as Prime Minister. If the election results in no single party having a majority, there is a hung parliament. In this case, the options for forming the Government are either a minority government or a coalition.

The Sixth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies was not due to report until 2018, and therefore this general election took place under existing boundaries, enabling direct comparisons with the results by constituency in 2015.

Voting eligibility

To vote in the general election, one had to be:
*on the Electoral Register;
*aged 18 or over on polling day;
*a British, Irish or Commonwealth citizen;
*a resident at an address in the UK (or a British citizen living abroad who has been registered to vote in the UK in the last 15 years), ''and'';
*not legally excluded from voting (for example, a convicted person detained in prison or a mental hospital, or unlawfully at large if he/she would otherwise have been detained, or a person found guilty of certain corrupt or illegal practices) or disqualified from voting ( peers sitting in the House of Lords).

Individuals had to be registered to vote by midnight twelve working days before polling day (22 May).Electoral Commission: Deadline for registration ahead of an election
Note that 29 May 2017 is a bank holiday. Anyone who qualified as an anonymous elector had until midnight on 31 May to register. A person who has two homes (such as a university student with a term-time address but lives at home during holidays) may be registered to vote at both addresses, as long as they are not in the same electoral area, but can vote in only one constituency at the general election.

On 18 May, ''The Independent'' reported that more than 1.1 million people between 18 and 35 had registered to vote since the election was announced on 18 April. Of those, 591,730 were under the age of 25.

Date and cost of the election

The Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 introduced fixed-term Parliaments to the United Kingdom, with elections scheduled every five years since the general election on 7 May 2015. This removed the power of the Prime Minister, using the royal prerogative, to dissolve Parliament before its five-year maximum length. The Act permits early dissolution if the House of Commons votes by a supermajority of two-thirds of the entire membership of the House.

On 18 April 2017, Prime Minister Theresa May announced she would seek an election on 8 June, despite previously ruling out an early election. A House of Commons motion to allow this was passed on 19 April, with 522 votes for and 13 against, a majority of 509. The motion was supported by the Conservatives, Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Greens, while the SNP abstained. Nine Labour MPs, one SDLP MP and three independents ( Sylvia Hermon and two former SNP MPs, Natalie McGarry and Michelle Thomson) voted against the motion.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn supported the early election, as did Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron and the Green Party. The SNP stated that it was in favour of fixed-term parliaments, and would abstain in the House of Commons vote. UKIP leader Paul Nuttall and First Minister of Wales Carwyn Jones criticised May for being opportunistic in the timing of the election, motivated by the then strong position of the Conservative Party in the opinion polls.

On 25 April, the election date was confirmed as 8 June, with dissolution on 3 May. The government announced that it intended for the next parliament to assemble on 13 June, with the state opening on 19 June.

Timetable

The key dates are listed below (all times are BST):

Cost

The cost of organising the election was around £140 million – slightly less than the EU referendum, of which £98 million was spent on administrative costs, and £42.5 million was spent on campaign costs.

Parties and candidates

Most candidates were representatives of a political party registered with the Electoral Commission. Candidates not belonging to a registered party could use an "independent" label, or no label at all.

The leader of the party commanding a majority of support in the House of Commons is the person who is called on by the monarch to form a government as Prime Minister, while the leader of the largest party not in government becomes the Leader of the Opposition. Other parties also form shadow ministerial teams. The leaders of the SNP, Plaid Cymru and the DUP are not MPs; hence, they appoint separate leaders in the House of Commons.

Great Britain

The Conservative Party and the Labour Party have been the two biggest parties since 1922, and have supplied all Prime Ministers since 1935. Both parties changed their leader after the 2015 election. David Cameron, who had been the leader of the Conservative Party since 2005 and Prime Minister since 2010, was replaced in July 2016 by Theresa May following the referendum on the United Kingdom's membership of the European Union. Jeremy Corbyn replaced Ed Miliband as Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition in September 2015, and was re-elected leader in September 2016.

While the Liberal Democrats and their predecessors had long been the third-largest party in British politics, they returned only 8 MPs in 2015 (having been part of the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition from 2010 until 2015)—49 fewer than at the previous election and the fewest in their modern history. Tim Farron became the Liberal Democrat leader in July 2015, following the resignation of Nick Clegg. Led by First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon, the SNP stands only in Scotland; it won 56 of the 59 Scottish seats in 2015. UKIP, then led by Nigel Farage, who was later replaced by Diane James and then by Paul Nuttall in 2016, won 12.7% of the vote in 2015 but gained only one MP, Douglas Carswell, who left the party in March 2017 to sit as an independent. After securing 3.8% of the vote and one MP in the previous general election, Green Party leader Natalie Bennett was succeeded by joint leaders Caroline Lucas and Jonathan Bartley in September 2016. Smaller parties that contested the 2015 election and chose not to put forward candidates in 2017 included Mebyon Kernow, the Communist Party of Britain, the Scottish Socialist Party, and the National Front. The Respect Party, which had previously held seats, was dissolved in 2016; its former MP George Galloway stood and lost in the 2017 election as an independent in Manchester Gorton.

Northern Ireland

In Northern Ireland, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), Sinn Féin, the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), the Green Party of Northern Ireland and the Alliance Party contested the 2017 election. Sinn Féin maintained its abstentionist policy. The DUP, Sinn Féin, SDLP, UUP and APNI were all led by new party leaders, changed since the 2015 election. The Conservatives, Greens, and four other minor parties also stood. Despite contesting 10 seats last time, UKIP did not stand in Northern Ireland.

Candidates

3,304 candidates stood for election, down from 3,631 in the previous general election. The Conservatives stood in 637 seats, Labour in 631 (including jointly with the Co-operative Party in 50) and the Liberal Democrats in 629. UKIP stood in 377 constituencies, down from 624 in 2015, while the Greens stood in 468, down from 573. The SNP contested all 59 Scottish seats and Plaid Cymru stood in all 40 Welsh seats. In Great Britain, 183 candidates stood as independents; minor parties included the Christian Peoples Alliance which contested 31 seats, the Yorkshire Party which stood in 21, the Official Monster Raving Loony Party in 12, the British National Party in 10, the Pirate Party in 10, the English Democrats in 7, the Women's Equality Party in 7, the Social Democratic Party in 6, the National Health Action Party in 5 and the Workers Revolutionary Party in 5, while an additional 79 candidates stood for 46 other registered political parties.

In Wales, 213 candidates stood for election. Labour, Conservatives, Plaid Cymru, and Liberal Democrats contested all forty seats and there were 32 UKIP and 10 Green candidates. In Scotland, the SNP, the Conservatives, Labour and the Liberal Democrats stood in all 59 seats while UKIP contested 10 seats and the Greens only 3.

Of the 109 candidates in Northern Ireland, Sinn Féin, the SDLP and the Alliance contested all 18 seats; the DUP stood in 17, the UUP in 14 and the Conservatives and Greens stood in 7 each. People Before Profit and the Workers' Party contested two seats while Traditional Unionist Voice and the new Citizens Independent Social Thought Alliance stood in one each; four independents including incumbent Sylvia Hermon also stood.

Party selection processes

Unlike in previous elections, the timetable of the snap election required parties to select candidates in just under three weeks, to meet the 11 May deadline.

For the Conservatives, local associations in target seats were offered a choice of three candidates by the party's headquarters from an existing list of candidates, without inviting applications; candidates in non-target seats were to be appointed directly by central party offices; and successful MPs were to be confirmed by a meeting of their local parties. This was controversial with local associations. The Labour Party required sitting MPs to express their intention to stand, automatically re-selecting those who did; and it advertised for applications from party members for all remaining seats by 23 April. Having devolved selections to its Scottish and Welsh parties, Labour's National Executive Committee endorsed all parliamentary candidates on 3 May except for Rochdale, the seat of suspended MP Simon Danczuk. On 7 May, Steve Rotheram announced he was standing down as MP for Liverpool Walton following his election as Liverpool City Region mayor, leaving five days to appoint a candidate by close of nominations.

The SNP confirmed on 22 April that its 54 sitting MPs would be re-selected and that its suspended members Natalie McGarry and Michelle Thomson would not be nominated as SNP candidates; the party subsequently selected candidates for McGarry's and Thomson's former seats, as well as for the three Scottish constituencies it did not win in 2015. The Liberal Democrats had already selected 326 candidates in 2016 and over 70 in 2017 before the election was called. Meetings of local party members from UKIP, the Greens and Plaid Cymru selected their candidates. Parties in Northern Ireland were not believed to have already selected candidates due to the Assembly elections in March.

High-profile candidates

=Conservative

=
Former employment minister Esther McVey was selected to contest Tatton. Zac Goldsmith was adopted as the candidate for Richmond Park, having lost the 2016 by-election as an independent in protest against the form of the Government's chosen expert's recommended Heathrow expansion. He had served as the seat's Conservative MP between 2010 and 2016. Kenneth Clarke, the Father of the House of Commons, had said he would retire in 2020 and so stood again in the 2017 election, leaving it open for him to retire possibly in 2022 (he eventually retired in 2019 when that year's national election was called).

=Labour

=
Tony Lloyd, a former Labour MP for Manchester Central who served as Greater Manchester Police and Crime Commissioner from 2012 and interim Mayor of Greater Manchester since 2015 stood in Rochdale.

Eli Aldridge was just 18 years old when he challenged then Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron in his Westmorland and Lonsdale constituency. News coverage showed Aldridge balancing campaigning with revision for his A-level examinations, even missing the start of his end-of-year ball to speak at a hustings in Kendal.

=Liberal Democrats

=
Those ministers defeated in 2015 who stood for election in their former seats included Vince Cable in Twickenham, Ed Davey in Kingston and Surbiton, Jo Swinson in East Dunbartonshire, and Simon Hughes in Bermondsey and Old Southwark.

=UKIP leader

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After coming second in the Stoke-on-Trent Central by-election earlier in 2017, UKIP leader Paul Nuttall contested Boston and Skegness.

=MPs rejected by their parties

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Former Labour MP Simon Danczuk stood as an independent candidate, after being rejected from standing with that party and then withdrawing his party membership. After the Liberal Democrats rejected David Ward, the former MP for Bradford East, for anti-semitism, he contested that seat as an independent.

Electoral alliances and arrangements

Ahead of the general election, crowdfunding groups such as More United and Open Britain were formed to promote candidates of similar views standing for election, and a "progressive alliance" was proposed. Former UKIP donor Arron Banks suggested a "patriotic alliance" movement. A Tactical voting spreadsheet to keep the Conservatives out of government went viral on social media. Gina Miller, who took the government to court over Article 50, set out plans to tour marginal constituencies in support of pro-EU candidates.

Within a few days of the election being announced, the Green Party of England and Wales and the SNP each proposed to collaborate with Labour and the Liberal Democrats to prevent a Conservative majority government. Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron quickly reaffirmed his party's opposition to an electoral pact or coalition with Labour, citing "electorally toxic" Corbyn and concerns over Labour's position on Brexit. On 22 April the Liberal Democrats also ruled out a coalition deal with the Conservatives and SNP. Labour ruled out an electoral pact with the SNP, Liberal Democrats and Greens.

Notwithstanding national arrangements, the Liberal Democrats, the Greens, and UKIP indicated they might not stand in every constituency. The Green Party of England and Wales chose not to contest 22 seats explicitly "to increase the chance of a progressive candidate beating the Conservatives", including South West Surrey, the seat of Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt, in favour of the National Health Action Party candidate. The Scottish Green Party contested just three constituencies. The Liberal Democrats agreed to stand down in Brighton Pavilion. After indicating it might not nominate candidates in seats held by strongly pro-Brexit Conservative MPs, UKIP nominated 377 candidates; it was suggested this would help the Conservatives in marginal seats.

In Northern Ireland, there were talks between the DUP and UUP. Rather than engaging in a formal pact, the DUP agreed not to contest Fermanagh and South Tyrone, while the UUP chose not to stand in four constituencies. Talks took place between Sinn Féin, the SDLP and the Green Party in Northern Ireland about an anti-Brexit agreement (the Alliance Party were approached but declined to be involved) but no agreement was reached; the Greens said there was "too much distance" between the parties, Sinn Féin's abstentionist policy was criticised, and the SDLP admitted an agreement was unlikely. On 8 May, the SDLP rejected Sinn Féin's call for them to stand aside in some seats.

Campaign

Background

Prior to the calling of the general election, the Liberal Democrats gained Richmond Park from the Conservatives in a by-election, a seat characterised by its high Remain vote in the 2016 EU referendum. The Conservatives held the safe seat of Sleaford and North Hykeham in December 2016. In by-elections on 23 February 2017, Labour held Stoke-on-Trent Central but lost Copeland to the Conservatives, the first time a governing party had gained a seat in a by-election since the Tories took Mitcham and Morden in 1982.

The general election came soon after the Northern Ireland Assembly election on 2 March. Talks on power-sharing between the DUP and Sinn Féin had failed to reach a conclusion, with Northern Ireland thus facing either another Assembly election, or the imposition of direct rule. The deadline was subsequently extended to 29 June.

Local elections in England, Scotland and Wales took place on 4 May. These saw large gains by the Conservatives, and large losses by Labour and UKIP. Notably, the Conservatives won metro mayor elections in Tees Valley and the West Midlands, areas traditionally seen as Labour heartlands. Initially scheduled for 4 May, a by-election in Manchester Gorton was cancelled; the seat was contested on 8 June along with all the other seats.

On 6 May, a letter from Church of England Archbishops Justin Welby and John Sentamu stressed the importance of education, housing, communities and health.

All parties suspended campaigning for a time in the wake of the Manchester Arena bombing on 22 May. The SNP had been scheduled to release their manifesto for the election but this was delayed. Campaigning resumed on 25 May.

Major political parties also suspended campaigning for a second time on 4 June, following the London Bridge attack. UKIP chose to continue campaigning. There were unsuccessful calls for polling day to be postponed.

Issues

Brexit

The UK's withdrawal from the European Union was expected to be a key issue in the campaign, but featured less than expected. May said she called the snap election to secure a majority for her Brexit negotiations. UKIP supported a "clean, quick and efficient Brexit" and, launching his party's election campaign, Nuttall stated that Brexit was a "job half done" and UKIP MPs were needed to "see this through to the end".

Labour had supported Brexit in the previous parliament - Corbyn did not vote against the triggering of Article 50. Corbyn's actions in the previous parliament therefore dispelled the doubts of Labour voters who had voted to leave the EU. However, his vision for Brexit prioritised different plans for the UK outside the EU. He wanted to Britain to still maintain the benefits of the single market and the custom union. The Liberal Democrats and Greens called for a deal to keep the UK in the single market and a second referendum on any deal proposed between the EU and the UK.

The Conservative manifesto committed the party to leaving the single market and customs union, but sought a "deep and special partnership" through a comprehensive free trade and customs agreement. It proposed seeking to remain part of some EU programmes where it would "be reasonable that we make a contribution", staying as a signatory of the European Convention on Human Rights over the next parliament, and maintaining the Human Rights Act during Brexit negotiations. Parliament would be able to amend or repeal EU legislation once converted into UK law, and have a vote on the final agreement.

Security

Two major terrorist attacks took place during the election campaign, with parties arguing about the best way to prevent such events. May, after the second attack, focused on global co-operation to tackle Islamist ideology and tackling the use of the internet by terrorist groups. After the first attack, Labour criticised cuts in police numbers under the Conservative government. Corbyn also linked the Manchester attack to British foreign policy. The Conservatives stated that spending on counter-terrorism for both the police and other agencies had risen.

Former Conservative strategist Steve Hilton said Theresa May should be "resigning not seeking re-election", because her police cuts and security failures had led to the attacks. Corbyn backed calls for May to resign, but said she should be removed by voters. May said that police budgets for counter-terrorism had been maintained and that Corbyn had voted against counter-terrorism legislation.

The Conservative manifesto proposed more government control and regulation of the Internet, including forcing Internet companies to restrict access to extremist and adult content. Following the London attack, Theresa May called for international agreements to regulate the internet. The Conservative stance on regulation of the internet and social media was criticised by Farron and the Open Rights Group.

On 6 June, May promised longer prison sentences for people convicted of terrorism and restrictions on the freedom of movement or deportation of militant suspects when it is thought they present a threat but there is not enough evidence to prosecute them, stating that she would change human rights laws to do so if necessary.

The UK's nuclear weapons, including the renewal of the Trident system, also featured in the campaign. The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats favoured Trident renewal. Labour's manifesto committed to Trident renewal; Corbyn confirmed renewal would take place under Labour, but declined to explicitly speak in favour. He also declined to answer whether as prime minister he would use nuclear weapons if the UK was under imminent nuclear threat.

Social care

Social care became a major election issue after the Conservative Party's manifesto included new proposals, which were subsequently altered after criticism. The previous coalition government had commissioned a review by Andrew Dilnot into how to fund social care. Measures that were seen to disadvantage pensioners were also in the Conservative manifesto: eliminating the pension triple lock and Winter Fuel Payments for all pensioners. After the election, journalist Tim Shipman argued that social care was the single issue that cost May her majority.

Scottish independence and the future of the UK

The question of a proposed Scottish independence referendum was also thought likely to influence the campaign in Scotland. On 28 March 2017, the Scottish Parliament approved a motion requesting that Westminster pass a Section 30 order giving the Parliament the authority to hold a second independence referendum, suggesting that there had been a "material change of circumstances" since the independence referendum in 2014 as a result of Britain's vote to leave the EU and Scotland's vote to remain. The SNP hoped to hold a second independence referendum once the Brexit terms a
were clear but before Britain left the EU; May said her government would not approve an independence referendum before Brexit negotiations had finished. After the final results were announced the SNP had lost 13% of the Scottish vote and one third of their seats - leading Sturgeon to conclude that, "Undoubtedly the issue of an independence referendum was a factor in this election result, but I think there were other factors as well".

University tuition fees

Labour was thought to have attracted a significant number of student voters with its pledge to abolish tuition fees, which stands at £9,250 a year in England, and bring back student grants.

Possible coalitions

Although Labour and the Liberal Democrats both rejected election pacts with each other and with the Greens and the SNP, and although the Liberal Democrats ruled out a coalition deal with the Conservatives, the Conservatives campaigned on the proposition that such deals might nevertheless occur, using the phrase "coalition of chaos". Similar messages against a potential Lib–Lab pact were credited with securing a Conservative win in the 1992 and 2015 elections. On 19 April, May warned against a Labour–SNP–Lib Dem pact that would "divide our country". After the hung result led the Conservatives to seek DUP support for a minority government, this rhetoric was mocked by opponents.

Party campaigns

Conservatives

May launched the Conservative campaign with a focus on Brexit, lower domestic taxes and avoiding a Labour–SNP-Lib Dem "coalition of chaos", but she refused to commit not to raise taxes. On 30 April, May stated that it was her intention to lower taxes if the Conservatives won the general election, but only explicitly ruled out raising VAT. May reiterated her commitment to spending 0.7% of GNI on foreign aid.

May hired Lynton Crosby, the campaign manager for the Conservatives in the 2015 general election, as well as former President of the United States Barack Obama's 2012 campaign manager, Jim Messina. The Conservative campaign was noted for the use of targeted adverts on social media, in particular attacking Corbyn. The repeated use of the phrase " strong and stable" in the Conservatives' campaigning attracted attention and criticism. Some expressed concern that the party may have restricted media access to the prime minister. While some speculated that an investigation into campaign spending by the Conservatives in the 2015 general election was a factor behind the snap election, on 10 May the Crown Prosecution Service said that despite evidence of inaccurate spending returns, no further action was required.

On 7 May the Conservatives promised to replace the 1983 Mental Health Act, to employ an additional 10,000 NHS mental health workers by 2020 and to tackle discrimination against those with mental health problems. May indicated that the Conservatives would maintain their net immigration target, and promised to implement a cap on "rip-off energy prices", a policy that appeared in Labour's 2015 manifesto. May indicated she would permit a free vote among Conservative MPs on repealing the ban on fox hunting in England and Wales. On 11 May the Conservatives promised above-inflation increases in defence spending alongside its NATO commitment to spend at least 2% of GDP on defence.

In a speech in Tynemouth the next day, May said Labour had "deserted" working-class voters, criticised Labour's policy proposals and said Britain's future depended on making a success of Brexit. On 14 May the Conservatives proposed a "new generation" of social housing, paid from the existing capital budget, offering funding to local authorities and changing compulsory purchase rules. The following day May promised "a new deal for workers" that would maintain workers' rights currently protected by the EU after Brexit, put worker representation on company boards, introduce a statutory right to unpaid leave to care for a relative and increase the National Living Wage in line with average earnings until 2022. The proposals were characterised as an "unabashed pitch for Labour voters"; however Labour and the GMB trade union criticised the government's past record on workers' rights.

Unveiling the Conservative manifesto in Halifax on 18 May, May promised a "mainstream government that would deliver for mainstream Britain". It proposed to balance the budget by 2025, raise spending on the NHS by £8bn per year and on schools by £4bn per year by 2022, remove the ban on grammar schools, means-test the winter fuel allowance, replace the state pension "triple lock" with a "double lock" and require executive pay to be approved by a vote of shareholders. It dropped the 2015 pledge to not raise income tax or national insurance contributions but maintained a commitment to freeze VAT. New sovereign wealth funds for infrastructure, rules to prevent foreign takeovers of "critical national infrastructure" and institutes of technology were also proposed. The manifesto was noted for its intervention in industry, lack of tax cuts and increased spending commitments on public services. On Brexit it committed to leaving the single market and customs union while seeking a "deep and special partnership" and promised a vote in parliament on the final agreement. The manifesto was noted for containing similar policies to those found in Labour's 2015 general election manifesto.

The manifesto also proposed reforms to social care in England that would raise the threshold for free care from £23,250 to £100,000, while including property in the means test and permitting deferred payment after death. After attracting substantial media attention, four days after the manifesto launch, May stated that the proposed social care reforms would now include an "absolute limit" on costs in contrast to the rejection of a cap in the manifesto. She criticised the "fake" portrayal of the policy in recent days by Labour and other critics, who had termed it a "dementia tax". ''Evening Standard'' editor and former Conservative Chancellor George Osborne called the policy change a "U-turn".

The Conservative Party manifesto at the 2017 general election proposed repealing the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011.

Labour

Corbyn launched the Labour campaign focusing on public spending, and argued that services were being underfunded, particularly education. Labour's shadow Brexit secretary, Keir Starmer, stated that the party would replace the existing Brexit white paper with new negotiating priorities that emphasise the benefits of the single market and customs union, that the residence rights of EU nationals would be guaranteed and that the principle of free movement would have to end. Corbyn emphasised Labour's support for a "jobs-first Brexit" that "safeguards the future of Britain's vital industries".

Labour proposed the creation of four new bank holidays, marking the feast days of the patron saints of the United Kingdom's constituent nations. On 27 April the party pledged to build 1 million new homes over five years. Labour's proposal to employ 10,000 new police officers was overshadowed when Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott cited incorrect figures in a widely publicised gaffe in an LBC interview on 2 May on how it would be funded. Labour later stated that the £300 million cost would be funded by reversing cuts to capital gains taxes, although it was noted that the party had also pledged some of those savings towards other expenditure plans.

On 7 May, Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell ruled out rises in VAT and in income tax and employee national insurance contributions for those with earnings below £80,000 per year. The following day Labour outlined plans to ban junk food TV adverts and parking charges at NHS hospitals. Labour promised an additional £4.8 billion for education, funded by raising corporation tax from 19% to 26%.

A draft copy of Labour's manifesto was leaked to the ''Daily Mirror'' and ''The Daily Telegraph'' on 10 May. It included pledges to renationalise the National Grid, railways, and the Royal Mail and create publicly owned energy companies. The draft was noted for including commitments to workers' rights, a ban on fracking, and the abolition of university tuition fees in England. The draft manifesto included a commitment to the Trident nuclear deterrent, but suggested a future government would be "extremely cautious" about using it. The next day Labour's Clause V meeting endorsed the manifesto after amendments from shadow cabinet members and trade unions present.

In a speech at Chatham House on 12 May, Corbyn set out his foreign policy, saying he would reshape Britain's foreign relations, avoid the use of nuclear weapons, and while Labour supported Trident renewal he would initiate a defence review in government. Corbyn stated that he would halt all weapons sales from the UK to Saudi Arabia citing the violations of human rights in the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen. After the 2017 London Bridge attack, Corbyn said that a conversation should take place "with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states that have funded and fuelled extremist ideology".

On 14 May, Labour revealed plans to extend stamp duty by introducing a financial transactions tax, which McDonnell claimed would raise up to £5.6bn per year. The next day Corbyn set out plans to spend £37bn on the NHS in England over a five-year parliament, including £10bn on IT upgrades and building repairs.

Launching its manifesto officially on 16 May, Labour revealed it would nationalise the water industry, provide 30 hours per week of free childcare for two- to four-year-olds, charge companies a levy on annual earnings above £330,000, lower the 45p income tax rate threshold to £80,000 per year, and reintroduce the 50p tax rate for those earning more than £123,000 per year. Labour said it would raise an additional £48.6bn in tax revenue per year and insisted its policies were fully costed, though it was noted no costings were provided for its nationalisation pledges. Compared to the leaked draft, the manifesto was noted for toughening Labour's position on defence and Trident, confirming that outside the EU free movement would have to end, qualifying support for airport expansion, and clarifying the party's stance on Israel-Palestine, as well as other changes. After initial confusion, Labour clarified it would not reverse the government's freeze on most working-age benefits.

In an interview following the manifesto launch, Unite general secretary Len McCluskey said victory for Labour in the general election would be "extraordinary" and that winning just 200 seats (compared to 229 seats held at the time) would be a "successful" result; the following morning he clarified he was now "optimistic" about Labour's chances.

SNP

The SNP, keen to maintain its position as the third-largest party in the House of Commons, made the need to protect Scotland's interests in the Brexit negotiations a central part of its campaign. The SNP manifesto called for a vote on independence to be held "at the end of the Brexit process", set out "anti-austerity" plans to invest £118bn in UK public services over the next five years, pledged to increase the minimum wage to £10 an hour and called for Scotland to have control over immigration and to remain in the EU single market after Brexit. With the polls closing, Nicola Sturgeon told the Today programme that the SNP could support a Labour government "on an issue-by-issue basis" in the event of a hung parliament and she would be open to forming a "progressive alternative to a Conservative government".

Liberal Democrats

Central themes of the Liberal Democrat campaign were an offer of a referendum on any eventual Brexit deal and a desire for the UK to stay in the single market. The party reportedly targeted seats which had voted to remain in the EU, such as Twickenham, Oxford West and Abingdon, and Vauxhall. Bob Marshall-Andrews, a Labour MP from 1997 to 2010, announced he would support the Liberal Democrats.

The party reported a surge in membership after the election was called, passing 100,000 on 24 April, having grown by 12,500 in the preceding week. The party also reported raising £500,000 in donations in the first 48 hours after May's announcement of an early election.

An early issue raised in the campaign was Tim Farron's views, as a Christian, regarding gay sex and LGBT rights. After declining to state whether he thought gay sex was a sin, Farron affirmed that he believed neither being gay nor having gay sex are sinful.Initial refusal:
*
*
Subsequent explanation:
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The party proposed raising income tax by 1p to fund the NHS and maintaining the triple-lock on the state pension. The Liberal Democrats also promised an additional £7 billion to protect per-pupil funding in education; they said it would be partly funded by remaining in the EU single market. The party pledged on 11 May to accept 50,000 refugees from Syria over five years, with Farron saying that the £4.3 billion costs would over time be repaid in taxes by those refugees that settle in Britain.

On 12 May the party revealed plans to legalise cannabis and extend paid paternity leave. Farron proposed financial incentives for graduates joining the armed forces and committed to NATO's 2% of GDP defence spending target. The next day the Liberal Democrats promised to end the cap on public-sector pay increases and repeal the Investigatory Powers Act. On 16 May the Liberal Democrats proposed an entrepreneurs' allowance, to review business rates and to increase access to credit.

Policies emphasised during their manifesto launch on 17 May included a second referendum on a Brexit deal with the option to remain a member of the EU, discounted bus passes for 16- to 21-year-olds, the reinstatement of Housing Benefit for 18- to 21-year-olds, a £3bn plan to build 300,000 new houses a year by 2022 and support for renters to build up equity in their rented properties.

UKIP

Paul Nuttall announced that UKIP's manifesto would seek to ban the burqa, outlaw sharia law, impose a temporary moratorium on new Islamic schools and require annual checks against female genital mutilation (FGM) for high-risk girls. In response to the proposed burqa ban UKIP's foreign affairs spokesperson James Carver resigned, labelling the policy "misguided".

Despite losing all 145 of the seats it was defending in the 2017 local elections (but gaining one from Labour in Burnley), Nuttall insisted voters would return to UKIP in the general election. On 8 May UKIP proposed a net migration target of zero within five years.

Television debates

Within hours of the election being announced, Corbyn, Farron and Sturgeon called for televised debates. The Prime Minister's office initially opposed the idea. On 19 April, the BBC
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