The 1966 United Kingdom general election was held on 31 March 1966. The result was a landslide victory for the Labour Party led by incumbent

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

Harold Wilson. Wilson decided to call a snap election since his government, elected a mere 17 months previously, in

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...

, had an unworkably small majority of only four MPs. The Labour government was returned following this snap election with a much larger majority of 98 seats. This was the last general election in which the voting age was 21; Wilson's government passed an amendment to the

Representation of the People Act Representation of the People Act is a stock short title used in Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Ghana, Grenada, Guyana, India, Jamaica, Mauritius, Pakistan, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, ...

in 1969 to include eligibility to vote at age 18, which was in place for the next general election in 1970.

Background

Prior to the 1966 general election, Labour had performed poorly in local elections in 1965, and lost a by-election, cutting their majority to just two. Shortly after the local elections, the leader of the Conservative Party Alec Douglas-Home was replaced by

Edward Heath Sir Edward Richard George Heath (9 July 191617 July 2005), often known as Ted Heath, was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1965 to 1975. Heath a ...

in the 1965 leadership election. Despite setbacks and a small majority, Labour believed it had an advantage due to the disorientation from the change of leadership at the Conservative Party, the improvement of economic conditions under its brief government, and a victory at the

1966 Kingston upon Hull North by-election The Kingston upon Hull North by-election of 27 January 1966 was held after the death of Labour Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many ...

. The Conservatives had not had much time to prepare their campaign, although it was more professional than previously. There had been little time for Heath to become well known among the British public, having led the party for just eight months before the election. For the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

, money was an issue: two elections in the space of just two years had left the party in a tight financial position and had to field less candidates. Labour ran its campaign with the slogan "You know Labour government works" and avoided commenting on controversial issues such as European integration,

trade unions A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

, and nationalization. The election night was broadcast live on the BBC, was presented by

Cliff Michelmore Arthur Clifford Michelmore (11 December 1919 – 16 March 2016) was an English television presenter and producer. He is best known for the BBC television programme '' Tonight'', which he presented from 1957 to 1965. He also hosted the BBC's t ...

Ian Trethowan Sir James Ian Raley Trethowan (20 October 1922 – 12 December 1990) was a British journalist, radio and television broadcaster and administrator who eventually became Director-General of the BBC, Director-General of the BBC from 1 October 1977 ...

Robin Day Sir Robin Day (24 October 1923 – 6 August 2000) was an English political journalist and television and radio broadcaster. Day's obituary in ''The Guardian'' by Dick Taverne stated that he was "the most outstanding television journalist of ...

, Robert McKenzie and David Butler. The election was replayed on the

BBC Parliament BBC Parliament is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel from the BBC that broadcasts live and recorded coverage of the House of Commons, House of Lords and Select Committees of the British Parliament, the Scottish Parliamen ...

channel on the 40th anniversary of the event, and again in 2016 to mark the 50th anniversary of the election. Although the BBC's telecast was in black and white, a couple of colour television cameras were placed in the BBC election studio at Television Centre to allow

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

's Charles Collingwood and

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

David Brinkley David McClure Brinkley (July 10, 1920 – June 11, 2003) was an American newscaster for NBC and ABC in a career lasting from 1943 to 1997. From 1956 through 1970, he co-anchored NBC's top-rated nightly news program, '' The Huntley–Brinkl ...

to file live reports from that studio by satellite and in colour for their respective networks' evening news programmes (which were transmitted at 11:30 pm British time, 6:30 pm

Eastern Standard Time The Eastern Time Zone (ET) is a time zone encompassing part or all of 23 U.S. states, states in the eastern part of the United States, parts of eastern Canada, the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico, Panama, Colombia, mainland Ecuador, Peru, and ...

Timeline

The

, Harold Wilson, announced on 28 February that Parliament would be dissolved on 10 March, for an election to be held on 31 March. The key dates were as follows:

Opinion polling

* Research Services: 3% swing to Labour (forecast majority of 101) * National opinion polls: 3.5% swing to Labour (forecast majority of 115) * Gallup: 4.5% swing to Labour (forecast majority of 150) * Express (known as Harris): 7.5% swing to Labour (forecast majority of in excess of 255)

Results

The Labour Party performed very well in the election and expanded its previously slim majority against the Conservative opposition to 97 seats, accomplishing a net gain of 48 seats. It won 364 seats from 48 percent of the vote, against 253 seats from 41.4 percent for the Conservatives and 12 seats from 8 percent for the Liberals. A major reason for the Labour victory was the revitalization of the party's working-class support in the 1960s. It captured its highest support yet from manual laborers at 69 percent, as well as its best performance for non-manual laborers since 1945. The government also appealed to both the right wing of the party with its cabinet dominated by junior ministers of the Attlee ministry as well as the left wing by the presence of officials such as Prime Minister Wilson,

Richard Crossman Richard Howard Stafford Crossman (15 December 1907 – 5 April 1974) was a British Labour Party politician. A university classics lecturer by profession, he was elected a Member of Parliament in 1945 and became a significant figure among the ...

Barbara Castle Barbara Anne Castle, Baroness Castle of Blackburn, (''née'' Betts; 6 October 1910 – 3 May 2002), was a British Labour Party politician who was a Member of Parliament from 1945 to 1979, making her one of the longest-serving female MPs in Bri ...

, and

Frank Cousins Frank Cousins may refer to: * Frank Cousins (British politician) (1904–1986), British trade union leader and Labour politician * Frank Cousins (American politician) (born 1958), American politician who served as the Essex County, Massachusetts Sh ...

, - , + style="caption-side: bottom; font-weight:normal" , All parties shown.

Votes summary

Seats summary

Incumbents defeated

Conservative

* Priscilla Buchan, Lady Tweedsmuir ( Aberdeen South) * Forbes Hendry ( West Aberdeenshire) *

Geoffrey Howe Richard Edward Geoffrey Howe, Baron Howe of Aberavon, (20 December 1926 – 9 October 2015) was a British Conservative politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1989 to 1990. Howe was Margaret Thatch ...

(

Bebington Bebington () is a town and unparished area within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, in Merseyside, England. Historically part of Cheshire, it lies south of Liverpool, close to the River Mersey on the eastern side of the Wirral Peninsula. ...

) * Norman Cole (

South Bedfordshire South Bedfordshire was, from 1974 to 2009, a non-metropolitan district of Bedfordshire, in the East of England. Its main towns were Dunstable, Houghton Regis and Leighton Buzzard. Creation The district was formed on 1 April 1974 as part of a gen ...

) * Sir William Anstruther-Gray, 1st Baronet ( Berwick and East Lothian), Chairman of the

1922 Committee The 1922 Committee, formally known as the Conservative Private Members' Committee, is the parliamentary group of the Conservative Party in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. The committee, consisting of all Conservative backbench member ...

* Edward Gardner (

Billericay Billericay ( ) is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Basildon, Essex, England. It lies within the London Basin and constitutes a commuter town east of Central London. The town has three secondary schools and a variety of open spaces. It i ...

) *

Wyndham Davies Wyndham Roy Davies (3 June 1926 – 4 December 1984) was a British Conservative Party politician. Against the national trend, he was elected Member of Parliament (MP) for Birmingham Perry Barr at the 1964 general election, gaining the seat fr ...

(

Birmingham Perry Barr Birmingham Perry Barr is a constituency in the West Midlands, represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2001 by Khalid Mahmood of the Labour Party. Constituency profile UK Polling Report stated in 2015: "Perry Barr and ...

) * Arthur Tiley ( Bradford West) *

Dudley Smith Sir Dudley Gordon Smith (14 November 1926 – 14 December 2016) was a British Conservative politician who served as a junior minister under Edward Heath. He was a Member of Parliament for a total of 35 years, latterly for Warwick and Leamingt ...

( Brentford and Chiswick) * Alan Hopkins ( Bristol North East) * Martin McLaren (

Bristol North West Bristol North West is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2017 by Darren Jones of the Labour Party. Constituency profile The seat covers northwest parts of Bristol, extending to the Severn Estuary. ...

) * Donald Box ( Cardiff North) *

William Shepard William Shepard (Contemporary records, which used the Julian calendar and the Annunciation Style of enumerating years, recorded his birth as November 20, 1737. The provisions of the British Calendar (New Style) Act 1750, implemented in 1752, ...

( Cheadle) * Dame Patricia Hornsby-Smith ( Chislehurst) * Peter Thomas (

Conwy Conwy (, ), previously known in English as Conway, is a walled market town, community and the administrative centre of Conwy County Borough in North Wales. The walled town and castle stand on the west bank of the River Conwy, facing Deganwy on ...

) *

James Scott-Hopkins Sir James Sidney Rawdon Scott-Hopkins (29 November 1921 – 11 March 1995) was a British Conservative politician. Born in Croydon, Scott-Hopkins was educated at Eton College and the University of Oxford. He joined the British Army in 1939. He w ...

(

North Cornwall North Cornwall ( kw, An Tiredh Uhel) is an area of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is also the name of a former local government district, which was administered from Bodmin and Wadebridge . Other towns in the area are Launceston, Bude, P ...

) *

Sir Richard Thompson, 1st Baronet Sir Richard Hilton Marler Thompson, 1st Baronet (5 October 1912 – 15 July 1999) was a British Conservative politician. Thompson was born in Chesterfield Derbyshire, the son of Richard South Thompson (1868–1952) and Kathleen Hilda née Marle ...

( Croydon South) * Sir Anthony Meyer (

Eton and Slough Eton and Slough was a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first-past-the-post voting system. History The House of Commons (Redi ...

) * Sir Rolf Dudley-Williams, 1st Baronet ( Exeter) * Henry Brooke ( Hampstead), former

Secretary of State for the Home Department The secretary of state for the Home Department, otherwise known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom. The home secretary leads the Home Office, and is responsible for all national ...

* Anthony Courtney (

Harrow East Harrow East is a constituency in Greater London created in 1945 and represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Bob Blackman, a Conservative. Constituency profile The censuses of 2001 and 2011 show the overwhelming ...

) *

David Walder Alan David Walder (13 November 1928 – 26 October 1978) was a British Conservative Party politician. Born in St Pancras, London, Walder was educated at Latymer School and Christ Church, Oxford. He was commissioned into the Royal Artillery in ...

( High Peak) * Godfrey Lagden (

Hornchurch Hornchurch is a suburban town in East London, England, and part of the London Borough of Havering. It is located east-northeast of Charing Cross. It comprises a number of shopping streets and a large residential area. It historically formed a l ...

) * Albert Cooper ( Ilford South) *

Humphry Berkeley Humphry John Berkeley (21 February 192614 November 1994) was a British politician and author. He was noted for his three changes of parties and his early support for gay rights. He is also remembered for a series of hoax letters he sent as fi ...

( Lancaster) * Christopher Chataway ( Lewisham North) * Patrick McNair-Wilson ( Lewisham West) * Sir John Barlow, 2nd Baronet ( Middleton and Prestwich) *

Peter Thorneycroft George Edward Peter Thorneycroft, Baron Thorneycroft, (26 July 1909 – 4 June 1994) was a British Conservative Party politician. He served as Chancellor of the Exchequer between 1957 and 1958. Early life Born in Dunston, Staffordshire, Thorn ...

( Monmouth), former Chancellor *

William Clark William Clark (August 1, 1770 – September 1, 1838) was an American explorer, soldier, Indian agent, and territorial governor. A native of Virginia, he grew up in pre-statehood Kentucky before later settling in what became the state of Miss ...

( Nottingham South) * Montague Woodhouse (

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

) *

Ian Montagu Fraser Ian Montagu Fraser (14 October 1916 – 8 November 1987) was a British Conservative Party (UK), Conservative party politician. Fraser stood for Tottenham (UK Parliament constituency), Tottenham in 1955 United Kingdom general election, 1955 and ...

(

Plymouth Sutton Plymouth, Sutton was, from 1918 until 2010, a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. History Pl ...

) * Terence Clarke ( Portsmouth West) *

Julian Amery Harold Julian Amery, Baron Amery of Lustleigh, (27 March 1919 – 3 September 1996) was a British Conservative Party politician, who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) for 39 of the 42 years between 1950 and 1992. He was appointed to the Pr ...

( Preston North), former Secretary of State for Air *

Peter Emery Sir Peter Frank Hannibal Emery (27 February 1926 – 9 December 2004) was a British Conservative Party politician. Early life Emery was born in London, but was evacuated to the United States during World War II. He was educated at Scotch Plai ...

(

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spelling ...

) *

Roy Wise Alfred Roy Wise (7 July 1901 – 21 August 1974) was a British Conservative Party politician and was the Member of Parliament for the constituencies of Rugby and Smethwick . Biography He was born on 7 July 1901 to Alfred Gascoyne Wise and Aug ...

(

Rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

) * Sir Martin Redmayne, 1st Baronet (

Rushcliffe Rushcliffe is a local government district with borough status in Nottinghamshire, England. The population of the Local Authority at the 2011 Census was 111,129. Its councilRushcliffe Borough Council Peter Griffiths Peter Harry Steve Griffiths (24 May 1928 – 20 November 2013) was a British Conservative politician best known for gaining the Smethwick seat by defeating the Shadow Foreign Secretary Patrick Gordon Walker in the 1964 general election, agai ...

( Smethwick) * Sir John Fletcher-Cooke (

Southampton Test Southampton Test is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 1997 by Alan Whitehead, a member of the Labour Party. History The constituency was created for the 1950 general election, when the previous two ...

) * Sir Samuel Storey, 1st Baronet ( Stretford),

Chairman of Ways and Means In the United Kingdom, the Chairman of Ways and Means is a senior member of the House of Commons who acts as one of the Speaker's three deputies. The incumbent is Dame Eleanor Laing, MP for Epping Forest, who was first elected to the office on ...

* William Yates (

The Wrekin The Wrekin is a hill in east Shropshire, England. It is located some five miles (8 km) west of Telford, on the border between the unitary authorities of Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin. Rising above the Shropshire Plain to a height of 4 ...

) * Charles Curran (

Uxbridge Uxbridge () is a suburban town in west London and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon. Situated west-northwest of Charing Cross, it is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. Uxb ...

) *

John Harvey John Harvey may refer to: People Academics * John Harvey (astrologer) (1564–1592), English astrologer and physician * John Harvey (architectural historian) (1911–1997), British architectural historian, who wrote on English Gothic architecture ...

( Walthamstow East) * Anthony Fell ( Great Yarmouth) *

Charles Longbottom Charles Brooke Longbottom (22 July 1930 – 5 February 2013) was a British barrister, businessman and Conservative politician. In his later years his interest turned to Christian healing and education. He was appointed Officer of the Order of ...

(

City of York The City of York is a unitary authority area with city status in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England. The district's main settlement is York, and it extends to the surrounding area including the town of Haxby and the villages of ...

)

Labour

Patrick Duffy Patrick Duffy (born March 17, 1949) is an American actor and director widely known for his role on the CBS primetime soap opera ''Dallas'', where he played Bobby Ewing, the youngest son of Miss Ellie, and the nicest brother of J.R. Ewing (pla ...

(

Colne Valley The Colne Valley is a steep sided valley on the east flank of the Pennine Hills in the English county of West Yorkshire. It takes its name from the River Colne which rises above the town of Marsden and flows eastward towards Huddersfield. ...

)

Liberal

Roderic Bowen Evan Roderic Bowen KC (6 August 1913 – 19 July 2001) was a Welsh Liberal Party politician. Bowen was educated at Cardigan County School, University College, Aberystwyth, St John's College, Cambridge, Brussels and the Inns of Court. He ...

(

Ceredigion Ceredigion ( , , ) is a county in the west of Wales, corresponding to the historic county of Cardiganshire. During the second half of the first millennium Ceredigion was a minor kingdom. It has been administered as a county since 1282. Cer ...

) * George Mackie (

Caithness and Sutherland Caithness and Sutherland was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1918 to 1997. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. The constituency was c ...

)

Televised declarations

These declarations were covered live by the BBC where the returning officer was heard to say "duly elected". * The 5,117 votes polled for the "Others" in Nelson and Colne were all polled for Patrick Downey, uncle of Lesley Ann Downey, who had been murdered by the

Moors Murderers The Moors murders were carried out by Ian Brady and Myra Hindley between July 1963 and October 1965, in and around Manchester, England. The victims were five children—Pauline Reade, John Kilbride, Keith Bennett, Lesley Ann Downey, and Edward E ...

. Downey advocated the return of hanging.

Notes

References

External links

United Kingdom election results—summary results 1885–1979

Manifestos

1966 Conservative Party manifesto

1966 Labour Party manifesto

1966 Liberal Party manifesto {{Edward Heath 1966 General election Harold Wilson Edward Heath