The 2015 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday, 7 May 2015 to elect 650
members of Parliament (MPs) to the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...
. The
Conservative Party, led by
Prime Minister
A prime minister 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. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron, Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton (born 9 October 1966) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016. Until 2015, he led the first coalition government in the UK s ...
, won an unexpected majority victory of ten seats; they had been leading a
coalition government
A coalition government, or coalition cabinet, is a government by political parties that enter into a power-sharing arrangement of the executive. Coalition governments usually occur when no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an ...
with the
Liberal Democrats. It was the last general election to be held before the
UK voted to leave the European Union (EU) in June 2016.
Opinion polls and political commentators had widely predicted that the election would result in a second consecutive
hung parliament
A hung parliament is a term used in legislatures primarily under the Westminster system (typically employing Majoritarian representation, majoritarian electoral systems) to describe a situation in which no single political party or pre-existing ...
whose composition would be similar to the one elected at the
previous general election in 2010. Potential coalitions and agreements between parties were intensively discussed; as a result, smaller parties received much more attention during the campaign than in previous UK elections. However, opinion polls underestimated the Conservatives, as they won 330 of the 650 seats and 36.9 per cent of the vote, giving them a small overall majority.
The opposition
Labour Party, led by
Ed Miliband
Edward Samuel Miliband (born 24 December 1969) is a British politician who has served as Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero since July 2024. He has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for D ...
, saw a small increase in its share of the vote to 30.4 per cent, but it won 26 fewer seats than in 2010, giving them 232 MPs. This was the fewest seats the party had won since the
1987 general election, when it had 229 MPs returned. Labour lost significant ground in Scotland to the
Scottish National Party
The Scottish National Party (SNP; ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic party. The party holds 61 of the 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament, and holds 9 out of the 57 Scottish seats in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, ...
(SNP) who enjoyed a huge surge, winning 56 of the 59 Scottish seats, becoming the third-largest party in the House of Commons and the largest party in Scotland, knocking Labour from the status which it had held since
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 Patria ...
.
The
Liberal Democrats, junior coalition partners led by
Deputy Prime Minister
A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a Minister (government), government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to th ...
Nick Clegg
Sir Nicholas William Peter Clegg (born 7 January 1967) is a British retired politician and media executive who served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2015 and as Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 2007 to 2015. H ...
, suffered heavy losses, losing 49 of their 57 seats. Returning just eight MPs, it was their worst result since their formation in 1988. Cabinet ministers
Vince Cable
Sir John Vincent Cable (born 9 May 1943) is a British politician who was Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 2017 to 2019. He was Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Twickenham (UK Parliament constituency), Twic ...
,
Ed Davey
Sir Edward Jonathan Davey (born 25 December 1965) is a British politician who has served as the Leader of the Liberal Democrats, leader of the Liberal Democrat party since 2020. He served in the Cameron–Clegg coalition as Secretary of State ...
, and
Danny Alexander
Sir Daniel Grian Alexander (born 15 May 1972) is a British former politician who was Chief Secretary to the Treasury between 2010 and 2015. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch & Strathspey constituency ...
lost their seats, whilst Clegg only narrowly held his own seat. The
UK Independence Party
The UK Independence Party (UKIP, ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two members of parliament (both through defect ...
(UKIP) received 12.6 per cent of the vote, displacing the Liberal Democrats as the third-placed party in terms of popular vote, but won only one seat:
Clacton, which they had gained at a
by-election
A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections.
A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...
six months earlier. They failed to retain their other seat gained in a
by-election
A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections.
A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...
,
Rochester and Strood, and the party's leader,
Nigel Farage
Nigel Paul Farage ( ; born 3 April 1964) is a British politician and broadcaster who has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Clacton (UK Parliament constituency), Clacton and Leader of Reform UK since 20 ...
, ran in
South Thanet
South Thanet was a constituency in Kent.
The 2023 review of Westminster constituencies made moderate boundary changes to the constituency, which was renamed East Thanet, taking effect at the 2024 general election.
Boundaries
1983–2010: The ...
but narrowly fell short of winning the seat. The
Green Party of England and Wales
The Green Party of England and Wales (GPEW; ), often known simply as the Green Party or the Greens, is a Green politics, green, Left-wing politics, left-wing political party in England and Wales. Since October 2021, Carla Denyer and Adrian Ram ...
won its highest ever vote share of 3.8 per cent, and their only MP,
Caroline Lucas
Caroline Patricia Lucas (born 9 December 1960) is a British politician who was the leader of the Green Party of England and Wales from 2003 to 2006, 2007 to 2012, and 2016 to 2018. She was Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parli ...
, retained her seat,
Brighton Pavilion
The Royal Pavilion (also known as the Brighton Pavilion) and surrounding gardens is a Grade I listed former royal residence located in Brighton, England. Beginning in 1787, it was built in three stages as a seaside retreat for George, Prince o ...
.
In
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
, the
Democratic Unionist Party
The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is a Unionism in Ireland, unionist, Ulster loyalism, loyalist, British nationalist and national conservative political party in Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1971 during the Troubles by Ian Paisley, who ...
remained the largest party, the
Ulster Unionist Party
The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is a Unionism in Ireland, unionist political party in Northern Ireland. The party was founded as the Ulster Unionist Council in 1905, emerging from the Irish Unionist Alliance in Ulster. Under Edward Carson, it l ...
returned to the Commons with two seats after a five-year absence, and the
Alliance Party lost its only seat of
Belfast East, represented by
Naomi Long
Naomi Rachel Long MLA (née Johnston; born 13 December 1971) is a Northern Irish politician who has served as Minister of Justice in the Northern Ireland Executive since February 2024, having previously served from January 2020 to October 202 ...
for the party, despite an increase in their vote share.
Following the election, Miliband and Clegg resigned their leaderships.
Jeremy Corbyn
Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Islington North (UK Parliament constituency), Islington North since 1983. Now an Independent ...
succeeded Miliband as
Leader of the Labour Party, while
Tim Farron
Timothy James Farron (born 27 May 1970) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 2015 to 2017. He has been the Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Westmorland and Lonsdale since ...
succeeded Clegg as
Leader of the Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a political party in the United Kingdom. Party members elect the leader of the Liberal Democrats, the head and highest-ranking member of the party. Liberal Democrat members of Parliament also elect a deputy leader of ...
.
Despite speculation before the election that it would herald a new era of multi-party politics in the UK, it ended-up being the antithesis, marking a return to traditional
two-party politics
A two-party system is a political party system in which two major political parties consistently dominate the political landscape. At any point in time, one of the two parties typically holds a majority in the legislature and is usually referre ...
seen throughout the second half of the 20th century; Conservative–Labour domination would continue until the
2024 election. The SNP began a nine-year domination of Scottish Westminster seats.
Charles Kennedy
Charles Peter Kennedy (25 November 19591 June 2015) was a British politician who served as Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 1999 to 2006, and was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ross, Skye and Lochaber from 1983 to 2015.
Kennedy wa ...
, who served as the leader of the Liberal Democrats from 1999 to 2006, made his last public appearance during the election campaign, in which he lost his seat; he died on 1 June 2015.
Notable MPs who retired at this election included former prime minister and Labour leader
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. Previously, he was Chancellor of the Ex ...
, former
Chancellor of the Exchequer
The chancellor of the exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and the head of HM Treasury, His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, t ...
Alistair Darling
Alistair Maclean Darling, Baron Darling of Roulanish, (28 November 1953 – 30 November 2023) was a British politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer under prime minister Gordon Brown from 2007 to 2010. A member of the Labour Party ...
, former
leader of the opposition
The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the Opposition (parliamentary), largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the ...
and
Conservative leader William Hague
William Jefferson Hague, Baron Hague of Richmond (born 26 March 1961) is a British politician and life peer who was Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from 1997 to 2001 and Deputy Leader from 2005 to 2010. He was th ...
, and former leader of the Liberal Democrats
Menzies Campbell
Walter Menzies Campbell, Baron Campbell of Pittenweem, (; born 22 May 1941), often known as Ming Campbell, is a Scottish politician, advocate and former athlete. A member of the Liberal Democrats, he was Member of Parliament (MP) for North ...
. Notable newcomers to the House of Commons included future prime minister and Labour leader
Keir Starmer
Sir Keir Rodney Starmer (born 2 September 1962) is a British politician and lawyer who has served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom since 2024 and as Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party since 2020. He previously ...
; future prime minister, Conservative leader and Chancellor of the Exchequer
Rishi Sunak
Rishi Sunak (born 12 May 1980) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 2022 to 2024. Following his defeat to Keir Starmer's La ...
, who also succeeded Hague as MP for
Richmond (Yorks)
Richmond (Yorks) was a United Kingdom constituencies, constituency in North Yorkshire in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the UK Parliament. It was represented from 1910 by members of the Conservative Party (UK), C ...
; future deputy prime minister and
deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner
Angela Rayner (' Bowen; born 28 March 1980) is a British politician who has served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government since 2024 United Kingdom general election, Jul ...
and future SNP Commons leader
Ian Blackford
Ian Blackford (born 14 May 1961) is a Scottish politician and investment banker who served as leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) in the House of Commons from 2017 to 2022. He served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ross, Skye and ...
. Another future prime minister and Conservative leader,
Boris Johnson
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (born 19 June 1964) is a British politician and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He wa ...
, who had previously left Parliament in 2008 so he could serve as the
mayor of London
The mayor of London is the chief executive of the Greater London Authority. The role was created in 2000 after the Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first directly elected mayor in the United Kingdom.
The current ...
, returned to Parliament as MP for
Uxbridge and South Ruislip
Uxbridge and South Ruislip is a constituency in Greater London represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since its 2010 creation. The seat has been held by Danny Beales of the Labour Party since July 2024.
From 2015 to 2023, th ...
.
It was the first of three general elections to be held under the rules of the
Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011
The Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 (c. 14) (FTPA) was an Act of Parliament (United Kingdom), act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which, for the first time, set in legislation a default fixed-term election, fixed election date for gener ...
.
Local elections
Local may refer to:
Geography and transportation
* Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand
* Local, Missouri, a community in the United States
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''Local'' (comics), a limited series comic book by Bria ...
took place in most areas of England on the same day and is to date the most recent general election to coincide with local elections.
Election process
The
Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011
The Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 (c. 14) (FTPA) was an Act of Parliament (United Kingdom), act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which, for the first time, set in legislation a default fixed-term election, fixed election date for gener ...
led to the dissolution of the 55th Parliament on 30 March 2015 and the scheduling of the election on 7 May.
There were
local elections
Local may refer to:
Geography and transportation
* Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand
* Local, Missouri, a community in the United States
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''Local'' (comics), a limited series comic book by Bria ...
on the same day in all of England, with the exception of
Greater London
Greater London is an administrative area in England, coterminous with the London region, containing most of the continuous urban area of London. It contains 33 local government districts: the 32 London boroughs, which form a Ceremonial count ...
. No elections were scheduled to take place in Scotland, Wales, or Northern Ireland.
All British, Irish, and Commonwealth citizens over the age of 18 and residing in the UK who were not in prison or a mental hospital or a fugitive on the date of the election were permitted to vote. In British general elections, voting takes place in all
constituencies
An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...
in the United Kingdom to elect Members of Parliament to the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...
, the
lower house
A lower house is the lower chamber of a bicameral legislature, where the other chamber is the upper house. Although styled as "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has come to wield more power or otherwise e ...
of Parliament in the UK. Each constituency elects one MP using the
first-past-the-post voting system
First-past-the-post (FPTP)—also called choose-one, first-preference plurality (FPP), or simply plurality—is a single-winner voting rule. Voters mark one candidate as their favorite, or first-preference, and the candidate with more first- ...
. If one party obtains a majority (326) of the 650 seats, then that party is entitled to form the
government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...
. If no party has a majority, then there is what is known as a
hung parliament
A hung parliament is a term used in legislatures primarily under the Westminster system (typically employing Majoritarian representation, majoritarian electoral systems) to describe a situation in which no single political party or pre-existing ...
. In this case, the options for forming the Government are either a
minority government
A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in ...
(where one party governs alone despite not having the majority of the seats) or a
coalition government
A coalition government, or coalition cabinet, is a government by political parties that enter into a power-sharing arrangement of the executive. Coalition governments usually occur when no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an ...
(where one party governs alongside party in order to get a majority of seats).
Although the
Conservative Party planned for the number of constituencies to be reduced from 650 to 600, through the
Sixth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies
Sixth is the ordinal form of the number six.
* The Sixth Amendment, to the U.S. Constitution
* A keg of beer, equal to 5 U.S. gallons or barrel
* The fraction
Music
* Sixth interval (music)s:
** major sixth, a musical interval
** minor ...
under the
Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011
The Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011 (c. 1) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that made provision for the holding of a referendum on whether to introduce the Alternative Vote system in all future general e ...
, the review of constituencies and reduction in seats was delayed by the
Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013
The Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013 (c. 6) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
With the Sixth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies in some doubt following the collapse of the House of Lords Reform Bill ...
.
The next boundary review was set to take place in 2018, so the 2015 general election was contested using the same constituencies and boundaries as in 2010. Of the 650 constituencies, 533 were in England, 59 were in Scotland, 40 were in Wales and 18 were in Northern Ireland.
In addition, the 2011 Act mandated a
referendum in 2011 on changing from the
first-past-the-post voting
First-past-the-post (FPTP)—also called choose-one, first-preference plurality (FPP), or simply plurality—is a single-winner voting rule. Voters mark one candidate as their favorite, or first-preference, and the candidate with more first- ...
system to an
alternative vote
Instant-runoff voting (IRV; ranked-choice voting (RCV), preferential voting, alternative vote) is a single-winner ranked voting election system where one or more eliminations are used to simulate runoff elections. When no candidate has a ...
system for general elections. The
Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition government agreed to holding a referendum. The referendum was held in May 2011 and
resulted in the retention of the existing voting system. Before the
previous general election the
Liberal Democrats had pledged to change the voting system, and the
Labour Party had pledged to hold a referendum on any such change.
The Conservatives, however, promised to keep the first-past-the-post system, but to reduce the number of constituencies to 600. Liberal Democrats' plan was to reduce the number of MPs to 500, and for them to be elected using a
proportional vote system.
The Government increased the amount of money that parties and candidates were allowed to spend on campaigning during the election by 23%, a move decided against the advice of the
Electoral Commission
An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...
. The election saw the first cap on spending by parties in individual constituencies during the 100 days before Parliament's dissolution on 30 March: £30,700, plus a per-voter allowance of 9p in county constituencies and 6p in borough seats. An additional voter allowance of more than £8,700 is available after the dissolution of Parliament. In total, parties spent £31.1m in the 2010 general election, of which the Conservative Party spent 53%, the Labour Party spent 25% and the Liberal Democrats 15%. This was also the first UK general election to use individual rather than household
voter registration
In electoral systems, voter registration (or enrollment) is the requirement that a person otherwise Suffrage, eligible to Voting, vote must register (or enroll) on an electoral roll, which is usually a prerequisite for being entitled or permitted ...
.
Date of the election
An election is called following the
dissolution of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
The dissolution of the Parliament of the United Kingdom occurs automatically five years after the day on which Parliament of the United Kingdom, Parliament first met following a general election, or on an earlier date by royal proclamation at the ...
. The 2015 general election was the first to be held under the provisions of the
Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011
The Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 (c. 14) (FTPA) was an Act of Parliament (United Kingdom), act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which, for the first time, set in legislation a default fixed-term election, fixed election date for gener ...
. Prior to this, the power to dissolve Parliament was a
royal prerogative
The royal prerogative is a body of customary authority, Privilege (law), privilege, and immunity recognised in common law (and sometimes in Civil law (legal system), civil law jurisdictions possessing a monarchy) as belonging to the monarch, so ...
, exercised by the
sovereign
''Sovereign'' is a title that can be applied to the highest leader in various categories. The word is borrowed from Old French , which is ultimately derived from the Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to ...
on the advice of the prime minister. Under the provisions of the
Septennial Act 1715
The Septennial Act 1715 ( 1 Geo. 1. St. 2. c. 38), sometimes called the Septennial Act 1716, was an act of the Parliament of Great Britain. It was passed in May 1716. It increased the maximum length of a parliament (and hence the maximum perio ...
, as amended by the
Parliament Act 1911
The Parliament Act 1911 ( 1 & 2 Geo. 5. c. 13) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It is constitutionally important and partly governs the relationship between the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two Houses of Parl ...
, an election had to be announced on or before the fifth anniversary of the beginning of the previous parliament, barring exceptional circumstances. No sovereign had refused a request for dissolution since the beginning of the 20th century, and the practice had evolved that a prime minister would typically call a general election to be held at a tactically convenient time within the final two years of a Parliament's lifespan, to maximise the chance of an electoral victory for their party.
Prior to the 2010 general election, Labour and the Liberal Democrats pledged to introduce
fixed-term election
A fixed-term election is an election that occurs on a set date, which cannot be changed by incumbent politicians other than through exceptional mechanisms if at all. The office holder generally takes office for a set amount of time, and their te ...
s.
As part of the Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition agreement, the
Cameron ministry agreed to support legislation for fixed-term Parliaments, with the date of the next general election being 7 May 2015. This resulted in the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011, which removed the
prime minister's power to advise the monarch to call an early election. The Act only permits an early dissolution if Parliament votes for one by a two-thirds
supermajority
A supermajority is a requirement for a proposal to gain a specified level of support which is greater than the threshold of one-half used for a simple majority. Supermajority rules in a democracy can help to prevent a majority from eroding fun ...
, or if a majority of MPs pass a
vote of no confidence
A motion or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fi ...
and no new government is subsequently formed within 14 days. However, the prime minister had the power, by order made by
Statutory Instrument under section 1(5) of the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011, to fix the polling day to be up to two months later than 7 May 2015. Such a Statutory Instrument must be approved by each House of Parliament. Under section 14 of the
Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013
The Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013 (c. 6) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
With the Sixth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies in some doubt following the collapse of the House of Lords Reform Bill ...
, the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 was amended to extend the period between the dissolution of Parliament and the following general election polling day from 17 to 25 working days. This had the effect of moving forward the date of the dissolution of the Parliament to 30 March 2015.
[
]
Timetable
The key dates were:
MPs not standing for re-election
While at the previous election there had been a record 149 MPs not standing for re-election, the 2015 election saw 89 MPs standing down. Out of these MPs, 37 were Conservatives, 37 were Labour, 10 were Liberal Democrats, 3 were Independents, 1 was Sinn Féin and 1 was Plaid Cymru. The highest-profile members of parliament leaving were: Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. Previously, he was Chancellor of the Ex ...
, the former Prime Minister, and William Hague
William Jefferson Hague, Baron Hague of Richmond (born 26 March 1961) is a British politician and life peer who was Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from 1997 to 2001 and Deputy Leader from 2005 to 2010. He was th ...
, the former Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition
The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the Opposition (parliamentary), largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the ...
. Alongside Brown and Hague, 17 former cabinet ministers stood down at the election, including Stephen Dorrell
Stephen James Dorrell (born 25 March 1952) is a British Liberal Democrat politician. He served as the Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for Loughborough between 1979 and 1997 and then for Charnwood from 1997 to 2015.
Dorrell most recen ...
, Jack Straw
John Whitaker Straw (born 3 August 1946) is a British politician who served in the Cabinet from 1997 to 2010 under the Labour governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. He held two of the traditional Great Offices of State, as Home Secretar ...
, Alistair Darling
Alistair Maclean Darling, Baron Darling of Roulanish, (28 November 1953 – 30 November 2023) was a British politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer under prime minister Gordon Brown from 2007 to 2010. A member of the Labour Party ...
, David Blunkett
David Blunkett, Baron Blunkett, (born 6 June 1947) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Education and Employment from 1997 to 2001, Home Secretary from 2001 to 2004 and Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in 2005. ...
, Sir Malcolm Rifkind
Sir Malcolm Leslie Rifkind (born 21 June 1946) is a British politician who served in the cabinets of Margaret Thatcher and John Major from 1986 to 1997, and most recently as chair of the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament from 2 ...
and Dame Tessa Jowell
Tessa Jane Helen Douglas Jowell, Baroness Jowell, (; 17 September 1947 – 12 May 2018) was a Labour Party (UK), British Labour Party politician and life peer who served as the Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) f ...
. The highest-profile Liberal Democrat to stand down was their former leader Sir Menzies Campbell
Walter Menzies Campbell, Baron Campbell of Pittenweem, (; born 22 May 1941), often known as Ming Campbell, is a Scottish politician, advocate and former athlete. A member of the Liberal Democrats, he was Member of Parliament (MP) for North ...
, while the longest-serving MP, Sir Peter Tapsell, also retired, having served as an MP continuously since 1966
Events January
* January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko.
* January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...
, or for 49 years.
Contesting political parties and candidates
Overview
On 9 April 2015, the deadline for standing for the general election, there were 464 political parties registered with the Electoral Commission
An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...
. Candidates who did not belong to a party were either labelled as an Independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States
* Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...
or not labelled at all.
The Conservative Party and the Labour Party had been the two biggest parties since 1922
Events
January
* January 7 – Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic), Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes.
* January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éirean ...
. Every prime minister to serve since 1935
Events
January
* January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims.
* January 12 – Amelia Earhart ...
had been the leader of the Conservatives or Labour. Opinion polls had predicted that the two parties would receive a combined total of anywhere between 65% and 75% of votes, and would receive anywhere between 80% and 85% of the seats; and that, as such, the leader of one of the two parties would become the Prime Minister (David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron, Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton (born 9 October 1966) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016. Until 2015, he led the first coalition government in the UK s ...
of the Conservatives or Ed Miliband
Edward Samuel Miliband (born 24 December 1969) is a British politician who has served as Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero since July 2024. He has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for D ...
of Labour) after the election. The Liberal Democrats had been the third largest party in the UK for many years; but as described by various political commentators, other parties had risen relative to the Liberal Democrats since the 2010 election. In order to emphasise this, ''The Economist
''The Economist'' is a British newspaper published weekly in printed magazine format and daily on Electronic publishing, digital platforms. It publishes stories on topics that include economics, business, geopolitics, technology and culture. M ...
'' stated that "the familiar three-party system of the Tories, Labour, and the Lib Dems appears to be breaking down with the rise of UKIP, the Greens and the SNP." Ofcom
The Office of Communications, commonly known as Ofcom, is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, internet, telecommunications and mail, postal industries of the United Kingdom.
Ofcom has wide-rang ...
ruled that the major parties in Great Britain were the Conservatives, Labour, the Liberal Democrats and UKIP, the SNP a major party in Scotland, and Plaid Cymru
Plaid Cymru ( ; , ; officially Plaid Cymru – the Party of Wales, and often referred to simply as Plaid) is a centre-left, Welsh nationalist list of political parties in Wales, political party in Wales, committed to Welsh independence from th ...
a major party in Wales. The BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
's guidelines were similar but removed UKIP from their list of major parties, and instead stated that UKIP should be given "appropriate levels of coverage in output to which the largest parties contribute and, on some occasions, similar levels of coverage". Seven parties participated in the election leadership debates: Conservative, Labour, Liberal Democrat, UKIP, SNP, PC and Green. Northern Ireland's political parties were not included in any debates, despite the DUP, a party based in Northern Ireland, being the fourth largest party in the UK going into the election.
National
Several parties operate in specific regions only. The main national parties, standing in most seats across all of the country, are listed below in order of the number of seats that they contested:
* Conservative Party: The Conservative Party was the senior party in the 2010–15 coalition government, having won the most seats (306) at the 2010 election. The party stood in 647 seats (every seat except for two in Northern Ireland and the Speaker
Speaker most commonly refers to:
* Speaker, a person who produces speech
* Loudspeaker, a device that produces sound
** Computer speakers
Speaker, Speakers, or The Speaker may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* "Speaker" (song), by David ...
's seat).
* Labour Party: Labour had been in power from 1997 to 2010. The party was Her Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition
His Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition (or Her Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition when a queen reigns), commonly known as the Official Opposition (or colloquially The Opposition) in the United Kingdom, is the main political opposition to His Majesty ...
after the 2010 election, having won 258 seats. It stood in 631 constituencies,[After nominations had closed and ballot papers were printed, the Labour candidate in ]Banff and Buchan
Banff and Buchan is a committee area of the Aberdeenshire Council, Scotland, covering an area along the northern coast of the council area. The main towns are Banff and Fraserburgh. Fishing and agriculture are important industries, together with ...
, Sumon Hoque, was suspended from the Labour Party when he was charged with multiple driving offences, and the Labour candidate in Wellingborough
Wellingborough ( ) is a market town in the North Northamptonshire, Unitary Authority area, England, from London and from Northampton, north of the River Nene.
Originally named "Wendelingburgh" (the stronghold of Wændel's people), the Anglo ...
, Richard Garvie, was also suspended after a conviction for fraud. missing only the Speaker's seat, and all seats in Northern Ireland.
* Liberal Democrats: The Liberal Democrats were the junior members of the 2010–15 coalition government, having won 57 seats. They contested 631 seats, and like Labour, only not contesting the Speaker's seat and all seats in Northern Ireland.
* UK Independence Party
The UK Independence Party (UKIP, ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two members of parliament (both through defect ...
(or UKIP): UKIP won the fourth most votes at the 2010 election, but failed to win any seats. They went into the election with two seats; due to having won two by-elections.[Former Conservative MP ]Douglas Carswell
John Douglas Wilson Carswell (born 3 May 1971) is a British former politician who served as a Member of Parliament from 2005 to 2017, co-founded Vote Leave, and since 2021 also serves as president and CEO of the Mississippi Center for Public ...
crossed to UKIP, then forced a by-election at Clacton. Mark Reckless
Mark John Reckless (born 6 December 1970) is a British lawyer and former politician who served as a Member of the Senedd (MS) for South Wales East from 2016 until 2021, having previously served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Rochester and ...
did likewise at Rochester and Strood
Rochester and Strood is a constituency in Kent represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Lauren Edwards from the Labour Party. It was previously represented from 2015 by Kelly Tolhurst, a Conservative, who served ...
. They also won the most votes of any British party at the 2014 European election
The 2014 European Parliament election was held in the European Union (EU) between 22 and 25 May 2014. It was the 8th parliamentary election since the first direct elections in 1979, and the first in which the European political parties fielde ...
. It contested 624 seats across the United Kingdom.[After nominations had closed and ballot papers were printed, two UKIP candidates were suspended from the party for offensive comments.]
* Green Party: The Green Party went into the election with only one seat. However, they won the fourth-most votes in the 2014 European election. In 2010, Caroline Lucas
Caroline Patricia Lucas (born 9 December 1960) is a British politician who was the leader of the Green Party of England and Wales from 2003 to 2006, 2007 to 2012, and 2016 to 2018. She was Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parli ...
became the party's first ever MP. In this election they received 3.8% of the vote. This made them the sixth largest party in terms of how many people voted for them. They stood in 573 seats.
Minor parties
Dozens of minor parties stood in this election. The Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition
Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market.
Traders generally negotiate through a medium of cred ...
stood 135 candidates and was the only minor party to have more than forty candidates. The Respect Party
The Respect Party was a left-wing to far-left socialist political party active in the United Kingdom between 2004 and 2016. At the height of its success in 2007, the party had one Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons and nineteen ...
, who came into the election with one MP who was elected at the 2012 Bradford West by-election
On 29 March 2012, a by-election was held for the House of Commons constituency of Bradford West. It was unexpectedly won by George Galloway of the Respect Party who defeated the Labour Party candidate by a large margin in a result referred to ...
, stood four candidates. The British National Party
The British National Party (BNP) is a Far-right politics, far-right, British fascism, fascist list of political parties in the United Kingdom, political party in the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in Wigton, Cumbria, and is led by Adam ...
, who finished fifth with 1.9% of the vote and stood 338 candidates at the 2010 general election, stood only eight candidates this year following a collapse in their support. Seven hundred fifty-three other candidates stood at the general election, including Independents and candidates from other parties.
Northern Ireland
The main parties in Northern Ireland in order of their number of seats were:
* Democratic Unionist Party
The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is a Unionism in Ireland, unionist, Ulster loyalism, loyalist, British nationalist and national conservative political party in Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1971 during the Troubles by Ian Paisley, who ...
(DUP): the DUP won eight seats in 2010, making it the largest party in Northern Ireland and the fourth biggest in the UK. The party also won the 2011 Northern Ireland Assembly election
The 2011 Northern Ireland Assembly election took place on Thursday, 5 May, following the dissolution of the Northern Ireland Assembly at midnight on 24 March 2011. It was the fourth election to take place since the devolved assembly was establis ...
, and came in second out of the Northern Irish parties at the 2014 European election
The 2014 European Parliament election was held in the European Union (EU) between 22 and 25 May 2014. It was the 8th parliamentary election since the first direct elections in 1979, and the first in which the European political parties fielde ...
. It contested 16 of the 18 Northern Irish constituencies, having entered into an electoral pact to abstain from the two other seats with the Ulster Unionist Party
The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is a Unionism in Ireland, unionist political party in Northern Ireland. The party was founded as the Ulster Unionist Council in 1905, emerging from the Irish Unionist Alliance in Ulster. Under Edward Carson, it l ...
.
* Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin ( ; ; ) is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The History of Sinn Féin, original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffit ...
: Sinn Féin won the most votes in Northern Ireland in 2010, but came second in the number of seats, winning five. They came second at the 2011 Northern Ireland Assembly election and they came in first out of the Northern Irish parties in the 2014 European election. In the House of Commons Sinn Féin are abstentionists, and so they have never taken up the seats that they have won there. The party also operates in Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
, where it does take seats in parliament. It stood in all 18 Northern Irish constituencies.
* Social Democratic and Labour Party
The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP; ) is a social democratic and Irish nationalist political party in Northern Ireland. The SDLP currently has eight members in the Northern Ireland Assembly ( MLAs) and two members of Parliament (M ...
(or the SDLP): The SDLP third in terms of both votes and seats in the 2010 general election and 2011 Northern Ireland Assembly election, and fourth in the 2014 European election. Going into this election, the party had three MPs. The SDLP has a relationship with the Labour Party, with the SDLP's MPs generally following the Labour whip. In the case of a hung parliament, the party would have entered into a confidence-and-supply-agreement with the party. They contested all 18 Northern Irish constituencies at the election.
* Ulster Unionist Party
The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is a Unionism in Ireland, unionist political party in Northern Ireland. The party was founded as the Ulster Unionist Council in 1905, emerging from the Irish Unionist Alliance in Ulster. Under Edward Carson, it l ...
(or the UUP): in 2010 the UUP entered an electoral alliance
An electoral alliance (also known as a bipartisan electoral agreement, electoral pact, electoral agreement, electoral coalition or electoral bloc) is an association of political parties or individuals that exists solely to stand in elections.
E ...
with the Conservative Party, and finished fourth in terms of votes in Northern Ireland, but won no seats. The party has one MEP, having placed third in the 2014 European elections. They came fourth in the 2011 Northern Ireland Assembly election. The UUP contested 15 of the 18 Northern Irish seats; the party did not run in two seats because of its electoral pact with the DUP, and also did not nominate a candidate against former party member, Sylvia Hermon
Sylvia Eileen, Lady Hermon (née Paisley; born 11 August 1955) is a retired Unionist politician from Northern Ireland. She served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituency of North Down from 2001 to 2019.
She was first elected ...
.
* Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
The Alliance Party of Northern Ireland (APNI), or simply Alliance, is a liberal and centrist political party in Northern Ireland. Following the 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election, it was the third-largest party in the Northern Ireland ...
: The Alliance Party had one MP going into this election, Naomi Long
Naomi Rachel Long MLA (née Johnston; born 13 December 1971) is a Northern Irish politician who has served as Minister of Justice in the Northern Ireland Executive since February 2024, having previously served from January 2020 to October 202 ...
, who had been elected for the first time in 2010. They came fifth in the 2010 election by vote share. They have a relationship with the Liberal Democrats. However, Long sat on the opposition benches in the Commons and not with the Liberal Democrats on the government benches. The party contested all 18 Northern Irish constituencies in 2015.
Smaller parties in Northern Ireland included the Traditional Unionist Voice
The Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) is a unionist political party in Northern Ireland. In common with all other Northern Irish unionist parties, the TUV's political programme has as its '' sine qua non'' the preservation of Northern Ireland's pl ...
, who won no seats at this election but had one member of the Northern Ireland Assembly, the Conservatives and UKIP (both are major parties in the rest of the UK, but are minor parties here).
Scotland
* Scottish National Party
The Scottish National Party (SNP; ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic party. The party holds 61 of the 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament, and holds 9 out of the 57 Scottish seats in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, ...
(or the SNP): The SNP only contested seats in Scotland and stood in all 59 Scottish constituencies. The party received the second most votes in Scotland and the sixth most overall in 2010, winning six seats. It won the 2011 election to the Scottish Parliament and had a surge of support since the Scottish independence referendum
A referendum on Scottish independence from the United Kingdom was held in Scotland on 18 September 2014. The referendum question was "Should Scotland be an independent country?", which voters answered with "Yes" or "No". The "No" side won ...
in September 2014, in which it was the main political party behind the losing Yes campaign. Most projections suggested that it would be the third-largest party overall after the 2015 election, in terms of seats won, overtaking the Liberal Democrats.
Smaller parties in Scotland include the Scottish Libertarian Party
The Scottish Libertarian Party, also known as the Scottish Libertarians, is a political party in Scotland that advocates libertarianism. Its current leader is Tam Laird.
History
The party was first founded on 3 January 2012 under the leade ...
, but none of the smaller parties make much of an impact in general elections in Scotland.
Wales
* Plaid Cymru
Plaid Cymru ( ; , ; officially Plaid Cymru – the Party of Wales, and often referred to simply as Plaid) is a centre-left, Welsh nationalist list of political parties in Wales, political party in Wales, committed to Welsh independence from th ...
: Led by Leanne Wood
Leanne Wood (born 13 December 1971) is a Welsh politician who served as the leader of Plaid Cymru from March 2012 to September 2018, and served as a Member of the Senedd (MS) from 2003 to 2021.
Born in the Rhondda, she was elected to the th ...
, who was a member of the Welsh Assembly
A member of the Senedd (MS; plural: ''MSs''; ; , plural: ) is a representative elected to the Senedd (Welsh Parliament; ). There are sixty members, with forty members chosen to represent individual Senedd constituencies, and twenty to represe ...
and did not stand in the general election. Plaid Cymru organises only in Wales, where it contested all forty Welsh constituencies. The party has three MPs and was fourth in Wales (eighth overall) by vote share in 2010, later finishing third in the 2011 Welsh Assembly elections.
Wales has a number of smaller parties which, again, do not tend to make much impact in the general elections. In 2015, the Labour Party continued to dominate Welsh politics at the general elections.
Pacts and possible coalitions
Coalitions have been rare in the United Kingdom, because the system of first-past-the-post voting
First-past-the-post (FPTP)—also called choose-one, first-preference plurality (FPP), or simply plurality—is a single-winner voting rule. Voters mark one candidate as their favorite, or first-preference, and the candidate with more first- ...
has usually led to one party winning an overall majority in the Commons. However, with the outgoing Government being a coalition and with opinion polls not showing a large or consistent lead for any one party, there was much discussion about possible post-election coalitions or other arrangements, such as confidence and supply
In parliamentary system, parliamentary democracies based on the Westminster system, confidence and supply is an arrangement under which a minority government (one which does not control a majority in the legislature) receives the support of one ...
agreements.
Some UK political parties that only stand in part of the country have reciprocal relationships with parties standing in other parts of the country. These include:
* Labour (in Great Britain) and SDLP (in Northern Ireland)
* Liberal Democrats (in Great Britain) and Alliance (in Northern Ireland)
* SNP (in Scotland) and Plaid Cymru (in Wales)
** Plaid Cymru also recommended supporters in England to vote Green, while the SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon
Nicola Ferguson Sturgeon (born 19 July 1970) is a Scottish politician who served as First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) from 2014 to 2023. She has served as a member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) sin ...
said she would vote for Plaid Cymru were she in Wales, and Green were she in England. However, Sturgeon also said that, if their candidate was the most progressive, she would vote for Labour were she in England.
* Green Party of England and Wales (in England and Wales), Scottish Greens (in Scotland) and the Green Party in Northern Ireland (in Northern Ireland)
On 17 March 2015 the Democratic Unionist Party and the Ulster Unionist Party agreed an election pact, whereby the DUP would not stand candidates in Fermanagh and South Tyrone (where Michelle Gildernew
Michelle Angela Gildernew (born 28 March 1970) is an Irish former Sinn Féin politician from County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. She was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Fermanagh and South Tyrone from 2017 to 2024, after previously holding the ...
, the Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin ( ; ; ) is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The History of Sinn Féin, original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffit ...
candidate, won by only four votes in 2010) and in Newry and Armagh. In return the UUP would stand aside in Belfast East and Belfast North. The SDLP rejected a similar pact suggested by Sinn Féin to try to ensure that an agreed nationalist would win that constituency. The DUP also called on voters in Scotland to support whichever pro-Union candidate was best placed to beat the SNP.
Candidates
The deadline for parties and individuals to file candidate nomination papers to the acting returning officer (and the deadline for candidates to withdraw) was 4 p.m. on 9 April 2015. The total number of candidates was 3,971; the second-highest number in history, slightly down from the record 4,150 candidates at the last election in 2010.
There were a record number of female candidates standing in terms of both absolute numbers and percentage of candidates: 1,020 (26.1%) in 2015, up from 854 (21.1%) in 2010. The proportion of female candidates for major parties ranged from 41% of Alliance Party candidates to 12% of UKIP candidates. According to UCL's Parliamentary Candidates UK project[Parliamentary Candidates UK](_blank)
, School of Public Policy, University College London. Retrieved 25 September 2015. the major parties had the following percentages of black
Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...
and ethnic minority candidates: the Conservatives 11%, the Liberal Democrats 10%, Labour 9%, UKIP 6%, the Greens 4%. The average age of the candidates for the seven major parties was 45.
The youngest candidates were all aged 18: Solomon Curtis (Labour, Wealden); Niamh McCarthy (Independent, Liverpool Wavertree
Liverpool Wavertree is a borough constituency of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1997 and every election since has been won by a Labour Party candidate. It has been represented by Paula Barker since 2019.
An earlier co ...
); Michael Burrows (UKIP, Inverclyde
Inverclyde (, , , "mouth of the Clyde") is one of 32 council areas used for local government in Scotland. Together with the East Renfrewshire and Renfrewshire council areas, Inverclyde forms part of the historic county of Renfrewshire, which ...
); Declan Lloyd (Labour, South East Cornwall
South East Cornwall is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Anna Gelderd, a Labour politician.
Boundaries
1983–2010: The District of Caradon, the Borough of Restormel wards of Fowey, Lost ...
); and Laura-Jane Rossington ( Communist Party, Plymouth Sutton and Devonport). The oldest candidate was Doris Osen, 84, of the Elderly Persons' Independent Party (EPIC), who contested Ilford North
Ilford is a large town in East London, England, northeast of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Redbridge, Ilford is within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It had a population of 168,168 in 2011, compared to 303,858 for the ...
. Other candidates aged over 80 included three long-serving Labour MPs standing for re-election: Sir Gerald Kaufman
Sir Gerald Bernard Kaufman (21 June 1930 – 26 February 2017) was a British politician and author who served as a minister throughout the Labour government of 1974 to 1979. Elected as a Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), member of parliame ...
(aged 84; Manchester Gorton
Manchester Gorton was a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. It was the safest Labour seat in Greater Manchester by numerical majority and one of the safest in the country.
Manchester Gorton was abolished for ...
), Dennis Skinner
Dennis Edward Skinner (born 11 February 1932) is a British former politician who served as Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Bolsover (UK Parliament constituency), Bolsover for 49 years, from 1970 to 2019. A m ...
(aged 83; Bolsover
Bolsover is a market town and the administrative centre of the Bolsover District, Derbyshire, England. It is from Sheffield, from Nottingham and from Derby. It is the main town in the Bolsover district.
The civil parish for the town is c ...
) and David Winnick
David Julian Winnick (born 26 June 1933) is a British Labour Party politician who served 42 years as a Member of Parliament (MP), for Walsall North between 1979 and 2017, he was also the MP for Croydon South from 1966 to 1970.
Early life
Bo ...
(aged 81; Walsall North
Walsall North was a constituency in the West Midlands represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament, created in 1955.
The local electorate returned a Labour MP in the constituency's first seventeen general elections; in the follow ...
). Following his re-election, Kaufman became Father of the House
Father of the House is a title that has been traditionally bestowed, unofficially, on certain members of some legislatures, most notably the House of Commons in the United Kingdom. In some legislatures the title refers to the longest continuously ...
, an honorary title he held until his death in early 2017.
Several candidates, including two each for Labour and UKIP, were suspended from their respective parties after nominations were closed. Independent candidate Ronnie Carroll
Ronnie Carroll (born Ronald Cleghorn; 18 August 1934 – 13 April 2015) was a Northern Irish singer, entertainer and political candidate.
Music career
Carroll was born Ronald Cleghorn in 116 Roslyn Street, Belfast, Northern Ireland, in 1934, th ...
died after nominations were closed.
Campaign
By party
Conservative
In late 2014, six months before the election, the Conservatives decided to target Lib Dem seats as well as defending their own seats and targeting Conservative–Labour marginals, which ultimately contributed to their victory. In 2015 David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron, Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton (born 9 October 1966) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016. Until 2015, he led the first coalition government in the UK s ...
launched the Conservative formal campaign in Chippenham
Chippenham is a market town in north-west Wiltshire, England. It lies north-east of Bath, Somerset, Bath, west of London and is near the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The town was established on a crossing of the River Avon, ...
on 30 March. Throughout the campaign the Conservatives played on fears of a Labour–SNP coalition following the Scottish independence referendum the year before.
Labour
The Labour campaign was launched on 27 March at Olympic Park
An Olympic Park is a sports campus for hosting the Olympic Games. Typically it contains the Olympic Stadium and the International Broadcast Centre. It may also contain the Olympic Village or some of the other sports venues, such as the aquatics ...
in London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
. Ed Miliband
Edward Samuel Miliband (born 24 December 1969) is a British politician who has served as Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero since July 2024. He has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for D ...
's EdStone was a major feature of the campaign which was covered by the media. Deputy Leader of the Labour Party Harriet Harman
Harriet Ruth Harman, Baroness Harman, (born 30 July 1950), is a British politician and solicitor who served as Deputy Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Deputy Leader of the Labour Party and Chair of the Labour Party (UK), Chair of the Labour Pa ...
embarked on a pink bus tour as part of her Woman to Woman campaign.
Issues
Constitutional affairs
The Conservative manifesto committed to "a straight in-out referendum on our membership of the European Union by the end of 2017". Labour did not support this, but did commit to an EU membership referendum if any further powers were transferred to the European Union. The Lib Dems also supported the Labour position, but explicitly supported the UK's continuing membership of the EU.
The election was the first following the 2014 Scottish independence referendum
A independence referendum, referendum on Scottish independence from the United Kingdom was held in Scotland on 18 September 2014. The referendum question was "Should Scotland be an independent country?", which voters answered with "Yes" or ...
. None of the three major party manifestos supported a second referendum and the Conservative manifesto stated that "the question of Scotland's place in the United Kingdom is now settled". In the run-up to the election, David Cameron coined the phrase "Carlisle principle" for the idea that checks and balances are required to ensure that devolution
Devolution is the statutory delegation of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern at a subnational level, such as a regional or local level. It is a form of administrative decentralization. Devolved territori ...
to Scotland has no adverse effects on other parts of the United Kingdom. The phrase references a fear that Carlisle
Carlisle ( , ; from ) is a city in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England.
Carlisle's early history is marked by the establishment of a settlement called Luguvalium to serve forts along Hadrian's Wall in Roman Britain. Due to its pro ...
, being the English town closest to the Scottish border, could be affected economically by preferential tax rates in Scotland.
Government finance
The deficit, who was responsible for it and plans to deal with it were a major theme of the campaign. While some smaller parties opposed austerity, the Conservatives, Labour, Liberal Democrats, UKIP and the Greens all supported some further cuts, albeit to different extents.
Conservative campaigning sought to blame the deficit on the previous Labour government. Labour, in return, sought to establish their fiscal responsibility. With the Conservatives also making several spending commitments (e.g., on the NHS), commentators talked of the two main parties' "political crossdressing", each trying to campaign on the other's traditional territory.
Possibility of a hung parliament
Hung parliament
A hung parliament is a term used in legislatures primarily under the Westminster system (typically employing Majoritarian representation, majoritarian electoral systems) to describe a situation in which no single political party or pre-existing ...
s have been unusual in British political history since the Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated, with many nations mobilising ...
, but as the outgoing Government were a coalition and opinion polls were not showing a large or consistent lead for any one party, it was widely expected and predicted throughout the election campaign that no party would gain an overall majority, which could have led to a new coalition or other arrangements such as confidence and supply
In parliamentary system, parliamentary democracies based on the Westminster system, confidence and supply is an arrangement under which a minority government (one which does not control a majority in the legislature) receives the support of one ...
agreements.[''Newsnight'', BBC2, 5 January 2015] This was also associated with a rise in multi-party politics, with increased support for UKIP, the SNP and the Greens.
The question of what the different parties would do in the likely event of an inconclusive result dominated much of the campaign. Smaller parties focused on the power this would bring them in negotiations; Labour and the Conservatives both insisted that they were working towards winning overall majorities, while they were also reported to be preparing for the possibility of a second election later in the year. In practice, Labour were prepared to make a "broad" offer to the Liberal Democrats in the event of a hung parliament.
Most predictions saw Labour as having more potential support in parliament than the Conservatives, with several parties, notably the SNP, having committed to preventing a Conservative government. The Conservatives claimed a hung parliament with Labour as the largest party would result in a "coalition of chaos", and David Cameron tweeted
A tweet (officially known as a post since 2023) is a short status update on the social networking site Twitter (officially known as X since 2023) which can include images, videos, GIFs, straw polls, hashtags, mentions, and hyperlinks. Around ...
that the electoral choice was one between " stable and strong government with me, or chaos with Ed Miliband". Due to the substantial political turmoil in Britain in the years following the 2015 election, the tweet became infamous.
Conservative campaigning sought to highlight what they described as the dangers of a minority Labour administration supported by the SNP. This proved effective at dominating the agenda of the campaign and at motivating voters to support them.[Causes and implications of the Liberal Democrats' 2015 election result](_blank)
, inside-politics.org, 23 May 2015. Retrieved 25 September 2015. The surprise Conservative victory was "widely put down to the success of the anti-Labour/SNP warnings", according to a BBC article and others. Labour, in reaction, produced ever stronger denials that they would co-operate with the SNP after the election. The Conservatives and Lib Dems both also rejected the idea of a coalition with the SNP. This was particularly notable for Labour, to whom the SNP had previously offered support: their manifesto stated that "the SNP will never put the Tories into power. Instead, if there is an anti-Tory majority after the election, we will offer to work with other parties to keep the Tories out". SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon
Nicola Ferguson Sturgeon (born 19 July 1970) is a Scottish politician who served as First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) from 2014 to 2023. She has served as a member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) sin ...
later confirmed in the Scottish leaders' debate on STV that she was prepared to "help make Ed Miliband
Edward Samuel Miliband (born 24 December 1969) is a British politician who has served as Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero since July 2024. He has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for D ...
prime minister". However, on 26 April, Miliband ruled out a confidence and supply arrangement with the SNP too. Miliband's comments suggested to many that he was aiming to form a minority government.
The Liberal Democrats said that they would talk first to whichever party won the most seats. They later campaigned on being a stabilising influence should either the Conservatives or Labour fall short of a majority, with the slogan "We will bring a heart to a Conservative Government and a brain to a Labour one".
Both Labour and the Liberal Democrats ruled out coalitions with UKIP. Ruth Davidson
Ruth Elizabeth Davidson, Baroness Davidson of Lundin Links, (born 10 November 1978), is a Scottish politician. A member of the House of Lords since 2021, she was Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party from 2011 to 2019 and Leader of the S ...
, leader of the Scottish Conservatives, asked about a deal with UKIP in the Scottish leaders' debate, replied: "No deals with UKIP." She continued that her preference and the Prime Minister's preference in a hung parliament was for a minority Conservative government. UKIP said they could have supported a minority Conservative government through a confidence and supply arrangement in return for a referendum on EU membership before Christmas 2015. They also spoke of the DUP joining UKIP in this arrangement. UKIP and the DUP said they would work together in Parliament. The DUP welcomed the possibility of a hung parliament and the influence that this would bring them. The party's deputy leader, Nigel Dodds
Nigel Alexander Dodds, Baron Dodds of Duncairn, (born 20 August 1958), is a Northern Irish unionist politician and barrister serving as Leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) in the House of Lords since 2021. He previously served as de ...
, said they could work with the Conservatives or Labour, but that they were "not interested in a full-blown coalition government". Their leader, Peter Robinson Peter Robinson may refer to:
Entertainment
* Peter Robinson (sideshow artist) (1873–1947), American actor and sideshow performer, known for his appearance in film ''Freaks'' (1932)
* J. Peter Robinson (born 1945), British musician and film score ...
, said that the DUP would talk first to whichever party wins the most seats. The DUP said they wanted, for their support, a commitment to 2% defence spending, a referendum on EU membership, and a reversal of the under-occupation penalty
The bedroom tax is a United Kingdom welfare policy whereby tenants living in public housing (also called council or social housing) with rooms deemed "spare" experience a reduction in Housing Benefit, resulting in them being obliged to fund this ...
. They opposed the SNP being involved in government. The UUP also indicated that they would not work with the SNP if it wanted another independence referendum in Scotland.
The Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the Liberal Democrats, Nick Clegg
Sir Nicholas William Peter Clegg (born 7 January 1967) is a British retired politician and media executive who served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2015 and as Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 2007 to 2015. H ...
, warned against a potential 'Blukip' coalition (Conservatives, UKIP and by extension the DUP) with a spoof website highlighting imaginary policies from this prospective coalition, such as reinstating the death penalty
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...
, scrapping all benefits for under-25s and charging for hospital visits. Additionally, issues were raised about the continued existence of the BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
, as the DUP, UKIP and Conservatives had made a number of statements criticising the institution, and support for same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...
.
The Green Party of England & Wales, Plaid Cymru and the SNP all ruled out working with the Conservatives, and agreed to work together "wherever possible" to counter austerity. Each would also make it a condition of any agreement with Labour that Trident
A trident (), () is a three- pronged spear. It is used for spear fishing and historically as a polearm. As compared to an ordinary spear, the three tines increase the chance that a fish will be struck and decrease the chance that a fish will b ...
nuclear weapons were not replaced; the Green Party of England and Wales stated that "austerity is a red line". Both Plaid Cymru and the Green Party stated a preference for a confidence and supply
In parliamentary system, parliamentary democracies based on the Westminster system, confidence and supply is an arrangement under which a minority government (one which does not control a majority in the legislature) receives the support of one ...
arrangement with Labour, rather than a coalition. The leader of the SDLP, Alasdair McDonnell
Alasdair McDonnell (born 1 September 1949) is a retired Irish nationalist politician in Northern Ireland who was leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) from 2011 to 2015, having served as deputy leader between 2004 and 2010. He ...
, said: "We will be the left-of-centre backbone of a Labour administration" and that "the SDLP will categorically refuse to support David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron, Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton (born 9 October 1966) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016. Until 2015, he led the first coalition government in the UK s ...
and the Conservative Party". Sinn Féin reiterated their abstentionist
Abstentionism is the political practice of standing for election to a deliberative assembly while refusing to take up any seats won or otherwise participate in the assembly's business. Abstentionism differs from an election boycott in that abst ...
stance. In the event, the Conservatives did, against expectations, secure a small overall majority, rendering most of the speculation and positioning moot.
Television debates
The first series of televised leaders' debates
A leaders' debate or presidential debate is a public debate held during a general election campaign, where the candidates expose their political opinions and public policy proposals, and criticism of them, to potential voters. They are normally ...
in the United Kingdom was held in the previous election. Returning major party leaders Cameron and Clegg participated, as did then-prime minister Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. Previously, he was Chancellor of the Ex ...
, who did not seek re-election in his constituency in 2015. Following much debate and various proposals, a seven-way ITV debate with the leaders of Labour, the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, UKIP, Greens, SNP and Plaid Cymru was held on 2 April. with a series of other debates involving some of the parties.
A five-way BBC debate with the Labour, UKIP, Green, SNP and Plaid Cymru leaders was held on 16 April. The other parties criticised Cameron's absence from the debate. Finally, a ''Question Time'' special was broadcast on 30 April, featuring Cameron, Miliband and Clegg. Other party leaders – Sturgeon, Wood and Farage – were given about half an hour to answer questions from an audience in ''Ask...'' programs. ''Ask Nicola Sturgeon,'' ''Ask Leanne Wood'' and ''Ask Nigel Farage'' were broadcast on BBC1 afterwards.
Endorsements
Various newspapers, organisations and individuals endorsed parties or individual candidates for the election. For example, the main national newspapers gave the following endorsements:
National daily newspapers
National Sunday newspapers
Media coverage
Despite speculation that 2015 would be the 'social media
Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...
election', traditional media
Old media, also called traditional media or legacy media, are the mass media institutions that dominated prior to the internet; particularly print media, film studios, music studios, advertising agencies, radio broadcasting, and television. Ol ...
, particularly broadcast media
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio audiovisual content to dispersed audiences via a electronic mass communications medium, typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio waves), in a one-to-many model. Broadcasting began wit ...
, remained more influential than new digital platforms.[D. Deacon, J. Downey, J. Stanyer and D. Wring, 'News media performance in the 2015 General Election campaign' in D. Jackson and E. Thorsen (eds) ]
UK Election Analysis 2015: Media, Voters and the Campaign
'' (May 2015). Centre for the Study of Journalism, Culture and Community A majority of the public (62%) reported that TV coverage had been most influential for informing them during the election period, especially televised debates between politicians.[E. Thelwell,]
Election 2015: TV debates 'most influential' for voters
' (09/05/15) on BBC News Newspaper
A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...
s were next most influential, with the ''Daily Mail
The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily Middle-market newspaper, middle-market Tabloid journalism, tabloid conservative newspaper founded in 1896 and published in London. , it has the List of newspapers in the United Kingdom by circulation, h ...
'' influencing people's opinions most (30%), followed by ''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' (21%) and ''The Times
''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'' (20%). Online, major media outlets—like BBC News
BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...
, newspaper websites, and Sky News
Sky News is a British free-to-air television news channel, live stream news network and news organisation. Sky News is distributed via an English-language radio news service, and through online channels. It is owned by Sky Group, a division of ...
—were most influential. Social media was regarded less influential than radio
Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...
and conversations with friends and family.
During the campaign, TV news coverage was dominated by horse race journalism
Horse race journalism is political journalism of elections that resembles coverage of horse races because of the focus on polling data and public perception instead of candidate policy, and almost exclusive reporting on candidate differences rath ...
, focusing on the how close Labour and the Conservatives were according to the polls, and speculation on possible coalition
A coalition is formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political, military, or economic spaces.
Formation
According to ''A G ...
outcomes.[S. Cushion and R. Sambrook 'The 'horse-race' contest dominated TV news election coverage' in D. Jackson and E. Thorsen (eds) ]
UK Election Analysis 2015: Media, Voters and the Campaign
'' (May 2015). Centre for the Study of Journalism, Culture and Community There were concerns this 'meta
Meta most commonly refers to:
* Meta (prefix), a common affix and word in English ( in Greek)
* Meta Platforms, an American multinational technology conglomerate (formerly ''Facebook, Inc.'')
Meta or META may also refer to:
Businesses
* Meta (ac ...
-coverage' was pushing policy issues to the sideline. Policy received less than half of election news airtime across all five main TV broadcasters (BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
, ITV, Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
, Channel 5, and Sky
The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the planetary surface, surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere of Earth, atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from ...
) during the first five weeks of the campaign. When policy was addressed, the majority of the news agenda in both broadcast and print media
Mass media include the diverse arrays of media that reach a large audience via mass communication.
Broadcast media transmit information electronically via media such as films, radio, recorded music, or television. Digital media comprises b ...
favoured the Conservatives,[S. Cushion and R. Sambrook,]
How TV news let the Tories fight the election on their own terms
' (15/05/15) in The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
focusing on the economy
An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...
, tax
A tax is a mandatory financial charge or levy imposed on an individual or legal entity by a governmental organization to support government spending and public expenditures collectively or to regulate and reduce negative externalities. Tax co ...
, and constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed.
When these pri ...
al matters (e.g. the possibility of a Labour-SNP coalition government),[D. Wring and S. Ward,]
Exit Velocity: The Media Election
(2015) in ''Britain Votes'' with the economy dominating the news every week of the campaign. On TV, these topics made up 43% of all election news coverage; within the papers, nearly a third (31%) of all election-related articles were on the economy alone.[M. Moore et al., ]
UK election 2015: Setting the agenda
' (October 2015). Centre for the Study of Media, Communication and Power, King's College London
King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...
Within reporting and comment about the economy, newspapers prioritised the Conservative Party's angles (i.e., spending cuts (1,351 articles), economic growth
In economics, economic growth is an increase in the quantity and quality of the economic goods and Service (economics), services that a society Production (economics), produces. It can be measured as the increase in the inflation-adjusted Outp ...
(921 articles), reducing the deficit (675 articles)) over Labour's (i.e., Zero-hour contract
A zero-hour contract is a type of employment contract in United Kingdom labour law, between an employer and an employee whereby the employer is not obliged to provide any minimum number of working hours to the employee.
In 2015, employers in the ...
s (445 articles), mansion tax
A mansion tax is a common name for an annual property tax on high value homes, although the term itself is widely regarded as a misnomer. The tax was only a proposal in the United Kingdom, but proved very controversial and received widespread me ...
(339 articles), non-domicile status (322 articles)). Less attention was given to policy areas that might have been problematic for the Conservatives, like the NHS
The National Health Service (NHS) is the term for the publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom: the National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care (Northern ...
or housing
Housing refers to a property containing one or more Shelter (building), shelter as a living space. Housing spaces are inhabited either by individuals or a collective group of people. Housing is also referred to as a human need and right to ...
(policy topics favoured by Labour) or immigration
Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as Permanent residency, permanent residents. Commuting, Commuter ...
(favoured by UKIP
The UK Independence Party (UKIP, ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), member ...
).
Reflecting on analysis carried out during the election campaign period, David Deacon of Loughborough University
Loughborough University (abbreviated as ''Lough'' or ''Lboro'' for Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a public university, public research university in the market town of Loughborough, Leicestershire, England. It has been a university sinc ...
's Communication Research Centre said there was "aggressive partisanship
A partisan is a committed member or supporter of a political party or political movement. In multi-party systems, the term is used for persons who strongly support their party's policies and are reluctant to compromise with political opponents ...
nmany section of the national press
Press may refer to:
Media
* Publisher
* News media
* Printing press, commonly called "the press"
* Press TV, an Iranian television network
Newspapers United States
* ''The Press'', a former name of ''The Press-Enterprise'', Riverside, California
...
" which could be seen especially in the "Tory press".[D. Deacon,]
The Conservatives have scant grounds for complaint about the 2015 media election
' (29/05/15) on the Centre for Research in Communication and Culture blog Similarly, Steve Barnett, Professor of Communications at the University of Westminster
The University of Westminster is a public university, public university based in London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1838 as the Royal Polytechnic Institution, it was the first Polytechnic (United Kingdom), polytechnic to open in London. The Po ...
, said that, while partisanship has always been part of British newspaper campaigning, in this election it was "more relentless and more one-sided" in favour of the Conservatives and against Labour and the other parties.[S. Barnett, 'Four reasons why a partisan press helped win it for the Tories' in D. Jackson and E. Thorsen (eds) ]
UK Election Analysis 2015: Media, Voters and the Campaign
'' (May 2015). Centre for the Study of Journalism, Culture and Community According to Bart Cammaerts of the Media and Communications Department at the London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...
, during the campaign "almost all newspapers were extremely pro-Conservative and rabidly anti-Labour".[Bart Cammaerts,]
Did Britain's right-wing newspapers win the election for the Tories?
' (13/05/18) on LSE's British Politics and Policy blog 57.5% of the Newspaper#Daily, daily newspapers backed the Conservatives, 11.7% Labour, 4.9% UKIP, and 1.4% backed a continuation of the incumbent Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition government
A coalition government, or coalition cabinet, is a government by political parties that enter into a power-sharing arrangement of the executive. Coalition governments usually occur when no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an ...
; 66% of Sunday national newspapers backed the Conservatives. Of newspaper front-page lead stories, the Conservatives received 80 positive splashes and 26 negative; Labour received 30 positive against 69 negative.[M. Moore et al.,]
Election Unspun: Political parties, the press, and Twitter during the 2015 UK election campaign
(2015) for Media Standards Trust, King's College London
King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...
, and the Policy Institute at King's Print media was hostile towards Labour at levels "not seen since the 1992 United Kingdom general election, 1992 general election",[J. Plunkett and A. Sedghi,]
Sun has torn into Ed Miliband even more viciously than it hit Neil Kinnock
' (06/05/15) on The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
when Neil Kinnock was "attacked hard and hit below the belt repeatedly". Roy Greenslade described the newspaper coverage of Labour as "relentless ridicule". Of the leader columns in ''The Sun (United Kingdom), The Sun'' 95% were anti-Labour. The Scottish National Party, SNP also received substantial negative press in English newspapers: of the 59 leader columns about the SNP during the election, one was positive. The ''Daily Mail'' ran a headline suggesting SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon
Nicola Ferguson Sturgeon (born 19 July 1970) is a Scottish politician who served as First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) from 2014 to 2023. She has served as a member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) sin ...
was "the most dangerous woman in Britain" and, at other times, called her a "glamorous power-dressing imperatrix" and said that she "would make Hillary Clinton look human". While the The Sun (United Kingdom)#The Scottish Sun, Scottish edition of ''The Sun'' encouraged people north of the border to vote for the SNP, the English edition encouraged people to vote for the Conservatives in order to "stop the SNP running the country". The negative coverage of the SNP increased towards the end of the election campaign. While TV news airtime given to quotations from politicians was more balanced between the two larger parties (Con: 30.14%; Lab: 27.98%), more column space in newspapers was dedicated to quotes from Conservative politicians (44.45% versus 29.01% for Labour)—according to analysts, the Conservatives "benefitted from a Tory supporting press in away the other leaders did not". At times, the Conservatives worked closely with newspapers to co-ordinate their news coverage. For example, ''The Daily Telegraph'' printed a letter purportedly sent directly to the paper from 5,000 small business owners; the letter had been organised by the Conservatives and prepared at Conservative Campaign Headquarters.
According to researchers at Cardiff University and Loughborough University
Loughborough University (abbreviated as ''Lough'' or ''Lboro'' for Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a public university, public research university in the market town of Loughborough, Leicestershire, England. It has been a university sinc ...
, TV news agendas focused on Conservative campaign issues partly because of editorial choices to report on news originally broken in the right-leaning press but not that broken in the left-leaning press. Researchers also found that the most airtime was given to Conservative politicians, especially in Channel 4's and Channel 5's news coverage, where they received more than a third of speaking time.[S. Cushion and R. Sambrook,]
Channels 4 and 5 giving Tories more airtime than other broadcasters
(24/04/15) on The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
Only ITV gave more airtime to Labour spokespeople (26.9% compared with 25.1% for the Conservatives). Airtime given to the two main political leaders, Cameron (22.4%) and Miliband (20.9%), was more balanced than that given to their parties.
Smaller parties—especially the SNP—received unprecedented levels of media coverage because of speculation about a minority or coalition government. The five most prominent politicians were David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron, Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton (born 9 October 1966) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016. Until 2015, he led the first coalition government in the UK s ...
(Con) (15% of TV and press appearances), Ed Miliband
Edward Samuel Miliband (born 24 December 1969) is a British politician who has served as Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero since July 2024. He has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for D ...
(Lab) (14.7%), Nick Clegg
Sir Nicholas William Peter Clegg (born 7 January 1967) is a British retired politician and media executive who served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2015 and as Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 2007 to 2015. H ...
(Lib Dem) (6.5%), Nicola Sturgeon
Nicola Ferguson Sturgeon (born 19 July 1970) is a Scottish politician who served as First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) from 2014 to 2023. She has served as a member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) sin ...
(SNP) (5.7%), and Nigel Farage
Nigel Paul Farage ( ; born 3 April 1964) is a British politician and broadcaster who has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Clacton (UK Parliament constituency), Clacton and Leader of Reform UK since 20 ...
(UKIP) (5.5%). However, according to analysts from Loughborough University
Loughborough University (abbreviated as ''Lough'' or ''Lboro'' for Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a public university, public research university in the market town of Loughborough, Leicestershire, England. It has been a university sinc ...
Communication Research Centre, "the big winners of the media coverage were the Conservatives. They gained the most quotation time, the most strident press support, and coverage focused on their favoured issues (the economy and taxation, rather than say the NHS)".
Other than politicians, 'business sources' were the most frequently quoted in the media. On the other hand, Trade unions in the United Kingdom, trade union representatives, for example, received very little coverage, with business representatives receiving seven times more coverage than unions. Former prime minister Tony Blair was also in the top ten most prominent politicians (=9), warning against the possibility of the Brexit, UK leaving the EU.
Opinion polling
Throughout most of the List of parliaments of the United Kingdom, 2010–2015 Parliament, Labour held a consistent polling lead over the Conservatives. Labour overtook the Conservatives at the end of 2010 – benefiting from a collapse in Liberal Democrat support – holding a small lead throughout 2011. Following a brief tightening in early 2012, Labour opened up a wider lead as the Conservatives suffered a slump, partially due to rising UKIP support. UKIP passed the Liberal Democrats – whose ratings were still stagnant – as the third-placed party at the start of 2013. Following this, Labour's lead dipped a little as UKIP also gained support from them.
Labour's lead gradually declined throughout 2014, largely attributed to increases in support for the SNP and the Green Party, as the Conservatives remained relatively level. Liberal Democrat support continued to fall, dipping into single-digits. UKIP won the most seats at the 2014 European Parliament election in the United Kingdom, European elections in June 2014, receiving 26.6% of the vote. Though their support in the polls for Westminster never reached this level, it did rise up to over 15% through the year. The Scottish independence referendum
A referendum on Scottish independence from the United Kingdom was held in Scotland on 18 September 2014. The referendum question was "Should Scotland be an independent country?", which voters answered with "Yes" or "No". The "No" side won ...
was also held in 2014; despite the 'no' vote winning, support for the Scottish National Party
The Scottish National Party (SNP; ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic party. The party holds 61 of the 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament, and holds 9 out of the 57 Scottish seats in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, ...
rose quickly after the referendum. In Wales, where polls were less frequent, the decline in Labour's lead was smaller, while UKIP and Plaid Cymru made gains.
Early 2015 saw the gap between Labour and the Conservatives continue to tighten, and by the start of the campaign at the end of March, the two parties were in a dead heat. Polling during the campaign itself remained relatively static, with the Labour and Conservative parties both polling between 33 and 34% and neither able to establish a consistent lead. Support for the Green Party and UKIP showed slight drops, while Liberal Democrat support slightly rose up to around 9%. In Scotland, support for the SNP continued to grow with polling figures in late March reaching 54%, with the Labour vote continuing to decline accordingly, while Labour retained their (reduced) lead in Wales. The final polls showed a mixture of small Conservative and Labour leads and ties with both between 31 and 36%, UKIP on 11–16%, the Lib Dems on 8–10%, the Greens on 4–6%, and the SNP on 4–5% of the national vote.
Projections one month before the vote
The first-past-the-post system used in UK general elections means that the number of seats won is not exactly relative to vote share. Thus, several approaches were used to convert polling data and other information into seat predictions. The table below lists some of the predictions. Some predictions cover Northern Ireland, with its distinct political culture, while others do not. Parties are sorted by current number of seats in the House of Commons.
Final projections before the vote
Exit poll
An exit poll, collected by Ipsos MORI and GfK on behalf of the BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
, ITN and Sky News
Sky News is a British free-to-air television news channel, live stream news network and news organisation. Sky News is distributed via an English-language radio news service, and through online channels. It is owned by Sky Group, a division of ...
, was published at 10 pm at the end of voting. It interviewed around 22,000 people across a sample of 133 constituencies:
This predicted the Conservatives to be 10 seats short of an absolute majority, although with the 5 predicted Sinn Féin MPs not taking their seats, it was likely to be enough to govern – although Sinn Féin eventually only won 4 seats.
The exit poll was markedly different from pre-election polls, which had been fairly consistent; this led many pundits and MPs to speculate that the exit poll was inaccurate, and that the final result would have the two main parties closer to each other. Former Liberal Democrat leader Paddy Ashdown vowed to "eat his hat" and former Labour "spin doctor" Alastair Campbell promised to "eat his kilt" if the exit poll was right.[General Election 2015: Paddy Ashdown handed chocolate hat on Question Time, then Alastair Campbell receives edible kilt](_blank)
The Independent, 8 May 2015
As it turned out, the results were even more favourable to the Conservatives than the poll predicted, with the Conservatives obtaining 330 seats, an absolute majority. Ashdown and Campbell were presented with hat- and kilt-shaped cakes (labelled "eat me") on BBC ''Question Time (TV programme), Question Time'' on 8 May.
Opinion polling inaccuracies and scrutiny
With the eventual outcome in terms of both votes and seats varying substantially from the bulk of opinion polls released in the final months before the election, the polling industry received criticism for their inability to predict what was a surprisingly clear Conservative victory. Several theories were put forward to explain the inaccuracy of the pollsters: one was that there had simply been a very late swing to the Conservatives, with Survation claiming that 13% of voters made up their minds in the final days and 17% on the day of the election. Survation also claimed that a poll they carried out a day before the election gave the Conservatives 37% and Labour 31%, though they said they did not release the poll (commissioned by the ''Daily Mirror'') on the concern that it was too much of an outlier with other poll results.
However, it was reported that pollsters had in fact picked up a very late swing to Labour immediately prior to polling day, not the Conservatives. It was reported after the election that private pollsters working for the two largest parties actually gathered more accurate results, with Labour's pollster James Morris claiming that the issue was largely to do with surveying technique. Morris claimed that telephone polls that immediately asked for voting intentions tended to get a high "Don't know" or anti-government reaction, whereas longer telephone conversations conducted by private polls that collected other information such as views on the leaders' performances placed voters in a much better mode to give their true voting intentions. Another theory was that 'Shy Tory factor, shy Tories' did not want to openly declare their intention to vote Conservative to pollsters – this was the case in 1992 United Kingdom general election, 1992, the last time pollsters significantly missed. A final theory was the 'Lazy Labour' factor, which claimed that Labour voters tend to not vote on polling day whereas Conservative voters have a much higher turnout.
The British Polling Council announced an inquiry into the substantial variance between the opinion polls and the actual election result. The inquiry published preliminary findings in January 2016, concluding that "the ways in which polling samples are constructed was the primary cause of the polling miss". Their final report was published in March 2016. The British Election Study team suggested that weighting error appeared to be the cause.
Results
After all 650 constituencies had been declared, the results were:
Geographic voting distribution
One result of the 2015 general election was that a different political party won the popular vote in each of the countries of the United Kingdom. This was reflected in terms of MPs elected:
The Conservatives won in England with 319 MPs out of 533 constituencies, the SNP won in Scotland with 56 out of 59,[Results Scotland](_blank)
BBC. Retrieved 28 December 2015 Labour won in Wales with 25 out of 40, and the Democratic Unionist Party won in Northern Ireland with 8 out of 18.
Outcome
Despite most opinion polls predicting that the Conservatives and Labour were neck and neck, the Conservatives secured a surprise victory after having won a clear lead over their rivals and incumbent Prime Minister David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron, Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton (born 9 October 1966) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016. Until 2015, he led the first coalition government in the UK s ...
was able to form a Second Cameron ministry, majority single-party government with a working majority of 12 (in practice increased to 15 due to Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin ( ; ; ) is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The History of Sinn Féin, original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffit ...
's four MPs' Abstentionism, abstention). Thus the result bore resemblance to 1992 United Kingdom general election, 1992. The Conservatives gained 38 seats while losing 10, all to Labour; Employment Minister Esther McVey, in Wirral West, was the most senior Conservative to lose her seat. Cameron became the first Prime Minister since Lord Salisbury in 1900 United Kingdom general election, 1900 to increase his popular vote share after a full term, and is sometimes credited as being the only Prime Minister other than Margaret Thatcher (in 1983 United Kingdom general election, 1983) to be re-elected with a greater number of seats for his party after a 'full term'.
The Labour Party polled below expectations, winning 30.4% of the vote and 232 seats, 24 fewer than its previous result in 2010—even though in 222 constituencies there was a Conservative-to-Labour swing, as against 151 constituencies where there was a Labour-to-Conservative swing. Its net loss of seats were mainly a result of its resounding defeat in Scotland, where the Scottish National Party
The Scottish National Party (SNP; ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic party. The party holds 61 of the 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament, and holds 9 out of the 57 Scottish seats in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, ...
took 40 of Labour's 41 seats, unseating key politicians such as shadow Foreign Secretary Douglas Alexander and Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy. Labour gained some seats in London and other major cities, but lost a further nine seats to the Conservatives, recording its lowest share of the seats since the 1987 general election. Ed Miliband
Edward Samuel Miliband (born 24 December 1969) is a British politician who has served as Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero since July 2024. He has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for D ...
subsequently tendered his resignation as Labour leader.
The Scottish National Party had a stunning election, rising from just 6 seats to 56 – winning all but 3 of the constituencies in Scotland and securing 50% of the popular vote in Scotland. They recorded a number of record breaking swings of over 30% including the new record of 39.3% in Glasgow North East. They also won Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath (UK Parliament constituency), the seat of former Prime Minister Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. Previously, he was Chancellor of the Ex ...
, overturning a majority of 23,009 to win by a majority of 9,974 votes and saw Mhairi Black, then a 20-year-old student, defeat Labour's Shadow Foreign Secretary Douglas Alexander with a swing of 26.9%.
The Liberal Democrats, who had been in government as coalition partners, suffered the worst defeat they or the previous Liberal Party had suffered since the 1970 United Kingdom general election, 1970 general election. Winning just eight seats, the Liberal Democrats lost their position as the UK's third party and found themselves tied in fourth place with the Democratic Unionist Party
The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is a Unionism in Ireland, unionist, Ulster loyalism, loyalist, British nationalist and national conservative political party in Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1971 during the Troubles by Ian Paisley, who ...
of Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
in the House of Commons, with Nick Clegg
Sir Nicholas William Peter Clegg (born 7 January 1967) is a British retired politician and media executive who served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2015 and as Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 2007 to 2015. H ...
being one of the few MPs from his party to retain his seat. The Liberal Democrats gained no seats, while losing 49 in the process—of them, 27 to the Conservatives, 12 to Labour, and 10 to the SNP. The party also lost their deposit in 341 seats, the same number as in every general election from 1979 to 2010 combined. The party lost all of their seats in the South West Region, a typical stronghold. It was the first time since 1966 (as the Liberal Party) that they won 0 seats in the Region.
The UK Independence Party
The UK Independence Party (UKIP, ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two members of parliament (both through defect ...
(UKIP) was only able to hold one of its two seats, Clacton, gaining no new ones despite increasing its vote share to 12.9% (the third-highest share overall). Party leader Nigel Farage
Nigel Paul Farage ( ; born 3 April 1964) is a British politician and broadcaster who has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Clacton (UK Parliament constituency), Clacton and Leader of Reform UK since 20 ...
, having failed to win the constituency of South Thanet
South Thanet was a constituency in Kent.
The 2023 review of Westminster constituencies made moderate boundary changes to the constituency, which was renamed East Thanet, taking effect at the 2024 general election.
Boundaries
1983–2010: The ...
, tendered his resignation, although this was rejected by his party's executive council and he stayed on as leader.
In United Kingdom general election, 2015 (Northern Ireland), Northern Ireland, the Ulster Unionist Party
The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is a Unionism in Ireland, unionist political party in Northern Ireland. The party was founded as the Ulster Unionist Council in 1905, emerging from the Irish Unionist Alliance in Ulster. Under Edward Carson, it l ...
returned to the Commons with two MPs after a five-year absence, gaining one seat from the Democratic Unionist Party
The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is a Unionism in Ireland, unionist, Ulster loyalism, loyalist, British nationalist and national conservative political party in Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1971 during the Troubles by Ian Paisley, who ...
and one from Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin ( ; ; ) is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The History of Sinn Féin, original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffit ...
, while the Alliance Party lost its only Commons seat to the DUP, despite an increase in total vote share.
Voter demographics
Ipsos MORI
Ipsos MORI polling after the election suggested the following demographic breakdown:
YouGov
YouGov polling after the election suggested the following demographic breakdown:
Gender
The election led to an increase in the number of female MPs, to 191 (29% of the total, including 99 Labour; 68 Conservative; 20 SNP; 4 other) from 147 (23% of the total, including 87 Labour; 47 Conservative; 7 Liberal Democrat; 1 SNP; 5 other). As before the election, the region with the largest proportion of women MPs was North East England.
Open seats changing hands
Seats which changed allegiance
111 seats changed hands compared to the result in 2010 plus three by-election gains reverted to the party that won the seat at the last general election in 2010 (Bradford West, Corby (UK Parliament constituency), Corby and Rochester and Strood).
; Labour to SNP (40)
*Aberdeen North (UK Parliament constituency), Aberdeen North
*Aberdeen South (UK Parliament constituency), Aberdeen South
*Airdrie and Shotts (UK Parliament constituency), Airdrie and Shotts
*Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock
*Central Ayrshire
*Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill
*Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East
*Dumfries and Galloway (UK Parliament constituency), Dumfries and Galloway
*Dundee West (UK Parliament constituency), Dundee West
*Dunfermline and West Fife
*East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow
*East Lothian (UK Parliament constituency), East Lothian
*East Renfrewshire (UK Parliament constituency), East Renfrewshire
*Edinburgh East
*Edinburgh North and Leith (UK Parliament constituency), Edinburgh North and Leith
*Edinburgh South West
*Falkirk (UK Parliament constituency), Falkirk
*Glasgow Central (UK Parliament constituency), Glasgow Central
*Glasgow East
*Glasgow North
*Glasgow North East
*Glasgow North West
*Glasgow South
*Glasgow South West
*Glenrothes (UK Parliament constituency), Glenrothes
*Inverclyde
Inverclyde (, , , "mouth of the Clyde") is one of 32 council areas used for local government in Scotland. Together with the East Renfrewshire and Renfrewshire council areas, Inverclyde forms part of the historic county of Renfrewshire, which ...
*Kilmarnock and Loudoun (UK Parliament constituency), Kilmarnock and Loudoun
*Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy (UK Parliament constituency), Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath
*Lanark and Hamilton East
*Linlithgow and East Falkirk
*Livingston (UK Parliament constituency), Livingston
*Midlothian (UK Parliament constituency), Midlothian
*Motherwell and Wishaw (UK Parliament constituency), Motherwell and Wishaw
*North Ayrshire and Arran
*Ochil and South Perthshire
*Paisley and Renfrewshire North
*Paisley and Renfrewshire South
*Rutherglen and Hamilton West
*Stirling (UK Parliament constituency), Stirling
*West Dunbartonshire (UK Parliament constituency), West Dunbartonshire
;Liberal Democrat to Conservative (27)
*Bath (UK Parliament constituency), Bath
*Berwick-upon-Tweed (UK Parliament constituency), Berwick-upon-Tweed
*Brecon and Radnorshire (UK Parliament constituency), Brecon and Radnorshire
*Cheadle (UK Parliament constituency), Cheadle
*Cheltenham (UK Parliament constituency), Cheltenham
*Chippenham (UK Parliament constituency), Chippenham
*Colchester (UK Parliament constituency), Colchester
*Eastbourne (UK Parliament constituency), Eastbourne
*Eastleigh (UK Parliament constituency), Eastleigh
*Hazel Grove (UK Parliament constituency), Hazel Grove
*Kingston and Surbiton
*Lewes (UK Parliament constituency), Lewes
*Mid Dorset and North Poole
*North Cornwall (UK Parliament constituency), North Cornwall
*North Devon (UK Parliament constituency), North Devon
*Portsmouth South
*Solihull (UK Parliament constituency), Solihull
*Somerton and Frome
*St Austell and Newquay
*St Ives (UK Parliament constituency), St Ives
*Sutton and Cheam
*Taunton Deane (UK Parliament constituency), Taunton Deane
*Thornbury and Yate
*Torbay (UK Parliament constituency), Torbay
*Twickenham (UK Parliament constituency), Twickenham
*Wells (UK Parliament constituency), Wells
*Yeovil (UK Parliament constituency), Yeovil
;Liberal Democrat to Labour (12)
*Bermondsey and Old Southwark
*Birmingham, Yardley
*Bradford East
*Brent Central
*Bristol West
*Burnley (UK Parliament constituency), Burnley
*Cambridge (UK Parliament constituency), Cambridge
*Cardiff Central (UK Parliament constituency), Cardiff Central
*Hornsey and Wood Green
*Manchester, Withington
*Norwich South
*Redcar (UK Parliament constituency), Redcar
;Liberal Democrat to SNP (10)
*Argyll and Bute (UK Parliament constituency), Argyll and Bute
*Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk
*Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross (UK Parliament constituency), Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross
*East Dunbartonshire (UK Parliament constituency), East Dunbartonshire
*Edinburgh West (UK Parliament constituency), Edinburgh West
*Gordon (UK Parliament constituency), Gordon
*Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey (UK Parliament constituency), Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey
*North East Fife (UK Parliament constituency), North East Fife
*Ross, Skye and Lochaber (UK Parliament constituency), Ross, Skye and Lochaber
*West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine (UK Parliament constituency), West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine
;Conservative to Labour (10)
*Brentford and Isleworth
*City of Chester (UK Parliament constituency), City of Chester
*Dewsbury (UK Parliament constituency), Dewsbury
*Ealing Central and Acton (UK Parliament constituency), Ealing Central & Acton
*Enfield North
*Hove (UK Parliament constituency), Hove
*Ilford North
Ilford is a large town in East London, England, northeast of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Redbridge, Ilford is within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It had a population of 168,168 in 2011, compared to 303,858 for the ...
*Lancaster and Fleetwood
*Wirral West
*Wolverhampton South West
;Labour to Conservative (8)
*Bolton West
*Derby North
*Gower (UK Parliament constituency), Gower
*Morley and Outwood
*Plymouth Moor View
*Southampton, Itchen
*Telford (UK Parliament constituency), Telford
*Vale of Clwyd (UK Parliament constituency), Vale of Clwyd
;Conservative to UKIP (1)
* Clacton
;DUP to UUP (1)
*South Antrim (UK Parliament constituency), South Antrim
;Sinn Féin to UUP (1)
* Fermanagh and South Tyrone
;Alliance to DUP (1)
* Belfast East
General election records broken in 2015
Youngest elected MP
* Mhairi Black, Scottish National Party
The Scottish National Party (SNP; ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic party. The party holds 61 of the 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament, and holds 9 out of the 57 Scottish seats in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, ...
, elected aged 20 years 237 days.
Largest swing
* A swing of 39.3% from Labour to the SNP was recorded in Glasgow North East.
Lowest winning vote share
* Alasdair McDonnell
Alasdair McDonnell (born 1 September 1949) is a retired Irish nationalist politician in Northern Ireland who was leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) from 2011 to 2015, having served as deputy leader between 2004 and 2010. He ...
of the SDLP won the seat of Belfast South (UK Parliament constituency), Belfast South on 24.5% of the vote.
Aftermath
Foreign reactions
President Barack Obama of the United States congratulated Cameron and his Conservative Party on his “impressive electoral victory” and that he “looked forward to continuing to strengthen the bonds between our countries as we work together on behalf of global peace, security and prosperity."
Resignations
On 8 May, three party leaders announced their resignations within an hour of each other: Ed Miliband
Edward Samuel Miliband (born 24 December 1969) is a British politician who has served as Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero since July 2024. He has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for D ...
(Labour) and Nick Clegg
Sir Nicholas William Peter Clegg (born 7 January 1967) is a British retired politician and media executive who served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2015 and as Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 2007 to 2015. H ...
(Liberal Democrat) resigned due to their parties' worse-than-expected results in the election, although both had been re-elected to their seats in Parliament. Nigel Farage
Nigel Paul Farage ( ; born 3 April 1964) is a British politician and broadcaster who has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Clacton (UK Parliament constituency), Clacton and Leader of Reform UK since 20 ...
(UKIP) offered his resignation because he had failed to be elected as MP for Thanet South, but said he might re-stand in the resulting leadership election. However, on 11 May, the UKIP executive rejected his resignation on the grounds that the election campaign had been "a great success", and Farage agreed to continue as party leader.
Alan Sugar, a Labour peer in the House of Lords, also announced his resignation from the Labour Party for running what he perceived to be an anti-business campaign.
In response to Labour's poor performance in Scotland, Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy initially resisted calls for his resignation by other senior party members. Despite surviving a no-confidence vote by 17–14 from the party's national executive, Murphy announced he would step down as leader on or before 16 May.
Financial markets
Financial markets reacted positively to the result, with the pound sterling rising against the Euro and US dollar when the exit poll was published, and the FTSE 100 stock market index rising 2.3% on 8 May. The BBC reported: "Bank shares saw some of the biggest gains, on hopes that the sector will not see any further rises in levies. Shares in Lloyds Banking Group rose 5.75% while Barclays was 3.7% higher", adding: "Energy firms also saw their share prices rise, as Labour had wanted a price freeze and more powers for the energy regulator. British Gas owner Centrica rose 8.1% and SSE shares were up 5.3%." BBC economics editor Robert Peston noted: "To state the obvious, investors love the Tories' general election victory. There are a few reasons. One (no surprise here) is that Labour's threat of breaking up banks and imposing energy price caps has been lifted. Second is that investors have been discounting days and weeks of wrangling after polling day over who would form the government – and so they are semi-euphoric that we already know who's in charge. Third, many investors tend to be economically Conservative and instinctively Conservative."
Electoral reform
The disparity between the numbers of votes and the number of seats obtained by the smaller parties gave rise to increased calls for replacement of the 'first-past-the-post' voting system with a more proportional system. For example, UKIP had 3.9 million votes per seat, whereas SNP had just 26,000 votes per seat, about 150 times greater representation for each vote cast. UKIP stood in 10 times as many seats as the SNP. Noting that UKIP's 13% share of the overall votes cast had resulted in the election of just one MP, Nigel Farage argued that the UK's voting system needed reforming, saying: "Personally, I think the first-past-the-post system is bankrupt."
Re-elected Green Party MP Caroline Lucas agreed, saying: "The political system in this country is broken [...] It's ever clearer tonight that the time for electoral reform is long overdue, and it's only proportional representation that will deliver a Parliament that is truly legitimate and better reflects the people it is meant to represent."
''Daily Telegraph'' investigation of abuse of Wikipedia
Following the election, ''The Daily Telegraph'' detailed changes to Wikipedia pages made from computers with IP addresses inside Parliament raising suspicion that "MPs or their political parties deliberately hid information from the public online to make candidates appear more electable to voters" and a deliberate attempt to hide embarrassing information from the electorate.
Telegraph Media Group fined
On 21 December 2015, the UK Information Commissioner's Office fined the Telegraph Media Group £30,000 for sending 'hundreds of thousands of emails on the day of the general election urging readers to vote Conservative ... in a letter from Daily Telegraph editor Chris Evans, attached to the paper's usual morning e-bulletin'. The ICO concluded that subscribers had not expressed their consent to receive this kind of direct marketing.
Election petition
Four electors from Orkney and Shetland (UK Parliament constituency), Orkney and Shetland lodged an election petition on 29 May 2015 attempting to unseat Alistair Carmichael and force a by-election over what became known as 'Alistair Carmichael#Campaign memo, and Election petition, Frenchgate'. The issue centred around the news leak, leaking of a memo from the Scotland Office about comments allegedly made by the Embassy of France, London, French ambassador Sylvie Bermann about Nicola Sturgeon, claiming that Sturgeon had privately stated she would "rather see David Cameron remain as PM", in contrast to her publicly stated opposition to a Conservative government. The veracity of the memo was quickly denied by the French ambassador, French consul general and Sturgeon. At the time of the leak, Carmichael denied all knowledge of the leaking of the memo in a television interview with ''Channel 4 News''. but after the election Carmichael accepted the contents of the memo were incorrect, admitted that he had lied, and that he had authorised the leaking of the inaccurate memo to the media after a Cabinet Office enquiry identified Carmichael's role in the leak. On 9 December, an Election Court decided that although he had told a "blatant lie" in a TV interview, it had not been proven beyond reasonable doubt that he had committed an "illegal practice" under the Representation of the People Act and he was allowed to retain his seat.
Party election spending investigations
At national party level, the Electoral Commission fined the three largest parties for breaches of spending regulations, levying the highest fines since its foundation:[Laura Hughes,]
Conservatives fined £70,000 and MP reported to the police following an investigation into election campaign expenses
', ''The Daily Telegraph'' (16 March 2017). £20,000 for Labour Party (UK), Labour in October 2016, £20,000 for the Liberal Democrats in December 2016, and £70,000 for the Conservative Party in March 2017.[Ed Howker and Guy Basnett,]
The inside story of the Tory election scandal
', ''The Guardian'' (23 March 2017).
The higher fine for the Conservatives reflected both the extent of the wrongdoing (which extended to the 2014 parliamentary by-elections in 2014 Clacton by-election, Clacton, 2014 Newark by-election, Newark and Rochester and Strood
Rochester and Strood is a constituency in Kent represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Lauren Edwards from the Labour Party. It was previously represented from 2015 by Kelly Tolhurst, a Conservative, who served ...
) and 'the unreasonable uncooperative conduct by the Party'. The commission also found that the Party Treasurer, Simon Day, may not have fulfilled his obligations under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 and referred him for investigation to the Metropolitan Police Service.
At constituency level, related alleged breaches of spending regulations led to 'unprecedented' police investigations for possible criminal conduct of between 20 and 30 Conservative Party MPs. On 9 May 2017, the Crown Prosecution Service decided not to prosecute the vast majority of suspects, saying that "in order to bring a charge, it must be proved that a suspect knew the return was inaccurate and acted dishonestly in signing the declaration. Although there is evidence to suggest the returns may have been inaccurate, there is insufficient evidence to prove to the criminal standard that any candidate or agent was dishonest." On 2 June 2017, charges were brought under the Representation of the People Act 1983 against Craig Mackinlay, who was elected Conservative MP for South Thanet in 2015, his agent Nathan Gray, and a party activist, Marion Little. Appearing at Westminster Magistrates' Court on 4 July 2017, the three pleased not guilty and were released on unconditional bail pending an appearance at Southwark Crown Court on 1 August 2017. The investigation of Party Treasurer Simon Day remained ongoing.
In 2016–18, the European Parliament found that UKIP had unlawfully spent over €173,000 of EU funding on the party's 2015 UK election campaign, via the Alliance for Direct Democracy in Europe and the affiliated Institute for Direct Democracy. The Parliament required the repayment of the mis-spent funds and denied the organisations some other funding. It also found that UKIP MEPs had unlawfully spent EU money on other assistance for national campaigning purposes during 2014–16 and docked their salaries to recoup the mis-spent funds.
See also
* 2015 United Kingdom general election in England
* 2015 United Kingdom general election in Northern Ireland
* 2015 United Kingdom general election in Scotland
* 2015 United Kingdom general election in Wales
* List of MPs elected in the 2015 United Kingdom general election
* List of MPs for constituencies in England (2015–2017)
* List of MPs for constituencies in Northern Ireland (2015–2017)
* List of MPs for constituencies in Scotland (2015–2017)
* List of MPs for constituencies in Wales (2015–2017)
* 2015 United Kingdom local elections
* Results of the 2015 United Kingdom general election
* Results breakdown of the 2015 United Kingdom general election
* 2010s in United Kingdom political history
Footnotes
References
External links
Progress updates
independent observers Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights
Polls and forecasts
Election 2015 polls and predictions
UK Polling Report Blog
*
UK Polling Report – 2015 Election Guide
Constitutional issues
Another hung Parliament: what next?
video from UCL Constitution Unit
BBC Q&A on what happens if no-one wins the election
News sites
General Election 2015
– BBC News
General Election 2015
at the ''Guardian''
General Election 2015
at the ''Daily Telegraph''
Manifestos
* Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
The Alliance Party of Northern Ireland (APNI), or simply Alliance, is a liberal and centrist political party in Northern Ireland. Following the 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election, it was the third-largest party in the Northern Ireland ...
:
Step forward, not back
'
* Communist Party of Britain:
2015 Communist Party general election manifesto
'
* Conservative Party:
Strong leadership, a clear economic plan, a brighter, more secure future
'
* Democratic Unionist Party
The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is a Unionism in Ireland, unionist, Ulster loyalism, loyalist, British nationalist and national conservative political party in Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1971 during the Troubles by Ian Paisley, who ...
:
Standing Up for Northern Ireland
'
* English Democrats Party:
Putting England First
'
* Green Party in Northern Ireland:
For the Common Good
'
* Green Party of England and Wales
The Green Party of England and Wales (GPEW; ), often known simply as the Green Party or the Greens, is a Green politics, green, Left-wing politics, left-wing political party in England and Wales. Since October 2021, Carla Denyer and Adrian Ram ...
:
For the common good
'
* Labour Party:
Britain can be better
'
* Liberal Democrats:
Stronger economy. Fairer society. Opportunity for everyone
'
* Liberal Party (UK, 1989), Liberal Party:
General Election Mini Manifesto 2015
'
* Mebyon Kernow:
Vote for Cornwall... and a new approach to politics
''
* Plaid Cymru
Plaid Cymru ( ; , ; officially Plaid Cymru – the Party of Wales, and often referred to simply as Plaid) is a centre-left, Welsh nationalist list of political parties in Wales, political party in Wales, committed to Welsh independence from th ...
:
Working For Wales
'
* Scottish Green Party:
An economy for the people, a society for all
'
* Scottish National Party
The Scottish National Party (SNP; ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic party. The party holds 61 of the 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament, and holds 9 out of the 57 Scottish seats in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, ...
:
Stronger for Scotland
'
* Scottish Socialist Party:
For an independent socialist Scotland: Standing up for Scotland's working class majority
'
* Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin ( ; ; ) is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The History of Sinn Féin, original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffit ...
:
Equality not austerity
'
* Social Democratic and Labour Party
The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP; ) is a social democratic and Irish nationalist political party in Northern Ireland. The SDLP currently has eight members in the Northern Ireland Assembly ( MLAs) and two members of Parliament (M ...
:
Prosperity not austerity
'
* Socialist Labour Party (UK), Socialist Labour Party:
Socialist Labour Party manifesto
'
* Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition
Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market.
Traders generally negotiate through a medium of cred ...
:
TUSC's general election policies
'
* UK Independence Party
The UK Independence Party (UKIP, ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two members of parliament (both through defect ...
:
Believe in Britain
'
* Ulster Unionist Party
The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is a Unionism in Ireland, unionist political party in Northern Ireland. The party was founded as the Ulster Unionist Council in 1905, emerging from the Irish Unionist Alliance in Ulster. Under Edward Carson, it l ...
:
One day, one vote, one chance for change
'
Boundary Commissions
Boundary Commission for England
Boundary Commission for Northern Ireland
Results
Election 2015: The Results and Tables
Rallings, Thrasher & Borisyuk, University of Plymouth
House of Commons Library Briefing Paper CBP7186, 28 July 2015: General Election 2015
{{2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum
2015 United Kingdom general election,
UK MPs 2015–2017
2015 elections in the United Kingdom, general election
General elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom
May 2015 in the United Kingdom
Premiership of David Cameron
Ed Miliband
History of the Conservative Party (UK)