There are five types of elections in England: elections to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, elections to the devolved London Assembly, local council elections, metro mayor elections, and the Police and crime commissioner elections, in addition to by-elections for each aforementioned election. Elections are held on Election Day, which is conventionally a Thursday.
Under the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011, all five types of elections are held after fixed periods, though early elections to the UK parliament occurred in both 2017 and 2019. After winning the 2019 election, the Conservative Party committed to repealing the FTPA. On 1 December 2020, in fulfilment of this manifesto pledge, the government published a draft Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 (Repeal) Bill, which would repeal the FTPA and revive the royal prerogative power of dissolving Parliament as it existed before the Act. The legislation was formally announced as the Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Bill in the Queen's Speech of 11 May 2021, and granted Royal Assent on 24 March 2022.
The three electoral systems used for elections in England are: first-past-the-post (for UK elections and local elections, though individual local authorities are able to move to STV under recent legislation), the additional member system (for Mayor and London Assembly elections) and the supplementary vote (for Police and Crime Commissioner elections; although proposals by the UK Government to change Assembly, Mayor and PCC elections to FPTP have been made).
UK Parliament Since 1918, the Conservative Party has predominantly received the most English votes in UK general elections, winning a plurality 21 times out of 29. The other seven elections (1945, 1950, 1951, 1966, October 1974, 1997, 2001 and 2024) saw the popular vote in England being won by the Labour Party.
1918
+PartySeatsVotes Total Gains Losses Net ± % seats Total votes % votes Change 315 N/A 65.0 ~3,140,000 39.5 N/A 107 22.1 ~2,140,000 26.4 42 8.7 ~1,810,000 22.5 21 2.5 ~690,000 8.5 485 100 ~8,050,000 100
1922
+PartySeatsVotes Total Gains Losses Net ± % seats Total votes % votes Change 307 N/A 8 63.3 ~4,810,000 41.1 N/A 95 43 19.6 ~3,370,000 28.8 75 32 15.5 ~3,210,000 27.2 8 13 1.6 ~310,000 2.5 485 N/A 100 ~11,700,000 100
1923
+PartySeatsVotes Total Gains Losses Net ± % seats Total votes % votes Change 221 N/A 86 45.6 ~4,730,000 39.8 N/A 138 43 28.5 ~3,550,000 29.7 123 48 25.4 ~3,570,000 29.9 3 5 0.62 ~70,000 0.6 485 N/A 100 ~11,930,000 100
1924
+PartySeatsVotes Total Gains Losses Net ± % seats Total votes % votes Change 347 N/A 126 71.5 ~6,460,000 47.7 N/A 109 29 22.4 ~4,470,000 32.8 19 104 3.9 ~3,390,000 17.6 10 7 1.9 ~250,000 0.6 485 N/A 100 ~13,560,000 100
1929
+PartySeatsVotes Total Gains Losses Net ± % seats Total votes % votes Change 226 N/A 117 46.6 ~6,850,000 36.9 N/A 221 126 45.5 ~7,180,000 38.8 35 16 7.2 ~4,340,000 23.6 3 7 2.0 ~130,000 0.7 485 N/A 100 ~18,500,000 100
1931
+PartySeatsVotes Total Gains Losses Net ± % seats Total votes % votes Change 436 N/A 215 89.9 ~11,480,000 63.3 N/A 29 197 5.98 ~7,180,000 30.2 19 16 3.91 ~1,040,000 6.0 1 2 0.2 ~100,000 0.5 485 N/A 100 ~18,080,000 100
1935
+PartySeatsVotes Total Gains Losses Net ± % seats Total votes % votes Change 357 N/A 81 73.6 ~9,990,000 54.5 N/A 116 87 23.9 ~7,050,000 38.5 11 16 2.26 ~1,110,000 6.3 1 2 0.2 ~120,000 0.7 485 N/A 100 ~18,270,000 100
1945
+PartySeatsVotes Total Net ± % seats Total votes % votes Change 331 215 64.9 ~9,970,000 48.5 10.0% 167 190 32.7 ~8,270,000 40.2 14.5% 5 6 0.98 ~1,910,000 9.4 3.1% 7 6 1.37 ~380,000 1.9 510 100 ~20,540,000 100
1950
+PartySeatsVotes Total Net ± % seats Total votes % votes Change 251 80 49.6 ~11,050,000 46.1 2.4 % 253 68 50.0 ~10,500,000 43.8 3.6 % 2 3 0.39 ~2,250,000 9.4 506 100 ~23,950,000 100
1951
PartySeatsVotes Total Net ± % seats Total votes % votes Change 271 20 53.5 ~11,620,000 48.76 4.9% 233 20 48.8 ~11,630,000 48.80 2.7% 2 0.39 ~530,000 2.2 7.1% 506 100 ~23,830,000 100
1955
PartySeatsVotes Total Net ± % seats Total votes % votes Change 293 22 57.3 ~11,170,000 50.4 1.6% 216 17 42.3 ~10,360,000 46.8 2.0% 2 0.39 ~570,000 2.7 0.5% 511 100 ~22,140,000 100
1959
PartySeatsVotes Total Net ± % seats Total votes % votes Change 315 22 61.6 ~11,560,000 50.0 0.4% 193 23 37.7 ~10,090,000 43.6 3.2% 3 1 0.59 ~1,450,000 6.3 3.6% 511 100 ~23,130,000 100
1964
PartySeatsVotes Total Net ± % seats Total votes % votes Change 246 53 48.1 ~9,980,000 43.5 0.1% 262 53 51.2 ~10,110,000 44.1 5.9% 3 0.59 ~2,780,000 12.1 5.8% 511 100 ~22,940,000 100
1966
PartySeatsVotes Total Net ± % seats Total votes % votes Change 285 39 55.8 ~10,890,000 48.0 4.5% 219 43 42.8 ~9,690,000 42.7 1.4% 6 3 1.17 ~2,040,000 9.0 3.1% 511 100 ~22,690,000 100
1970
PartySeatsVotes Total Net ± % seats Total votes % votes Change 292 73 57.1 ~11,280,000 48.3 5.6% 216 69 42.2 ~10,130,000 43.4 4.6% 2 4 0.39 ~1,850,000 7.9 1.1% 511 100 ~23,360,000 100
February 1974
PartySeatsVotes Total Net ± % seats Total votes % votes Change 237 21 45.9 ~9,840,000 37.7 5.7% 268 24 51.9 ~10,510,000 40.2 8.1% 9 7 1.75 ~5,570,000 21.3 13.4% 516 100 ~26,140,000 100
October 1974
PartySeatsVotes Total Net ± % seats Total votes % votes Change 255 18 49.4 ~9,700,000 40.1 2.4% 253 15 49.0 ~9,410,000 38.9 1.3% 9 1 1.55 ~4,880,000 20.2 1.1% 516 100 ~24,190,000 100
1979
PartySeatsVotes Total Net ± % seats Total votes % votes Change 306 53 59.0 ~12,260,000 47.2 8.3% 203 52 39.3 ~9,530,000 36.7 3.4% 7 1 1.35 ~3,880,000 14.9 5.3% 516 100 ~25,970,000 100
1983
+PartySeatsVotes Total Gains LossesNet ±% seatsTotal votes% votesChange 362 N/A N/A 37 69.2 11,711,519 46.0 1.2 148 N/A N/A 45 28.3 6,862,422 26.8 9.8 13 N/A N/A 8 2.5 6,714,957 26.4 11.5 0 N/A N/A — 183,748 0.7 0.5 25,472,646 72.5
1987
+PartySeatsVotes Total Gains LossesNet ±% seatsTotal votes% votesChange 358 9 13 4 68.5 12,546,186 46.2 0.2 155 13 6 7 29.6 8,006,466 29.5 2.5 10 2 5 3 1.9 6,467,350 23.8 2.4 0 0 0 — 113,520 0.4 0.3 27,133,522 75.4 2.9
1992
+PartySeatsVotes Total Gains LossesNet ±% seatsTotal votes% votesChange 319 1 40 39 60.9 12,796,772 45.5 0.8 195 40 0 40 37.2 9,551,910 33.9 4.4 10 4 4 1.9 5,398,293 19.2 4.7 0 0 0 — 401,531 1.4 1.0 28,148,506 78.0
1997
+PartySeatsVotes Total Gains LossesNet ±% seatsTotal votes% votesChange 328 133 1 132 62.0 11,347,882 43.5 9.6 165 0 159 159 31.2 8,780,881 33.7 11.8 34 26 1 25 6.4 4,677,565 18.0 1.3 0 0 0 — 746,624 2.9 N/A 0 0 0 — 103,521 0.4 N/A 1 1 0 1 0.2 69,464 0.3 0.2 0 0 0 — 60,013 0.2 0.4 0 0 0 — 44,516 0.2 0 0 0 — 44,114 0.2 N/A 0 0 0 — 35,181 0.1 0.1 0 0 0 — 25,958 0.1 0.1 0 0 0 — 24,447 0.1 1 1 0 1 0.2 24,447 0.1 N/A 0 0 0 — 18,667 0.1 Prolife Alliance 0 0 0 — 13,890 0.1 N/A 0 0 0 — 42,020 0.2 N/A 26,058,712 71.5 6.5
2001
+PartySeatsVotes Total Gains LossesNet ±% seatsTotal votes% votesChange 323 1 6 5 61.1 9,056,824 41.4 2.1 165 8 8 31.2 7,705,870 35.2 1.5 40 8 2 6 8.1 4,246,853 19.4 1.5 0 0 0 — 374,775 1.7 1.3 0 0 0 — 158,173 0.7 0.5 0 0 1 1 — 79,559 0.4 0.1 0 0 0 — 55,295 0.3 N/A 0 0 0 — 51,299 0.2 0.1 0 0 0 — 46,851 0.2 0.1 1 1 0 1 0.2 28,487 0.1 N/A 0 0 0 — 13,302 0.1 0.1 0 0 0 1 — 53,474 0.2 N/A 21,870,762 59.1 12.2
2005
+PartySeatsVotes Total Gains Losses Net ± % seats Total votes % votes Change 2860373754.18,043,46135.46.0 1943232936.78,116,00535.70.5 4712578.95,201,28622.93.6 11010.267,4220.30.3 1000.218,7390.1 000 0.0592,4172.60.9 000 0.0251,0511.10.4 000 0.0189,570 0.80.6 000 0.039,044 0.2New 000 0.017,5470.1 Others000 0.0177,3430.8N/A 22,713,855 61.0 1.9
2010
+PartySeatsVotes Total Gains LossesNet ±% seatsTotal votes% votesChange 297 95 4 91 55.7 9,908,169 39.5 3.8 191 2 89 87 35.8 7,042,398 28.1 7.4 43 8 12 4 8.1 6,076,189 24.2 1.3 0 0 0 — 866,633 3.5 0.9 0 0 0 — 532,333 2.1 1.3 1 0 0 1 0.2 258,954 1.0 0.1 0 0 0 — 64,826 0.3 0.2 0 0 0 1 — 33,251 0.1 0.2 1 1 0 1 0.2 22,860 0.1 0 0 0 1 — 16,150 0.1 0 0 0 0 — 15,841 0.1 N/A 0 0 0 0 — 10,400 0.0 0 0 0 0 — 8,404 0.0 N/A 0 0 0 0 — 4,368 0.0 0 0 00 — 224,341 0.9 25,085,097 65.5 4.5
2015
+PartyElection 2015 Results England BBC NewsSeatsVotes Total Gains LossesNet ±% seatsTotal votes% votesChange 318 32 11 21 59.7 10,483,261 40.9 1.4 206 21 6 15 38.6 8,087,684 31.6 3.6 110 10.2 3,611,367 14.1 10.7 6 0 37 37 1.1 2,098,404 8.2 16.0 1 0 0 0.2 1,073,242 4.2 3.2 1 0 0 0.2 34,617 0.1 0 0 0 — 32,868 0.1 0.1 0 0 0 — 20,210 0.1 New 0 0 0 — 9,989 0.0 0.1 0 0 0 — 6,811 0.0 New 0 0 0 — 6,431 0.0 0.2 0 0 0 — 4,569 0.0 New 0 0 0 — 3,432 0.0 0 0 0 — 3,260 0.0 0 0 0 — 1,667 0.0 2.1 0 0 0 — 526 0.0 New 0 0 0 — 127,133 0.5 0.2 25,571,204 65.9 0.4
2017
+PartySeatsVotes Total Gains LossesNet ±% seatsTotal votes% votesChange 296 8 30 22 55.5 12,344,901 45.4 4.4 227 27 6 2142.6 11,390,099 41.9 10.3 8 5 3 2 1.5 2,121,810 7.8 0.4 0 0 1 1 — 557,390 2.1 12.1 1 0 0 0.2 506,969 1.9 2.3 1 0 0 0.2 34,299 0.1 0 0 0 — 20,958 0.1 0.1 0 0 0 — 16,119 0.1 0 0 0 — 5,869 0.0 0 0 0 — 4,642 0.0 0 0 0 — 3,733 0.0 0 0 0 — 3,066 0.0 0 0 0 — 1,913 0.0 0 0 0 — 1,875 0.0 0 0 0 — 771 0.0 0 0 0 — 321 0.0 Others 0 00— 151,054 0.6 0.4Total533 27,165,789 Turnout 69.1
2019
+PartySeatsVotes Total Gains LossesNet ±% seatsTotal votes% votesChange 345 52 3 49 64.7 12,710,845 47.2 1.7 180 1 48 47 33.7 9,152,034 34.0 7.9 7 2 3 1 1.3 3,340,835 12.4 4.6 1 0 0 0.2 819,751 3.0 1.2 0 0 0 — 545,172 2.0 2.0 0 0 0 — 29,201 0.1 0 0 0 — 18,891 0.1 2.0 0 0 0 — 10,876 0.0 0 0 0 — 10,006 0.0 new 0 0 0 — 9,394 0.0 0 0 0 — 6,246 0.0 0 0 0 — 3,086 0.0 0 0 0 — 3,000 0.0 0 0 0 — 1,987 0.0 0 0 0 — 1,375 0.0 0 0 0 — 524 0.0 0 0 0 — 351 0.0 newOthers 0 0 0 — 246,094 0.9 0.8 26,909,668 67.4 1.7
Note: the above figures include the Speaker being counted in the Labour totals, despite the Speaker being non-partisan.
2024
Party Seats Aggregate votes Total Gains Losses Net Of all (%) Total Of all (%) Difference 347 173 7 166 63.9 8,339,884 34.3 0.5 116 1 230 229 21.4 6,279,411 25.9 21.3 5 5 0 5 0.9 3,726,224 15.3 13.3 65 59 0 59 12.0 3,199,060 13.2 0.8 4 3 0 3 0.7 1,780,226 7.3 4.3 5 5 0 5 0.9 513,266 2.1 1.4 0 0 0 — 208,234 0.9 0.9 1 0 0 0.2 25,238 0.1 0 0 0 — 33,385 0.1 0.1 0 0 0 — 17,227 0.0 0 0 0 — 10,507 0.0 0 0 0 — 9,245 0.0 0 0 0 — 5,894 0.0 0 0 0 — 5,617 0.0 0 0 0 — 5,604 0.0 0 0 0 — 5,441 0.0 0 0 0 — 5,421 0.0 0 0 0 — 5,182 0.0 0 0 0 — 5,077 0.0 0 0 0 — 2,872 0.0 0 0 0 — 2,397 0.0 0 0 0 — 1,863 0.0 0 0 0 — 1,585 0.0 Others 0 0 0 — 99,262 0.9 Total 543 24,288,122 60.0 7.4
London mayor
The mayor of London is elected by the supplementary vote method for a fixed term of four years, with elections taking place in May. As with most elected posts in the United Kingdom, there is a deposit (in this case of £10,000), which is returnable on the candidate's winning of at least 5% of the first-choice votes cast.
See also Elections in the United Kingdom Elections in Northern Ireland Elections in Scotland Elections in Wales
References