On Thursday 28 February 1974, the February 1974 United Kingdom general election was held in Scotland, to elect all 635 members of the House of Commons, with 71 constituencies being in Scotland.

When combined with results from across the United Kingdom, the election resulted in a hung parliament, the first since 1929. Labour, led by Leader of the Opposition and former Prime Minister Harold Wilson, ended up as the largest party, but seventeen short of an overall majority. The Conservatives, led by incumbent Prime Minister Edward Heath, lost 28 seats (though they polled a higher share of the vote than Labour). Heath sought a coalition with the Liberals, but the two parties failed to come to an agreement and so Wilson became prime minister for a second time, his first with a minority government. Wilson called another early election in September, which was held in October and resulted in a slim Labour majority.

Boundary Review

As part of the second periodic review of Westminster constituencies, the boundaries were changed in Wales, with the number of constituencies being unchanged in number to those used between 1955 and 1970. There were also significant changes to many of the 71 constituency boundaries in Scotland, and more widely across the United Kingdom.

As a result, the Conservative Party notionally held 24 seats in England compared with Labour's 43 on a notional basis (one change between the two major parties). The Liberal Party and Scottish National Party were, in essence, unaffected in terms of seats.

Candidates

Below is a table summarising the candidates of the February 1974 general election in Wales.

Affiliation Candidates Labour Party 71 Conservative Party 71 Scottish National Party 70 Scottish Liberal Party 34 Communist Party of Great Britain 15 Workers Revolutionary Party 1 United Labour Party 1 International Marxist Group 1 Christian Democratic Socialist 1Total 265

Analysis

The Labour Party won almost twice as many Scottish seats as the Conservative Party, although both main parties suffered a drop in seats and vote share compared to the previous election. However, the Conservatives won Berwick and East Lothian and East Dunbartonshire from the Labour Party. As such, combined with losses both parties suffered to the SNP, the Conservatives lost two seats with Labour losing four in total. The Labour Party won the seat of Lanark, due to it being notionally won by the Conservatives on the new boundaries in 1970.

Between the Conservatives and Labour, the Conservative Party lost three seats notionally when compared with the previous election, including some to the Scottish National Party. The Labour Party also lost three seats when compared to the previous election, including two also to the SNP.

When combined with results from across the UK, the election resulted in a hung parliament, the first since 1929. Labour, led by Leader of the Opposition and former Prime Minister Harold Wilson, ended up as the largest party, but seventeen short of an overall majority. The Conservatives, led by incumbent Prime Minister Edward Heath, lost 28 seats (though they polled a higher share of the vote than Labour). Heath sought a coalition with the Liberals, but the two parties failed to come to an agreement and so Wilson became prime minister for a second time, his first with a minority government. Wilson called another early election in September, which was held in October and resulted in a slim Labour majority.

The Scottish Liberal Party increased its vote share and retained its seat in Inverness, with former Leader of the Liberal Party Jo Grimond retaining Orkney and Shetland and future Leader David Steel retaining Roxburgh, Selkirk and Peebles.

The Scottish National Party achieved significant success at the election by increasing its share of the popular vote in Scotland from 11% to 22%, and its number of MPs from one to seven. They had campaigned widely on the political slogan "It's Scotland's oil" following the discovery of North Sea oil off the coast of Scotland. In terms of seats, the SNP retained its single seat in Western Isles. It also won Argyllshire, Banffshire, East Aberdeenshire and Moray and Nairn from the Conservatives, as well as Clackmannan and Eastern Stirlingshire and Dundee East from the Labour Party.

Results

+PartySeatsAggregate votes Total Gains Losses Net Of total (%) Total Of total (%) Change (%) 40 1 4 3 56.3 1,057,601 36.6 7.9 21 2 5 3 29.6 950,668 32.9 5.1 7 6 0 6 9.9 633,180 21.9 10.5 3 0 0 4.2 229,162 7.9 2.4 0 0 0 — 15,071 0.5 0.1   United Labour Party 0 colspan=3 — 1,031 0.0   Christian Democratic Socialist 0 colspan=3 — 220 0.0 0 colspan=3 — 52 0.0 0 colspan=3 — 90 0.o Total 71 0 100.0 2,887,075 100.0 0.0 Registered voters, and turnout 1,993,516 79.0 4.9

See also February 1974 United Kingdom general election in England February 1974 United Kingdom general election in Wales February 1974 United Kingdom general election in Northern Ireland List of MPs for constituencies in Scotland (February 1974–October 1974)

Notes

References