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All650 seats in theHouse of Commons 326[a] seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Opinion polls | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Registered | 48,208,507 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Turnout | 28,924,725 59.7% (  7.6pp)[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 A map presenting the results of the election, by party of the MP elected from each constituency | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
.svg) Composition of theHouse of Commons after the election | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The2024 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday, 4 July 2024 to elect all 650 members of theHouse of Commons. The oppositionLabour Party, led byKeir Starmer, won alandslide victory over the governingConservative Party under Prime MinisterRishi Sunak, ending 14 years of Conservative government.[3]
Labour secured 411 seats[f][b] and a 174-seat majority, the third-best showing in the party's history and its best since2001. The party's vote share was 33.7%, the lowest of any majority party on record, making this theleast proportional general election in British history.[4] They became the largest party in England, Scotland and Wales. The Conservatives suffered their worst-ever defeat, winning 121 seats with 23.7% of the vote and losing 251 seats, including those of the former prime ministerLiz Truss and 12Cabinet ministers.[5]
Smaller parties saw record support, with 42.6% of the total vote. TheLiberal Democrats, led byEd Davey, became the third-largest party with 72 seats, their best result ever and better than anyLiberal Party resultsince 1923.Reform UK, led byNigel Farage, won five seats and 14.3% of the vote, the third-highest vote share, and theGreen Party won four seats. For both parties this was their best parliamentary result to date.
In Scotland theScottish National Party dropped from 48 to 9 seats, losing its status as Scotland's largest party.[6] In Wales,Plaid Cymru won four seats. In Northern Ireland, which has adistinct set of political parties,[7]Sinn Féin retained seven seats; the first election in which anIrish nationalist party won the most seats in Northern Ireland. TheDemocratic Unionist Party dropped from 8 to 5 seats.
Campaign issues included theeconomy,healthcare,housing,energy andimmigration. There was relatively little discussion ofBrexit, which was a major issue during the2019 general election. This was the first general election under theDissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022, the first withphoto identification required to vote in Great Britain,[g] and the first fought using the new constituency boundaries implemented following the2023 review of Westminster constituencies.[8]
.svg) 2024 United Kingdom general election (4 July) | |||
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TheConservative Party underBoris Johnson won a large majority at the2019 general election and the new government passed theBrexit withdrawal agreement.[9][10] TheCOVID-19 pandemic saw the government instituteextensive public health restrictions, including limitations on social interaction, that Johnson and some of his staff were later found to have broken. The resultingpolitical scandal (Partygate), one of manycontroversies duringJohnson's premiership, saw the Conservatives lose their poll lead.[11][12] These scandals culminated in theresignation of over 50 ministers from the Government followingallegations of sexual misconduct against a government minister. Johnson resigned as prime minister in July 2022.[13] He resigned as an MP the following year,[14] afteran investigation unanimously found that he had lied to Parliament.[15]
Liz Truss won the resultantleadership election and succeeded Johnson in September.[16][17] Truss announcedlarge-scale tax cuts and borrowing in a mini-budget on 23 September, although many of its measures were reversed following financial instability.[18] Sheresigned in October, making her theshortest-serving prime minister in British history,[19] and wassucceeded unopposed byRishi Sunak.[20]
Duringhis premiership, Sunak was credited with improving the economy and stabilising national politics following the premierships of his predecessors,[21] although many of his pledges and policy announcements ultimately went unfulfilled.[22][23] He did not avert further unpopularity for the Conservatives who, by the time of Sunak's election, had been in government for 12 years. Public opinion in favour of a change in government was reflected in the Conservatives' poor performance at the2022,2023 and2024 local elections.[24]
Keir Starmer won theLabour Party's2020 leadership election, succeedingJeremy Corbyn.[25] Under his leadership, Starmer repositioned the party away from theleft and toward thepolitical centre, and emphasised the elimination ofantisemitism within the party.[26][27] Starmer's leading his party rightward in order to improve its electability has been widely compared toTony Blair's development ofNew Labour in the 1990s. The political turmoil from the Conservative scandals and government crises led to Labour having a significant lead in polling over the Conservatives, often by very wide margins, since late 2021, coinciding with the start of the Partygate scandal.[11][12] Labour made gains in local elections: in the 2023 local elections, Labour gained more than 500 councillors and 22 councils, becoming the largest party in local government for the first time since 2002.[28]
Ed Davey, who previously served in theCameron–Clegg coalition, won theLiberal Democrats'2020 leadership election, succeedingJo Swinson, who lost her seat in the previous general election.[29] Davey prioritised defeating the Conservatives and ruled out working with them following the election.[30] The Liberal Democrats made gains in local elections: in the 2024 local elections, the Liberal Democrats finished second for the first time in a local election cycle since 2009.[31]
Like the Conservatives, theScottish National Party (SNP) suffered political turmoil and saw a decrease in their popularity in opinion polling, with multiple party leaders and First Ministers (Nicola Sturgeon,Humza Yousaf andJohn Swinney) and theOperation Branchform police investigation. Sturgeon claimedoccupational burnout was the reason for her resignation,[32] while Yousaf resigned amida government crisis following his termination ofa power-sharing agreement with theScottish Greens.[33] When Swinneyassumed the leadership after being elected unopposed to succeed Yousaf, the SNP had been in government for 17 years.[34]
Carla Denyer andAdrian Ramsay took over leadership of theGreen Party of England and Wales fromSiân Berry andJonathan Bartley in 2021.Rhun ap Iorwerth took over leadership ofPlaid Cymru. The Brexit Party rebranded asReform UK, and was initially led byRichard Tice in the years preceding the election beforeNigel Farage resumed leadership during the election campaign.[35]Edwin Poots took over as theDemocratic Unionist Party leader in May 2021 but lasted only 20 days. He was replaced byJeffrey Donaldson, who resigned in March 2024 after being arrested on charges relating to historical sex offences. He appeared in court on 3 July, the day before polling day, to face additional sex offence charges.[36][37]Gavin Robinson initially took over as interim leader,[38] and then became the permanent leader in May.[39]
New political parties who made their campaign debuts in this election included theAlba Party, led by former Scottish First MinisterAlex Salmond, and theWorkers Party of Britain, led by anti-war activistGeorge Galloway, who won the2024 Rochdale by-election in apolitical upset three months before the election was called – advertising himself as a protest candidate against Labour's stance on theGaza war and appealing to the constituency's sizeable Muslim population.[40]
This table relates to the composition of the House of Commons at the 2019 general election and its dissolution on 30 May 2024 and summarises the changes in party affiliation that took place during the 2019–2024 Parliament.
| Affiliation | Members | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elected in 2019[41] | At dissolution in 2024[42][43][44][h] | Difference | ||
| Conservative | 365 | 344 | 21 | |
| Labour[i] | 202 | 205 |  3 | |
| SNP | 48 | 43 | 5 | |
| Independent | 0 | 17[j] | 17 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 11 | 15 | 4 | |
| DUP | 8 | 7 | 1 | |
| Sinn Féin | 7 | 7 |  | |
| Plaid Cymru | 4 | 3 | 1 | |
| SDLP | 2 | 2 | | |
| Alba | Did not exist | 2[k] | 2 | |
| Alliance (NI) | 1 | 1 | | |
| Green (E&W) | 1 | 1 | | |
| Speaker | 1 | 1 | | |
| Reform[l] | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Workers Party | Did not exist | 1 | 1 | |
| Vacant | 0 | 0 | | |
| Total | 650 | 650 | | |
| Total voting[m] | 639 | 638 | 1[n] | |
| Majority | 87 | 44[51] | 43 | |
.jpg)
Originally, the next election was scheduled to take place on 2 May 2024 under theFixed-term Parliaments Act 2011.[o] At the 2019 general election, in which the Conservatives won a majority of 80 seats, the party's manifesto contained a commitment to repeal the Fixed-term Parliaments Act.[53] In December 2020, the government duly published a draft Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 (Repeal) Bill, later retitled theDissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022.[54][55] This entered into force on 24 March 2022. Thus, the prime minister can again request the monarch to dissolve Parliament and call an early election with 25 working days' notice. Section 4 of the Act provided: "If it has not been dissolved earlier, a Parliament dissolves at the beginning of the day that is the fifth anniversary of the day on which it first met". TheElectoral Commission confirmed that the 2019 Parliament would, therefore, have to be dissolved, at the latest, by 17 December 2024, and that the next general election had to take place no later than 28 January 2025.[56][57]
With no election date fixed in law, there was speculation as to when theprime minister,Rishi Sunak, would call an election. On 18 December 2023, Sunak told journalists that the election would take place in 2024 rather than January 2025.[58] On 4 January, he first suggested the general election would probably be in the second half of 2024.[59] Throughout 2024, political commentators and MPs expected the election to be held in the autumn.[60][61][62] On 22 May 2024, following much speculation through the day (including being asked about it byStephen Flynn atPrime Minister's Questions),[63][64][65] Sunak officially announced the election would be held on 4 July with the dissolution of the Parliament on 30 May.[66]
The deadline for candidate nominations was 7 June 2024, with political campaigning for four weeks until polling day on 4 July. On the day of the election, polling stations across the country were open from 7 am, and closed at 10 pm. The date chosen for the 2024 general election made it the first to be held in July since the1945 general election almost exactly seventy-nine years earlier. A total of 4,515 candidates were nominated, more than in any previous general election.[67]
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 22 May | Prime MinisterRishi Sunak requests a dissolution of parliament fromKing Charles III and announces the date of polling day for the general election as 4 July.[68] |
| 24 May | Last sitting day of business (wash-up period) in the 2019–2024 Parliament.Parliament prorogued.[68] |
| 25 May | Beginning ofpre-election period (also known aspurdah).[69] |
| 30 May | Dissolution of parliament and official start of the campaign. Royal Proclamation issued dissolving the2019 Parliament, summoning the 2024 Parliament and setting the date for its first meeting.[70] |
| 7 June | Nominations of candidates close (4 pm). Publication of statement of persons nominated, including notice of poll and situation of polling stations (5 pm).[71] |
| 13 June | Deadline to register to vote at 11:59 pm in Northern Ireland. |
| 18 June | Deadline to register to vote.[68] |
| 19 June | Deadline to apply for a postal vote.[71] |
| 26 June | Deadline to register for a proxy vote at 5 pm. Exemptions applied for emergencies.[71] |
| 4 July | Polling Day – polls open from 7 am to 10 pm.[71] |
| 4–5 July | Results announced in 648 of 650 constituencies. |
| 5 July | Labour wins election with an eventual 174-seat majority. End of pre-election period (also known aspurdah). SirKeir Starmer is appointed Prime Minister by King Charles III and forms anew government following the resignation of Rishi Sunak.[72][73] |
| 6 July | Results announced for final two undeclared seats, following recounts. |
| 9 July | First meeting of the newParliament of the United Kingdom for the formal election ofSpeaker of the House of Commons. SirLindsay Hoyle is re-elected unopposed[74] and calls on Starmer and Sunak to speak as Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition respectively for the first time.[75] |
| 9–16 July | MPs taking their seat are sworn in.[76][77][78] |
| 17 July | State Opening of Parliament andKing's Speech.[79] |
General elections in the United Kingdom are organised usingfirst-past-the-post voting. The Conservative Party, which won a majority at the 2019 general election, included pledges in its manifesto to remove the 15-year limit on voting for British citizens living abroad, and to introduce avoter identification requirement in Great Britain.[80] These changes were included in theElections Act 2022.[81]
ThePeriodic Review of Westminster constituencies, which proposed reducing the number of constituencies from 650 to 600, commenced in 2011 but was paused in January 2013. Following the2015 general election, each of the four parliamentaryboundary commissions of the United Kingdom recommenced their review process in April 2016.[82][83][84] The four commissions submitted their final recommendations to the Secretary of State on 5 September 2018[85][86] and made their reports public a week later.[87][88][89][85] However, the proposals were never put forward for approval before the calling of the general election held on 12 December 2019, and in December 2020 the reviews were formally abandoned under the Schedule to the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 2020.[90] A projection bypsephologistsColin Rallings andMichael Thrasher of how the 2017 votes would have translated to seats under the 2018 boundaries suggested the changes would have been beneficial to the Conservatives and detrimental to Labour.[91][92]
In March 2020, Cabinet Office ministerChloe Smith confirmed that the2023 review of Westminster constituencies would be based on retaining 650 seats.[93][94] The previous relevant legislation was amended by theParliamentary Constituencies Act 2020[95] and the four boundary commissions formally launched their 2023 reviews on 5 January 2021.[96][97][98][99] They were required to issue their final reports prior to 1 July 2023.[90] Once the reports had been laid before Parliament,Orders in Council giving effect to the final proposals had to be made within four months, unless "there are exceptional circumstances". Prior to the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 2020, boundary changes could not be implemented until they were approved by both Houses of Parliament. The boundary changes were approved at a meeting of thePrivy Council on 15 November 2023[100] and came into force on 29 November 2023,[101] meaning that the election was contested on these new boundaries.[102]
The election was contested under new constituency boundaries established by the2023 review of Westminster constituencies. Consequently, media outlets reported seat gains and losses as compared tonotional results. These are estimates of the results if all votes cast in 2019 were unchanged, but regrouped by the new constituency boundaries.[103] Since notional results in the vote counts at parliamentary elections in the UK do not yield figures at any level more specific than that of the whole constituency,[104] it is only possible to estimate the notional results, with the assistance of local election results.
InEngland, seats were redistributed towardsSouthern England, away fromNorthern England, due to the different rates of population growth.North West England andNorth East England lost two seats each, whereasSouth East England gained seven andSouth West England gained three.[105] Based on historical voting patterns, this was expected to help the Conservatives. Using the new boundaries, different parties would have won several constituencies with unchanged names but changed boundariesfrom the 2019 election. For example, the Conservatives would have wonWirral West andLeeds North West instead of the Labour Party, but Labour would have wonPudsey andHeywood & Middleton instead of the Conservatives.Westmorland and Lonsdale, the constituency represented by former Liberal Democrat leaderTim Farron, was notionally a Conservative seat.[106][107]
InScotland, 57 MPs were elected, down from the59 in 2019,[108] with the following notional partisan composition of Scotland's parliamentary delegation. The Scottish National Party would have remained steady on 48 seats despite two of its constituencies being dissolved. TheScottish Conservatives' seat count of six would likewise remained unchanged.Scottish Labour would have retainedEdinburgh South, the sole constituency they won in 2019. Had the 2019 general election occurred with the new boundaries in effect, theScottish Liberal Democrats would have only won two seats (Edinburgh West andOrkney and Shetland), instead of the four they did win that year, as the expanded electorates in the other two would overcome their slender majorities.[109]
Under the new boundaries,Wales lost eight seats, electing 32 MPs instead of the 40 itelected in 2019.Welsh Labour would have won 18 instead of the 22 MPs it elected in 2019, and theWelsh Conservatives 12 instead of 14. Due to the abolition and merging of rural constituencies inWest Wales,Plaid Cymru would have only won two seats instead of four. Nonetheless, the boundary changes were expected to cause difficulty for the Conservatives as more pro-Labour areas were added to some of their strongest seats.[110]
InNorthern Ireland, the notional results are identical to the actual results of the2019 general election in Northern Ireland.[111]
| Party | 2019 MPs | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Actual | Notional | Difference | ||
| Conservative | 365 | 372 | 7 | |
| Labour | 202 | 200 | 2 | |
| SNP | 48 | 48 | | |
| Liberal Democrats | 11 | 8 | 3 | |
| DUP | 8 | 8 | | |
| Sinn Féin | 7 | 7 | | |
| Plaid Cymru | 4 | 2 | 2 | |
| SDLP | 2 | 2 | | |
| Green (E&W) | 1 | 1 | | |
| Alliance | 1 | 1 | | |
| Speaker | 1 | 1 | | |
| Party | £ (millions) | Percent of total |
|---|---|---|
| Labour | 30.1 | 31.8% |
| Conservative and Unionist | 23.9 | 25.3% |
| Liberal Democrats | 5.6 | 6.0% |
| Reform UK | 5.5 | 5.8% |
| Green | 1.7 | 1.8% |
| Scottish National | 0.8 | 0.8% |
| Co-operative | 0.3 | 0.3% |
| Total (all party, non-party and candidate) | 94.5 |
Labour entered the election with a large lead over the Conservatives inopinion polls, and the potential scale of the party's victory was a topic of discussion during the campaign period.[113][114] Theeconomy,healthcare,education, infrastructure development, environment, housing,energy, andimmigration, and standards in public office were main campaign topics. The Conservative campaign led byRishi Sunak focused primarily on attacks towards Labour over alleged tax plans including a – robustly disputed – claim that Labour would cost households £2,000 more in tax.[115][116]
Keir Starmer used the word "change" as his campaign slogan and offered voters the chance to "turn the page" by voting Labour.[117] TheLiberal Democrat campaign led byEd Davey was dominated by his campaign stunts, which were used to bring attention to campaign topics.[118][119] When asked about these stunts, Davey said: "Politicians need to take the concerns and interests of voters seriously but I'm not sure they need to take themselves seriously all the time and I'm quite happy to have some fun."[120] Party manifesto and fiscal spending plans were independently analysed by theInstitute for Fiscal Studies[121] and their environmental policies were assessed byFriends of the Earth.[122]
On the afternoon of 22 May 2024, Sunak announced that he had asked the King to call a general election for 4 July 2024, surprising his own MPs.[123] Though Sunak had the option to wait until December 2024 to call the election, he said that he decided on the date because he believed that the economy was improving, and that "falling inflation and net migration figures would reinforce theConservative Party's election message of 'sticking to the plan'".[124] The calling of the election was welcomed by all major parties.[125]
Sunak's announcement took place during heavy rain at a lectern outside10 Downing Street, without the use of any shelter from the downpour.[126] TheD:Ream song "Things Can Only Get Better" (previously used by theLabour Party in its successful1997 general election campaign) was being played loudly in the background by the political activistSteve Bray as Sunak announced the date of the general election.[127] This led to the song reaching number two on UK'siTunes Charts.[128][129]
At the beginning of the campaign, Labour had a significant lead in polling over the Conservatives.[24][130] Polling also showed Labour doing well against theScottish National Party (SNP) in Scotland.[131] When visitingWindermere, Davey fell off apaddleboard, while campaigning to highlight the issue of sewage discharges into rivers and lakes.[132] A couple of days later, Davey won media attention when going down aSlip 'N Slide, while drawing attention to deteriorating mental health among children.[120]
On 23 May, Sunak said that before the election there would beno flights to Rwanda for those seeking asylum.[133] Immigration figures were published for 2023 showing immigration remained at historically high levels, but had fallen compared to 2022.[134]Nigel Farage announced that he would not be standing in the general election, preferring to focus on campaigning for the2024 United States presidential election instead.[135] However, Farage later announced on 3 June that, contrary to his statement earlier in the campaign, he wouldstand for Parliament inClacton, and that he had resumed leadership ofReform UK, taking over fromRichard Tice, who remained the party's chairman. Farage also predicted that Labour would win the election, whilst stating the Conservatives were incapable of being the Official Opposition due to having spent "much of the last five years fighting each other rather than fighting for the interests of this country."[136] Also on 23 May, Davey launched the Liberal Democrat campaign inCheltenham inGloucestershire.[137] The SNP campaign launch the same day was overshadowed by a dispute around leaderJohn Swinney's support for embattled MSPMichael Matheson and developments inOperation Branchform, the investigation into potential misuse of campaign funds byNicola Sturgeon and her husband.[138] Starmer launched the Labour Party campaign inGillingham at thePriestfield Stadium.[139]
On 24 May, the Conservatives proposed setting up aRoyal Commission to consider a form of mandatory national service.[140] It would be made up of two streams for 18-year-olds to choose from, either 'community volunteering' by volunteering with organisations such as the NHS, fire service, ambulance, search and rescue, and critical local infrastructure, or 'military training' in areas like logistics and cyber security.[141] Former Labour leaderJeremy Corbyn announced on 24 May he wasrunning as an independent inIslington North against a Labour candidate, and was thus expelled from the party.[142]
On 27 May, Starmer made a keynote speech on security and other issues.[143][144] On 28 May, the Conservatives pledged a "Triple Lock Plus" where the personal income tax allowance for pensioners would always stay higher than the state pension.[145][146] Davey wentpaddleboarding onLake Windermere in the marginal constituency ofWestmorland and Lonsdale, highlighting the release of sewage in waterways.[147] He pledged to abolishOfwat and introduce a new water regulator to tackle the situation, in addition to proposing a ban on bonuses for chief executives of water companies.[148] Starmer was inWest Sussex and emphasised his small town roots in his first big campaign speech.[149]
On 29 May, Labour'sWes Streeting promised a 18-week NHS waiting target within five years of a Labour government.[150] Labour also pledged to double the number of NHS scanners in England. On the same day Starmer denied thatDiane Abbott had been blocked as a candidate amid differing reports.[151] Abbott had been elected as a Labour MP, but had been suspended from the parliamentary party for a brief period. There was controversy about further Labour Party candidate selections, with several candidates on the left of the party being excluded.[152] Abbott said she had been barred from standing as a Labour Party candidate at the election, but Starmer later said she would be "free" to stand as a Labour candidate.[153]
On 30 May, both the Conservatives and Labour ruled out any rise invalue-added tax.[154] The SNPsMàiri McAllan claimed that only the SNP offered Scotland a route back into theEuropean Union, makingPro-Europeanism part of the party's campaign.[155] Reform UK proposed animmigration tax on British firms who employforeign workers.[156]Carla Denyer andAdrian Ramsay launched theGreen Party of England and Wales campaign in Bristol.[157]Rhun ap Iorwerth launched thePlaid Cymru campaign inBangor.[158]George Galloway launched theWorkers Party of Britain campaign inAshton-under-Lyne.[159]
On 31 May, the Conservatives announced new "pride in places" pledges, including new rules to tackle anti-social behaviour, rolling out the hot-spot policing programme to more areas, and more town regeneration projects. The Conservatives also unveiled plans for fly-tippers to get points on their driving licences and other new measures to protect the environment.[160]
On 2 June, Labour pledged to reduce record highlegal immigration to the United Kingdom by improving training for British workers.[161] Net migration to the UK was 685,000 in 2023.[162][163][164] Labour also focused on national security, with Starmer reaffirming his commitment to a "nuclear deterrent triple lock", including building four new nuclear submarines.[136] A YouGov poll conducted on the same day put Labour on course for the party's biggest election victory in history, beatingTony Blair's1997 landslide.[165]
On 4 June, Farage launched his campaign in Clacton.[166] He predicted the previous day that Reform UK would be theOfficial Opposition following the election as opposed to the Conservatives, saying that the Conservatives are incapable of being the Opposition due to "spending most of the last five years fighting each other rather than fighting for the interests of this country".[167]
On 6 June, the Green Party announced plans to invest an extra £50 billion a year for the NHS by raising taxes on the top 1% of earners.[168] The Conservatives announced a policy on expandingchild benefit for higher-earners.[169] Labour also announced communities will be given powers to transform derelict areas into parks and green spaces. Labour's countryside protection plan would also include the planting new national forests, taskforces for tree-planting and flood resilience, new river pathways, and a commitment to revive nature.[170] Green spaces would be a requirement in the development of new housing and town plans.[171]
Both Sunak and Starmer attended D-Day commemorations in Normandy on 6 June, the 80th anniversary ofOperation Neptune. Sunak was widely criticised for leaving events early to do an interview with ITV, including by veterans.[172] Starmer met withVolodymyr Zelenskyy andKing Charles III during the D-Day commemorations, and said that Sunak "has to answer for his actions".[173][174] Sunak apologised the next day[175] and apologised again on 10 June.[176] He made a third apology on 12 June.[177]
Farage was among those critical of Sunak over his leaving the D-Day events,[178] saying on 7 June that Sunak did not understand "our culture". Conservative and Labour politicians criticised these words as being a racist attack on Sunak, which Farage denied.[179] On 10 June, Labour pledged 100,000 new childcare places and more than 3,000 new nurseries as part of its childcare plan.[180] It also announced its Child Health Action Plan, which included providing every school with a qualified mental health counsellor, boosting preventative mental health services, transforming NHS dentistry, legislating for a progressive ban on smoking (a bill proposed by the Conservative government which had not passed before Parliament was prorogued),[181] banning junk food advertising to children, and banning energy drinks for under 16s.[182][183]
Labour released its plan for small business on 8 June, which included pledges to replace the current business rates system and to tackle the skill shortage by creating a new public body,Skills England.[184] They also pledged to revitalise Britain's high streets and a new trade strategy.[185]
The Liberal Democrat manifestoFor a Fair Deal was released on 10 June,[186][187] which included commitments onfree personal care in England,[188] investment in the NHS including moreGPs, increased funding for education and childcare (including a tutoring guarantee for children from low-income families), increased funding for public services, tax reforms, reachingnet zero by 2045 (5 years before the current government target of 2050), investing in green infrastructure, innovation, training and skills across the UK to boost economic growth, and removing the two-child limit ontax andbenefits.[189] The Liberal Democrats also offered a lifelong skills grant, giving adults £5,000 to spend on improving their skills.[190] The party wants electoral reform, and pledged to introduceproportional representation for electing MPs, and local councillors in England, and cap donations to political parties.[191][192]
Sunak released the Conservative manifestoClear Plan. Bold Action. Secure Future. on 11 June, addressing the economy, taxes, welfare, expanding free childcare, education, healthcare, environment, energy, transport, community, and crime.[193][194] They pledged to lower taxes, increase education and NHS spending, deliver 92,000 more nurses and 28,000 more doctors, introduce a new model ofNational Service, continue to expand apprenticeships and vocational training, simplify the planning system to speed up infrastructure projects (digital, transport and energy), and to treble Britain's offshore wind capacity and support solar energy. The manifesto includes a pledge to abolish Stamp Duty on homes worth up to £425,000 for first time buyers and expand theHelp to Buy scheme.[195] The Conservatives also pledged a recruitment of 8,000 new police officers and a rollout offacial recognition technology.[196] Much of what has been proposed is already incorporated in the2023 and2024 budget.[197][198][199]
Carla Denyer andAdrian Ramsay released the Green Party's manifestoReal Hope. Real Change. on 12 June, which pledged more taxes on the highest earners, generating £70 billion a year to help tackle climate change and the NHS. They also pledged increased spending for public services, free personal care in England,renationalisation of railway, water and energy, a green society, awealth tax, a carbon tax, and a windfall tax on the profit of banks.[200][201] The manifesto promises quicker access to NHS dentistry and GPs and reductions in the hospital waiting list. They would also reachnet zero by 2040 and introduce rent controls.[202][203]
On 12 June Conservative ministerGrant Shapps said in a radio interview that voters should support the Conservatives so as to prevent Labour winning "a super-majority", meaning a large majority (the UK Parliament does not have any formalsupermajority rules). This was interpreted by journalists as a possible and surprising admission of defeat.[204][205][206] It paralleled social media advertising by the Conservatives that also focused on urging votes not to give Starmer a large majority.[207]
On 13 June, Starmer released the Labour Party manifestoChange, which focused on economic growth, planning system reforms, infrastructure, clean energy, healthcare, education, childcare, crime, and strengthening workers' rights.[208][209] It pledged a new publicly owned energy company (Great British Energy) andNational Wealth Fund, a "Green Prosperity Plan", rebuilding the NHS and reducing patient waiting times, free breakfast clubs in primary schools, investing in green infrastructure, innovation, training and skills across the UK to boost economic growth, and renationalisation of therailway network (Great British Railways).[210] It includes wealth creation and "pro-business and pro-worker" policies.[211] The manifesto also pledged to give votes to 16-year olds, reform theHouse of Lords, and to tax private schools, with money generated going into improving state education.[212][213][214] The party guaranteed giving all areas of Englanddevolution powers, in areas such as integrated transport, planning, skills, and health.[215][216]
On 17 June, Farage and Tice released the Reform UK manifesto, which they called a "contract" (Our Contract with You). It pledged to lower taxes, lower immigration, increase funding for public services, reform the NHS and decrease its waiting lists down to zero, bring utilities and critical national infrastructure under 50% public ownership (the other 50% owned bypension funds), replace theHouse of Lords with a more democratic second chamber, and to replacefirst-past-the-post voting with a system ofproportional representation.[217] It also pledged to accelerate transport infrastructure in coastal regions, Wales, the North, and the Midlands.[218][219] The party also wants to freeze non-essential immigration and recruit 40,000 new police officers.[220] Reform UK are the only major party to oppose the currentnet zero target made by the government.[221] Instead, it pledged to support the environment with more tree planting, more recycling and less single-use plastics.[222][223][224] Farage predicted Labour would win the election, but said he was planning to campaign for the next election.[225]
Labour'sRachel Reeves claimed Labour's green plans would create over 650,000 jobs.[226][227] The Liberal Democrats offered more cost-of-living help for rural communities.[228] Davey highlighted his manifesto pledge to build 380,000 new homes a year, 150,000 of which would be social homes.[229] On 18 June, Labour pledged hundreds of new banking hubs, to ''breathe life'' into high streets.[230][231] Labour also promised a large increase of renewable energy jobs, backed by new green apprenticeships.[232]
On 19 June, both the SNP and Sinn Féin released their manifestos. Swinney said a vote for his party would "intensify" the pressure to secure asecond Scottish independence referendum, with other pledges in the SNP manifesto including boosting NHS funding, scrapping the two-child limit on benefits, calling for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, scrapping theTrident defence programme, re-joining the European Union, transitioning to a green economy attracting more foreign migrants,[233] tackling drug deaths anddevolving broadcasting powers.[234] The Sinn Féin manifesto called for greaterdevolution to Northern Ireland and for the UK and Irish governments to set a date for a referendum on theunification of Northern Ireland with the Republic of Ireland.[235]
Galloway released the Workers Party manifesto, with promises to improve "poverty pay" and provide more social housing.[236] It pledged the renationalisation of utility companies, free school meals for all children without means testing, free adult education, and to hold a referendum on the continued existence of the monarchy and proportional representation for elections.[237]
David T. C. Davies, theSecretary of State for Wales, told a BBC interview the polls were "clearly pointing at a large Labour majority", but added that he believed there was "no great optimism" from voters.[238] A potentially large Labour majority was also acknowledged byJeremy Hunt, theChancellor of the Exchequer, andMel Stride, theSecretary of State for Work and Pensions.[239] Alison McGarry, the Labour chair of Islington North, resigned from the Labour Party after being spotted campaigning for Corbyn; she resigned rather than face expulsion for breaking the party's rules on campaigning for a rival candidate.[240]
On 20 June, the parties focused on housing. Labour pledged action to protect renters with new legal protections for tenants. It would immediately banSection 21 "no-fault" evictions, as part of plans to reform the private rented sector in England.[241] Labour also pledged to reformplanning laws and build 1.5 million homes to spread homeownership.[242] They would also ensure new housing is supported by new local infrastructure (public transport, healthcare, schools), and pledged to build more housing near railway stations and on the 'grey belt' (disused car parks or industrial estates).[243] The Conservatives offered stronger legal protections for tenants, including banning Section 21 "no-fault" evictions.[244] They said they would build 1.6 million new homes (including social housing) with new local infrastructure, prioritisingbrownfield development, while protecting the countryside.[245] The Liberal Democrats offered more protections for tenants, additional social housing, and moregarden cities.[246][247]
Also on 20 June, the Alliance Party in Northern Ireland launched their manifesto.[248] Its core policies include reforming the political institutions, dedicated funding forintegrated education, a Green New Deal to decarbonise Northern Ireland's economy, childcare reforms, and lowering the voting age to 16.[249]
On 21 June, in an interview, Farage repeated comments he had made previously stating that the West and NATO provokedRussia's invasion of Ukraine. He was criticised for this by Sunak and Starmer.[250] He also stated that Reform UK would lower the tax burden to encourage people into work.[251] Farage stated in another interview that he would remove university tuition fees if he won power for those studying science, technology, engineering, medicine or maths. Reform UK have already pledged to scrap interest on student loans and to extend the loan capital repayment periods to 45 years.[252] Farage also declared his ambition for Reform UK to replace the Conservatives as the biggest right-wing party in Parliament.[253]
The Conservatives pledged a review of licensing laws and planning rules aimed at boosting pubs, restaurants and music venues.[254] Labour framed its 10-year science andR&D budget plans as part of its industrial strategy, with an aim of boosting workforce and regional development.[255][256] Labour and the Liberal Democrats also focused on water pollution and improving England's water quality.[257][258] Labour pledged to put failing water companies who do not meet ''high environmental standards'' underspecial measures, give regulators new powers to block the payment of bonuses to executives who pollute waterways, and criminal charges against persistent law breakers. They also ensured independent monitoring of every outlet.[259]
On 24 June, Labour focused on NHS dentistry and health, pledged to hold a knife crime summit every year and halve incidents within a decade.[260][261] The Greens pledged to end 'dental deserts' with £3 billion for new NHS contracts.[262]
The Liberal Democrats launched a mini-manifesto forcarers.[263] It pledged to establish an independent living taskforce to help people live independently in their own homes, a new care worker's minimum wage to raise their pay by £2 an hour, and a new National Care Agency. Sunak released the Scottish Conservatives' manifesto.[264] Starmer discussed a proposed Football Governance Bill,[265] which will establish the new Independent Football Regulator.[266] The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats have also committed to introducing an Independent Football Regulator.[267] The Liberal Democrats pledged to establish a series of "creative enterprise zones" across the UK to regenerate cultural output.[268]
On 26 June,Alex Salmond released theAlba Party manifesto. It pledged to increase funding for public services, increase NHS staffing, provide an annual £500 payment to households receiving the council tax reduction at a cost of £250 million, increase the Scottish Child Payment, reducing fuel bills, a new Scottish clean energy public company, and Scottish Independence.[269]
Starmer pledged GP reforms, including the training of thousands more GPs, updating the NHS App, and bringing back the 'family doctor'.[270] Labour would also trial new "neighbourhood health centres".[271] TheSocial Democratic and Labour Party also launched their manifesto on 26 June in Northern Ireland.[272] It pledged a 'Marshall Plan' to tackle health, institutional reform, stronger environmental protection with an independent Environmental Protection Agency, and improving NI's financial settlement.[273]
On 27 June, Labour pledged to reform careers advice and work experience in schools for one million pupils, committing to deliver two weeks' worth of quality work experience for every young person, and recruit more than thousands of new careers advisers.[274] This is part of the party's wider plan to establish a "youth guarantee" of access to training, an apprenticeship or support to find work for all 18 to 21-year-olds.[275][276]
On 27 June, an undercoverChannel 4 journalist secretly recorded members of Farage's campaign team using offensive racial, Islamophobic and homophobic language, also suggestingrefugees should be used as "target practice".[277] In a statement, Farage said that he was "dismayed" at the "reprehensible" language.[278] Tice said that racist comments were "inappropriate".[277] Farage later accused Channel 4 of a "set-up", stating that one of the canvassers, Andrew Parker, had been an actor. Farage stated that Parker had been "acting from the moment he came into the office", and cited video of Parker performing "rough-speaking" from his acting website. Channel 4 denied that Parker was known to them prior to the report.[279] Regarding other members of his campaign team, Farage stated that the individuals in question had "watched England play football, they were in the pub, they were drunk, it was crass."[280]
On 29 June, the Liberal Democrats called for an 'emergency NHS budget' to hire more GPs.[281] Starmer hosted a major campaign rally,[282] and stated inThe Guardian "if you vote Labour on Thursday, the work of change begins. We will launch a new national mission to create wealth in every community. We'll get to work on repairing our public services with an immediate cash injection, alongside urgent reforms. And we will break with recent years by always putting country before party".[282][283]
The Greens announced a 'Charter for Small Business', which pledged £2 billion per year in grant funding for local authorities, regional mutual banks for investment in decarbonisation and local economic sustainability, and increasing annual public subsidies for rail and bus travel to £10 billion.[284][285] They also pledged free bus travel for under-18s.[286] TheNorthern Ireland Conservatives also launched their manifesto.[287] On 30 June, the Liberal Democrats pledged to double funding forBereavement Support Payments, and to spend £440 million a year on support for bereaved families.[288]
On 2 July, the Greens announced its £8 billion education package would include scrapping tuition fees, providing free school meals for all children, a qualifiedcounsellor in every school and college, and new special needs provision. They also want to end formal testing in primary and secondary schools with a system ofcontinuous assessment.[289] Former prime ministerBoris Johnson campaigned for the Conservatives.[290] On 3 July, the political parties made their closing arguments on the last day of campaigning, with Sunak stating he would "take full responsibility" for the result.[291] At the end of the campaign, Labour maintained their significant lead in polling over the Conservatives, and hadendorsements from celebrities, includingElton John.[292]
On 4 July, less than an hour before polls closed, Sunak's government announced the2024 Dissolution Honours, withlife peerages being given to 19 people, including former prime ministerTheresa May andCass Review authorHilary Cass.[293][294]
On 12 June 2024, it was reported that Conservative candidate andParliamentary Private Secretary to the Prime Minister,Craig Williams had placed a £100 bet on the date of the election being in July, three days before the date was announced. The bet was referred to theGambling Commission to determine whether Williams had placed the bet based on confidential information, which could constitute a criminal offence.[295] Williams apologised for the bet, but neither he nor Sunak would answer whether he had inside information.[296][297]
On 19 June, a police protection officer assigned to Sunak was arrested for betting on the election date.[298][299][300] On the same day, it was also announced that Laura Saunders, the Conservative candidate forBristol North West, was being investigated for betting on the election date. Her husband, Tony Lee, was also being investigated by the Gambling Commission and took a leave of absence from his role as the party's director of campaigning on 19 June.[301][302][303]
Over the following two weeks, it was reported that dozens of further Conservative Party-linked officials were being investigated by the Gambling Commission,[304] including Conservative Party's chief data officer, Nick Mason;[305]The Times reported that the investigation was being widened to hundreds of suspicious bets.[306] On 25 June, both Williams and Saunders had their support for their candidacies withdrawn by the Conservative Party.
In April 2025, Williams and 14 others were charged with offences under the Gambling Act 2005.[307]
| ← 2019 debates | 2024 |
|---|
Rishi Sunak challengedKeir Starmer to six televised debates.[308] Starmer announced that he would not agree to such a proposal, and offered two head-to-head debates—one shown on theBBC, and one shown onITV; a spokesperson said both networks would offer the greatest audience, and the prospect of any debates on smaller channels would be rejected as it would not be a "valuable use of campaign time".Ed Davey declared his wish to be included in "any televised debates", although he would ultimately only be featured in one debate.[309]
On 29 May, it was announced that the first leaders' debate would be hosted by ITV News withJulie Etchingham as moderator, on 4 June.[310] Key topics were the cost of living crisis, the National Health Service (NHS), young people, education, immigration and tax policy.[311] Sunak said that Labour would cost households £2000 more in tax, which Starmer denied. Sunak said this figure was calculated by "independent Treasury officials". Fact checkers disputed the sum, stating it was based on assumptions made by political appointees and that the figure was over a four-year period. On 5 June, the BBC reported thatJames Bowler, the Treasury permanent secretary, wrote that "civil servants were not involved in the [...] calculation of the total figure used" and that "any costings derived from other sources or produced by other organisations should not be presented as having been produced by the Civil Service".[312] TheOffice for Statistics Regulation also criticised the claim on the grounds that it was presented without the listener knowing it was a sum over 4 years.[313] AYouGov snap poll after the debate indicated that 46% of debate viewers thought Sunak had performed better, and 45% believed Starmer had performed better.[314] A Savanta poll published the next day favoured Starmer 44% to Sunak 39%.[315] The debate was watched by 5.37 million viewers, making it the most-viewed programme of the week.[316]
AnSTV debate hosted byColin Mackay took place on 3 June, which includedDouglas Ross,Anas Sarwar,John Swinney andAlex Cole-Hamilton.[317] Another debate between these leaders (also includingLorna Slater) took place on 11 June, on BBC Scotland, hosted byStephen Jardine. A BBC debate hosted byMishal Husain took place on 7 June, which includedNigel Farage,Carla Denyer,Rhun ap Iorwerth,Daisy Cooper,Stephen Flynn,Angela Rayner andPenny Mordaunt.[318] The debate included exchanges between Mordaunt and Rayner over tax, and all the attendees criticised Sunak leaving the D-Day events early; Farage called Sunak's actions "disgraceful" and said veterans had been deserted, Cooper said it was "politically shameful" and Mordaunt said Sunak's choice to leave prematurely had been "completely wrong".[319][320] After the seven-way debate, a snap poll found that viewers considered Farage had won, followed by Rayner, but that Flynn, Denyer and Cooper scored best on doing a good job.[321] Another debate between these leaders took place on 13 June, with Julie Etchingham as moderator.[322][323]
On 12 June Sky News hosted a leaders' event inGrimsby hosted byBeth Rigby, including Starmer and Sunak, where they took questions from both Rigby and the audience.[324] The debate covered various topics, including the NHS, the economy, education, immigration, housing and their future plans in government. Starmer started the event by saying he was putting the country ahead of his party, bringing Labour "back into the service of working people". He went on to attack the Conservatives on tax policy, saying that "the Tories are in no position to lecture anyone about tax rises".[325][326] 64% of those questioned by YouGov immediately following the debate said that Starmer had performed better, compared to 36% who said Sunak had performed better.[327]
Channel 4 News hosted a debate on 18 June with all seven of the main parties focusing solely on the issues ofimmigration andlaw and order.[328] Other BBC debates included threeQuestion Time specials, two hosted byFiona Bruce on 20 and 28 June, and one hosted by Bethan Rhys Roberts on 24 June. The first of the two hosted by Bruce featured four separate half-hour question and answer sessions with Sunak, Starmer, Davey and Swinney; the second of the two hosted by Bruce featured the same format with Ramsay and Farage; the programme hosted by Rhys Roberts featured the same format with ap Iorwerth. There was a BBC Cymru Wales debate on 21 June;[329] and a debate between Sunak and Starmer hosted by Husain took place on 26 June.[330] There was also a BBC debate on 27 June involving the five largest Northern Irish political parties.[329]
| Date | Organiser | Host | Format | Venue | Viewing figures (millions) |
| ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DUP | Sinn Féin | SDLP | UUP | Alliance | ||||||||||||||
| 23 June[346] | UTV | Vicki Hawthorne | Debate | UTV HQ,City Quays 2,Belfast[347] | TBA | P Robinson | S Finucane | P Eastwood | S Butler | P Long | ||||||||
| 27 June[329] | BBC Northern Ireland | Tara Mills | Debate | Broadcasting House,Belfast | TBA | P Robinson | S Hazzard | P Eastwood | S Butler | P Long | ||||||||
In addition to the debates, the BBC and ITV broadcast programmes in which the leaders of the main parties were interviewed at length.[348][349]Nick Robinson didBBCPanorama interviews with all the leaders of the main parties. Sunak'sTonight interview withPaul Brand drew substantial coverage in the week prior to broadcast, as Sunak controversially departed the D-Day commemorations early to attend. It was later revealed that the interview slot had been chosen by Sunak and his team from a range of options offered by ITN.[350]
Newspapers, organisations, and individuals endorsed parties or individual candidates for the election.
There were 4,515 candidates standing, which constitutes a record number, with a mean of 6.95 candidates per constituency. No seat had fewer than five people contesting it;Rishi Sunak'sRichmond and Northallerton seat had the most candidates, with thirteen.[351]
MPs whostood down at the election included the former prime ministerTheresa May, the former cabinet ministersSajid Javid,Dominic Raab,Matt Hancock,Ben Wallace,Nadhim Zahawi,Kwasi Kwarteng, andMichael Gove, the long-serving Labour MPsHarriet Harman andMargaret Beckett, and the former Green Party leader and co-leaderCaroline Lucas, who was the first – and until this election the only – Green Party MP.[352]
In March 2022, Labour abandonedall-women shortlists, citing legal advice that continuing to use them for choosing parliamentary candidates would be an unlawful practice under theEquality Act 2010, since the majority of Labour MPs were now women.[353]
In March 2024, Reform UK announced anelectoral pact with the Northern Irish unionist partyTUV.[354][355] The TUV applied to run candidates as "TUV/Reform UK" on ballot papers, but this was rejected by the Electoral Office.[356]Nigel Farage unilaterally ended this deal by endorsing two competing candidates from theDemocratic Unionist Party on 10 June.[357] Reform UK also announced a pact with theSocial Democratic Party (SDP), a minor socially conservative and economically left-wing party, in some seats.[358]
There were additionally:
A more complete list can be found in the articleCandidates in the 2024 United Kingdom general election.
Discussion around the campaign was focused on the prospect of a change in government, as Labour maintained significant leads in opinion polling over the Conservatives, with one in five voters voting tactically.[361] Projections four weeks before the vote indicated a landslide victory for Labour that surpassed the one achieved byTony Blair at the1997 general election, while comparisons were made in the media to the1993 Canadian federal election due to the prospect of a potential Conservativewipeout.[113][114] AYouGov poll conducted four weeks before the vote suggested that Labour was on course for the party's biggest election victory in history, beating Blair's 1997 landslide. The poll indicated Labour could win 422 seats, while the Conservatives were projected to win 140 seats.[362]
Halfway through the campaign, psephologistJohn Curtice summarised the polls as having shown little change in the first two weeks of the campaign but that they had then shown some clear shifts. Specifically, both the Conservatives and Labour had shown a decline of a few percentage points, leaving the gap between them unchanged, while Reform UK and the Liberal Democrats had both shown an increase, with one YouGov poll published 13 June attracting attention for showing Reform UK one point above the Conservatives.[363][364]
The Conservatives led the polls for the two years following the 2019 general election, which includedBrexit, the onset of theCOVID-19 pandemic andvaccine rollout during the leadership of Boris Johnson. Labour took a lead following thePartygate scandal and maintained this through theLiz Truss andRishi Sunak premierships until the 2024 election.
.svg)
Opinion polls conducted for the 2024 United Kingdom general election from the 2019 general election with a local regressions (LOESS) trend line for each party..svg)
Opinion polls conducted during the 2024 general election campaign period from 22 May to 4 July with a local regression (LOESS) trend line for each party.Others figures include, importantly, theSpeaker and allpolitical parties in Northern Ireland, unless otherwise stated.
| Source | Date | Others | Result | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Con. | Lab. | LD | SNP | PC | Green | Ref. | ||||
| The Economist[365][x] | 7 June | 182 | 394 | 22 | 24 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 19 | Labour majority 138 |
| Electoral Calculus[366] | 7 June | 75 | 474 | 61 | 16 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 19 | Labour majority 298 |
| ElectionMapsUK[367] | 10 June | 101 | 451 | 59 | 13 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 19 | Labour majority 252 |
| Financial Times[368] | 7 June | 139 | 443 | 32 | 14 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 19 | Labour majority 236 |
| New Statesman[369][370][371] | 7 June | 86 | 455 | 65 | 20 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 19 | Labour majority 260 |
| YouGov[372] | 3 June | 140 | 422 | 48 | 17 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 19 | Labour majority 194 |
| Source | Date | Others | Result | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Con. | Lab. | LD | SNP | PC | Green | Ref. | ||||
| The Economist[373] | 20 June | 184 | 383 | 23 | 28 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 19[y] | Labour majority 116 |
| Electoral Calculus[374] | 21 June | 76 | 457[z] | 66 | 22 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | Labour majority 264 |
| Financial Times[375] | 19 June | 97 | 459 | 51 | 21 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 19[y] | Labour majority 268 |
| The New Statesman[376] | 20 June | 101 | 437 | 63 | 22 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 19[y] | Labour majority 224 |
| YouGov[377] | 19 June | 108 | 425 | 67 | 20 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 0 | Labour majority 198 |
| Ipsos[378] | 18 June | 115 | 453 | 38 | 15 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1[z] | Labour majority 256 |
| Savanta[379][380] | 19 June | 53 | 516 | 50 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Labour majority 380 |
| The New Statesman[381] | 22 June | 96 | 435 | 63 | 24 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 1 | Labour majority 238 |
| Source | Date | Others | Result | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Con. | Lab. | LD | SNP | PC | Green | Ref. | ||||
| The Economist[382] | 27 June | 117 | 429 | 42 | 23 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 19[y] | Labour majority 208 |
| Electoral Calculus[383] | 26 June | 60 | 450[z] | 71 | 24 | 4 | 4 | 18 | 19[aa] | Labour majority 250 |
| Financial Times[384] | 28 June | 91 | 459 | 64 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 19[y] | Labour majority 268 |
| ElectionMapsUK[385] | 27 June | 80 | 453 | 71 | 17 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 19[y] | Labour majority 256 |
| The New Statesman[386] | 29 June | 90 | 436 | 68 | 23 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 19[y] | Labour majority 222 |
| ElectionMapsUK[387] | 1 July | 81 | 453 | 69 | 17 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 19 | Labour majority 256 |
| Source | Date | Others | Result | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Con. | Lab. | LD | SNP | PC | Green | Ref. | ||||
| Survation[388][x] | 2 July | 64 | 483 | 61 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 19 | Labour majority 316 |
| More in Common[389] | 3 July | 126 | 430 | 52 | 16 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 21 | Labour majority 210 |
| The Economist[390][x] | 3 July | 109 | 432 | 48 | 21 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 19 | Labour majority 214 |
| Financial Times[391] | 3 July | 98 | 447 | 63 | 19 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 19 | Labour majority 244 |
| YouGov[392][393] | 3 July | 102 | 431 | 72 | 18 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 19 | Labour majority 212 |
| New Statesman[394] | 3 July | 114 | 418 | 63 | 23 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 19 | Labour majority 186 |
| Election Maps UK[395][396] | 4 July | 101 | 432 | 68 | 19 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 19 | Labour majority 214 |
| Electoral Calculus[397] | 4 July | 78 | 453 | 67 | 19 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 20 | Labour majority 256 |
| Bunker Consulting Group[398] | 1 July | 130 | 425 | 43 | 26 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 19 | Labour majority 200 |
Anexit poll conducted byIpsos for theBBC,ITV, andSky News was published at the end of voting at 22:00, predicting the number of seats for each party.[399]
| Parties | Seats | Difference | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Labour Party | 410[z] | 209 | |
| Conservative Party | 131 | 241 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 61 | 53 | |
| Reform UK | 13 | 13 | |
| Scottish National Party | 10 | 38 | |
| Plaid Cymru | 4 | 2 | |
| Green Party | 2 | 1 | |
| Others | 19 | 1 | |
| Labour majority of 170 | |||
At about 4 am on 5 July, the BBC released a new projection, combining the exit poll with the results coming in.[400]
| Parties | Seats | Difference | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Labour Party | 405[z] | 204 | |
| Conservative Party | 154 | 218 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 56 | 48 | |
| Scottish National Party | 6 | 42 | |
| Plaid Cymru | 4 | 2 | |
| Reform UK | 4 | 4 | |
| Green Party | 2 | 1 | |
| Others | 19 | 1 | |
| Labour majority of 160 | |||
Voting closed at 22:00, which was followed by an exit poll. The first seat,Houghton and Sunderland South, was declared at 23:15 withBridget Phillipson winning for Labour.[401][402]Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire was the last seat to declare, due to multiple recounts after the election, withAngus MacDonald winning for theLiberal Democrats on the afternoon of 6 July.[403] Notably, the 2024 election was the most unrepresentative in UK history, with Labour receiving the lowest percentage of the popular vote for a governing party in any general election since record-keeping of the popular vote beganin 1830.[404][405]
| Affiliate | Leader | MPs | Aggregate votes | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Of total | Of total | |||||||
| Labour Party | Keir Starmer | 411[ab] | 63.2% | 9,708,716 | 33.7% | |||
| Conservative Party | Rishi Sunak | 121 | 18.6% | 6,828,925 | 23.7% | |||
| Liberal Democrats | Ed Davey | 72 | 11.1% | 3,519,143 | 12.2% | |||
| Scottish National Party | John Swinney | 9 | 1.4% | 724,758 | 2.5% | |||
| Sinn Féin | Mary Lou McDonald | 7 | 1.1% | 210,891 | 0.7% | |||
| Independent | — | 6 | 0.9% | 564,243 | 2.0% | |||
| Reform UK | Nigel Farage | 5 | 0.8% | 4,117,610 | 14.3% | |||
| Democratic Unionist Party | Gavin Robinson | 5 | 0.8% | 172,058 | 0.6% | |||
| Green Party of England and Wales | Carla Denyer Adrian Ramsay | 4 | 0.6% | 1,841,888 | 6.4% | |||
| Plaid Cymru | Rhun ap Iorwerth | 4 | 0.6% | 194,811 | 0.7% | |||
| Social Democratic and Labour Party | Colum Eastwood | 2 | 0.3% | 86,861 | 0.3% | |||
| Alliance Party of Northern Ireland | Naomi Long | 1 | 0.2% | 117,191 | 0.4% | |||
| Ulster Unionist Party | Doug Beattie | 1 | 0.2% | 94,779 | 0.3% | |||
| Traditional Unionist Voice | Jim Allister | 1 | 0.2% | 48,685 | 0.2% | |||
| Speaker | Lindsay Hoyle | 1 | 0.2% | 25,238 | 0.1% | |||
| Affiliate | Leader | Candidates | MPs | Aggregate votes | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Gained[ac] | Lost[ac] | Net | Of total (%) | Total | Of total (%) | Change (%) | ||||
| Labour | Keir Starmer | 631[ad] | 411[ae] | 218[af] | 7 | 211[ag] | 63.2[ah] | 9,708,716[ai] | 33.70[aj] | 1.6[ak] | |
| Conservative | Rishi Sunak | 635 | 121 | 1 | 252 | 251 | 18.6 | 6,828,925 | 23.70 | 19.9 | |
| Reform | Nigel Farage | 609 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0.8 | 4,117,620 | 14.29 | 12.3 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Ed Davey | 630 | 72 | 64 | 0 | 64 | 11.1 | 3,519,143 | 12.22 | 0.7 | |
| Green Party of England and Wales | Carla Denyer &Adrian Ramsay | 574 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0.6 | 1,841,888 | 6.39 | 3.8 | |
| Scottish National Party | John Swinney | 57 | 9 | 1 | 40 | 39 | 1.4 | 724,758 | 2.52 | 1.3 | |
| Independents | — | 459 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0.9 | 564,243 | 1.96 | 1.4 | |
| Sinn Féin | Mary Lou McDonald | 14 | 7 | 0 | 0 | | 1.1 | 210,891 | 0.73 | 0.1 | |
| Workers Party | George Galloway | 152 | 0 | New | 0.0 | 210,194 | 0.73 | New | |||
| Plaid Cymru | Rhun ap Iorwerth | 32 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0.6 | 194,811 | 0.68 | 0.2 | |
| Democratic Unionist | Gavin Robinson | 16 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0.8 | 172,058 | 0.60 | 0.2 | |
| Alliance | Naomi Long | 18 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | 0.2 | 117,191 | 0.41 | | |
| Ulster Unionist | Doug Beattie | 17 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.2 | 94,779 | 0.33 | | |
| Scottish Greens | Patrick Harvie &Lorna Slater | 44 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0.0 | 92,685 | 0.32 | 0.2 | |
| Social Democratic & Labour | Colum Eastwood | 18 | 2 | 0 | 0 | | 0.3 | 86,861 | 0.30 | 0.1 | |
| Traditional Unionist Voice | Jim Allister | 14 | 1 | Did not stand in 2019 | 0.1 | 48,685 | 0.17 | — | |||
| Social Democratic Party | William Clouston | 122 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0.0 | 33,811 | 0.12 | 0.1 | |
| Speaker[al] | Lindsay Hoyle | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | | 0.1 | 25,238 | 0.09 | | |
| Yorkshire Party | Bob Buxton & Simon Biltcliffe | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0.0 | 17,227 | 0.06 | | |
| Independent Network | Marianne Overton | 5 | 0 | Did not stand in 2019 | 0.0 | 13,663 | 0.05 | — | |||
| Trade Unionist & Socialist | Dave Nellist | 40 | 0 | Did not stand in 2019 | 0.0 | 12,562 | 0.04 | — | |||
| Alba | Alex Salmond | 19 | 0 | New | 0.0 | 11,784 | 0.04 | New | |||
| Rejoin EU | Brendan Donnelly | 26 | 0 | New | 0.0 | 9,245 | 0.03 | New | |||
| Green Party (NI) | Mal O'Hara | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0.0 | 8,692 | 0.03 | | |
| People Before Profit | Collective leadership[am] | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0.0 | 8,438 | 0.03 | | |
| Aontú | Peadar Tóibín | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0.0 | 7,466 | 0.03 | | |
| Newham Independents Party | Mehmood Mirza | 1 | 0 | New | 0.0 | 7,180 | 0.02 | New | |||
| Heritage Party | David Kurten | 41 | 0 | New | 0.0 | 6,597 | 0.02 | New | |||
| UK Independence Party | Nick Tenconi (interim) | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0.0 | 6,530 | 0.02 | 0.1 | |
| Liberal Party | Steve Radford | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0.0 | 6,375 | 0.02 | | |
| Ashfield Independents | Jason Zadrozny | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0.0 | 6,276 | 0.02 | | |
| Monster Raving Loony | Howling Laud Hope | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0.0 | 5,814 | 0.02 | | |
| Christian Peoples Alliance | Sidney Cordle | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0.0 | 5,604 | 0.02 | | |
| Scottish Family | Richard Lucas | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0.0 | 5,425 | 0.02 | | |
| English Democrats | Robin Tilbrook | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0.0 | 5,182 | 0.02 | | |
| Party of Women | Kellie-Jay Keen | 16 | 0 | New | 0.0 | 5,077 | 0.02 | New | |||
| Lincolnshire Independents | Marianne Overton | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0.0 | 4,277 | 0.01 | | |
| One Leicester | Rita Patel | 2 | 0 | New | 0.0 | 4,008 | 0.01 | New | |||
| Socialist Labour Party | Jim McDaid | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0.0 | 3,609 | 0.01 | | |
| Liverpool Community Independents | Alan Gibbons | 1 | 0 | New | 0.0 | 3,293 | 0.01 | New | |||
| Swale Independents | Mike Baldock | 1 | 0 | Did not stand in 2019 | 0.0 | 3,238 | 0.01 | — | |||
| Hampshire Independents | Alan Stone | 10 | 0 | New | 0.0 | 2,872 | 0.01 | New | |||
| Communist Party of Britain | Robert Griffiths | 14 | 0 | Did not stand in 2019 | 0.0 | 2,622 | 0.01 | — | |||
| Democracy for Chorley | Ben Holden-Crowther | 1 | 0 | New | 0.0 | 2,424 | 0.01 | New | |||
| Independent Oxford Alliance | Anne Gwinett | 1 | 0 | New | 0.0 | 2,381 | 0.01 | New | |||
| Climate Party | Edmund Gemmell | 13 | 0 | New | 0.0 | 1,967 | 0.01 | New | |||
| South Devon Alliance | Richard Daws | 1 | 0 | New | 0.0 | 1,924 | 0.01 | New | |||
| British Democratic Party | James Lewthwaite | 4 | 0 | Did not stand in 2019 | 0.0 | 1,860 | 0.01 | — | |||
| True and Fair Party | Gina Miller | 4 | 0 | Did not stand in 2019 | 0.0 | 1,695 | 0.01 | — | |||
| Alliance for Democracy and Freedom | Teck Khong | 9 | 0 | New | 0.0 | 1,586 | 0.01 | New | |||
| North East Party | Brian Moore | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0.0 | 1,581 | 0.01 | | |
| English Constitution Party | Graham Moore | 4 | 0 | New | 0.0 | 1,563 | 0.01 | New | |||
| Abolish the Welsh Assembly Party | Richard Suchorzewski | 3 | 0 | Did not stand in 2019 | 0.0 | 1,521 | 0.01 | — | |||
| Animal Welfare Party | Vanessa Hudson | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0.0 | 1,486 | 0.01 | | |
| Consensus | Ian Berkeley-Hurst | 1 | 0 | New | 0.0 | 1,289 | 0.00 | New | |||
| Women's Equality Party | Mandu Reid | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0.0 | 1,275 | 0.00 | | |
| Workers Revolutionary Party | Joshua Ogunleye | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0.0 | 1,190 | 0.00 | | |
| Kingston Independent Residents Group | Yvonne Tracey | 1 | 0 | New | 0.0 | 1,177 | 0.00 | New | |||
| Propel | Neil McEvoy | 1 | 0 | New | 0.0 | 1,041 | 0.00 | New | |||
| Scottish Socialist Party | Colin Fox & Natalie Reid | 2 | 0 | Did not stand in 2019 | 0.0 | 1,007 | 0.00 | — | |||
| Independent Alliance (Kent) | Francis Michael Taylor | 1 | 0 | New | 0.0 | 926 | 0.00 | New | |||
| Freedom Alliance | Catherine Evans | 5 | 0 | New | 0.0 | 895 | 0.00 | New | |||
| Christian Party | Jeff Green | 2 | 0 | Coalition withCPA in 2019 | 0.0 | 806 | 0.00 | — | |||
| Confelicity | James Miller | 2 | 0 | New | 0.0 | 750 | 0.00 | New | |||
| Portsmouth Independents Party | Brian Moore | 1 | 0 | New | 0.0 | 733 | 0.00 | New | |||
| Independence for Scotland Party | Colette Walker | 2 | 0 | New | 0.0 | 678 | 0.00 | New | |||
| Shared Ground | Thomas Hall | 2 | 0 | New | 0.0 | 664 | 0.00 | New | |||
| Cross-Community Labour Alternative | Owen McCracken | 1 | 0 | Did not stand in 2019 | 0.0 | 624 | 0.00 | — | |||
| British Unionist Party | John Ferguson | 2 | 0 | New | 0.0 | 614 | 0.00 | New | |||
| Transform | Anwarul Khan | 2 | 0 | New | 0.0 | 595 | 0.00 | New | |||
| Putting Crewe First | Brian Silvester | 1 | 0 | New | 0.0 | 588 | 0.00 | New | |||
| Scottish Libertarian Party | Tam Laird | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0.0 | 536 | 0.00 | | |
| Peace Party | John Morris | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0.0 | 531 | 0.00 | | |
| Taking the Initiative Party | Nicola Zingwari | 1 | 0 | Did not stand in 2019 | 0.0 | 503 | 0.00 | — | |||
| Parties with fewer than 500 votes each | 51 | 0 | N/A | 0.0 | 5,719 | 0.02 | N/A | ||||
| Blank and invalid votes | 116,063 | — | — | ||||||||
| Total | 4,515 | 650 | 0 | 100.0 | 28,924,725 | 100.00 | 0.0 | ||||
| Registered voters, and turnout | 48,208,507 | 60 | −7.52 | ||||||||
  | ||||||||||||||
| Seats by nations and regions | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nation/region | Seats | |||||||||||||
| Lab. | Con. | Lib. Dems | SNP | Ref. | Green | PC | SF | DUP | Others | |||||
| East of England | 61 | 27 | 23 | 7 | — | 3 | 1 | — | — | — | 0 | |||
| East Midlands | 47 | 29 | 15 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | |||
| London | 75 | 59 | 9 | 6 | — | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | |||
| North East | 27 | 26 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 0 | |||
| North West | 73 | 65 | 3 | 3 | — | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 2 | |||
| South East | 91 | 36 | 30 | 24 | — | 0 | 1 | — | — | — | 0 | |||
| South West | 58 | 24 | 11 | 22 | — | 0 | 1 | — | — | — | 0 | |||
| West Midlands | 57 | 38 | 15 | 2 | — | 0 | 1 | — | — | — | 1 | |||
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 54 | 43 | 9 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | |||
| Scotland | 57 | 37 | 5 | 6 | 9 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 0 | |||
| Wales | 32 | 27 | 0 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 | 4 | — | — | 0 | |||
| Northern Ireland | 18 | — | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | 7 | 5 | 6 | |||
| Total | 650 | 411 | 121 | 72 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 12 | |||
The result was a landslide win forLabour and a historic loss for theConservatives. It was the latter's worst result since formalising as a party in the early 19th century, and the largest defeat for any incarnation of theTories in purely numeric terms since1761 when they achieved 112 MPs, up from their all time numeric low of 106 in1754, although those made up a higher percentage of seats in Parliament (18.9% in 1754 and 20.1% in 1761 as opposed to 18.6% in 2024) due to the smaller sized House of Commons in 1754–1761 of 557 MPs. The Conservatives won no seats inWales or various English counties, includingCornwall andOxfordshire (the latter historically known for having several safe Conservative seats), and they only won one seat inNorth East England.[409] Keir Starmer became the fourth prime minister in a two-year period.[410] Turnout, at 59.9%, was the second lowest since records began in1885 with only2001 being lower at 59.4%.[411]
TheLiberal Democrats made significant gains to reach their highest ever number of seats, mostly gaining Conservative seats inSouthern England. This was also the best performance since its predecessorLiberal Party won 158 seats, in third place, in1923[412] (itself a higher score than the second-placed Conservatives achieved in this 2024 election) and superior to Labour's1918 and1931 performances, as second-placed official Opposition on both occasions. TheCo-operative Party, which is in an electoral pact with theLabour Party, and whose MPs are designated asLabour Co-op, also had its best ever result. It elected 43 MPs, surpassing its previous record of 38 seats in the2017 election. These MPs are typically included in the overall Labour total.Reform UK had MPs elected to the Commons for the first time. Their leader,Nigel Farage, was elected to Parliament on what was his eighth attempt.[413] TheGreen Party of England and Wales also won a record number of seats.[409] The party's two co-leaders,Carla Denyer andAdrian Ramsay, both entered Parliament for the first time.[414]
TheScottish National Party (SNP) lost around three quarters of its seats toScottish Labour.[3] Labour returned to being the largest party in Scotland and remained so in Wales, although their vote share fell in Wales.[415]
Because theDemocratic Unionist Party lost 3 seats,Sinn Féin won the most seats inNorthern Ireland, making it the first time an Irish nationalist party was the largest party in Parliament from Northern Ireland. TheTraditional Unionist Voice entered the Commons for the first time.[416] InNorth Down, independent Unionist candidateAlex Easton emerged victorious over theAlliance Party incumbentStephen Farry,[417] resulting in the election of a total of six independent MPs across the UK.
Fourindependent candidates (Ayoub Khan,Adnan Hussain,Iqbal Mohamed,Shockat Adam) outright defeated Labour candidates as well as one (Claudia Webbe) acting as a spoiler to defeat one in areas with largeMuslim populations; the results were suggested to be a push-back against Labour's stance on theGaza war and thehumanitarian crisis.[418][419] Additionally,Wes Streeting retained hisIlford North constituency by a margin of only 528 votes following a challenge by independent British-Palestinian candidateLeanne Mohamad,[420] while prominent Labour MPJess Phillips retained herBirmingham Yardley constituency by a margin of 693 votes.[421] Labour candidatePaul Waugh won the seat ofRochdale from incumbent MPGeorge Galloway, despite the constituency's sizeable Muslim population.[422] InIslington North,Jeremy Corbyn defeated the Labour candidate with a majority of 7,247; Corbyn is a prominent activist for Palestinian solidarity.[423] In September 2024, Corbyn went on to form theIndependent Alliance group in parliament with four of the other five elected independent MPs.[424]
The combined vote share for Labour and the Conservatives reached a record low, with smaller parties doing well, and this election had the lowest vote share for any party forming a majority government sinceWorld War II.[425]
The election was highlydisproportionate, as Labour won 63% of seats (411) with only 34% of the vote, while Reform won under 0.8% of seats (5) with 14.3% of the vote under the UK'sfirst-past-the-post voting system.[426] The Liberal Democrats recorded their best ever seat result (72), despite receiving only around half the votes they did in2010,[427] and fewer votes overall than Reform, although the party's seat share was again lower than its share of the vote. As Starmer's government was elected with the lowest share of the vote of any majority party on record, journalistFraser Nelson described Labour's electoral success as a "Potemkin landslide".[428] Aneditorial fromThe Guardian described the result as a "crisis of electoral legitimacy" for the incoming Labour government.[427]
TheGallagher index gave the election a 23.67 score, making it the least proportionate election in modern UK history according to the index, as well as the 5th least proportional result worldwide as of 2024.[429] According to political scientistJohn Curtice, the 2024 election was the most disproportional in British history and Labour's parliamentary majority was "heavily exaggerated" by the voting system.[430] Advocacy groupMake Votes Matter found that 58% of voters did not vote for their elected MP. Make Votes Matter spokesman Steve Gilmore,Electoral Reform Society chiefDarren Hughes, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage and the Green Party of England and Wales co-leader Adrian Ramsay were among the figures that called for electoral reform in the wake of the election. The campaigners said it was the "most disproportionate election in [British] history".[431][432]
| Affiliation | Aggregate votes | Seats | Aggregate votes per seat | Seats per aggregate vote |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 28,805,931 | 650 | 44,317 | 2.256×10−5 |
| For any returned candidate | 12,151,835 | 650 | 18,695 | 5.349×10−5 |
| Labour | 9,731,363 | 411 | 23,620 | 4.223×10−5 |
| Conservative | 6,827,112 | 121 | 56,422 | 1.772×10−5 |
| Liberal Democrat | 3,519,163 | 72 | 48,877 | 2.046×10−5 |
| Scottish National Party | 724,758 | 9 | 80,529 | 1.242×10−5 |
| Sinn Féin | 210,891 | 7 | 30,127 | 3.319×10−5 |
| Others | 842,013 | 7 | 120,288 | 8.31×10−6 |
| Reform UK | 4,106,661 | 5 | 821,332 | 1.22×10−6 |
| Democratic Unionist Party | 172,058 | 5 | 34,412 | 2.906×10−5 |
| Green | 1,943,258 | 4 | 485,815 | 2.06×10−6 |
| Plaid Cymru | 194,811 | 4 | 48,703 | 2.053×10−5 |
| Social Democratic and Labour Party | 86,861 | 2 | 43,431 | 2.303×10−5 |
| Alliance | 117,191 | 1 | 117,191 | 8.53×10−6 |
| Ulster Unionist Party | 94,779 | 1 | 94,779 | 1.055×10−5 |
| Workers Party of Britain | 210,194 | 0 | — | 0 |
| Alba | 11,784 | 0 | — | 0 |
The election resulted in more widespreadmarginality, with 31% of seats won on margins up to 10% compared with 22% in the 2019 election.[433] The average seat majority fell from 26% in 2019 to 16% in 2024.[434]
Below is listedYouGov's demographic breakdown.
| Category | Lab. | Con. | Ref. | LD | Grn | SNP | Others | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All | 35 | 24 | 15 | 13 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 11 |
| Gender | ||||||||
| Female | 35 | 26 | 12 | 13 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 9 |
| Male | 34 | 23 | 17 | 12 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 11 |
| Age | ||||||||
| 18–24 | 41 | 8 | 9 | 16 | 18 | 3 | 5 | 23 |
| 25–49 | 44 | 14 | 12 | 14 | 9 | 2 | 5 | 30 |
| 50–64 | 32 | 26 | 19 | 11 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 6 |
| 65+ | 22 | 42 | 16 | 11 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 20 |
| Women by age | ||||||||
| 18–24 | 42 | 6 | 6 | 16 | 23 | 3 | 3 | 19 |
| 25–49 | 45 | 15 | 10 | 14 | 10 | 2 | 5 | 30 |
| 50–64 | 32 | 29 | 16 | 11 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
| 65+ | 23 | 42 | 13 | 12 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 19 |
| Men by age | ||||||||
| 18–24 | 40 | 10 | 12 | 16 | 12 | 3 | 7 | 24 |
| 25–49 | 43 | 14 | 15 | 13 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 28 |
| 50–64 | 32 | 23 | 22 | 11 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 9 |
| 65+ | 21 | 41 | 16 | 11 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 20 |
| Social class(summary) | ||||||||
| ABC1 | 36 | 25 | 11 | 14 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 11 |
| C2DE | 33 | 23 | 20 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 10 |
| Social class(all) | ||||||||
| AB | 36 | 27 | 10 | 15 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 9 |
| C1 | 36 | 23 | 13 | 13 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 13 |
| C2 | 32 | 24 | 20 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 8 |
| DE | 34 | 23 | 19 | 10 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 11 |
| Highest educational level | ||||||||
| Low | 28 | 31 | 23 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 3 |
| Medium | 32 | 26 | 16 | 12 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 6 |
| High | 42 | 18 | 8 | 15 | 9 | 3 | 5 | 24 |
| Household earnings | ||||||||
| Less than £20,000 | 33 | 24 | 17 | 11 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 9 |
| £20,000–29,999 | 32 | 26 | 17 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 6 |
| £30,000–49,999 | 34 | 25 | 15 | 12 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 11 |
| £50,000–69,999 | 40 | 20 | 14 | 13 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 20 |
| £70,000+ | 40 | 22 | 10 | 16 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 18 |
| Household tenure | ||||||||
| Own outright | 25 | 37 | 16 | 12 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 12 |
| Mortgage | 39 | 21 | 14 | 13 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 18 |
| Private rent | 42 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 12 | 2 | 5 | 28 |
| Social rent | 42 | 14 | 21 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 21 |
| Rent-free | 40 | 15 | 11 | 14 | 12 | 3 | 5 | 25 |
| By affiliation of vote in 2019 general election | ||||||||
| Conservative | 10 | 53 | 25 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 28 |
| Labour | 71 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 10 | 1 | 5 | 61 |
| Lib. Dems | 30 | 10 | 2 | 49 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 19 |
| SNP | 22 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 60 | 4 | 38 |
| Brexit Party | 8 | 9 | 69 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 60 |
| Green | 28 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 36 | 2 | 7 | 8 |
Below is listedIpsos's demographic breakdown.
| Category | Lab. | Con. | Ref. | LD | Grn | SNP/PC | Others | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All | 35 | 24 | 15 | 13 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 11 |
| Gender | ||||||||
| Female | 35 | 26 | 13 | 13 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 9 |
| Male | 34 | 23 | 17 | 12 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 11 |
| Age | ||||||||
| 18–24 | 41 | 5 | 8 | 16 | 20 | 5 | 5 | 21 |
| 25–34 | 47 | 10 | 13 | 11 | 12 | 3 | 4 | 34 |
| 35–44 | 41 | 17 | 14 | 13 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 24 |
| 45–54 | 36 | 22 | 17 | 14 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 14 |
| 55–64 | 32 | 27 | 19 | 12 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 5 |
| 65+ | 23 | 43 | 14 | 12 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 20 |
| Women by age | ||||||||
| 18–24 | 45 | 5 | 7 | 16 | 17 | 3 | 6 | 28 |
| 25–34 | 47 | 9 | 7 | 16 | 17 | 3 | 6 | 30 |
| 35–54 | 39 | 19 | 14 | 13 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 20 |
| 55+ | 26 | 40 | 13 | 13 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 14 |
| Men by age | ||||||||
| 18–24 | 36 | 4 | 9 | 16 | 21 | 8 | 5 | 15 |
| 25–34 | 47 | 10 | 14 | 10 | 12 | 3 | 4 | 33 |
| 35–54 | 38 | 20 | 17 | 13 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 18 |
| 55+ | 27 | 35 | 20 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 8 |
| Social class | ||||||||
| AB | 36 | 26 | 9 | 17 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 10 |
| C1 | 36 | 25 | 12 | 13 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 11 |
| C2 | 31 | 25 | 25 | 10 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| DE | 32 | 26 | 17 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 11 |
| Highest educational level | ||||||||
| No qualifications | 28 | 39 | 18 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 11 |
| Other qualifications | 30 | 32 | 13 | 13 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 2 |
| Degree or higher | 43 | 19 | 7 | 16 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 24 |
| Household tenure | ||||||||
| Own outright | 27 | 37 | 15 | 12 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 10 |
| Mortgage | 38 | 21 | 14 | 14 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 17 |
| Private rent | 40 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 5 | 4 | 39 |
| Social rent | 43 | 12 | 20 | 9 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 23 |
| Ethnic group | ||||||||
| White | 33 | 26 | 16 | 13 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 7 |
| All ethnic minorities | 46 | 17 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 1 | 13 | 29 |
| Asian | 39 | 18 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 1 | 20 | 19 |
| Black | 68 | 16 | 1 | 6 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 52 |
| Mixed | 50 | 14 | 7 | 11 | 13 | 3 | 2 | 36 |
| By vote in EU referendum | ||||||||
| Remain | 46 | 18 | 3 | 17 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 28 |
| Leave | 19 | 38 | 29 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 9 |
| Did not vote | 40 | 18 | 16 | 11 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 22 |
| By affiliation of vote in 2019 general election | ||||||||
| Conservative | 12 | 53 | 24 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 29 |
| Labour | 71 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 9 | 1 | 5 | 62 |
| Lib. Dems | 31 | 8 | 3 | 49 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 18 |
Based on the notional results.[437]
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At around 04:45 on 5 July, Sunakconceded defeat to Starmer at the declaration at Sunak's seat ofRichmond and Northallerton, before Labour had officially secured a majority.[438] In his resignation speech later that morning, Sunak apologised to Conservative voters and candidates for the party's defeat, and offered his congratulations to Starmer and expressed hope he would be successful, saying:[439]
Whilst he has been my political opponent, Sir Keir Starmer will shortly become our Prime Minister. In this job, his successes will be all our successes, and I wish him and his family well. Whatever our disagreements in this campaign, he is a decent, public-spirited man, who I respect. He and his family deserve the very best of our understanding, as they make the huge transition to their new lives behind this door, and as he grapples with this most demanding of jobs in an increasingly unstable world.
Starmer succeeded Sunak as prime minister, ending 14 years of the Conservatives in government. In his first speech as prime minister, Starmer paid tribute to Sunak, saying "His achievement as the first British Asian Prime Minister of our country should not be underestimated by anyone", and recognised "the dedication and hard work he brought to his leadership" but said that the people of Britain had voted for change:[440][441]
From now on, you have a government unburdened by doctrine guided only by the determination to serve your interest, to defy, quietly, those who have written our country off. You have given us a clear mandate, and we will use it to deliver change. To restore service and respect to politics, end the era of noisy performance, tread more lightly on your lives and unite our country. Four nations standing together again, facing down as we have so often in our past, the challenges of an insecure world committed to a calm and patient rebuilding. So with respect and humility, I invite you all to join this government of service in the mission of national renewal. Our work is urgent, and we begin it today.
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United Kingdom portal17Co-operative Party MPs, as part of theLabour-Co-op alliance0.4% for theCo-operative Party, as part of theLabour-Co-op allianceDowning Street has shelved plans for a general election this summer, The Telegraph understands, with an autumn vote now widely expected after Tory local election defeats.
Sunak's aides insist they are still "planning for an autumn election" and most Tory MPs remain convinced the prime minister will play it long, hoping for a revival in economic and political fortunes later in the year.
Many observers had expected the poll to be held in the autumn – perhaps in October or November
The band members expressed regret at letting Tony Blair use the track for his general election victory celebrations in 1997, saying they were accused of "having blood on their hands" after the UK got involved with the war in Iraq.
Wind forward to 2024 and Sir Keir Starmer's Labour party received half a million fewer votes than in 2019, again a third of the popular vote.
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