United Kingdom general election, 1950

1945 ← members 23 February 1950 Members elected → 1951 members

All 625 seats in the House of Commons 313 seats needed for a majority   First party Second party Third party   Leader Clement Attlee Winston Churchill Clement Davies Party Labour Conservative Liberal Leader since 25 October 1935 9 October 1940 2 August 1945 Leader's seat Walthamstow West Woodford Montgomeryshire Last election 393 seats, 49.7% 197 seats, 36.2% 12 seats, 9.0% Seats won 315 282* 9 Seat change 78 85 3 Popular vote 13,226,176 11,507,061 2,621,487 Percentage 46.1% 40.0% 9.1% Swing 3.6% 3.8% 0.1%

PM before election Clement Attlee Labour Subsequent PM Clement Attlee Labour

The 1950 United Kingdom general election was the first ever general election to be held after a full term of a Labour government. Despite polling over one and a half million votes more than the Conservatives, the election, held on 23 February 1950, resulted in Labour receiving a slim majority of just five seats, a stark contrast to the previous election in 1945, where they had achieved a massive 146-seat majority,^[1] although Labour in fact received more votes than they had during the 1945 election.^[2]

The party would call another general election in 1951.

Significant changes since the 1945 general election included the abolition of plural voting by the Representation of the People Act 1948, and a major reorganisation of constituencies by the House of Commons (Redistribution of Seats) Act 1949. Eleven new English seats were created, six abolished, and there were over 170 major alterations to constituencies across the country.

Both the Conservative and Labour parties entered the campaign positively. The Conservatives, now having recovered from their heavy election defeat in 1945, accepted most of the nationalisation that had taken place under the Attlee government, (which included the NHS and the mixed economy). The campaign essentially focused therefore on the potential future nationalisation of other sectors and industries, which was supported by the Labour party, and opposed by the Tories. The Liberals essentially viewed the struggle between the two parties on this issue as a class struggle.^[3]

Results [edit]

Total votes cast: 28,771,124. All parties shown. Conservative total includes Ulster Unionists. ^* The National Liberal results are sometimes included with the Conservatives, which in this case would bring total Conservative strength to 298 seats; votes total 12,492,404 (43.4%), however, as they were not in government, the total makes little difference.

Votes summary [edit]

Seats summary [edit]

See also [edit]

• MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1950

References [edit]

• F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987
• United Kingdom election results - summary results 1885-1979

Manifestos [edit]

• This is the Road: The Conservative and Unionist Party's Policy- 1950 Conservative manifesto.
• Let Us Win Through Together: A Declaration of Labour Policy for the Consideration of the Nation - 1950 Labour Party manifesto.
• No Easy Way: Britain's Problems and the Liberal Answers - 1950 Liberal Party manifesto.

Notes [edit]

v t e Elections and referendums in the United Kingdom General elections 1801 co-option 1802 1806 1807 1812 1818 1820 1826 1830 1831 1832 1835 1837 1841 1847 1852 1857 1859 1865 1868 1874 1880 1885 1886 1892 1895 1900 1906 1910 (Jan) 1910 (Dec) 1918 1922 1923 1924 1929 1931 1935 1945 1950 1951 1955 1959 1964 1966 1970 1974 (Feb) 1974 (Oct) 1979 1983 1987 1992 1997 2001 2005 2010 Next Local elections 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 European elections 1979 1984 1989 1994 1999 2004 2009 2014 Referendums 1975 2011 Elections and referendums in England Great Britain Ireland Northern Ireland Scotland Wales

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