United Kingdom general election, 1955
| 1950 election • MPs |
| 1951 election • MPs |
| 1955 election • MPs |
| 1959 election • MPs |
| 1964 election • MPs |
The 1955 United Kingdom general election was held on 26 May 1955, four years after the previous general election. It resulted in a substantially increased majority of 60 for the Conservative government under Sir Anthony Eden against the Labour Party under Clement Attlee. Boundary changes however make a direct comparsion with 1951 impossible.
This was the earliest general election in the United Kingdom of which television coverage survives (the 1950 and 1951 election nights were not recorded). Only three hours of the coverage was made and this was rebroadcast on BBC Parliament on the fiftieth anniversary of the date.
Results
| UK General Election 1955 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net Gain/Loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/- | |
| Conservative | 345 | + 23 | 49.7 | 13,310,891 | + 1.7 | ||||
| Labour | 277 | 1 | 19 | - 18 | 46.4 | 12,405,254 | - 2.4 | ||
| Liberal | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.7 | 722,402 | + 0.2 | ||
| Sinn Féin | 2 | 2 | 0 | + 2 | 0.6 | 152,310 | + 0.5 | ||
| Plaid Cymru | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 | 45,119 | + 0.2 | ||
| Independent | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 | 43,791 | + 0.1 | ||
| Communist | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 | 33,144 | 0.0 | ||
| Irish Labour | 0 | 0 | 1 | - 1 | 0.1 | 16,050 | 0.0 | ||
| Independent Labour | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 15,322 | N/A | ||
| Scottish National Party | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 12,112 | 0.0 | ||
| Ind. Labour Party | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 3,334 | 0.0 | ||
Total votes cast: 26,759,729. All parties shown. Conservatives include National Liberal Party and Ulster Unionists.
Summary of GB vote (excluding Northern Ireland)
| Popular vote | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative and Allies | 49.22% | |||
| Labour | 47.46% | |||
| Liberals | 2.76% | |||
| Plaid Cymru | 0.16% | |||
| Scottish National Party | 0.05% | |||
| Independent | 0.23% | |||
| Others | 0.12% | |||
Headline Swing: 1.62% to Conservative
Selected Declarations
First Declaration: Cheltenham (Con: 24,259, Lab:16,638. Con hold)
Prime Minister's Seat: Warwick and Leamington (Con: 29,979, Lab: 16,513. Con hold)
See also
Manifestos
- United for Peace and Progress: The Conservative and Unionist Party's Policy- 1955 Conservative manifesto.
- Forward With Labour: Labour's Policy for the Consideration of the Nation - 1955 Labour Party manifesto.
- Crisis Unresolved - 1955 Liberal Party manifesto.
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