‹ 1951 · members  members ·1959 › |
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| United Kingdom general election, 1955 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All 630 seats to the House of Commons | ||||
| 26 May 1955 | ||||
| First party | Second party | Third party | ||
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| Leader | Anthony Eden | Clement Attlee | Clement Davies | |
| Party | Conservative | Labour | Liberal | |
| Leader since | 7 April 1955 | 25 October 1935 | 2 August 1945 | |
| Leader's seat | Warwick | Walthamstow (W) | Montgomeryshire | |
| Last election | 321 seats, 44.3% | 295 seats, 48.8% | 6 seats, 2.5% | |
| Seats won | 345 | 277 | 6 | |
| Seat change | +23 | -18 | 0 | |
| Popular vote | 13,310,891 | 12,405,254 | 722,402 | |
| Percentage | 49.7% | 46.4% | 2.7% | |
| Swing | % | % | % | |
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Incumbent PM Subsequent PM |
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| 1950 election • MPs |
| 1951 election • MPs |
| 1955 election • MPs |
| 1959 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 comparison 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 kept and this was rebroadcast on BBC Parliament on the fiftieth anniversary of the date.
Contents |
Results
| UK General Election 1955 | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | ||||||||||||||
| Party | Standing | Elected | Gained | Unseated | Net | % of total | % | No. | Net % | ||||||
| Conservative | 624 | 345 | + 23 | 54.76 | 49.7 | 13,310,891 | + 1.7 | ||||||||
| Labour | 620 | 277 | 1 | 19 | - 18 | 43.97 | 46.4 | 12,405,254 | - 2.4 | ||||||
| Liberal | 110 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.95 | 2.7 | 722,402 | + 0.2 | ||||||
| Sinn Féin | 12 | 2 | 2 | 0 | + 2 | 0.32 | 0.6 | 152,310 | + 0.5 | ||||||
| Plaid Cymru | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 | 45,119 | + 0.2 | |||||||
| Independent | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 | 43,791 | + 0.1 | |||||||
| Communist | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 | 33,144 | 0.0 | |||||||
| Irish Labour | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | - 1 | 0.1 | 16,050 | 0.0 | |||||||
| Independent Labour | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 15,322 | N/A | |||||||
| SNP | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 12,112 | 0.0 | |||||||
| Ind. Labour Party | 2 | 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.
Votes summary
| Popular vote | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative and Unionist | 49.74% | |||
| Labour | 46.36% | |||
| Liberal | 2.7% | |||
| Independent | 0.23% | |||
| Others | 0.97% | |||
Headline Swing: 1.62% to Conservative
Seats summary
| Parliamentary seats | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative and Unionist | 54.76% | |||
| Labour | 43.97% | |||
| Liberal | 0.95% | |||
| Sinn Féin | 0.32% | |||
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)
References
- F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987
- United Kingdom election results - summary results 1885-1979
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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