2005 United Kingdom general election
A general election to select Members of Parliament in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom (UK) took place on 5th May 2005. The governing Labour Party under then-Prime Minister Tony Blair defended its win in the 2001 general election against the Opposition party, the Conservatives, led by Michael Howard, the Leader of the Opposition at the time. The three main national parties - Labour, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats - contested 646 seats using the first past the post voting system alongside smaller parties, including those fielding candidates only in particular regions, such as the Scottish National Party in Scotland. Northern Ireland, being part of the UK, also elected MPs, but these parties do not contest seats in Great Britain.
The election led to the formation of the third Labour government since 1997, with Tony Blair returned as prime minister for the final time. Labour maintained a comfortable working majority in the Commons, but its margin of 66 seats was well down on its previous total of 166 in 2001. The defeated Conservative Party later elected David Cameron as its new leader, its fifth since losing power in 1997. The election was held two years after the start of the Iraq War, at a time of serious violence and disorder in Iraq, and saw significant protests: George Galloway was elected on an anti-war platform, and campaigner Reg Keys polled 10% in Tony Blair's otherwise-safe constituency.[1] Two years later, Blair was ousted by his own party in favour of the then-Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown.
Results
The results of the 2005 UK general election after 646 seats were declared were as follows:[2]
| Party | Seats | Change[3] | Number of votes | % of votes | % change[4] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | 356 | -47 | 9,566,618 | 35.3 | -5.4 |
| Conservative | 198 | +33 | 8,785,941 | 32.3 | +0.6 |
| Liberal Democrat | 62 | +11 | 5,985,414 | 22.1 | +3.8 |
| DUP | 9 | +4 | 241,856 | 0.9 | +0.2 |
| SNP | 6 | +2 | 412,267 | 1.5 | -0.3 |
| Sinn Féin | 5 | +1 | 174,530 | 0.6 | -0.1 |
| Plaid Cymru | 3 | -1 | 174,838 | 0.6 | -0.1 |
| SDLP | 3 | - | 125,626 | 0.5 | -0.1 |
| UUP | 1 | - | 127,414 | 0.5 | -0.3 |
| Independent | 1 | - | 20,505[5] | - | - |
| Respect | 1 | -[6] | 68,094 | 0.3 | - |
| Health Concern | 1 | - | 18,739 | 0.1 | - |
Footnotes
- ↑ BBC News: 'Blair secures historic third term'. 6th May 2005.
- ↑ BBC News: 'Full national scoreboard'. 24th June 2005.
- ↑ Number of seats gained or lost since the 2001 United Kingdom general election.
- ↑ Percentage of votes gained or lost since the 2001 election.
- ↑ Total number of votes in the constituency where an independent candidate was elected, rather than the total number of votes for all candidates standing as independents.
- ↑ Party formed in 2004.