1970 United Kingdom general election in England

none 1970 United Kingdom general election in England England parliamentary no 1966 United Kingdom general election in England 1966 List of MPs elected in the 1966 United Kingdom general election February 1974 United Kingdom general election in England February 1974 List of MPs elected in the 1970 United Kingdom general election All 511 English seats in the House of Commons 71.4% ( 4.5 pp) List of MPs elected in the February 1974 United Kingdom general election 18 June 1970 Golda Meir and Edward Heath cropped (cropped).jpg 140 120 160 0 0 Edward Heath 28 July 1965 Conservative Party (UK) Bexley 219 seats, 42.7% 292 73 11,282,524 48.3% 5.6 pp Aankomst Premier Wilson en Minister Brown op vliegvel Ypenburg, v.l.n.r. Ministe, Bestanddeelnr 920-1137 (crop).jpg 120 120 160 0 0 Harold Wilson 14 February 1963 Labour Party (UK) Huyton 286 seats, 48.0% 217speaker 69 10,131,555 43.5% 4.6 pp Liberal Party (UK) Jeremy Thorpe 18 January 1967 Liberal Party (UK) North Devon 6 seats, 21.3% 2 4 1,853,616 7.9% 1.1 pp On Thursday 18 June 1970, the 1970 United Kingdom general election was held in England, to elect all 630 members of the House of Commons, with 511 constituencies being in England. This was the first general election in which people could vote from the age of eighteen years, after passage of the Representation of the People Act the previous year,British Electoral Facts 1885-1975 F.W.S. Craig Macmillan Press 3 173 0333197348 1976 and the first UK general election in which party affiliations of candidates were put on the ballot papers.Parliament of the United Kingdom Use Of Political Descriptions In Nomination Papers And Ballot Papers At Parliamentary Elections https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1968/dec/10/use-of-political-descriptions-in House of Commons 10 December 1968 Harry Gourlay Deputy Chairman of Ways and Means The closing of the polls was also extended from 9.00 pm to 10.00 pm.British Electoral Facts 1885-1975 F.W.S. Craig Macmillan Press 3 173 0333197348 1976 Candidates Below is a table summarising the candidates of the 1970 general election in England.https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-7529/CBP-7529.pdf UK Election Statistics: 1918-2023, A Century of Elections Cracknell Richard Uberoi Elise Burton Matthew 9 August 2023 House of Commons Library 21 8 August 2026https://api.parliament.uk/uk-general-elections/general-elections/35 UK General Elections Results 1832-2019 12 August 2026British Electoral Facts Colin Rallings Michael Thrasher Total Politics 978-1-907278-03-7 43 2006 Affiliation CandidatesLabour Party 511speakerConservative and Unionist Party 510Scottish Liberal Party 282Communist Party of Great Britain 35 Independent 22National Front 9National Democratic Party 4The candidates that stood were Douglas Hardy in Birmingham Stechford, David R. M. Brown in Ipswich, Edwin Bray in Southampton Itchen and Robert E. Welford in Leicester North West.Democratic Party 4The candidates that stood were Peter Boyle in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Barry Gray Morris in North Devon, Alec Boothroyd in Reading and John Walter Gerald Sparrow in Huyton. Anti-Common Market 3The candidates that stood were Daniel Brunner in Henley, Walter Harvey in Kingston upon Hull North and John D. Hill in Wallasey. Independent Conservative 3The candidates that stood were Michael Coney in Bexley, Ian Josephs in Isle of Thanet and Edgar Scruby in Surbiton. Socialist Party of Great Britain 2 Other 18Each were individual candidates or minor parties.Total 1,403 Analysis In England, the Conservative Party led by Edward Heath scored a decisive victory by winning 292 seats over the incumbent Labour Party led by Prime Minister Harold Wilson which was restricted to 217 seats. Overall, the Conservative Party won 330 seats in the House of Commons while Labour won 288 seats. The Labour Party lost an overall 70 seats to the Conservatives in England, though David Clark won Colne Valley from Richard Wainwright of the Liberal Party. The Labour party had lost the seat to the Liberal Party in the 1966 general election, being the only seat it lost in that election. This was the only gain the Labour party made in England and the wider United Kingdom compared to the previous election. Wainwright would regain the constituency in 1974. The Liberal Party also lost Orpington, Bodmin and Cheadle to the Conservative Party. As such, the Liberal Party were reduced to just two seats, with a slight decrease in its vote share. Notable politicians that entered Parliament in English constituencies include future Conservative Party Ministers Kenneth Clarke in Rushcliffe and Norman Fowler in Nottingham South for the Conservative Party.https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/special/politics97/background/pastelec/ge70.shtml BBC Politics 97: 18 June 1970 12 June 2026 Geoffrey Howe re-entered Parliament in the seat of Reigate. Among the five Conservative members of Parliament who won by-elections against Labour in English constituencies since the previous election, only Keith Speed retained his seat in Meriden which he had initially won in 1968. Kenneth Baker, elected initially on the same day, was unsuccessful in retaining Acton. Donald Williams was also unsuccessful in retaining Dudley after the 1968 by-election; he also initially entered Parliament on the same day as Speed and Baker. Baker would, however, shortly re-entered Parliament following the 1970 St Marylebone by-election. Additionally, Bruce Campbell and Christopher Ward were also unsuccessful in retaining seats won in by-elections. Results +PartyBritish Electoral Facts Colin Rallings Micheal Thrasher Total Politics 978-1-907278-03-7 2006British Electoral Facts 1885-1975 F.W.S. Craig Macmillan Press 3 26 0333197348 1976 SeatsAggregate votes Total Gains Losses Net Of all (%) Total Of all (%) Change (%) Conservative Party (UK) 292 73 0 73 57.1 11,282,524 48.3 5.6 Labour Party (UK) 217speaker Figure includes Speaker of the House of Commons Horace King in Southampton Itchen. 1 70 69 42.3 10,131,555 43.4 4.6 Liberal Party (UK) 2 0 4 4 0.4 1,853,616 7.9 1.1 Communist Party of Great Britain 0 0 0 — 20,103 0.1 Independent (politician) 0 0 0 — 15,877 0.1 National Democratic Party (UK, 1966) 0 0 0 — 14,321 0.1 0.1 National Front (UK) 0 colspan=3 New — 10,467 0.0 New   Anti-Common Market 0 colspan=3 New — 5,714 0.0 New Independent Conservative 0 0 0 — 4,675 0.0 Independent Liberal 0 0 0 — 3,937 0.0   Ratepayers (Leigh) 0 colspan=3 New — 3,776 0.0 New   Democratic 0 colspan=3 New — 3,468 0.0 New   Anti-Immigration 0 colspan=3 New — 1,616 0.0 NewNew Liberal 0 0 0 — 1,161 0.0 Vectis National Party 0 colspan=3 New — 1,607 0.0 New Mebyon Kernow 0 colspan=3 New — 960 0.0 New Independent Labour Party 0 0 0 — 847 0.0   World Government 0 colspan=3 New — 840 0.0 New British Movement 0 colspan=3 New — 704 0.0 New Independent Progressive 0 colspan=3 Did not stand in 1966 — 658 0.0   Independent Resident 0 colspan=3 New — 542 0.0 New   Radical Alliance 0 0 0 — 421 0.0 Socialist Party of Great Britain 0 0 0 — 376 0.0   Anti-Party 0 colspan=3 New — 334 0.0 New   Social Credit 0 0 0 — 254 0.0   Young Ideas 0 colspan=3 New — 157 0.0 New   Independent Anti-Labour 0 colspan=3 New — 157 0.0 New   British Commonwealth 0 colspan=3 New — 117 0.0 New   Anti-Election 0 colspan=3 New — 112 0.0 New Total 511 0 100.0 23,360,896 100.0 0.0 Registered voters, and turnout 32,737,025 71.4https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-7529/CBP-7529.pdf UK Election Statistics: 1918-2023, A Century of Elections Cracknell Richard Uberoi Elise Burton Matthew 9 August 2023 House of Commons Library 29 8 August 2026 4.5 Popular vote #ddd 600px 410px Conservative Conservative Party (UK) 48.3 Labour Labour Party (UK) 43.4 Liberal Liberal Party (UK) 7.9 Other #777777 0.4 Parliament seats #ddd 600px 410px Conservative Conservative Party (UK) 57.14 Labour Labour Party (UK) 42.47 Liberal Liberal Party (UK) 0.39 By region Note: the following tables indicate the results according to the regions of England which were established in 1994, based on the county boundaries established in the 1974 local government reforms. These regions were not used at the time for the purposes of this election. East Midlands Parliamentary constituencies in the East Midlands + Party Seats Aggregate votes Total Gains Losses Net Of all (%) Total Of all (%) Change (%) Conservative Party (UK) 19 8 0 8 50.0 47.5 6.3 Labour Party (UK) 19 0 8 8 50.0 47.5 5.2 Liberal Party (UK) 0 0 0 0.0 4.5 1.6   Others 0 0 0 0.0 0.5 0.4 Total 38 East of England Parliamentary constituencies in the East of England + Party Seats Aggregate votes Total Gains Losses Net Of all (%) Total Of all (%) Change (%) Conservative Party (UK) 37 11 0 11 90.2 52.2 6.5 Labour Party (UK) 4 0 11 11 9.8 40.2 4.7 Liberal Party (UK) 0 0 0 0.0 7.4 1.9   Others 0 0 0 0.0 0.2 0.1 Total 41 Greater London Parliamentary constituencies in London + Party Seats Aggregate votes Total Gains Losses Net Of all (%) Total Of all (%) Change (%) Labour Party (UK) 55 0 10 10 53.9 45.8 3.2 Conservative Party (UK) 47 10 0 11 46.1 46.6 5.6 Liberal Party (UK) 0 0 1 1 0.0 6.9 2.4   Others 0 0 0 0.0 0.7 Total 102 North East England Parliamentary constituencies in North East England + Party Seats Aggregate votes Total Gains Losses Net Of all (%) Total Of all (%) Change (%) Labour Party (UK) 26 0 1 1 83.9 59.6 3.5 Conservative Party (UK) 5 0 1 1 16.1 38.2 3.7 Liberal Party (UK) 0 0 0 0.0 2.2 0.2   Others 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.4 Total 31 North West England Parliamentary constituencies in North West England + Party Seats Aggregate votes Total Gains Losses Net Of all (%) Total Of all (%) Change (%) Labour Party (UK) 44 0 13 13 53.0 45.7 4.7 Conservative Party (UK) 39 14 0 14 47.0 46.7 5.2 Liberal Party (UK) 0 0 1 1 0.0 7.2 0.4   Others 0 0 0 0.0 0.4 Total 83 South East England Parliamentary constituencies in South East England + Party Seats Aggregate votes Total Gains Losses Net Of all (%) Total Of all (%) Change (%) Conservative Party (UK) 58 10 0 10 95.1 54.4 5.4 Labour Party (UK) 3speaker 0 10 10 4.9 32.1 4.3 Liberal Party (UK) 0 0 0 0.0 12.8 1.6   Others 0 0 0 0.0 0.7 0.5 Total 61 South West England Parliamentary constituencies in South West England + Party Seats Aggregate votes Total Gains Losses Net Of all (%) Total Of all (%) Change (%) Conservative Party (UK) 37 6 0 6 82.2 51.5 5.9 Labour Party (UK) 6 0 5 5 13.3 33.8 4.2 Liberal Party (UK) 2 0 1 1 4.4 14.5 1.7   Others 0 0 0 0.0 0.1 0.1 Total 45 West Midlands Parliamentary constituencies in the West Midlands + Party Seats Aggregate votes Total Gains Losses Net Of all (%) Total Of all (%) Change (%) Conservative Party (UK) 30 8 0 8 55.6 50.5 5.8 Labour Party (UK) 24 0 8 8 44.4 44.9 5.8 Liberal Party (UK) 0 0 0 0.0 4.2 0.1   Others 0 0 0 0.0 0.4 Total 54 Yorkshire and the Humber Parliamentary constituencies in Yorkshire and the Humber + Party Seats Aggregate votes Total Gains Losses Net Of all (%) Total Of all (%) Change (%) Labour Party (UK) 36 1 4 3 64.3 50.2 4.7 Conservative Party (UK) 20 4 0 4 35.7 41.8 4.5 Liberal Party (UK) 0 0 1 1 0.0 7.8 0.3   Others 0 0 0 0.0 0.3 Total 56 See also 1970 United Kingdom general election in Northern Ireland 1970 United Kingdom general election in Scotland 1970 United Kingdom general election in Wales Notes References Further reading "Heath: The victory few predicted", BBC News, "1970: Heath's surprise victory", BBC News Richard Rose (1970). "Voting Trends Surveyed". The Times Guide to the House of Commons 1970. London: Times Newspapers Ltd. p. 31. Politics England United Kingdom #England General Election Category:1970s in England 1970