2010 United Kingdom general election

none December 2012 January 2020 2010 United Kingdom general election United Kingdom parliamentary no 2005 United Kingdom general election 2005 List of MPs elected in the 2005 United Kingdom general election 2015 United Kingdom general election 2015 All 650 seats in the House of Commons 326n Given that Sinn Féin members of Parliament (MPs) practise abstentionism and do not take their seats, while the Speaker and deputies do not vote, the number of MPs needed for a majority was in practice slightly lower.Government majority https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainers/government-majority Institute for Government 20 December 2019 Sinn Féin won 5 seats, meaning a practical majority required 323 MPs. List of MPs elected in the 2010 United Kingdom general election 2010 05 06 yes 29,687,60465.1% (3.7 pp) Opinion polling for the 2010 United Kingdom general election David Cameron official.jpg 120 120 160 0 0 David Cameron 6 December 2005 Conservative Party (UK) Witney 10,703,654 36.1% 3.7 pp 198 seats, 32.4% 210 +116 306Does not include the Speaker, John Bercow, who was included in the Conservative totals by some media outlets 96‡ Gordon Brown official (cropped).jpg 120 120 160 0 0 Gordon Brown 24 June 2007 Labour Party (UK) Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath 355 seats, 35.2% 349 –23Reflects the notional winners of seats in light of boundary changes 258 91‡ 8,609,517 29.0% 6.2 pp Nick Clegg official portrait.jpg 120 120 160 0 0 Nick Clegg 18 December 2007 Liberal Democrats (UK) Sheffield Hallam 62 seats, 22.0% 62 +263 57 5‡ 6,836,248 23.0% 1.0 pp 2010UKElectionMap.svg 300px Colours denote the winning party, as shown in the main table of results ‡ owing to electoral boundaries changing, this figure is notional File:House of Commons (Start of 55th Parliament).svg 360px Composition of the House of Commons after the election Prime Minister Gordon Brown Labour Party (UK) Prime Minister after election David Cameron Conservative–Liberal Democrats 45,597,461 A general election was held in the United Kingdom on 6 May 2010 to elect 650 MPs to the House of Commons. This was the first election to be held after the minimum age of candidacy was reduced from 21 to 18. As of 2026, it remains the last UK general election to produce a Prime Minister who lasted a full term of office. It resulted in the Labour government losing its 66-seat majority; however, with the opposition Conservative Party ending up with only 306 elected MPs, it was also the first election since that of February 1974 to result in a hung parliament. The Conservatives entered government (at first in partnership with the Liberal Democrats) and remained in office for 14 years until 2024. During the campaign, the three main party leaders engaged in the first televised debates. The Liberal Democrats achieved a breakthrough in opinion polls following the first debate, in which their leader Nick Clegg was widely seen as the strongest performer. Nonetheless, on polling day their share of the vote increased by only 1%, with a net loss of five seats. This was still the Liberal Democrats' largest popular vote since the party's creation in 1988; they found themselves in a pivotal role in the formation of the new government. The share of votes for parties other than Labour or the Conservatives was 35%, the largest since the 1918 general election. It was the most 'three-cornered' election in terms of votes since 1923, and in terms of seats since 1929. The Green Party of England and Wales won its first ever seat in the House of Commons, and the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland also gained its first elected member.In 1973 Stratton Mills, elected as a Unionist, defected to the Alliance Party but retired from Westminster at the following general election. The general election saw a 5.1% national swing from Labour to the Conservatives, the third-largest since 1945. The result in one constituency, Oldham East and Saddleworth, was subsequently declared void on petition because of illegal practices during the campaign (see 2011 Oldham East and Saddleworth by-election); it was the first such instance since 1910. A hung parliament had been largely anticipated by the opinion polls in the run-up to the election, so politicians and voters were better prepared for the constitutional process that would follow such a result than they had been in 1974.Naughton Philippe Watson Roland Britain wakes up to a hung Parliament http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article7119226.ece#cid=OTC-RSS&attr=797084 dead The Times London 7 May 2010 7 May 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20100528080411/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article7119226.ece#cid=OTC-RSS&attr=797084 28 May 2010 The coalition government that was subsequently formed was the first to result directly from a UK election. The hung parliament came about in spite of the Conservatives managing a higher share of the vote than the previous Labour government had done in 2005, when it had secured a comfortable majority. Coalition talks began immediately between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats, and lasted for five days. There was an attempt to put together a Labour – Liberal Democrat coalition (though 11 seats from other smaller parties would have been required). To facilitate this, Gordon Brown announced on the evening of Monday 10 May that he would resign as Leader of the Labour Party. Just after midnight on 12 May, the Liberal Democrats approved the coalition agreement with the Conservatives 'overwhelmingly'.Sparrow Andrew 12 May 2010 New government – live blog https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2010/may/11/general-election-2010-live-blog The Guardian LondonLib Dems approve coalition deal https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/election_2010/8676539.stm BBC News 11 May 2010 11 May 2010 A total of 149 sitting MPs stood down at the election, the highest since 1945, including many former New Labour Cabinet ministers such as former Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, Alan Milburn, Geoff Hoon, Ruth Kelly, James Purnell and John Reid. One reason for the very high number of MPs standing down was the parliamentary expenses scandal a year earlier. A record 228 new MPs were elected at the election. Many of the Conservative MPs elected for the first time became ministers in government. Notable newcomers who were elected to parliament in 2010 include future Prime Minister Liz Truss; future Chancellors of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves, Sajid Javid, Kwasi Kwarteng and Nadhim Zahawi; future Home Secretaries Amber Rudd, Priti Patel and Shabana Mahmood; future Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson; future Leaders of the House Jacob Rees-Mogg and Penny Mordaunt; future Health Secretary Matt Hancock; and future Deputy Prime Ministers Dominic Raab and Thérèse Coffey. Background On 6 April 2010, the prime minister, Gordon Brown, visited Buckingham Palace for a meeting with Queen Elizabeth II to ask her to dissolve Parliament on 12 April, confirming in a live press conference in Downing Street, as had long been speculated, that the election would be held on 6 May,Gordon Brown calls 6 May general election https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/election_2010/8603591.stm BBC News 6 April 2010 five years since the previous election on 5 May 2005. The election took place on 6 May in 649 constituencies across the United Kingdom, under the first-past-the-post system, for seats in the House of Commons. Voting in the Thirsk and Malton constituency was postponed for three weeks because of the death of a candidate. The governing Labour Party campaigned to secure a fourth consecutive term in office, and to restore support lost since 2001 due to the Iraq War.Brown would 'renew' Labour Party https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/6236315.stm BBC News 5 January 2007 The Conservative Party sought to gain a dominant position in British politics after losses in the 1990s, and to replace Labour as the governing party. The Liberal Democrats hoped to make gains from both sides and hoped to hold the balance of power in a hung parliament. Since the televised debates between the three leaders, the Lib Dems' poll ratings had risen to the point where many considered the possibility of a role for the party in forming the government.Election 2010: Lib Dem policies targeted by rivals https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/election_2010/8628765.stm BBC News 19 April 2010 Polls just before election day saw a slight swing from the Liberal Democrats back to Labour and Conservatives, with the majority of final polls falling within one point of each of the three parties' final vote shares.http://ukpollingreport.co.uk/blog/archives/2688 Final poll of the campaign Anthony Wells UK Polling Report 6 May 2010 7 May 2010 5 April 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20120405160500/http://ukpollingreport.co.uk/blog/archives/2688 dead Riddell Peter Sherman Jill Watson Roland Tories scent victory as poll lead widens http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article7117623.ece https://archive.today/20100506033539/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article7117623.ece dead 6 May 2010 The Times London 6 May 2010 6 May 2010 The Scottish National Party, encouraged by its victory in the 2007 Scottish parliament elections, set itself a target of 20 MPs and was hoping to find itself holding a balance of power, though it ultimately fell short, winning just 6 seats – the same as in 2005.http://news.scotsman.com/latestnews/Salmond-wants-Westminster-to-39dance.4001458.jp Salmond wants Westminster to 'dance to a Scottish jig' as he targets 20 seats The Scotsman 21 April 2008 Edinburgh Smaller parties which had achieved success at local elections and the 2009 European elections (UK Independence Party, Green Party, British National Party, etc.) looked to extend their representation to seats in the House of Commons. The Greens successfully achieved their first-ever seat in the House of Commons – Caroline Lucas won the constituency of Brighton Pavilion, marking an historic breakthrough for the party – though other parties failed to win any seats. The Democratic Unionist Party looked to maintain, if not extend, its number of seats. However, they instead fell from 9 to 8 seats, though they maintained their position as the fourth-largest party in the House of Commons. Key dates The key dates were: Monday 12 AprilDissolution of Parliament (the 54th) and campaigning officially beganTuesday 20 AprilLast day to file nomination papers, to register to vote, and to request a postal votehttp://www.parliament.uk/commons/lib/research/rp2007/rp07-031.pdf Research Paper 07/31: Election Timetables House of Commons Library dead https://web.archive.org/web/20090224223853/http://www.parliament.uk/commons/lib/research/rp2007/rp07-031.pdf 24 February 2009Thursday 6 MayPolling dayTuesday 11 MayDavid Cameron became prime minister through a coalition with the Liberal Democrats.Tuesday 18 MayNew Parliament (the 55th) assembledTuesday 25 MayState Opening of ParliamentThursday 27 May Voting took place in the delayed poll in the constituency of Thirsk and MaltonThe poll in the constituency of Thirsk and Malton was postponed until 27 May because of the death of the UKIP candidate, John Boakes. UKIP did not name a candidate until after 6 May out of respect for Boakes.http://www.maltonmercury.co.uk/news/Election-delayed-after-the-death.6260395.jp Election delayed after the death of candidate Malton & Pickering Mercury 28 April 2010 29 April 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20100506033644/http://www.maltonmercury.co.uk/news/Election-delayed-after-the-death.6260395.jp 6 May 2010 dead "thirsk" "note"Friday 5 NovemberOldham East and Saddleworth election result voided on petition at an election court, causing a by-election MPs declining re-election List of MPs who stood down at the 2010 United Kingdom general election This election had an unusually high number of MPs choosing not to seek re-election, with more standing down than did so at the 1945 general election (which on account of the extraordinary wartime circumstances came ten years after the preceding election).https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/newsnight/michaelcrick/2009/12/a_postwar_record_for_mps_stand.html A post-war record for MPs standing down BBC News 2 December 2009 This has been attributed to the 2009 expenses scandal and the fact there was talk that redundancy-style payments for departing MPs might be scrapped after the election.Winnett Robert Prince Rosa Quarter of MPs to stand down over expenses https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/6894889/Quarter-of-MPs-to-stand-down-over-expenses.html https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/6894889/Quarter-of-MPs-to-stand-down-over-expenses.html 11 January 2022 subscription live The Daily Telegraph London 28 December 2009 26 May 2010 In all, 149 MPs (100 Labour, 35 Conservatives, 7 Liberal Democrats, 2 Independents, 1 Independent Conservative and 1 member each from the SNP, Plaid Cymru, the DUP, and the SDLP) decided not to contest the election. Additionally, three seats were vacant at the time of the dissolution of Parliament; two due to the deaths of Labour MPs and one due to the resignation in January 2010 of a DUP member. Boundary changes 240px|thumb|The hypothetical results of the 2005 election, if they had taken place with the new boundaries Fifth periodic review of Westminster constituencies Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom Each of the four national boundary commissions is required by the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986 (as amended by the Boundary Commissions Act 1992) to conduct a general review of all the constituencies in its part of the United Kingdom every eight to twelve years to ensure the size and composition of constituencies are as fair as possible. Based on the Rallings and Thrasher studies using ward-by-ward data from local elections and the 2005 general election, the new boundaries used in 2010 would have returned nine fewer Labour MPs had they been in place at the previous election; given that there were to be four more seats in the next parliament, this notionally reduced Labour's majority from 66 to 48.Colin Rallings, Michael Thrasher, The Media Guide to the New Parliamentary Constituencies, Local Government Chronicle Elections Centre, 2007, 0-948858-45-1 Pursuant to Boundary Commission for England recommendations, the number of seats in England increased by four, and numerous changes were made to the existing constituency boundaries.The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 2007 (S.I. 2007 No. 1681) http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2007/20071681.htm Office of Public Sector Information 13 June 2007 Northern Ireland continued to elect 18 MPs, but minor changes were made to the eastern constituencies in accordance with the Northern Ireland Boundary Commission's recommendations.http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2008/uksi_20081486_en_1 The Parliamentary Constituencies (Northern Ireland) Order 2008 (S.I. 2008 No. 1486) 11 June 2006 The National Archives For the first time, these changes include the splitting of an electoral ward between two constituencies. Following the recommendations of the Boundary Commission for Wales, the total number of seats remained at 40, although new seats caused by radical redrawing of boundaries in Clwyd and Gwynedd were fought for the first time: Arfon and Dwyfor Meirionnydd replaced Caernarfon and Meirionnydd Nant Conwy, respectively; Aberconwy replaced Conwy. At the time of the election Welsh constituencies had electorates on average around 14,000 smaller than their counterparts in England.The Parliamentary Constituencies and Assembly Electoral Regions (Wales) Order 2006 (S.I. 2006 No. 1041) http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2006/20061041.htm The National Archives 11 June 2006 Scotland saw its most recent large-scale review completed in 2004, so its 59 constituencies remained the same as at the 2005 general election. + Hypothetical UK General Election 2005 on new 2010 boundaries Party Seats Votes Count Gain Loss Net Of total (%) Of total (%) Count ± Labour Party (UK) 349 6 9,552,436 35.2 53.7 Conservative Party (UK) 210 12 8,784,915 32.4 32.3 Liberal Democrats (UK) 62 5,985,454 22.1 9.5 Plaid Cymru 2 1 174,838 0.6 0.3 Other parties 27 2,650,867 9.7 4.2 Total 650 27,148,510 Contesting parties Main parties 2005 Conservative Party leadership election 2006 Liberal Democrats leadership election 2007 Labour Party leadership election (UK) 2007 Liberal Democrats leadership election For the leaders of all three major political parties, this was their first general election contest as party leader – something that had last occurred at the 1979 election. Incumbent Prime Minister Gordon Brown had taken office in June 2007 following the end of Tony Blair's 13 years as leader of the Labour Party, while David Cameron had succeeded Michael Howard in December 2005 and Nick Clegg had succeeded Menzies Campbell (who had never previously contested a general election) in December 2007. The prospect of a coalition or minority government was being considered well before polling day. Gordon Brown made comments about the possibility of a coalition in January 2010.https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/pm-paves-way-for-deal-with--lib-dems-in-hung-parliament-1856888.html https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220501/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/pm-paves-way-for-deal-with--lib-dems-in-hung-parliament-1856888.html 1 May 2022 subscription PM paves way for deal with Lib Dems in hung parliament The Independent 4 January 2010 Nigel Morris 26 May 2010 London In 2009, it was reported that senior civil servants were to meet with the Liberal Democrats to discuss their policies, an indication of how seriously the prospect of a hung parliament was being taken.https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2009/jan/01/whitehall-hung-parliament-liberal-democrats Whitehall prepares for hung parliament with Lib Dem talks The Guardian 1 January 2009 17 May 2010 Nicholas Watt London Other parties List of parties contesting the 2010 United Kingdom general election Other parties with representation at Westminster after the previous general election included the Scottish National Party, with six parliamentary seats, Plaid Cymru from Wales with three seats, and Respect – The Unity Coalition and Health Concern, each of which held one parliamentary seat in England. Since that election, the SNP had won the 2007 Scottish Parliament elections and gained control of the Scottish Government, and also won the largest share of the 2009 European Parliament election vote in Scotland.https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/8088358.stm Salmond hails 'historic' Euro win BBC News 8 June 2009 9 April 2010 In Wales, the Labour Party remained the largest party in the Welsh Assembly, although Plaid Cymru increased their share of the vote and formed a coalition government with Labour.https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/6278848.stm Labour-Plaid coalition is sealed 7 July 2007 BBC News 25 November 2011 In 2009 the Ulster Unionist Party and the Conservative Party announced they had formed an electoral alliance whereby the two parties would field joint candidates for future elections under the banner of "Ulster Conservatives and Unionists – New Force".https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/7913967.stm Lady Hermon under 'no pressure' 27 February 2009 BBC News 25 November 2011 However, this caused the sole UUP MP Lady Sylvia Hermon to resign from the party on 25 March 2010, leaving them with no representation at Westminster for the first time in their history.https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/8586845.stm MP Lady Sylvia Hermon quits Ulster Unionists 25 March 2010 BBC News 25 November 2011 Many constituencies were contested by other, smaller parties. Parties that won no representatives at Westminster in 2005 but have seats in the devolved assemblies or European Parliament included the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland, the Progressive Unionist Party of Northern Ireland, the British National Party, the UK Independence Party (UKIP), and the Green parties in the UK: the Green Party of England and Wales, the Scottish Green Party, and the Green Party in Northern Ireland. In 2009, Nigel Farage announced his intention to resign as UKIP leader to focus on becoming an MP. Farage was replaced in an election by party members by Lord Pearson of Rannoch, whose stated intention was for the electoral support of UKIP to force a hung parliament. The Green Party of England and Wales voted to have a position of leader for the first time; the first leadership election was won by Caroline Lucas, who successfully contested the constituency of Brighton Pavilion. In addition, a new loose coalition, Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC), contested a general election for the first time. TUSC was a grouping of left wing parties that participated in the 2009 European Parliament elections under the name of No2EU; members included the Socialist Workers Party, the Socialist Party, the Socialist Alliance, Socialist Resistance, and is supported by some members of UNISON, the National Union of Teachers, the University and College Union, the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers, and the Public and Commercial Services Union. Several members of these unions ran as candidates under the TUSC banner.http://www.tusc.org.uk/index.php Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition TUSC 13 April 2010 However, some former members of NO2EU, such as the Liberal PartyApril 2010 and the Communist Party of Britain,Executive Committee statement on elections Communist Party, 17 January 2010 chose not to participate in the TUSC campaign. The coalition did not run candidates against left wing Labour or Respect candidates.TUSC left coalition to stand in general election https://web.archive.org/web/20100326235317/http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/art.php?id=20159 26 March 2010 Socialist Worker, 6 February 2010Launch of Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition The Socialist, 12 January 2010 Campaign April The prospective Labour candidate for Moray, Stuart Maclennan, was sacked after making offensive comments on his Twitter page, referring to elderly voters as "coffin dodgers" and voters in the North of Scotland as "teuchters", and insulting politicians such as Cameron, Clegg, John Bercow and Diane Abbott.https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/election_2010/scotland/8610934.stm Twitter abuse candidate Stuart MacLennan removed BBC News 9 April 2010 3 May 2010 The UKIP candidate for Thirsk and Malton—John Boakes—died, causing the election in the constituency to be postponed until 27 May.Jagger Suzy Death of UKIP candidate John Boakes delays poll in Thirsk & Malton https://www.thetimes.com/article/death-of-ukip-candidate-john-boakes-delays-poll-in-thirsk-and-malton-x53j9gr7gmx The Times London 23 April 2010 17 January 2025Election delayed after the death of candidate http://www.maltonmercury.co.uk/news/Election-delayed-after-the-death.6260395.jp Malton & Pickering Mercury 28 April 2010 29 April 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20100506033644/http://www.maltonmercury.co.uk/news/Election-delayed-after-the-death.6260395.jp 6 May 2010 deadMark Stead Thirsk and Malton election postponed after candidate John Boakes dies http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/8115410.Election_off_in_North_Yorks__after_candidate_dies/ The Press 23 April 2010 7 May 2010Funeral for UKIP election candidate John Boakes https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/election_2010/england/8658386.stm BBC News 4 May 2010 7 May 2010 Philip Lardner, the Conservative candidate for North Ayrshire and Arran, was suspended from the party for comments he made about homosexuality on his website, describing it as not "normal behaviour". Andrew Fulton, the chairman of the Scottish Conservative Party, called the comments "deeply offensive and unacceptable", adding: "These views have no place in the modern Conservative party." However, he still appeared as a Conservative candidate because it was too late to remove his name from the ballot paper. https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/election_2010/scotland/8647206.stm Tory candidate Philip Lardner suspended for gay comment BBC News 27 April 2010 1 May 2010 A total of 2,378 postal voters in Bristol West were wrongly sent ballot papers for Bristol East by mistake. Bristol City Council officials asked people to tear up the wrong papers and said: "Every effort will be made to ensure delivery [of new ballot papers] by 30 April." https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/election_2010/england/8645772.stm Postal voters sent wrong ballot papers in Bristol West BBC News 27 April 2010 2 May 2010 The SNP attempted but failed to ban the broadcast of the final party leaders' debate in Scotland, in a court action. They had argued that "the corporation [the BBC] had breached its rules on impartiality by excluding the SNP". The judge, Lady Smith, ruled that "the SNP's case 'lacks the requisite precision and clarity and added she could not "conclude the BBC had breached impartiality rules". Additionally, broadcasting regulator Ofcom ruled that it had not "upheld complaints received from the SNP and Plaid Cymru about The First Election Debate broadcast on ITV1 on Thursday 15 April 2010".https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/election_2010/scotland/8648425.stm SNP fails in BBC debate court bid 28 April 2010 BBC News 29 April 2010 thumb|left|An election sign in a residential property. The leader of the UK Independence Party, Lord Pearson, wrote an open letter to Somerset newspapers, asking voters to support Conservative candidates, rather than UKIP candidates in the Somerton and Frome, Taunton Deane and Wells constituencies. This action was criticised by UKIP candidates who refused to stand down.https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/election_2010/8648195.stm UKIP asks voters in Somerset to back the Tories BBC News 28 April 2010 30 April 2010 The Labour candidate for Bristol East and former MP Kerry McCarthy revealed information about postal votes cast in the constituency on Twitter. Avon and Somerset Police said they were "looking into a possible alleged breach of electoral law". Bristol City Council stated: "This is a criminal matter and [it] will be for the police to decide what action to take."https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/election_2010/england/8652724.stm Police probe Twitter votes gaffe by Bristol candidate BBC News 29 April 2010 30 April 2010 The former Prime Minister Tony Blair returned to the campaign trail for Labour, visiting a polyclinic in Harrow West, following a troubled Labour campaign.http://politicsraw.com/2010/04/30/tonys-back/ Tony Blair Returns To Campaign Trail PoliticsRAW 30 April 2010 30 April 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20100504031004/http://politicsraw.com/2010/04/30/tonys-back/ 4 May 2010 dead Postal voters in the marginal Vale of Glamorgan constituency had to be issued with new ballot papers after mistakenly being told they did not have to sign applications for postal votes.https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/election_2010/wales/8653849.stm Key marginal Vale of Glamorgan's postal votes error BBC News 30 April 2010 2 May 2010 A group of entrepreneurs warned on the dangers of a Labour-Liberal coalition in an open letter to The Times on 29 April.Lib-Lab coalition would be 'disastrous for British business' The Times 29 April 2010:Watson, Roland Brown's 'bigot' blunder plunges Labour campaign into crisis, The Times, 29 April 2010Leach Ben https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/election-2010/7649545/General-Election-2010-Lib-Lab-coalition-would-be-bad-for-business-say-leaders.html https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/election-2010/7649545/General-Election-2010-Lib-Lab-coalition-would-be-bad-for-business-say-leaders.html 11 January 2022 subscription live General Election 2010: Lib-Lab coalition 'would be bad for business', say leaders The Daily Telegraph 29 April 2010 7 June 2010 London Bigotgate On 28 April, Gordon Brown met Gillian Duffy, a 65-year-old woman and lifelong Labour voter from Rochdale, a Labour–Liberal Democrat marginal seat. She asked him about vulnerable people supposedly not receiving benefits because immigrants were receiving them, adding: "You can't say anything about the immigrants because you're saying that you're ... but all these eastern Europeans what are coming in, where are they flocking from?" Brown replied: "A million people have come from Europe but a million British people have gone into Europe."https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/election_2010/8649476.stm Profile of Gillian Duffy, the voter PM called 'bigoted' BBC News 28 April 2010 4 May 2010https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/election_2010/8649448.stm How Gordon Brown 'bigot' jibe row unfolded BBC News 28 April 2010 3 May 2010 In a private conversation with his communications director Justin Forsyth following the meeting, Brown described Duffy as "just a sort of bigoted woman that said she used be Labour. I mean it's just ridiculous."https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2010/apr/28/gordon-brown-gillian-duffy-transcript The Gordon Brown and Gillian Duffy transcript Weaver Matthew 28 April 2010 The Guardian 15 January 2020 en-GB 0261-3077 Brown's remarks were inadvertently recorded by a Sky News microphone he was still wearing, and widely broadcast. Labour sources later stated that Brown had misheard Duffy and thought she had asked, "where are they fucking from?"http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/the-staggers/2010/04/bnp-voters-bigotgate-balls The Staggers: The best of the blogs] New Statesman 29 April 2010 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20100501184006/http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/the-staggers/2010/04/bnp-voters-bigotgate-balls 1 May 2010 https://waugh.standard.co.uk/2010/04/what-did-gordon-think-mrs-duffy-said.html What did Gordon think Mrs Duffy said? Evening Standard 29 April 2010 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20100502065528/http://waugh.standard.co.uk/2010/04/what-did-gordon-think-mrs-duffy-said.html 2 May 2010 Gordon Brown thought Gillian Duffy had said F-word Mirror, 30 April 2010 Soon after the incident, Brown talked to Jeremy Vine live on BBC Radio 2 and publicly apologised to Duffy. American comedian Jon Stewart commented that the clip showed the moment when Brown's "political career leaves his body".Clustershag to 10 Downing The Daily Show with Jon Stewart http://thedailyshow.cc.com/videos/7m7ksh/clustershag-to-10-downing https://web.archive.org/web/20150715005345/http://thedailyshow.cc.com/videos/7m7ksh/clustershag-to-10-downing dead 15 July 2015 30 September 2016 Brown subsequently visited Duffy to apologise in person. Upon emerging, he described himself as a "penitent sinner",https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/election_2010/8649841.stm Brown apologises to voter for 'bigoted woman' comment BBC News 28 April 2010 28 April 2010 while Duffy refused to speak to the press and would not shake hands with him in front of the cameras. She said the incident had left her feeling more sad than angry and that she would not be voting for Labour or any other party. https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/election_2010/8656353.stm Election 2010: Woman in Brown 'bigot' row not to vote BBC News 1 May 2010 1 May 2010 The incident was subsequently dubbed "Bigotgate", which was later added to the Collins English Dictionary.2010 Politics in the Collins English Dictionary HarperCollins Publishers www.harpercollins.co.uk https://www.harpercollins.co.uk/corporate/press-releases/2010-politics-in-the-collins-english-dictionary/ 21 October 2010 Despite this, Labour went on to gain the Rochdale seat from the Liberal Democrats, one of the few gains they made in the election. May In Hornsey and Wood Green constituency 749 postal voters were sent ballot papers which asked voters to pick three candidates instead of one; Haringey Council had to send correct versions by hand.https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/election_2010/8655846.stm Error leads to new ballot papers in Haringey BBC News 1 May 2010 2 May 2010 The Metropolitan Police launched an investigation in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The Times reported on 2 May that the investigation had revealed some names on the register were fictitious, with a late surge in applications to be added to the electoral register (before 20 April deadline) leading to 5,000 additions without time for full checks.https://www.thetimes.com/article/late-surge-in-tower-hamlets-postal-votes-prompts-police-fraud-probe-wpv5ptxqw5f Late surge in Tower Hamlets postal votes prompts police fraud probe Dominic Kennedy The Times 1 May 2010 17 January 2025 London In terms of the outcome of the borough's two seats, the narrower majority in any event exceeded 5,000 votes in Poplar and Limehouse, at 6,030 votes. The Labour candidate for North West Norfolk, Manish Sood, described Gordon Brown as Britain's worst ever prime minister.http://politicsraw.com/2010/05/04/manish-sood-turns-against-pm/ Manish Sood Turns Against PM PoliticsRAW 4 May 2010 4 May 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20100507130813/http://politicsraw.com/2010/05/04/manish-sood-turns-against-pm/ 7 May 2010 dead The comments, which he repeated to a variety of news outlets, took attention away from the previous day's speech by Brown to Citizens UK, widely described as his best in the campaign.General election 2010: Brown worst prime minister ever – Labour candidate The Guardian, 4 May 2010General election 2010: Battered Gordon Brown finds his voice The Guardian, 3 May 2010 A Conservative Party activist in Peterborough was arrested after alleged postal voting fraud, calling into question 150 postal votes.https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/election_2010/england/8662814.stm Arrest after alleged voting fraud in Peterborough BBC News 5 May 2010 5 May 2010 170px|thumb|left|Nick Griffin, leader of the British National Party, talking to voters in Romford Market. Simon Bennett resigned as the head of the British National Party's online operation then redirected its website to his own on which he attacked the party's leadership.http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article7116654.ece https://web.archive.org/web/20100505225416/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article7116654.ece dead 5 May 2010 BNP in turmoil after online chief Simon Bennett walks out The Times Fiona Hamilton 5 May 2010 5 May 2010 London thumb|right|Polling station in Camberwell On the morning of polling day, 6 May, the former and later leader of UKIP, Nigel Farage, standing in Buckingham against the Speaker, was injured when a light banner-towing aircraft in which he was a passenger crashed near Brackley, Northamptonshire.https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/northamptonshire/8664260.stm Nigel Farage injured in plane crash on election day BBC News 6 May 2010 7 May 2010 Groups of voters waiting in queues at 10 pm were locked out of polling stations in Sheffield Hallam, Manchester and Leeds; and police said one London polling station was open until 10.30 pm, which triggered a national review of polling station requirements led by the Electoral Commission.https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/election_2010/8666338.stm Election 2010: Voters turned away as polls close BBC News 7 May 2010 7 May 2010 The counts for the Foyle and East Londonderry constituencies were suspended because of a security alert around 11 pm after a car was abandoned outside the counting centre, causing a bomb scare. Debates 2010 United Kingdom general election debates Following a campaign by Sky News and with agreement of the party leaders,Norman Laurence https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB125458139648761865?mod=googlenews_wsj Brown Agrees to U.S.-Style Debates The Wall Street Journal 3 October 2009 10 January 2010 it was announced on 21 December 2009 that there would be three leaders' debates, each broadcast on prime time television,Brown to face three televised election debates BBC News 21 December 2009 https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/8425280.stm 21 December 2009 and a subsequent announcement in March 2010 that a debate between the financial spokesmen of the three main parties, Alistair Darling, George Osborne and Vince Cable would be held on 29 March.Ask the Chancellors Channel 4 Date Host Location Moderator Subject 15 April ITV Manchester Alastair Stewart Domestic policyHighlightsIn instant polling following the event Nick Clegg was judged the clear winner.https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE63E4S920100415 Outsider Clegg judged winner in first UK TV debate 15 April 2010 Reuters Estelle Shirbon This first debate caused a large, immediate, and unexpected impact on opinion polls in favour of the Liberal Democrats. 22 AprilSky NewsBristolAdam BoultonInternational affairsHighlightsNick Clegg and David Cameron came out best in the instant polls with Gordon Brown very closely behind. Nick Clegg, having received such a surge following the first debate, was judged to have fended off Labour and Conservative Party attacks. Gordon Brown was judged to have drastically improved his performance, and David Cameron was judged to have overcome the nerves that commentators believed affected him in the First Debate.https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8638994.stm Papers divided over verdict on second leaders debate BBC News 23 April 2010 27 April 2010 In the build-up, the Liberal Democrats were affected by claims Clegg had received secret donations from businessmen, although he subsequently released his financial statements to show that no improper conduct had occurred.https://www.thetimes.com/article/nick-clegg-left-pound700-out-of-pocket-in-unusual-financial-arrangement-xz8k0x9bt5c Nick Clegg left £700 out of pocket in unusual financial arrangement The Times 23 April 2010 Ralph Alex Jagger Suzy 17 January 2025 London29 AprilBBCBirminghamDavid Dimbleby Economy and taxesHighlightsIn the third and final poll, David Cameron was widely regarded as the party leader who made the best impression to the audience at home.Instant reactions: The final debate https://web.archive.org/web/20100501172151/http://today.yougov.co.uk/politics/instant-reactions-final-debate 1 May 2010 YouGov, 29 April 2010http://www.comres.co.uk/page165453351.aspx ITV News Instant Debate Poll 29 April 2010 ComRes 30 April 2010 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20100502011021/http://www.comres.co.uk/page165453351.aspx 2 May 2010 Polls Suggest Cameron Wins Final Debate http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Politics/Leaders-Debate-First-Instant-Polls-Suggest-Win-For-David-Cameron/Article/201004415622529?f=rss 29 April 2010 Sky News dead https://web.archive.org/web/20100503221429/http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Politics/Leaders-Debate-First-Instant-Polls-Suggest-Win-For-David-Cameron/Article/201004415622529?f=rss 3 May 2010 http://www.populuslimited.com/the-times-post-debate-poll-april-29-2010-290410.html Post Debate Poll – 29 April 2010 Populus Ltd 30 April 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20111124173528/http://www.populuslimited.com/the-times-post-debate-poll-april-29-2010-290410.html 24 November 2011 dead dmy-all https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2010/apr/30/leaders-debate-david-cameron-wins-third-leg Election debate: David Cameron wins third leg Patrick Wintour and Polly Curtis 29 April 2010 The Guardian London At the end of the debating night, the Conservatives had gained a 5% lead over Labour. The SNP insisted that as the leading political party in Scotland in the latest opinion poll, it should be included in any debate broadcast in Scotland.Salmond slams rigged election debate proposals https://web.archive.org/web/20100414192901/http://www.snp.org/node/15981 14 April 2010 SNP, 21 December 2009 On 22 December 2009, the UKIP leader, Lord Pearson stated that his party should also be included. Following a decision by the BBC Trust not to uphold a complaint from the SNP and Plaid Cymru over their exclusion from the planned BBC debate, the SNP announced on 25 April that they would proceed with legal action over the debate scheduled for 29 April.SNP in legal bid over BBC TV prime ministerial debate https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/election_2010/8642550.stm BBC News 25 April 2010 27 April 2010 The party said it was not trying to stop the broadcast but it wanted an SNP politician included for balance. The SNP lost the case, in a judgement delivered on 28 April.http://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/opinions/2010CSOH56.html Opinion of Lady Smith in the Petition of Scottish National Party and Others for Judicial Review Scottish Courts 28 April 2010 28 April 2010 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20100502084424/http://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/opinions/2010CSOH56.html 2 May 2010 Opinion polls Opinion polling for the 2010 United Kingdom general election Exit poll Opinion poll 2001 2005 2010 2015 2017 yes thumb|right|A polling station in Wetherby, West Yorkshire Since each MP is elected separately by the first past the post voting system, it is impossible to precisely project a clear election outcome from overall UK shares of the vote. Not only can individual constituencies vary markedly from overall voting trends, but individual countries and regions within the UK may have a very different electoral contest that is not properly reflected in overall share of the vote figures. Immediately following the previous general election, Labour held a double-digit lead in opinion polls. However, over the course of 2005, this lead was eroded somewhat. By December 2005, the Conservative party showed its first small leads in opinion polls following the controversial 90 days' detention proposals and the election of David Cameron to the leadership of the Conservative party.http://ukpollingreport.co.uk/blog/archives/104 Tories take the Lead 10 December 2005 Wells, Anthony UKPollingReport 15 March 2010 18 January 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20120118183029/http://ukpollingreport.co.uk/blog/archives/104 dead In early 2006, opinion polls were increasingly mixed with small leads given alternately to Labour and Conservative. From the May 2006 local elections, in which Labour suffered significant losses, the Conservatives took a small single-digit lead in opinion polls. Labour regained the lead in June 2007 following the resignation of Tony Blair and the appointment of Gordon Brown as prime minister. From November 2007, the Conservatives again took the lead and, from then, extended their lead into double digits, particularly in response to the MPs' expenses scandal, although there was some evidence that the lead narrowed slightly towards the end of 2009. By the end of February 2010, Ipsos MORI, ICM, YouGov and ComRes polls had all found a sufficient narrowing of the Conservative lead for media speculation about a hung parliament to return.YouGov show Tory lead cut to 7 points https://web.archive.org/web/20100203022831/http://ukpollingreport.co.uk/blog/archives/2436 3 February 2010 UK Polling Report, 29 January 2010 From 15 April 2010, following the first televised debate of the party leaders, polling data changed dramatically, with the Lib Dem vote proportion rising to 28–33%, and the Conservative vote proportion falling. In some polls, the Liberal Democrats took the lead from the Conservatives. Under UNS projections, this made a hung parliament highly probable, if Lib Dem performance had persisted.General election 2010: All change for new politics The Guardian, 20 April 2010 The following graph shows ComRes poll results recorded over the period 11 April – 6 May 2010, including annotations of the three TV debates: File:ComRes Graph Election 2010.JPG After the second debate on 22 April the polls, on average, placed the Conservatives in the lead on 33%, the Liberal Democrats in second on 30% and Labour in third on 28%. If these polls had reflected the election day results on a uniform swing nationwide, Labour would have had the most seats in a hung Parliament. Exit poll At 22:00 on election day, coinciding with the closure of the polls, the results of an exit poll completed by GfK NOP and Ipsos MORI on behalf of the BBC, Sky and ITV news services was announced. Data were gathered from individuals at 130 polling stations around the country. Parties Seats Change Conservative Party307 97 Labour Party255 94 Liberal Democrats59 3 Others29N/A Hung Parliament (Conservatives 19 seats short of overall majority) The results of the poll initially suggested a hung parliament with the Conservative Party 19 seats from a controlling majority; this was later adjusted to 21 seats. The distribution of seats between the Conservatives, Labour, Liberal Democrats and other parties was initially suggested to be 307, 255, 59 and 29, respectively,https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/election_2010/8666227.stm Election exit poll: Tories to be 19 short of majority 6 May 2010 BBC News 25 November 2011 although the seat numbers were later changed to 303, 251, 69 and 27, respectively.https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/election2010/liveevent Live coverage – General Election 2010 BBC News 6 May 2010 6 May 2010 Initial reaction to the exit poll by various commentators was of surprise at the apparent poor prospects for the Liberal Democratshttps://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/election_2010/8666266.stm Parties surprised by exit poll BBC News 6 May 2010 7 May 2010 because it was at odds with many opinion polls undertaken in the previous weeks. The actual results showed that the exit poll was a good predictor. A later BBC Exit poll (05:36 BST) predicted the Conservatives on 306 (20 short of an overall majority), Labour on 262 and Liberal Democrats on 55. Endorsements Endorsements in the 2010 United Kingdom general election National newspapers in England traditionally endorse political parties before a general election. The following table shows which parties the major papers endorsed. Dailies   Sundays   Weeklies Newspaper Endorsement Newspaper Endorsement Newspaper Endorsement The Times Conservative Party (UK)http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/leading_article/article7113404.ece https://web.archive.org/web/20100529172809/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/leading_article/article7113404.ece dead 29 May 2010 Vote of Confidence The Times 30 April 2010 26 May 2010 London Charles Bremner David Robertson Sunday Times Conservative Party (UK)https://www.thetimes.com/article/leader-tories-deserve-a-chance-to-govern-097l5dj779s Tories deserve a chance to govern Sunday Times 2 May 2010 26 May 2010 London Charles Bremner David RobertsonThe Economist Conservative Party (UK)https://www.theguardian.com/media/2010/apr/29/the-economist-backs-conservatives The Economist backs the Conservatives The Guardian 29 April 2010 6 April 2015 London The Guardian Liberal Democrats (UK)https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/apr/30/the-liberal-moment-has-come General Election 2010: The liberal moment has come The Guardian 30 April 2010 26 May 2010 London The Observer Liberal Democrats (UK)https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/may/01/liberal-democrats-endorsement-observer Nick Clegg is the candidate of change The Observer 1 May 2010 26 May 2010 London The Daily Telegraph Conservative Party (UK)General Election 2010: Now is the time for character https://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/telegraph-view/7678946/General-Election-2010-Now-is-the-time-for-character.html https://archive.today/20120527072731/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/telegraph-view/7678946/General-Election-2010-Now-is-the-time-for-character.html dead 27 May 2012 The Daily Telegraph London 4 May 2010 26 May 2010 The Sunday Telegraph Conservative Party (UK) Financial Times Conservative Party (UK)The case for change in the UK https://www.ft.com/content/bd4e693c-56df-11df-aa89-00144feab49a https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221211191202/https://www.ft.com/content/bd4e693c-56df-11df-aa89-00144feab49a 11 December 2022 subscription live Financial Times 2 May 2010 3 December 2020 The Independent Undeclared The Independent on Sunday Undeclared Evening Standard Conservative Party (UK)https://www.standard.co.uk/hp/front/david-cameron-the-prime-minister-that-london-now-needs-6465966.html David Cameron: the Prime Minister that London now needs Evening Standard London 5 May 2010 live https://web.archive.org/web/20100507001205/http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23830737-david-cameron-the-prime-minister-that-london-now-needs.do 7 May 2010 Daily Mail Conservative Party (UK) The Mail on Sunday Conservative Party (UK) Daily Express Conservative Party (UK)http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/173235/Only-Cameron-can-save-Britain- Only David Cameron can save Britain Daily Express 5 May 2010 Sunday Express Conservative Party (UK)https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/election_2010/8656552.stm Election 2010: Party leaders step up campaigning 2 May 2010 BBC News Newspaper Backing Daily Mirror Labour Party (UK) Sunday Mirror Labour Party (UK) The Sunday People Any coalition The Sun Conservative Party (UK) News of the World Conservative Party (UK) https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8591295.stm News of the World backs Conservatives in election race BBC News 28 March 2010 2 May 2010 The Daily Star Undeclared Daily Star Sunday Undeclaredhttp://www.dailystar.co.uk/search/2010%20general%20election?s=2010+general+election&o=20 Search Results The Daily Star 13 October 2013 18 October 2013 https://web.archive.org/web/20131018035137/http://www.dailystar.co.uk/search/2010%20general%20election?s=2010+general+election&o=20 dead The Independent and The Guardian advocated tactical voting to maximise the chance of a Liberal Democrat/Labour coalition to make electoral reform including of the House of Lords and introduction of domestic proportional representation more likely.Vote for change. Real change The Independent on Sunday, 2 May 2010 Results center|300px thumb|400px|Result by countries and English regions border|780px Party Leader MPs Votes Of total Of total Conservative Party David Cameron 306 47.1% 306 650 Conservative Party (UK) 10,703,754 36.1% 36.1 Conservative Party (UK) #c0c0c0 #f0f0f0 Labour Party Gordon Brown 258 39.7% 258 650 Labour Party (UK) 8,609,527 29.0% 29.0 Labour Party (UK) #c0c0c0 #f0f0f0 Liberal Democrats Nick Clegg 57 8.8% 57 650 Liberal Democrats (UK) 6,836,825 23.0% 23.0 Liberal Democrats (UK) #c0c0c0 #f0f0f0 Democratic Unionist Party Peter Robinson 8 1.2% 8 650 Democratic Unionist Party 168,216 0.6% 0.6 Democratic Unionist Party #c0c0c0 #f0f0f0 Scottish National Party Alex Salmond 6 0.9% 6 650 Scottish National Party 491,386 1.7% 1.7 Scottish National Party #c0c0c0 #f0f0f0 Sinn Féin Gerry Adams 5 0.8% 5 650 Sinn Féin 171,942 0.6% 0.6 Sinn Féin #c0c0c0 #f0f0f0 Plaid Cymru Ieuan Wyn Jones 3 0.5% 3 650 Plaid Cymru 165,394 0.6% 0.6 Plaid Cymru #c0c0c0 #f0f0f0 Social Democratic & Labour Party Margaret Ritchie 3 0.5% 3 650 Social Democratic and Labour Party 110,970 0.4% 0.4 Social Democratic and Labour Party #c0c0c0 #f0f0f0 Green Party Caroline Lucas 1 0.2% 1 650 Green Party of England and Wales 285,616 0.9% 0.9 Green Party of England and Wales #c0c0c0 #f0f0f0 Alliance David Ford 1 0.2% 1 650 Green Party of England and Wales 42,762 0.1% 0.1 Alliance Party of Northern Ireland #c0c0c0 #f0f0f0 Speaker John Bercow 1 0.2% 1 650 Speaker of the House of Commons (United Kingdom) 22,860 0.08%https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/election2010/results/constituency/a79.stm BBC News Election 2010 Results: Buckingham 27 March 2017 0.08 Speaker of the House of Commons (United Kingdom) #c0c0c0 #f0f0f0 Independent Sylvia Hermon 1 0.2% 1 650 Independent politician 21,181 0.07%https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/election2010/results/constituency/713.stm Election 2010 Results: North Down 27 March 2017 0.07 Independent politician #c0c0c0 #f0f0f0 Turnout nationally was 65%, a rise from the 61% turnout in the 2005 general election.https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/election_2010/8672976.stm Election 2010: Turnout mapped BBC News 10 May 2010 John Walton On 27 May 2010 the Conservatives won the final seat of Thirsk and Malton, thus giving them 306 seats. The election in that constituency had been delayed because of the death of the UKIP candidate.https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/election-2010/7776060/Tories-win-final-general-election-seat-in-Thirsk-and-Malton.html https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/election-2010/7776060/Tories-win-final-general-election-seat-in-Thirsk-and-Malton.html 11 January 2022 subscription live Tories win final general election seat in Thirsk and Malton Nick Collins 28 May 2010 The Daily Telegraph London Vote share #ddd 600px 410px Conservative Conservative Party (UK) 36.1 Labour Labour Party (UK) 29.0 Liberal Democrat Liberal Democrats (UK) 23.0 UK Independence UKIP 3.1 British National British National Party 1.9 Scottish National Scottish National Party 1.7 Others #777777 5.2 Parliamentary seats #ddd 600px 410px Conservative Conservative Party (UK) 47.1 Labour Labour Party (UK) 39.7 Liberal Democrat Liberal Democrats (UK) 8.8 Democratic Unionist Democratic Unionist Party 1.2 Scottish National Scottish National Party 0.9 Sinn Féin Sinn Féin 0.8 Others #777777 1.5 Voting distribution per constituency 510px|Results of the 2010 general election in the United Kingdom: voting distribution per constituency. Election petitions Two results were also challenged by defeated candidates through election petitions – Fermanagh and South Tyrone, and Oldham East and Saddleworth. These candidates had lost by 4 and 103 votes respectively. Fermanagh and South Tyrone The defeated Unionist 'Unity' candidate, Rodney Connor, lodged a petition against the successful Sinn Féin candidate, Michelle Gildernew, in Fermanagh and South Tyrone, alleging irregularities in the counting of the votes had affected the result. Gildernew had won with a plurality of four votes. However, the court found that there were only three ballot papers which could not be accounted for, and even if they were all votes for Connor, Gildernew would have had a plurality of one. The election was therefore upheld.Unionist dismay as election case falters http://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/regional/unionist-dismay-as-election-case-falters-1-1867964 15 May 2014 News Letter 23 October 2010 17 May 2014 https://web.archive.org/web/20140517145622/http://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/regional/unionist-dismay-as-election-case-falters-1-1867964 dead Oldham East and Saddleworth 2011 Oldham East and Saddleworth by-election On 28 May 2010, the defeated Liberal Democrat candidate Elwyn Watkins lodged a petition against the election of Phil Woolas (Labour) in Oldham East and Saddleworth constituency.Candidate challenges Woolas win https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10181693 BBC News 28 May 2010 The petition challenged leaflets issued by Woolas's campaign as having contained false statements of fact concerning Watkins' personal character, which is an illegal practice under section 106 of the Representation of the People Act 1983. The statements attempted to link Watkins with Muslim extremists and death threats to Woolas, accused him of reneging on a promise to live in the constituency, and implied that his campaign was funded by illegal foreign political donations.Petition part 1 https://web.archive.org/web/20120118061432/http://www.oldham.gov.uk/election-petition-may2010-part1.pdf 18 January 2012, part 2 https://web.archive.org/web/20120118053539/http://www.oldham.gov.uk/election-petition-may2010-part2.pdf 18 January 2012, part 3 https://web.archive.org/web/20120118032021/http://www.oldham.gov.uk/election-petition-may2010-part3.pdf 18 January 2012.Court examines Labour Muslim slur election leaflet https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10468410 BBC News 30 June 2010 13 August 2010 During the court case a number of emails between Woolas and his campaign team emerged. In one, Woolas's agent, Joe Fitzpatrick, emailed Woolas and campaign adviser Steven Green, to say: "Things are not going as well as I had hoped ... we need to think about our first attack leaflet."https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/7999018/Phil-Woolas-the-toxic-claims-that-turned-tide-for-former-minister.html https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/7999018/Phil-Woolas-the-toxic-claims-that-turned-tide-for-former-minister.html 11 January 2022 subscription live Phil Woolas: the 'toxic' claims that turned tide for former minister The Daily Telegraph 13 September 2010 5 November 2010 London Gordon Rayner A reply from Fitzpatrick said: "If we don't get the white vote angry he's gone."https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/8114201/Digraced-Phil-Woolas-and-the-plot-to-get-angry-white-votes.html https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/8114201/Digraced-Phil-Woolas-and-the-plot-to-get-angry-white-votes.html 11 January 2022 subscription live Digraced Phil Woolas and the plot to get 'angry white votes' The Telegraph 6 November 2010 The court hearing finished on 17 September 2010, with the judges reserving their judgement until 5 November 2010.https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-11342423 BBC News Court reserves judgement over Phil Woolas re-election 17 September 2010 On that day Woolas was found to have breached section 106 of the Representation of the People Act 1983 in relation to three of the four statements complained about, and the judges ruled that his election was void.https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-11699888 BBC News Judges order election re-run 5 November 2010 Phil Woolas applied for a judicial review into the ruling,https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-11699888 Judges order election rerun in ex-minister's seat BBC 14 September 2010 5 November 2010 stating that "this election petition raised fundamental issues about the freedom to question and criticise politicians" and that it "will inevitably chill political speech".Polly Curtis https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2010/nov/05/phil-woolas-immigration-leaflets-oldham-east-rerun Phil Woolas immigration leaflets case: high court orders election rerun in Oldham East The Guardian 5 November 2010 5 November 2010 London He succeeded in overturning the finding in respect of one of the three statements but the main findings of the election court judgment were upheld. A by-election on 13 January 2011 resulted in the election of Debbie Abrahams (Labour). Analysis results by county/region and analysis Results breakdown of the 2010 United Kingdom general election results by constituency Results of the 2010 United Kingdom general election details by MP List of MPs elected in the 2010 United Kingdom general election right|thumb|The disproportionality of the house of parliament in the 2010 election was 15.57 according to the Gallagher Index, with the Liberal Democrats losing out to both the Conservatives and Labour. At 9:41 on 7 May, the BBC confirmed a hung parliament. The Conservatives stood at 290 seats, Labour at 247 and Liberal Democrats at 51. https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/election2010/results/ BBC News Election 2010 7 May 2010 7 May 2010 One constituency seat (Thirsk and Malton) was contested on 27 May because of the death of the UKIP candidate and was won by the Conservative Party, whilst another seat (Oldham East and Saddleworth) later had its result declared void; Labour won the resulting by-election. thumb|right|200px|alt=pie chart of the election results showing popular vote against seats won, coloured in party colours|Proportion of seats (outer ring) shown with proportion of votes (inner ring). The result showed an overall 5.1% swing from Labour to the Conservatives, the third largest national swing achieved in a general election since 1945 and similar to the 5.3% swing achieved by the Conservative leader Margaret Thatcher in 1979. The 97 net seat gains made by the Conservatives outdid their previous best gains total in 1950, when they gained 85. Labour's loss of 91 seats was worse than their previous greatest loss of seats, when they lost 77 seats in 1970. Of the 532 seats contested in England (a final seat, Thirsk and Malton, was contested on 27 May), the Conservatives won 298 seats and an absolute majority of 61 seats over all other parties combined, securing an average swing of 5.6% from Labour. https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/election2010/results/region/48.stm Election 2010: England BBC News 7 May 2010 10 May 2010 Labour did poorly in many Southern areas, notably in the Eastern Region where they won only two of their 14 seats from 2005: Luton North and Luton South. Labour did, however, gain two seats: Bethnal Green and Bow and Chesterfield. The Conservatives made 95 of their gains in England, but they also suffered three losses, all to the Liberal Democrats. For the Liberal Democrats, their eight gains were overshadowed by their 12 losses – one to Labour and 11 to the Conservatives. The British National Party (BNP) would record their highest ever vote in a general election with 1.9% of the popular vote. They would decline after. None of Scotland's 59 seats changed hands and all were held by the same party that had won them at the 2005 election, with Labour regaining the two seats they had lost in by-elections since 2005. There was a swing to Labour from the Conservatives of 0.8% (with Labour increasing its share of the vote by 2.5% and the Conservatives increasing by just 0.9%) The Conservatives finished with just a single MP representing a Scottish constituency. Of the 40 seats contested in Wales, the Conservatives more than doubled their seats from three to eight, taking one from the Liberal Democrats and four from Labour. Welsh nationalist party Plaid Cymru's number of seats was reduced from three to two on the new seat boundaries, but they managed to gain one seat, Arfon, from Labour. Labour did, however, regain Blaenau Gwent, which had once been Labour's safest seat in Wales until it had been taken by an independent, Peter Law, in 2005.https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/vote_2005/wales/4514385.stm BBC News Labour loses safest seat in Wales 6 May 2005 Overall, Labour made a net loss of 4 seats but remained the biggest party, with 26. There were 18 seats contested in Northern Ireland. Both Irish nationalist parties, Sinn Féin and the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), held their seats. The unionist Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) (the latter in an electoral pact with the Conservatives), lost one seat each. This left the nationalist parties unchanged with eight seats, the main unionist parties with eight seats (all DUP), the Alliance with one seat and an independent unionist with one seat. It is the first time since the partition of Ireland that unionist parties failed to secure a majority of Northern Ireland's Westminster seats in a general election, and also the first time Sinn Féin obtained the largest share of the vote in Northern Ireland at a general election. http://www.ark.ac.uk/elections/fw10.htm 2010 Westminster Elections Access Research Knowledge Northern Ireland Social and Political Archive (ARK) 8 May 2010 17 May 2010 Notable results Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families Ed Balls held his seat of Morley and Outwood by 1,101 votes, despite much anticipation of a "Portillo moment".Gammell Caroline General Election 2010: Ed Balls survives Tory challenge https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/election-2010/7692694/General-Election-2010-Ed-Balls-survives-Tory-challenge.html live subscription The Daily Telegraph London 7 May 2010 8 May 2010 https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/election-2010/7692694/General-Election-2010-Ed-Balls-survives-Tory-challenge.html 11 January 2022 (He went on to lose the seat at the following election.) Minister of State for Borders and Immigration Phil Woolas retained Oldham East and Saddleworth by just 103 votes. However, following a legal challenge by his Liberal Democrat opponent, Elwyn Watkins, which found the local Labour campaign to have used negative and false information against Watkins, a new by-election was ordered and held on 13 January 2011. Woolas was barred from standing in this by-election; Watkins stood again, but Labour held the seat with an increased majority.Oldham East by-election to be held on 13 January https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-12003985 BBC News 15 December 2010 25 November 2011 Former Home Secretary Charles Clarke lost Norwich South by 310 votes to the Liberal Democrats.http://www.politics.co.uk/news/2010/05/07/general-election-2010-charles-clarke-loses-no General election 2010: Charles Clarke loses Norwich South politics.co.uk 7 May 2010 Another former Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith, lost Redditch on an above average 9.2% swing to the Conservatives. She had held the seat since 1997, and the seat was a key Conservative target. Her role in the 2009 expenses scandal contributed to her defeat.https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/election-2010/7689461/General-Election-2010-Jacqui-Smith-defeated-in-Redditch.html https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/election-2010/7689461/General-Election-2010-Jacqui-Smith-defeated-in-Redditch.html 11 January 2022 subscription live General Election 2010: Jacqui Smith defeated in Redditch The Telegraph 7 May 2010 Minister of State for Health Mike O'Brien unexpectedly lost North Warwickshire, a seat he had held for 18 years, by just 54 votes to Conservative challenger Dan Byles.http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/north-warwickshire-news/2010/05/07/election-2010-labour-minister-mike-o-brien-loses-north-warwickshire-seat-92746-26395292/ Election 2010: Labour minister Mike O'Brien loses North Warwickshire seat Coventry Telegraph 7 May 2010 24 August 2013 https://web.archive.org/web/20100511211948/http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/north-warwickshire-news/2010/05/07/election-2010-labour-minister-mike-o-brien-loses-north-warwickshire-seat-92746-26395292/ 11 May 2010 Green Party leader Caroline Lucas won Brighton Pavilion, becoming their first Westminster MPCynog Dafis had previously represented Ceredigion on a joint Plaid Cymru/Green tickethttps://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/one-brighton-shining-moment-as-lucas-makes-green-history-1968203.html https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220501/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/one-brighton-shining-moment-as-lucas-makes-green-history-1968203.html 1 May 2022 subscription One Brighton shining moment as Lucas makes Green history McCarthy Michael 8 May 2010 The Independent 8 May 2010 London British National Party leader Nick Griffin finished in third place after a heavy loss in Barking to incumbent Labour MP Margaret HodgeLabour's Margaret Hodge tells BNP: Get out and stay out https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/election_2010/8667612.stm BBC News 7 May 2010 In the wake of job losses at the local steel works, Solicitor General Vera Baird lost her seat of Redcar on a swing of 21.8% to Ian Swales of the Liberal Democrats. Glenda Jackson held Hampstead and Kilburn by just 42 votes, with only 32.81% of the vote, 0.08% ahead of the Conservatives, with the Liberal Democrats trailing less than 1,000 votes behind both other main parties. (The constituency afterward became a safe Labour seat in the two elections held towards the end of the decade.) Peter Robinson lost Belfast East after 31 years as MP for the constituency, to the Alliance Party candidate Naomi Long. A scandal involving his wife and fellow MP Iris Robinson's extramarital affair and her procuring £50,000 for her lover to start a restaurant had led to Robinson's resignation as First Minister of Northern Ireland earlier that year, and assisted in the almost-23% swing to the Alliance Party. Gisela Stuart held onto her Birmingham Edgbaston seat despite many predictions that she would lose it. This was the only one of the 50 most marginal seats Labour held that was not lost by the party. Demographics Candidate demographics The election resulted in an increase in the number of MPs from ethnic minorities from 14 to 27, including the first black and Asian female Conservative MPs, Helen Grant and Priti Patel,https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2010/may/07/black-minority-ethnic-mps-2010 UK Election results: Number of minority ethnic MPs almost doubles The Guardian 7 May 2010 Afua Hirsch London and the first female Muslim MPs, Rushanara Ali, Shabana Mahmood and Yasmin Qureshi.https://www.smh.com.au/world/nations-first-female-muslim-mps-rejoice-20100508-ukxf.html Nation's first female Muslim MPs rejoice Sydney Morning Herald 9 May 2010 This means that 4.2% of MPs are from an ethnic minority – in the 2001 Census, it was reported that ethnic minorities comprised 7.9% of the population. The number of female MPs rose to 141, an increase from 19.5% to 21.7% of all MPs, and the highest ever total; the number of female Conservative MPs rose from 18 (8.6% of all Conservatives) to 48 (15.7%).http://www.womenintechnology.co.uk/news/female-representation-in-government-increases-slightly-news-19770799 Female representation in government increases slightly Women in technology 11 May 2010 12 May 2010 9 October 2011 https://web.archive.org/web/20111009183357/http://www.womenintechnology.co.uk/news/female-representation-in-government-increases-slightly-news-19770799 dead Voter demographics Polling after the election suggested the following demographic breakdown: The 2010 UK general election vote in Great Britainhttps://www.ipsos.com/ipsos-mori/en-uk/how-britain-voted-2010 How Britain Voted in 2010 Ipsos MORI 3 January 2018 4 January 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20180104013908/https://www.ipsos.com/ipsos-mori/en-uk/how-britain-voted-2010 deadDennis Kavanagh and Philip Cowley, The British General Election of 2010 (Palgrave Macmillan, 2010), p. 341.Social group Con Lab Lib Dem Others Lead Total vote 37 30 24 9 7Gender Male 38 28 22 12 10 Female 36 31 26 8 5Age 18–24 30 31 30 9 1 25–34 35 30 29 7 5 35–44 34 31 26 9 3 45–54 34 28 26 12 6 55–64 38 28 23 12 10 65+ 44 31 16 9 13Men by age 18–24 29 34 27 4 5 25–34 42 23 30 6 12 35–54 36 28 23 13 8 55+ 41 29 16 14 12Women by age 18–24 30 28 34 9 4 25–34 27 38 27 8 11 35–54 33 31 29 8 2 55+ 42 30 21 7 12Social class AB 39 26 29 7 10 C1 39 28 24 9 11 C2 37 29 22 128 DE 31 40 17 12 9Men by social class AB 44 23 27 7 17 C1 40 28 22 10 12 C2 33 33 19 10 0 DE 32 35 13 20 3Women by social class AB 44 28 16 12 16 C1 34 29 31 6 3 C2 41 25 25 9 16 DE 29 45 19 7 16Housing tenure Owned 45 24 21 11 21 Mortgage 36 29 26 9 7 Social renter 24 47 19 11 23 Private renter 35 29 27 9 6Ethnic group White 38 28 24 8 11 BAME 16 60 20 4 40 Northern Ireland 2010 United Kingdom general election in Northern Ireland In Northern Ireland a swing of more than 20% resulted in DUP First Minister Peter Robinson losing his Belfast Easthttps://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/election2010/results/constituency/701.stm Election 2010 – Belfast East BBC News 7 May 2010 seat to the Alliance Party's Naomi Long, giving Alliance its first elected MP in Westminster. Sir Reg Empey, leader of the UUP/Conservative alliance (UCUNF), standing for the first time in South Antrim, lost to the DUP incumbent William McCrea. Thus both leaders of the main Unionist parties failed to win seats while the UUP for the first time had no MPs at Westminster. A few days after the election, Empey announced that he would resign before the party conference, triggering a leadership election. Sylvia Hermon, Lady Hermon retained her seat in North Down, significantly increasing her percentage of the vote despite a slightly lower turnout and her defection from the UUP/Conservative alliance to stand as an independent. New SDLP leader Margaret Ritchie, succeeding Eddie McGrady MP, won against Sinn Féin's Caitriona Ruane in South Down. All of the Sinn Féin and SDLP incumbents held their seats, although Sinn Féin's Michelle Gildernew retained her seat in Fermanagh & South Tyrone by only four votes over the Independent Unionist Unity candidate, Rodney Connor, after three recounts.https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/election_2010/northern_ireland/8667134.stm SF's Gildernew retains her seat BBC News 7 May 2010 7 May 2010 MPs who lost their seats List of MPs who lost their seat in the 2010 United Kingdom general election MPs first elected in 2010 MPs first elected in 2010 to the 55th UK Parliament Effect of the expenses scandal United Kingdom parliamentary expenses scandal Many of the MPs who were most prominently caught up in the scandal decided, or were ordered April 2024 not to stand for re-election in 2010. Among them were Margaret Moran,https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/5403017/MPs-expenses-Margaret-Moran-to-stand-down-at-election-but-insists-she-did-nothing-wrong.html https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/5403017/MPs-expenses-Margaret-Moran-to-stand-down-at-election-but-insists-she-did-nothing-wrong.html 11 January 2022 subscription live MPs' expenses: Margaret Moran to stand down but insists she did nothing wrong The Daily Telegraph 29 May 2009 London Martin Beckford Elliot Morley,https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/8073923.stm Elliot Morley to stand down as MP BBC News 29 May 2009 David Chaytor,https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/8078558.stm Labour MP Chaytor to stand down BBC News 2 June 2009 Nicholas and Ann Winterton,https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/5326205/Sir-Nicholas-and-Ann-Winterton-to-stand-down-from-parliament-MPs-expenses.html https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/5326205/Sir-Nicholas-and-Ann-Winterton-to-stand-down-from-parliament-MPs-expenses.html 11 January 2022 subscription live Sir Nicholas and Ann Winterton to stand down from parliament: MPs expenses The Daily Telegraph 15 May 2009 London Christopher Hope Jon Swaine Derek Conway,https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/conservative/1576993/Derek-Conway-to-stand-down-at-election.html https://web.archive.org/web/20090518203200/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/conservative/1576993/Derek-Conway-to-stand-down-at-election.html dead 18 May 2009 Derek Conway to stand down at election The Daily Telegraph 30 January 2008 London Robert Winnett John Gummer,https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/6911521/John-Gummer-mole-charge-MP-to-quit-Parliament.html https://web.archive.org/web/20100102065948/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/6911521/John-Gummer-mole-charge-MP-to-quit-Parliament.html dead 2 January 2010 John Gummer: mole charge MP to quit Parliament The Daily Telegraph 30 December 2009 London Rosa Prince Douglas Hogg,https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/8057579.stm Moat claim MP to quit at election BBC News 19 May 2009 Anthony Steen,https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/5357365/MPs-expenses-Anthony-Steen-to-stand-down-as-MP-at-next-election.html https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/5357365/MPs-expenses-Anthony-Steen-to-stand-down-as-MP-at-next-election.html 11 January 2022 subscription live MPs' expenses: Anthony Steen to stand down as MP at next election The Daily Telegraph 20 May 2009 London Andrew Pierce Chris Irvine Peter Viggers,http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/newshome/Sir-Peter-Viggers-to-stand.5288487.jp Sir Peter Viggers to stand down over expenses claim Portsmouth Today 20 May 2009 Julie Kirkbride and her husband Andrew MacKay.https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/8065339.stm Tory MP to stand down at election BBC News 23 May 2009 Where sitting MPs did stand for re-election after their expenses claims were criticised, there were some notable losses. Former Home Secretary Jacqui Smith lost her marginal Redditch seat, which showed a large 9.2% swing to the Conservatives. Smith had claimed expenses on a large family home in Redditch by declaring her house-share with her sister in London as her main home, which had been described as "near fraudulent" by the former chairman of the committee on Standards in Public life,https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2009/may/10/mps-expenses-jacqui-smith Taxmen to probe MPs over profits from home sales The Guardian 10 May 2009 Rajeev Syal Toby Helm Gaby Hinsliff London although she had only been ordered to apologise rather than repay the money.https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2009/oct/12/smith-expenses-breach Jacqui Smith apologises to MPs for misusing second home allowance The Guardian 12 October 2009 Sparrow Andrew London Former Home Office minister Tony McNulty lost Harrow East to the Conservatives on an 8% swing, after repaying over £13,000 claimed on a second home, occupied by his parents, which was 8 miles away from his primary residence.https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/7957555.stm McNulty defends expenses claims BBC News 22 March 2009 Ann Keen lost Brentford and Isleworth on a 6% swing, but her husband Alan Keen retained Feltham and Heston. The couple were criticised for claiming for a second home in central London while rarely staying in their nearby constituency home.https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2010/may/07/tories-escape-expenses-scandal-general-election Tories brush off expenses scandal while voters punish Labour in general election Barkham Patrick 7 May 2010 The Guardian 8 May 2010 London Shahid Malik lost his Dewsbury seat on a 5.9% swing to the Conservatives. Malik had been required to repay some of his expense claims and, at the time of the election, was under investigation for other claims.http://www.inthenews.co.uk/news/general-election-2010/general-election-2010-shahid-malik-loses-in-dewsbury-$21376724.htm General election 2010: Shahid Malik loses in Dewsbury inthenews.co.uk 7 May 2010 13 May 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20120929175608/http://www.inthenews.co.uk/news/general-election-2010/general-election-2010-shahid-malik-loses-in-dewsbury-$21376724.htm 29 September 2012 dead David Heathcoat-Amory was one of only two sitting Conservatives to be defeated when he lost Wells to the Liberal Democrats by 800 votes. Heathcoat-Amory was criticised for claiming manure on expenses.http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/vote_2010/election+2010+the+high+profile+losers/3638827 Vote 2010: you win some, you lose some 7 May 2010 Channel 4 News 8 May 2010 Phil Hope, who repaid over £40,000 in expenses,https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/5317104/Phil-Hope-agrees-to-return-41000-as-MPs-retreat-on-expenses-claims.html https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/5317104/Phil-Hope-agrees-to-return-41000-as-MPs-retreat-on-expenses-claims.html 11 January 2022 subscription live Phil Hope agrees to return £41,000 as MPs retreat on expenses The Daily Telegraph 13 May 2009 London Matthew Moore was defeated in his Corby constituency although the swing was lower than the national average at 3.3%. Hazel Blears, who had paid more than £13,000 to cover capital gains tax which she had avoided by "flipping" the designation of her main residence,https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/5364423/Gordon-Brown-pursuing-a-political-vendetta-against-Hazel-Blears-MPs-expenses.html https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/5364423/Gordon-Brown-pursuing-a-political-vendetta-against-Hazel-Blears-MPs-expenses.html 11 January 2022 subscription live Gordon Brown 'pursuing a political vendetta' against Hazel Blears – MPs' expenses The Daily Telegraph 22 May 2009 London Andrew Porter suffered a large drop in her vote in Salford and Eccles, but was still comfortably re-elected; a 'Hazel must go' candidate won only 1.8%.https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newsvideo/uk-politics-video/7689786/General-Election-2010-Hazel-Blears-retains-Salford-and-Eccles.html https://web.archive.org/web/20151104015604/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newsvideo/uk-politics-video/7689786/General-Election-2010-Hazel-Blears-retains-Salford-and-Eccles.html dead 4 November 2015 General Election 2010: Hazel Blears retains Salford and Eccles The Daily Telegraph 7 May 2010 London Conversely, Brian Jenkins lost his Tamworth seat on a large 9.5% swing despite being described as a "saint" by The Daily Telegraph on account of his low expenses.https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/5350793/MPs-expenses-The-saints-Part-iii.html?image=13 MPs' expenses: The saints (Part iii) The Daily Telegraph London 19 May 2009 Ironically, his successor in the seat was Conservative Chris Pincher, whose future sexual assault scandal would bring down the premiership of Prime Minister Boris Johnson twelve years later.7 May 2009 Labour MP of 14 years loses seat to Tories in Tamworth Birmingham Post http://www.birminghampost.net/news/politics-news/2010/05/07/labour-mp-of-14-years-loses-seat-to-tories-in-tamworth-65233-26395057/ live 11 June 2011 https://web.archive.org/web/20101224114017/http://www.birminghampost.net/news/politics-news/2010/05/07/labour-mp-of-14-years-loses-seat-to-tories-in-tamworth-65233-26395057/ 24 December 20103 June 2011 Town MP reflects on memorable if rather nervous first year Tamworth Herald http://www.thisistamworth.co.uk/Town-MP-reflects-memorable-nervous-year/story-12703532-detail/story.html dead 11 June 2011 https://web.archive.org/web/20110810074604/http://www.thisistamworth.co.uk/Town-MP-reflects-memorable-nervous-year/story-12703532-detail/story.html 10 August 20117 July 2022 Boris Johnson resigns: PM quits as Tory leader, saying will of party is clear https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-politics-62072419 7 July 2022 BBC News en-GB Predictionshttps://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/election-2010/7614923/General-Election-2010-MPs-expenses-scandal-fires-independent-challenge.html https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/election-2010/7614923/General-Election-2010-MPs-expenses-scandal-fires-independent-challenge.html 11 January 2022 subscription live General Election 2010: MPs' expenses scandal fires independent challenge The Daily Telegraph 22 April 2010 London Martin Evans of a rise in the number of successful Independents in the election as a result of the 2009 expenses scandal failed to materialise. Independents supported by the Jury Team or the Independent Network, support networks who both attempted to select and promote high quality Independents who had signed up for the so-called Nolan Principles of public life, set out in the Committee on Standards in Public Life, failed to have any significant impact. Broadcaster Esther Rantzen gathered a great deal of publicity for her campaign in Luton South constituency where the former MP Margaret Moran had stood down, but ended up losing her deposit in 4th place with 4.4% of the vote; the winner was Moran's successor as Labour candidate. There was also a high-profile campaign over expenses directed against Speaker John Bercow, who had 'flipped' his designation of second home. An imperfectly observed convention states that the major parties do not oppose the Speaker seeking re-election; Bercow faced two main opponents in Buckingham. Independent former Member of the European Parliament John Stevens, standing on the Buckinghamshire Campaign for Democracy ticket, campaigned with a man dressed in a dolphin costume whom he called 'Flipper'http://www.newstatesman.com/uk-politics/2010/04/john-bercow-speaker-buckingham Bercow's last stand? Seddon Mark Mark Seddon New Statesman 21 April 2010 and polled second with 21.4%. Former leader of the UK Independence Party Nigel Farage also fought the seat but came third in the vote with 17.4%. Bercow won with 47.3%. Voting problems Problems occurred with voting at 27 polling places in 16 constituencies, and affected approximately 1,200 people.http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/99091/Interim-Report-Polling-Station-Queues-complete.pdf 2010 UK Parliamentary general election: Interim report: review of problems at polling stations at close of poll on 6 May 2010 20 May 2010 The Electoral Commission UK Section 1.6 27 July 2010 This situation was condemned by politicians of various parties. Jenny Watson, chair of the Electoral Commission, the independent body that oversees the electoral process, was forced on to television to defend preparations and procedures. The Electoral Commission announced it would be carrying out a "thorough investigation".Electoral Commission to investigate thwarted voters http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/politics/hundreds+of+voters+turned+away+from+packed+polls/3638632 Channel 4 News 6 May 2010 7 May 2010 Under the law in force at the 2010 election, voters had to have been handed their ballots by the 10 pm deadline; people who were waiting in queues to vote at 10 pm were not allowed to vote.https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/election_2010/8666338.stm Election 2010: Inquiry as voters miss out as polls shut 7 May 2010 1 August 2010 BBC News In Chester there were reports that 600 registered voters were unable to vote because the electoral roll had not been updated,http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2010/may/07/general-election-2010-shami-chakrabarti Voters turned away from polls should go to court, says Liberty 7 May 2010 The Guardian while in Hackney, Islington, Leeds, Lewisham, Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield long queues led to many voters being turned away and unable to vote as the 10 pm deadline arrived. Some dissatisfied voters staged sit-ins to protest against what some of them had called "disenfranchisement". In Liverpool, higher-than-expected turnout meant several polling stations ran out of ballot papers, with defeated council leader Warren Bradley stating that some residents were unable to cast their votes.Liverpool polling station runs out of ballots https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/election_2010/england/8663394.stm BBC News 7 May 2010 7 May 2010 In Wyre and Preston North, a 14-year-old boy cast a vote after being sent a polling card.Lancashire teenager voted 'to make a difference' https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/election_2010/england/8670022.stm BBC News 8 May 2010 10 July 2010 In parts of Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg's Sheffield Hallam seat it was reported that students from the city's two universities were placed in separate queues from 'local' residents, who were given priority, resulting in many students being unable to cast their votes.Election 2010: Voters turned away as polls close https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/election_2010/8666338.stm BBC News 7 May 2010 7 May 2010 Because of closure of United Kingdom airspace as a result of the Iceland volcanic eruption, potential expat voters in New Zealand were denied a vote when postal voting papers arrived too late to be returned to the UK,Kiwi votes too late for UK election http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10643772 The New Zealand Herald 9 May 2010 11 May 2010 although Australian broadcaster SBS suggested that given the extremely tight timetabling of overseas votes, there is very little chance that voting papers [for voters outside Europe] will be received, let alone returned, in time to be counted.UK elections: how to vote from abroad http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/1252037/UK-elections:-how-to-vote-from-abroad- Special Broadcasting Service 6 May 2010 11 May 2010 21 October 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20121021060523/http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/1252037/UK-elections:-how-to-vote-from-abroad- dead Post-election government formation 2010 United Kingdom government formation When it became clear that no party would achieve an overall majority, the three main party leaders made public statements offering to discuss the options for forming the next government with the other parties. Prior to the election, Nick Clegghttps://www.theguardian.com/politics/2008/mar/10/liberaldemocrats.nickclegg Clegg's terms for deal in hung parliament The Guardian 10 March 2008 Andrew Sparrow 26 May 2010 London and Menzies Campbellhttp://www.mingcampbell.org.uk/ccarchive/2006/02/15/liberal-democrats-under-my-leadership-would-vote-against-any-queens-speech-without-a-clear-and-unambiguous-commitment-for-proportional-representation/ Liberal Democrats under my leadership would vote against any Queens Speech without a clear and unambiguous commitment for Proportional Representation Ming Campbell Official Website 15 February 2006 had continued the position of Charles Kennedy of not being prepared to form a coalition with either main party and of voting against any Queen's Speech unless there was an unambiguous commitment in it to introduce proportional representation. However, following the election results, Clegg shifted this position, arguing that the UK faced a 'fluid political situation' in the context of the first hung parliament in 36 years, and an urgent need for economic recovery following the 2008 financial crisis. He maintained that political leaders had a responsibility to act in the 'national interest' to provide a strong and stable government rather than pursuing narrow party gains. Negotiations with the Labour Party were attempted but failed. Clegg concluded that a stable coalition with Labour was impossible due to internal Labour Party revolts and the fact that even a combined Lib Dem – Labour bloc would still require the support of several smaller parties to reach a majority. In addition, prior to the election, Clegg had stated that the party with the most votes and seats should have the 'first right' to seek to form a government. Since the Conservative Party won the most seats (306) and the highest share of the popular vote, Clegg felt a 'democratic' obligation to negotiate with them first. Whilst the Conservatives refused to grant full proportional representation, they offered a referendum on the Alternative Vote (AV) system. Clegg accepted this as a compromise that would at least 'repair the political system' and provide a stepping stone toward broader reform. On Wednesday 12 May, the two coalition parties jointly published the Conservative – Liberal Democrat coalition agreement.Conservative Liberal Democrat Coalition Agreement https://web.archive.org/web/20100515024701/http://www.conservatives.com/News/News_stories/2010/05/Coalition_Agreement_published.aspx 15 May 2010 , Conservative Party, Published 12 May 2010. Retrieved 13 May 2010Conservative Liberal Democrat Coalition Agreement https://web.archive.org/web/20111211134147/http://libdems.org.uk//latest_news_detail.aspx?title=Conservative_Liberal_Democrat_coalition_agreements&pPK=2697bcdc-7483-47a7-a517-7778979458ff 11 December 2011, Liberal Democrats, Published 12 May 2010. Retrieved 13 May 2010https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2010/may/12/lib-dem-tory-deal-coalition Full text of the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition deal 12 May 2010 12 May 2010 The Guardian London Party political and administration costs UK parties spent £31.1m on the campaign of which Conservatives spent 53%, the Labour Party spent 25% and the Liberal Democrats 15%.https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-30477250 2015 election campaign officially begins on Friday BBC News 18 December 2014 18 December 2014 Figures from returning officers show that the average administration cost per constituency was £173,846 meaning the average cost per vote was £3.81.https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-magazine-monitor-29540785 Small Data: How much do by-elections cost? BBC News Anthony Reuben 13 October 2014 20 December 2014 See also Cameron–Clegg coalition List of MPs elected in the 2010 United Kingdom general election List of MPs for constituencies in England (2010–2015) List of MPs for constituencies in Northern Ireland (2010–2015) List of MPs for constituencies in Scotland (2010–2015) List of MPs for constituencies in Wales (2010–2015) 2010 United Kingdom local elections Results of the 2010 United Kingdom general election Results breakdown of the 2010 United Kingdom general election 2010s in political history Notes n Further reading Adonis Andrew Andrew Adonis, Baron Adonis 5 days in May: the coalition and beyond Biteback Publishing London 2013 9781849545662 registration https://archive.org/details/5daysinmaycoalit0000adon Baldini Gianfranco Hopkin Jonathan Coalition Britain: the UK election of 2010 Manchester University Press Manchester New York 2012 9780719083709 Cowley Philip Philip Cowley Dennis Kavanagh Dennis Kavanagh The British General Election of 2010 2010 Palgrave Macmillan 9780230521902 Cutts David Goodwin Matthew J. Getting out the right-wing extremist vote: extreme right party support and campaign effects at a recent British general election European Political Science Review 6 1 93–114 10.1017/S1755773912000288 February 2014 154753788 Fisher Justin Wlezien Christopher The UK general election of 2010: explaining the outcome Routledge London New York 2012 9780415583015 Worcester Robert Mortimore Roger Baines Paul Gill Mark The UK general election of 2010 : explaining the outcome Routledge London New York 2012 9780415583015 References External links RESEARCH PAPER 10/36, House of Commons Library: General Election 2010 OSCE/ODIHR Election Assessment Mission Report, report by independent observers, the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights Report on the administration of the 2010 UK general election by the Electoral Commission British General Election, 2010 resources from Political Science Resources Your Candidate Finder Telegraph – allows you to filter all the candidates in the database based on everything from what type of education they had, to their age, gender, profession, county and role (i.e. contesting, defending, standing for the first time or again) NSD: European Election Database – UK publishes regional level election data (NUTS 1); allows for comparisons of election results, 1992–2010 Election 2010 – The TV debate at BAFTA BAFTA asks an expert panel, was TV the real winner of the General Election? Catalogue of 2010 general election ephemera at the Archives Division of the London School of Economics. General Election 2010 – Commons Library Research Paper RP10/36 from Parliament.uk. Gives the results at UK, GB, country and region level. See also the introduction. Manifestos Main parties Conservatives: Invitation to join the government of Britain https://web.archive.org/web/20100414145120/http://conservativehome.blogs.com/files/conservative-manifesto-2010.pdf 14 April 2010 Labour: A future fair for all Liberal Democrats: Change that works for you/Building a fairer Britain Smaller parties already holding seats Democratic Unionist Party: Let's Keep Northern Ireland Moving Forward Plaid Cymru: Think Different. Think Plaid. Respect Party: Homes, Jobs and Peace, Manifesto for a Hung Parliament Scottish National Party: Elect a local champion. Sinn Féin: 2010 Westminster Election Manifesto Social Democratic and Labour Party: For Your Future Ulster Conservatives and Unionists – New Force: Invitation to join the government of the United Kingdom Other parties Alliance Party of Northern Ireland: Alliance Works, Working for you at Westminster Alliance for Green Socialism: General Election Manifesto 2010 British National Party: Democracy, Freedom, Culture and Identity British National Front: National Front 2010 Election Manifesto Christian Peoples Alliance: Not by Bread Alone Communist Party of Britain: Britain For The People Not The Bankers Co-operative Party: A Cooperative Agenda For A Fourth Term English Democrats Party: English Democrats 2010 Manifesto Green Party of England and Wales: Fair is Worth Fighting For Green Party of Northern Ireland: Make A Difference Vote Green Liberal Party: Principle, Policy and Purpose Mebyon Kernow: Key Campaign Priorities Official Monster Raving Loony Party: The Monster Raving Loony Manifesto https://web.archive.org/web/20230304211752/https://www.loonyparty.com/history-4/loony-archive/2010-general-election-manifesto/ 4 March 2023 Pirate Party UK: The 2010 Election Manifesto of the Pirate Party UK Scottish Green Party: A Living Wage For All, Protect Public Services, Support New Green Jobs Scottish Socialist Party: For An Independent Socialist Scotland Socialist Equality Party: Socialist Equality Party Manifesto for the 2010 British General Election Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition: No To Cuts and Privatisation! Make the Bosses Pay! Traditional Unionist Voice: Putting It Right UK Independence Party: Empowering the people United Kingdom Libertarian Party: For Life, Liberty, and Prosperity Boundary Commissions Boundary Commission for England Boundary Commission for Scotland Boundary Commission for Wales Boundary Commission for Northern Ireland Boundary changes favour Tories ePolitix, 26 June 2006 Politics United Kingdom 2010 Category:2010 elections in the United Kingdom Category:May 2010 in the United Kingdom Category:Premiership of Gordon Brown Category:Premiership of David Cameron Category:Nick Clegg Category:Peter Mandelson Category:History of the Conservative Party (UK) Category:History of the Liberal Democrats (UK) Category:Impacts of the Iraq War