1966 United Kingdom general election

The 1966 United Kingdom general election happened on 31 March 1966. The Labour Party won with a landslide win. The Prime Minister Harold Wilson stayed in power.

1966 United Kingdom general election
31 March 1966
All 630 seats in the House of Commons
316 seats needed for a majority
Opinion polls
Turnout75.8%, Decrease1.3%
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Harold Wilson Edward Heath Jo Grimond
Party Labour Conservative Liberal
Leader's seat Huyton Bexley Orkney and Shetland
Last election 317 seats, 44.1% 304 seats, 43.4% 9 seats, 11.2%
Seats won 364 253 12
Seat change Increase47 Decrease51 Increase3
Popular vote 13,096,951 11,418,433 2,327,533
Percentage 48.0% 41.9% 8.5%
Swing Increase3.9% Decrease1.5% Decrease2.7%
Colours showing the winning party—as shown in § Results
Seats in the House of Commons after the election
Prime Minister before election

Harold Wilson
Labour

 Prime Minister after election

Harold Wilson
Labour

Wilson decided to call a snap election because his government had a small majority. This made it hard for them to make new laws. This was the last general election with a voting age of 21. After the Representation of the People Act, 18 year-olds were allowed to vote in elections.[1]

References
  1. "1969 Representation of the People Act". UK Parliament. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
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