1970 United Kingdom general election

A general election was held on 18 June 1970 to elect all 630 members of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. The Conservative Party won the election and Edward Heath became Prime Minister.

1970 United Kingdom general election
18 June 1970
All 630 seats in the House of Commons
316 seats needed for a majority
Turnout72.0%, Decrease3.8%
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Edward Heath Harold Wilson Jeremy Thorpe
Party Conservative Labour Liberal
Leader's seat Bexley Huyton North Devon
Last election 253 seats, 41.9% 364 seats, 48% 12 seats, 8.5%
Seats won 330 288 6
Seat change Increase77 Decrease75 Decrease6
Popular vote 13,145,123 12,208,758 2,117,035
Percentage 46.4% 43.1% 7.5%
Swing Increase4.5% Decrease4.9% Decrease1.0%
Colours show the winning party—as shown in § Results
Composition of the House of Commons after the election
Prime Minister before election

Harold Wilson
Labour

 Prime Minister after election

Edward Heath
Conservative

Most people thought that the Labour Party would win the election and it was a surprise that the Conservatives won. Opinion polls had showed Labour ahead, but were wrong.[1][2] This was the first election where people aged over 18 could vote, instead of 21.[3]

References
  1. Richard Rose (1970). "Voting Trends Surveyed". The Times Guide to the House of Commons 1970. London: Times Newspapers Limited. p. 31.
  2. George Clark (1970). "The General Election Campaign, 1970". The Times Guide to the House of Commons 1970. London: Times Newspapers Limited. p. 26.
  3. "Representation of the People Act 1969". Hansard. Archived from the original on 2020-12-07. Retrieved 2020-12-09.
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