1987 general election (UK)

United Kingdom general election, 1987

← 1983 11 June 1987 1992 →
← outgoing members elected members →
All 650 seats in the House of Commons 326 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	75.3% (2.6%)
First party Second party Third party   Leader Margaret Thatcher Neil Kinnock David Steel (Lib.) David Owen (SDP) Party Conservative Labour SDP–Liberal Alliance Leader since 11 February 1975 2 October 1983 1976 (Steel), 1983 (Owen) Leader's seat Finchley Islwyn Tweeddale (Steel) Ply. Devonport (Owen) Last election 397 seats, 42.4% 209 seats, 27.6% 23 seats, 25.4% Seats won 376 229 22 Seat change 21 20 1 Popular vote 13,760,935 10,029,270 7,341,651 Percentage 42.2% 30.8% 22.6% Swing 0.2% 3.2% 2.8%
Colours denote the winning party, as shown in the main table of results.
Prime Minister before election Margaret Thatcher Conservative Subsequent Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher Conservative

Margaret Thatcher
Conservative

Margaret Thatcher
Conservative

The United Kingdom general election of 1987 was held on Thursday 11 June 1987, to elect 650 members to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. The election was the third consecutive general election victory for the Conservative Party under the leadership of Margaret Thatcher, who became the first Prime Minister since the 2nd Earl of Liverpool in 1820 to lead a party into three successive electoral victories.

The Conservatives ran a campaign focusing on lower taxes, a strong economy and strong defence. They also emphasised that unemployment had fallen below the 3,000,000 mark for the first time since 1981, and inflation was standing at 4%, its lowest level for some twenty years. The tabloid media also had strong support for the Conservative Party, particularly The Sun, which ran anti-Labour articles with headlines such as: Why I'm backing Kinnock, by Stalin.

The Labour Party, led by Neil Kinnock, was slowly moving towards a more centrist policy platform. The main aim of the Labour Party was, arguably, simply to re-establish themselves as the main progressive centre-left alternative to the Conservatives, after the rise of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) forced Labour onto the defensive. Indeed, the Labour Party succeeded in doing so at this general election. The Alliance between the Social Democratic Party and the Liberal Party was renewed but co-leaders David Owen and David Steel could not agree whether to support either major party in the event of a hung parliament.