United Kingdom general election records

United Kingdom general election records is an annotated list of notable records from United Kingdom general elections.

Prior to 1945, electoral competition in the United Kingdom exhibited features which make meaningful comparisons with modern results difficult.

Among the most significant were:-

Since 1945, the evolution of a stable 3-party system has tended to negate each of the above features so that, broadly speaking, elections are more comparable.

In Northern Ireland, as ever, the pattern of party competition is completely different from that in Great Britain and comparisons remain problematic.

Hence, unless otherwise stated records are based on results since the 1945 General Election, and earlier exceptional results are listed separately.

For comparison purposes the following definitions have been adopted.

For more information about what is meant by the term "swing", see Swing (politics)

A party's share of the vote at a general election is not always matched at subsequent general elections, but given the five-year maximum term of a Parliament, reductions of 20% or more are unusual.

These records detail the change in the share of the vote by parties when compared to the same constituency in the previous General Election. In some cases, such as Brent East in 2005 for the Liberal Democrats, the figures should be framed by the context of a by-election in that constituency between the two Elections.

The most votes received by a single individual in a general election was Sir Cooper Rawson who polled 75,205 votes when being reelected as MP for Brighton in 1931. Brighton was a two-member constituency with a larger than average electorate. The most votes received by an individual in a single-seat constituency was 69,762 for Reginald Blair in Hendon in 1935.

The largest majority received by an individual is also Sir Cooper Rawson, reelected with a majority of 62,253 at Brighton in 1931. The largest majority received by a woman is 38,823 by the Countess of Iveagh elected MP for Southend in 1931.

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