2015 United Kingdom general election in England
← 2010 7 May 2015 (2015-05-07) 2017 →
All 533 English seats to the House of Commons
Turnout65.9% (Increase0.4%)
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader David Cameron Ed Miliband Nick Clegg
Party Conservative Labour Liberal Democrats
Leader since 6 December 2005 25 September 2010 18 December 2007
Leader's seat Witney Doncaster North Sheffield Hallam
Last election 297 seats, 39.5% 191 seats, 28.1% 43 seats, 24.2%
Seats won 318* 206 6
Seat change Increase21 Increase15 Decrease37
Popular vote 10,483,261 8,087,706 2,098,430
Percentage 40.9% 31.6% 8.2%
Swing Increase1.4% Increase3.6% Decrease16.0%
A map of English parliamentary constituencies
*Seat figure does not include the Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, who was included in the Conservative seat total by some media outlets.

The 2015 United Kingdom general election in England was held on Thursday, 7 May 2015 for 533 English seats to the House of Commons. The Conservatives won a majority of seats in England for the second time since 1992.

Both major parties made gains at the expense of the Liberal Democrats, whose support collapsed to its lowest level since 1970. Their vote share declined by 16 percentage points, and the party lost 37 of its 43 seats. The party won 6 seats and 8% of the vote overall. This was the worst result for the Lib Dems or the Liberals in 45 years, while the 16-point drop in vote share was the biggest decline in Lib Dem or Liberal support since 1931.

Although Labour increased their share of the vote by 4% and gained 15 seats, the Conservatives made 21 gains for a total of 318, including winning 6 seats directly from Labour. Together with seats from Scotland and Wales, this allowed the Conservatives to form a majority government with 330 seats, leading to the first majority Conservative government since 1992.

Political context

The general election was fought with the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats having been in coalition since 2010, with Labour being the main opposition, though with the Conservatives holding the majority of English seats. It was also fought following the victory of the UK Independence Party at the European Parliament Elections and in two by-elections the year before, along with George Galloway of the Respect Party having won the 2012 Bradford West by-election from Labour.

Results summary

Party[1] Seats Votes
Total Gains Losses Net +/- % seats Total votes % votes Change
Conservative 318 32 11 Increase21 59.7 10,483,261 40.9 Increase1.4
Labour 206 21 6 Increase15 38.6 8,087,684 31.6 Increase3.6
UKIP 1 1 0 Increase1 0.2 3,611,367 14.1 Increase10.7
Liberal Democrats 6 0 37 Decrease37 1.1 2,098,404 8.2 Decrease16.0
Green 1 0 0 Steady 0.2 1,073,242 4.2 Increase3.2
Speaker 1 0 0 Steady 0.2 34,617 0.1 Steady
TUSC 0 0 0 Steady — 32,868 0.1 Increase0.1
NHA 0 0 0 Steady — 20,210 0.1 New
Respect 0 0 0 Steady — 9,989 0.0 Decrease0.1
Yorkshire First 0 0 0 Steady — 6,811 0.0 New
English Democrat 0 0 0 Steady — 6,431 0.0 Decrease0.2
CISTA 0 0 0 Steady — 4,569 0.0 New
Monster Raving Loony 0 0 0 Steady — 3,432 0.0 Steady
CPA 0 0 0 Steady — 3,260 0.0 Steady
BNP 0 0 0 Steady — 1,667 0.0 Decrease2.1
Class War 0 0 0 Steady — 526 0.0 New
Other parties 0 0 0 Steady — 127,133 0.5 Decrease0.2
25,571,204 65.9 Increase0.4
Popular vote
Conservative
 
 40.9%
Labour
 
 31.6%
UKIP
 
 14.1%
Liberal Democrats
 
 8.2%
Greens
 
 4.2%
Other
 
 0.9%
Parliament seats
Conservative
 
 59.7%
Labour
 
 38.6%
Liberal Democrats
 
 1.1%
UKIP
 
 0.2%
Greens
 
 0.2%
Speaker
 
 0.2%

Analysis

The Conservatives emerged as the largest party, increasing both their seats and votes. They took seats both from the Liberal Democrats and from the Labour Party, as well as holding on to many of their key marginal seats.

Labour increased its numbers both in number of votes and seats after making gains against the Liberal Democrats, along with limited gains against the Conservatives, but failed to become the largest party. Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls lost his seat in Morley and Outwood to the Conservative candidate Andrea Jenkyns,[2] whilst Ed Miliband resigned as Labour leader.[3]

The Liberal Democrats lost the vast majority of their seats, going from 43 seats down to just 6.[4] Leader Nick Clegg, who saw his nearly 30-point majority in Sheffield Hallam massively reduced to 4.2%, resigned on the morning of the election results.[5]

UKIP made large gains in the percentage of votes, but failed to retain Rochester and Strood or take any other seats, leading to the resignation of party leader Nigel Farage. His resignation was rejected, however, and he subsequently stayed on.[6]

The Green Party increased their share of the vote and held Brighton Pavilion, but failed to gain any new seats.[7]

Regional results

Regional vote shares and changes are sourced from the House of Commons Library.[8]

East Midlands

Party Seats Votes
Total Gained Lost Net Total % Change (%)
Conservative 32 1 - +1 969,379 43.5 +2.3
Labour 14 - 1 -1 705,767 31.6 +1.9
UKIP - - - - 351,777 15.8 +12.5
Liberal Democrats - - - - 124,039 5.6 -15.3
  Others - - - - 79,440 3.6 —
Total 46 Turnout 2,230,402 66.5

East of England

Party Seats Votes
Total Gained Lost Net Total % Change (%)
Conservative 52 1 1 - 1,445,946 49.0 +1.9
Labour 4 2 - +2 649,321 22.0 +2.4
UKIP 1 1 - +1 478,517 16.2 +12.0
Liberal Democrats 1 - 3 -3 243,191 8.2 -15.8
  Others - - - - 131,648 4.6 —
Total 58 Turnout 2,948,623 67.5

London

Party Seats Votes
Total Gained Lost Net Total % Change (%)
Labour 45 7 - +7 1,545,048 43.7 +7.3
Conservative 27 3 4 -1 1,233,386 34.9 +0.3
UKIP - - - - 286,981 8.1 +6.4
Liberal Democrats 1 - 6 -6 272,544 7.7 -14.4
Green - - - - 171,670 4.9 +3.3
  Others - - - - 26,622 0.8 —
Total 73 Turnout 3,536,251 65.4

North East

Party Seats Votes
Total Gained Lost Net Total % Change (%)
Labour 26 1 - +1 557,100 46.9 +3.3
Conservative 3 1 - +1 300,883 25.3 +1.6
UKIP - - - - 198,823 16.7 +14.0
Liberal Democrats - - 2 -2 77,095 6.5 -17.1
  Others - - - - 54,252 4.6 —
Total 29 Turnout 1,188,153 61.8

North West

Party Seats Votes
Total Gained Lost Net Total % Change (%)
Labour 51 5 1 +4 1,502,047 44.6 +5.2
Conservative 22 3 3 - 1,050,124 31.2 -0.5
UKIP - - - - 459,071 13.6 +10.5
Liberal Democrats 2 - 4 -4 219,998 6.5 -15.1
  Others - - - - 132,815 4.1 —
Total 75 Turnout 3,364,055 64.3

South East

Party Seats Votes
Total Gained Lost Net Total % Change (%)
Conservative 78 5 1 +4 2,234,360 50.8 +1.5
Labour 4 1 1 - 804,774 18.3 -0.5
UKIP - - - - 646,959 14.7 +10.6
Liberal Democrats - - 4 -4 413,586 9.4 -16.8
Green 1 - - - 227,882 5.2 +3.7
Speaker 1 - - - 34,617 0.8 -
  Others - - - - 32,315 0.7 —
Total 84 Turnout 4,394,493 68.6

South West

Party Seats Votes
Total Gained Lost Net Total % Change (%)
Conservative 51 15 - +15 1,319,994 46.5 +3.7
Labour 4 1 1 - 501,684 17.7 +2.3
Liberal Democrats - - 15 -15 428,927 15.1 -19.6
UKIP - - - - 384,546 13.6 +9.1
Green - - - - 168,130 5.9 +4.8
  Others - - - - 33,013 1.2 —
Total 55 Turnout 2,836,294 69.5

West Midlands

Party Seats Votes
Total Gained Lost Net Total % Change (%)
Conservative 34 2 1 +1 1,097,750 41.8 +2.2
Labour 25 2 1 +1 865,075 32.9 +2.3
UKIP - - - - 412,770 15.7 +11.7
Liberal Democrats - - 2 -2 145,009 5.5 -14.9
  Others - - - - 107,975 4.1 —
Total 59 Turnout 2,628,579 64.1

Yorkshire and the Humber

Party Seats Votes
Total Gained Lost Net Total % Change (%)
Labour 33 2 1 +1 956,837 39.1 +4.8
Conservative 19 1 1 - 796,822 32.6 -0.2
UKIP - - - - 391,923 16.0 +13.2
Liberal Democrats 2 - 1 -1 174,069 7.1 -15.8
  Others - - - - 124,526 5.1 —
Total 54 Turnout 2,444,177 63.3

Campaign events

Target seats

The recorded swing in each case is calculated as two-way swing from the party that won in 2010 to the party targeting the seat. Negative swing implies that the targeting party lost votes to the incumbent party.

Conservative Party

Rank Constituency Region Winning party
2010 		Swing
required (%) 		Result Swing to
CON (±%)
1 Hampstead and Kilburn London Labour 0.10 Labour hold -1.0
2 Bolton West North West England Labour 0.10 Conservative gain +0.9
3 Solihull West Midlands Liberal Democrats 0.16 Conservative gain +11.9
4 Southampton Itchen South East England Labour 0.22 Conservative gain +2.8
5 Mid Dorset and North Poole South West England Liberal Democrats 0.29 Conservative gain +11.6
6 Wirral South North West England Labour 0.66 Labour hold -4.8
7 Derby North East Midlands Labour 0.68 Conservative gain +0.8
8 Wells South West England Liberal Democrats 0.72 Conservative gain +7.4
9 Dudley North West Midlands Labour 0.84 Labour hold -4.7
10 Great Grimsby Yorkshire and the Humber Labour 1.08 Labour hold -5.7

Labour Party

Rank Constituency Region Winning party 2010 Swing
required (%) 		Result Swing to
LAB (±%)
1 North Warwickshire West Midlands Conservative 0.06 Conservative hold −3.1
2 Thurrock South East England Conservative 0.10 Conservative hold −0.5
3 Hendon London Conservative 0.11 Conservative hold −3.7
4 Sherwood East Midlands Conservative 0.22 Conservative hold −4.4
5 Norwich South East of England Liberal Democrats 0.33 Labour gain +13.2
6 Stockton South North East England Conservative 0.33 Conservative hold −4.6
7 Broxtowe East Midlands Conservative 0.37 Conservative hold −3.7
8 Lancaster and Fleetwood North West England Conservative 0.39 Labour gain +1.9
9 Bradford East Yorkshire and the Humber Liberal Democrats 0.45 Labour gain +9.0
10 Amber Valley East Midlands Conservative 0.58 Conservative hold −4.1

Liberal Democrats

Rank Constituency Region Winning party 2010 Swing
required (%) 		Result Swing to
LD (±%)
1 Camborne and Redruth South West England Conservative 0.08 Conservative hold −13.8
2 Oxford West and Abingdon South East England Conservative 0.16 Conservative hold −8.3
3 Sheffield Central Yorkshire and the Humber Labour 0.20 Labour hold −22.5
4 Ashfield East Midlands Labour 0.20 Labour hold −12.9
5 Truro and Falmouth South West England Conservative 0.45 Conservative hold −13.2

UKIP

Rank[10] Constituency Region Winning party 2010 Swing
required (%) 		Result Swing to
UKIP (±%)
1 Thanet South South East England Conservative 21.2 Conservative hold +18.4
2 Thurrock East of England Conservative 14.7 Conservative hold +13.7
3 Castle Point East of England Conservative (No candidate in 2010) Conservative hold (Vote share: 31.2%)
4 Boston and Skegness East of England Conservative 20.0 Conservative hold +15.0
5 Great Grimsby Yorkshire and the Humber Labour 13.3 Labour hold +5.9

Green Party

Swing for the Greens is measured as one-party swing, i.e. the change in the party's share of the vote.

Rank[11] Constituency Region Winning party 2010 Result Swing to
GRN (±%)
1 Norwich South East of England Liberal Democrats Labour gain −1.0
2 Bristol West South East England Liberal Democrats Labour gain +23.0
3 St Ives South West England Liberal Democrats Conservative gain +3.5
4 Sheffield Central Yorkshire and the Humber Labour Labour hold +12.1
5 Liverpool Riverside North West England Labour Labour hold +8.6

Opinion polling

Date(s)
conducted		 Polling organisation/client Sample size Con Lab LD UKIP Green Others Lead
7 May 2015 |General Election 2015 Results 25,571,204 41.0% 31.6% 8.2% 14.1% 4.2% 0.9% 9.4%
30 Apr–1 May 2015 Survation/Daily Mirror 978 36% 34% 10% 17% 4% <0.5% 2%
30 Apr 2015 Question Time featuring David Cameron, Nick Clegg and Ed Miliband broadcast on BBC One; Ask Nicola Sturgeon, Ask Leanne Wood and Ask Nigel Farage programmes also shown
27–28 Apr 2015 ComRes/ITV News, Daily Mail Archived 18 May 2015 at the Wayback Machine 872 36% 36% 8% 12% 6% 2% Tied
25–27 Apr 2015 BMG/May2015.com 877 39% 31% 11% 15% 4% <0.5% 8%
24–26 Apr 2015 Lord Ashcroft[12] 870 37% 32% 9% 12% 8% 1% 5%
24–26 Apr 2015 ICM/The Guardian[13] 863 39% 32% 7% 15% 6% <0.5% 7%
24–25 Apr 2015 Survation/Mail on Sunday 879 36% 31% 9% 20% 4% <0.5% 5%
21–24 Apr 2015 Opinium/The Observer 1,668 36% 33% 9% 15% 7% 1% 3%
22–23 Apr 2015 Survation/Daily Mirror 1,072 36% 29% 10% 20% 5% <0.5% 7%
21–22 Apr 2015 ComRes/ITV News, Daily Mail Archived 30 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine 890 39% 34% 8% 11% 5% 3% 5%
17–19 Apr 2015 Lord Ashcroft[12] 863 36% 33% 9% 14% 5% 2% 3%
17–19 Apr 2015 ICM/The Guardian[13] 863 38% 35% 9% 12% 5% 1% 3%
16–17 Apr 2015 Opinium/The Observer 1,655 38% 32% 9% 14% 6% 1% 6%
16–17 Apr 2015 Survation/Daily Mirror 986 35% 34% 8% 18% 3% 1% 1%
16 Apr 2015 Five-way Opposition Leaders' Debate held on BBC One
12–15 Apr 2015 Ipsos MORI/Evening Standard 600 35% 37% 8% 11% 8% 1% 2%
10–12 Apr 2015 Lord Ashcroft[12] 870 34% 36% 9% 14% 6% 1% 2%
10–12 Apr 2015 ICM/The Guardian[13] 900 41% 35% 7% 8% 8% 1% 6%
8–9 Apr 2015 Opinium/The Observer 1,626 39% 35% 8% 12% 6% 1% 4%
8–9 Apr 2015 Survation/Daily Mirror 838 33% 36% 9% 16% 5% 1% 3%
7–8 Apr 2015 ComRes/ITV News, Daily Mail Archived 16 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine 718 36% 35% 11% 13% 4% 1% 1%
2–3 Apr 2015 Survation/Daily Mirror 856 34% 33% 9% 21% 3% <0.5% 1%
2–3 Apr 2015 Opinium/The Observer 1,710 35% 34% 7% 15% 7% 1% 1%
2 Apr 2015 Seven-way Leaders' Debate on ITV
30 Mar 2015 Dissolution of Parliament and the official start of the election campaign
28–29 Mar 2015 ComRes/ITV News, Daily Mail Archived 19 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine 864 38% 32% 9% 13% 6% 2% 6%
27–29 Mar 2015 Lord Ashcroft[12] 865 40% 34% 7% 11% 7% 1% 6%
26 Mar 2015 First TV election interview by Jeremy Paxman with David Cameron and Ed Miliband on Sky and Channel 4
24–25 Mar 2015 Opinium/The Observer 1,690 35% 34% 9% 13% 7% <0.5% 1%
24–25 Mar 2015 Survation/Daily Mirror 851 34% 34% 8% 20% 4% <0.5% Tied
20–22 Mar 2015 ComRes/ITV News, Daily Mail Archived 2 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine 864 38% 35% 8% 11% 7% 1% 3%
20–22 Mar 2015 Lord Ashcroft[12] 860 36% 33% 8% 14% 6% 2% 3%
20–21 Mar 2015 Survation/Mail on Sunday 861 31% 35% 10% 19% 3% 1% 4%
18–19 Mar 2015 Opinium/The Observer 1,702 37% 33% 7% 14% 7% 1% 4%
13–15 Mar 2015 Lord Ashcroft[12] 863 34% 29% 8% 18% 9% 3% 5%
13–15 Mar 2015 ICM/The Guardian[13] 910 38% 37% 6% 11% 5% 3% 1%
10–12 Mar 2015 Opinium/The Observer 1,654 35% 35% 7% 15% 7% <0.5% Tied
8–11 Mar 2015 Ipsos MORI/Evening Standard 863 34% 37% 8% 14% 6% 1% 3%
6–8 Mar 2015 Lord Ashcroft[12] 859 36% 31% 5% 18% 9% 1% 5%
3–6 Mar 2015 Opinium/The Observer 1,626 36% 33% 7% 15% 7% 3% 3%
27 Feb–1 Mar 2015 Lord Ashcroft[12] 860 36% 32% 8% 14% 7% 2% 4%
24–26 Feb 2015 Opinium/The Observer 1,679 35% 36% 7% 14% 6% 1% 1%
23 Feb 2015 Survation/Daily Mirror 921 30% 34% 10% 21% 3% 2% 4%
20–23 Feb 2015 ComRes/Daily Mail Archived 24 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine 865 36% 32% 7% 14% 9% 2% 4%
20–22 Feb 2015 Lord Ashcroft[12] 867 32% 38% 6% 13% 8% 2% 6%
17–20 Feb 2015 Opinium/The Observer 1,704 36% 33% 7% 16% 7% 1% 3%
13–15 Feb 2015 Lord Ashcroft[12] 863 31% 31% 9% 18% 9% 3% Tied
13–15 Feb 2015 ICM/The Guardian[13] 860 38% 34% 7% 10% 8% 2% 4%
10–12 Feb 2015 Opinium/The Observer 1,713 35% 35% 8% 15% 5% 1% Tied
8–10 Feb 2015 Ipsos MORI/Evening Standard 844 38% 37% 7% 10% 8% 0% 1%
6–8 Feb 2015 Lord Ashcroft[12] 860 36% 31% 9% 16% 7% 1% 5%
3–6 Feb 2015 Opinium/The Observer 1,947 33% 35% 7% 15% 8% 2% 2%
30 Jan–1 Feb 2015 Lord Ashcroft[12] 857 34% 30% 8% 17% 10% 1% 4%
25 Jan 2015 Survation/Daily Mirror 890 34% 30% 7% 25% 4% <0.5% 4%
23–25 Jan 2015 ComRes/The Independent[permanent dead link] 852 33% 29% 9% 20% 8% 1% 4%
22–25 Jan 2015 Lord Ashcroft[12] 859 33% 34% 5% 17% 9% 2% 1%
16–19 Jan 2015 ICM/The Guardian[13] 863 32% 35% 8% 14% 10% 1% 3%
16–18 Jan 2015 Lord Ashcroft[12] 871 31% 27% 9% 17% 12% 4% 4%
11–13 Jan 2015 Ipsos MORI/Evening Standard 854 35% 35% 8% 12% 8% 2% Tied
9–11 Jan 2015 Lord Ashcroft[12] 858 37% 29% 7% 17% 8% 2% 8%
12–16 Dec 2014 ICM/The Guardian[13] 861 31% 33% 11% 17% 5% 3% 2%
13–15 Dec 2014 Ipsos MORI/Evening Standard 840 36% 31% 9% 14% 10% 0% 5%
12–14 Dec 2014 ComRes/The Independent[permanent dead link] 897 29% 34% 12% 17% 6% 2% 5%
5–7 Dec 2014 Lord Ashcroft[12] 860 31% 31% 7% 23% 6% 2% Tied
6 May 2010 General Election Results 25,085,097 39.6% 28.1% 24.2% 3.5% 1.0% 3.6% 11.5%

Endorsements

Main article: Endorsements in the 2015 United Kingdom general election

Donations

Electoral commission data[14] shows that in 2015 Q2, total donations for each major political party, over £7,500, are as follows:

Party Donations
Conservative £9,159,884
Labour £8,783,492
Liberal Democrats £2,434,159
UKIP £2,203,921
Green £55,152

See also

References

  1. ^ Election 2015 Results England BBC News
  2. ^ "Balls ousted after ballot recount". BBC News. 8 May 2015. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  3. ^ Wright, Oliver (8 May 2015). "Ed Miliband resigns: Labour leader quits after humiliating night for party that gives the Conservatives an overall majority". The Independent. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  4. ^ Galston, William A. (8 May 2015). "UK elections: Where did support for the Liberal Democrats go?". Brookings. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  5. ^ Watt, Nicholas (8 May 2015). "Nick Clegg resigns as Lib Dem leader". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  6. ^ Adam, Karla (11 May 2015). "Nigel Farage, one of Britain's most controversial politicians, resigned after the election. Then he un-resigned". The Washington Post. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  7. ^ Walker, Peter (8 May 2015). "Green vote increases four-fold, but Caroline Lucas remains party's only MP". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  8. ^ Cracknell, Richard; Johnston, Neil; Bolton, Paul; Harker, Rachael; Baker, Carl; Ayres, Steven; Nakatudde, Nambassa; Keen, Richard; Hawkins, Oliver (2015). "General Election 2015". House of Commons Library. ((cite journal)): Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  9. ^ Gosden, Emily (13 April 2015). "General Election 2015: Monday 13 April as it happened". The Daily Telegraph.
  10. ^ Bennett, Owen (1 April 2015). "Ukip target seats to secure a breakthrough in the 2015 general election". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
  11. ^ Bennett, Owen (2 April 2015). "Green Party's top target seats in the General Election if Natalie Bennett is to lead a breakthrough". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Lord Ashcroft adjusts for don't know/refusers by reallocating a proportion of those to the party they tend to support. The England figures are based on a table that does not adjust for don't knows/refusers.
  13. ^ a b c d e f g ICM adjust for don't know/refusers by reallocating a proportion of those to the major party they tend to support. Percentages for England are based on a table that does not adjust for don't know/refusers.
  14. ^ "Donations accepted". www.electoralcommission.org.uk. Retrieved 3 April 2020.

External links

2015 United Kingdom general election
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