1966 United Kingdom general election

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1966 United Kingdom general election

← 1964 31 March 1966 1970 →
← List of MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1964
List of MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 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

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.

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[change | change source]

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