1979 United Kingdom general election

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1979 United Kingdom general election

← Oct 1974 3 May 1979 1983 →
← List of MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, October 1974
List of MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1979 →

All 635 seats in the House of Commons
318 seats needed for a majority
Turnout76.0%, Increase3.2%
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Margaret Thatcher James Callaghan David Steel
Party Conservative Labour Liberal
Leader's seat Finchley Cardiff South East Roxburgh, Selkirk & Peebles
Last election 277 seats, 35.8% 319 seats, 39.2% 13 seats, 18.3%
Seats won 339 269 11
Seat change Increase62 Decrease50 Decrease2
Popular vote 13,697,923 11,532,218 4,313,804
Percentage 43.9% 36.9% 13.8%
Swing Increase8.1% Decrease2.3% Decrease4.5%

Colours show the winning party—as shown in § Results

Composition of the House of Commons after the election

Prime Minister before election

James Callaghan
Labour

Prime Minister after election

Margaret Thatcher
Conservative

An election was held on 3 May 1979 to elect all 635 seats of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. The Conservative Party won the election and Margaret Thatcher became Prime Minister. She was the first female Prime Minister of the UK.

The election happened because of a vote of no confidence in the James Callaghan passing by one vote in the House of Commons on the 28 March. This vote happened because Thatcher had brought it forward. It forced the election to happen.

References[change | change source]

  • Beckett, Andy (2009), When the Lights Went Out: Britain in the Seventies, Faber and Faber, ISBN 978-0-571-25226-8
  • Butler, David; Kavanagh, Dennis (1980), The British General Election of 1979, London: Macmillan, ISBN 978-0-333-77875-3
  • Campbell, John (2000), Margaret Thatcher, Volume One: The Grocer's Daughter, London: Jonathan Cape, ISBN 978-0-224-04097-6
  • Caryl, Christian (2014), Strange Rebels: 1979 and the Birth of the 21st Century, Basic Books, ISBN 978-0-465-06564-6
  • Hickson, Kevin; Seldon, Anthony (2004), New Labour, Old Labour: The Wilson and Callaghan Governments 1974–1979, Routledge, ISBN 978-1-134-38161-6
  • Young, Hugo (1990), One of Us: A Biography of Margaret Thatcher, Pan Books, ISBN 978-0-330-31487-9