1970 United Kingdom general election
A general election was held on 18 June 1970 to elect all 630 members of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. The Conservative Party won the election and Edward Heath became Prime Minister.
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All 630 seats in the House of Commons 316 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Turnout | 72.0%,  3.8% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Colours show the winning party—as shown in § Results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Composition of the House of Commons after the election | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Most people thought that the Labour Party would win the election and it was a surprise that the Conservatives won. Opinion polls had showed Labour ahead, but were wrong.[1][2] This was the first election where people aged over 18 could vote, instead of 21.[3]
1970 United Kingdom General Election Media
Shadow Chancellor Iain Macleod campaigning in York.
Scottish National Party: 1 seat Republican Labour: 1 seat Unity: 2 seats Labour Party (UK): 288 seats Independent Labour: 1 seat Liberal Party (UK): 6 seats Conservative and Unionist Party (UK): 330 seats Protestant Unionist Party: 1 seat
References
- ↑ Richard Rose (1970). "Voting Trends Surveyed". The Times Guide to the House of Commons 1970. London: Times Newspapers Limited. p. 31.
- ↑ George Clark (1970). "The General Election Campaign, 1970". The Times Guide to the House of Commons 1970. London: Times Newspapers Limited. p. 26.
- ↑ "Representation of the People Act 1969". Hansard. Archived from the original on 2020-12-07. Retrieved 2020-12-09.