Science Fair Project Encyclopedia
United Kingdom general election, 1970
| 1966 election |
| 1970 election |
| February 1974 election |
The United Kingdom general election of 1970 was held on June 18, 1970, and resulted in a surprise loss of power for Labour under Harold Wilson, who was replaced as Prime Minister by the Conservative leader, Edward Heath. The election was also a setback for the Liberal Party under its new leader Jeremy Thorpe, which lost half its seats. The Conservatives, when combined with the Ulster Unionists, held a majority of 31 over all other parties.
Most opinion polls prior to the election had predicted a comfortable Labour victory, and had put Labour 12.4% ahead of the Conservatives. However on the day, a late swing put the Conservatives 3.4% ahead.
| Party | Votes | Seats | Loss/Gain | Share of Vote (%) |
| Conservative | 13,145,123 | 330 | + 77 | 46.4 |
| Labour | 12,208,758 | 288 | - 76 | 43.1 |
| Liberal | 2,117,035 | 6 | - 6 | 7.5 |
| SNP | 306,802 | 1 | + 1 | 1.1 |
| Plaid Cymru | 175,016 | 0 | 0.6 | |
| Unity | 140,930 | 2 | + 2 | 0.4 |
| Independent | 39,264 | 0 | 0.1 | |
| Communist | 37,970 | 0 | 0.1 | |
| Protestant Unionist | 35,303 | 1 | + 1 | 0.1 |
| Republican Labour | 30,649 | 1 | 0.1 | |
| Independent Labour | 24,685 | 0 | 0.1 | |
| Independent Conservative | 24,014 | 0 | 0.1 | |
| Democratic | 15,292 | 0 | 0.1 | |
| National Democratic (England) | 14,276 | 0 | 0.1 | |
| National Front | 11,449 | 0 | 0.0 | |
| National Democratic (NI) | 10,349 | 0 | 0.0 | |
| Vectis National | 1,607 | 0 | 0.0 | |
| Independent Liberal | 1,456 | 0 | 0.0 | |
| World Government | 1,016 | 0 | 0.0 | |
| Mebyon Kernow | 960 | 0 | 0.0 | |
| Independent Labour | 847 | 0 | 0.0 |
Total votes cast: 28,305,534. All parties with more than 750 votes listed. The Conservative figure includes 8 Ulster Unionists.
For the text of an alternative history where the Tories did not win the 1970 general election, see http://www.btinternet.com/~chief.gnome/
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