2010 United Kingdom general election
The next general election to select Members of Parliament in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom (UK) is set for 6th May 2010. The governing Labour Party under Prime Minister Gordon Brown will defend its win in the 2005 general election against the Opposition party, the Conservatives, led by David Cameron, the Leader of the Opposition. The three main national parties - Labour, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats - will contest 649 seats (see below) using the first past the post voting system alongside smaller parties, including those fielding candidates only in particular regions, such as the Scottish National Party in Scotland. Northern Ireland, being part of the UK, also elects MPs, but these parties do not contest seats in Great Britain and are unchallenged by or stand under electoral pacts with parties in the rest of the UK.
While a general election usually involves all constituencies, the vote in the Thirsk and Malton seat is delayed until 27th May due to the death of a candidate. This means that the general election will involve 649 seats rather than 650.
Highlights
The campaign was notable for the introduction of American-style leaders' debates, in which the three main party leaders - Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg - faced audiences and attempted to put across their positions. The first debate saw a significant shift towards the Liberal Democrats in the opinion polls conducted around that time,[1] though not so much later; no participant was declared the outright victor in the media.[2]
Another issue which occurred as the final week of the campaign opened involved Prime Minister Gordon Brown privately referring to a member of the public as a "bigot" and discussing a member of his staff regarding this encounter; the Labour leader was caught on tape making the comments after a microphone was left on.[3]
Results
The results of the 2010 UK general election after 0 of 649 seats were declared are as follows:
| Party | Seats | Change[4] | Number of votes | % of votes | % change[5] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | 0 | - | 0 | - | - |
| Conservative | 0 | - | 0 | - | - |
| Liberal Democrat | 0 | - | 0 | - | - |
| DUP | 0 | - | 0 | - | - |
| SNP | 0 | - | 0 | - | - |
| Sinn Féin | 0 | - | 0 | - | - |
| Plaid Cymru | 0 | - | 0 | - | - |
| SDLP | 0 | - | 0 | - | - |
| UUP | 0 | - | 0 | - | - |
| UKIP | 0 | - | 0 | - | - |
| Independent | 0 | - | 0 | - | - |
| Respect | 0 | - | 0 | - | - |
| Health Concern | 0 | - | 0 | - | - |
| Green | 0 | - | 0 | - | - |
| Election postponed | 1 | - | - | - | - |
Footnotes
- ↑ Independent: 'Leading article: This yellow surge is good for democracy'. 20th April 2010.
- ↑ BBC News: 'Election TV Debate: Who got the most from final clash?'. 29th April 2010.
- ↑ BBC News: 'Gordon Brown 'mortified' by his 'bigoted woman' slur'. 29th April 2010.
- ↑ Number of seats gained or lost since the 2005 United Kingdom general election.
- ↑ Percentage of votes gained or lost since the 2005 election.