2005 United Kingdom general election in England

2005 United Kingdom general election in England
← 2001 5 May 2005 2010 →
← outgoing members elected members →
All 529 English seats to the House of Commons
Turnout	61.3% ( 2.1 pp)

On Thursday 5 May 2005, the 2005 United Kingdom general election was held in England, to elect all 646 members of the House of Commons, with 529 constituencies being in England. The governing Labour Party under Tony Blair won an overall majority of seats for the third successive election.

Within England, the opposition Conservative Party received 72,544 more votes than the Labour Party, but Labour won an overall majority of English seats.^[1]^[2] The Liberal Democrats made modest gains, finishing with 23% of the vote and 47 seats. The only other parties to win seats were the Respect Party, who gained Bethnal Green and Bow from Labour, and Independent Kidderminster Hospital and Health Concern, who won Wyre Forest for the second election in a row.

Candidates

Below is a table summarising the candidates of the 2005 general election in England.^[3]^[4]^[5]

Affiliation		Candidates
	Conservative and Unionist Party	529
	Labour Party	529
	Liberal Democrats	528
	UK Independence Party	443
	Green Party of England and Wales	173
	Others	615
Total		2,817

Results

Below is a table summarising the results of the 2005 general election in England.


Party^[6]		Seats					Aggregate Votes
Party^[6]		Total	Gains	Losses	Net	Of all (%)	Total	Of all (%)	Change (%)
	Labour	286	0	37	37	54.1	8,050,366	35.5	5.9
	Conservative	194	32	3	29	36.7	8,114,979	35.7	0.5
	Liberal Democrats	47	12	5	7	8.9	5,201,129	22.9	3.6
	UKIP	0	0	0		—	576,817	2.5	0.8
	Green	0	0	0		—	250,510	1.1	0.4
	BNP	0	0	0		—	189,570	0.8	0.6
	Respect	1	New		1	0.2	67,422	0.3	New
	Veritas	0	New			—	39,044	0.2	New
	Health Concern	1	0	0		0.2	18,739	0.1
	Liberal	0	0	0		—	17,547	0.1
	Others and Independents	0	N/a			—	177,343	0.8	N/a
Total		529			0	100.0	22,704,302	100.0	0.0
Registered voters, and turnout								61.3^[7]	2.1

Popular vote

Conservative			35.7%
Labour			35.4%
Liberal Democrats			22.9%
UKIP			2.6%
Green			1.1%
BNP			0.8%
Other			2.3%

Parliament seats

Labour			54.1%
Conservative			36.7%
Liberal Democrats			8.9%
Respect			0.2%
ICHC			0.2%

By region

Regional vote shares and changes are sourced from the BBC.^[8]

East Midlands


Party		Seats					Aggregate Votes
Party		Total	Gains	Losses	Net	Of all (%)	Total	Of all (%)	Change (%)
	Labour	25	0	3	3	56.8	785,944	39.0	6.1
	Conservative	18	3	0	3	40.9	747,438	37.1	0.2
	Liberal Democrats	1	0	0		2.3	372,041	18.5	3.1
	UKIP	0	0	0		0.0	52,998	2.6	1.5
	BNP	0	0	0		0.0	10,299	0.5	0.4
	Green	0	0	0		0.0	7,475	0.4	0.2
	Others	0	0	0		0.0	39,087	1.9	1.7
Total		44					2,015,282	62.6	1.8

East of England


Party		Seats					Aggregate Votes
Party		Total	Gains	Losses	Net	Of all (%)	Total	Of all (%)	Change (%)
	Conservative	40	6	0	6	71.4	1,147,180	43.3	1.5
	Labour	13	0	7	7	23.2	790,372	29.8	7.0
	Liberal Democrats	3	1	0	1	5.4	578,741	21.8	4.3
	UKIP	0	0	0		0.0	83,112	3.1	0.9
	Green	0	0	0		0.0	25,396	1.0	0.4
	BNP	0	0	0		0.0	9,673	0.4	0.4
	Others	0	0	0		0.0	15,339	0.5	0.1
Total		56					2,649,813	63.9	2.2

Greater London


Party		Seats					Aggregate Votes
Party		Total	Gains	Losses	Net	Of all (%)	Total	Of all (%)	Change (%)
	Labour	44	0	11	11	59.5	1,135,687	38.9	8.4
	Conservative	21	8	0	8	28.4	931,966	31.9	1.4
	Liberal Democrats	8	2	0	2	10.8	638,333	21.9	4.4
	Green	0	0	0		0.0	78,595	2.7	1.0
	UKIP	0	0	0		0.0	42,956	1.5	0.5
	Respect	1	New		1	1.4	13,243	0.5	New
	BNP	0	0	0		0.0	19,024	0.7	0.2
	Others	0	0	0		0.0	30,894	1.0	0.3
Total		74					2,918,190	57.8	2.5

Greater London

North East England


Party		Seats					Aggregate Votes
Party		Total	Gains	Losses	Net	Of all (%)	Total	Of all (%)	Change (%)
	Labour	28^[9]	0	0		93.3	580,453	52.9	6.5
	Liberal Democrats	1	0	0		3.3	256,295	23.6	6.6
	Conservative	1	0	0		3.3	214,414	19.5	1.8
	UKIP	0	0	0		0.0	11,703	1.1	0.3
	BNP	0	0	0		0.0	9,672	0.9	0.8
	Green	0	0	0		0.0	2,787	0.3
	Others	0	0	0		0.0	22,877	2.0	0.8
Total		30					1,098,201	57.1	0.7

North West England


Party		Seats					Aggregate Votes
Party		Total	Gains	Losses	Net	Of all (%)	Total	Of all (%)	Change (%)
	Labour	61	0	3	3	80.3	1,327,670	45.1	5.6
	Conservative	9	1	1		11.8	846,195	28.7	0.6
	Liberal Democrats	6	3	0	3	7.9	629,250	21.4	4.7
	UKIP	0	0	0		0.0	58,031	2.0	1.1
	BNP	0	0	0		0.0	31,529	1.1	0.4
	Green	0	0	0		0.0	10,012	0.3	0.1
	Others	0	0	0		0.0	43,304	1.5	0.5
Total		76					2,945,991	57.2	1.3

South East England


Party		Seats					Aggregate Votes
Party		Total	Gains	Losses	Net	Of all (%)	Total	Of all (%)	Change (%)
	Conservative	58	5	0	5	69.9	1,754,249	45.0	2.1
	Liberal Democrats	6	0	2	2	7.2	990,480	25.4	1.7
	Labour	19	0	3	3	22.9	951,323	24.4	5.0
	UKIP	0	0	0		0.0	122,257	3.1	0.6
	Green	0	0	0		0.0	51,910	1.3	0.5
	BNP	0	0	0		0.0	3,740	0.1	0.1
	Others	0	0	0		0.0	27,639	0.7	0.2
Total		83					3,901,598	64.2	2.6

South West England


Party		Seats					Aggregate Votes
Party		Total	Gains	Losses	Net	Of all (%)	Total	Of all (%)	Change (%)
	Conservative	22	3	1	2	43.1	985,346	38.6	0.1
	Liberal Democrats	16	3	2	1	31.4	831,134	32.6	1.4
	Labour	13	0	3	3	25.5	582,522	22.8	3.5
	UKIP	0	0	0		0.0	95,492	3.7	1.2
	Green	0	0	0		0.0	33,012	1.3	0.5
	BNP	0	0	0		0.0	1,958	0.1	0.1
	Others	0	0	0		0.0	23,851	0.9	0.3
Total		51					2,553,315	66.4	1.5

West Midlands


Party		Seats					Aggregate Votes
Party		Total	Gains	Losses	Net	Of all (%)	Total	Of all (%)	Change (%)
	Labour	39	0	4	4	66.1	937,418	38.9	6.1
	Conservative	16	4	1	3	27.1	848,665	34.8	0.1
	Liberal Democrats	3	2	1	1	5.1	450,110	18.6	3.8
	UKIP	0	0	0		0.0	77,977	3.1	1.3
	BNP	0	0	0		0.0	42,581	1.8	1.5
	Health Concern	1	0	0		1.7	18,793	0.8	0.4
	Green	0	0	0		0.0	15,048	0.6	0.2
	Others	0	0	0		0.0	32,607	1.3	0.4
Total		59					2,423,145	60.9	2.3

Yorkshire and the Humber


Party		Seats					Aggregate Votes
Party		Total	Gains	Losses	Net	Of all (%)	Total	Of all (%)	Change (%)
	Labour	44	0	3	3	78.6	958,006	43.6	5.0
	Conservative	9	2	0	2	16.1	640,552	29.1	1.1
	Liberal Democrats	3	1	0	1	5.4	454,705	20.7	3.6
	BNP	0	0	0		0.0	60,990	2.8	2.6
	UKIP	0	0	0		0.0	32,291	1.5	0.4
	Green	0	0	0		0.0	26,316	1.2	0.3
	Others	0	0	0		0.0	26,372	1.2	0.4
Total		56					2,199,232	59.0	2.2

Analysis

The total Labour vote in England declined by 6% and by varying amounts in every English Region, but with sharp variations locally. For example, in Bethnal Green and Bow, London, former Labour MP George Galloway, running as a candidate for the anti-war Respect, defeated Oona King (Labour) who in the previous General Election had a majority of 10,057.^[10] Labour polled 70,000 fewer votes in England than the Conservatives, but won 92 more seats.^[8] Labour regained one of its by-election losses, Leicester South,^[11] but saw an increased Liberal Democrat majority in the other, Brent East. Overall, Labour lost 37 English MPs compared to 2001.^[8]

The Conservatives made gains in most regions of England, though their vote declined in some areas, notably the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber (2% and 1.5% declines, respectively). However, even in regions where the Conservative vote declined, the Labour vote declined by a greater margin, allowing the Conservatives to make gains against Labour. Overall, the Conservatives gained 0.5% of the vote in England compared to 2001, and gained 29 seats. In Enfield Southgate, Conservative David Burrowes ousted Labour Stephen Twigg, who had famously defeated Michael Portillo for that seat in the 1997 elections.^[12]

The Liberal Democrats made modest gains in all regions of England, improving by at least 1% in every region. The party made a net gain of 7 seats, winning a total of 47, the best result for the Liberal Democrats or Liberals in England since 1923.^[13]

Former BBC presenter, Robert Kilroy-Silk, who had joined the UK Independence Party (UKIP) before leaving to set up Veritas, came fourth in Erewash in what was the best performance by Veritas, receiving 2,957 votes. The seat was won by Labour's Liz Blackman.

There were regional surges in support for the British National Party, who however failed to win any seats, their highest poll being 16.9% in the Labour stronghold of Barking, East London.^[14] The party fielded 119 candidates in seats throughout the country, gaining 0.7% of the total votes cast. The 119 candidates fielded represented a significant rise as in 2001, the BNP only fielded 33 candidates.^[15]

The Green Party came third in Brighton Pavilion (with Keith Taylor as candidate) behind Labour and the Conservatives, taking 21.9% of the votes cast. Despite this unprecedented high share of the vote Taylor was not selected to contest the seat in the 2010 general election, losing his prospective position to Caroline Lucas.

The English Democrats gained their highest percentage of the vote in Greenwich and Woolwich, winning 3.4% of votes cast.^[16]

The Independent Working Class Association stood for the first time in a general election, having previously only stood in local council elections. The party gained 2.1% of the vote in Oxford East.

References

↑ Sparrow, Andrew (6 May 2005). "Tories won more votes in England than Labour". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 6 July 2016. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
↑ Agrawal, Manoj (2015). Electoral Reforms: A Step Towards Good Governance. India: Prabhat Prakashan. p. 32. ISBN 978-93-5186-426-4. The growth in support for PR has stemmed largely from recent concerns about the First Past the Post system. [...] In [the 2005] election, popular vote actually saw the Conservatives getting more support than Labour. The vote share of Conservatives was 35.7% and that of Labour Party was 35.4%.
↑ Cracknell, Richard; Uberoi, Elise; Burton, Matthew (9 August 2023). "UK Election Statistics: 1918-2023, A Century of Elections" (PDF). House of Commons Library. p. 21. Retrieved 8 August 2026.
↑ "UK General Elections Results 1832-2019". Retrieved 12 August 2026.
↑ Colin Rallings; Micheal Thrasher (2006). British Electoral Facts. Total Politics. p. 57. ISBN 978-1-907278-03-7.
↑ Colin Rallings; Micheal Thrasher (2006). British Electoral Facts. Total Politics. p. 57. ISBN 978-1-907278-03-7.
↑ Cracknell, Richard; Uberoi, Elise; Burton, Matthew (9 August 2023). "UK Election Statistics: 1918-2023, A Century of Elections" (PDF). House of Commons Library. p. 29. Retrieved 20 October 2026.
1 2 3 "Election 2005 - Results, England". BBC News. 10 May 2005. Retrieved 21 July 2009.
↑ "General Election 2005 Final edition" (PDF). House of Commons Library. 10 March 2006.
↑ Left, Sarah (6 May 2005). "Chastened Blair wins historic third term". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
↑ Waller, Robert; Criddle, Byron (2007). The Almanac of British Politics. Routledge. pp. 12–13. ISBN 978-1-135-20676-5.
↑ "Minister Twigg beaten by Tories". 6 May 2005. Retrieved 26 July 2022 – via news.bbc.co.uk.
↑ Cook, Chris (2010). A Short History of the Liberal Party: The Road Back to Power. Springer. p. 340. ISBN 9781137056078 – via Google Books.
↑ Kundnani, Arun (20 October 2005). "London becomes BNP heartland". Institute of Race Relations. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
↑ Copsey, Nigel (2016). Anti-Fascism in Britain. Taylor & Francis. p. 200. ISBN 9781138926509 – via Google Books.
↑ Black, Jeremy (2018). English Nationalism: A Short History. Oxford University Press. p. 154. ISBN 9781787380820 – via Google Books.

External links

"The 2005 General Election: Worst Election Ever". Electoral Reform Society. 27 May 2005. Retrieved 28 July 2022.

[1] Sparrow, Andrew (6 May 2005). "Tories won more votes in England than Labour". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 6 July 2016. Retrieved 6 May 2020.

[2] Agrawal, Manoj (2015). Electoral Reforms: A Step Towards Good Governance. India: Prabhat Prakashan. p. 32. ISBN 978-93-5186-426-4. The growth in support for PR has stemmed largely from recent concerns about the First Past the Post system. [...] In [the 2005] election, popular vote actually saw the Conservatives getting more support than Labour. The vote share of Conservatives was 35.7% and that of Labour Party was 35.4%.

[3] Cracknell, Richard; Uberoi, Elise; Burton, Matthew (9 August 2023). "UK Election Statistics: 1918-2023, A Century of Elections" (PDF). House of Commons Library. p. 21. Retrieved 8 August 2026.

[UKGE-4] "UK General Elections Results 1832-2019". Retrieved 12 August 2026.

[5] Colin Rallings; Micheal Thrasher (2006). British Electoral Facts. Total Politics. p. 57. ISBN 978-1-907278-03-7.

[6] Colin Rallings; Micheal Thrasher (2006). British Electoral Facts. Total Politics. p. 57. ISBN 978-1-907278-03-7.

[7] Cracknell, Richard; Uberoi, Elise; Burton, Matthew (9 August 2023). "UK Election Statistics: 1918-2023, A Century of Elections" (PDF). House of Commons Library. p. 29. Retrieved 20 October 2026.

[results-8] 1 2 3 "Election 2005 - Results, England". BBC News. 10 May 2005. Retrieved 21 July 2009.

[9] "General Election 2005 Final edition" (PDF). House of Commons Library. 10 March 2006.

[10] Left, Sarah (6 May 2005). "Chastened Blair wins historic third term". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 July 2022.

[11] Waller, Robert; Criddle, Byron (2007). The Almanac of British Politics. Routledge. pp. 12–13. ISBN 978-1-135-20676-5.

[12] "Minister Twigg beaten by Tories". 6 May 2005. Retrieved 26 July 2022 – via news.bbc.co.uk.

[13] Cook, Chris (2010). A Short History of the Liberal Party: The Road Back to Power. Springer. p. 340. ISBN 9781137056078 – via Google Books.

[14] Kundnani, Arun (20 October 2005). "London becomes BNP heartland". Institute of Race Relations. Retrieved 26 July 2022.

[15] Copsey, Nigel (2016). Anti-Fascism in Britain. Taylor & Francis. p. 200. ISBN 9781138926509 – via Google Books.

[16] Black, Jeremy (2018). English Nationalism: A Short History. Oxford University Press. p. 154. ISBN 9781787380820 – via Google Books.

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v t e 2005 United Kingdom general election
Constituency results Marginal constituencies MPs elected Opinion polling Parties Pre-election Results breakdown
Incumbent prime minister: Tony Blair (Labour) Appointed prime minister: Tony Blair (Labour)
Parties elected to the House of Commons and their leaders	Tony Blair (Labour) Michael Howard (Conservative) Charles Kennedy (Liberal Democrats) Ian Paisley (Democratic Unionist Party) Alex Salmond (Scottish National Party) Gerry Adams (Sinn Féin) Ieuan Wyn Jones (Plaid Cymru) Mark Durkan (Social Democratic and Labour Party) Richard Taylor (Health Concern) George Galloway (Respect) David Trimble (Ulster Unionist Party)
Results by area	England (list) Northern Ireland (list) Scotland (list) (Edinburgh) Wales (list)
MPs by party	Conservative Democratic Unionist Labour Labour and Labour Co-operative Labour Co-operative Liberal Democrat Scottish Nationalist
See also	Reg Keys Peter Law Vote-OK
2005 United Kingdom local elections

v t e Elections and referendums in the United Kingdom
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See also: Elections in England Northern Ireland Scotland Wales Great Britain

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