United Kingdom general election, 1997

1987 election United Kingdom general election, 1987 The United Kingdom general election of 1987 was held on 11 June 1987, to elect 650 members to the British House of Commons. The election was the third consecutive election victory for the Conservative Party under the leadership of Margaret Thatcher, who became the first Prime Minister since the 2nd... • MPs MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1987 This is a list of Members of Parliament elected to the 50th Parliament of the United Kingdom in the 1987 general election, held on 11 June 1987...
1992 election United Kingdom general election, 1992 The United Kingdom general election of 1992 was held on 9 April 1992, and was the fourth consecutive victory for the Conservative Party. This election result was one of the biggest surprises in 20th Century politics, as polling leading up to the day of the election showed Labour under leader Neil... • MPs MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1992 This is a list of Members of Parliament elected to the 51st Parliament of the United Kingdom in the 1992 general election, held on 9 April 1992....
1997 election • MPs MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1997 This is a list of Members of Parliament elected to the House of Commons of the 52nd Parliament of the United Kingdom at the 1997 general election, held on 1 May 1997.The list is arranged by constituency...
2001 election United Kingdom general election, 2001 The United Kingdom general election, 2001 was held on Thursday 7 June 2001 to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. It was dubbed "the quiet landslide" by the media, as the Labour Party was re-elected with another landslide result and only suffered a net loss of 6 seats... • MPs MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 2001 This is a list of Members of Parliament elected to the House of Commons at the 2001 general election, held on 7 June.The list is arranged by constituency. New MPs elected since the general election and changes in party allegiance are noted at the bottom of the page...
2005 election United Kingdom general election, 2005 The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160.... • MPs MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 2005 This is a list of Members of Parliament elected to the House of Commons for the Fifty-Fourth Parliament of the United Kingdom at the 2005 general election, held on 5 May 2005.The list is arranged by constituency...

The United Kingdom general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997, more than five years after the previous election on 9 April 1992, to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party

Labour Party (UK)

The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...

ended its 18 years in opposition under the leadership of Tony Blair

Tony Blair

Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...

, and won the general election in a landslide victory with 418 seats, the most seats the party has ever held. Blair subsequently became Prime Minister

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...

.

Under the leadership of Tony Blair

Tony Blair

, the Labour Party had adopted a more centrist

Centrism

In politics, centrism is the ideal or the practice of promoting policies that lie different from the standard political left and political right. Most commonly, this is visualized as part of the one-dimensional political spectrum of left-right politics, with centrism landing in the middle between...

policy platform under the name 'New Labour

New Labour, New Life For Britain

New Labour, New Life For Britain was a hugely significant political manifesto published in 1996 by the UK's Labour Party, which had recently restyled itself as New Labour under Tony Blair...

'. This was seen as moving away from the traditionally more left-wing stance of the Labour Party. Labour made several campaign pledges such as the creation of a National Minimum Wage

Minimum wage

A minimum wage is the lowest hourly, daily or monthly remuneration that employers may legally pay to workers. Equivalently, it is the lowest wage at which workers may sell their labour. Although minimum wage laws are in effect in a great many jurisdictions, there are differences of opinion about...

, devolution

Devolution

Devolution is the statutory granting of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to government at a subnational level, such as a regional, local, or state level. Devolution can be mainly financial, e.g. giving areas a budget which was formerly administered by central government...

referendums for Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

and Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

and promised greater economic competence than the Conservatives, who were unpopular following the events of Black Wednesday

Black Wednesday

In politics and economics, Black Wednesday refers to the events of 16 September 1992 when the British Conservative government was forced to withdraw the pound sterling from the European Exchange Rate Mechanism after they were unable to keep it above its agreed lower limit...

in 1992. The Labour campaign was ultimately a success and the party returned an unprecedented 418 MPs and began the first of three consecutive terms for Labour in government.

The Conservative Party

Conservative Party (UK)

The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

was led by then-incumbent Prime Minister John Major

John Major

Sir John Major, is a British Conservative politician, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990–1997...

and ran their campaign emphasising low unemployment figures and a strong economy. However, a series of scandals, party disunity over the European Union

European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

and the events of Black Wednesday all contributed to the Conservatives' worst defeat since 1906

United Kingdom general election, 1906

-Seats summary:-See also:*MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1906*The Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885-1918-External links:***-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987**...

, with only 165 MPs elected to Westminster, as well as their lowest percentage share of the vote since 1832

United Kingdom general election, 1832

-Seats summary:-Parties and leaders at the general election:The Earl Grey had been Prime Minister since 22 November 1830. His was the first predominantly Whig administration since the Ministry of all the Talents in 1806-1807....

. The party was left with no seats whatsoever in Scotland or Wales, largely attributed to the party's uncompromising position on devolution, and many key Conservative politicians, including Defence Secretary Michael Portillo

Michael Portillo

Michael Denzil Xavier Portillo is a British journalist, broadcaster, and former Conservative Party politician and Cabinet Minister...

, Foreign Secretary Malcolm Rifkind

Malcolm Rifkind

Sir Malcolm Leslie Rifkind KCMG QC MP is a British Conservative Party politician and Member of Parliament for Kensington. He served in various roles as a cabinet minister under Prime Ministers Margaret Thatcher and John Major, including Secretary of State for Scotland , Defence Secretary and...

, Trade Secretary Ian Lang

Ian Lang

Ian Bruce Lang, Baron Lang of Monkton PC is a former British Conservative MP for Galloway from 1979 to 1983 and for Galloway and Upper Nithsdale from 1983 to 1997....

, Scottish Secretary Michael Forsyth

Michael Forsyth, Baron Forsyth of Drumlean

Michael Bruce Forsyth, Baron Forsyth of Drumlean PC, Kt is a British financier and politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Stirling from 1983 to 1997 and served in the cabinet of John Major as Secretary of State for Scotland from 1995 to 1997...

and former ministers Edwina Currie

Edwina Currie

Edwina Jonesnée Cohen is a former British Member of Parliament. First elected as a Conservative Party MP in 1983, she was a Junior Health Minister for two years, before resigning in 1988 over the controversy over salmonella in eggs...

, Norman Lamont

Norman Lamont

Norman Stewart Hughson Lamont, Baron Lamont of Lerwick, PC is a British politician and former Conservative MP for Kingston-upon-Thames. He is best-known for his period serving as Chancellor of the Exchequer, from 1990 until 1993...

, David Mellor

David Mellor

David John Mellor, QC is a British politician, non-practising barrister, broadcaster, journalist and football pundit. A member of the Conservative Party, he served in the Cabinet of Prime Minister John Major as Chief Secretary to the Treasury and Secretary of State for National Heritage , before...

and Neil Hamilton

Neil Hamilton (politician)

Mostyn Neil Hamilton is a former British barrister, teacher and Conservative MP. Since losing his seat in 1997 and leaving politics, Hamilton and his wife Christine have become media celebrities...

all lost their parliamentary seats. Following the defeat, the Conservatives began the longest continuous spell in opposition in the history of the present day (post-Tamworth Manifesto

Tamworth Manifesto

The Tamworth Manifesto was a political manifesto issued by Sir Robert Peel in 1834 in Tamworth, which is widely credited by historians as having laid down the principles upon which the modern British Conservative Party is based....

) Conservative Party, and indeed the longest such spell for any incarnation of the Tories/Conservatives since the 1760s, lasting 13 years.

Minor parties enjoyed success during the election, for instance the Liberal Democrats

Liberal Democrats

The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...

under Paddy Ashdown

Paddy Ashdown

Jeremy John Durham Ashdown, Baron Ashdown of Norton-sub-Hamdon, GCMG, KBE, PC , usually known as Paddy Ashdown, is a British politician and diplomat....

returned 46 MPs to parliament, the most for any third party since 1929

United Kingdom general election, 1929

-Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987*-External links:***...

, despite a drop in popular vote and the Scottish National Party

Scottish National Party

The Scottish National Party is a social-democratic political party in Scotland which campaigns for Scottish independence from the United Kingdom....

(SNP) returned 6 MPs, double what it had in 1992. The election night was broadcast live on the BBC, and presented by David Dimbleby

David Dimbleby

David Dimbleby is a British BBC TV commentator and a presenter of current affairs and political programmes, most notably the BBC's flagship political show Question Time, and more recently, art, architectural history and history series...

, Peter Snow

Peter Snow

Peter Snow, CBE is a British television and radio presenter. He is the grandson of First World War general Sir Thomas D'Oyly Snow, and cousin of Jon Snow, the main presenter of Channel 4 News, nephew of schoolmaster and bishop George D'Oyly Snow, and the brother-in-law of historian-writer Margaret...

and Jeremy Paxman

Jeremy Paxman

Jeremy Dickson Paxman is a British journalist, author and television presenter. He has worked for the BBC since 1977. He is noted for a forthright and abrasive interviewing style, particularly when interrogating politicians...

Overview

The British economy had been in recession at the time of the 1992 election, which the Conservatives had won, and although the recession had ended within a year, events such as Black Wednesday

Black Wednesday

had tarnished the Conservative government's reputation for economic management. Labour had elected John Smith as its party leader in 1992, however his death from heart attack in 1994 led the way for Tony Blair

Tony Blair

to become Labour leader. Blair brought the party closer to the political centre

Centrism

and abolished the party's Clause IV in their constitution, which had committed them to mass nationalisation of industry. Labour also reversed its policy on unilateral nuclear disarmament

Nuclear disarmament

Nuclear disarmament refers to both the act of reducing or eliminating nuclear weapons and to the end state of a nuclear-free world, in which nuclear weapons are completely eliminated....

and the events of Black Wednesday allowed Labour to promise greater economic management under the Chancellorship

Chancellor of the Exchequer

The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters. Often simply called the Chancellor, the office-holder controls HM Treasury and plays a role akin to the posts of Minister of Finance or Secretary of the...

of Gordon Brown

Gordon Brown

James Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...

. A manifesto, entitled New Labour, New Life For Britain

New Labour, New Life For Britain

New Labour, New Life For Britain was a hugely significant political manifesto published in 1996 by the UK's Labour Party, which had recently restyled itself as New Labour under Tony Blair...

was released in 1996 and outlined 5 key pledges:

Class sizes to be cut by 30 or under for 5, 6 and 7 year-olds by using money from the assisted places scheme.
Fast-track punishment for persistent young offenders by halving the time from arrest to sentencing.
Cut NHS
National Health Service
The National Health Service is the shared name of three of the four publicly funded healthcare systems in the United Kingdom. They provide a comprehensive range of health services, the vast majority of which are free at the point of use to residents of the United Kingdom...

waiting lists by treating an extra 100,000 patients as a first step by releasing £100 million saved from NHS red tape.
Get 250,000 under-25 year-olds off benefit and into work by using money from a windfall levy on the privatised utilities.
No rise in income tax rates, cut VAT
Vat
Vat or VAT may refer to:* A type of container such as a barrel, storage tank, or tub, often constructed of welded sheet stainless steel, and used for holding, storing, and processing liquids such as milk, wine, and beer...

on heating to 5 per cent, and keeping inflation
Inflation
In economics, inflation is a rise in the general level of prices of goods and services in an economy over a period of time.When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services. Consequently, inflation also reflects an erosion in the purchasing power of money – a...

and interest rates as low as possible.

Disputes within the Conservative

Conservative Party (UK)

government over European Union

European Union

issues, and a variety of "sleaze" allegations had severely affected the government's popularity. Despite the strong economic recovery and substantial fall in unemployment in the four years leading up to the election, the rise in Conservative support was only marginal with all of the major opinion polls having shown Labour in a comfortable lead since late 1992.

Campaign

Prime Minister John Major

John Major

Sir John Major, is a British Conservative politician, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990–1997...

called the election on Monday 17 March 1997, ensuring the formal campaign would be unusually long, at six weeks (Parliament was dissolved

Dissolution of parliament

In parliamentary systems, a dissolution of parliament is the dispersal of a legislature at the call of an election.Usually there is a maximum length of a legislature, and a dissolution must happen before the maximum time...

on 8 April). It was stated at the time by Conservatives that a long campaign would expose Labour and allow the Conservative message to be heard. In fact the Conservative campaign was quickly blown off course when Major was accused of arranging an early dissolution to protect Neil Hamilton

Neil Hamilton (politician)

Mostyn Neil Hamilton is a former British barrister, teacher and Conservative MP. Since losing his seat in 1997 and leaving politics, Hamilton and his wife Christine have become media celebrities...

from a pending parliamentary report into his conduct: a report that Major had earlier guaranteed would be published before an election.

In his speech outside Number 10 Downing Street

Downing Street

Downing Street in London, England has for over two hundred years housed the official residences of two of the most senior British cabinet ministers: the First Lord of the Treasury, an office now synonymous with that of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and the Second Lord of the Treasury, an...

shortly after asking the Queen for a dissolution of parliament, Prime Minister

Prime minister

A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...

John Major

Sir John Major, is a British Conservative politician, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990–1997...

said: "Not only do I think this election is winnable, I believe the Conservative Party will win this election". By the time Mr Major had made the announcement, Tony Blair was already on the campaign trail.

Labour also had their difficulties- in particular an argument about whether or not the party would privatise the air traffic control

Air traffic control

Air traffic control is a service provided by ground-based controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and in the air. The primary purpose of ATC systems worldwide is to separate aircraft to prevent collisions, to organize and expedite the flow of traffic, and to provide information and other...

system, and over the party's relationship with the trade unions. Labour leader Tony Blair focused on a "New Labour" platform which turned away from previous Labour stalwart planks such as nationalisation; Blair said: "The presumption should be that economic activity is best left to the private sector."

By the middle of the campaign, the large number of Conservative candidates - including some serving ministers - who publicly repudiated the government policy on the European single currency

Euro

The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...

had become a key issue. Labour were themselves cautious about this issue, but gained heavily from the symbolism of a deeply divided Conservative party.

In the final stages of the campaign, Labour concentrated heavily on projecting an image of Tony Blair

Tony Blair

as a dynamic and energetic young leader while the Conservatives were seen to indulge in infighting - with the then Chancellor of the Exchequer

Chancellor of the Exchequer

Kenneth Clarke

Kenneth Harry "Ken" Clarke, QC, MP is a British Conservative politician, currently Member of Parliament for Rushcliffe, Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice. He was first elected to Parliament in 1970; and appointed a minister in Edward Heath's government, in 1972, and is one of...

describing the views of the Home Secretary

Home Secretary

The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...

, Michael Howard

Michael Howard

Michael Howard, Baron Howard of Lympne, CH, QC, PC is a British politician, who served as the Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from November 2003 to December 2005...

, on Europe as "paranoid nonsense".

For the Liberal Democrats Paddy Ashdown

Paddy Ashdown

Jeremy John Durham Ashdown, Baron Ashdown of Norton-sub-Hamdon, GCMG, KBE, PC , usually known as Paddy Ashdown, is a British politician and diplomat....

ran a forthright campaign, and due to his military experiences was able to speak with great authority on foreign issues. Ashdown was key to the Liberal campaign as he was one of the few well recognised national figures in his party, he presented a strong personality and style that resonated with many voters. The Liberals put a great emphasis on education during the campaign, and in order to meet their spending pledges the Liberal Democrats told voters a 1p increase on income tax would be necessary.

Notional 1992 election

The election was fought under new boundaries, with a net increase of eight seats compared to the 1992 election (651 to 659). Changes listed here are from the notional 1992 result, had it been fought on the boundaries established in 1997. These notional results were used by all media organisations at the time.
|}

Results

Labour won a landslide victory

Landslide victory

In politics, a landslide victory is the victory of a candidate or political party by an overwhelming margin in an election...

with their largest parliamentary majority (179) to date. On the BBC's election night programme Professor Anthony King

Anthony King (professor)

Professor Anthony King is a Canadian-born professor of government in the United Kingdom at Essex University, psephologist and commentator....

described the result of the exit poll, which accurately predicted a Labour landslide, as being akin to "an asteroid hitting the planet and destroying practically all life on Earth". After years of trying the Labour Party had completely convinced the electorate that they would usher in a new age of prosperity, their policies, organisation and tone of optimism slotting perfectly into place.

Labour's victory was largely credited to the charisma of Tony Blair

Tony Blair

and a slick Labour public relations machine managed by Alastair Campbell

Alastair Campbell

Alastair John Campbell is a British journalist, broadcaster, political aide and author, best known for his work as Director of Communications and Strategy for Prime Minister Tony Blair between 1997 and 2003, having first started working for Blair in 1994...

. Between the 1992 election and the 1997 election there had also been major steps to modernise the party, including scrapping Clause IV

Clause IV

Clause IV historically refers to part of the 1918 text of the British Labour Party constitution which set out the aims and values of the party. Before its revision in 1995, its application was the subject of considerable dispute.-Text:...

that had committed the party to extending public ownership of Industry. New Labour had suddenly seized the middle ground of the political spectrum, attracting voters much further to the right than their traditional working class or left-wing support. Famously, in the early hours of 2 May 1997 a party was held at the Royal Festival Hall

Royal Festival Hall

The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,900-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge. It is a Grade I listed building - the first post-war building to become so protected...

, in which Blair stated triumphantly "A new dawn has broken, has it not?".

The election was a crushing defeat for the Conservative Party, with the party having its lowest percentage share of the popular vote since 1832

United Kingdom general election, 1832

under the Duke of Wellington

Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington

Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...

's leadership, being wiped out

Wipeout (elections)

An electoral wipeout occurs when a major party receives far fewer votes or seats in a Legislature than their position justifies. It is the opposite of a landslide victory; the two frequently going hand in hand....

in Scotland

Scotland

and Wales

Wales

. A number of prominent Conservative MPs lost their seats in the election, including Michael Portillo

Michael Portillo

Michael Denzil Xavier Portillo is a British journalist, broadcaster, and former Conservative Party politician and Cabinet Minister...

Malcolm Rifkind

Edwina Currie

David Mellor

Neil Hamilton (politician)

Mostyn Neil Hamilton is a former British barrister, teacher and Conservative MP. Since losing his seat in 1997 and leaving politics, Hamilton and his wife Christine have become media celebrities...

and Norman Lamont

Norman Lamont

. Such was the extent of Conservative losses at the election that Cecil Parkinson

Cecil Parkinson

Cecil Parkinson, Baron Parkinson, PC , is a British Conservative politician and former Cabinet Minister.-Early life:...

, speaking on the BBC's election night programme, remarked upon the Conservatives winning their second seat that he was pleased that the subsequent election for the leadership would be contested.
The election was a massive success for the Liberal Democrats, who more than doubled their number of seats thanks to the use of tactical voting against the Conservatives. Although their share of the vote fell slightly, their total of 46 MPs was the highest since Lloyd George

David Lloyd George

David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor OM, PC was a British Liberal politician and statesman...

got 59 seats in 1929

United Kingdom general election, 1929

-Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987*-External links:***...

.

The Referendum Party

Referendum Party

The Referendum Party was a Euro-sceptic, single issue party in the United Kingdom formed by Sir James Goldsmith to fight the 1997 General Election. The party called for a referendum on aspects of the UK's relationship with the European Union.-Policy:...

, which sought a referendum

Referendum

A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...

on the United Kingdom's relationship with the European Union

European Union

, came fourth in terms of votes with 800,000 votes mainly from former Conservative voters , but won no seats in parliament. The six parties with the next highest votes stood only in either Scotland

Scotland

, Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

or Wales

Wales

; in order, they were the Scottish National Party

Scottish National Party

The Scottish National Party is a social-democratic political party in Scotland which campaigns for Scottish independence from the United Kingdom....

, the Ulster Unionist Party

Ulster Unionist Party

The Ulster Unionist Party – sometimes referred to as the Official Unionist Party or, in a historic sense, simply the Unionist Party – is the more moderate of the two main unionist political parties in Northern Ireland...

, the Social Democratic and Labour Party

Social Democratic and Labour Party

The Social Democratic and Labour Party is a social-democratic, Irish nationalist political party in Northern Ireland. Its basic party platform advocates Irish reunification, and the further devolution of powers while Northern Ireland remains part of the United Kingdom...

, Plaid Cymru

Plaid Cymru

' is a political party in Wales. It advocates the establishment of an independent Welsh state within the European Union. was formed in 1925 and won its first seat in 1966...

, Sinn Féin

Sinn Féin

Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...

, and the Democratic Unionist Party

Democratic Unionist Party

The Democratic Unionist Party is the larger of the two main unionist political parties in Northern Ireland. Founded by Ian Paisley and currently led by Peter Robinson, it is currently the largest party in the Northern Ireland Assembly and the fourth-largest party in the House of Commons of the...

.

In the previously safe seat of Tatton

Tatton (UK Parliament constituency)

- Elections in the 1990s :- Elections in the 1980s :- Sources :* Data for the 2005 election are from the .* Data for the 2001 election are from http://www.election.demon.co.uk/....

, where incumbent Conservative MP Neil Hamilton

Neil Hamilton (politician)

Mostyn Neil Hamilton is a former British barrister, teacher and Conservative MP. Since losing his seat in 1997 and leaving politics, Hamilton and his wife Christine have become media celebrities...

was facing charges of having taken cash for questions, the Labour and Liberal Democrat Parties decided not to field candidates in order that an Independent candidate, Martin Bell

Martin Bell

Martin Bell, OBE, is a British UNICEF Ambassador, a former broadcast war reporter and former independent politician...

, would have a better chance of winning the seat, which he duly did with a comfortable margin.

The result declared for the constituency of Winchester showed a margin of victory of just two votes for the Liberal Democrats. The defeated Conservative candidate mounted a successful legal challenge to the result on the grounds that errors by election officials (failures to stamp certain votes) had changed the result, the court ruled the result invalid and ordered a by-election

Winchester by-election, 1997

The 1997 Winchester by-election was a by-election to the UK House of Commons in the constituency of Winchester, Hampshire. After an unclear result in Winchester at the general election on 1 May 1997, a new election was allowed by the High Court...

on 20 November which was won by the Liberal Democrats with a much larger majority, causing much recrimination in the Conservative Party about the decision to challenge the original result in the first place.

This election would also mark the start of Labour government for the next 13 years until the formation of the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition in 2010.
|}
All parties with more than 500 votes shown. Labour total includes New Labour and "Labour Time for Change" candidates; Conservative total includes candidates in Northern Ireland (excluded in some lists) and "Loyal Conservative" candidate.

The Popular Unionist

Ulster Popular Unionist Party

The Ulster Popular Unionist Party was a unionist political party in Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1980 by James Kilfedder, independent Unionist Member of Parliament for North Down, who led the party until his death in 1995....

MP elected in 1992 died in 1995 and the party folded shortly afterwards.

There was no incumbent Speaker in the 1992 election.

Government's new majority	179
Total votes cast	31,286,284
Turnout	71.3%

Defeated Incumbent MPs

Conservatives:

A total of 127 sitting Conservative MPs were defeated, including seven members of Cabinet and thirty junior Ministers and Under-Secretaries.

Ministers who lost their seats

Tony Newton
Tony Newton
Antony Harold "Tony" Newton, Baron Newton of Braintree, PC, OBE , is a British Conservative politician and former Cabinet member...

(Braintree
Braintree (UK Parliament constituency)
Braintree is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-Boundaries:...

) OBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...

- Lord President of the Council
Lord President of the Council
The Lord President of the Council is the fourth of the Great Officers of State of the United Kingdom, ranking beneath the Lord High Treasurer and above the Lord Privy Seal. The Lord President usually attends each meeting of the Privy Council, presenting business for the monarch's approval...

and Leader of the House of Commons
Leader of the House of Commons
The Leader of the House of Commons is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom who is responsible for arranging government business in the House of Commons...
Michael Portillo
Michael Portillo
Michael Denzil Xavier Portillo is a British journalist, broadcaster, and former Conservative Party politician and Cabinet Minister...

(Enfield Southgate) - Secretary of State for Defence
Secretary of State for Defence
The Secretary of State for Defence, popularly known as the Defence Secretary, is the senior Government of the United Kingdom minister in charge of the Ministry of Defence, chairing the Defence Council. It is a Cabinet position...
Malcolm Rifkind
Malcolm Rifkind
Sir Malcolm Leslie Rifkind KCMG QC MP is a British Conservative Party politician and Member of Parliament for Kensington. He served in various roles as a cabinet minister under Prime Ministers Margaret Thatcher and John Major, including Secretary of State for Scotland , Defence Secretary and...

(Edinburgh Pentlands
Edinburgh Pentlands (UK Parliament constituency)
Edinburgh Pentlands was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, first used in the general election of 1950, and abolished prior to the general election of 2005...

) - Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, commonly referred to as the Foreign Secretary, is a senior member of Her Majesty's Government heading the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and regarded as one of the Great Offices of State...
Ian Lang
Ian Lang
Ian Bruce Lang, Baron Lang of Monkton PC is a former British Conservative MP for Galloway from 1979 to 1983 and for Galloway and Upper Nithsdale from 1983 to 1997....

(Galloway and Upper Nithsdale
Galloway and Upper Nithsdale (UK Parliament constituency)
Galloway and Upper Nithsdale was a county constituency which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system....

) - Secretary of State for Trade and Industry
Secretary of State for Trade and Industry
The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills is a cabinet position in the United Kingdom government. Its secondary title is the President of the Board of Trade...
Michael Forsyth
Michael Forsyth, Baron Forsyth of Drumlean
Michael Bruce Forsyth, Baron Forsyth of Drumlean PC, Kt is a British financier and politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Stirling from 1983 to 1997 and served in the cabinet of John Major as Secretary of State for Scotland from 1995 to 1997...

(Stirling
Stirling (UK Parliament constituency)
Stirling is a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-Boundaries:...

) - Secretary of State for Scotland
Secretary of State for Scotland
The Secretary of State for Scotland is the principal minister of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom with responsibilities for Scotland. He heads the Scotland Office , a government department based in London and Edinburgh. The post was created soon after the Union of the Crowns, but was...
William Waldegrave
William Waldegrave, Baron Waldegrave of North Hill
William Arthur Waldegrave, Baron Waldegrave of North Hill, PC , is an English Conservative politician who served in the Cabinet from 1990 until 1997 and is a Life Member of the Tory Reform Group. He is now a life peer. Lord Waldegrave is also the Chairman of the Rhodes Trust and the Chairman of...

(Bristol West) - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Chief Secretary to the Treasury is the third most senior ministerial position in HM Treasury, after the Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer . In recent years, the office holder has usually been given a junior position in the British Cabinet...
Roger Freeman
Roger Freeman, Baron Freeman
Roger Norman Freeman, Baron Freeman, PC , is a British politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he served as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in the Cabinet of Prime Minister John Major from 1995 to 1997...

(Kettering
Kettering (UK Parliament constituency)
Kettering is a county constituency in Northamptonshire which returns one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....

) - Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is, in modern times, a ministerial office in the government of the United Kingdom that includes as part of its duties, the administration of the estates and rents of the Duchy of Lancaster...
Sir Derek Spencer
Derek Spencer
Sir Derek Harold Spencer, QC , is a British Conservative Party politician.-Professional career:Born in Clitheroe, Lancashire, he became a barrister in 1961 and 'took silk' as a QC in 1980.He is a Master of the Bench, Gray's Inn....

(Brighton Pavilion) - Solicitor General for England and Wales
Solicitor General for England and Wales
Her Majesty's Solicitor General for England and Wales, often known as the Solicitor General, is one of the Law Officers of the Crown, and the deputy of the Attorney General, whose duty is to advise the Crown and Cabinet on the law...
Michael Morris
Michael Morris, Baron Naseby
Michael Wolfgang Laurence Morris, Baron Naseby, PC is a British Conservative Party politician.Born in London, he was first elected to the House of Commons in the February 1974 general election for Northampton South. His majority was just 179 votes in February 1974, and 141 in October 1974. In 1983...

(Northampton South
Northampton South (UK Parliament constituency)
Northampton South is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was created for February 1974 general election when the old constituency of Northampton was split into Northampton North and Northampton South.-Boundary...

) - Chairman of Ways and Means
Chairman of Ways and Means
In the United Kingdom, the Chairman of Ways and Means is a senior member of the House of Commons who acts as one of the Speaker's three deputies...

(Michael Norris was not a minister, rather he was Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons)
James Douglas-Hamilton
James Douglas-Hamilton, Baron Selkirk of Douglas
James Alexander Douglas-Hamilton, Baron Selkirk of Douglas, PC, QC , briefly The 11th Earl of Selkirk and styled Lord James Douglas-Hamilton until 1997, is a Scottish Conservative politician who served as Member of Parliament for Edinburgh West then Member of the Scottish Parliament for the...

(Edinburgh West
Edinburgh West (UK Parliament constituency)
Edinburgh West is a burgh constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom , first used in the 1885 general election...

) - Minister of State at the Scottish Office
Scottish Office
The Scottish Office was a department of the United Kingdom Government from 1885 until 1999, exercising a wide range of government functions in relation to Scotland under the control of the Secretary of State for Scotland...
Alistair Burt
Alistair Burt
Alistair James Hendrie Burt is a British Conservative Party politician. He is the Member of Parliament for North East Bedfordshire...

(Bury North
Bury North (UK Parliament constituency)
Bury North is a borough constituency in Greater Manchester, represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election...

) - Minister of State
Department of Social Security
The Department of Social Security is the name of a defunct governmental agency in the United Kingdom.The DSS replaced the older Department of Health and Social Security, from 1988 until 2001, when it was itself largely replaced as a department of the Government of the United Kingdom by the...

at Department of Social Security
Department of Social Security
The Department of Social Security is the name of a defunct governmental agency in the United Kingdom.The DSS replaced the older Department of Health and Social Security, from 1988 until 2001, when it was itself largely replaced as a department of the Government of the United Kingdom by the...
Phillip Oppenheim
Phillip Oppenheim
The Honourable Phillip Arthur Charles Lawrence Oppenheim is a British businessman and former politician.-Life:Born in Lambeth, London, he is the son of former Conservative government minister Sally Oppenheim...

(Amber Valley
Amber Valley (UK Parliament constituency)
Amber Valley is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first-past-the-post voting system. It is a marginal constituency between the Conservative and Labour parties...

) - Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury
Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury
The Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury is a junior ministerial post in the British Treasury, ranked below the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, the Paymaster General and the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, and alongside the Economic Secretary to the Treasury....
Michael Bates (Langbaurgh
Langbaurgh (UK Parliament constituency)
Langbaurgh was a parliamentary constituency in the Langbaurgh area of North East England to the east of Middlesbrough. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post system, and existed from 1983 to...

) - Paymaster-General
Paymaster-General
HM Paymaster General is a ministerial position in the United Kingdom. The Paymaster General is in charge of the Office of HM Paymaster General , which held accounts at the Bank of England on behalf of Government departments and selected other public bodies...
Raymond Robertson
Raymond Robertson (politician)
Raymond Scott Robertson and was educated at Glasgow University, graduating Master of Arts with Honours in Modern History and Politics. During the 1980s he taught Modern Studies at Dumbarton Academy...

(Aberdeen South
Aberdeen South (UK Parliament constituency)
Aberdeen South is a burgh constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and it elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election...

) - Minister for Education, Housing, Fisheries and Sport
Scottish Office
The Scottish Office was a department of the United Kingdom Government from 1885 until 1999, exercising a wide range of government functions in relation to Scotland under the control of the Secretary of State for Scotland...
Greg Knight
Greg Knight
Gregory Knight is a British politician and author. He is Conservative Member of Parliament for East Yorkshire.-Education and professional life:...

(Derby North) - Minister of State
Minister of State
Minister of State is a title borne by politicians or officials in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a "minister of state" is a junior minister, who is assigned to assist a specific cabinet minister...

for Industry at the Department of Trade and Industry
John Bowis
John Bowis
John Crocket Bowis OBE is a former Conservative MP and MEP.- Education :John Bowis was educated at Tonbridge School and Brasenose College, Oxford, where he studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics....

OBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...

(Battersea
Battersea (UK Parliament constituency)
Battersea is a parliamentary constituency located in Battersea in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It is represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, to which it elects one Member of Parliament by the first-past-the-post voting system.- Boundaries :The...

) - Health
Department of Health (United Kingdom)
The Department of Health is a department of the United Kingdom government with responsibility for government policy for health and social care matters and for the National Health Service in England along with a few elements of the same matters which are not otherwise devolved to the Scottish,...

Minister
Iain Sproat
Iain Sproat
Iain MacDonald Sproat was a British Conservative Member of Parliament . He was educated at Winchester College and Magdalen College, Oxford. He worked as a publisher and journalist....

(Harwich
Harwich (UK Parliament constituency)
Harwich was a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Until its abolition for the 2010 general election it elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....

) - Trade
Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform
The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform was a United Kingdom government department. The department was created on 28 June 2007 on the disbanding of the Department of Trade and Industry , and was itself disbanded on 6 June 2009 on the creation of the Department for Business,...

Minister
Robin Squire
Robin Squire
Robin Clifford Squire was a British politician. He was the Conservative MP for Hornchurch from 1979 until 1997 when he lost the seat to John Cryer....

(Hornchurch
Hornchurch (UK Parliament constituency)
Hornchurch was a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election...

) - Education Minister
Andrew Mitchell
Andrew Mitchell
The Right Honourable Andrew John Bower Mitchell MP is a British Conservative Party politician and the Member of Parliament for Sutton Coldfield...

(Gedling
Gedling (UK Parliament constituency)
-Electiobs in the 2000s:-Elections in the 1990s:-See also:*List of Parliamentary constituencies in Nottinghamshire...

) - Social Security Minister
The Hon. Tom Sackville (Bolton, West
Bolton West (UK Parliament constituency)
Bolton West is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election...

) - Home Office
Home Office
The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...

Minister
Sir Nicholas Bonsor, 4th Baronet
Nicholas Bonsor
Sir Nicholas Cosmo Bonsor, 4th Baronet DL is a British Conservative politician.Bonsor was Member of Parliament for Nantwich from 1979 to 1983, then for Upminster from 1983 until he lost the seat to Labour's Keith Darvill in 1997...

(Upminster
Upminster (UK Parliament constituency)
Upminster was a constituency of the House of Commons in east London, which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first-past-the-post voting system...

) - Foreign Office
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, commonly called the Foreign Office or the FCO is a British government department responsible for promoting the interests of the United Kingdom overseas, created in 1968 by merging the Foreign Office and the Commonwealth Office.The head of the FCO is the...

Minister
Timothy Kirkhope
Timothy Kirkhope
Timothy John Robert Kirkhope is a British lawyer and politician, currently serving as Member of the European Parliament for Yorkshire and the Humber for the Conservative Party. After serving for ten years as Member of Parliament for Leeds North East, he was first elected to the European Parliament...

(Leeds North East
Leeds North East (UK Parliament constituency)
Leeds North East is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.- Boundaries :...

) - Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department
Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department
-Non-permanent and parliamentary under-secretaries, 1782-present:*April 1782: Evan Nepean*April 1782: Thomas Orde*July 1782: Henry Strachey*April 1783: George North*February 1784: Hon. John Townshend*June 1789: Scrope Bernard*July 1794: The Hon...
Gwilym Jones
Gwilym Jones
Gwilym Hayden Jones is a British Conservative politician. At the 1983 general election, he was elected as Member of Parliament for Cardiff North, retained his seat until the 1997 election, when was defeated by Labour's Julie Morgan...

(Cardiff North
Cardiff North (UK Parliament constituency)
Cardiff North is aborough constituency in the city of Cardiff. It returns one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system....

) - Under Secretary of State in the Welsh Office
Welsh Office
The Welsh Office was a department in the Government of the United Kingdom with responsibilities for Wales. It was established in April 1965 to execute government policy in Wales, and was headed by the Secretary of State for Wales, a post which had been created in October 1964...
George Kynoch (Kincardine and Deeside
Kincardine and Deeside (UK Parliament constituency)
Kincardine and Deeside was a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1983 until 1997. It was mainly replaced by West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, apart from the parts of the seat within the borders of Aberdeen City Council, which joined...

) - Under-Secretary of State for Scotland
Under-Secretary of State for Scotland
The Under-Secretary of State for Scotland is a junior ministerial post in the United Kingdom government, supporting the Secretary of State for Scotland...
Robin Squire
Robin Squire
Robin Clifford Squire was a British politician. He was the Conservative MP for Hornchurch from 1979 until 1997 when he lost the seat to John Cryer....

(Hornchurch
Hornchurch (UK Parliament constituency)
Hornchurch was a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election...

) - Under Secretary of State
Under Secretary of State
The Under Secretary of State, from 1919 to 1972, was the second-ranking official at the United States Department of State , serving as the Secretary's principal deputy, chief assistant, and Acting Secretary in the event of the Secretary's absence...

for Education
Roger Evans
Roger Kenneth Evans
Roger Kenneth Evans is a British Conservative politician.Evans was elected Member of Parliament for Monmouth in 1992, winning the seat back from Labour's Huw Edwards who had defeated Evans in by-election the previous year. However, at the 1997 general election, Edwards retook the seat.Evans...

(Monmouth
Monmouth (UK Parliament constituency)
Monmouth is a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom . It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post of election...

) - Social Security Minister
David Evennett
David Evennett
David Anthony Evennett is the Conservative Member of Parliament for Bexleyheath and Crayford.-Early life:He was educated at Buckhurst Hill County High School and the London School of Economics where he was awarded an MSc in Economics...

(Erith and Crayford
Erith and Crayford (UK Parliament constituency)
Erith and Crayford was a parliamentary constituency in the London Borough of Bexley, south-east London, which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....

) - Parliamentary Private Secretary
Parliamentary Private Secretary
A Parliamentary Private Secretary is a role given to a United Kingdom Member of Parliament by a senior minister in government or shadow minister to act as their contact for the House of Commons; this role is junior to that of Parliamentary Under-Secretary, which is a ministerial post, salaried by...

to the Secretary of State for Education and Skills
Secretary of State for Education and Skills
The Secretary of State for Education is the chief minister of the Department for Education in the United Kingdom government. The position was re-established on 12 May 2010, held by Michael Gove....
Lady Olga Maitland
Lady Olga Maitland
Lady Helen Olga Hay , better known as Lady Olga Maitland, is a former British Conservative politician.-Family and education:The daughter of Patrick Maitland, 17th Earl of Lauderdale, she was educated at St. Mary and St...

(Sutton and Cheam
Sutton and Cheam (UK Parliament constituency)
Sutton and Cheam is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election. The current MP is Paul Burstow of the Liberal Democrats, first elected at the 1997 general election...

) - Parliamentary Private Secretary
Parliamentary Private Secretary
A Parliamentary Private Secretary is a role given to a United Kingdom Member of Parliament by a senior minister in government or shadow minister to act as their contact for the House of Commons; this role is junior to that of Parliamentary Under-Secretary, which is a ministerial post, salaried by...

to The Rt. Hon. Sir John Wheeler
John Wheeler (politician)
Sir John Daniel Wheeler, DL, JP, KStJ is a British Conservative politician who served as Security Minister in Northern Ireland.-Early career:...
Simon Coombs
Simon Coombs
Simon Christopher Coombs , is a former British Conservative politician.Coombs was MP for Swindon from 1983 until 1997 when the seat was divided by boundary changes. Coombs stood in the new Swindon South seat but lost to Labour's Julia Drown...

(Swindon
Swindon (UK Parliament constituency)
Swindon was a parliamentary constituency in the town of Swindon in Wiltshire, England.It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from the 1918 general election until it was abolished for the 1997 general election.It was then replaced by the...

) - Parliamentary Private Secretary
Parliamentary Private Secretary
A Parliamentary Private Secretary is a role given to a United Kingdom Member of Parliament by a senior minister in government or shadow minister to act as their contact for the House of Commons; this role is junior to that of Parliamentary Under-Secretary, which is a ministerial post, salaried by...

to The Rt. Hon. Ian Lang
Ian Lang
Ian Bruce Lang, Baron Lang of Monkton PC is a former British Conservative MP for Galloway from 1979 to 1983 and for Galloway and Upper Nithsdale from 1983 to 1997....
Timothy Wood
Timothy Wood
Timothy John Rogerson Wood, known as Tim Wood, is a British politician. He was the Conservative Party Member of Parliament for Stevenage, which he won at the 1983 general election....

(Stevenage
Stevenage (UK Parliament constituency)
Stevenage is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-Boundaries:...

) - Comptroller of the Household
Comptroller of the Household
The Comptroller of the Household is an ancient position in the English royal household, currently the second-ranking member of the Lord Steward's department, and often a cabinet member. He was an ex officio member of the Board of Green Cloth, until that body was abolished in the reform of the local...
Gyles Brandreth
Gyles Brandreth
Gyles Daubeney Brandreth is a British writer, broadcaster and former Conservative Member of Parliament and junior minister.-Early life:...

(City of Chester
City of Chester (constituency)
City of Chester is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.- Boundaries :...

) - Whip
Chief Whip
The Chief Whip is a political office in some legislatures assigned to an elected member whose task is to administer the whipping system that ensures that members of the party attend and vote as the party leadership desires.-The Whips Office:...

Prominent Conservative MPs who lost their seats

Constituencies given are those contested in 1997, rather than those held prior to the election - Norman Lamont, for example, had previously represented Kingston-upon-Thames in London.

Dame Angela Rumbold
Angela Rumbold
Dame Angela Claire Rosemary Rumbold, DBE was a British Conservative Party Member of Parliament until 1997.- Education :...

DBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...

(Mitcham and Morden) - Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party
Chairman of the Conservative Party
In the United Kingdom, the Chairman of the Conservative Party is responsible for running the party machine, overseeing Conservative Central Office. When the Conservatives are in power, the Chairman is usually a member of the Cabinet being given a sinecure position such as Minister without Portfolio...
Sir Graham Bright
Graham Bright
Sir Graham Frank James Bright is a British politician and businessman. A member of the Conservative Party, he served as a Member of Parliament from 1979-97....

(Luton South
Luton South (UK Parliament constituency)
Luton South is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election...

) - Vice-Chairman of the Conservative Party
Sir Rhodes Boyson
Rhodes Boyson
Sir Rhodes Boyson is a British educator, author and politician and a former Conservative Member of Parliament for Brent North...

(Brent North) - Leading Backbencher
Backbencher
In Westminster parliamentary systems, a backbencher is a Member of Parliament or a legislator who does not hold governmental office and is not a Front Bench spokesperson in the Opposition...
Sir Nicholas Budgen
Nicholas Budgen
Nicholas William Budgen , often called Nick Budgen, was a British Conservative Party politician.Named after St...

(Wolverhampton South West) - Leading Backbencher
Backbencher
In Westminster parliamentary systems, a backbencher is a Member of Parliament or a legislator who does not hold governmental office and is not a Front Bench spokesperson in the Opposition...

who rebelled against the Maastricht treaty
Maastricht Treaty
The Maastricht Treaty was signed on 7 February 1992 by the members of the European Community in Maastricht, Netherlands. On 9–10 December 1991, the same city hosted the European Council which drafted the treaty...
Sir Marcus Fox
Marcus Fox
Sir John Marcus Fox MBE was a British Conservative Party politician. He served as the Member of Parliament for Shipley from 1970 to 1997. He was chairman of the 1922 Committee and he directly oversaw candidate selection for the Conservative Party in the 1979 General Election.-Early life:Fox had...

MBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...

(Shipley
Shipley (UK Parliament constituency)
-Elections in the 2000s:-Elections in the 1990s:-Elections in the 1980s:-Elections in the 1970s:-Elections in the 1910s:...

) - Chairman of the 1922 committee
1922 Committee
In British politics, the 1922 Committee is a committee of Conservative Members of Parliament. Voting membership is limited to backbench MPs although frontbench Conservative MPs have an open invitation to attend meetings. While the party was in opposition, frontbench MPs other than the party leader...
Neil Hamilton
Neil Hamilton (politician)
Mostyn Neil Hamilton is a former British barrister, teacher and Conservative MP. Since losing his seat in 1997 and leaving politics, Hamilton and his wife Christine have become media celebrities...

(Tatton
Tatton (UK Parliament constituency)
- Elections in the 1990s :- Elections in the 1980s :- Sources :* Data for the 2005 election are from the .* Data for the 2001 election are from http://www.election.demon.co.uk/....

) - Chairman of the Monday Club
Conservative Monday Club
The Conservative Monday Club is a British pressure group "on the right-wing" of the Conservative Party.-Overview:...
Norman Lamont
Norman Lamont
Norman Stewart Hughson Lamont, Baron Lamont of Lerwick, PC is a British politician and former Conservative MP for Kingston-upon-Thames. He is best-known for his period serving as Chancellor of the Exchequer, from 1990 until 1993...

(Kingston-upon-Thames
Kingston-upon-Thames (UK Parliament constituency)
Kingston-upon-Thames was a parliamentary constituency in the South-West London suburb of Kingston upon Thames which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.-History:...

) - Former Chancellor of the Exchequer
Chancellor of the Exchequer
The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters. Often simply called the Chancellor, the office-holder controls HM Treasury and plays a role akin to the posts of Minister of Finance or Secretary of the...
David Hunt MBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...

(Wirral West) - Former (Secretary of State for Wales
Secretary of State for Wales
The Secretary of State for Wales is the head of the Wales Office within the British cabinet. He or she is responsible for ensuring Welsh interests are taken into account by the government, representing the government within Wales and overseeing the passing of legislation which is only for Wales...

)
Edwina Currie
Edwina Currie
Edwina Jonesnée Cohen is a former British Member of Parliament. First elected as a Conservative Party MP in 1983, she was a Junior Health Minister for two years, before resigning in 1988 over the controversy over salmonella in eggs...

(South Derbyshire
South Derbyshire (UK Parliament constituency)
-Elections in the 2000s:-Elections in the 1990s:"-Elections in the 1980s:-Elections in the 1940s:-References:...

) - Former Health Minister turned author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...

and radio and television presenter
Presenter
A presenter, or host , is a person or organization responsible for running an event. A museum or university, for example, may be the presenter or host of an exhibit. Likewise, a master of ceremonies is a person that hosts or presents a show...
Richard Tracey
Richard Tracey
Richard Patrick Tracey JP is a leading British Conservative politician from London. He is a Member of the Greater London Assembly representing Merton & Wandsworth,and is Deputy Leader of the Conservative Group, Vice-Chairman of the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority, and previously...

(Surbiton
Surbiton (UK Parliament constituency)
Surbiton was a borough constituency in south-west London. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom by the first past the post system of election....

) - former Sports Minister
Sebastian Coe OBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...

(Falmouth and Camborne) - Olympic gold medalist
David Mellor
David Mellor
David John Mellor, QC is a British politician, non-practising barrister, broadcaster, journalist and football pundit. A member of the Conservative Party, he served in the Cabinet of Prime Minister John Major as Chief Secretary to the Treasury and Secretary of State for National Heritage , before...

(Putney
Putney (UK Parliament constituency)
-Elections 1950–1979:-Elections 1918–1945:-Notes and references:...

) - Former Secretary of State for National Heritage
John Cope
John Cope
John Cope may refer to:*John Cope , British General during the 1745 Jacobite Uprising*John Cope, Baron Cope of Berkeley, UK politician...

(Northavon) - Former Paymaster General
Sir Robert Atkins
Robert Atkins (politician)
Sir Robert James Atkins is a British Conservative politician. Educated at Highgate School, he served as a councillor for the London Borough of Haringey from 1968 to 1977. He was the Member of Parliament for Preston North and South Ribble from 1979 to 1997 and became a Member of the European...

(South Ribble
South Ribble (UK Parliament constituency)
South Ribble is a county constituency in Lancashire, England represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-History:...

) - Former Minister for Sport
Minister for Sport and Tourism
The Minister for Sport is a junior minister in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport of the United Kingdom government, with responsibility for sport in England....
Sir Jeremy Hanley
Jeremy Hanley
Sir Jeremy James Hanley, KCMG , is a politician and chartered accountant from the United Kingdom. He served as the Chairman of the Conservative Party from 1994-95, and as a Member of Parliament representing the constituency of Richmond and Barnes from 1983-97.Hanley was educated at Rugby School,...

(Richmond and Barnes
Richmond and Barnes (UK Parliament constituency)
Richmond and Barnes was a parliamentary constituency in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, a south-western suburb of the capital. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....

) - Former Chairman of the Conservative Party
Chairman of the Conservative Party
In the United Kingdom, the Chairman of the Conservative Party is responsible for running the party machine, overseeing Conservative Central Office. When the Conservatives are in power, the Chairman is usually a member of the Cabinet being given a sinecure position such as Minister without Portfolio...
Derek Conway
Derek Conway
Derek Leslie Conway TD is an English politician and television presenter. A member of the centre-right Conservative Party, Conway served as a Member of Parliament for the constituency of Old Bexley and Sidcup from 2001 to 2010....

(Shrewsbury and Atcham
Shrewsbury and Atcham (UK Parliament constituency)
Shrewsbury and Atcham is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....

) - Former Vice Chamberlain of HM Household
Vice-Chamberlain of the Household
The Vice-Chamberlain of the Household is usually a junior government whip in the British House of Commons and is an officer of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. He or she is the Deputy to the Lord Chamberlain of the Household. The Vice-Chamberlain's main role is to compile...

Conservative MPs who lost their seats

Sir Jim Lester
Jim Lester
Sir James Theodore Lester, , known as Jim Lester, is a former British Conservative Party politician.Born in Nottingham, Lester was Member of Parliament for Beeston between February 1974 and 1983, then for Broxtowe until the 1997 election, when he lost his seat to Labour...

(Broxtowe
Broxtowe (UK Parliament constituency)
Broxtowe is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election...

) - Former Whip
Sir Ivan Lawrence
Ivan Lawrence
Sir Ivan John Lawrence, QC, is a distinguished criminal barrister and was a British Conservative politician.-Early life:...

(Burton
Burton (UK Parliament constituency)
Burton is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-Boundaries:...

)
Sir Donald Thompson
Donald Thompson
Sir Donald Thompson was a British Conservative Party politician. He was a Member of Parliament from 1979 until 1997.Thompson attended Holy Trinity School, Halifax, and Hipperholme Grammar School...

(Calder Valley
Calder Valley (UK Parliament constituency)
- Elections in the 2000s :- Elections in the 1990s :- Elections in the 1980s :-Sources:*...

)
Sir Nicholas Scott
Nicholas Scott
The Rt. Hon. Sir Nicholas Paul Scott, PC, JP , was a British Conservative Party politician.Scott was educated at Clapham College and was national chairman of the Young Conservatives in 1963...

(Chelsea
Chelsea (UK Parliament constituency)
Chelsea was a borough constituency, represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.The constituency was created by the Reform Act 1867 for the 1868 general election, when it returned two Members of Parliament , elected by the bloc vote system of election.Under the...

)
Sir Malcolm Thornton
Malcolm Thornton
Sir George Malcolm Thornton , known as Malcolm Thornton, is a British Conservative politician.Thornton was first elected to Parliament in the 1979 general election, winning the marginal seat of Liverpool Garston from Labour's Eddie Loyden. In the early 1980s, however, all seats were re-organised...

(Crosby
Crosby (UK Parliament constituency)
Crosby was a constituency in Merseyside, represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1950 until 2010. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-History:...

)
Sir Roger Moate
Roger Moate
Sir Roger Denis Moate is a Conservative politician in the United Kingdom.Moate was educated at Latymer Upper School, Hammersmith and was an insurance broker. He first stood for Parliament for the Faversham constituency at the 1966 general election, losing to Labour's Terence Boston...

(Faversham
Faversham (UK Parliament constituency)
Faversham was a parliamentary constituency centered on the town of Faversham in Kent which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....

)
Sir John Michael Gorst
John Michael Gorst
Sir John Michael Gorst was a British Conservative Party politician.He was educated at Ardingly College and read French and History at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. In 1953 he joined the advertising department of Pye Ltd...

(Hendon North
Hendon North (UK Parliament constituency)
Hendon North was a constituency in the former Municipal Borough of Hendon which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom...

)
Sir Kenneth Carlisle
Kenneth Carlisle
Sir Kenneth Melville Carlisle is a politician in the United Kingdom. He was the Conservative Member of Parliament for Lincoln from 1979 to 1997.-Early life:...

(Lincoln
Lincoln (UK Parliament constituency)
Lincoln is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....

)
Sir Andrew Bowden
Andrew Bowden
Sir Andrew Bowden , is a British Conservative Party politician.Bowden was educated at Ardingly College and subsequently became a sales executive. He served as a councillor on Wandsworth Borough Council 1956-61 and national chairman of Young Conservatives 1960-61...

(Brighton Kemptown)
Dame Peggy Fenner
Peggy Fenner
Dame Peggy Edith Fenner, DBE is a British Conservative Party politician.Fenner was elected MP for Rochester and Chatham at the 1970 general election...

DBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...

(Medway
Medway (UK Parliament constituency)
Medway was a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom between 1983 and 2010. A previous constituency of the same name existed from 1885 to 1918.-1885–1918:...

)
Sir Mark Lennox-Boyd
Mark Lennox-Boyd
Sir Mark Alexander Lennox-Boyd is a British Conservative politician and a son of the 1st Viscount Boyd of Merton.Lennox-Boyd was MP for Morecambe and Lonsdale from 1979 to 1983, and the Morecambe and Lunesdale from 1983 until his defeat by Labour's Geraldine Smith in 1997...

(Morecambe and Lunesdale)
Sir Patrick McNair-Wilson
Patrick McNair-Wilson
Sir Patrick Michael Ernest David McNair-Wilson is a British Conservative politician.McNair-Wilson was educated at Eton College and was commissioned in the Coldstream Guards 1947-52, serving in Palestine and North Africa...

(New Forest
New Forest (UK Parliament constituency)
New Forest was a county constituency in Hampshire which elected one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....

)
Sir Michael Neubert
Michael Neubert
Sir Michael Jon Neubert was Conservative MP for Romford from 1974 until 1997. His loss in the election that year was considered something of surprise....

(Romford
Romford (UK Parliament constituency)
Romford is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.- Boundaries :...

)
Sir James Hill (Southampton Test)
Sir Dudley Smith
Dudley Smith
Sir Dudley Gordon Smith is a British Conservative politician.Smith was educated at Chichester High School and became a journalist. He was elected a councillor on Middlesex County Council in 1958, then the youngest councillor, and became chief whip of the majority party.Smith contested Peckham in...

(Warwick and Leamington)
Sir Peter Fry
Peter Fry
Sir Peter Derek Fry is a British Conservative Party politician.Born in High Wycombe, Fry was educated at the Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe, and Worcester College, Oxford. He became an insurance broker and a director of the family retail clothing business...

(Wellingborough
Wellingborough (UK Parliament constituency)
Wellingborough is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election...

)
Sir Colin Shepherd
Colin Shepherd
Sir Colin Ryley Shepherd is a British Conservative politician. He was MP for Hereford from October 1974 until his defeat by Liberal Democrat Paul Keetch in May 1997.He was knighted in the 1996 New Year Honours List.-References:...

(Hereford
Hereford (UK Parliament constituency)
Hereford was, until 2010, a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Since 1918, it had elected one Member of Parliament by the first-past-the-post voting system....

)
Dr Ian Twinn
Ian Twinn
Ian David Twinn is a British Conservative politician. He was educated at Cambridge Grammar School, the University of Wales and Reading University. He then worked as a lecturer. He was MP for Edmonton from 1983 until he lost his seat to Labour's Andy Love in 1997...

(Edmonton
Edmonton (UK Parliament constituency)
Edmonton is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-History:...

)
Dr Keith Hampson
Keith Hampson
Keith Hampson is a former Conservative party politician in the United Kingdom.Hampson was educated at King James I Grammar School, Bishop Auckland, where he was head boy, the University of Bristol and Harvard and was a university lecturer by profession...

(Leeds North West
Leeds North West (UK Parliament constituency)
Leeds North West is a parliamentary constituency in the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire which is represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....

)
Phil Gallie
Phil Gallie
Philip Roy Gallie was a British politician who served as a Conservative Member of Parliament for Ayr from 1992 to 1997 and Member of the Scottish Parliament for the South of Scotland region from 1999 to 2007...

(Ayr
Ayr (UK Parliament constituency)
Ayr was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1950 to 2005. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first-past-the-post system of election.- History :...

)
Elizabeth Peacock
Elizabeth Peacock
Elizabeth Peacock is a British Conservative politician and former Member of Parliament for the West Yorkshire constituency of Batley and Spen....

(Batley and Spen)
Andrew Hargreaves (Birmingham Hall Green)
Harold Elletson
Harold Elletson
Harold Daniel Hope Elletson is a British Conservative Party politician.Elletson unsuccessfully contested Burnley in the 1987 general election, before becoming Member of Parliament for Blackpool North in 1992...

(Blackpool North
Blackpool North (UK Parliament constituency)
Blackpool North was a borough constituency in Lancashire which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....

)
Jonathan Evans (Brecon and Radnorshire
Brecon and Radnorshire (UK Parliament constituency)
Brecon and Radnorshire is a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Created in 1918, it elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election; until 1997 its name was simply Brecon and Radnor.The Brecon and Radnorshire Welsh...

)
Nirj Deva
Nirj Deva
Niranjan Joseph "Nirj" De Silva Deva-Aditya FRSA DL is a politician from the United Kingdom. A member of the Conservative Party, he has been a Member of the European Parliament representing South East England since 1999...

(Brentford and Isleworth)
Michael Brown (Brigg and Cleethorpes
Brigg and Cleethorpes (UK Parliament constituency)
Brigg and Cleethorpes was a constituency on the south bank of the River Humber which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first-past-the-post voting system....

)
Michael Stern (Bristol North West)
David Sumberg
David Sumberg
David Anthony Gerald Sumberg is a British politician, and Member of the European Parliament for the North West England region for the Conservative Party...

(Bury South
Bury South (UK Parliament constituency)
Bury South is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election...

)
Nigel Forman
Nigel Forman
Francis Nigel Forman, known as Nigel Forman, is a British Conservative politician. After working in the Conservative Research Department from 1968 to 1976 he was elected as an MP. He became a prominent backbench MP and was appointed to the position of Minister of Higher Education in April 1992....

(Carshalton and Wallington)
Den Dover
Den Dover
Densmore Ronald Dover, known as Den Dover, is a British politician. He was a Member of the European Parliament for the North West England region from 1999 to 2009....

(Chorley
Chorley (UK Parliament constituency)
Chorley is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-Boundaries:...

)
Rod Richards
Rod Richards
Roderick Richards was the Conservative Member of Parliament for Clwyd North West, in Wales, from 1992 to 1997, when he lost his seat in the Labour Party landslide...

(Clwyd North West
Clwyd North West (UK Parliament constituency)
Clwyd North West was a parliamentary constituency in Clwyd, North Wales. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom by the first past the post system.-History:...

)
Graham Riddick
Graham Riddick
Graham Edward Galloway Riddick was the Conservative Party Member of Parliament for Colne Valley in West Yorkshire, England from 1987 to 1997.-Family and early life:...

(Colne Valley
Colne Valley (UK Parliament constituency)
Colne Valley is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election. In the post-war period the seat had the distinction of being one of the few Labour/Liberal marginals,...

)
William Powell
William Powell (UK politician)
William Rhys Powell is a British Conservative politician. A barrister, he was MP for Corby from 1983 to 1997, when he lost the seat to Labour's Phil Hope...

(Corby
Corby (UK Parliament constituency)
Corby is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first-past-the-post voting system, and is currently a marginal seat between Labour and the Conservatives....

)
David Congdon
David Congdon
David Leonard Congdon is a British former Conservative Party politician. He was the Member of Parliament for Croydon North East, South London from 1992 to 1997....

(Croydon North East
Croydon North East (UK Parliament constituency)
Croydon North East was a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1955 to 1997. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.- History :...

)
Bob Dunn
Bob Dunn (politician)
Robert John Dunn , known as Bob Dunn, was a British Conservative Party politician.Having been involved in the Conservative Party in his home-constituency of Eccles, near Manchester, Dunn was elected a councillor in the London Borough of Southwark in May 1974...

(Dartford
Dartford (UK Parliament constituency)
-Elections in the 2000s:-Elections in the 1990s:-Notes and references:...

)
David Shaw
David Shaw (UK politician)
David Lawrence Shaw is a British former Member of Parliament . He was the Conservative Member for Dover from the 1987 general election until the 1997 election, when he lost the seat to Gwyn Prosser of Labour...

(Dover
Dover (UK Parliament constituency)
Dover is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-Boundaries:...

)
Harry Greenway
Harry Greenway
Harry Greenway , is a British Conservative politician and the former MP for Ealing North constituency.-Personal life and education:...

(Ealing North)
Spencer Batiste
Spencer Batiste
Spencer Lee Batiste was the British Conservative MP for Elmet from 1983 until his 1997 defeat by Labour's Colin Burgon. He served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Lord Trefgarne, Sir Geoffrey Pattie and, latterly, for European Commissioner and former Home Secretary Sir Leon Brittan.After...

(Elmet
Elmet (UK Parliament constituency)
Elmet was a county constituency in West Yorkshire represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....

)
Hartley Booth
Hartley Booth
Vernon Edward Hartley Booth, known as Hartley Booth is a British politician.-Political career:Booth succeeded Margaret Thatcher as the Conservative Member of Parliament for Finchley from the 1992 general election until the constituency was abolished in the 1997 general election...

(Finchley
Finchley (UK Parliament constituency)
Finchley was a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election; its best-known MP was Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister from 1979 to 1990...

)
Matthew Carrington
Matthew Carrington (UK politician)
Matthew Hadrian Marshall Carrington was Conservative Member of Parliament for Fulham from 1987 to 1997.He studied at Imperial College London from 1966-1969 during which time he chaired the Imperial College Conservative Society...

(Fulham
Fulham (UK Parliament constituency)
Fulham was a borough constituency based around the London district of Fulham. It was represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1885 until 1918 and from 1955 to 1997....

)
James Couchman
James Couchman
James Randall Couchman was the British Conservative Member of Parliament for Gillingham from 1983 until his defeat in 1997 by Labour's Paul Clark. He was educated at Cranleigh School and the University of Newcastle and was a London Borough of Bexley councillor from 1974-82.- External links :...

(Gillingham
Gillingham (UK Parliament constituency)
Gillingham was a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-Boundaries:...

)
Douglas French
Douglas French
Douglas Charles French is a retired Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom.He was elected to the House of Commons at the 1987 general election as Member of Parliament for Gloucester, succeeding former minister Sally Oppenheim...

(Gloucester
Gloucester (UK Parliament constituency)
Gloucester is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was established in 1295 to return two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons but in 1885 representation was reduced to one member under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885...

)
Paul Marland
Paul Marland
Paul Marland is a British Conservative politician.Marland became an Member of Parliament on his third attempt by gaining the marginal seat of West Gloucestershire from Labour in 1979. He served until 1997 when the seat was abolished by boundary changes...

(West Gloucestershire)
Jacques Arnold
Jacques Arnold
Jacques Arnold Arnold is a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom. He was the Member of Parliament for Gravesham in Kent from 1987, when he succeeded Tim Brinton, until he lost his seat in the landslide 1997 election...

(Gravesham
Gravesham (UK Parliament constituency)
Gravesham is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election...

)
Michael Carttiss
Michael Carttiss
Michael Reginald Harry Carttiss is a British Conservative Party politician. He was Member of Parliament for Great Yarmouth from 1983 until his defeat in 1997 by Labour's Anthony Wright....

(Great Yarmouth
Great Yarmouth (UK Parliament constituency)
Great Yarmouth is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....

)
Warren Hawksley
Warren Hawksley
Philip Warren Hawksley , known as Warren Hawksley, is a British Conservative politician. He was educated at Denstone College. He contested Wolverhampton North East in February and October 1974. He was Member of Parliament for the The Wrekin from 1979 until he lost the seat to the Labour candidate...

(Halesowen and Stourbridge
Halesowen and Stourbridge (UK Parliament constituency)
Halesowen and Stourbridge was a parliamentary constituency in the West Midlands, which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from February 1974 until it was abolished for the 1997 general election....

)
Jerry Hayes
Jerry Hayes
Jeremy Joseph James Hayes, known as Jerry Hayes, is a British former Conservative politician, the MP for Harlow in Essex from 1983 until 1997. He subsequently returned to practising criminal law.-Political career:...

(Harlow
Harlow (UK Parliament constituency)
Harlow is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.- Boundaries :...

)
Hugh Dykes (Harrow East)
Robert Gurth Hughes
Robert Gurth Hughes
Robert Gurth Hughes was a British Conservative Party politician from 1980-97.In 1980 Hughes was elected to the Greater London Council representing Croydon Central, serving until 1986....

(Harrow West)
John Leslie Marshall
John Leslie Marshall
John Leslie Marshall is a British Conservative politician. He was MEP for London North from 1979 to 1989. He lost to Michael Portillo in the selection for the Enfield Southgate byelection in 1984, but was later selected for Hendon South in the London Borough of Barnet and became Member of...

(Hendon South
Hendon South (UK Parliament constituency)
Hendon South was a constituency in the former Municipal Borough of Hendon which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom...

)
Robert Jones
Robert Jones (British politician)
Robert Brannock Jones was a British Conservative Party politician. He was Member of Parliament for West Hertfordshire for its 14-year existence, from its creation in 1983 until it was abolished in 1997. He served as a junior minister in the Department of the Environment from 1994 to 1997.Jones...

(West Hertfordshire
West Hertfordshire (UK Parliament constituency)
West Hertfordshire was a parliamentary constituency in Hertfordshire. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom by the first past the post system.-History:...

)
Charles Hendry
Charles Hendry
Charles Hendry is a British Conservative Party politician and the Member of Parliament for Wealden. In May 2010 he was appointed Minister of State for the Department of Energy and Climate Change.-Early life:...

(High Peak
High Peak (UK Parliament constituency)
- Elections in the 2000s :- Elections in the 1990s :- Elections in the 1980s :-Elections in the 1970s:-Elections in the 1960s:...

)
Vivian Bendall
Vivian Bendall
Vivian Walter Hough Bendall is a British estate agent and politician. After gaining the seat in a by-election he served as Conservative Member of Parliament for Ilford North from 1978 until his defeat in 1997. Bendall is on the right-wing of the party.-Business life:Born in Croydon, Bendall's...

(Ilford North
Ilford North (UK Parliament constituency)
Ilford North is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It comprises the north part of the town of Ilford in the London Borough of Redbridge, and elects one Member of Parliament by the first-past-the-post system of...

)
Gary Waller (Keighley
Keighley (UK Parliament constituency)
Keighley is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.- Boundaries :...

)
Tim Rathbone
Tim Rathbone
John Rankin "Tim" Rathbone was the Conservative Member of Parliament for the seat of Lewes between 1974 and 1997....

(Lewes
Lewes (UK Parliament constituency)
Lewes is a constituency located in East Sussex and centred on the town of Lewes. It is represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was a safe Conservative seat until 1997, but the Liberal Democrats have gained a strong foothold.-Boundaries:The constituency is...

)
Barry Legg
Barry Legg
Barry Charles Legg was the Conservative Member of Parliament for Milton Keynes South West from 1992 until the 1997 general election when he was defeated by Labour's Phyllis Starkey. He was one of the Maastricht Rebels. He is the chairman of the Bruges GroupHe was controversially selected by Iain...

(Milton Keynes South West)
Peter Butler
Peter Butler (politician)
Peter Butler is a British Conservative Party politician. At the 1992 general election, he became the first Member of Parliament for the new constituency of North East Milton Keynes, winning the seat with a majority of over 14,000. A former solicitor he served as a PPS to Kenneth Clarke.Butler...

(North East Milton Keynes)
Richard Alexander (Newark
Newark (UK Parliament constituency)
Newark is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Since 1885, it has elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....

)
Henry Bellingham (North West Norfolk)
Peter Griffiths
Peter Griffiths
Peter Harry Steve Griffiths is a retired English Conservative Party politician. He is best known for controversially gaining the Smethwick seat in the 1964 general election against the national trend.-Life:...

(Portsmouth North)
David Martin
David Martin (English politician)
David John Pattison Martin is a British politician who served as the Conservative Member of Parliament for Portsmouth South from 1987 until 1997...

(Portsmouth South)
Jim Pawsey
Jim Pawsey
James Francis Pawsey, , known as Jim Pawsey, is a retired British Conservative politician.Pawsey was Member of Parliament for Rugby from 1979 to 1983, then for Rugby and Kenilworth from 1983 until he lost the seat in the 1997 general election to Labour's Andy King.His son, Mark Pawsey, was elected...

(Rugby and Kenilworth)
John Sykes
John Sykes (UK politician)
John David Sykes , was British Conservative Member of Parliament for Scarborough from 1992 to 1997. Following boundary changes at the 1997 general election, Sykes contested the redrawn seat of Scarborough and Whitby, but in an upset lost to the Labour candidate Lawrie Quinn.- External links :...

(Scarborough
Scarborough (UK Parliament constituency)
Scarborough was the name of a constituency in Yorkshire, electing Members of Parliament to the House of Commons, at two periods. From 1295 until 1918 it was a parliamentary borough consisting only of the town of Scarborough, electing two MPs until 1885 and one from 1885 until 1918...

)
Michael Stephen
Michael Stephen
Barrie Michael Lace Stephen, known as Michael Stephen, , was the British Conservative Member of Parliament for Shoreham from 1992 until 1997, when his seat was abolished by boundary changes...

(Shoreham
Shoreham (UK Parliament constituency)
Shoreham was a parliamentary constituency centred on the town of Shoreham-by-Sea in West Sussex. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1974 to 1997....

)
John Arthur Watts
John Arthur Watts
John Arthur Watts was a Conservative Party Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom House of Commons between 1983 and 1997....

(Slough
Slough (UK Parliament constituency)
Slough is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-Boundaries:...

)
Mark Robinson (Somerton and Frome)
Matthew Banks
Matthew Banks
Matthew Gordon-Banks was a British Conservative Party politician. Originally commissioned into The Gordon Highlanders, he joined Barclays Bank in 1984, before before becoming private secretary to a prominent Conservative MP in 1988. In 1987 he fought Manchester Central for the Conservatives...

(Southport
Southport (UK Parliament constituency)
Southport is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-Boundaries:...

)
Tim Devlin
Tim Devlin
Timothy Robert Devlin, known as Tim Devlin, is a former Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom.He was the Member of Parliament for the Stockton South constituency from 1987, when he defeated Ian Wrigglesworth to 1997, when he lost to Labour's Dari Taylor.He was educated at Dulwich...

(Stockton South)
Roger Knapman
Roger Knapman
Roger Maurice Knapman is a British politician and the former leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party ....

(Stroud
Stroud (UK Parliament constituency)
Stroud is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....

)
David Nicholson (Taunton
Taunton (UK Parliament constituency)
Taunton was a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and its predecessors from 1295 to 2010, taking its name from the town of Taunton in Somerset...

)
Bill Walker (North Tayside)
Rupert Allason
Rupert Allason
Rupert William Simon Allason is a military historian and former Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom. He was the Member of Parliament for Torbay in Devon, from 1987 to 1997...

(Torbay
Torbay (UK Parliament constituency)
-Elections in the 2000s:-Elections in the 1990s:-Elections in the 1980s:-Notes and references:...

)
Toby Jessel
Toby Jessel
Toby Henry Francis Jessel is a British Conservative Party politician.-Early life:Jessel was educated at the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth and Balliol College, Oxford and was an exporter...

(Twickenham
Twickenham (UK Parliament constituency)
Twickenham is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-Boundaries:...

)
Walter Sweeney
Walter Sweeney
Walter Edward Sweeney is a British Conservative politician.-Member of Parliament:In 1992, Sweeney was elected MP for the Vale of Glamorgan by just 19 votes, defeating Labour's John Smith who had received the seat in a 1989 by-election...

(Vale of Glamorgan
Vale of Glamorgan (UK Parliament constituency)
Vale of Glamorgan is a county constituency in South Wales, represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom...

)
David Porter
David Porter (UK politician)
David John Porter , was Conservative Member of Parliament for Waveney from 1987 to 1997.Before going into parliament he was a drama teacher at Kirkley High School. After the 1997 election, he concentrated his efforts on supporting the British film industry...

(Waveney
Waveney (UK Parliament constituency)
Waveney is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-Boundaries:...

)
David Evans (Welwyn Hatfield
Welwyn Hatfield (UK Parliament constituency)
Welwyn Hatfield is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1974 as 'Welwyn and Hatfield'.- Boundaries :...

)
Charles Goodson-Wickes
Charles Goodson-Wickes
Dr Charles Goodson-Wickes is the Director General of Canning House, the London-based foundation dedicated to the promotion of Latin American and Iberian political and cultural issues in the United Kingdom....

(Wimbledon
Wimbledon (UK Parliament constituency)
Wimbledon is one of two parliamentary constituencies in the London Borough of Merton in south-west London. It elects one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, by the first-past-the-post voting system....

)
Gerry Malone
Gerry Malone
Peter Gerald "Gerry" Malone MA, LLB is a British Conservative politician who was an MP from 1983–87 and 1992–97.Born in Glasgow, Malone was educated at St Aloysius' College, Glasgow, and the University of Glasgow...

(Winchester)

Liberal Democrats who lost their seats

Chris Davies
Chris Davies
Christopher Graham Davies is a Liberal Democrat politician in the United Kingdom. He is a former Member of Parliament, and since 1999 he has been a Member of the European Parliament.- Biography :...

(Littleborough and Saddleworth
Littleborough and Saddleworth (UK Parliament constituency)
Littleborough and Saddleworth was a parliamentary constituency in Greater Manchester, England. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....

)
Liz Lynne
Liz Lynne
Elizabeth Lynne, known as Liz Lynne, is a British politician, and has been a Member of the European Parliament for the West Midlands for the Liberal Democrats since her election at the 1999 European election...

(Rochdale
Rochdale (UK Parliament constituency)
Rochdale is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-Boundaries:...

)
Diana Maddock
Diana Maddock, Baroness Maddock
Diana Margaret Maddock, Baroness Maddock and Lady Beith is a Liberal Democrat politician.Maddock was educated at the University of Portsmouth and leader of the Liberal Democrats on Southampton City Council...

(Christchurch
Christchurch (UK Parliament constituency)
Christchurch is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Centred on the town of Christchurch in Dorset, it elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....

)†

†Diana Maddock was elected at the Christchurch by-election, 1993

Christchurch by-election, 1993

A by-election was held in the British House of Commons constituency of Christchurch on 29 July 1993 following the death of sitting Conservative MP Robert Adley....

, and so is not included in the table of results.

Post election events

The poor results for the Conservative Party led to infighting, with the One Nation

One Nation Conservatism

One nation, one nation conservatism, and Tory democracy are terms used in political debate in the United Kingdom to refer to a certain wing of the Conservative Party...

, Tory Reform Group

Tory Reform Group

The Tory Reform Group is a group aligned to, but independent of, the British Conservative Party, that works to promote the values of the One Nation Tory vision...

, and right wing Maastricht rebels

Maastricht Rebels

The Maastricht Rebels were British Members of Parliament belonging to the then governing Conservative Party who refused to support the government of John Major in a series of votes in the House of Commons on the issue of the implementation of the Maastricht Treaty in British law.The Maastrict...

blaming each other for the defeat. Party Chairman Brian Mawhinney

Brian Mawhinney

Brian Stanley Mawhinney, Baron Mawhinney PC is a British Conservative Party politician. He was a member of the Cabinet from 1994 until 1997 and a Member of Parliament from 1979 until 2005.-Early life:...

said on the night of the election, that it was due to disillusionment with 18 years of Conservative rule. John Major

John Major

Sir John Major, is a British Conservative politician, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990–1997...

resigned as party leader, saying "When the curtain falls, it is time to leave the stage".

The Liberal Democrat vote fell, but in terms of seats, it was their best General Election since 1929

United Kingdom general election, 1929

-Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987*-External links:***...

under David Lloyd George

David Lloyd George

David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor OM, PC was a British Liberal politician and statesman...

's leadership. Paddy Ashdown's continued leadership had been vindicated, despite a disappointing 1992 election, and they were in a position to build positively as a strong third party into the new millennium.

Internet coverage

With the huge rise in internet use since the previous general election, BBC News

BBC News

BBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...

created a special website covering the election as an experiment for the efficiency of an online news service

BBC News Online

BBC News Online is the website of BBC News, the division of the BBC responsible for newsgathering and production. The website is the most popular news website in the United Kingdom and forms a major part of BBC Online ....

which was due for a launch later in the year.

Manifestos

External links

BBC Election Website
Complete BBC coverage of the election night, uploaded on Youtube in 48 parts
Video of Conservative Michael Portillo losing his seat to Labour's Stephen Twigg
1997 election manifestos - Link to 1997 election manifestos of various parties.
Catalogue of 1997 general election ephemera at the Archives Division of the London School of Economics
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...

.

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