![]() ![]() Since it was not obvious who could command the support of the House, Heath did not resign immediately as Prime Minister. There had been some media projections that the Liberals could take twice as many seats. However, even with over 6,000,000 votes, only fourteen Liberal MPs were elected. The other four unionists elected were hardliners not affiliated with the UUP.īoth Labour and Conservative lost a considerable share of the popular vote, largely to the Liberal Party under Jeremy Thorpe's leadership, which polled two-and-a-half times its last share of the vote. Ultimately, the decision by the seven Ulster Unionist MPs not to take the Conservative whip proved decisive in giving Labour a slim plurality of seats. Plaid Cymru also succeeded for the first time in getting candidates elected at a general election in Wales (it had previously won a by-election in 1966).Īlthough Heath's incumbent Conservative government polled the most votes by a small margin, the Conservatives were overtaken in terms of seats by Wilson's Labour Party, due to a more efficiently-distributed Labour vote. The Scottish National Party achieved significant success at this election, having increased its share of the popular vote in Scotland from 11% to 22%, and the number of SNP MPs rose from one to 7. This election saw Northern Ireland diverging heavily from the rest of the United Kingdom, with all twelve candidates elected being from local parties (eleven of them representing unionist parties), following the decision of the Ulster Unionists to withdraw support from the Conservative Party in protest over the Sunningdale Agreement. This was also the first general election to be held with the United Kingdom as a member state of the European Communities (EC)-widely known as the "Common Market". Because Labour was unable to form a majority coalition with another party, Wilson called another early election in September, which was held in October and resulted in a Labour majority. ![]() Heath sought a coalition with the Liberals, but the two parties failed to come to an agreement and then Wilson became Prime Minister for a second time, his first under a minority government. This resulted in a hung parliament, the first since 1929. The Conservative Party, led by incumbent Prime Minister Edward Heath, lost 28 seats but achieved a higher share of the vote than Labour. The Labour Party, led by Leader of the Opposition and former Prime Minister Harold Wilson, gained 14 seats (301 total), but was seventeen short of an overall majority. The February 1974 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday, 28 February 1974. Composition of the House of Commons after the election ![]()
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