1929 United Kingdom general election

{{Infobox election

| election_name = 1929 United Kingdom general election

| country = United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

| type = parliamentary

| ongoing = no

| previous_election = 1924 United Kingdom general election

| previous_year = 1924

| outgoing_members = List of MPs elected in the 1924 United Kingdom general election

| next_election = 1931 United Kingdom general election

| next_year = 1931

| elected_members = List of MPs elected in the 1929 United Kingdom general election

| seats_for_election = All 615 seats in the House of Commons

| majority_seats = 308

| elected_mps = List of MPs elected in the 1929 United Kingdom general election

| election_date = 30 May 1929

| turnout = 21,685,779
76.3% ({{decrease}}0.7 pp)

| image1 = 150x150px

| leader1 = Ramsay MacDonald

| leader_since1 = 21 November 1922

| party1 = Labour Party (UK)

| leaders_seat1 = Seaham

| last_election1 = 151 seats, 33.3%

| seats1 = 287

| seat_change1 = {{increase}} 136

| popular_vote1 = 8,048,968

| percentage1 = 37.1%

| swing1 = {{increase}} 3.8 pp

| image2 = 150x150px

| leader2 = Stanley Baldwin

| leader_since2 = 23 May 1923

| party2 = Conservative Party (UK)

| leaders_seat2 = Bewdley

| last_election2 = 412 seats, 46.8%

| seats2 = 260{{refn|group=note|name=speaker|The seat and vote count figures for the Conservatives given here include the Speaker of the House of Commons}}

| seat_change2 = {{decrease}} 152

| popular_vote2 = 8,252,527

| percentage2 = 38.1%

| swing2 = {{decrease}} 8.7 pp

| image3 = 150x150px

| leader3 = David Lloyd George

| leader_since3 = 14 October 1926

| party3 = Liberal Party (UK)

| leaders_seat3 = Caernarvon Boroughs

| last_election3 = 40 seats, 17.8%

| seats3 = 59

| seat_change3 = {{increase}} 19

| popular_vote3 = 5,104,638

| percentage3 = 23.6%

| swing3 = {{increase}} 5.8 pp

| map_image = 1929 UK general election map.svg

| map_size = 380px

| map_caption = Colours denote the winning party—as shown in {{slink||Results}}

| title = Prime Minister

| posttitle = Prime Minister after election

| before_election = Stanley Baldwin

| before_party = Conservative Party (UK)

| after_election = Ramsay MacDonald

| after_party = Labour Party (UK)

| map2_image = File:1929 UK GE composition diagram.svg

| map2_caption = Diagram displaying the composition of the House of Commons following the election

}}

The 1929 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday, 30 May 1929, and resulted in a hung parliament. Ramsay MacDonald's Labour Party won the most seats in the House of Commons for the first time despite receiving fewer votes than the Conservative Party, led by Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin. The Liberal Party, led again by former Prime Minister David Lloyd George, regained some of the ground lost in the 1924 general election and held the balance of power. Parliament was dissolved on 10 May.{{cite web |url=https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/RP97-40/RP97-40.pdf |title=Parliamentary Election Timetables |edition=3rd |publisher=House of Commons Library |date=25 March 1997 |access-date=3 July 2022}}

The election was often referred to as the "Flapper Election", because it was the first in which women aged 21–29 had the right to vote (owing to the Representation of the People Act 1928). Women over 30, with some property qualifications, had been able to vote since the 1918 general election, but the 1929 vote was the first general election with universal suffrage for adults over 21, which was then the age of majority.

The election was fought against a background of rising unemployment, with the memory of the 1926 general strike still fresh in voters' minds. By 1929, the Cabinet was being described by many as "old and exhausted".{{sfn|Doerr|1998|pp=104–5}}

The Liberals campaigned on a comprehensive programme of public works under the title "We Can Conquer Unemployment". There was anticipation of a potential revival of the Liberal Party after the reunification of Independent Liberals and National Liberals now under Lloyd George's leadership since 1926 and following some victories in a series of recent by-elections after 1926.{{Cite book |last=Campbell |first=John |url=https://archive.org/details/pistolsatdawntwo0000camp/13960/t6wx5mm07 |title=Pistols at Dawn: Two Hundred Years of Political Rivalry from Pitt and Fox to Blair and Brown |date=2010 |publisher=Vintage |isbn=978-1-84595-091-0 |location=London |pages=192 |oclc=489636152}} The incumbent Conservatives campaigned on the theme of "Safety First", with Labour campaigning on the theme of "Labour & the Nation".

This was the first general election to be contested by the newly formed Welsh nationalist party Plaid Cymru.

It stood as the last time when a third party polled more than one-fifth of the popular vote until 1983. The Liberals performed more successfully than at the previous general election in 1924, but could not regain their pre-World War I status as a party of government.

{{UK general election navigation|clear=none|1923|1924|1929|1931|1935}}

Results

File:1929 UK parliament.svg

{{Election summary begin with leaders| title = UK General Election 1929}}

{{Election summary party with leaders|

|party = Conservative Party (UK)

|leader = Stanley Baldwin

|candidates = 590

|seats = 260

|gain = 2

|loss = 154

|net = −152

|votes = 8,252,527

|votes % = 38.1

|seats % = 42.3

|plus/minus = −8.7

}}

{{Election summary party with leaders|

|party = Labour Party (UK)

|leader = Ramsay MacDonald

|candidates = 569

|seats = 287

|gain = 140

|loss = 4

|net = +136

|votes = 8,048,968

|votes % = 37.1

|seats % = 46.7

|plus/minus = +3.8

|government = yes

}}

{{Election summary party with leaders|

|party = Liberal Party (UK)

|leader = David Lloyd George

|candidates = 513

|seats = 59

|gain = 36

|loss = 17

|net = +19

|votes = 5,104,638

|votes % = 23.6

|seats % = 9.6

|plus/minus = +5.8

}}

{{Election summary party with leaders|

|party = Independent (politician)

|leader = N/A

|candidates = 11

|seats = 4

|gain = 3

|loss = 1

|net = +2

|votes = 94,742

|votes % = 0.4

|seats % = 0.8

|plus/minus = +0.2

}}

{{Election summary party with leaders|

|party = Communist Party of Great Britain

|leader = Harry Pollitt

|candidates = 25

|seats = 0

|gain = 0

|loss = 1

|net = −1

|votes = 47,554

|votes % = 0.2

|seats % =

|plus/minus = −0.1

}}

{{Election summary party with leaders|

|party = Independent Conservative

|leader = N/A

|candidates = 8

|seats = 0

|gain = 0

|loss = 0

|net = 0

|votes = 46,278

|votes % = 0.2

|seats % =

|plus/minus =

}}

{{Election summary party with leaders|

|party = Scottish Prohibition Party

|leader = Edwin Scrymgeour

|candidates = 1

|seats = 1

|gain = 0

|loss = 0

|net = 0

|votes = 25,037

|votes % = 0.1

|seats % = 0.2

|plus/minus = +0.1

}}

{{Election summary party with leaders|

|party = Nationalist Party (Northern Ireland)

|leader = Joseph Devlin

|candidates = 3

|seats = 2

|gain = 2

|loss = 0

|net = +2

|votes = 24,177

|votes % = 0.1

|seats % = 0.5

|plus/minus = +0.1

}}

{{Election summary party with leaders|

|party = Independent Labour

|leader = N/A

|candidates = 4

|seats = 1

|gain = 1

|loss = 0

|net = +1

|votes = 20,825

|votes % = 0.1

|seats % = 0.2

|plus/minus = +0.1

}}

{{Election summary party with leaders|

|party = Independent Liberal

|leader = N/A

|candidates = 2

|seats = 0

|gain = 0

|loss = 0

|net = 0

|votes = 17,110

|votes % = 0.1

|seats % =

|plus/minus = +0.1

}}

{{Election summary party with leaders|

|party = National Party of Scotland

|leader = Roland Muirhead

|candidates = 2

|seats = 0

|gain = 0

|loss = 0

|net = 0

|votes = 3,313

|votes % = 0.0

|seats % =

|plus/minus = N/A

}}

{{Election summary party with leaders|

|party = Plaid Cymru

|leader = Saunders Lewis

|candidates = 1

|seats = 0

|gain = 0

|loss = 0

|net = 0

|votes = 609

|votes % = 0.0

|seats % =

|plus/minus = N/A

}}

{{Election summary party with leaders|

|party = Nationalist Party (Ireland)

|leader = T. P. O'Connor

|candidates = 1

|seats = 1

|gain = 0

|loss = 0

|net = 0

|votes = 0

|votes % = 0.0

|seats % =

|plus/minus = N/A

|vps = N/A

}}

{{Hatnote|Total votes cast: 21,685,779. Turnout: 76.3%.{{Cite web |url=http://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons/lib/research/rp2008/rp08-012.pdf |title=Election Statistics: UK 1918-2007 |access-date=23 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140708134346/http://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons/lib/research/rp2008/rp08-012.pdf |archive-date=8 July 2014 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all |last=Tetteh |first=Edmund |date=1 February 2008 |website=parliament.uk}}

}}

{{Hatnote|All parties shown. Conservatives include Ulster Unionists.}}

=Votes summary=

{{bar box

|title=Popular vote

|titlebar=#ddd

|width=600px

|barwidth=500px

|bars=

{{bar percent|Conservative|{{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}|38.06}}

{{bar percent|Labour|{{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}|37.12}}

{{bar percent|Liberal|{{party color|Liberal Party (UK)}}|23.54}}

}}

=Seats summary=

{{bar box

|title=Parliamentary seats

|titlebar=#ddd

|width=600px

|barwidth=500px

|bars=

{{bar percent|Labour|{{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}|46.67}}

{{bar percent|Conservative|{{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}|42.28}}

{{bar percent|Liberal|{{party color|Liberal Party (UK)}}|9.59}}

}}

=Constituency results=

{{For|a full list of the results by constituency|Constituency election results in the 1929 United Kingdom general election}}

Transfers of seats

All comparisons are with the 1924 election.
In some cases, the change is due to the MP's having defected to the gaining party, and then retaining the seat in 1929. Such circumstances are marked with a *.
In other circumstances, the change is due to the seat's having been won by the gaining party in a by-election in the intervening years, and then retained in 1929. Such circumstances are marked with a †.

class="wikitable sortable" style="margin:1em"

!colspan=2|To

!colspan=2|From

!No.

!class=unsortable|Seats

| {{Party name with colour|Labour Party (UK)}}

|Govan*

rowspan="6" style="color:inherit;background:{{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" |

| rowspan="6" |{{party shortname linked|Labour Party (UK)}}

| {{Party name with colour|Communist Party of Great Britain }}

|Battersea North

|15

|Chesterfield, South Shields, Walthamstow West, Bristol North, Bristol South, Kingston upon Hull Central*, Blackburn (one of two), Oldham (one of two), Hackney South, Lambeth North, Bradford East, Batley and Morley, Wrexham, Carmarthen, Swansea West

|Walthamstow East¹, Accrington², Stoke²

|121

|Stirlingshire West, Dunbartonshire, Lanark, Partick, Lanarkshire North†, Renfrewshire West, Maryhill, Kilmarnock, Edinburgh West, Linlithgow†, Berwick & Haddington, Reading, Birkenhead West, Crewe, Stalybridge and Hyde, Stockport (one of two)†, Carlisle, Whitehaven, Derby (one of two), Belper, Derbyshire South, Drake, Barnard Castle, Sedgefield, Darlington†, Stockton-on-Tees, Sunderland (both seats), Leyton East, East Ham North, Essex SE, Leyton West, Romford, Upton, Bristol Central, Portsmouth Central, Southampton (both seats), Dudley, Stourbridge†, Kingston upon Hull East, Kingston upon Hull South West, Chatham, Dartford, Blackburn (one of two), Ormskirk, Rossendale, Ashton-under-Lyne†, Bolton (both seats), Eccles, Hulme, Oldham (one of two), Salford North, Salford South, Salford West, Bootle, Everton, Kirkdale, Warrington, Widnes, Leicester East, Loughborough, Brigg, Fulham West, Hammersmith South, Islington North, Kensington North, Battersea South†, Greenwich, Islington East, Camberwell North-West, Hackney Central, Kennington, Hammersmith North†, St Pancras North, St Pancras South East, St Pancras South West, Wandsworth Central, Norfolk South West, Norwich (one of two), Kettering, Northampton†, Peterborough, Bassetlaw, Nottingham South, The Wrekin, Frome, Lichfield, Walsall, Wolverhampton West, Nuneaton, Duddeston, Coventry, Aston, Deritend, Erdington, Ladywood, Yardley, Swindon, York, Cleveland, Acton, Enfield, Tottenham South, Sheffield Central, Bradford North, Leeds Central, Sowerby, Wakefield, Sheffield Park, Bradford Central, Pontefract, Newport (Monmouthshire), Brecon and Radnor, Llandaff & Barry, Cardiff Central, Cardiff East, Cardiff South

{{Party name with colour|Speaker of the House of Commons (United Kingdom)}}

|Halifax†

|Mossley

class="sortbottom"

! style="text-align:left" colspan="4" |Labour gains:

! style="text-align:left" colspan="2" |142

rowspan="3" style="color:inherit;background:{{party color|Liberal Party (UK)}}" |

| rowspan="3" |{{party shortname linked|Liberal Party (UK)}}

| {{Party name with colour|Labour Party (UK)}}

|Bethnal Green North-East, Newcastle upon Tyne East

|Camborne, Heywood and Radcliffe*

|32

|Banff, Aberdeenshire West and Kincardine, Fife East, Dumfriesshire, Galloway, Bedfordshire Mid, Luton, Huntingdonshire, Isle of Ely, Birkenhead East, Eddisbury, Bodmin, Cornwall North, Penryn and Falmouth, St Ives†, South Molton, Dorset East, Harwich, Hereford, Ashford, Darwen, Preston (one of two), Blackley, Withington, Bosworth†, Holland with Boston†, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk East, Nottingham East, Eye, Flintshire, Pembrokeshire

class="sortbottom"

! style="text-align:left" colspan="4" |Liberal gains:

! style="text-align:left" colspan="2" |36

rowspan="2" style="color:inherit;background:{{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" |

| rowspan="2" |{{party shortname linked|Conservative Party (UK)}}

| {{Party name with colour|Labour Party (UK)}}

|King's Norton

|Epping*

class="sortbottom"

! style="text-align:left" colspan="4" |Conservative gains:

! style="text-align:left" colspan="2" |2

rowspan="2" style="color:inherit;background:{{party color|Independent politician}}" |

| rowspan="2" |{{party shortname linked|Independent politician}}

| {{Party name with colour|Constitutionalist (UK)}}

|Stretford*

|Combined English Universities (one of two), Exeter*

| {{Party name with colour|Ulster Unionist Party}}

|Fermanagh and Tyrone (both seats)

:¹ Previous MP had defected to the Conservatives by the 1929 election

:² Previous MP had defected to the Liberals by the 1929 election

References

=Sources=

{{citation |author-link=F. W. S. Craig |first=F. W. S. |last=Craig |title=British Electoral Facts: 1832–1987 |year=1989 |location=Dartmouth |publisher=Gower |isbn=0900178302 }}
{{citation |first=Paul W. |last=Doerr |title=British foreign policy 1919–1939 |location=Manchester |publisher=Manchester University Press |year=1998 |isbn=0719046718}}

External links

[http://www.election.demon.co.uk/geresults.html United Kingdom election results—summary results 1885–1979] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120130011015/http://www.election.demon.co.uk/geresults.html |date=30 January 2012 }}

=Manifestos=

[http://www.conservativemanifesto.com/1929/1929-conservative-manifesto.shtml 1929 Conservative manifesto]
[https://web.archive.org/web/20040212215634/http://labour-party.org.uk/manifestos/1929/1929-labour-manifesto.shtml 1929 Labour manifesto]
[http://www.libdemmanifesto.com/1929/1929-liberal-manifesto.shtml 1929 Liberal manifesto]

1929

General election

United Kingdom general election

Category:Ramsay MacDonald

Category:Stanley Baldwin

Category:David Lloyd George