|
Election Name | United Kingdom general election, 2001 |
Country | United Kingdom |
Type | parliamentary |
Ongoing | no |
Previous Election | United Kingdom general election, 1997 |
Previous Year | 1997 |
Previous Mps | MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1997 |
Next Election | United Kingdom general election, 2005 |
Next Year | 2005 |
Next Mps | MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 2005 |
Seats For Election | All 659 seats to the House of Commons |
Majority Seats | 330 |
Elected Mps | Members elected |
Election Date | 7 June 2001 |
Leader1 | Tony Blair |
Leader Since1 | 21 July 1994 |
Party1 | Labour Party (UK) |
Leaders Seat1 | Sedgefield |
Last Election1 | 418 seats, 43.2% |
Seats1 | 413 |
Seat Change1 | (-)6 |
Popular Vote1 | 10,724,953 |
Percentage1 | 40.7% |
Swing1 | (-) 2.5 points |
Leader2 | William Hague |
Leader Since2 | 19 June 1997 |
Party2 | Conservative Party (UK) |
Leaders Seat2 | Richmond (Yorks) |
Last Election2 | 165 seats, 30.7% |
Seats2 | 166 |
Seat Change2 | (+)1 |
Popular Vote2 | 8,357,615 |
Percentage2 | 31.7% |
Swing2 | (+) 1.0 point |
Leader3 | Charles Kennedy |
Leader Since3 | 9 August 1999 |
Party3 | Liberal Democrats |
Leaders Seat3 | Ross, Skye and Inverness West |
Last Election3 | 46 seats, 16.8% |
Seats3 | 52 |
Seat Change3 | (+)6 |
Popular Vote3 | 4,814,321 |
Percentage3 | 18.3% |
Swing3 | (+) 1.5 point |
Map Caption | The linked map's colours denote the winning party, as shown in the main table of results.
|
Title | PM |
Posttitle | Subsequent PM |
Before Election | Tony Blair |
Before Party | Labour Party (UK) |
After Election | Tony Blair |
After Party | Labour Party (UK) |
|
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. Tony Blair went on to become the first Labour Prime Minister to serve a full second consecutive term in office.
There was little change at all � outside Northern Ireland � with 620 out of 641 seats remaining unchanged. Labour boasted a strong economy, as well as having delivered on many key election pledges made in 1997. The Conservative Party, under William Hague's leadership, was still deeply divided on the issue of Europe and the party's policy platform was considered to have shifted to a right-wing focus. Hague was also hindered by a series of embarrassing publicity stunts, which overshadowed his talents as a skilled orator.
The election was essentially a repeat of the 1997 election, with Labour losing a mere 6 seats overall and the Conservatives making a net gain of 1 seat (gaining 9 seats, but losing 8). The Conservatives did manage to gain a seat in Scotland, which ended the party's status as an 'England-only' party in the 1997 � 2001 parliament. For the Liberal Democrats, success in the form of 6 new seats was achieved. Conservative leader William Hague resigned immediately, becoming the first Conservative leader since Austen Chamberlain to leave office without becoming Prime Minister.
Change was seen in Northern Ireland, with the moderately unionist Ulster Unionist Party losing 4 seats to the more hardline Democratic Unionist Party. This transition was mirrored in the republican community with the moderate SDLP losing votes to the more staunchly republican and abstentionist Sinn Féin. The election was also marked with exceptionally low voter turnout, falling below 60% for the first time in British history. The election was broadcast live on the BBC, and presented by Jeremy Paxman, Andrew Marr, Peter Snow and David Dimbleby.
|
|
|