United Kingdom general election, 1959
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This United Kingdom general election was held on October 8, 1959. It marked a third successive victory for the ruling Conservative Party, led by Harold Macmillan. The Conservatives increased their overall majority again, to 100 seats over the Labour Party under Hugh Gaitskell.
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[edit] Background
Following the Suez Crisis in 1956, Anthony Eden the Conservative Prime Minister became unpopular and resigned the following year. At this stage, the Labour Party, with its new leader Hugh Gaitskell enjoyed large opinion poll leads over the Conservatives, and it looked as if they could win. However Anthony Eden's successor Harold Macmillan revived the Conservatives fortunes as the economy improved, and his personal approval ratings remained high. By September 1958 the Conservatives had moved ahead of Labour in the opinion polls.
[edit] Campaign
The Conservatives fought under the slogan "Life is better with the Conservatives, don't let Labour ruin it" and were aided by a pre-election economic boom. The Labour Party fought a generally effective campaign, with television broadcasts masterminded by Anthony Wedgewood Benn. Hugh Gaitskell made a mistake by declaring that a Labour government would not raise taxes if it came to power. This being despite the fact that the Labour manifesto contained pledges to increase spending, especially with regard to raising pensions. This led voters to doubt Labour's spending plans, and is usually cited as a key reason for their defeat [1].
[edit] Results
| UK General Election 1959 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidates | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net Gain/Loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/- | |
| Conservative | 625 | 365 | 29 | 9 | + 20 | 49.4 | 13,750,875 | |||
| Labour | 621 | 258 | 5 | 24 | - 19 | 43.8 | 12,216,172 | |||
| Liberal | 216 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.9 | 1,640,760 | |||
| Plaid Cymru | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 | 77,571 | |||
| Sinn Féin | 12 | 0 | 0 | 2 | - 2 | 0.2 | 63,415 | |||
| Communist | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 | 30,896 | |||
| Scottish National Party | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 | 21,738 | |||
| Ind. Labour Group | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 | 20,062 | |||
| Independent Conservative | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | + 1 | 0.1 | 14,118 | |||
| Independent | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 7,492 | |||
| Fife Socialist League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 4,886 | |||
| Independent Liberal | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 4,473 | |||
| Union Movement | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 2,821 | |||
| Lancastrian | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 1,889 | |||
| National Labour | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 1,685 | |||
| Fellowship Party | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 1,189 | |||
| Ind. Labour Party | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 923 | |||
| Socialist Party (GB) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 899 | |||
| Alert Party | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 788 | |||
Total votes cast: 27,862,652. All parties shown. Conservatives include the National Liberal Party, Scottish Unionist Party and Ulster Unionists.
[edit] Summary of GB vote (excluding Northern Ireland)
| Popular vote | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative and Allies | 48.91% | |||
| Labour | 44.50% | |||
| Liberals | 5.99% | |||
| Plaid Cymru | 0.26% | |||
| Scottish National Party | 0.07% | |||
| Independent | 0.13% | |||
| Others | 0.14% | |||
Headline Swing: 1.32% to Conservative
[edit] Seats Changing Hands
From Conservative to Labour (6 seats): Ayrshire Central, Glasgow Craigton, Glasgow Scotstoun, Lanark, Oldham East and Rochdale
From Conservative to Liberal (1 seat): Devon North
From Conservative to Independent (1 seat): Caithness and Sutherland
From Labour to Conservative (28 seats): Acton, Barons Court, Birmingham All Saints, Birmingham Sparkbrook, Birmingham Yardley, Brierley Hill, Bristol North East, Bristol North West, Clapham, Cleveland, Coventry South, Derbyshire South East, Holborn and St Pancras South, Keighley, Lowestoft, Meriden, Newcastle upon Tyne East, Nottingham West, Reading, Rochester and Chatham, Rowley Regis and Tipton, Rugby, Swansea West, The Hartlepools, Uxbridge, Wellingborough, Willesden East and Willesden West
From Liberal to Labour (1 seats): Carmarthen
[edit] References
- F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987
- United Kingdom election results - summary results 1885-1979
- Thorpe, Andrew. (2001) A History Of The British Labour Party, Palgrave, ISBN 0-333-92908-x
[edit] See also
[edit] Manifestos
- The Next Five Years- 1959 Conservative manifesto.
- Britain Belongs to You: The Labour Party's Policy for Consideration by the British People - 1959 Labour Party manifesto.
- People Count - 1959 Liberal Party manifesto.
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