List of MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1979

This is a list of Members of Parliament (MPs) elected to the 48th Parliament of the United Kingdom in the 1979 general election, held on 3 May 1979. This Parliament was dissolved in 1983.

Notable figures among the 77 newcomers to the House of Commons included John Major, Jack Straw, Chris Patten, Matthew Parris, Michael Martin, Clive Soley, Peter Robinson, Frank Dobson, Richard Shepherd, Frank Field, David Mellor, Brian Mawhinney, William Waldegrave, John Patten, Antony Marlow and David Marshall. Of the 77, just one was a woman (Sheila Faith). In total, the Parliament had just 19 female members (8 Conservative, 11 Labour), fewer than any post-war parliament before or since, with the sole exception of 1951.^[1] Despite this however, it was the election from which Margaret Thatcher, the incumbent Conservative Party leader became Prime Minister, the first ever female head of government in the United Kingdom and Europe.

Composition

By-elections

See the list of United Kingdom by-elections.

Two seats were vacant when Parliament was dissolved preparatory to the 1983 general election:

• Cardiff, North-West – Michael Roberts (Con) died 10 February 1983
• Rhondda – Alec Jones (Lab) died 20 March 1983

References