| Parliament name |
UK Parliament |
| Structure of parliament |
Bicameral |
| Chamber name |
House of Commons |
| Related chamber (for bicameral parliaments) |
House of Lords
|
| BACKGROUND |
| Dates of election / renewal (from/to) |
8 June 2017 |
| Purpose of elections |
The first elections after the Brexit referendum (see note) resulted in a hung parliament. Prime Minister Theresa May of the Conservative Party had called early elections, calling on voters' support for "a strong and stable government to get the best Brexit deal". The Conservative Party won the elections but lost the parliamentary majority. The Labour Party, led by Mr. Jeremy Corbyn, increased its share of seats from 232 to 262, while promising to work for "a jobs-first Brexit that allows us to upgrade our economy for the 21st century". Ms. May subsequently formed a minority government, with the support of the Democratic Unionist Party led by Ms. Arlene Foster. A record number of 208 women (up from 191) were elected to the House of Commons in 2017 (32% of MPs).
During the election campaigning, the major parties focused more on social care and education than on Brexit. Two terror attacks occurred during the campaign - the Manchester Arena bombing on 22 May and the London Bridge attack on 4 June - pushing the security issue to the centre of the campaigning in run-up to the polling day.
Note:
A referendum on Brexit (merging of the words "Britain" and "exit") to decide whether the United Kingdom should leave or remain in the European Union was held in June 2016. Leave camps narrowly won the referendum. The then Prime Minister David Cameron (Conservative Party) resigned after the referendum and was succeeded by Ms. May in July of that year.
|
Date of previous elections: 7 May 2015
Date of dissolution of the outgoing legislature: 3 May 2017
Timing of election: Early elections
Expected date of next elections: 5 May 2022*
*In accordance with Article 1 (3) of the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 , the next general elections will be held on "the first Thursday in May in the fifth calendar year".
Number of seats at stake: 650 (full renewal)
Number of candidates: 3,304 (2,328 men, 973 women, 3 other)
Note on other: At least 3 candidates were non-binary or gender neutral.
Percentage of women candidates: 29.5%
Number of parties contesting the election: 71
Number of parties winning seats: 8
Alternation of power: No*
*The Conservative Party formed a minority government after the elections.
Number of parties in government: 1
Names of parties in government: Conservative Party*
*The Democratic Unionist Party supports the minority government led by the Conservative Party.
Date of the first session of the new parliament: 13 June 2017
Name of the new Speaker: Mr. John Bercow (former member of the Conservative Party) |
| STATISTICS |
| Voter turnout |
| Round no 1 | 8 June 2017 |
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes |
46'843'896
|
|
Notes
|
|
| Distribution of votes |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Candidates |
Votes |
|
|
% |
|
|
| Conservative Party |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Labour Party |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Scottish National Party |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Liberal Democrats |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Democratic Unionist Party |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Sinn Fein |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Plaid Cymru |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Green Party |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Independents |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| The Speaker |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Total
|
|
|
|
|
| Conservative Party |
317
|
|
|
|
|
| Labour Party |
262
|
|
|
|
|
| Scottish National Party |
35
|
|
|
|
|
| Liberal Democrats |
12
|
|
|
|
|
| Democratic Unionist Party |
10
|
|
|
|
|
| Sinn Fein |
7
|
|
|
|
|
| Plaid Cymru |
4
|
|
|
|
|
| Green Party |
1
|
|
|
|
|
| Independents |
1
|
|
|
|
|
| The Speaker |
1
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to sex |
Men
Women
Percent of women |
442
208
32.00%
|
| Distribution of seats according to age |
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to profession |
|
|
| Comments |
Sources:
British IPU Group (09.06.2017, 07.09.2018)
http://www.parliament.uk/mps-lords-and-offices/mps/?sort=4&type=0
http://www.parliament.uk/business/news/2017/june/house-of-commons-returns-on-13-june-2017/
BRIEFING PAPER Number CBP 7979, 11 July 2017, General Election 2017: results and analysis Second Edition: http://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-7979/CBP-7979.pdf
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2011/14/pdfs/ukpga_20110014_en.pdf
https://www.conservatives.com/manifesto
http://www.labour.org.uk/index.php/manifesto2017
http://www.bbc.com/ |
Compare data for parliamentary chambers in the Last elections module
