1951 vs 1955 general election: what changed
How vote shares and seats changed between the 1951 and 1955 UK general elections, nationally and in every nation and region. Conservative–Labour swing: 4.1 points to the Conservatives.
- Con–Lab swing
- 4.1 ptsto the Conservatives
- 1951
- Con 298largest party
- 1955
- Con 344largest party
| Party | Share 1951 | Share 1955 | Change | Seats 1951 | Seats 1955 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | 44.0% | 49.7% | +5.7 | 298 | 344 | +46 |
| Labour | 48.9% | 46.4% | −2.5 | 297 | 277 | −20 |
| Liberal | 2.6% | 2.7% | +0.2 | 6 | 6 | 0 |
| Others | 0.5% | 1.1% | +0.6 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| National Liberal | 3.7% | — | — | 19 | — | −19 |
| Independent Conservative | 0.2% | — | — | 2 | — | −2 |
Nations and regions
| Region | Top party 1951 | Top party 1955 | Con–Lab swing | Seats |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| England | Con 255 | Con 292 | 3.6 pts to Con | 506 → 511 |
| Scotland | Lab 35 | Con 36 | 5.7 pts to Con | 71 → 71 |
| Wales | Lab 27 | Lab 27 | 2.6 pts to Con | 36 → 36 |
| Northern Ireland | Con 9 | Con 10 | 8.6 pts to Con | 12 → 12 |
| North East | Lab 25 | Lab 24 | 3.7 pts to Con | 31 → 31 |
| North West | Con 43 | Con 46 | 1.4 pts to Con | 84 → 83 |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | Lab 36 | Lab 32 | 7.5 pts to Con | 57 → 55 |
| East Midlands | Lab 25 | Lab 23 | 3.6 pts to Con | 40 → 40 |
| West Midlands | Lab 33 | Lab 32 | 4.8 pts to Con | 52 → 54 |
| East of England | Con 24 | Con 35 | 5.7 pts to Con | 37 → 41 |
| London | Lab 51 | Con 54 | 2.4 pts to Con | 99 → 102 |
| South East | Con 55 | Con 56 | 2.5 pts to Con | 63 → 62 |
| South West | Con 31 | Con 33 | 4.2 pts to Con | 43 → 43 |
Constituency boundaries changed between 1951 and 1955, so seats cannot be compared one by one. The national and regional figures above are comparable.
Official results House of Commons Library and UK Parliament election results data. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0. How we use this data