British General Election 2015

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← 2010General election 20152017 →
(Share of votes in%)
 %
40
30th
20th
10
0
36.9
30.8
12.6
8.0
4.8
3.8
0.6
0.6
1.9
Gains and losses
compared to 2010
 % p
 10
   8th
   6th
   4th
   2
   0
  -2
  -4
  -6
  -8th
-10
-12
-14
-16
+0.8
+1.4
+9.5
-15.1
+3.1
+2.8
± 0.0
± 0.0
-2.5
Template: election chart / maintenance / notes
Remarks:
b with SDLP
d with Alliance
f The three green parties Green Party of England and Wales , Scottish Green Party and Green Party in Northern Ireland are subsumedunder the green votes.
Distribution of seats in the new lower house
            
A total of 650 seats

The Sinn Féin MPs are not taking their seats in Westminster.

Composition of the newly elected lower house:
Government (330) Conservatives 330
 		Opposition (319, real 315) † Labor 232 Scottish National Party 56 Liberal Democrats 8 Democratic Unionist Party 8 Plaid Cymru 3 Ulster Unionist Party 2 Sinn Féin 4 SDLP 3 UKIP 1 Green Party 1 Independent 1











Speaker 1
† The 4 Sinn Féin MPs do not take their seats in Westminster because they refuse to be sworn in to the British crown.

The election to the House of Commons in the United Kingdom in 2015 was held on May 7, 2015. The election has been attributed a meaning for the whole EU, as anti-EU movements such as the UK Independence Party (UKIP), the exit of the United Kingdom from the European Union aspire, had received in recent years considerable inflow. The turnout was 66.1%, slightly higher than in the previous election.

The election was won by the Conservatives (Tories) under Prime Minister David Cameron . They gained slightly more votes, but were able to increase the number of their parliamentary seats compared to the previous election and achieved an absolute majority. The Labor Party, led by its top candidate Ed Miliband , was able to increase its share of the vote a little more than the Tories compared to 2010, but lost a lot of constituency mandates. The UK Independence Party (UKIP) under Nigel Farage rose to become the third strongest party by votes. However, due to the relative majority voting system, it was only able to win one of 650 constituencies. The good performance of the Scottish National Party (SNP) was remarkable . Under its chairman Nicola Sturgeon , it won 56 of the 59 Scottish constituencies. The main losers in the election were the Liberal Democrats under Nick Clegg , who had previously ruled in coalition with the Conservatives and lost two thirds of their previous share of the vote and more than 80% of their previous parliamentary seats. The election result came as a surprise as almost all pre-election polls predicted a hung parliament , in which no party would gain an absolute majority.

After the election, Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg resigned as party leaders. Nigel Farage also resigned the day after the election (he had announced this before the election in case he should not get the seat in the House of Commons); The UKIP board of directors rejected this a few days later.

Starting position

Party affiliation of the MPs at the beginning and at the end of the legislative period
Political party MPs
after the
2010 election 		before the
2015 election 		Development
in the legislative
period
2010–2015
Conservative party 306 303   3
Labor Party 258 257   1
Liberal Democrats 57 56   1
Democratic Unionist Party 8th 8th
Scottish National Party 6th 6th
Sinn Féin 5 5
Independent 1 3   2
Plaid Cymru 3 3
SDLP 3 3
UKIP 0 2   2
Alliance (N.I) 1 1
Green Party (E. & W.) 1 1
Respect 0 1   1
Speaker 1 1
Total seats 650 650
Government majority 83 73   10

In the previous election in 2010 , no party had an absolute majority of the parliamentary seats. A so-called hung parliament had come about .

David Cameron ( Conservative Party ) was appointed Prime Minister by the Queen (see Political System of the United Kingdom # Government ) and formed a coalition government of Conservatives and Liberal Democrats. The main theme of the legislative term that followed was the world economic and financial crisis , which hit the United Kingdom hard, with London as one of the most important centers for financial services . As a result of the banking and financial crisis, the public budget deficit and national debt rose sharply. The Cameron administration tried to counteract this development through a policy of spending containment. The budget deficit decreased but remained relatively high.

A second political event that occurred during the legislature was the independence referendum in Scotland . Since the parliamentary elections in Scotland in 2011 , the Scottish National Party (SNP) has provided the Scottish regional government. The SNP had gained more and more votes in the last elections and called for a referendum in Scotland on the country's possible independence. In the Edinburgh Agreement of October 15, 2012, David Cameron and the Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond agreed to hold a referendum on September 18, 2014. The Cameron government did not take this referendum very seriously for a long time. It was only when, in the months leading up to the vote, the approval rates for independence in Scotland reached almost 50%, that the government, with some signs of hectic rush, hastened to give the Scots pledges for significantly greater regional autonomy. Ultimately, a majority of voters (55.3%) in Scotland rejected independence.

Another issue was increasing anti-European unionist tendencies in public opinion. The UK Independence Party (UKIP) under Nigel Farage was particularly active, repeatedly pointing to the excessive bureaucratism and centralism of the European Union and calling for the United Kingdom to leave the EU completely. Under pressure from UKIP in particular, Cameron promised in January 2013, if re-elected, to hold a referendum on UK membership in the EU by 2017 at the latest. In 2014, two elected Conservative Party MPs left their party and joined the UKIP. Both resigned their seats in parliament, but were re-elected under the UKIP party flag in the subsequent by-elections in their constituencies. This was the first time that UKIP was represented by elected members of Parliament in Westminster. Under pressure from UKIP and Eurosceptics in the ranks of his own party, Cameron was forced to take a tough stance on the EU. A much discussed point was the migration mainly from Eastern European countries of the EU - especially from Poland, Romania and Bulgaria - to the United Kingdom.

Suffrage

The election was held in the same way as the last general election in 2010. The MPs are elected in 650 individual constituencies according to the relative majority suffrage (“first-past-the-post”). The constituency boundaries remained unchanged compared to the 2010 general election. Originally, it was planned to reduce the number of constituencies to 600 for the 2015 election. This was mainly driven by the Conservative Party . The implementation failed due to resistance from the other parties; constituency reform was postponed to 2018 at the earliest. A reform of the electoral law in the sense of a hierarchy of voting rights , as it was aimed above all by the Liberal Democrats , was clearly rejected by the voters in a referendum on May 5, 2011 .

Election date

Traditionally, it has been the case in the past that the election date for the general election was determined by the prime minister, who asked the monarch to dissolve parliament when the time seemed appropriate. Since the Parliament Act 1911 , the term of office of the lower house was set to a maximum of five years. If the parliament had not been dissolved before the end of the five years, new elections had to take place automatically - a constellation that never happened. The monarch could also refuse to dissolve Parliament under very specific circumstances if he B. was of the opinion that another prime minister could continue to run the government with a sufficient majority in the lower house - this, too, never happened. This monarchical prerogative was abolished with the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 , which for the first time set fixed regular election dates for the House of Commons. According to the provisions of this Act of Parliament , the length of the legislative period since then has been exactly five years. The election date was set on the first Thursday in May, always in the fifth year after the previous election. A previous dissolution of parliament is no longer possible through a royal proclamation, but only through a vote of no confidence by the parliament vis-à-vis the government (without a new government subsequently receiving a vote of confidence), or through a two-thirds majority vote of the lower house. Under certain circumstances, the Prime Minister, with the authorization of the House of Commons, can postpone the election date by up to 2 months.

Election campaign

Top candidates

At the turn of the year 2014/15, the parties opened the hot phase of the election campaign. David Cameron pointed out for the Conservatives that the United Kingdom was "on the verge of bankruptcy" at the beginning of his government and was now one of the fastest growing nations in the western world. Ed Miliband , the Labor Party's top candidate , emphasized in a speech on December 31, 2014 that Britain needs a fresh start. "Britain is ready for a new beginning" , based on Barack Obama's Time for Change campaign. Training has hardly become affordable for young people and they start their careers with a mountain of debt. The National Health Service (NHS) can no longer fulfill its tasks. Nick Clegg warned the Liberal Democrats against the overly simple recipes of the Conservatives and Labor. The conservatives lack the social streak and Labor does not have the necessary economic policy expertise, which is why the Liberal Democrats are necessary as a corrective in a coalition government.

Reduction of the budget deficit

Development of UK debt as a percentage of gross domestic product 1992 to 2013, according to data from the Office for National Statistics (2013)

In the election campaign, the question of how to reduce the still relatively high public deficit became a main topic. All parties agree on this goal, but disagree about the necessary measures. The Conservatives wanted to achieve this essentially through strict spending discipline, while Labor emphasized that spending cuts alone were not enough or were socially unsustainable. Tax breaks for the wealthy are not appropriate. Labor proposed tax increases for top earners and a new mansion tax (" mansion tax ") and accused the Conservatives of secretly planning an increase in value added tax (VAT), as happened after the last election, contrary to the promise to the contrary that Cameron had previously given. This was denied by the Conservatives, who in turn accused Labor of wanting to raise National Insurance contributions, which Labor denied. Both Conservatives and Liberal Democrats claim to have raised the tax liability limit in 2010–2011 and thus effectively reduced taxes for low-income earners. To reduce the budget deficit, the Liberal Democrats proposed tax hikes of £ 8 billion for higher earners and pledged to achieve a balanced budget by 2017–2018.

On April 13, 2015, Labor leader Ed Miliband presented The Labor Party Manifesto 2015 to the public, emphasizing that Labor was the "party of fiscal responsibility". He promised the voters not to take out any new loans in the next legislative period, to cut the budget annually and to reduce the debt.

National Health Service

Signpost to the polling station in the constituency of Hampstead Heath

Opposing views have also been made clear in the public health system. In the winter before the election, there were discussions as to whether the accident and emergency (A&E) departments in the UK were still able to carry out their tasks. Cameron admitted that the National Health Service (NHS) was "under pressure" and that waiting times for medical interventions (such as planned surgeries) had peaked. Responsible leaders of the NHS called for better public funding. Miliband accused the Prime Minister of blaming patients for the NHS's deficits. The Liberal Democrats launched a plan on January 6, 2015 to support the NHS with an additional £ 8 billion by 2020. Labor promised, in the event of an election victory, a. to hire more than 3,000 new midwives to enable individual care for each pregnant woman. The Conservatives followed suit on April 11, 2015, also offering an additional cash injection of £ 8 billion annually to the NHS. Nigel Farage (UKIP), on the other hand, advocated extensive privatization of the health system, at least in the field of health insurance.

Defense budget, nuclear armament

The spending on the military was also discussed during the election campaign. One of the factors contributing to this was the fact that in the months leading up to the election, Russian bombers had repeatedly flown close to the British coast. UKIP and the Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party advocate a significant increase in defense spending to 2% of gross domestic product. Both parties also support the nuclear submarine base in Faslane-on-Clyde in Scotland. This nuclear submarine base, like any nuclear armament, is rejected by the Scottish National Party, Plaid Cymru and the green parties. The Conservatives spoke out in favor of a due renewal of the submarines armed with Trident ICBMs, while the Liberal Democrats want to reduce the nuclear submarine fleet and seek more European cooperation in the defense sector. Labor was reluctant to make specific statements about future military spending, but in principle advocated the renewal of the Royal Navy's four Trident submarines .

Immigration to the United Kingdom, relationship with the European Union

United Kingdom residents from countries that joined the European Union in 2004
nationality year
2001 2012
PolandPoland Poland 60,711 646,000
LithuaniaLithuania Lithuania 4,363 130,000
RomaniaRomania Romania 7,631 101,000
LatviaLatvia Latvia 4,275 69,000
BulgariaBulgaria Bulgaria 5,351 57,000
SlovakiaSlovakia Slovakia 5,273 54,000
HungaryHungary Hungary 13,159 50,000
Czech RepublicCzech Republic Czech Republic 12,220 40,000
total 112,983 1,147,000
Net migration to the UK

The future relationship of the United Kingdom to the European Union became another central topic. Pressure from UKIP and EU-skeptical MPs in his own party forced Prime Minister Cameron to take increasingly critical positions in order to take the wind out of the sails of the critics. Cameron spoke out against further deepening the European Union towards a political union. A central point of contention became the freedom of establishment , which allows citizens of the European Union to settle in the United Kingdom. Many citizens, especially those of Eastern and Southeastern European countries, made use of this after the EU enlargement in 2004 . A particularly large number of Poles had migrated to the United Kingdom, which in some cases triggered xenophobic reactions and fears about competition for work. In the winter before the election, speculation was expressed that naturalized Poles could have a significant impact on the election results in individual constituencies. However, this was contradicted by studies according to which only around 5% of all Polish migrants also have the right to vote. Cameron advocated restricting free movement within the European Union, but met with rejection from his EU colleagues, especially Chancellor Angela Merkel , who described the principle of free movement as non-negotiable. The migration of Bulgarians and Romanians to the United Kingdom also aroused criticism from large parts of the British public, even though their absolute numbers were far lower than those of other migrants, so that the ambassadors of these two countries eventually made critical remarks about the negative image of their compatriots saw prompting in the British public. The topic of “migration” was also used extensively by UKIP to draw attention to the alleged disadvantages of membership in the EU.

At the EU special summit in April 2015, Cameron voted against the idea that refugees arriving across the Mediterranean should be more equitably distributed among the EU countries. Great Britain has taken in significantly fewer refugees than other EU countries to date.

Nick Clegg for the Liberal Democrats warned of the grave consequences of an exit from the EU for the British economy ( "a terrible thing for the British economy" ) and his party colleague Edward Davey questioned the coalition with the Conservatives if they were to continue in a referendum exist about leaving the EU. Former Prime Minister Tony Blair (Labor) warned that just announcing an EU referendum would cause “economic chaos”. The persistent group of “Europhobics” could never be satisfied even with a referendum.

Opinion polls and coalition considerations

In opinion polls in the months leading up to the election, the two main opponents and parties were head to head. Prime Minister Cameron had a higher approval rating than his party; in the case of Miliband and his party Labor it was exactly the opposite, which is why there was repeated talk of a leadership problem for the Labor Party. Over time, the lead Labor had had over the Conservatives in all opinion polls since 2011 has steadily decreased.

Summary of opinion polls since the 2010 election:
             Labor Party              Conservative party              UKIP              Liberal Democrats              Green party

Many scenarios after the election appeared conceivable. Almost all opinion polls in the months leading up to the election predicted a new hung parliament , in which no party would win an absolute majority of the parliamentary seats. Therefore, there was intense speculation about possible coalitions. In early March, Prime Minister Cameron accused Miliband of not ruling out a possible coalition with the Scottish National Party (SNP), a party that seeks to dissolve the United Kingdom. The statement came after the announcement of an election forecast that predicted an extensive national victory for the SNP in Scotland with 56 of the 59 constituencies. Lord Ashcroft , former treasurer of the Conservative Party, called the scenario of a coalition of Labor and SNP a "nightmare" in an interview with the Independent and discussed the possibility of a grand coalition - Conservatives and Labor. In a speech on April 21, 2015, the former Conservative Prime Minister John Major warned that if Labor were to work with the SNP, it would be exposed to daily blackmail from the SNP ( “a daily dose of blackmail” ) and increasingly to the left through the SNP would be pushed away. For this, the people in England, Wales and Northern Ireland in particular would have to be financially responsible, which was "not fair". Labor top candidate Miliband said in a statement that a coalition between Labor and the SNP "will not take place". He did not address the possibility of the SNP tolerating a Labor minority government. In the television debate on April 30, 2015 (see below), however, Miliband decided that with him as Prime Minister there would be no cooperation with the SNP. Conversely, Miliband accused the conservatives of unnecessarily upgrading the SNP with their talk in order to harm Labor. But this would also damage the unity of the United Kingdom. In a speech on April 23, 2015, the former Labor Prime Minister Gordon Brown also ruled out cooperation with the SNP and accused the conservatives of wanting to play off “English nationalism” against “Scottish nationalism”.

Peter Robinson , the leader of the fourth largest party in terms of number of MPs, the Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), ruled out his party's participation in a coalition government. Nevertheless, UKIP party leader Nigel Farage spoke in mid-March for an agreement between the "EU skeptics", i. H. Conservatives, DUP and UKIP out. He rejected a formal coalition with the Conservatives, but offered support from a conservative minority government if a referendum was held in 2015 on whether the United Kingdom would leave the EU. A coalition between UKIP and Conservatives was ruled out by Prime Minister Cameron.

The Liberal Democrats are betting on becoming the “liberal corrective” in a coalition government again. In a speech on April 15, 2015, party leader Nick Clegg said that the election was not just a choice of prime minister (Cameron or Miliband), but also because neither Labor nor the Tories could hope for an absolute majority of the seats over who theirs Coalition partner would be. Here he, Nigel Farage or Alex Salmond (SNP) would be available. The Liberal Democrats would provide “more heart” in a coalition with the Conservatives and “more brain” in a coalition with Labor ( “The Liberal Democrats will add a heart to a Conservative government and add a brain to a Labor one”) ). Most opinion polls predicted, however, that even a coalition of the Liberal Democrats with one of the two major parties would not have a majority of the seats alone, so that individual LibDem party members were in favor of not participating in the government in this case.

The green parties of England and Wales , Scotland and Northern Ireland , like the SNP and Plaid Cymru, rejected the austerity policy and also categorically rejected future support for a Tory-led government. There was speculation and some of its representatives directly stated that these parties could support a Labor minority government. The Greens were, however, given a maximum of one or two constituencies.

Relative majority voting makes it very uncertain about the seats in parliament. In view of the possibility of multi-party coalitions or the prospect of a minority government after the election, a few people were already thinking out loud about the possibility of new elections soon, similar to that which was the case after the general election in February 1974 . However, a new election at short notice through the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act 2011 (see above) would be much more difficult to initiate than it was before 2011.

Television debates

After Prime Minister Cameron, in particular, had for a long time been hostile to a central television debate with his adversary Miliband, an agreement was announced on March 21. Accordingly, two television debates should take place. The first debate on ITV on April 3, 2015 was supposed to be attended by seven party leaders: David Cameron (Con), Ed Miliband (Lab), Nick Clegg (LibDem), Nigel Farage (UKIP), Nicola Sturgeon (SNP), Natalie Bennett (Greens ) and Leanne Wood (Plaid Cymru). On April 16, 2015, another debate was to take place on BBC television with five party leaders of the previous opposition (Miliband, Farage, Sturgeon, Bennett, Wood). In addition, two public Q&A sessions with David Cameron and Ed Miliband - not as a television duel , but as an individual survey - were arranged on Channel 4 and Sky News on March 26, 2015 and April 30, 2015. The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) - Northern Ireland's largest party - said it was considering legal action for not participating in the debates.

The first Question Time on March 26, 2015, at which Cameron and Miliband were interviewed by moderator Jeremy Paxman , was considered largely undecided overall. Cameron stalled when asked if he could make a living from a low-wage job. Miliband struggled when he was faced with doubts as to whether he had the leadership skills necessary to become prime minister.

On April 3, 2015, the big round of party leaders took place, in which the well-known issues of economic and social policy, immigration and the NHS took place.

The television debate on April 16, 2015, in which only the representatives of the previous opposition parties took part, was much more emotionally charged and lively. Nigel Farage went on a confrontational course and accused the entire panel and the local audience, which had been selected by the "left-leaning" BBC, of "a total lack of comprehension" . Nicola Sturgeon (SNP) accused Farage of creating an artificial bogeyman with his attacks against immigrants, instead of discussing the issue properly . The prevailing housing shortage is not due to immigrants, but to government failures. The NHS became the subject of discussion again. Sturgeon accused Miliband of not wanting to provide the NHS with the necessary funding. Natalie Bennett (Greens) criticized Labor plans to partially privatize NHS services and rejected any profit orientation in the health sector for the Greens. Miliband stressed that he had always fought against the Tories, while the SNP helped to overthrow the Labor government under James Callaghan in 1979 (which at the time marked the beginning of Margaret Thatcher's reign and the following 18 years of conservative rule).

On April 30, seven days before the election date, there was another question time broadcast nationwide. David Cameron, Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg were interviewed individually and separately from an audience. Cameron stated that his goal was to get an absolute majority for the Conservatives so that they would not have to rely on a coalition. He admitted that there had been hardships with spending cuts in recent years, but avoided stating whether the government was planning a cut in child benefits . He reiterated his intention to hold a referendum on EU membership. This is not negotiable for him. The economic policy course, which had been successful, must be continued. At the beginning of his government he encountered an economic disaster from the previous Labor government. To prove this, Cameron pulled a letter from former Chief Secretary to the Treasury Liam Byrne (Labor) to his successor in office, David Laws , in which he laconically stated that there was no more money in the till ( “Dear Chief Secretary, I'm afraid there is no money. " ). This letter, which Cameron had previously shown on other occasions, was described by Miliband as "the usual prop" ( "Cameron's regular prop" ). Miliband insisted that the budget deficit was caused not by excessive government spending under the previous Labor government, but by the global financial crisis. For this, however, he was partly sharply criticized by the audience and accused of lying. Miliband decided that he would not lead a Labor government if it were dependent on an agreement with the SNP. Nick Clegg again presented the election not only as an election of the prime minister, but also as one of the coalition partner. The Liberal Democrats, in contrast to the other potential coalition partners (SNP, UKIP), would ensure political moderation. Clegg stated that he would only want to agree to the holding of an EU referendum if it were about the transfer of further national competences to Brussels.

Election recommendations

National daily newspapers

newspaper Choice recommendation annotation link
Daily Express UKIP [1]
Daily Mail Conservative Party ,
in selected UKIP
constituencies 		Recommends conservative voters support UKIP in Heywood and Middleton , Dudley North and Great Grimsby constituencies . [2]
Daily Mirror Labor Party [3]
The Daily Telegraph Conservative party Support the Conservatives, which the newspaper sees as the party that offers stability and opportunity. [4]
Financial Times Conservative Party
or
Liberal Democrats 		Supports a conservative-liberal democratic coalition. Supports Liberal Democrats candidates in constituencies where they hold seats in parliament or are promising candidates. [5]
The Guardian Labor Party In 2010 the Guardian still supported the Liberal Democrats. In constituencies where the Liberal Democrats or the Greens are the most promising candidates against the Conservatives, the newspaper recommends supporting the former. [6]
The Independent Liberal Democrats Supports a new edition of the conservative-liberal democratic coalition because of their economic policy and because of the opposition to Scottish nationalism. The Independent speaks out primarily for the Liberal Democrats - according to the motto: "Much less conservative, and much more liberal". [7]
Morning Star Labor Party [8th]
The Sun Conservative party The Scottish edition supports the SNP. [9]
The Times Conservative party Promotes a coalition of Conservatives and Liberal Democrats. The Times also calls on conservative voters to support the Liberal Democratic party leader Nick Clegg in his constituency in Sheffield so that he can keep his parliamentary seat. [10]

National Sunday newspapers

newspaper Choice recommendation annotation link
Daily Star Sunday No
Independent on Sunday No In 2015, the newspaper refrained from making an election recommendation.
The Observer Labor Party [11]
Sunday People Labor Party [12]
The Sunday Express UKIP [13]
Sunday Mirror Labor Party [14]
Sunday Telegraph Conservative party [15]
The Sunday Times Conservative party [16]

Magazines

magazine Choice recommendation annotation link
The Economist Conservative party Approves a conservative-led coalition government. [17]
New Statesman Labor Party [18]
The Spectator Conservative party [19]

English newspapers

newspaper Choice recommendation annotation link
City AM Conservative party [20]
Evening Standard Conservative party Recommends that voters from London vote for the Conservatives in the interests of the capital. For tactical reasons, however, Liberal Democrats should be elected in some constituencies. [21]
Express and Star No [22]
Liverpool echo Labor Party
Manchester Evening News No
metro Conservative party
Yorkshire Post Conservative party Advocates a continuation of the conservative-liberal coalition. [23]
Liberal Democrats

Northern Irish Newspapers

newspaper Choice recommendation annotation link
The Belfast Telegraph No [24]
The Irish News No
The News Letter No Support unionist candidates. [25]

Scottish newspapers

newspaper Choice recommendation annotation link
Daily Record Labor Party [26]
The Herald No Advocates electoral reform that does justice to the multi-party system. Under the current system, the Herald advises voters to vote for whatever parliamentary candidate they think is the best. [27]
The Scottish Sun SNP The edition in England supports the Conservatives [28]
Scotland on Sunday No Draws attention to the uncertainties of the consequences of the alternative choices and suggests the simplest solution to choose the party that comes closest to your own convictions. [29]
The Scotsman No Warns against tactical voting behavior, as the voter cannot be sure whether the result will be what they want. [30]
Sunday Herald SNP [31]
Sunday Mail SNP [32]

Results

Nationwide results

The table below shows the nationwide results. A total of 46,425,386 people were eligible to vote in the United Kingdom. The turnout was 66.1%. The Conservatives were able to post a net gain of 24 constituencies (21 of them in England, 3 in Wales) with a moderate gain of 0.8% and thus achieved an absolute majority of the parliamentary seats (absolute majority:> 325 seats). Labor also gained some votes (+ 1.5%) and was able to post a net gain of 14 constituencies in England and Wales. However, this did not make up for the heavy losses of 40 constituencies in Scotland, so Labor lost a total of 26 constituencies. The Scottish National Party rose to become the third largest group in Westminster. The Liberal Democrats, who had previously held this position, have been reduced to a small splinter group. Despite a significant increase in votes, the Greens were only able to win one single constituency, Brighton Pavilion , which they won in 2010 with Caroline Lucas . The hoped-for constituencies of Bristol West and Norwich South could not win the Greens. UKIP won only one constituency, Clacton in eastern England with candidate Douglas Carswell , despite almost 3.9 million votes .

Nationwide constituency results. The Buckingham constituency of speaker John Bercow , who was elected to the House of Commons for the Conservatives, is shown in light gray
Composition of the newly elected lower house:
Government (330) Conservatives 330
 		Opposition (319, real 315) † Labor 232 Scottish National Party 56 Liberal Democrats 8 Democratic Unionist Party 8 Plaid Cymru 3 Ulster Unionist Party 2 Sinn Féin 4 SDLP 3 UKIP 1 Green Party 1 Independent 1











Speaker 1
† The 4 Sinn Féin MPs do not take their seats in Westminster because they refuse to be sworn in to the British crown.
UK House of Commons election result in 2015
Political party Mandates (constituencies) be right
All in all Added to
that 		Lost +/- number % +/-
Conservative party 331 35 11   24 11,334,920 36.9%   0.8%
Labor Party 232 22nd 48   26 9,344,328 30.4%   1.5%
Scottish National Party 56 50 0   50 1,454,436 4.7%   3.1%
Liberal Democrats 8th 0 49   49 2,415,888 7.9%   15.2%
Democratic Unionist Party 8th 1 1 0 184,260 0.6% 0.0%
Sinn Féin 4th 0 1   1 176.232 0.6% 0.0%
Plaid Cymru 3 0 0 0 181,694 0.6% 0.0%
Social Democratic and Labor Party 3 0 0 0 99,809 0.3% 0.0%
Ulster Unionist Party 2 2 0   2 114.935 0.4% 0.0%
UK Independence Party 1 1 0   1 3,881,129 12.6%   9.5%
Green parties 1 0 0 0 1,157,613 3.8%   2.8%
Alliance Party of Northern Ireland 0 0 1   1 61,556 0.2%   0.1%
Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition 0 0 0 0 36,327 0.1%   0.1%
National Health Action 0 0 0 0 20,210 0.1% 0.0%
Traditional Unionist Voice 0 0 0 0 16,538 0.1% 0.0%
Respect party 0 0 0 0 9,989 0.0%   0.1%
Cannabis Is Safer Than Alcohol 0 0 0 0 8,419 0.0% 0.0%
Yorkshire First 0 0 0 0 6,811 0.0% 0.0%
English Democrats 0 0 0 0 6,531 0.0%   0.2%
Monster Raving Loony Party 0 0 0 0 3,898 0.0% 0.0%
Socialist Labor Party 0 0 0 0 3,481 0.0% 0.0%
Christian Peoples Alliance 0 0 0 0 3,260 0.0% 0.0%
Christian party 0 0 0 0 3,205 0.0%   0.1%
Workers' Party of Ireland 0 0 0 0 2,724 0.0% 0.0%
British National Party 0 0 0 0 1,667 0.0%   1.9%
Class War 0 0 0 0 526 0.0% 0.0%
Other 1 0 0 0 164,826 0.5%   0.3%
total 650 111 111 30,695,212 100.0%

England

England is divided into 533 constituencies. 38,811,622 people were eligible to vote in England. The turnout was 65.9%. In England, the Conservatives achieved significantly better results than the national average (41.0% instead of 36.9% of the vote). UKIP also performed noticeably better (14.1% instead of 12.6%).

Constituency results in England
UK House of Commons election result 2015 in England
Political party Mandates (constituencies) be right
All in all Added to
that 		Lost +/- number % +/-
Conservative party 319 32 11   21 10,483,555 41.0%   1.4%
Labor Party 206 21st 6th   15 8,084,708 31.6%   3.6%
Liberal Democrats 6th 0 37   37 2,098,430 8.2%   16.0%
UK Independence Party 1 1 0   1 3,611,367 14.1%   10.7%
Green Party of England and Wales 1 0 0 0 1,073,242 4.2%   3.2%
Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition 0 0 0 0 32,877 0.1%   0.1%
National Health Action 0 0 0 0 20,210 0.1% 0.0%
Respect 0 0 0 0 9,989 0.0%   0.1%
Yorkshire First 0 0 0 0 6,811 0.0% 0.0%
English Democrats 0 0 0 0 6,431 0.0%   0.2%
Cannabis Is Safer Than Alcohol 0 0 0 0 4,569 0.0% 0.0%
Monster Raving Loony Party 0 0 0 0 3,432 0.0% 0.0%
Christian Peoples Alliance 0 0 0 0 3,260 0.0% 0.0%
British National Party 0 0 0 0 1,667 0.0%   2.1%
Class War 0 0 0 0 526 0.0% 0.0%
Other 0 0 0 0 127.137 0.5%   0.2%
total 533 54 54 25,568,211 100.0%

Scotland

Scotland has 59 constituencies. In Scotland 4,094,784 people were eligible to vote and the turnout was 71.1%. In Scotland, the SNP showed a victory on a broad front. In the previous general election in 2010, the SNP had won 19.9% ​​of the vote and 6 out of 59 constituencies. The dominant party in Scotland at the time was the Labor Party (42% of the vote, 41 constituencies). The Liberal Democrats had also done above average in Scotland at that time (18.9% share of the vote, 11 constituencies). The 2011 parliamentary elections in Scotland showed a turnaround. This election was won by the SNP. Since the independence referendum in September of the previous year, which was mainly driven by the SNP, the party and its party leader Nicola Sturgeon have been on a wave of popularity. In the current election, it won 50% of the vote and 56 out of 59 constituencies (95%). The only three Scottish constituencies that went to other parties were Orkney & Shetlands (Liberal Democrats), Edinburgh South (Labor) and, on the border with England, Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale & Tweeddale (Conservatives). The election result also showed again that the EU-critical UKIP has only a relatively small number of supporters in Scotland (1.6% of the vote, compared to around 14% of the vote in England and Wales).

Constituency results in Scotland
UK House of Commons election result 2015 in Scotland
Political party Mandates (constituencies) be right
All in all Added to
that 		Lost +/- number % +/-
Scottish National Party 56 50 0   50 1,454,436 50.0%   30.0%
Labor Party 1 0 40   40 707.147 24.3%   17.7%
Conservative party 1 0 0 0 434.097 14.9%   1.8%
Liberal Democrats 1 0 10   10 219,675 7.5%   11.3%
UKIP 0 0 0 0 47,078 1.6%   0.9%
Scottish Green Party 0 0 0 0 39.205 1.3%   0.7%
Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition 0 0 0 0 1,720 0.1%   0.1%
Other 0 0 0 0 7.107 0.2%   0.2%
total 59 50 50 2,910,465 100.0%

Wales

Wales has 40 constituencies. In Wales, 2,282,297 people were eligible to vote. The turnout was 65.7%. The Labor Party remained the dominant party in Wales in terms of votes and constituencies, but the Conservatives won the Central Wales constituency Brecon & Radnorshire from the Liberal Democrats and the two constituencies Vale of Clwyd in North Wales and Gower in South Wales from Labor win. It was the best Conservative election in Wales in 30 years.

Constituency results in Wales
UK House of Commons election result 2015 in Wales
Political party Mandates (constituencies) be right
All in all Added to
that 		Lost +/- number % +/-
Labor Party 25th 1 2   1 552.473 36.9%   0.6%
Conservative party 11 3 0   3 408.213 27.2%   1.1%
Plaid Cymru 3 0 0 0 181,694 12.1%   0.8%
Liberal Democrats 1 0 2   2 97,783 6.5%   13.6%
UK Independence Party 0 0 0 0 204,360 13.6%   11.2%
Green Party of England and Wales 0 0 0 0 38,344 2.6%   2.1%
Socialist Labor Party 0 0 0 0 3,481 0.2%   0.2%
Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition 0 0 0 0 1,730 0.1%   0.1%
Other 0 0 0 0 10,355 0.7%   0.5%
total 40 4th 4th 1,498,433 100.0%

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland has 18 constituencies. In Northern Ireland, 1,236,683 people were eligible to vote. The turnout was 58.1%. Sinn Féin lost the constituencies of Fermanagh and South Tyrone to the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP). In this constituency an electoral alliance of UUP and DUP with the common candidate Rodney Connor (UUP) stood against the Sinn Féin candidate Michelle Gildernew. In the 2010 election, Sinn Féin won this constituency extremely narrowly with a majority of only 4 votes. A joint (UUP) candidate from the two unionist parties was also successful in the Newry and Armagh constituency . It was the first two constituency wins of the UUP in lower house elections since 2005. The DUP was able to win back the constituency of Belfast East , in which a candidate of the Alliance Party had been successful in 2010.

Constituency results in Northern Ireland
Result of the election to the House of Commons in the United Kingdom 2015 in Northern Ireland
Political party Mandates (constituencies) be right
All in all Added to
that 		Lost +/- number % +/-
Democratic Unionist Party 8th 1 1 0 184,260 25.7%   0.7%
Sinn Féin 4th 0 1   1 176.232 24.5%   1.0%
Social Democratic and Labor Party 3 0 0 0 99,809 13.9%   2.6%
Ulster Unionist Party 2 2 0   2 114.935 16.0%   0.8%
Alliance Party of Northern Ireland 0 0 1   1 61,556 8.6%   2.2%
UK Independence Party 0 0 0 0 18,324 2.6%   2.6%
Traditional Unionist Voice 0 0 0 0 16,538 2.3%   1.6%
Conservative party 0 0 0 0 9,055 1.3%   1.3%
Green Party in Northern Ireland 0 0 0 0 6,822 1.0%   0.4%
Workers' Party of Ireland 0 0 0 0 2,724 0.4%   0.4%
Cannabis Is Safer Than Alcohol 0 0 0 0 1,853 0.3%   0.3%
Other 1 0 0 0 25,995 3.6%   3.5%
total 18th 3 3 718.103 100.0%

After the election

After the election results consolidated and the victory of the Conservatives became a certainty, some party leaders of the losing parties took action and announced their resignation. Ed Miliband took "full responsibility" for the Labor defeat. He thanked all his staff and Labor activists and said it was time for someone else to lead the Labor Party. His deputy Harriet Harman would temporarily take over the party leadership. Even if Labor lost the election, the issues Labor fought for are still topical.

Effect of simple majority voting ( “first-past-the-post” ) in elections:
inner circle: votes,
outer circle: won parliamentary seats

Nick Clegg described the election results as "immeasurably more crushing" than he could ever have imagined. In an emotional address, he said that he was convinced that later history books would positively assess the achievements of the Liberal Democrats in their reign. They had made the UK a little more liberal and greener.

After it became clear that Nigel Farage had not achieved his personal goal of winning the English constituency of Thanet South , he went ahead with his announcement and announced his resignation from the UKIP party leadership. He left a later re-application open. He also stated that the election result showed that the current electoral system was “bankrupt” ( “Personally, I think the first-past-the-post system is bankrupt” ). This was a point that many commentators pointed out. The asymmetry that a party like the Northern Irish DUP won 8 seats with 184,260 votes - exactly as many as the Liberal Democrats with 2.4 million votes - while UKIP won only one seat with 3.9 million votes, as well as the fact that The fact that the conservatives won the election with just under 37% of the vote with an absolute majority of the seats is simply deeply undemocratic and in need of reform.

The victorious old and new Prime Minister Cameron promised in a speech to create an “even greater Britain” ( “Together we can make Great Britain greater still.” ) And appealed to the unity of the nation in view of the election victory of the separatist SNP ( “We will govern as a party of one nation, one United Kingdom. " ). He promised to implement the promised transfer of powers to the regional governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, but urged fairness to England. He also renewed his promise of a referendum on EU membership.

Given the very narrow majority of the Conservatives (only six seats above the absolute majority), political commentators also warned of the fate of the Conservative Major government , which started with a similarly narrow parliamentary majority after the 1992 general election. After that, John Major came under increasing pressure from the Eurosceptics in his party and his room for maneuver was noticeably restricted. In various by-elections, his government finally lost the majority and was dependent on the support of the Northern Irish Unionists . The future Cameron government could also be blackmailed by internal groups in the Conservative Party due to its very narrow majority.

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

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