2010 United Kingdom general election — election of members to the House of Commons in 2010
The 2010 UK general election produced the first hung parliament since February 1974, leading to the first peacetime coalition government formed directly from a UK election result.
Key Facts
- MPs elected
- 650
- Conservative seats won
- 306 seats
- New MPs elected
- 228 (record)
- Swing from Labour to Conservative
- 5.1%
- MPs who stood down
- 149 (highest since 1945)
- Third-party vote share
- 35% (largest since 1918)
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Years of Labour government under Gordon Brown, compounded by the 2008 financial crisis, a parliamentary expenses scandal that drove 149 sitting MPs to stand down, and growing public appetite for change, eroded Labour's electoral dominance and created conditions for a highly competitive three-party contest.
On 6 May 2010, UK voters elected 650 MPs to the House of Commons. The Conservatives won 306 seats—the most of any party—but fell short of the 326 needed for a majority, producing the first hung parliament since February 1974. First-ever televised leaders' debates marked the campaign, and a record 228 new MPs entered parliament.
The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats negotiated a formal coalition agreement over five days, forming the first UK coalition government to result directly from a general election. Gordon Brown resigned as Labour leader to facilitate coalition talks. The Conservative-led government remained in office for 14 years, and many of the 2010 intake went on to serve as Prime Minister, Chancellor, or in other senior Cabinet roles.
Political Outcome
Hung parliament; Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition government formed, the first such coalition resulting directly from a UK general election since the modern party system
Labour majority government under Gordon Brown
Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition government under David Cameron