United Kingdom general election, 2001

1997 election

2001 election

2005 election

Tony Blair

William Hague

Charles Kennedy

The UK general election, 2001 was held on 7 June 2001 and was dubbed "the quiet landslide" by the media. There was little change at all outside Northern Ireland (which mostly has different parties and a different electoral landscape from the rest of the UK although a few UK-wide parties stand with minimal success). 620 out of 641 seats remained with the same party as they had been in 1997. The elections were marked by apathy from the voting public, with turnout falling by to 59%, the lowest since 1918. Throughout the election the Labour Party had maintained a significant lead in the opinion polls and the result was deemed to be so certain that some bookmakers paid out for a Labour majority before the election day. Labour retained almost all of its support and the only region where the Conservatives overtook Labour in terms of votes was Eastern England; which Labour had marginally taken in 1997. In Southern parts of England Conservative support increased but only marginally.

The election had been expected in May, to coincide with local elections, but both were postponed because of rural movement restrictions imposed in response to a foot and mouth outbreak. One of the more noted events of a quiet campaign was when a countryside protester Craig Evans threw an egg at Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott in Rhyl; Prescott then punched him and a struggle ensued, in front of television cameras. The 2001 Election also saw the rare election of an independent. Dr. Richard Taylor of Independent Kidderminster Hospital Health Concern unseated a government minister. There was also a high vote for British National Party leader Nick Griffin in Oldham, in the wake of recent race riots in the town.

Labour enjoyed its second landslide victory in a row, maintaining its position from the previous election. Tony Blair became the first Labour prime minister to win enough seats to have a full second consecutive term in office. Labour won a majority of 167 overall (previously 179) and 247 over the Conservatives (previously 254).

The Conservatives netted a gain of only 1 seat after their crushing defeat of 1997 (gaining a few seats from Labour, but losing to the Liberal Democrats). Conservative leader William Hague resigned immediately, becoming the first Conservative leader since Austen Chamberlain not to become Prime Minister. The Liberal Democrats, under Charles Kennedy, made a gain of 6 more seats from their already historical high of 1997. With 52 seats, the Lib Dems pushed open even more the door to genuine 'three party politics', having the best third party result since the 1920s.

In Northern Ireland, the election was far more dramatic and marked a move by unionists away from support for the Good Friday Agreement, with the moderate unionist UUP losing to the more hardline DUP. This polarisation was also seen in the nationalist community, with the SDLP vote losing out to the hardline republican Sinn Féin. It also saw a tightening of the parties as the small UK Unionist Party lost its only seat.

Results

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