137-527: Sir Samuel Hill Hill-Wood, 1st Baronet (21 March 1872 – 4 January 1949) was a British businessman, Conservative politician, cricketer and football club chairman. Wood was born in Glossop , Derbyshire , the son of Samuel Wood, a cotton manufacturer and his wife Annie. His father made his fortune in the cotton industry in Derbyshire during the late 19th century. Samuel Hill Wood was educated at Eton College and
274-459: A Slip 'N Slide , while drawing attention to deteriorating mental health among children. On 23 May, Sunak said that before the election there would be no flights to Rwanda for those seeking asylum . Immigration figures were published for 2023 showing immigration remained at historically high levels, but had fallen compared to 2022. Nigel Farage announced that he would not be standing in the general election, preferring to focus on campaigning for
411-542: A distinct set of political parties , Sinn Féin retained its seven seats and therefore became the largest party; this was the first election in which an Irish nationalist party won the most seats in Northern Ireland. The Democratic Unionist Party won five seats, a reduction from eight at the 2019 general election . The Social Democratic and Labour Party won two seats, and the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland ,
548-689: A united Ireland as well as Scottish and Welsh independence , and has been critical of devolution . Historically, the party supported the continuance and maintenance of the British Empire . The party has taken various approaches towards the European Union (EU), with eurosceptic and, to a decreasing extent, pro-European factions within it. Historically, the party took a socially conservative approach. In defence policy, it supports an independent nuclear weapons programme and commitment to NATO membership. For much of modern British political history,
685-791: A voter identification requirement in Great Britain. These changes were included in the Elections Act 2022 . The Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies , which proposed reducing the number of constituencies from 650 to 600, commenced in 2011 but temporarily stopped in January 2013. Following the 2015 general election , each of the four parliamentary boundary commissions of the United Kingdom recommenced their review process in April 2016. The four commissions submitted their final recommendations to
822-522: A "nuclear deterrent triple lock", including building four new nuclear submarines. A YouGov poll conducted on the same day put Labour on course for the party's biggest election victory in history, beating Tony Blair 's 1997 landslide . On 4 June, Farage launched his campaign in Clacton. He predicted the previous day that Reform UK would be the Official Opposition following the election as opposed to
959-508: A 18-week NHS waiting target within five years of a Labour government. Labour also pledged to double the number of NHS scanners in England. On the same day Starmer denied that Diane Abbott had been blocked as a candidate amid differing reports. Abbott had been elected as a Labour MP, but had been suspended from the parliamentary party for a brief period. There was controversy about further Labour Party candidate selections, with several candidates on
1096-588: A coalition with the Liberal Democrats —the first postwar coalition government . Cameron's premiership was marked by the ongoing effects of the 2007–2008 financial crisis ; these involved a large deficit in government finances that his government sought to reduce through controversial austerity measures . In September 2014, the Unionist side, championed by Labour as well as by the Conservative Party and
1233-460: A coalition government. Labour won the October 1974 election with an overall majority of three seats. Loss of power weakened Heath's control over the party and Margaret Thatcher deposed him in the 1975 leadership election . Thatcher led her party to victory at the 1979 general election with a manifesto which concentrated on the party's philosophy. As Prime Minister, Thatcher focused on rejecting
1370-559: A decrease in their popularity in opinion polling, with multiple party leaders and First Ministers ( Nicola Sturgeon , Humza Yousaf and John Swinney ) and the Operation Branchform police investigation. Sturgeon claimed occupational burnout was the reason for her resignation, while Yousaf resigned amid a government crisis following his termination of a power-sharing agreement with the Scottish Greens . When Swinney assumed
1507-417: A disproven claim that Labour would cost households £2000 more in tax. Keir Starmer used the word "change" as his campaign slogan and offered voters the chance to "turn the page" by voting Labour. The Liberal Democrat campaign led by Ed Davey was dominated by his campaign stunts, which were used to bring attention to campaign topics. When asked about these stunts, Davey said: "Politicians need to take
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#17329317339141644-514: A draft Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 (Repeal) Bill, later retitled the Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022 . This entered into force on 24 March 2022. Thus, the prime minister can again request the monarch to dissolve Parliament and call an early election with 25 working days' notice. Section 4 of the Act provided: "If it has not been dissolved earlier, a Parliament dissolves at the beginning of
1781-509: A green society, a wealth tax , a carbon tax, and a windfall tax on the profit of banks. The manifesto promises quicker access to NHS dentistry and GPs and reductions in the hospital waiting list. They would also reach net zero by 2040 and introduce rent controls. On 12 June, Conservative minister Grant Shapps said in a radio interview that voters should support the Conservatives so as to prevent Labour winning "a super-majority", meaning
1918-665: A large majority (the UK Parliament does not have any formal supermajority rules). This was interpreted by journalists as a possible and surprising admission of defeat. It paralleled social media advertising by the Conservatives that also focused on urging votes not to give Starmer a large majority. On 13 June, Starmer released the Labour Party manifesto Change , which focused on economic growth, planning system reforms, infrastructure, clean energy, healthcare, education, childcare, crime, and strengthening workers' rights. It pledged
2055-560: A large majority at the 2019 general election and the new government passed the Brexit withdrawal agreement . The COVID-19 pandemic saw the government institute public-health restrictions , including limitations on social interaction, that Johnson and some of his staff were later found to have broken . The resulting political scandal ( Partygate ), one of many in a string of controversies that characterised Johnson's premiership , damaged his personal reputation. The situation escalated with
2192-408: A leadership challenge in 1995 by Redwood, but Redwood received 89 votes, further undermining Major's influence. The Conservative government was increasingly accused in the media of " sleaze ". Their support reached its lowest ebb in late 1994. Over the next two years the Conservatives gained some credit for the strong economic recovery and fall in unemployment. But an effective opposition campaign by
2329-469: A meeting of the Privy Council on 15 November 2023 and came into force on 29 November 2023, meaning that the election was contested on these new boundaries. The election was contested under new constituency boundaries established by the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies . Consequently, media outlets reported seat gains and losses as compared to notional results . These are estimates of
2466-428: A narrow victory at the 1951 general election , despite losing the popular vote, Churchill was back in power. Apart from rationing, which was ended in 1954, most of the welfare state enacted by Labour were accepted by the Conservatives and became part of the "post-war consensus" that was satirised as Butskellism and that lasted until the 1970s. The Conservatives were conciliatory towards unions, but they did privatise
2603-507: A net gain of one seat for the Conservative Party and returned a mostly unscathed Labour Party back to government. This all occurred months after the fuel protests of September 2000 had seen the Conservatives briefly take a narrow lead over Labour in the opinion polls. In 2001, Iain Duncan Smith was elected leader of the party. Although Duncan Smith was a strong Eurosceptic , during his tenure, Europe ceased to be an issue of division in
2740-624: A new publicly owned energy company ( Great British Energy ) and National Wealth Fund , a ''Green Prosperity Plan", rebuilding the NHS and reducing patient waiting times, free breakfast clubs in primary schools, investing in green infrastructure, innovation, training and skills across the UK to boost economic growth, and renationalisation of the railway network ( Great British Railways ). It includes wealth creation and "pro-business and pro-worker" policies. The manifesto also pledged to give votes to 16-year olds, reform
2877-562: A political comeback that won them the 1951 general election . In 1947, the party published its Industrial Charter which marked its acceptance of the " post-war consensus " on the mixed economy and labour rights . David Maxwell Fyfe chaired a committee into Conservative Party organisation that resulted in the Maxwell Fyfe Report (1948–49). The report required the party to do more fundraising, by forbidding constituency associations from demanding large donations from candidates, with
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#17329317339143014-493: A qualified mental health counsellor, boosting preventative mental health services, transforming NHS dentistry, legislating for a progressive ban on smoking (a bill proposed by the Conservative government which had not passed before Parliament was prorogued ), banning junk food advertising to children, and banning energy drinks for under 16s. Labour released its plan for small business on 8 June, which included pledges to replace
3151-475: A record 42.6% of the vote in the election: the Liberal Democrats , led by Ed Davey , made the most significant gains, of seventy-two seats, with a total of 3.5 million votes; like Labour, this represented a decline in their vote from 2019. It was the party's best-ever result and made it the third-largest party in the Commons, a status it had previously held but lost at the 2015 general election . Reform UK achieved
3288-567: A result of the netting and an overthrow clocked up ten – a feat which was originally included in the Guinness Book of Records . Wood was a right hand batsman and played 54 innings in 24 first-class matches, with an average of 17.62 and a top score of 81 not out. He took no wickets in the 93 balls he bowled. Under his captaincy Derbyshire were fifteenth in the County Championship in 1899, thirteenth in 1900 and back to fifteenth in 1901. Wood
3425-429: A sizable discount. The new owners were more likely to vote Conservative, as Thatcher had hoped. Thatcher led the Conservatives to two further electoral victories in 1983 and 1987 . She was deeply unpopular in certain sections of society due to high unemployment and her response to the miners' strike . Unemployment had doubled between 1979 and 1982, largely due to Thatcher's monetarist battle against inflation. At
3562-680: A tutoring guarantee for children from low-income families), increased funding for public services, tax reforms, reaching net zero by 2045 (5 years before the current government target of 2050), investing in green infrastructure, innovation, training and skills across the UK to boost economic growth, and removing the two-child limit on tax and benefits . The Liberal Democrats also offered a lifelong skills grant, giving adults £5,000 to spend on improving their skills. The party wants electoral reform, and pledged to introduce proportional representation for electing MPs, and local councillors in England, and cap donations to political parties. Sunak released
3699-491: Is already incorporated in the 2023 and 2024 budget . Carla Denyer and Adrian Ramsay released the Green Party's manifesto Real Hope. Real Change. on 12 June, which pledged more taxes on the highest earners, generating £70 billion a year to help tackle climate change and the NHS. They also pledged increased spending for public services, free personal care in England, renationalisation of railway, water and energy,
3836-534: The Quarterly Review in 1830. The name immediately caught on and was formally adopted under the aegis of Robert Peel around 1834. Peel is acknowledged as the founder of the Conservative Party, which he created with the announcement of the Tamworth Manifesto . The term "Conservative Party" rather than Tory was the dominant usage by 1845. The widening of the electoral franchise in the 19th century forced
3973-564: The 1921 New Year Honours , he was created a baronet on 25 January 1921. In 1929, after leaving parliament, he succeeded the disgraced Henry Norris as chairman of Arsenal , and presided over the club during its first period of success in the 1930s. He stepped down in 1936 but returned to the role after the Second World War , holding the post until his death in Westminster in 1949. In another field of sport, he owned two greyhounds who won
4110-451: The 1945 general election almost exactly seventy-nine years earlier. A total of 4,515 candidates were nominated, more than in any previous general election. General elections in the United Kingdom are organised using first-past-the-post voting . The Conservative Party, which won a majority at the 2019 general election, included pledges in its manifesto to remove the 15-year limit on voting for British citizens living abroad, and to introduce
4247-432: The 2005 general election , the Conservative Party increased their total vote share and—more significantly—their number of parliamentary seats, reducing Labour's majority. The day following the election, Howard resigned. David Cameron won the 2005 leadership election . He then announced his intention to reform and realign the Conservatives. For most of 2006 and the first half of 2007, polls showed leads over Labour for
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4384-484: The 2024 United States presidential election instead. However, Farage later announced on 3 June that, contrary to his statement earlier in the campaign, he would stand for Parliament in Clacton , and that he had resumed leadership of Reform UK , taking over from Richard Tice , who remained the party's chairman. Farage also predicted that Labour would win the election, whilst stating the Conservatives were incapable of being
4521-409: The 59 in 2019 , with the following notional partisan composition of Scotland's parliamentary delegation. The Scottish National Party would have remained steady on 48 seats despite two of its constituencies being dissolved. The Scottish Conservatives ' seat count of six would likewise remained unchanged. Scottish Labour would have retained Edinburgh South , the sole constituency they won in 2019. Had
4658-718: The Chris Pincher scandal in July 2022, leading to Johnson's resignation . He resigned as an MP the following year, after an investigation unanimously found that he had lied to Parliament. Liz Truss won the resultant leadership election and succeeded Johnson in September. Truss announced large-scale tax cuts and borrowing in a mini-budget on 23 September, which was widely criticised and – after it rapidly led to financial instability – largely reversed. She resigned in October, making her
4795-571: The Community Charge (known by its opponents as the poll tax ) in 1989 is often cited as contributing to her political downfall. Internal party tensions led to a leadership challenge by the Conservative MP Michael Heseltine and she resigned on 28 November 1990. John Major won the party leadership election on 27 November 1990, and his appointment led to an almost immediate boost in Conservative Party fortunes. The election
4932-687: The Conservative Party and colloquially known as the Tories , is one of the two main political parties in the United Kingdom , along with the Labour Party . Following defeat by Labour in the 2024 general election , it is currently the second largest political party by the number of votes cast and number of seats in the House of Commons , followed by the Liberal Democrats . As the second largest party, it has
5069-798: The House of Commons on 3 September 2019. Later that same day, 21 Conservative MPs had the Conservative whip withdrawn after voting with the Opposition to grant the House of Commons control over its order paper. Johnson would later halt the Withdrawal Agreement Bill , calling for a general election. The 2019 general election resulted in the Conservatives winning a majority, the Party's largest since 1987 . The party won several constituencies, particularly in formerly traditional Labour seats . On 20 December 2019, MPs passed an agreement for withdrawing from
5206-519: The Israel–Hamas war and appealing to the constituency's sizeable Muslim population. However, Alba lost both their seats and the Workers Party lost their sole seat of Rochdale after Galloway lost it to Labour's Paul Waugh , having only been an MP for 92 days. This table relates to the composition of the House of Commons at the 2019 general election and its dissolution on 30 May 2024 and summarises
5343-583: The Liberals were mostly against the war until the invasion of Belgium, Conservative leaders were strongly in favour of aiding France and stopping Germany. The Liberal party was in full control of the government until its mismanagement of the war effort under the Shell Crisis badly hurt its reputation. An all-party coalition government was formed in May 1915. In late 1916 Liberal David Lloyd George became prime minister but
5480-610: The Ulster Unionist Party and Traditional Unionist Voice won one seat each, and the independent unionist Alex Easton won North Down . Many of the record number of newly-elected independent MPs, including the former leader of the Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn , formed the Independent Alliance group in parliament. Labour entered the election with a large lead over the Conservatives in opinion polls , and
5617-627: The Waterloo Cup . Hill Wood married The Hon. Rachel Bateman-Hanbury, youngest daughter of Lord Bateman-Hanbury , in 1899 and had four sons: Basil , Wilfred , Denis and Charles . His son Denis and his grandson Peter Hill-Wood have also served as Chairmen of Arsenal, while his sons, Basil, Denis, Wilfred and Charles have all played county cricket for Derbyshire at various points in their history. Basil's brother-in-law David Brand also played some first class cricket. Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative and Unionist Party , commonly
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5754-454: The cost of living crisis , including price caps on energy bills and government help to pay them. Truss's mini-budget on 23 September faced severe criticism and markets reacted poorly; the pound fell to a record low of 1.03 against the dollar, and UK government gilt yields rose to 4.3 per cent, prompting the Bank of England to trigger an emergency bond-buying programme. After condemnation from
5891-410: The left and toward the political centre , and also emphasised the elimination of antisemitism within the party . Starmer's leading his party rightward in order to improve its electability has been widely compared to Tony Blair 's development of New Labour in the 1990s. The political turmoil from the Conservative scandals and government crises led to Labour having a significant lead in polling over
6028-486: The shortest-serving prime minister in British history . Rishi Sunak won the resultant leadership election unopposed to succeed Truss in October. During his premiership , Sunak was credited with improving the economy and stabilising national politics following the premierships of his predecessors, although many of his pledges and policy announcements ultimately went unfulfilled. He did not avert further unpopularity for
6165-413: The 1780s. They were known as "Independent Whigs", " Friends of Mr Pitt ", or "Pittites" and never used terms such as "Tory" or "Conservative". From about 1812, the name "Tory" was commonly used for a new party that, according to historian Robert Blake, "are the ancestors of Conservatism". Blake adds that Pitt's successors after 1812 "were not in any sense standard-bearers of 'true Toryism'". The term Tory
6302-428: The 1950s and early 1960s. The Suez Crisis of 1956 was a humiliating defeat for Prime Minister Eden, but his successor, Macmillan, minimised the damage and focused attention on domestic issues and prosperity. Following controversy over the selections of Harold Macmillan and Alec Douglas-Home via a process of consultation known as the 'Magic Circle', a formal election process was created and the first leadership election
6439-510: The 2017 votes would have translated to seats under the 2018 boundaries suggested the changes would have been beneficial to the Conservatives and detrimental to Labour. In March 2020, Cabinet Office minister Chloe Smith confirmed that the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies would be based on retaining 650 seats. The previous relevant legislation was amended by the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 2020 and
6576-417: The 2019 election . For example, the Conservatives would have won Wirral West and Leeds North West instead of the Labour Party, but Labour would have won Pudsey and Heywood & Middleton instead of the Conservatives. Westmorland and Lonsdale , the constituency represented by former Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron , was notionally a Conservative seat. In Scotland , 57 MPs were elected, down from
6713-531: The 2019 general election occurred with the new boundaries in effect, the Scottish Liberal Democrats would have only won two seats ( Edinburgh West and Orkney and Shetland ), instead of the four they did win that year, as the expanded electorates in the other two would overcome their slender majorities. Under the new boundaries, Wales lost eight seats, electing 32 MPs instead of the 40 it elected in 2019 . Welsh Labour would have won 18 instead of
6850-562: The 20th century made it one of the most successful political parties in the Western world . The most recent period of Conservative government was marked by extraordinary political turmoil. Some writers trace the party's origins to the Tory Party , which it soon replaced. Other historians point to a faction, rooted in the 18th century Whig Party , that coalesced around William Pitt the Younger in
6987-547: The 22 MPs it elected in 2019, and the Welsh Conservatives 12 instead of 14. Due to the abolition and merging of rural constituencies in West Wales , Plaid Cymru would have only won two seats instead of four. Nonetheless, the boundary changes were expected to cause difficulty for the Conservatives as more pro-Labour areas were added to some of their safest seats. In Northern Ireland , the notional results are identical to
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#17329317339147124-468: The Conservative Party , including allegations against its policies, fringes, and structure, was often in the public eye. These include allegations against senior politicians such as Boris Johnson , Michael Gove , Theresa May , and Zac Goldsmith . During the period of the Cameron and Johnson governments, a number of Conservative MPs have been accused or convicted of sexual misconduct, with cases including
7261-580: The Conservative Party to popularise its approach under Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby and Benjamin Disraeli , who carried through their own expansion of the franchise with the Reform Act of 1867 . The party was initially opposed to further expansion of the electorate but eventually allowed passage of Gladstone's 1884 Reform Act . In 1886, the party formed an alliance with Spencer Cavendish and Joseph Chamberlain 's new Liberal Unionist Party and, under
7398-459: The Conservative manifesto Clear Plan. Bold Action. Secure Future. on 11 June, addressing the economy, taxes, welfare, expanding free childcare, education, healthcare, environment, energy, transport, community, and crime. They pledged to lower taxes, increase education and NHS spending, deliver 92,000 more nurses and 28,000 more doctors, introduce a new model of National Service , continue to expand apprenticeships and vocational training, simplify
7535-540: The Conservative whip at Westminster, essentially forming the Irish wing of the party until 1922. In Britain, the Conservative party was known as the Unionist Party because of its opposition to home rule. Under Bonar Law 's leadership in 1911–1914, the Party morale improved, the "radical right" wing was contained, and the party machinery strengthened. It made some progress toward developing constructive social policies. While
7672-464: The Conservatives amidst the crisis. 2024 United Kingdom general election Rishi Sunak Conservative Keir Starmer Labour The 2024 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday, 4 July 2024, to elect 650 members of Parliament to the House of Commons , the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom . The opposition Labour Party , led by Keir Starmer , defeated
7809-409: The Conservatives who, by the time of Sunak's election, had been in government for 12 years. Public opinion in favour of a change in government was reflected in the Conservatives' poor performance at the 2022 , 2023 and 2024 local elections . Keir Starmer won the Labour Party 's 2020 leadership election , succeeding Jeremy Corbyn . Under his leadership, Starmer repositioned the party away from
7946-658: The Conservatives, often by very wide margins, since late 2021, coinciding with the start of the Partygate scandal. Labour made gains in local elections: in the 2023 local elections, Labour gained more than 500 councillors and 22 councils, becoming the largest party in local government for the first time since 2002. Ed Davey , who previously served in the Cameron–Clegg coalition , won the Liberal Democrat 's 2020 leadership election , succeeding Jo Swinson , who lost her seat in
8083-608: The Conservatives, saying that the Conservatives are incapable of being the Opposition due to "spending most of the last five years fighting each other rather than fighting for the interests of this country". On 6 June, the Green Party announced plans to invest an extra £50 billion a year for the NHS by raising taxes on the top 1% of earners. The Conservatives announced a policy on expanding child benefit for higher-earners. Labour also announced communities will be given powers to transform derelict areas into parks and green spaces. Labour's countryside protection plan would also include
8220-787: The Conservatives. Polls became more volatile in summer 2007 with the accession of Gordon Brown as Prime Minister. The Conservatives gained control of the London mayoralty for the first time in 2008 after Boris Johnson defeated the Labour incumbent, Ken Livingstone . In May 2010 the Conservative Party came to government, first under a coalition with the Liberal Democrats and later as a series of majority and minority governments. During this period there were five Conservative Prime Ministers: David Cameron, Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, and Rishi Sunak. The initial period of this time, primarily under
8357-700: The D-Day commemorations, and said that Sunak "has to answer for his actions". Sunak apologised the next day and apologised again on 10 June. He made a third apology on 12 June. Farage was among those critical of Sunak over his leaving the D-Day events, saying on 7 June that Sunak did not understand "our culture". Conservative and Labour politicians criticised these words as being a racist attack on Sunak, which Farage denied. On 10 June, Labour pledged 100,000 new childcare places and more than 3,000 new nurseries as part of its childcare plan. It also announced its Child Health Action Plan, which included providing every school with
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#17329317339148494-491: The ERM, a day thereafter referred to as Black Wednesday . Soon after, approximately one million householders faced repossession of their homes during a recession that saw a sharp rise in unemployment, taking it close to 3 million people. The party subsequently lost much of its reputation for good financial stewardship. The end of the recession was declared in April 1993. From 1994 to 1997, Major privatised British Rail . The party
8631-474: The EU referendum vote, and through the premierships of May, Boris Johnson, and their successors, the party shifted right on the political spectrum. In July 2019 Boris Johnson became Leader of the party. He became Prime Minister the next day. Johnson had made withdrawal from the EU by 31 October "with no ifs, buts or maybes" a key pledge during his campaign for party leadership . Johnson lost his working majority in
8768-491: The EU. On 24 June 2016, Cameron announced his intention to resign as Prime Minister, after he failed to convince the British public to stay in the European Union . On 11 July 2016, Theresa May became the leader of the Conservative Party. May promised social reform and a more centrist political outlook for the Conservative Party and its government. May's early cabinet appointments were interpreted as an effort to reunite
8905-776: The EU; the United Kingdom formally left on 31 January 2020. Johnson presided over the UK's response to the COVID-19 pandemic . From late 2021 onwards, Johnson received huge public backlash for the Partygate scandal, in which staff and senior members of government were pictured holding gatherings during lockdown contrary to Government guidance. The Metropolitan Police eventually fined Johnson for breaking lockdown rules in April 2022. In July 2022, Johnson admitted to appointing Chris Pincher as deputy chief whip while being aware of allegations of sexual assault against him. This, along with Partygate and increasing criticisms on Johnson's handling of
9042-634: The First Division. They were relegated after a season and by 1914 Hill Wood severed his connection and Glossop later resigned from the Football League. In 1910, Hill Wood was elected MP for High Peak , holding the seat until 1929. He changed his name to Hill-Wood by royal licence in 1912. In the First World War , he served in the Cheshire Regiment reaching the rank of Major. Announced in
9179-416: The Irish question, socialism, electoral reform, and the issue of intervention in the economy. The fresh emphasis on anti-Socialism was its response to the growing strength of the Labour Party. When electoral reform was an issue, it worked to protect their base in rural England. It aggressively sought female voters in the 1920s, often relying on patriotic themes. In 1922, Bonar Law and Stanley Baldwin led
9316-448: The King to call a general election for 4 July 2024, surprising his own MPs. Though Sunak had the option to wait until December 2024 to call the election, he said that he decided on the date because he believed that the economy was improving, and that "falling inflation and net migration figures would reinforce the Conservative Party 's election message of 'sticking to the plan'". The calling of
9453-667: The Labour Party campaign in Gillingham at the Priestfield Stadium . On 24 May, the Conservatives proposed setting up a Royal Commission to consider a form of mandatory national service. It would be made up of two streams for 18-year-olds to choose from, either 'community volunteering' by volunteering with organisations such as the NHS, fire service, ambulance, search and rescue, and critical local infrastructure, or 'military training' in areas like logistics and cyber security. Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn announced on 24 May he
9590-427: The Labour Party culminated in a landslide defeat for the Conservatives in 1997 , their worst defeat since the 1906 general election . The 1997 election left the Conservative Party as an England-only party, with all Scottish and Welsh seats having been lost, and not a single new seat having been gained anywhere. Major resigned as party leader and was succeeded by William Hague . The 2001 general election resulted in
9727-476: The Liberal Democrats, won in the Scottish Independence referendum by 55% No to 45% Yes on the question "Should Scotland be an independent country". At the 2015 general election , the Conservatives formed a majority government under Cameron. After speculation of a referendum on the UK's EU membership throughout his premiership, a vote was announced for June 2016 in which Cameron campaigned to remain in
9864-590: The Liberal Party and the Labour Party ( National Labour and National Liberals ). In May 1940 a more balanced coalition was formed —the National Government —which, under the leadership of Winston Churchill , saw the United Kingdom through the Second World War. However, the party lost the 1945 general election in a landslide to the resurgent Labour Party. The concept of the "property-owning democracy"
10001-469: The Liberals soon split and the Conservatives dominated the government, especially after their landslide in the 1918 election . The Liberal party never recovered, but Labour gained strength after 1920. Nigel Keohane finds that the Conservatives were bitterly divided before 1914 but the war pulled the party together, allowing it to emphasise patriotism as it found new leadership and worked out its positions on
10138-718: The Official Opposition due to having spent "much of the last five years fighting each other rather than fighting for the interests of this country." Davey released the Liberal Democrat campaign in Cheltenham in Gloucestershire . The SNP campaign launch the same day was overshadowed over a dispute around leader John Swinney 's support for Michael Matheson and developments in Operation Branchform. Starmer launched
10275-702: The Secretary of State on 5 September 2018 and made their reports public a week later. However, the proposals were never put forward for approval before the calling of the general election held on 12 December 2019, and in December 2020 the reviews were formally abandoned under the Schedule to the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 2020. A projection by psephologists Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher of how
10412-751: The Unionists worked hard at grassroots organizing. Two general elections were held in 1910, in January and in December . The two main parties were now almost dead equal in seats, but the Liberals kept control with a coalition with the Irish Parliamentary Party . In 1912, the Liberal Unionists merged with the Conservative Party. In Ireland, the Irish Unionist Alliance had been formed in 1891 which merged Unionists who were opposed to Irish Home Rule into one political movement. Its MPs took
10549-512: The United Kingdom exhibited a wide urban–rural political divide ; the Conservative Party's voting and financial support base has historically consisted primarily of homeowners , business owners , farmers , real estate developers and middle class voters, especially in rural and suburban areas of England . Since the EU referendum in 2016, the Conservatives targeted working class voters from traditional Labour strongholds. The Conservatives' domination of British politics throughout
10686-568: The actual results of the 2019 general election in Northern Ireland . Labour entered the election with a large lead over the Conservatives in opinion polls , and the potential scale of the party's victory was a topic of discussion during the campaign period. The economy , healthcare , education , infrastructure development, environment, housing, energy , and immigration , and standards in public office were main campaign topics. The Conservative campaign led by Rishi Sunak focused primarily on attacks towards Labour over alleged tax plans including
10823-437: The breakup of the coalition, and the Conservatives governed until 1923, when a minority Labour government led by Ramsay MacDonald came to power. The Conservatives regained power in 1924 but were defeated in 1929 as a minority Labour government took office. In 1931, following the collapse of the Labour minority government, it entered another coalition, which was dominated by the Conservatives with some support from factions of both
10960-558: The changes in party affiliation that took place during the 2019–2024 Parliament. Originally the next election was scheduled to take place on 2 May 2024 under the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 . At the 2019 general election, in which the Conservatives won a majority of 80 seats, the party's manifesto contained a commitment to repeal the Fixed-term Parliaments Act. In December 2020, the government duly published
11097-507: The concerns and interests of voters seriously but I'm not sure they need to take themselves seriously all the time and I'm quite happy to have some fun." Party manifesto and fiscal spending plans were independently analysed by the Institute for Fiscal Studies and their environmental policies were assessed by Friends of the Earth . On the afternoon of 22 May 2024, Sunak announced that he had asked
11234-400: The consumption of pornography in parliament, rape, groping, and sexual harassment. In 2017, a list of 36 sitting Conservative MPs accused of inappropriate sexual behaviour was leaked. The list is believed to have been compiled by party staff. Following accusations of multiple cases of rape against an unnamed Tory MP in 2023 and allegations of a cover-up, Baroness Warsi , who has served as
11371-408: The cost-of-living crisis, provoked a government crisis following a loss in confidence and nearly 60 resignations from government officials, eventually leading to Johnson announcing his resignation on 7 July. Boris Johnson's successor as leader was confirmed as Liz Truss on 5 September, following a leadership election . In a strategy labelled Trussonomics she introduced policies in response to
11508-444: The current business rates system and to tackle the skill shortage by creating a new public body, Skills England . They also pledged to revitalise Britain's high streets and a new trade strategy. The Liberal Democrat manifesto For a Fair Deal was released on 10 June, which included commitments on free personal care in England, investment in the NHS including more GPs , increased funding for education and childcare (including
11645-629: The date of the general election. This led to the song reaching number two on UK's iTunes Charts . At the beginning of the campaign, Labour had a significant lead in polling over the Conservatives. Polling also showed Labour doing well against the Scottish National Party (SNP) in Scotland. When visiting Windermere , Davey fell off a paddleboard , while campaigning to highlight the issue of sewage discharges into rivers and lakes. A couple of days later, Davey won media attention when going down
11782-477: The day that is the fifth anniversary of the day on which it first met". The Electoral Commission confirmed that the 2019 Parliament would, therefore, have to be dissolved, at the latest, by 17 December 2024, and that the next general election had to take place no later than 28 January 2025. With no election date fixed in law, there was speculation as to when the prime minister , Rishi Sunak , would call an election. On 18 December 2023, Sunak told journalists that
11919-404: The different rates of population growth. North West England and North East England lost two seats each, whereas South East England gained seven and South West England gained three. Based on historical voting patterns, this was expected to help the Conservatives. Using the new boundaries, different parties would have won several constituencies with unchanged names but changed boundaries from
12056-429: The election was welcomed by all major parties. Sunak's announcement took place during heavy rain at a lectern outside 10 Downing Street , without the use of any shelter from the rain. The D:Ream song " Things Can Only Get Better " (previously used by the Labour Party in its successful 1997 general election campaign) was being played loudly in the background by the political activist Steve Bray as Sunak announced
12193-474: The election would be held on 4 July with the dissolution of the Parliament on 30 May. The deadline for candidate nominations was 7 June 2024, with political campaigning for four weeks until polling day on 4 July. On the day of the election, polling stations across the country were open from 7 am, and closed at 10 pm. The date chosen for the 2024 general election made it the first to be held in July since
12330-438: The election would take place in 2024 rather than January 2025. On 4 January, he first suggested the general election would probably be in the second half of 2024. Throughout 2024, political commentators and MPs expected the election to be held in the autumn. On 22 May 2024, following much speculation through the day (including being asked about it by Stephen Flynn at Prime Minister's Questions ), Sunak officially announced
12467-406: The floor and formally joined the Liberal Party (he rejoined the Conservatives in 1925). In December, Balfour lost control of his party, as the defections multiplied. He was replaced by Liberal Prime Minister Henry Campbell-Bannerman who called an election in January 1906 , which produced a massive Liberal victory. Liberal Prime Minister H. H. Asquith enacted a great deal of reform legislation, but
12604-522: The formal parliamentary role of the Official Opposition . The party sits on the right-wing to centre-right of the political spectrum. It encompasses various ideological factions including one-nation conservatives , Thatcherites , and traditionalist conservatives . There have been twenty Conservative prime ministers . The party traditionally holds the annual Conservative Party Conference during party conference season , at which senior Conservative figures promote party policy. The Conservative Party
12741-585: The four boundary commissions formally launched their 2023 reviews on 5 January 2021. They were required to issue their final reports prior to 1 July 2023. Once the reports had been laid before Parliament, Orders in Council giving effect to the final proposals had to be made within four months, unless "there are exceptional circumstances". Prior to the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 2020, boundary changes could not be implemented until they were approved by both Houses of Parliament. The boundary changes were approved at
12878-402: The governing Conservative Party , led by Rishi Sunak , in a landslide victory . The election was the first general election victory for Labour since 2005 , and ended the Conservatives' fourteen-year tenure as the primary governing party. Labour achieved a 174-seat simple majority, and a total of 411 seats, a single-party figure surpassed only by Tony Blair in 1997 . The party's vote share
13015-498: The hot-spot policing programme to more areas, and more town regeneration projects. The Conservatives also unveiled plans for fly-tippers to get points on their driving licences and other new measures to protect the environment. On 2 June, Labour pledged to reduce record high legal immigration to the United Kingdom by improving training for British workers. Net migration to the UK was 685,000 in 2023. Labour also focused on national security, with Starmer reaffirming his commitment to
13152-450: The intention of broadening the diversity of MPs. In practice, it may have had the effect of lending more power to constituency parties and making candidates more uniform. Winston Churchill , the party leader, brought in a Party chairman to modernise the party: Frederick Marquis, 1st Earl of Woolton rebuilt the local organisations with an emphasis on membership, money, and a unified national propaganda appeal on critical issues. With
13289-580: The largest party in Wales . It lost seven seats: five to independent candidates in seats with sizeable Muslim populations, largely attributed to its stance on the Israel–Hamas war ; one to the Green Party of England and Wales ; and one to the Conservatives. The Conservative Party was reduced to 121 seats on a vote share of 23.7%, the worst result in its history. It lost 251 seats in total, including those of twelve Cabinet ministers and also South West Norfolk ,
13426-404: The last century. David Cameron sought to modernise the Conservatives after his election as leader in 2005, and the party governed from 2010 to 2024 under five prime ministers, latterly Rishi Sunak . The party has generally adopted liberal economic policies favouring free markets since the 1980s, although historically it advocated for protectionism . The party is British unionist , opposing
13563-471: The late 1940s but was too great a challenge to the post-war consensus to win Conservative endorsement. Thatcher favoured the idea because it would lead to a "property-owning democracy", an important idea that had emerged in the 1920s. Some local Conservative-run councils enacted profitable local sales schemes during the late 1960s. By the 1970s, many working-class people could afford to buy homes, and eagerly adopted Thatcher's invitation to purchase their homes at
13700-450: The leadership after being elected unopposed to succeed Yousaf, the SNP had been in government for 17 years. Carla Denyer and Adrian Ramsay took over leadership of the Green Party of England and Wales from Siân Berry and Jonathan Bartley in 2021. Rhun ap Iorwerth took over leadership of Plaid Cymru . The Brexit Party rebranded as Reform UK , and was initially led by Richard Tice in
13837-435: The left of the party being excluded. Abbott said she had been barred from standing as a Labour Party candidate at the election, but Starmer later said she would be "free" to stand as a Labour candidate. On 30 May, both the Conservatives and Labour ruled out any rise in value-added tax . The SNPs Màiri McAllan claimed that only the SNP offered Scotland a route back into the European Union , making Pro-Europeanism part of
13974-481: The marginal constituency of Westmorland and Lonsdale , highlighting the release of sewage in waterways. He pledged to abolish Ofwat and introduce a new water regulator to tackle the situation, in addition to proposing a ban on bonuses for chief executives of water companies. Starmer was in West Sussex and emphasised his small town roots in his first big campaign speech. On 29 May, Labour's Wes Streeting promised
14111-708: The mild liberalism of the post-war consensus that tolerated or encouraged nationalisation, strong labour unions, heavy regulation, and high taxes. She did not challenge the National Health Service , and supported the Cold War policies of the consensus, but otherwise tried to dismantle and delegitimise it. She built a right-wing political ideology that became known as Thatcherism , based on social and economic ideas from British and American intellectuals such as Friedrich Hayek and Milton Friedman . Thatcher believed that too much socially democratic-oriented government policy
14248-474: The party as it united behind calls for a referendum on the proposed European Union Constitution . However, before he could lead the party into a general election, Duncan Smith lost the vote on a motion of no confidence by MPs. This was despite the Conservative support equalling that of Labour in the months leading up to his departure from the leadership. Michael Howard then stood for the leadership unopposed on 6 November 2003. Under Howard's leadership in
14385-586: The party in the wake of the UK's vote to leave the European Union . She began the process of withdrawing the UK from the European Union in March 2017. In April 2017, the Cabinet agreed to hold a general election on 8 June. In a shock result, the election resulted in a hung parliament , with the Conservative Party needing a confidence and supply arrangement with the DUP to support a minority government. May's Premiership
14522-778: The party's campaign. Reform UK proposed an immigration tax on British firms who employ foreign workers . Carla Denyer and Adrian Ramsay launched the Green Party of England and Wales campaign in Bristol. Rhun ap Iorwerth launched the Plaid Cymru campaign in Bangor . George Galloway launched the Workers Party of Britain campaign in Ashton-under-Lyne . On 31 May, the Conservatives announced new "pride in places" pledges, including new rules to tackle anti-social behaviour, rolling out
14659-427: The party's co-chairman under David Cameron, stated that the Conservative Party has had a problem handling complaints of sexual misconducts against members appropriately. The 2010 election resulted in a hung parliament with the Conservatives having the most seats but short of an overall majority. Following the resignation of Gordon Brown , Cameron was named Prime Minister, and the Conservatives entered government in
14796-644: The party. Heath had come to power in June 1970 and the last possible date for the next general election was not until mid-1975. However a general election was held in February 1974 in a bid to win public support during a national emergency caused by the miners' strike. Heath's attempt to win a second term at this "snap" election failed, as a deadlock result left no party with an overall majority . Heath resigned within days, after failing to gain Liberal Party support to form
14933-493: The permanent leader in May. New political parties who made their campaign debuts in this election included the Alba Party , led by former Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond , and the Workers Party of Britain , led by anti-war activist George Galloway , who won the 2024 Rochdale by-election in a political upset three months before the election was called – advertising himself as a protest candidate against Labour's stance on
15070-507: The planning system to speed up infrastructure projects (digital, transport and energy), and to treble Britain's offshore wind capacity and support solar energy. The manifesto includes a pledge to abolish Stamp Duty on homes worth up to £425,000 for first time buyers and expand the Help to Buy scheme. The Conservatives also pledged a recruitment of 8,000 new police officers and a rollout of facial recognition technology . Much of what has been proposed
15207-577: The planting new national forests, taskforces for tree-planting and flood resilience, new river pathways, and a commitment to revive nature. Green spaces would be a requirement in the development of new housing and town plans. Both Sunak and Starmer attended D-Day commemorations in Normandy on 6 June, the 80th anniversary of Operation Neptune . Sunak was widely criticised for leaving events early to do an interview with ITV, including by veterans. Starmer met with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and King Charles III during
15344-409: The potential scale of the party's victory was a topic of discussion during the campaign period. The economy , healthcare , education , infrastructure development, environment, housing , energy , immigration , and standards in public office were main campaign topics. There was relatively little discussion of Brexit , which was a major issue during the 2019 general election . This general election
15481-406: The premiership of David Cameron, was marked by the ongoing effects of the 2007–2008 financial crisis and the implementation of austerity measures in response. From 2015 the predominant political event was the Brexit referendum and the process to implement the decision to leave the trade bloc. The Conservatives' time in office was marked by several controversies. The presence of Islamophobia in
15618-409: The previous general election. Davey prioritised defeating the Conservatives and ruled out working with them following the election. The Liberal Democrats made gains in local elections: in the 2024 local elections, the Liberal Democrats finished second for the first time in a local election cycle since 2009. Like the Conservatives, the Scottish National Party (SNP) suffered political turmoil and saw
15755-444: The public, the Labour Party and her own party, Truss reversed some aspects of the mini-budget, including the abolition of the top rate of income tax. Following a government crisis Truss announced her resignation as prime minister on 20 October after 44 days in office, the shortest premiership in British history. Truss also oversaw the worst polling the Conservatives had ever received, with Labour polling as high as 36 per cent above
15892-454: The recovering British economy, saw the Conservatives returning quickly to the top of the opinion polls and winning the 1983 general election with a landslide majority, due to a split opposition vote. By the time of the general election in June 1987, the economy was stronger, with lower inflation and falling unemployment and Thatcher secured her third successive electoral victory. The introduction of
16029-476: The results if all votes cast in 2019 were unchanged, but regrouped by the new constituency boundaries. Since notional results in the vote counts at parliamentary elections in the UK do not yield figures at any level more specific than that of the whole constituency, it is only possible to estimate the notional results, with the assistance of local election results. In England , seats were redistributed towards Southern England , away from Northern England , due to
16166-409: The right wing of the Conservative Party itself for its tolerance of socialist policies and reluctance to curb the legal powers of labour unions. The Conservatives were re-elected in 1955 and 1959 with larger majorities. Conservative Prime Ministers Churchill, Anthony Eden , Harold Macmillan and Alec Douglas-Home promoted relatively liberal trade regulations and less state involvement throughout
16303-509: The seat of the former prime minister Liz Truss . It also lost all its seats in Wales. The Conservatives' notional loss of 251 seats represents the highest decrease for any party at a single election in British history, narrowly surpassing 1906 , and the corresponding Labour gain of 211 is the largest since 1945 . The combined Labour and Conservative vote share was 57.4%, the lowest since the December 1910 general election . Smaller parties took
16440-522: The statesmen Robert Gascoyne-Cecil and Arthur Balfour , held power for all but three of the following twenty years before suffering a heavy defeat in 1906 when it split over the issue of free trade . Young Winston Churchill denounced Chamberlain's attack on free trade, and helped organise the opposition inside the Unionist/Conservative Party. Nevertheless, Balfour, as party leader, introduced protectionist legislation. Churchill crossed
16577-443: The steel and road haulage industries in 1953. During the Conservatives' thirteen-year tenure in office, pensions went up by 49% in real terms, sickness and unemployment benefits by 76% in real terms, and supplementary benefits by 46% in real terms. However, family allowances fell by 15% in real terms. "Thirteen Wasted Years" was a popular slogan attacking the Conservative record, primarily from Labour. In addition, there were attacks by
16714-437: The third-highest vote share at 14.3%, with over four million votes, which won it five seats, and the Green Party of England and Wales won four seats; both parties achieved their best parliamentary results in history. In Wales Plaid Cymru won four seats. In Scotland the Scottish National Party was reduced from forty-eight seats to nine, and lost its status as the third-largest party in the Commons. In Northern Ireland, which has
16851-543: The time of the 1979 general election , inflation had been at 9% or under for the previous year, then increased to over 20% in the first two years of the Thatcher ministry, but it had fallen again to 5.8% by the start of 1983. The period of unpopularity of the Conservatives in the early 1980s coincided with a crisis in the Labour Party, which then formed the main opposition. Victory in the Falklands War in June 1982, along with
16988-684: The years preceding the election before Nigel Farage resumed leadership during the election campaign. Edwin Poots took over as the Democratic Unionist Party leader in May 2021 but lasted only 20 days. He was replaced by Jeffrey Donaldson , who resigned in March 2024 after being arrested on charges relating to historical sex offences. He appeared in court on 3 July, the day before polling day, to face additional sex offence charges. Gavin Robinson initially took over as interim leader, and then became
17125-467: Was running as an independent in Islington North against a Labour candidate, and was thus expelled from the party. On 27 May, Starmer made a keynote speech on security and other issues. On 28 May, the Conservatives pledged a "Triple Lock Plus" where the personal income tax allowance for pensioners would always stay higher than the state pension. Davey went paddleboarding on Lake Windermere in
17262-470: Was 33.7%, the lowest of any majority party on record, making this the least proportional general election in British history according to the Gallagher index . Labour won 211 more seats than the previous general election in 2019 , but half a million fewer total votes. The party became the largest in England for the first time since 2005, in Scotland for the first time since 2010 , and retained its status as
17399-404: Was a keen sportsman. He continued to run the cotton business. Wood made his cricket debut for Derbyshire in the 1894 season , and became their captain in the 1899 season for three seasons. Wood was the only batsman to score 10 runs off one ball in a first-class game. In May 1900, when playing for Derbyshire against Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), he struck a ball from Cuthbert Burnup and as
17536-546: Was an insult that entered English politics during the Exclusion Bill crisis of 1678–1681, which derived from the Middle Irish word tóraidhe (modern Irish : tóraí ) meaning outlaw or robber , which in turn derived from the Irish word tóir , meaning pursuit , since outlaws were "pursued men". The term " Conservative " was suggested as a title for the party in an article by J. Wilson Croker published in
17673-412: Was chairman and owner of Glossop North End funding it up until World War I . His expenditure was estimated to be more than £30,000 at that time. His efforts and enthusiasm led to the club being included in the enlarged Football League Second Division in 1898. He scoured the country for professional footballers and after only one season Glossop qualified as Second Division runners up and were promoted to
17810-417: Was coined by Noel Skelton in 1923 and became a core principle of the party. While serving in Opposition during the late 1940s, the Conservative Party exploited and incited growing public anger at food rationing , scarcity, controls, austerity , and government bureaucracy. It used the dissatisfaction with the socialist and egalitarian policies of the Labour Party to rally middle-class supporters and build
17947-462: Was dominated by Brexit as she carried out negotiations with the European Union, adhering to the Chequers Plan , which resulted in her draft Brexit withdrawal agreement . May survived two votes of no confidence in December 2018 and January 2019, but after versions of her draft withdrawal agreement were rejected by Parliament three times , May announced her resignation on 24 May 2019. Subsequent to
18084-486: Was founded in 1834 from the Tory Party and was one of two dominant political parties in the 19th century, along with the Liberal Party . Under Benjamin Disraeli , it played a preeminent role in politics at the height of the British Empire . In 1912, the Liberal Unionist Party merged with the party to form the Conservative and Unionist Party. Rivalry with the Labour Party has shaped modern British politics for
18221-517: Was held in 1965, won by Edward Heath. Edward Heath 's 1970–74 government was known for taking the UK into the EEC , although the right-wing of the party objected to his failure to control the trade unions at a time when a declining British industry saw many strikes, as well as the 1973–75 recession . Since accession to the EEC, which developed into the EU, British membership has been a source of heated debate within
18358-528: Was held on 9 April 1992 and the Conservatives won a fourth successive electoral victory, contrary to predictions from opinion polls. The Conservatives became the first party to attract 14 million votes in a general election. On 16 September 1992, the Government suspended Britain's membership of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM), after the pound fell lower than its minimum level in
18495-475: Was leading to a long-term decline in the British economy. As a result, her government pursued a programme of economic liberalism , adopting a free-market approach to public services based on the sale of publicly owned industries and utilities, as well as a reduction in trade union power. One of Thatcher's largest and most successful policies assisted council house tenants in public housing to purchase their homes at favourable rates. The "Right to Buy" had emerged in
18632-506: Was plagued by internal division and infighting, mainly over the UK's role in the European Union . The party's Eurosceptic wing, represented by MPs such as John Redwood , opposed further EU integration, whilst the party's pro-European wing, represented by those such as Chancellor of the Exchequer Kenneth Clarke , was broadly supportive. The issue of the creation of a single European currency also inflamed tensions. Major survived
18769-449: Was the first in which photo identification was required to vote in person in Great Britain, the first fought using the new constituency boundaries implemented following the 2023 periodic review of Westminster constituencies , and the first called under the Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022 . This was also the first election to be held under the reign of King Charles III . The Conservative Party under Boris Johnson won
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