Revealed – Trends that have defined general election polls back in history
General elections bring with them many milestones and records. Here are a few from the years gone by.
LARGEST MAJORITIES:
The record for the largest majority won by a single party at a general election since 1900 is 210, set in 1924 by the Conservatives.
The election of 1900 was the first of its kind to be contested by the recently-formed Labour Party, as well as the long-established Conservative and Liberal parties, and as such can be seen as the first general election of the modern political era. Labour’s largest majority to date is 178, in 1997 – the election that saw Tony Blair become prime minister.
MOST SEATS WON BY SINGLE PARTY:
The highest number of seats won by a single party at an election since 1900 is 418, by Labour in 1997. The second highest number is 412, won by Labour in 2001 and also by the Conservatives in 1924.
FEWEST SEATS WON BY PARTIES:
The fewest seats won by the Conservatives at any general election since the party was formally established in the 1830s is 156 in 1906, followed by 165 in 1997. The Labour Party was founded in 1900 and won two seats in the general election of that year, followed by 29 at the next election in 1906. Since 1945, the number of seats won by Labour has never dropped below 200.
PERFORMANCE BY THE LIBERALS:
