The election was often referred to as the "Flapper Election", because it was the first in which women aged 21–29 had the right to vote (owing to the Representation of the People Act 1928). Women over 30, with some property qualifications, had been able to vote since the 1918 general election, but the 1929 vote was the first general election with universal suffrage for adults over 21, which was then the age of majority.
The election was fought against a background of rising unemployment, with the memory of the 1926 general strike still fresh in voters' minds. By 1929, the Cabinet was being described by many as "old and exhausted".[2]
The Liberals campaigned on a comprehensive programme of public works under the title "We Can Conquer Unemployment". There was anticipation of a potential revival of the Liberal Party after the reunification of Independent Liberals and National Liberals now under Lloyd George's leadership since 1926 and following some victories in a series of recent by-elections after 1926.[3] The incumbent Conservatives campaigned on the theme of "Safety First", with Labour campaigning on the theme of "Labour & the Nation".
This was the first general election to be contested by the newly formed Welsh nationalist party Plaid Cymru.
It stood as the last time when a third party polled more than one-fifth of the popular vote until 1983. The Liberals performed more successfully than at the previous general election in 1924, but could not regain its pre-World War I status as a party of government.[3] The next election thus ushered in five decades in which two-party politics dominated.
In some cases, the change is owing to the MP having defected to the gaining party, and then retaining the seat in 1929. Such circumstances are marked with a *.
In other circumstances, the change is owing to the seat having been won by the gaining party in a by-election in the intervening years, and then retained in 1929. Such circumstances are marked with a †.
^ abCampbell, John (2010). Pistols at Dawn: Two Hundred Years of Political Rivalry from Pitt and Fox to Blair and Brown. London: Vintage. p. 192. ISBN978-1-84595-091-0. OCLC 489636152.
^Tetteh, Edmund (1 February 2008). (PDF). parliament.uk. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 July 2014. Retrieved 23 May 2014.
^The seat and vote count figures for the Conservatives given here include the Speaker of the House of Commons
Doerr, Paul W. (1998), British foreign policy 1919–1939, Manchester: Manchester University Press, ISBN0719046718
Further readingedit
Howell, David (2002), MacDonald's Party: Labour Identities and Crisis, 1922–1939, Oxford
Redvaldsen, David (2010), "'Today is the Dawn': The Labour Party and the 1929 General Election", Parliamentary History, 29 (3): 395–415, doi:10.1111/j.1750-0206.2010.00213.x
Williamson, Philip (1982), "'Safety First': Baldwin, the Conservative Party and the 1929 General Election" (PDF), Historical Journal, 25 (2): 385–409, doi:10.1017/S0018246X00011614, S2CID 159673425
External linksedit
United Kingdom election results—summary results 1885–1979 30 January 2012 at the Wayback Machine
Manifestosedit
1929 Conservative manifesto
1929 Liberal manifesto
January 01, 1970
1929, united, kingdom, general, election, held, thursday, 1929, resulted, hung, parliament, ramsay, macdonald, labour, party, most, seats, house, commons, first, time, despite, receiving, fewer, votes, than, conservative, party, prime, minister, stanley, baldw. The 1929 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 30 May 1929 and resulted in a hung parliament Ramsay MacDonald s Labour Party won the most seats in the House of Commons for the first time despite receiving fewer votes than the Conservative Party led by Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin The Liberal Party led again by former Prime Minister David Lloyd George regained some ground lost in the 1924 general election and held the balance of power Parliament was dissolved on 10 May 1 1929 United Kingdom general election 1924 30 May 1929 1931 outgoing memberselected members All 615 seats in the House of Commons308 seats needed for a majorityTurnout76 3 0 7 pp First party Second party Third party Leader Ramsay MacDonald Stanley Baldwin David Lloyd George Party Labour Conservative Liberal Leader since 21 November 1922 23 May 1923 14 October 1926 Leader s seat Seaham Bewdley Caernarvon Boroughs Last election 151 seats 33 3 412 seats 46 8 40 seats 17 8 Seats won 287 260 note 1 59 Seat change 136 152 19 Popular vote 8 048 968 8 252 527 5 104 638 Percentage 37 1 38 1 23 6 Swing 3 8 pp 8 7 pp 5 8 ppColours denote the winning party as shown in ResultsPrime Minister before election Stanley Baldwin Conservative Prime Minister after election Ramsay MacDonald Labour The election was often referred to as the Flapper Election because it was the first in which women aged 21 29 had the right to vote owing to the Representation of the People Act 1928 Women over 30 with some property qualifications had been able to vote since the 1918 general election but the 1929 vote was the first general election with universal suffrage for adults over 21 which was then the age of majority The election was fought against a background of rising unemployment with the memory of the 1926 general strike still fresh in voters minds By 1929 the Cabinet was being described by many as old and exhausted 2 The Liberals campaigned on a comprehensive programme of public works under the title We Can Conquer Unemployment There was anticipation of a potential revival of the Liberal Party after the reunification of Independent Liberals and National Liberals now under Lloyd George s leadership since 1926 and following some victories in a series of recent by elections after 1926 3 The incumbent Conservatives campaigned on the theme of Safety First with Labour campaigning on the theme of Labour amp the Nation This was the first general election to be contested by the newly formed Welsh nationalist party Plaid Cymru It stood as the last time when a third party polled more than one fifth of the popular vote until 1983 The Liberals performed more successfully than at the previous general election in 1924 but could not regain its pre World War I status as a party of government 3 The next election thus ushered in five decades in which two party politics dominated Contents 1 Results 1 1 Votes summary 1 2 Seats summary 1 3 Constituency results 2 Transfers of seats 3 See also 4 References 4 1 Sources 5 Further reading 6 External links 6 1 ManifestosResults edit nbsp UK General Election 1929 Candidates Votes Party Leader Stood Elected Gained Unseated Net of total No Net Conservative Stanley Baldwin 590 260 2 154 152 42 3 38 1 8 252 527 8 7 Labour Ramsay MacDonald 569 287 140 4 136 46 7 37 1 8 048 968 3 8 Liberal David Lloyd George 513 59 36 17 19 9 6 23 6 5 104 638 5 8 Independent N A 11 4 3 1 2 0 8 0 4 94 742 0 2 Communist Harry Pollitt 25 0 0 1 1 0 2 47 554 0 1 Ind Conservative N A 8 0 0 0 0 0 2 46 278 Scottish Prohibition Edwin Scrymgeour 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 25 037 0 1 Nationalist Joseph Devlin 3 2 2 0 2 0 5 0 1 24 177 0 1 Independent Labour N A 4 1 1 0 1 0 2 0 1 20 825 0 1 Independent Liberal N A 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 17 110 0 1 National Scotland Roland Muirhead 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 313 N A Plaid Cymru Saunders Lewis 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 609 N A Irish Nationalist T P O Connor 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 N A Total votes cast 21 685 779 Turnout 76 3 4 All parties shown Conservatives include Ulster Unionists Votes summary edit Popular vote Conservative 38 06 Labour 37 12 Liberal 23 54 Others 1 28 Seats summary edit Parliamentary seats Labour 46 67 Conservative 42 28 Liberal 9 59 Others 1 46 Constituency results edit For a full list of the results by constituency see Constituency election results in the 1929 United Kingdom general election Transfers of seats editAll comparisons are with the 1924 election In some cases the change is owing to the MP having defected to the gaining party and then retaining the seat in 1929 Such circumstances are marked with a In other circumstances the change is owing to the seat having been won by the gaining party in a by election in the intervening years and then retained in 1929 Such circumstances are marked with a To From No Seats Independent Labour Labour 1 Govan Labour Communist 1 Battersea North Liberal 15 Chesterfield South Shields Walthamstow West Bristol North Bristol South Kingston upon Hull Central Blackburn one of two Oldham one of two Hackney South Lambeth North Bradford East Batley and Morley Wrexham Carmarthen Swansea West Constitutionalist 3 Walthamstow East1 Accrington2 Stoke2 Conservative 121 Stirlingshire West Dunbartonshire Lanark Partick Lanarkshire North Renfrewshire West Maryhill Kilmarnock Edinburgh West Linlithgow Berwick amp Haddington Reading Birkenhead West Crewe Stalybridge and Hyde Stockport one of two Carlisle Whitehaven Derby one of two Belper Derbyshire South Drake Barnard Castle Sedgefield Darlington Stockton on Tees Sunderland both seats Leyton East East Ham North Essex SE Leyton West Romford Upton Bristol Central Portsmouth Central Southampton both seats Dudley Stourbridge Kingston upon Hull East Kingston upon Hull South West Chatham Dartford Blackburn one of two Ormskirk Rossendale Ashton under Lyne Bolton both seats Eccles Hulme Oldham one of two Salford North Salford South Salford West Bootle Everton Kirkdale Warrington Widnes Leicester East Loughborough Brigg Fulham West Hammersmith South Islington North Kensington North Battersea South Greenwich Islington East Camberwell North West Hackney Central Kennington Hammersmith North St Pancras North St Pancras South East St Pancras South West Wandsworth Central Norfolk South West Norwich one of two Kettering Northampton Peterborough Bassetlaw Nottingham South The Wrekin Frome Lichfield Walsall Wolverhampton West Nuneaton Duddeston Coventry Aston Deritend Erdington Ladywood Yardley Swindon York Cleveland Acton Enfield Tottenham South Sheffield Central Bradford North Leeds Central Sowerby Wakefield Sheffield Park Bradford Central Pontefract Newport Monmouthshire Brecon and Radnor Llandaff amp Barry Cardiff Central Cardiff East Cardiff South Speaker 1 Halifax Independent 1 Mossley Labour gains 142 Liberal Labour 2 Bethnal Green North East Newcastle upon Tyne East Constitutionalist 2 Camborne Heywood and Radcliffe Conservative 32 Banff Aberdeenshire West and Kincardine Fife East Dumfriesshire Galloway Bedfordshire Mid Luton Huntingdonshire Isle of Ely Birkenhead East Eddisbury Bodmin Cornwall North Penryn and Falmouth St Ives South Molton Dorset East Harwich Hereford Ashford Darwen Preston one of two Blackley Withington Bosworth Holland with Boston Great Yarmouth Norfolk East Nottingham East Eye Flintshire Pembrokeshire Liberal gains 36 Conservative Labour 1 King s Norton Constitutionalist 1 Epping Conservative gains 2 Independent Constitutionalist 1 Stretford Conservative 2 Combined English Universities one of two Exeter Nationalist Ulster Unionist 2 Fermanagh and Tyrone both seats 1 Previous MP had defected to the Conservatives by the 1929 election 2 Previous MP had defected to the Liberals by the 1929 electionSee also editList of MPs elected in the 1929 United Kingdom general election 1929 United Kingdom general election in Northern Ireland Constituency election results in the 1929 United Kingdom general electionReferences edit Parliamentary Election Timetables PDF 3rd ed House of Commons Library 25 March 1997 Retrieved 3 July 2022 Doerr 1998 pp 104 5 a b Campbell John 2010 Pistols at Dawn Two Hundred Years of Political Rivalry from Pitt and Fox to Blair and Brown London Vintage p 192 ISBN 978 1 84595 091 0 OCLC 489636152 Tetteh Edmund 1 February 2008 Election Statistics UK 1918 2007 PDF parliament uk Archived from the original PDF on 8 July 2014 Retrieved 23 May 2014 The seat and vote count figures for the Conservatives given here include the Speaker of the House of Commons Sources edit Craig F W S 1989 British Electoral Facts 1832 1987 Dartmouth Gower ISBN 0900178302 Doerr Paul W 1998 British foreign policy 1919 1939 Manchester Manchester University Press ISBN 0719046718Further reading editHowell David 2002 MacDonald s Party Labour Identities and Crisis 1922 1939 Oxford Redvaldsen David 2010 Today is the Dawn The Labour Party and the 1929 General Election Parliamentary History 29 3 395 415 doi 10 1111 j 1750 0206 2010 00213 x Williamson Philip 1982 Safety First Baldwin the Conservative Party and the 1929 General Election PDF Historical Journal 25 2 385 409 doi 10 1017 S0018246X00011614 S2CID 159673425External links editUnited Kingdom election results summary results 1885 1979 Archived 30 January 2012 at the Wayback Machine Manifestos edit 1929 Conservative manifesto 1929 Labour manifesto 1929 Liberal manifesto Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 1929 United Kingdom general election amp oldid 1212390783, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
