Turnout 71.1% (1.9%) 21 November 1922 30 April 1908 142 seats, 29.7% 62 seats, 18.9% Date 6 December 1923 | 23 May 1923 21 November 1922 344 seats, 38.5% 142 seats, 29.7% 258 191 | |
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Winner Ramsay MacDonald | ||
The United Kingdom general election of 1923 was held on Thursday 6 December 1923. The Conservatives, led by Stanley Baldwin, won the most seats, but Labour, led by Ramsay MacDonald, and H. H. Asquith's reunited Liberal Party gained enough to produce a hung parliament. It was the last UK general election in which a third party (the Liberals) won more than 100 seats, or received more than 26% of the vote.
Contents
As the election had been fought on the Conservative proposals for tariff reform, it was inevitable that they could not retain office. As a result, MacDonald formed the first ever Labour government with tacit support from the Liberals. Asquith's motivation for permitting Labour to enter power, rather than trying to bring the Liberals back into government, was that he hoped they would prove to be incompetent and quickly lose support. Being a minority, MacDonald's government only lasted 10 months and another general election was held in October 1924.
Overview
In May 1923 Prime Minister Bonar Law fell ill and resigned on 22 May, after just 209 days in office. He was replaced by Baldwin.
Having won an election just the year before, Baldwin's Conservative party had a comfortable majority in the Commons and could have waited another four years, but the government was concerned. Baldwin felt the need to receive a mandate from the people, which, if successful, would strengthen his grip on the Conservative party leadership. Oxford historian (and Conservative MP) J.A.R. Marriott depicts the gloomy national mood:
The times were still out of joint. Mr. Baldwin had indeed succeeded in negotiating (January 1923) a settlement of the British debt to the United States, but on terms which involved an annual payment of £34 million, at the existing rate of exchange. The French remained in the Ruhr. Peace had not yet been made with Turkey; unemployment was a standing menace to national recovery; there was continued unrest among the wage-earners, and a significant strike among farm labourers in Norfolk. Confronted by these difficulties, convinced that economic conditions in England called for a drastic change in fiscal policy, and urged thereto by the Imperial Conference of 1923, Mr. Baldwin decided to ask the country for a mandate for Preference and Protection.The result however backfired on Baldwin, who lost a host of seats to Labour and the Liberals. For the first time in history, Labour formed a government.
Results
Total number of votes cast: 13,909,017. Turnout 71.1% All parties shown. Conservatives include Ulster Unionists.
Constituency results
For a full list of the results by constituency, see Constituency election results in the United Kingdom general election, 1923.