The Conservative Party, officially the Conservative and Unionist Party and also known colloquially as the Tories, is one of the two main political parties in the United Kingdom, along with the Labour Party, and has been described as both right-wing and centre-right.
This article encompasses detailed results of previous UK general elections, Police and Crime Commissioner elections, devolved national elections, devolved London elections and European Parliament elections which the Conservative Party have participated in.
Background
The Conservative Party is currently the primary opposition party in the United Kingdom. On the political spectrum the party has been described as right-wing by various sources and as centre-right by others, and encompasses various ideological factions including one-nation conservatives, Thatcherites, and traditionalist conservatives. It holds the annual Conservative Party Conference. It 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.Ivor Bulmer-Thomas, The Growth of the British Party System Volume I: 1640–1923 (1965) pp. 66–81David Paterson, Liberalism and Conservatism, 1846–1905 (2001) p. 5 In 1912 the Liberal Unionist Party merged with the party to form the Conservative and Unionist Party. Since the 1920s the Labour Party emerged to be the Conservatives' main rival and the Conservative–Labour political rivalry has shaped modern British politics for the last century.
National results UK general elections United Kingdom general elections are held under the first past the post voting system. Each constituency in the United Kingdom will elect one Member of Parliament; overall 650 Members of Parliament are currently elected at each election. Following the Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022, the date of the general election is at the discretion of the prime minister within a five-year period from the last general election. The previous general election was held on 4 July 2024.
In the 1931 general election, the Conservatives earned their best result to date, by vote share (55.5%) and seat number (474). In the post-war era, the 1983 general election was the most successful for the Conservatives in terms of seats won (397), whereas 1955 was the most successful election for vote share (49.7%). However, the 1997 general election was the least successful election since 1918 for the Conservatives, winning 165 seats and gaining 30.7% of the vote.
This chart shows the electoral performance of the Conservative Party in each general election since 1835.
For results of the Tories, the party's predecessor, see here. + Parliament of the United KingdomElectionLeaderVotesSeatsPositionGovernmentRef No. Share No. ± Share1835Robert Peel261,26940.8% 9841.5% 2nd1837379,69448.3% 4147.7% 2nd1841379,69456.9% 5355.8% 1st1847Earl of Derby205,48142.7%Includes Peelites 4249.5% 1st1852311,48141.9%Includes Peelites 550.5% 1st1857239,71234.0% 6640.4% 2nd1859193,23234.3% 3445.6% 2nd1865346,03540.5% 943.9% 2nd1868The first election held under the Reform Act 1867.Benjamin Disraeli903,31838.4% 1841.2% 2nd18741,091,70844.3% 7953.7% 1st18801,462,35142.5% 11336.3% 2nd1885The first election held under the Representation of the People Act 1884 and the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885.Marquess of Salisbury1,869,56043.4% 1036.9% 2nd18861,417,62751.4% 14658.7% 1st18922,028,58647.0% 7946.9% 2nd18951,759,48449.3% 9761.3% 1st19001,637,68350.2% 960.0% 1st1906Arthur Balfour2,278,07643.4% 24623.3% 2ndJanuary 19102,919,23646.8% 11640.6% 2ndDecember 19102,270,75346.6% 140.5% 2ndMerged with Liberal Unionist Party in 1912 to become the Conservative and Unionist Party1918The first election held under the Representation of the People Act 1918 in which all men over 21, and most women over the age of 30 could vote, and therefore a much larger electorate.Bonar Law4,003,84838.4%332 elected with Coupon 10853.6% 1st19225,294,46538.5% 3555.9% 1st1923Stanley Baldwin5,286,15938.0% 8641.3% 1st19247,418,98346.8% 12467.0% 1st1929The first election held under the Representation of the People Act 1928 which gave all women aged over 21 the vote.8,252,52738.1% 15242.3% 2nd193111,377,02255.0% 21076.4% 1st193510,025,08347.8% 8362.8% 1st1945Winston Churchill8,716,21136.2% 18930.8% 2nd195012,494,40443.4% 9047.7% 2nd195113,717,85148.0% 2351.4% 1st1955Anthony Eden13,310,89149.7% 2251.4% 1st1959Harold Macmillan13,750,87549.4% 2154.8% 1st1964Alec Douglas-Home12,002,64243.4% 4747.3% 2nd1966Edward Heath11,418,45541.9% 4839.7% 2nd1970Franchise extended to all 18- to 20-year-olds under the Representation of the People Act 1969.13,145,12346.4% 8052.4% 1stFebruary 197411,872,18037.9% 3346.8% 2ndOctober 197410,462,56535.8% 2043.6% 2nd1979Margaret Thatcher13,697,92343.9% 6253.4% 1st198313,012,31642.4% 3861.1% 1st198713,760,93542.2% 2157.8% 1st1992John Major14,093,00741.9% 4051.6% 1st19979,600,94330.7% 17125.0% 2nd2001William Hague8,357,61531.7% 125.2% 2nd2005Michael Howard8,785,94132.4% 3230.7% 2nd2010David Cameron10,703,65436.1% 9647.1% 1st201511,299,60936.8% 2450.8% 1st2017Theresa May13,636,68442.3% 1348.8% 1st with DUP confidence and supply2019Boris Johnson13,966,45443.6% 4856.2% 1st2024Rishi Sunak6,827,31123.7% 25118.6% 2nd
Note
Police and Crime Commissioner elections ElectionLeaderVotesCommissionersPosition No. Share No. ± Share 2012David Cameron1,480,32327.6% 34.8% 1st 20162,601,56029.3% 450.0% 1st 2021 Boris Johnson4,900,50144.5% 1076.9% 1st2024Rishi Sunak2,727,82035.2%1151.4%1st
Devolved national elections
Scottish Parliament elections
ElectionLeaderVotes (Constituency)Votes (List)SeatsPositionGovernment No. Share No. Share No. ± Share1999364,22515.6%359,10915.4%14.0% 3rd Labour–Liberal Democrats2003318,27916.6%296,92915.6% 014.0% 3rd Labour–Liberal Democrats2007334,74316.6%284,00513.9% 113.4% 3rd Scottish National minority2011276,65213.9%245,96712.4% 211.6% 3rd Scottish National2016501,84422.0%524,22222.9% 1624.0% 2nd Scottish National minority2021592,52621.9%637,13123.5% 024.0% 2nd Scottish National minority2026271,74011.8%271,55011.8% 199.3% 5th Scottish National minority
Senedd elections
ElectionLeaderVotes (Constituency)Votes (List)SeatsPositionGovernment No. Share No. Share No. ± Share 1999 Rod Richards162,13315.8%168,20616.5%15.0% 3rd 2003Nick Bourne169,83219.9%162,72519.2% 218.3% 3rd 2007218,73922.4%209,15321.4% 120.0% 3rd 2011237,38825.0%213,77322.5% 223.3% 2nd 2016 Andrew R. T. Davies215,59721.1%190,84618.8% 318.3% 3rd 2021289,80226.1%278,56025.1% 526.7% 2nd 2026Darren MillarElectoral system changed134,92610.7% 9 4th
Northern Ireland devolved elections
Prior to 1973, the Ulster Unionist Party acted as the de facto Northern Ireland branch of the Conservative Party. The UUP's results may be seen here. ElectionLeaderVotesSeatsPositionGovernment No. Share No. ± Share Elections to the Northern Ireland Forum in 19961996 Barbara Finney3,5950.48 0.0% 12th Elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly from 19981998 1,8350.23 00.0% 14th 2003 1,6040.20 00.0% 14th 2007 3,4570.50 00.0% 10th 2011 colspan="6" 2016 Alan Dunlop2,5540.40 00.0% 11th 2022 Matthew Robinson colspan="6" tbc
Devolved London elections London Mayoral elections
ElectionLeaderCandidateVotes (1st pref.)Votes (run-off)Position No. Share No. Share2000 William HagueSteven Norris464,43427.1%564,13742.1% 2004 Michael Howard542,42329.1%667,18044.6% 2008David CameronBoris Johnson1,043,76143.2%1,168,73853.2% 2012971,93144.0%1,054,81151.5% 2016 Zac Goldsmith909,75535.0%994,61443.2% 2021 Boris Johnson Shaun Bailey893,05135.3%977,60144.8% 2024Rishi SunakSusan Hall812,39732.7%
London Assembly elections
ElectionLeaderAssembly LeaderVotes (Constituency)Votes (List)SeatsPosition No. Share No. Share No. + Share2000 William Hague Eric Ollerenshaw526,42233.2%481,05329.0%36.0% 1st2004 Michael Howard Bob Neill562,04731.2%533,69628.5% 036.0% 1st2008David Cameron Richard Barnes900,56937.4%835,53534.1% 244.0% 1st2012 James Cleverly722,28032.7%708,52832.0% 236.0% 2nd2016 Gareth Bacon812,41531.1%764,23029.2% 132.0% 2nd2021 Boris Johnson Susan Hall833,02132.0%795,08130.7% 136.0% 2nd2024Rishi SunakNeil Garratt673,03627.2%648,26926.2% 132.0% 2nd
Combined authority elections Year Leader Mayoralties won Change20172018 2019 2021 22024Rishi Sunak 1
European European Parliament elections
ElectionParty GroupLeaderVotesSeatsPosition No. Share No. ± Share1979ED6,508,49248.475.0% 1st1984EPP5,426,86638.8 1555.6% 1st19895,331,07734.7 1339.5% 2nd19944,274,12226.8 1320.7% 2nd1999Electoral system changed from first past the post to proportional representation.EPP-ED3,578,21835.8 1841.4% 1st20044,397,08726.7 834.6% 1st2009Includes 82,892 votes and 1 seat gained from the UCUNF allianceECR4,281,28627.7 136.1% 1st20143,792,54923.1 726.0% 3rd20191,512,8098.8 155.5% 5th
Note
Notes
References