1929 United Kingdom general election

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1929 United Kingdom general election: a simple summary

The election was held on 30 May 1929, with Parliament dissolved on 10 May. The House of Commons has 615 seats, and 308 are needed for a majority. Turnout was about 21.7 million voters, or 76.3%.

The main parties and leaders
- Labour, led by Ramsay MacDonald (seat: Seaham)
- Conservative, led by Stanley Baldwin (seat: Bewdley)
- Liberal, led by David Lloyd George (seat: Caernarvon Boroughs)

Results
- Labour won 287 seats (up 136 from the previous election)
- Conservatives won 260 seats (down 152)
- Liberals won 59 seats (up 19)

Popular vote
- Labour: about 8.05 million votes (37.1%)
- Conservatives: about 8.25 million votes (38.1%)
- Liberals: about 5.10 million votes (23.6%)

This was a hung parliament: Labour had the most seats, but no party had a majority. The Liberals held the balance of power.

Prime Ministers before and after
- Before: Stanley Baldwin (Conservative)
- After: Ramsay MacDonald (Labour)

Key context
- It was known as the "Flapper Election" because it was the first general election after women aged 21–29 gained the right to vote (women 30+ had voted since 1918; universal adult suffrage for over-21s came from the 1928 act).
- Unemployment was rising, and memories of the 1926 general strike lingered. The Liberal campaign promoted public works to tackle unemployment, while Labour framed the contest as “Labour & the Nation” and Conservatives ran on “Safety First.”
- Plaid Cymru, the Welsh nationalist party, contested for the first time.
- The Liberals performed better than in 1924 but did not return to government. This election was also notable as the last time a third party (the Liberals) won more than 20% of the vote until 1983.