The United Kingdom general election of 2010 which was held today, 6 May, to elect one Member of Parliament in each of the 650 constituencies to the House of Commons, the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The election will be more than five years after the previous election. Voting took place between 7.00 am and 10.00 pm. Local elections will also be held in some areas on that day. The election was called on 6 April, and Parliament was dissolved on 12 April for the ensuing campaign.
The governing Labour Party will be looking to secure a fourth consecutive term in office and to restore support lost since 1997 The Conservative Party will seek to gain a dominant position in UK politics after losses in the 1990s, and to replace Labour as the governing party. The Liberal Democrats hope to make gains from both sides and hope to hold the balance of power in a hung parliament. Since the televised debates between the three leaders, their poll ratings have risen to the point where many are considering the possibility of a Liberal Democrat role in Government. Polls just before election day saw a slight swing from the Liberal Democrats back to Labour and Conservatives, with the majority of final polls falling within one point of Conservatives 36%, Labour 28%, Liberal Democrats 27%. However record numbers of undecided voters raised uncertainty about the outcome.
The Scottish National Party, encouraged by their victory in the 2007 Scottish parliament elections, have set themselves a target of 20 MPs and will also be hoping to find themselves in a balance of power position. Equally, Plaid Cymru is seeking gains in Wales. Smaller parties who have had successes at local elections and the 2009 European elections (United Kingdom Independence Party, Green Party, British National Party) will look to extend their representation to seats in the House of Commons. The Democratic Unionist Party will be looking to maintain, if not extend, their number of seats, currently the 4th largest party in the House of Commons
The election is the first to be faced by the Labour leader Gordon Brown as Prime Minister, who became party leader in 2007 after the resignation of Tony Blair. It is also the first election to be faced by the main opposition party leaders, David Cameron of the Conservatives and Nick Clegg of the Liberal Democrats. It is thus the first time since 1979 that none of the three main party leaders has headed a previous general election campaign. For the first time at a British election, the three main party leaders engaged in a series of televised debates.
The governing Labour Party will be looking to secure a fourth consecutive term in office and to restore support lost since 1997 The Conservative Party will seek to gain a dominant position in UK politics after losses in the 1990s, and to replace Labour as the governing party. The Liberal Democrats hope to make gains from both sides and hope to hold the balance of power in a hung parliament. Since the televised debates between the three leaders, their poll ratings have risen to the point where many are considering the possibility of a Liberal Democrat role in Government. Polls just before election day saw a slight swing from the Liberal Democrats back to Labour and Conservatives, with the majority of final polls falling within one point of Conservatives 36%, Labour 28%, Liberal Democrats 27%. However record numbers of undecided voters raised uncertainty about the outcome.
The Scottish National Party, encouraged by their victory in the 2007 Scottish parliament elections, have set themselves a target of 20 MPs and will also be hoping to find themselves in a balance of power position. Equally, Plaid Cymru is seeking gains in Wales. Smaller parties who have had successes at local elections and the 2009 European elections (United Kingdom Independence Party, Green Party, British National Party) will look to extend their representation to seats in the House of Commons. The Democratic Unionist Party will be looking to maintain, if not extend, their number of seats, currently the 4th largest party in the House of Commons
The election is the first to be faced by the Labour leader Gordon Brown as Prime Minister, who became party leader in 2007 after the resignation of Tony Blair. It is also the first election to be faced by the main opposition party leaders, David Cameron of the Conservatives and Nick Clegg of the Liberal Democrats. It is thus the first time since 1979 that none of the three main party leaders has headed a previous general election campaign. For the first time at a British election, the three main party leaders engaged in a series of televised debates.
