The 1929 UK general election was held on 30 May 1929, and resulted in a hung parliament. It was the first of only three elections under universal suffrage in which a party lost the popular vote but gained a plurality of seats (the others being 1951 and February 1974). In 1929 that party was Ramsay MacDonald's Labour, which won the most seats in the Commons for the first time ever but failed to get a majority. The Liberals led by David Lloyd George regained some of the ground they had lost in the 1924 election, and held the balance of power.

The election was often referred to as the "Flapper Election" in that it was the first election in which women under the age of 30 were allowed to vote.

The election was fought against a background of rising unemployment with the memory of the 1926 General Strike still fresh in voters minds. The Liberals campaigned on a comprehensive programme of public works under the title "We Can Conquer Unemployment" The Conservatives campaigned on the theme of "Safety First".

Results

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Total votes cast: 21,685,779. All parties shown. Conservatives include Ulster Unionists.

References

• F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987
• United Kingdom election results - summary results 1885-1979

See also

• MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1929

External links

• 1929 Conservative manifesto
• 1929 Labour manifesto
• 1929 Liberal manifesto

de:Britische Unterhauswahlen 1929 sv:Parlamentsvalet i Storbritannien 1929