05 May 2005

The Liberal Democrats win 62 seats in the 2005 general election

The election saw Tony Blair and the Labour Party re-elected for a historic third term with a majority of 66. Thanks to some strong identifiable policies such as opposition to the Iraq war, tuition fees and the council tax, the Liberal Democrats increased its vote share to 22% with big rises in its vote in the North of England and in Scotland where the party came second to Labour resulting in the largest number of Liberal MPs elected since 1923. 11 seats were gained from Labour, including Birmingham Yardley, Falmouth and Camborne, Leeds North West and Manchester Withington, plus three from the Tories and Ceredigion was recaptured from Plaid Cymru. This was balanced by the loss of four seats to the Conservatives. Although the party had polled well, there was a feeling that, given the lack of popularity of the other two main parties, the party could have made more progress and that an opportunity had been missed.