29 October 1924

Polling day in the 1924 general election

The Conservatives led by Stanley Baldwin were returned to power after nine months in opposition, gaining 158 seats. The election was a disaster for the Liberal Party. Outmanoeuvred in parliament, strapped for cash and unprepared to fight an election, the party was only able to field a little over 350 candidates. At the end of the parliament there had been 158 Liberal MPs. When the election was over, only 42 remained. Asquith lost at Paisley and leading figures such as Macnamara, Seely, Hogge, Masterman and Isaac Foot all lost. The few prominent Liberals to survive the carnage included Lloyd George, Simon and Runciman. In all only seven Liberals were returned against both Labour and Conservative opponents. The election was a devastating blow for the party now firmly relegated to third place and, apart from the 1929 election, the party ceased to be a serious contender as a majority party of government.