The UK General election takes place this week on Thursday 4 July and if the opinion polls are to be believed we will have a Labour Government for the next 5 years.
Going into this election the Conservatives held a healthy majority with 344 seats, 139 more than Labour on 205 seats. With a total of 650 seats available, it is perhaps worth looking back at the results of recent elections. The UK’s “first past the post” voting system means that to form a Government, a party needs 325 seats to win.
| Previous elections | 1997 | 2017 | 2019 | pre 2024 |
| Conservative | 166 | 317 | 365 | 344 |
| Labour | 412 | 262 | 202 | 205 |
| Other | 81 | 71 | 83 | 101 |
| 659 | 650 | 650 | 650 |
1997 all over again?
Many of us will recall the 1997 election when Tony Blair’s New Labour swept to victory with a landslide majority, including the Portillo moment on a dreadful night for the Conservatives. The 166 seats the Conservatives won in 1997 may prove to be a good result compared to what might happen later this week.
A landslide, but how big?
A better result might be if the two main parties just reverse the position going into this election, with the Conservatives on just over 200 seats and with Labour approaching 350 seats. However some polls suggest Labour could win 450 seats, with the Conservatives below 100……
Time will tell and the results are going to be fascinating and will have a huge impact on the future fiscal and tax strategy for the UK, with a resulting impact on you, your family and your business.
