Updated
HISTORIC UK GENERAL ELECTION · 5 JULY 1945
1945 UK general election results
Attlee defeats Churchill
Largest party393 seats
The electorate thanked its wartime leader, then chose Labour's programme for peace and reconstruction.
What happened?
Labour was the largest grouping with 393 seats, ahead of Conservative grouping on 210. 145-seat government majority.
Who formed the government?
Clement Attlee led the labour majority government after the election.
Was it a shock?
Yes, especially against Churchill's personal wartime prestige. The delayed count made the scale of the result an election-day revelation, although contemporary polling had shown Labour competitive.
CONTEXT
Britain before the vote
Europe's war had ended, but rationing, housing and reconstruction dominated domestic politics. Labour offered a programme built around full employment, social insurance, nationalisation and a national health service.
RESULT
What the election changed
Labour won 393 seats and formed its first majority government. The Attlee government went on to establish the NHS, expand social security and nationalise major industries.
SWING
11.9-point swing to Labour
Two-party swing calculated from the Commons Library's 1935 and 1945 UK vote shares.
BOUNDARIES
How to read the seat total
This election used its own boundary set and still included university and a small number of multi-member seats. The chart therefore uses one tile per MP, not later constituency polygons.
SOURCES