General Election 2015: Six of the best quotes from the past 24 hours May 8, 2015 It was a long election – and what felt like an even longer night (and morning), with unexpected twists and turns worthy of any Hollywood thriller. No one predicted the outcome of the General Election and no one even imagined the week ending with a majority government and the scalps of three party leaders being [...]
David Cameron sweeps to General Election victory after dramatic vote gives Conservatives overall majority May 8, 2015 The Conservatives have swept to a shock victory after they secured 330 seats in the General Election, giving them enough to govern without a coalition. Prime minister David Cameron addressed reporters outside Number 10 Downing Street where he talked about rebalancing the economy and devolving power to Scotland. "I've been proud to lead the first [...]
Who really won the 2015 General Election? How the parties would compare if results were based on votes alone May 8, 2015 The number of seats a party wins at a General Election by no means reflects the total votes it receives – constituencies vary widely in population size, and a party just needs to be the popular (it doesn't need a majority) to win a particular seat. So if a party won 100 per cent [...]
General Election 2015 results mapped: Who’s won where and by how much May 8, 2015 All 650 constituencies are in and the results of the General Election 2015 are confirmed – and it's been a tumultuous night, with the Conservatives gaining an unexpected majority with 331 seats (when the Speaker's is counted) against Labour's 232. The Scottish National Party has taken 56 of Scotland's 59 seats in a landslide victory, destroying [...]
General Election 2015 results: Why first past the post has killed Ukip May 8, 2015 The Conservative party may have won a majority with 330 seats but it isn’t ‘paying’ the same number of votes for a seat. The Tories got 11.3m votes and 329 seats, while Ukip got one seat for 3.9m votes. That means Ukip paid 112 times the number of votes per seat than the Conservatives did and [...]
General Election 2015 results map: How many seats did the SNP win in Scotland and what’s changed since 2005? Only Edinburgh South sticks with Labour May 8, 2015 Hyperbole is rarely far away in politicians' speeches during a General Election, yet it was hard to argue too much with Nicola Sturgeon's insistence that "the tectonic plates of Scottish politics shifted" following last night's result. Labour and the Liberal Democrats have almost been wiped off the map with the two parties losing 40 and [...]
General Election 2015: Pollsters were one of the biggest losers May 8, 2015 Britain was in disbelief last night after an exit poll suggested the Tories were just shy of a majority with 316 seats, defying months of polls suggesting we were on the edge of what would be the closest election in living memory. Until this point we'd been told the two mains parties – the Tories [...]
General Election 2015 results: Meet Mhairi Black, Westminster’s youngest MP who just beat Douglas Alexander in Paisley and South Renfrewshire May 8, 2015 When parliament reconvenes next month it will welcome its youngest MP since the 1600s; 20-year-old Mhairi Black who spectacularly unseated shadow foreign secretary Douglas Alexander in the Paisley and South Renfrewshire constituency. She is officially the youngest lawmaker in 348 years. Despite the fact that Black is yet to graduate from her politics degree at Glasgow [...]
General Election 2015 results: Cameron claims victory while Ed Miliband, Nick Clegg and Nigel Farage resign after dramatic day in British politics May 8, 2015 David Cameron has claimed victory in the General Election while Ed Miliband, Nick Clegg and Nigel Farage quit as leaders of their respective parties in one of the most dramatic days in British political history. Cameron has swept to a surprise victory and will form a majority government. Miliband has stood down as leader of [...]
General Election 2015 results: Who will be the next Labour leader? Runners and riders – Andy Burnham, Yvette Cooper, Chuka Umunna May 8, 2015 It's official. Labour leader Ed Miliband is on his way out. It follows the Labour party's awful performance in this year's general election where they lost a total of 26 seats, and the decline came as the SNP swept to victory in Scotland clinching a total of 56 seats. The shock outcome will now see the [...]