1964 United Kingdom general election

The 1964 United Kingdom general election was held on 15 October 1964, five years after the previous election, and thirteen years after the Conservative Party, first led by Winston Churchill, had regained power. It resulted in the Conservatives, led by the incumbent Prime Minister Alec Douglas-Home, narrowly losing to the Labour Party, led by Harold Wilson; Labour secured a parliamentary majority of four seats and ended its thirteen years in opposition. Wilson became (at the time) the youngest Prime Minister since Lord Rosebery in 1894. To date, this is also the most narrow majority obtained in the House of Commons with just 1 seat clearing Labour for a majority government.

Quick facts: All 630 seats in the House of Commons 316 sea... ▼

1964 United Kingdom general election

← 1959 15 October 1964 1966 →
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All 630 seats in the House of Commons 316 seats needed for a majority
Opinion polls
Turnout	77.1%, 1.7%
First party Second party Third party   Leader Harold Wilson Alec Douglas-Home Jo Grimond Party Labour Conservative Liberal Last election 258 seats, 43.8% 365 seats, 49.4% 6 seats, 5.9% Seats won 317 304[note 1] 9 Seat change 59 61 3 Popular vote 12,205,808 12,002,642 3,099,283 Percentage 44.1% 43.4% 11.2% Swing 0.3% 6.0% 5.3%
Colours denote the winning party—as shown in § Results
Composition of the House of Commons after the election
Prime Minister before election Alec Douglas-Home Conservative Prime Minister after election Harold Wilson Labour