View source for 1955 United Kingdom general election

{{Short description|none}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2014}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2014}}
{{Infobox election
| election_name = 1955 United Kingdom general election
| country = United Kingdom
| type = parliamentary
| ongoing = no
| previous_election = 1951 United Kingdom general election
| previous_year = 1951
| outgoing_members = List of MPs elected in the 1951 United Kingdom general election
| next_election = 1959 United Kingdom general election
| next_year = 1959
| elected_members = List of MPs elected in the 1955 United Kingdom general election
| seats_for_election = All [[List of United Kingdom Parliament constituencies (1955–1974)|630 seats]] in the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]]
| majority_seats = 316
| elected_mps = List of MPs elected in the 1955 United Kingdom general election
| election_date = 26 May 1955
| turnout = 76.8% ({{decrease}}5.8 [[Percentage point|pp]])

<!--      Conservative     -->| image1 = [[File:Anthony Eden (retouched).jpg|150x150px]]
| leader1 = [[Anthony Eden]]
| leader_since1 = 7 April 1955
| party1 = Conservative Party (UK)
| leaders_seat1 = [[Warwick and Leamington (UK Parliament constituency)|Warwick&nbsp;and<br>Leamington]]
| last_election1 = 321 seats, 48.0%
| seats1 = '''345'''{{efn|group=note|name=speaker|The seat and vote count figures for the Conservatives given here include the Speaker of the House of Commons}}
| seat_change1 = {{increase}}23
| popular_vote1 = '''13,310,891'''
| percentage1 = '''49.7%'''
| swing1 = {{increase}}1.7%

<!--      Labour      -->| image2 = [[File:Person attlee2.jpg|150x150px]]
| leader2 = [[Clement Attlee]]
| leader_since2 = [[1935 Labour Party leadership election|25 October 1935]]
| party2 = Labour Party (UK)
| leaders_seat2 = [[Walthamstow West]]
| last_election2 = 295 seats, 48.8%
| seats2 = 277
| seat_change2 = {{decrease}}18
| popular_vote2 = 12,405,254
| percentage2 = 46.4%
| swing2 = {{decrease}}2.4%

<!--      Liberal      -->| image3 = [[File:Clement Davies.jpg|150x150px]]
| leader3 = [[Clement Davies]]
| leader_since3 = 2 August 1945
| party3 = Liberal Party (UK)
| leaders_seat3 = [[Montgomeryshire (UK Parliament constituency)|Montgomeryshire]]
| last_election3 = 6 seats, 2.5%
| seats3 = 6
| seat_change3 = {{steady}}
| popular_vote3 = 722,402
| percentage3 = 2.7%
| swing3 = {{increase}}0.2%
| map_image = UK General Election, 1955.svg
| map_size = 200px
| map_caption = Colours denote the winning party—as shown in {{slink||Results}}
| map2_image = File:1955 UK GE Westminster diagram.svg
| map2_caption = Composition of the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]] after the election
| title = [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|Prime Minister]]
| posttitle = Prime Minister after election
| before_election = [[Anthony Eden]]
| before_party = Conservative Party (UK)
| after_election = [[Anthony Eden]]
| after_party = Conservative Party (UK)
| opinion_polls = Opinion polling for the 1955 United Kingdom general election
}}
The '''1955 United Kingdom general election''' was held on Thursday 26 May 1955, four years after the [[1951 United Kingdom general election|previous general election in 1951]]. 
It was a [[snap election]]: after [[Winston Churchill]] retired in April 1955, [[Anthony Eden]] took over and immediately called the election in order to gain a mandate for his government.
It resulted in a majority of 60 seats for [[Eden ministry|the government]]; the result remains the largest party share of the vote at a post-war general election. This was the first general election to be held during the reign of [[Elizabeth II]]. She had succeeded her father [[George VI]] the year after the previous election.

{{UK general election navigation|clear=none|1950|1951|1955|1959|1964}}

==Results==
The election was fought on new boundaries, with five seats added to the 625 fought in 1951. At the same time, the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]] had returned to power for the first time since [[World War II]] and increased its popularity by accepting the [[mixed economy]] and [[Welfare state in the United Kingdom|welfare state]] created by the previous [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] government. It also was lauded for its economic policy after ending [[Rationing in the United Kingdom|rationing]], improving foreign trade, and even outperforming Labour in the construction of [[Public housing in the United Kingdom|public housing]].<ref name = "Thorpe">{{Cite book |last=Thorpe |first=Andrew |author-link = Andrew Thorpe |url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-1-349-25305-0 |title=A History of the British Labour Party |date=1997 |publisher=Macmillan Education UK |isbn=978-0-333-56081-5 |location=London |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-1-349-25305-0}}</ref>{{rp|137}} The "giveaway budget" of Chancellor [[Rab Butler]] prior to the election also improved the popularity of the Conservative Party.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2010/mar/21/pre-election-budget-history|title=Pre-election budgets: a history of hair shirts and handouts|website=The Guardian|author=Elliott, Larry|date=21 March 2010|access-date=14 April 2023}}</ref> On election day, the ''[[Daily Mirror]]'' had printed the front-page headline "Don't Let the Tories Cheat Our Children", urging its readers to elect Labour on the basis that it had "built a better Britain for us all" {{harv|''Daily Mirror''|2012}}.

The BBC later described the election as one of the "dullest" after [[World War II]].{{r|bbc2005}} The ''[[Daily Express]]'' wrote that the British people were more interested in [[Princess Margaret#Romance with Peter Townsend|Princess Margaret's romance with Peter Townsend]].<ref name="up19550530">{{Cite news |date=1955-05-30 |title=Palace Challenged To Deny Royal Romance |page=8 |work=Sarasota Herald-Tribune |agency=United Press |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=IXgcAAAAIBAJ&pg=1827%2C6511194 |access-date=2020-11-07}}</ref> The Labour Party, then in its twentieth year of leadership under [[Clement Attlee]], steadily lost ground owing to infighting between the left-wing ([[Bevanites]]) and the right-wing ([[Gaitskellites]]), resulting in an unclear election message. It pledged [[equal pay for women]], renationalization of the steel industry and road haulage, [[Comprehensive education|comprehensive secondary education]], and vague guarantees of greater [[industrial democracy]] and [[workers' control]] of [[nationalized]] industries as demanded by Bevanites but otherwise offered little new policy.<ref name = "Thorpe"/>{{rp|140-141}} It was the fifth and last general election fought by Labour leader [[Clement Attlee]], who by this time was 72 years old. Eden had only become Leader of the Conservative Party a few weeks before the election, after the retirement of former Prime Minister [[Winston Churchill]], but he had long been considered the heir apparent to the Conservative leadership. Eden called a dissolution of parliament and a new general election as soon as he took office in April 1955. The Conservatives were hoping to take advantage of the end of [[Food rationing in Britain#Post-Second World War 1945–1954|food rationing]] and the positive atmosphere created by the [[coronation of Queen Elizabeth II]] in 1953. Eden himself was telegenic (although not as great a public speaker as Churchill, who was now infirm and 80 years old) and gradual economic growth benefited the party greatly.<ref name=bbc2005>{{harv|BBC News|2005}}</ref> Parliament was dissolved on 6 May.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/RP97-40/RP97-40.pdf |title=Parliamentary Election Timetables |edition=3rd |publisher=[[House of Commons Library]] |date=25 March 1997 |access-date=3 July 2022}}</ref>

The result showed very little change from 1951, with fewer than 25 seats changing hands and only a small swing from Labour to the Conservatives. The only real highlight of the night was in [[Northern Ireland]], where [[Sinn Féin]] won two seats at a UK election for the first time since [[1918 United Kingdom general election|1918]] (before the secession of [[Irish Free State|Southern Ireland]]). 

The Labour Party suffered at this time from deep internal divisions, yet for it this election was not the disaster it could have been.

Although little changed, this was a strong victory for the Conservatives, who won the largest share of seats for a single party at a post-war general election. It became the first party since the passage of the [[Reform Act 1867]] to increase its parliamentary majority after a term in office.<ref name = "Thorpe"/>{{rp|141}}

The Liberal Party had yet another poor performance, only slightly improving their popular vote total from the previous election, and again winning just six seats. Five of their six seats did not have Conservative challengers, as per local-level agreements to avoid vote-splitting which likely would have thrown the seats to Labour; the only Liberal candidate to be victorious against both Conservative and Labour challengers was [[Orkney and Shetland (UK Parliament constituency)|Orkney and Shetland]] MP [[Jo Grimond]], who was first elected in 1950. The poor national showing was widely viewed as the death knell for the embattled leadership of [[Clement Davies]], who resigned the following year and was replaced by Grimond.

Future Labour leader [[Michael Foot]] lost his seat of [[Plymouth Devonport]] at this election; he returned for [[Ebbw Vale (UK Parliament constituency)|Ebbw Vale]] at a [[1960 Ebbw Vale by-election|1960 by-election]].

For the first time, television took a prominent role in the campaign; this is the earliest UK general election of which television coverage survives (the 1950 and 1951 election nights were broadcast on television live, but the footage was not recorded). Only three hours of the coverage, presented by [[Richard Dimbleby]], was kept; this was rebroadcast on [[BBC Parliament]] on the fiftieth and sixtieth anniversaries of the date of the election.
[[File:1955 UK parliament.svg|center|300px]]

{{Election summary begin with leaders| title = 1955 United Kingdom general election}}
{{Election summary party with leaders|
  |party = Conservative Party (UK)
  |leader = [[Anthony Eden]]
  |candidates = 624
  |seats = 345{{efn|group=note|name=speaker}}
  |gain = 22
  |loss = 3
  |net = +23
  |votes = 13,310,891
  |votes % = 49.7
  |seats % = 54.8
  |plus/minus = +1.7
  |government = yes
}}
{{Election summary party with leaders|
  |party = Labour Party (UK)
  |leader = [[Clement Attlee]]
  |candidates = 620
  |seats = 277
  |gain = 4
  |loss = 21
  |net = &minus;18
  |votes = 12,405,254
  |votes % = 46.4
  |seats % = 44.0
  |plus/minus = &minus;2.4
}}
{{Election summary party with leaders|
  |party = Liberal Party (UK)
  |leader = [[Clement Davies]]
  |candidates = 110
  |seats = 6
  |gain = 0
  |loss = 0
  |net = 0
  |votes = 722,402
  |votes % = 2.7
  |seats % = 1.0
  |plus/minus = +0.2
}}
{{Election summary party with leaders|
  |party = Sinn Féin
  |leader = [[Paddy McLogan]]
  |candidates = 12
  |seats = 2
  |gain = 2
  |loss = 0
  |net = +2
  |votes = 152,310
  |votes % = 0.6
  |seats % = 0.3
  |plus/minus = +0.5
}}
{{Election summary party with leaders|
  |party = Plaid Cymru
  |leader = [[Gwynfor Evans]]
  |candidates = 11
  |seats = 0
  |gain = 0
  |loss = 0
  |net = 0
  |votes = 45,119
  |votes % = 0.2
  |seats % = 
  |plus/minus = +0.2
}}
{{Election summary party with leaders|
  |party = Independent (politician)
  |leader = ''N/A''
  |candidates = 8
  |seats = 0
  |gain = 0
  |loss = 0
  |net = 0
  |votes = 43,791
  |votes % = 0.2
  |seats % = 
  |plus/minus = +0.1
}}
{{Election summary party with leaders|
  |party = Communist Party of Great Britain
  |leader = [[Harry Pollitt]]
  |candidates = 17
  |seats = 0
  |gain = 0
  |loss = 0
  |net = 0
  |votes = 33,144
  |votes % = 0.1
  |seats % = 
  |plus/minus = 0.0
}}
{{Election summary party with leaders|
  |party = Irish Labour Party
  |leader = [[William Norton]]
  |candidates = [[Belfast West (UK Parliament constituency)|1]]
  |seats = 0
  |gain = 0
  |loss = [[Belfast West (UK Parliament constituency)|1]]
  |net = &minus;1
  |votes = 16,050
  |votes % = 0.1
  |seats % = 
  |plus/minus = 0.0
}}
{{Election summary party with leaders|
  |party = Independent Labour
  |leader = ''N/A''
  |candidates = 2
  |seats = 0
  |gain = 0
  |loss = 0
  |net = 0
  |votes = 15,322
  |votes % = 0.1
  |seats % = 
  |plus/minus = ''N/A''
}}
{{Election summary party with leaders|
  |party = Scottish National Party
  |leader = [[Robert McIntyre (politician)|Robert McIntyre]]
  |candidates = 2
  |seats = 0
  |gain = 0
  |loss = 0
  |net = 0
  |votes = 12,112
  |votes % = 0.1
  |seats % = 
  |plus/minus = 0.0
}}
{{Election summary party with leaders|
  |party = Independent Labour Party
  |leader = [[Annie Maxton]]
  |candidates = 2
  |seats = 0
  |gain = 0
  |loss = 0
  |net = 0
  |votes = 3,334
  |votes % = 0.0
  |seats % = 
  |plus/minus = 0.0
}}
|-
|+ style="caption-side: bottom; font-weight:normal" |All parties shown.{{efn|group=note|name=conservative|Conservatives include 19 [[National Liberal Party (UK, 1931)|National Liberals]] and 10 [[Ulster Unionist]]s.}}
|}

{| class="wikitable" style="width:70%"
|'''Government's new majority'''
|'''60'''
|-
|Total votes cast
|26,759,729
|-
|Turnout
|76.8%
|}

===Votes summary===
{{bar box
|title=Popular vote
|titlebar=#ddd
|width=600px
|barwidth=350px
|bars=
{{bar percent|'''Conservative and Unionist'''|{{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}|49.74}}
{{bar percent|Labour|{{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}|46.36}}
{{bar percent|Liberal|{{party color|Liberal Party (UK)}}|2.70}}
{{bar percent|Others|#a9a9a9|1.20}}
}}
{{Hatnote|Headline swing: 1.6% to Conservative}}

===Seats summary===
{{bar box
|title=Parliamentary seats
|titlebar=#ddd
|width=600px
|barwidth=350px
|bars=
{{bar percent|'''Conservative and Unionist'''|{{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}|54.76}}
{{bar percent|Labour|{{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}|43.97}}
{{bar percent|Liberal|{{party color|Liberal Party (UK)}}|0.95}}
{{bar percent|Sinn Féin|{{party color|Sinn Féin}}|0.32}}
}}

==Selected declarations==
* First declaration: [[Cheltenham (UK Parliament constituency)|Cheltenham]] (Con: 24,259, Lab: 16,638; Con hold)
* [[List of United Kingdom Parliament constituencies represented by sitting Prime Ministers|Prime Minister's seat]]: [[Warwick and Leamington]] (Con: 29,979, Lab: 16,513; Con hold)

==  Transfers of seats ==
* All comparisons are with the 1951 election.
**In some cases the change is due to the MP defecting to the gaining party. Such circumstances are marked with a *.
**In other circumstances the change is due to the seat having been won by the gaining party in a by-election in the intervening years, and then retained in 1955. Such circumstances are marked with a †. The parliament of 1951–55 only saw one by-election where a seat changed hands ([[1953 Sunderland South by-election|Sunderland South]]), and unusually this was a gain for the party in government.
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="margin:1em"
!colspan=2|From
!colspan=2|To
!No.
!class=unsortable|Seats
|-
| rowspan=4 style="color:inherit;background:{{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" |
| rowspan=4 |{{party shortname linked|Labour Party (UK)}}
| {{Party name with colour|Labour Party (UK)}} ('''HOLD''')
|''many''
|[[Ashfield (UK Parliament constituency)|Ashfield]] (replaced [[Broxtowe (UK Parliament constituency)|Broxtowe]]), [[Barons Court (UK Parliament constituency)|Barons Court]] (replaced [[Hammersmith South]]), [[Blackburn (UK Parliament constituency)|Blackburn]] (replaced [[Blackburn East]]), [[Fulham (UK Parliament constituency)|Fulham]] (replaced [[Fulham East]]), [[Glasgow Provan (UK Parliament constituency)|Glasgow Provan]] (replaced [[Glasgow Camlachie (UK Parliament constituency)|Glasgow Camlachie]]), [[Hackney Central (UK Parliament constituency)|Hackney Central]] (replaced [[Hackney South]]), [[Kingston upon Hull West]] (replaced [[Kingston upon Hull Central]]), [[Manchester Openshaw]] (replaced [[Droylsden (UK Parliament constituency)|Droylsden]]), [[Midlothian (UK Parliament constituency)|Midlothian]] (replaced [[Midlothian and Peebles (UK Parliament constituency)|Midlothian and Peebles]]), [[Nottingham North]] (replaced [[Nottingham East]]), [[Nottingham West (UK Parliament constituency)|Nottingham West]] (replaced [[Nottingham North West]]), [[Reading (UK Parliament constituency)|Reading]] (replaced [[Reading South (UK Parliament constituency)|Reading South]]), [[Walsall North]] (replaced [[Walsall (UK Parliament constituency)|Walsall]]), et al.
|-
| {{Party name with colour|National Liberal Party (UK, 1931)}}
|2
|[[Bradford West]] (replaced [[Bradford Central]]), [[Plymouth Devonport]]
|-
| {{Party name with colour|Conservative Party (UK)}}
|19
|[[Central Ayrshire (UK Parliament constituency)|Ayrshire Central]], [[Carlisle (UK Parliament constituency)|Carlisle]], [[Ealing North]], [[South Gloucestershire (UK Parliament constituency)|Gloucestershire South]], [[Gravesend (UK Parliament constituency)|Gravesend]], [[Halifax (UK Parliament constituency)|Halifax]], [[Hornchurch (UK Parliament constituency)|Hornchurch]], [[Leeds North East]], [[Liverpool Kirkdale]], [[Maldon (UK Parliament constituency)|Maldon]], [[Nottingham Central]], [[Nottingham South]], [[Preston South]], [[Southampton Test]], [[Sunderland South]]†, [[Walthamstow East]], [[Wandsworth Central]], [[Watford (UK Parliament constituency)|Watford]], [[The Wrekin (historic UK Parliament constituency)|The Wrekin]]
|-
|colspan=2|''abolished''
|6
|[[Birmingham Erdington]], [[Fulham West]], [[Glasgow Tradeston (UK Parliament constituency)|Glasgow Tradeston]], [[Leeds Central]], [[Manchester Clayton]], [[Sheffield Neepsend]]
|-
| {{Party name with colour|Irish Labour Party}}
| {{Party name with colour|Ulster Unionist Party}}
|1
|[[Belfast West (UK Parliament constituency)|Belfast West]]
|-
| {{Party name with colour|Nationalist Party (Northern Ireland)}}
| rowspan=2 style="color:inherit;background:{{party color|Sinn Féin}}" |
| rowspan=2 | {{party shortname linked|Sinn Féin}}
|1
|[[Fermanagh and South Tyrone (UK Parliament constituency)|Fermanagh and South Tyrone]]<sup>2</sup>
|-
| {{Party name with colour|Independent Republican (Ireland)}}
|1
|[[Mid Ulster (UK Parliament constituency)|Mid Ulster]]<sup>1</sup>
|-
| {{Party name with colour|Liberal Party (UK)}}
| {{Party name with colour|Liberal Party (UK)}} ('''HOLD''')
|6
|[[Bolton West]], [[Cardiganshire (UK Parliament constituency)|Cardiganshire]], [[Carmarthen (UK Parliament constituency)|Carmarthen]], [[Huddersfield West]], [[Montgomeryshire (UK Parliament constituency)|Montgomery]], [[Orkney and Shetland (UK Parliament constituency)|Orkney and Shetland]]
|-
| {{Party name with colour|National Liberal Party (UK, 1931)}}
| {{Party name with colour|National Liberal Party (UK, 1931)}} ('''HOLD''')
|17
|[[North Angus and Mearns (UK Parliament constituency)|Angus North and Mearns]], [[South Angus (UK Parliament constituency)|Angus South]], [[South Bedfordshire (UK Parliament constituency)|Bedfordshire South]], [[Bradford North]], [[Denbigh (UK Parliament constituency)|Denbigh]], [[Dumfriesshire (UK Parliament constituency)|Dumfriesshire]], [[Fife East]], [[Harwich (UK Parliament constituency)|Harwich]], [[Holland with Boston]], [[Huntingdonshire (UK Parliament constituency)|Huntingdonshire]], [[Luton (UK Parliament constituency)|Luton]], [[Newcastle upon Tyne North]], [[Central Norfolk (UK Parliament constituency)|Norfolk Central]], [[West Renfrewshire (UK Parliament constituency)|Renfrewshire West]], [[Ross and Cromarty (UK Parliament constituency)|Ross and Cromarty]], [[St Ives (UK Parliament constituency)|St Ives]], [[Torrington (UK Parliament constituency)|Torrington]]
|-
| rowspan=4 style="color:inherit;background:{{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" |
| rowspan=4 | {{party shortname linked|Conservative Party (UK)}}
| {{Party name with colour|Labour Party (UK)}}
|4
|[[Bristol North West]], [[Glasgow Govan (UK Parliament constituency)|Glasgow Govan]], [[South West Norfolk (UK Parliament constituency)|Norfolk South West]], [[Romford (UK Parliament constituency)|Romford]]
|-
| {{Party name with colour|Conservative Party (UK)}} ('''HOLD''')
|''many''
|[[Birmingham Selly Oak]] (replaced [[King's Norton (UK Parliament constituency)|Birmingham King's Norton]]), [[Croydon North East (UK Parliament constituency)|Croydon NE]] (replaced [[Croydon East (UK Parliament constituency)|Croydon East]]), [[Croydon North West (UK Parliament constituency)|Croydon NW]] (replaced [[Croydon North (UK Parliament constituency)|Croydon North]]), [[Croydon South (historic UK Parliament constituency)|Croydon South]] (replaced [[Croydon West]]), [[Howden (UK Parliament constituency)|Howden]] (replaced [[Beverley (UK Parliament constituency)|Beverley]]), [[Roxburgh, Selkirk and Peebles]] (replaced [[Roxburgh and Selkirk]]), [[Stroud (UK Parliament constituency)|Stroud]] (replaced [[Stroud and Thornbury (UK Parliament constituency)|Stroud & Thornbury]]), et al.
|-
| {{Party name with colour|Speaker of the House of Commons (United Kingdom)}}
|
|[[Cirencester and Tewkesbury]]*
|-
|colspan=2|''abolished''
|2
|[[Blackburn West]], [[Leeds North (UK Parliament constituency)|Leeds North]], [[Reading North (UK Parliament constituency)|Reading North]]
|-
| {{Party name with colour|Ulster Unionist Party}}
| {{Party name with colour|Ulster Unionist Party}}
|9
|[[North Antrim (UK Parliament constituency)|North Antrim]], [[South Antrim (UK Parliament constituency)|South Antrim]], [[Armagh (UK Parliament constituency)|Armagh]], [[Belfast East (UK Parliament constituency)|Belfast East]], [[Belfast North (UK Parliament constituency)|Belfast North]], [[Belfast South (UK Parliament constituency)|Belfast South]], [[Down North (UK Parliament constituency)|Down North]], [[Down South (UK Parliament constituency)|Down South]], [[Londonderry (UK Parliament constituency)|Londonderry]]
|-
|colspan=2|''Seat created''
| {{Party name with colour|Labour Party (UK)}}
|5
|[[Birmingham All Saints]], [[Erith and Crayford]], [[Feltham (UK Parliament constituency)|Feltham]], [[Leeds East]], [[Meriden (UK Parliament constituency)|Meriden]]
|-
|colspan=2|''Seat created''
| {{Party name with colour|Conservative Party (UK)}}
|9
|[[Chigwell (UK Parliament constituency)|Chigwell]], [[Eastleigh (UK Parliament constituency)|Eastleigh]], [[South East Essex (UK Parliament constituency)|Essex South East]], [[Glasgow Craigton (UK Parliament constituency)|Glasgow Craigton]], [[Hertfordshire East]], [[Nantwich (UK Parliament constituency)|Nantwich]], [[Rye (UK Parliament constituency)|Rye]], [[Surbiton (UK Parliament constituency)|Surbiton]], [[Walsall South]]
|}
{{refbegin}}
:<sup>1</sup> Sinn Féin winner overturned on petition for a criminal conviction. The second-placed Ulster Unionist candidate was also overturned by resolution of the House; eventually the [[1956 Mid Ulster by-election|1956 by-election]] was held, which returned an [[Independent Unionist]].
:<sup>2</sup> Sinn Féin winner overturned on petition for a criminal conviction. The second-placed candidate, an Ulster Unionist, was awarded the seat.
{{refend}}

== See also ==
*[[List of MPs elected in the 1955 United Kingdom general election]]
*[[List of MPs for constituencies in Scotland (1955–1959)]]
*[[List of MPs for constituencies in Wales (1955–1959)]]
*[[1955 United Kingdom general election in Northern Ireland]]
*[[1955 United Kingdom local elections]]

==Notes==
{{notelist|group=note}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{refbegin}}
* {{citation |ref={{harvid|BBC News|2005}} |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/vote_2005/basics/4393283.stm |title=1955: Eden given mandate |date=5 April 2005 |work=BBC News |access-date=19 May 2018}}
* {{citation |author-link=F. W. S. Craig |first=F. W. S. |last=Craig |title=British Electoral Facts: 1832–1987 |year=1989 |location=Dartmouth |publisher=Gower |isbn=0900178302 }}
* {{citation |ref={{harvid|Daily Mirror|2012}} |url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/2010/04/20/general-election-2010-a-century-of-daily-mirror-front-pages-115875-22198683 |title=General Election 2010{{snd}}A century of Daily Mirror front pages |date=3 February 2012 |newspaper=Daily Mirror |access-date=19 May 2018}}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
* {{citation |first=David E. |last=Butler |author-link=David Butler (psephologist) |title=The British General Election of 1955 |year=1956 |postscript=,}} the standard study

==External links==
* [http://www.election.demon.co.uk/geresults.html United Kingdom election results—summary results 1885–1979] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080223222448/http://www.election.demon.co.uk/geresults.html |date=23 February 2008 }}

===Manifestos===
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20170509104352/http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/man/con55.htm ''United for Peace and Progress: The Conservative and Unionist Party's Policy''], 1955 Conservative Party manifesto
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20170509104421/http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/man/lab55.htm ''Forward With Labour: Labour's Policy for the Consideration of the Nation''], 1955 Labour Party manifesto
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20170509104436/http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/man/lib55.htm ''Crisis Unresolved''], 1955 Liberal Party manifesto

{{British elections}}

[[Category:1955 United Kingdom general election| ]]
[[Category:General elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom|1955]]
[[Category:1955 elections in the United Kingdom|General election]]
[[Category:May 1955 events in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Clement Attlee]]
[[Category:Anthony Eden]]