Fragmentation revisited: the UK General Election of 2024

Abstract

Listen

Translate article

The UK General Election of 4 May 2024 produced a Labour landslide and the worst ever result for the Conservatives. The transfer of seats between the two parties belies a more complicated picture in terms of votes, which resulted in the most fragmented party system in British history. Reform UK, the Greens and Plaid Cymru all saw their highest ever general election vote shares and seats. The Liberal Democrats won their largest ever number of seats. Non-party candidates won their highest number of seats since 1945. The Scottish National Party crashed to their worst performance since the 2014 independence referendum. The election was dominated by questions of party competence and plans for the economy, immigration, healthcare, and the environment. The most striking feature of the outcome was the persistence of electoral alignments that emerged in the wake of Brexit – with the vast majority of British voters supporting a party that lined up with their stance towards the European Union – despite big changes in overall support for individual parties and the near absence of Brexit as an election issue.