On Thursday 8 October 1964, the 1959 United Kingdom general election was held in England, to elect all 630 members of the House of Commons, with 511 constituencies being in England.
As in the rest of the United Kingdom, in England, the Conservative Party along with allies, the National Liberal Party, registered a landslide victory over the Labour Party. This was the parties' third consecutive victory overall.
Candidates
Below is a table summarising the candidates of the 1959 general election in England.
Analysis
The victory of the Conservative Party and its allies the National Liberal Party in England was even more remarkable than in the nation as it won over 120 more seats than Labour with just over 50% of the voteshare. It was the only election between the 1945 and 1979 general elections in which a party won over 300 seats in England. It was also the best performance of the Conservative Party in England since 1935 and conversely the worst for the Labour Party in England since 1935. Also, these elections marked the last time when the Conservative Party won over 50 per cent vote share in England.
Conservative Party
In terms of seats, the Conservative Party won Acton, Barons Court, Birmingham All Saints, Birmingham Sparkbrook, Birmingham Yardley, Brierley Hill, Bristol North West, Clapham, Cleveland, Coventry South, South East Derbyshire, The Hartlepools, Holborn and St Pancras South, Keighley, Lowestoft, Meriden, Newcastle upon Tyne East, Nottingham West, Reading, Rochester and Chatham, Rugby, Uxbridge, Wellingborough and Willesden East from the Labour Party.
In addition, future Leader of the Conservative Party and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Margaret Thatcher in Finchley. Nicholas Ridley also entered Parliament in Cirencester and Tewkesbury, replacing retiring Speaker of the House of Commons William Morrison. Morrison would go onto serve as the Governor-General of Australia in 1960.
National Liberal Party
The National Liberals, however, declined slightly in vote share and seats. It retained its seats of Bedfordshire South, Bradford North, Bradford West, Plymouth Devonport, Harwich, Holland with Boston, Huntingdonshire, Luton, Norfolk Central, St Ives, Sheffield Hallam and Sheffield Heeley. The party gained Bristol North East, with candidate Alan Hopkins entering Parliament.
However, the party lost Newcastle upon Tyne North to its ally the Conservative Party. This was due to the Conservative's gain at the 1957 Newcastle-upon-Tyne North by-election, which was cause by the elevation of sitting MP Gwilym Lloyd George to a peerage. William Elliott retained the seat in this election unopposed by the National Liberals, representing a gain for the Conservatives. Elliot would retain the seat until 1983. Additionally, the National Liberals lost Torrington to the Conservatives. Following the elevation of the sitting MP to a peerage, the Liberal Party candidate Mark Bonham Carter won the seat in the 1958 Torrington by-election. However, Conservative candidate Percy Browne won the seat from the Liberals at this election, but it represented a gain from the National Liberals in comparison to 1955, again with the National Liberals not opposing the Conservatives.
With the two losses to the Conservatives, but with one gain to Labour, along with the Conservatives' wins across England along with its few losses, the alliance between the parties increased its seats by 22.
Labour Party
Conversely, the Labour Party lost several seats in England to the Conservatives and the National Liberals. However, the party gained Oldham East and Rochdale from the Conservatives. Herbert Morrison, who had served in several positions in the Attlee ministry, left Parliament after this election.
Liberal Party
The Conservatives also lost North Devon to the Liberal Party. Jeremy Thorpe, future leader of the Liberal Party, in the seat North Devon.
By region
Note: the following tables indicate the results according to the regions of England which were established in 1994, based on the county boundaries established in the 1974 local government reforms. These regions were not used at the time for the purposes of this election.