Parliament and elections
Who sits in the House of Commons, how the 2024 election turned votes into seats, and what majorities, turnout and mandates mean.
Suits: Citizenship, politics, maths and statistics, history. Levels: ages 11–14, 14–16 and 16+. Rebuilt every night from the latest figures.
On the Members list today.
63% of MPs.
With a 2024 result in these figures.
Of registered voters in these constituencies.
Words to know
- Constituency
- An area that elects one MP.
- Majority
- The winner’s votes minus the runner-up’s.
- Turnout
- The share of registered voters who voted.
- First past the post
- The candidate with the most votes in a constituency wins; there is no prize for second.
- Mandate
- The authority a government claims from winning an election.
- Opposition
- Parties that are not in government.
Charts
number of MPs. All MPs on the Members list.
Source: UK Parliament
% of constituencies. Compare with the chart that follows.
Source: House of Commons Library
% of all votes cast. The same parties, by their share of votes.
Source: House of Commons Library
Seats and votes, 2024 general election
| Party | Seats won | Share of seats | Share of votes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | 408 | 62.9% | 33.6% |
| Conservative | 122 | 18.8% | 23.7% |
| Reform UK | 6 | 0.9% | 14.4% |
| Liberal Democrat | 72 | 11.1% | 12.2% |
| Green Party | 5 | 0.8% | 6.4% |
| Scottish National Party | 8 | 1.2% | 2.5% |
| Independent | 7 | 1.1% | 2.0% |
Across 649 constituencies with a recorded result. Share of votes is of all votes cast for every candidate.
Questions
Which party has the most MPs, and how many?
Answer. Labour: 404 of the 643 on the list.
How many MPs does the second biggest party, Conservative, have?
Answer. 116.
How many constituencies (areas, each electing one MP) are in the 2024 results here?
Answer. 649.
What is a ‘majority’ in a constituency?
Answer. The winner’s votes minus the runner-up’s. It shows how many more votes the winner got.
What share of the 643 MPs belongs to Labour? Give a percentage to one decimal place.
Answer. 404 ÷ 643 × 100 = 62.8%.
To win a vote in the House of Commons you need more than half of the MPs voting. With 649 elected seats, how many seats is a majority?
Answer. More than 324.5, so 325 seats.
Which constituency had the smallest majority in 2024, and what was it? Which had the biggest?
Answer. Smallest: Runcorn and Helsby, 6 votes. Biggest: Bootle, 21,983 votes.
Turnout is the share of registered voters who voted. About 28,717,295 of 48,183,606 voted in these constituencies. What was turnout?
Answer. 28,717,295 ÷ 48,183,606 × 100 = 59.6%.
Labour won 408 of 649 seats. What percentage of seats is that?
Answer. 408 ÷ 649 × 100 = 62.9%.
Labour won 63% of seats with 34% of the votes. What does this tell you about how the voting system works?
Answer. In this ‘first past the post’ system each seat goes to the candidate with the most votes, so a party can win far more seats than its share of votes, and smaller parties with spread-out support can win few. Compare with systems that give seats in proportion to votes.
Reform UK won 14% of the votes but 6 seats. Work out its share of seats and compare with its share of votes.
Answer. 14.4% of votes and 0.9% of seats (6 of 649). A big gap between the two shows how much the voting system, and where support is concentrated, affects the result.
A party with 63% of seats says it has a ‘mandate from the people’. Use the vote share to evaluate that claim.
Answer. It has a large majority in the Commons, which lets it pass laws. But it won about 34% of votes cast, and turnout was 60%, so most voters and most eligible people did not vote for it. Whether that makes the mandate strong is a matter of judgement.
Should seats be shared out in proportion to votes? Give one argument for and one against.
Answer. Open question. For: fairness to voters and smaller parties. Against: weaker link between one MP and one area, more coalition deals, and changes to who is accountable.
Ideas for discussion
- Is it more important that a voting system is simple, fair to parties, or keeps MPs close to their areas?
- Should voting be compulsory? What would change?
- What would make you trust that an election result reflects what people wanted?
Answer sheet: Parliament and elections
Find. Labour: 404 of the 643 on the list.
Find. 116.
Find. 649.
Explain. The winner’s votes minus the runner-up’s. It shows how many more votes the winner got.
Calculate. 404 ÷ 643 × 100 = 62.8%.
Calculate. More than 324.5, so 325 seats.
Find. Smallest: Runcorn and Helsby, 6 votes. Biggest: Bootle, 21,983 votes.
Calculate. 28,717,295 ÷ 48,183,606 × 100 = 59.6%.
Calculate. 408 ÷ 649 × 100 = 62.9%.
Explain. In this ‘first past the post’ system each seat goes to the candidate with the most votes, so a party can win far more seats than its share of votes, and smaller parties with spread-out support can win few. Compare with systems that give seats in proportion to votes.
Calculate. 14.4% of votes and 0.9% of seats (6 of 649). A big gap between the two shows how much the voting system, and where support is concentrated, affects the result.
Judge. It has a large majority in the Commons, which lets it pass laws. But it won about 34% of votes cast, and turnout was 60%, so most voters and most eligible people did not vote for it. Whether that makes the mandate strong is a matter of judgement.
Discuss. Open question. For: fairness to voters and smaller parties. Against: weaker link between one MP and one area, more coalition deals, and changes to who is accountable.
Sources: UK Parliament (Members API), House of Commons Library (2024 general election results). See also: MPs by party · Election 2024 results · Inside Parliament.