How UK vote share and seat share differed in the 2024 general election

A constituency elects the candidate with the most votes

Each of the 650 constituencies elected one MP. The Commons Library’s national vote shares add votes across constituencies, while seat shares count the local winners. Labour’s 411 seats made up about 63.2% of the Commons on 33.7% of the vote. Source 2 Source 1

Third by votes and third by seats were different parties

Reform UK received roughly half a million more votes than the Liberal Democrats. The Liberal Democrats won 72 seats and Reform won five. The constituency result matters because additional votes in a seat where the party finishes second or lower add to the national total without returning an MP. Source 1 Source 2

Second places show where parties came closest

The Commons Library counted 98 second-place finishes for Reform UK, including 89 behind Labour, and 40 for the Green parties. A second place describes the finishing order within a constituency. The underlying constituency results are needed to measure how close the contest was. Source 1 Source 2

Keep UK shares and local vote shares separate

Sinn Féin’s 0.7% vote share in the table uses the whole UK electorate’s valid votes as the comparison base. Its seven seats were won in Northern Ireland. The Commons Library publishes verified results by constituency for readers comparing places where parties actually stood candidates. Source 2 Source 1

Sources

• House of Commons Library vote and seat share comparison
• House of Commons Library general election results from official local declarations