General Election In the United Kingdom (2001)

The article examines general election results of June 2001. There are two main messages. Labour party was returned to power with another huge majority – the largest ever granted a second-term. The other message was that this tidal wave of seats was delivered by only 25 percent of all those eligible to vote. It was because turnout plummeted from 71 to 59 percent. Britain had never experienced a turnout below 70 percent except in the totally abnormal circumstances of the Khaki election of 1918. The article focuses also on the regional results. In Scotland as well as in Wales the results are almost the same as in the previous election in 1997. This means that Labour party cemented its position as a dominant party, while nationally oriented parties did not make any breakthrough. On the contrary the results in the Northern Ireland show that voters are clearly turning to extremes.