List of marginal seats before the 2024 United Kingdom general election
The 2024 United Kingdom general election was held on 4 July 2024. This list shows the most marginal seats, ie those needing the smallest swing to be won by each of the political parties, according to notional results from the previous election in 2019, as applied to the 2024 constituency boundaries.[1][2] The term "target seats" is sometimes used to describe seats requiring a low swing, but it is also used to refer to the seats on which a party has chosen to "target" its campaigning. The list of a party's target seats is not made public.[3][4]
Owing to boundary changes following the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, these target seats are determined by notional results of the previous election using the new constituencies as if they were contested in 2019.[5]
List by party
editConservative
editRank | Constituency | Winning party 2019 | Swing required |
Winning party 2024 | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
46 | Hartlepool | Labour Party[note 10] | 4.38% | Labour Party | ||
– | Mid Bedfordshire[note 11] | Conservative Party | – | Conservative Party |
Labour
editRank | Constituency | Winning party 2019 | Swing required |
Winning party 2024 | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
163 | Selby[note 5] | Conservative Party | 14.06% | Labour Party | ||
211 | Wellingborough and Rushden[note 5] | Conservative Party | 17.05% | Labour Party | ||
– | Bristol North East[note 5] | Labour Party | – | Labour Party | ||
– | Hartlepool | Labour Party[note 10] | – | Labour Party | ||
– | Mid Bedfordshire[note 11] | Conservative Party | – | Conservative Party | ||
– | Rochdale | Labour Party[note 21] | – | Labour Party | ||
– | Tamworth | Conservative Party | – | Labour Party |
Liberal Democrats
editRank | Constituency | Winning party 2019 | Swing required |
Winning party 2024 | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
142 | Tiverton and Minehead[note 5] | Conservative Party | 20.91% | Liberal Democrats | ||
258 | Honiton and Sidmouth[note 5] | Conservative Party | 24.99% | Liberal Democrats | ||
– | North Shropshire | Conservative Party | – | Liberal Democrats |
Reform UK
editThe target seats for Reform UK are based on results of the Brexit Party in 2019.[11] The party didn't contest Conservative-held seats so their target seats based on the 2019 result are primarily in North East England and Wales.[12]
Rank | Constituency | Winning party 2019 | Swing required |
Winning party 2024 | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
32 | Ashfield | Conservative Party[note 19] | 21.88% | Reform UK | ||
– | Boston and Skegness[14] | Conservative Party | – | Reform UK | ||
– | Clacton[15] | Conservative Party | – | Reform UK |
Scottish National Party
editRank | Constituency | Winning party 2019 | Swing required |
Winning party 2024 | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Aberdeenshire West and Kincardine | Conservative Party | 0.79% | Conservative Party | ||
2 | Dumfries and Galloway | Conservative Party | 1.48% | Conservative Party | ||
3 | Aberdeenshire North and Moray East[note 5] | Conservative Party | 2.61% | Scottish National Party | ||
4 | Edinburgh West | Liberal Democrats | 2.62% | Liberal Democrats | ||
5 | Gordon and Buchan[note 5][note 28] | Conservative Party | 3.39% | Conservative Party | ||
6 | Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale | Conservative Party | 4.26% | Conservative Party | ||
7 | Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk | Conservative Party | 4.84% | Conservative Party | ||
8 | Orkney and Shetland | Liberal Democrats | 5.41% | Liberal Democrats | ||
9 | Edinburgh South | Labour Party | 10.18% | Labour Party |
Rank | Constituency | Winning party 2019 | Swing required |
Winning party 2024 | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
– | North East Fife[note 22] | Scottish National Party | – | Liberal Democrats | ||
– | Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross[note 23] | Scottish National Party | – | Liberal Democrats | ||
– | Rutherglen[note 5][note 18] | Scottish National Party | – | Labour Party |
Plaid Cymru
editRank | Constituency | Winning party 2019 | Swing required |
Winning party 2024 | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Ynys Mon | Conservative Party | 3.48% | Plaid Cymru | ||
2 | Caerfyrddin[note 5] | Conservative Party | 4.25% | Plaid Cymru | ||
3 | Llanelli | Labour Party | 9.53% | Labour Party | ||
4 | Caerphilly | Labour Party | 14.59% | Labour Party | ||
5 | Pontypridd | Labour Party | 17.87% | Labour Party | ||
6 | Neath and Swansea East[note 5] | Labour Party | 19.70% | Labour Party |
Green Party
editRank | Constituency | Winning party 2019 | Swing required |
Winning party 2024 | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Bristol Central[note 5] | Labour Party | 16.23% | Green Party of England and Wales | ||
2 | Isle of Wight West[note 5] | Conservative Party | 19.30% | Labour Party | ||
6 | Frome and East Somerset[note 5] | Conservative Party | 21.61% | Liberal Democrats | ||
7 | Isle of Wight East[note 5] | Conservative Party | 21.70% | Conservative Party | ||
8 | Hampstead and Highgate[note 5] | Labour Party | 21.99% | Labour Party |
Rank | Constituency | Winning party 2019 | Swing required |
Winning party 2024 | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
82 | Waveney Valley | Conservative Party | 26.45% | Green Party of England and Wales | ||
– | North Herefordshire | Conservative Party | – | Green Party of England and Wales |
Rank | Constituency | Winning party 2019 | Swing required |
Winning party 2024 | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
3 | Edinburgh North and Leith | Scottish National Party | 20.26% | Labour Party | ||
5 | Dunfermline and Dollar[note 5] | Scottish National Party | 21.35% | Labour Party | ||
9 | East Kilbride and Strathaven[note 5] | Scottish National Party | 22.24% | Labour Party | ||
10 | Livingston | Scottish National Party | 22.34% | Labour Party | ||
11 | Bathgate and Linlithgow[note 5] | Scottish National Party | 22.46% | Labour Party | ||
12 | Edinburgh South West | Scottish National Party | 22.60% | Labour Party |
Rank | Constituency | Winning party 2019 | Swing required |
Winning party 2024 | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
4 | West Tyrone[citation needed] | Sinn Féin | 20.53% | Sinn Féin |
Northern Irish parties
editMarginal seats requiring swings of under 10%:
Rank | Constituency | Winning party 2019 | Swing required |
Winning party 2024 | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Fermanagh and South Tyrone | Sinn Féin | 0.49% | Sinn Féin | ||
2 | South Antrim | Democratic Unionist Party | 3.56% | Ulster Unionist Party |
Rank | Constituency | Winning party 2019 | Swing required |
Winning party 2024 | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Upper Bann | Democratic Unionist Party | 8.05% | Democratic Unionist Party |
Rank | Constituency | Winning party 2019 | Swing required |
Winning party 2024 | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | North Down | Alliance Party of Northern Ireland | 3.09% | Independent | ||
2 | Belfast North | Sinn Féin | 3.88% | Sinn Féin | ||
3 | South Down | Sinn Féin | 9.06% | Sinn Féin | ||
4 | West Tyrone | Sinn Féin | 9.20% | Sinn Féin |
Rank | Constituency | Winning party 2019 | Swing required |
Winning party 2024 | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | South Down | Sinn Féin | 1.80% | Sinn Féin |
Rank | Constituency | Winning party 2019 | Swing required |
Winning party 2024 | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Belfast East | Democratic Unionist Party | 2.91% | Democratic Unionist Party | ||
2 | Strangford | Democratic Unionist Party | 7.07% | Democratic Unionist Party | ||
3 | East Antrim | Democratic Unionist Party | 7.96% | Democratic Unionist Party | ||
4 | Lagan Valley | Democratic Unionist Party | 8.12% | Alliance Party of Northern Ireland |
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ Warrington South was won by the Conservatives in 2019, but is notionally a Labour seat under new boundaries
- ^ Kensington was won by the Conservatives in 2019, but is notionally a Labour seat under new boundaries
- ^ Beckenham was won by the Conservatives in 2019, but is notionally a Labour seat under new boundaries
- ^ Heywood and Middleton was won by the Conservatives in 2019, but is notionally a Labour seat under new boundaries
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl bm bn bo bp bq br bs bt bu bv bw bx by bz ca cb cc cd ce cf cg ch ci cj ck cl cm cn co cp cq cr cs ct cu cv cw cx New seat
- ^ Preseli Pembrokeshire was won by the Conservatives in 2019, but is notionally a Plaid Cymru seat under new boundaries
- ^ Blyth Valley was won by the Conservatives in 2019, but its successor seat is notionally a Labour seat under new boundaries
- ^ Pudsey was won by the Conservatives in 2019, but merged with Leeds West, is notionally a Labour seat under new boundaries
- ^ a b The incumbent MP is Kenny MacAskill from the Alba Party who defected from the SNP
- ^ a b This seat was won by the Conservative Party in a by-election.
- ^ a b This seat was won by the Labour Party in a a by-election; part of this constituency was transferred to the new Hitchin constituency which is where the incumbent Labour MP stood.
- ^ Leeds North West was won by Labour in 2019, but is notionally a Conservative seat under new boundaries
- ^ a b c d e f Predecessor seat gained in by-election
- ^ Wyre and Preston North was won by the Conservatives in 2019, but merged with Lancaster and Fleetwood which was won by Labour, is notionally a Conservative seat under new boundaries
- ^ Eltham was won by Labour in 2019, but merged with Bromley and Chislehurst which was won by the Conservatives, is notionally a Conservative seat under new boundaries
- ^ The incumbent MP is Neale Hanvey from the Alba Party who defected from the SNP
- ^ Kingston upon Hull West was won by Labour in 2019, but merged with Haltemprice and Howden, is notionally a Conservative seat under new boundaries
- ^ a b Rutherglen and Hamilton West was won by Labour in the 2023 by-election, but is still notionally an SNP seat under new boundaries.
- ^ a b The incumbent MP is Lee Anderson from Reform UK who defected from the Conservatives
- ^ The incumbent is Independent MP Angus MacNeil who was expelled from the SNP
- ^ This seat was won by the Workers Party in a by-election.
- ^ a b North East Fife was won by the Liberal Democrats in 2019, but is notionally an SNP seat under new boundaries. This seat was considered ultra-marginal, but in fact was held by the Liberal Democrats in 2024 with a 13,479-vote (31.5%) majority.
- ^ a b Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross was won by the Liberal Democrats in 2019, but is notionally an SNP seat under new boundaries. This seat was considered ultra-marginal but now has a notional SNP majority of over 3,000 votes; in fact it was held by the Liberal Democrats in 2024 with a 10,489-vote (22.8%) majority.
- ^ Westmorland and Lonsdale was won by the Liberal Democrats in 2019, but was notionally a Conservative seat under new boundaries; in fact it was held by the Liberal Democrats in 2024 with a 21,472-vote (43.3%) majority.
- ^ This seat was won by the Liberal Democrats in a by-election.
- ^ Hartlepool was won by the Conservatives in the 2021 Hartlepool by-election
- ^ Hull West was won by Labour in 2019, but is notionally an Conservative seat under new boundaries
- ^ Gordon was won by the SNP in 2019, but is notionally an Conservative seat under new boundaries
References
edit- ^ Leach, Anna; Hoog, Niels de. "UK general election: the seats the Tories will lose if the polls are right". the Guardian. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
- ^ "Election 2024: The key seats to watch out for as date set for 4 July". Sky News. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
- ^ Moules, James (5 July 2024). "Leeds North West general election result: Meet new MP Katie White". LabourList. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
Labour's target seat list is not public, but this seat ranks 14th on LabourList's unofficial list of targets – based on the smallest swings required versus the 2019 election.
- ^ Shirreff, Lauren (22 May 2024). "How eight seats could define the general election". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
- ^ "List of general election top target seats, by party". The Independent. 16 January 2024. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
- ^ "Conservative Targets Seats 2024". Election Polling. Archived from the original on 7 April 2024. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
- ^ "Labour Targets Seats 2024". Election Polling. Archived from the original on 10 April 2024. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
- ^ Eaton, George (29 January 2024). "How Labour's path to a majority has eased". New Statesman. Retrieved 13 May 2024.
- ^ "Liberal Democrat Targets Seats 2024". Election Polling. Archived from the original on 7 April 2024. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
- ^ "Liberal Democrats targeting Tory seats in election fight back". BBC News. 27 January 2023. Retrieved 13 May 2024.
- ^ "Could Reform UK surge sink Tory election hopes?". BBC News. 16 February 2024. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
- ^ Penna, Dominic; Corfe, Ollie (28 February 2024). "Six graphs that show Reform UK could be kingmakers at the election". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
- ^ "Reform UK Targets Seats 2024". Election Polling. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
- ^ "Reform UK leader Richard Tice to stand in Boston and Skegness". 23 May 2024. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
- ^ "Nigel Farage has milkshake thrown over him after election campaign launch in Clacton". Sky News. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
- ^ "SNP Targets Seats 2024". Election Polling.
- ^ "Plaid Cymru Targets Seats 2024". Election Polling. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
- ^ a b c "Green Targets Seats 2024". Election Polling. Archived from the original on 7 April 2024. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
- ^ Walker, Peter (5 October 2023). "Greens head to Brighton targeting four seats at next election". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
- ^ "UUP Targets Seats 2024". Election Polling. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
- ^ "Sinn Fein Targets Seats 2024". Election Polling. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
- ^ "DUP Targets Seats 2024". Election Polling. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
- ^ "SDLP Targets Seats 2024". Election Polling. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
- ^ "Alliance NI Targets Seats 2024". Election Polling. Retrieved 5 May 2024.