2005 United Kingdom General Election

The United Kingdom held a parliamentary election on May 5, 2005. All 646 seats in the House of Commons were up for election, and a party needed to win at least 324 seats to form a majority government.

For the first time in its history, the incumbent Labour Party won a third consecutive majority government, though with a greatly reduced majority compared to the elections of 1997 and 2001. Prime Minister Tony Blair's disapproval and disconent with the U.K.'s participation in the Iraq War boosted the opposition. The Liberal Democrats surged on anti-war sentiment to win the most votes in the party's history up to that point.