document_title: United Kingdom general election, 2010

question_text: what percentage of the vote did ukip get in 2010

question_tokens: what percentage of the vote did ukip get in 2010

text: United Kingdom general election, 2010

text: Background[edit]

text: The Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, went to Buckingham Palace on 6 April and asked the Queen to dissolve Parliament on 12 April, confirming in a live press conference in Downing Street, as had long been speculated, that the election would be held on 6 May,[7] five years since the previous election on 5 May 2005. The election took place on 6 May in 649 constituencies across the United Kingdom, under the first-past-the-post system, for seats in the House of Commons. Voting in the Thirsk and Malton constituency[note 1] was postponed for three weeks because of the death of a candidate.

text: The governing Labour Party had campaigned to secure a fourth consecutive term in office and to restore support lost since 2001.[8] The Conservative Party sought to gain a dominant position in British politics after losses in the 1990s, and to replace Labour as the governing party. The Liberal Democrats hoped to make gains from both sides and hoped to hold the balance of power in a hung parliament. Since the televised debates between the three leaders, their poll ratings had risen to the point where many considered the possibility of a Liberal Democrat role in Government.[9] Polls just before election day saw a slight swing from the Liberal Democrats back to Labour and Conservatives, with the majority of final polls falling within one point of Conservatives 36%, Labour 29%, Liberal Democrats 23%.[10][11] However, record numbers of undecided voters raised uncertainty about the outcome.[12][13] The Scottish National Party, encouraged by their victory in the 2007 Scottish parliament elections, set itself a target of 20 MPs and was hoping to find itself holding a balance of power.[14] Equally, Plaid Cymru sought gains in Wales. Smaller parties which had had successes at local elections and the 2009 European elections (UK Independence Party, Green Party, British National Party) looked to extend their representation to seats in the House of Commons. The Democratic Unionist Party looked to maintain, if not extend, its number of seats, having been the fourth largest party in the House of Commons.

text: The key dates were:

text:
Monday 12 April
Dissolution of Parliament (the 54th) and campaigning officially began

Tuesday 20 April
Last day to file nomination papers, to register to vote, and to request a postal vote[15]

Thursday 6 May
Polling day

Tuesday 11 May
David Cameron became Prime Minister through a coalition with the Liberal Democrats.

Tuesday 18 May
New Parliament (the 55th) assembled

Tuesday 25 May
State Opening of Parliament

Thursday 27 May
Voting took place in the delayed poll in the constituency of Thirsk and Malton[note 1]

Friday 5 November
Oldham East and Saddleworth election result voided on petition at an election court, causing a by-election

text: MPs declining re-election[edit]

text: This election had an unusually high number of MPs choosing not to seek re-election with more standing down than did so at the 1945 general election (which on account of the extraordinary wartime circumstances came ten years after the preceding election).[17] This has been attributed to the 2009 expenses scandal and the fact there was talk that redundancy-style payments for departing MPs might be scrapped after the election.[18]

text: In all, 148 MPs (100 Labour, 35 Conservatives, 7 Liberal Democrats, 2 Independents, 1 Independent Conservative and 1 member each from the SNP, Plaid Cymru, the DUP, and the SDLP) decided not to contest the election. Additionally, three seats were vacant at the time of the dissolution of Parliament; two due to the deaths of Labour MPs and one due to the resignation in January 2010 of a DUP member.

text: Boundary changes[edit]

text: Each of the four national Boundary Commissions is required by the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986 (as amended by the Boundary Commissions Act 1992) to conduct a general review of all the constituencies in its part of the United Kingdom every eight to twelve years to ensure the size and composition of constituencies are as fair as possible. Based on the Rallings and Thrasher studies using ward by ward data from local elections and the 2005 general election, the new boundaries used in 2010 would have returned nine fewer Labour MPs had they been in place at the previous election; given that there are to be four more seats in the next parliament this nationally reduces Labour's majority from 66 to 48.[19]

text: Pursuant to Boundary Commission for England recommendations, the number of seats in England increased by four, and numerous changes were made to the existing constituency boundaries.[20]

text: Northern Ireland continued to elect 18 MPs, but minor changes were made to the eastern constituencies in accordance with the Northern Ireland Boundary Commission's recommendations.[21] For the first time, these changes include the splitting of an electoral ward between two constituencies.

text: Following the recommendations of the Boundary Commission for Wales, the total number of seats remained at 40, although new seats caused by radical redrawing of boundaries in Clwyd and Gwynedd were fought for the first time: Arfon and Dwyfor Meirionnydd replaced Caernarfon and Meirionnydd Nant Conwy respectively; Aberconwy replaced Conwy. At the time of the election Welsh constituencies had electorates on average around 14,000 smaller than their counterparts in England.[22]

text: Scotland saw its most recent large-scale review completed in 2004, so its 59 constituencies remained the same as at the 2005 general election.

text:
Hypothetical UK General Election 2005 on new 2010 boundaries

Party
Seats
Votes

Count
Gain
Loss
Net
Of total (%)
Of total (%)
Count
±

Labour
349

−7
53.7
35.2
9,552,436

Conservative
210

+12
32.3
32.4
8,784,915

Liberal Democrat
62

9.5
22.1
5,985,454

Plaid Cymru
2

−1
0.3
0.6
174,838

Others
27

4.2
9.7
2,650,867

Total
650

27,148,510

text: Contesting parties[edit]

text: Main parties[edit]

text: All three main parties went into the general election having changed leaders since 2005. David Cameron became Conservative leader in December 2005, replacing Michael Howard. Gordon Brown succeeded Tony Blair as leader of the Labour Party and Prime Minister in June 2007. Nick Clegg was elected as leader of the Liberal Democrats in December 2007, succeeding Menzies Campbell who had replaced Charles Kennedy in January 2006. The last time all three main parties went into a general election with new leaders was in the 1979 election, when James Callaghan as Labour leader, Margaret Thatcher for the Conservatives, and David Steel with the then-Liberal Party took to the polls.

text: The prospect of a coalition or minority government was being considered well before polling day. Gordon Brown made comments about the possibility of a coalition in January 2010.[23] In 2009, it was reported that senior civil servants were to meet with the Liberal Democrats to discuss their policies, an indication of how seriously the prospect of a hung parliament was being taken.[24] Nick Clegg[25] and Menzies Campbell[26] had continued the position of Charles Kennedy of not being prepared to form a coalition with either main party and of voting against any Queen's Speech unless there was an unambiguous commitment in it to introduce proportional representation.

text: Other parties[edit]

text: Other parties with representation at Westminster after the previous general election included the Scottish National Party, with six parliamentary seats, Plaid Cymru from Wales with three seats, and Respect – The Unity Coalition and Health Concern, each of which held one parliamentary seat in England. Since that election, the SNP won the 2007 Scottish Parliament elections and currently control the Scottish Government, and also won the largest share of the 2009 European Parliament election vote in Scotland.[27] In Wales, the Labour Party remained the largest party in the Welsh Assembly, although Plaid Cymru increased their share of the vote and formed a coalition government with Labour.[28]

text: In 2009 the Ulster Unionist Party and the Conservative Party announced they had formed an electoral alliance whereby the two parties would field joint candidates for future elections under the banner of "Ulster Conservatives and Unionists – New Force".[29] However this caused the sole UUP MP Lady Sylvia Hermon to resign from the party on 25 March 2010, leaving them with no representation at Westminster for the first time in their history.[30]

text: Many constituencies were contested by other, smaller parties. Parties that won no representatives at Westminster in 2005 but have seats in the devolved assemblies or European Parliament included the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland, the Progressive Unionist Party of Northern Ireland, the British National Party, the UK Independence Party (UKIP), and the Green parties in the UK: the Green Party of England and Wales, the Scottish Green Party, and the Green Party in Northern Ireland. In 2009, Nigel Farage announced his intention to resign as UKIP leader to focus on becoming an MP. Farage was replaced in an election by party members by Lord Pearson of Rannoch, whose stated intention was for the electoral support of UKIP to force a hung parliament. The Green Party of England and Wales voted to have a position of leader for the first time; the first leadership election was won by Caroline Lucas, who successfully contested the constituency of Brighton Pavilion.

text: In addition, a new loose coalition, Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC), contested a general election for the first time. TUSC was a grouping of left wing parties that participated in the 2009 European Parliament elections under the name of No2EU; members included the Socialist Workers Party, the Socialist Party, the Socialist Alliance, Socialist Resistance, and is supported by some members of UNISON, the National Union of Teachers, the University and College Union, the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers, and the Public and Commercial Services Union. Several members of these unions ran as candidates under the TUSC banner.[31] However, some former members of NO2EU, such as the Liberal Party[citation needed] and the Communist Party of Britain,[32] chose not to participate in the TUSC campaign. The coalition did not run candidates against left wing Labour or Respect candidates.[33][34]

text: Campaign[edit]

text: April[edit]

text: The prospective Labour candidate for Moray, Stuart Maclennan, was sacked after making offensive comments on his Twitter page, referring to elderly voters as "coffin dodgers" and voters in the North of Scotland as "teuchters", and insulting politicians such as Cameron, Clegg, John Bercow and Diane Abbott.[35][36]

text: The UKIP candidate for Thirsk and Malton — John Boakes – died, causing the election in the constituency to be postponed until 27 May.[37][38][39][40]

text: Philip Lardner, the Conservative candidate for North Ayrshire and Arran, was suspended from the party for comments he made about homosexuality on his website, describing it as not "normal behaviour". Andrew Fulton, the chairman of the Scottish Conservative Party, called the comments "deeply offensive and unacceptable", adding, "These views have no place in the modern Conservative party." However, he would still appear as a Conservative candidate because it was too late to remove his name from the ballot paper.[41]

text: A total of 2,378 postal voters in Bristol West were wrongly sent ballot papers for Bristol East by mistake. Bristol City Council officials asked people to tear up the wrong papers and said "Every effort will be made to ensure delivery [of new ballot papers] by 30 April."[42]

text: The SNP attempted but failed to ban the broadcast of the final party leaders debate in Scotland, in a court action. They had argued that "the corporation [the BBC] had breached its rules on impartiality by excluding the SNP." The judge, Lady Smith, ruled that "the SNP's case 'lacks the requisite precision and clarity'" and added she could not "conclude the BBC had breached impartiality rules." Additionally, broadcasting regulator Ofcom ruled that it had not "upheld complaints received from the SNP and Plaid Cymru about The First Election Debate broadcast on ITV1 on Thursday 15 April 2010."[43]

text: The leader of the UK Independence Party, Lord Pearson, wrote an open letter to Somerset newspapers, asking voters to support Conservative candidates, rather than UKIP candidates in the Somerton and Frome, Taunton Deane and Wells constituencies. This action was criticised by UKIP candidates who refused to stand down.[44]

text: The Labour candidate for Bristol East and former MP Kerry McCarthy revealed information about postal votes cast in the constituency on Twitter. Avon and Somerset police said they were "looking into a possible alleged breach of electoral law." Bristol City Council stated that "This is a criminal matter and [it] will be for the police to decide what action to take."[45]

text: The former Prime Minister Tony Blair returned to the campaign trail for Labour, visiting a polyclinic in Harrow West, after a troubled Labour campaign.[46]

text: Postal voters in the marginal Vale of Glamorgan constituency had to be issued with new ballot papers after mistakenly being told they did not have to sign applications for postal votes.[47]

text: A group of entrepreneurs warned on the dangers of a Labour-Liberal coalition in an open letter to The Times on 29 April.[48][49][50]

text: Bigotgate[edit]

text: Gordon Brown, while in his Prime Ministerial Car on 28 April, privately described a 65-year-old woman and lifelong Labour voter, Gillian Duffy, from Rochdale, Greater Manchester, a Labour-Liberal Democrat marginal seat, as a "bigoted woman". She had asked him about vulnerable people supposedly not receiving benefits because immigrants were receiving them, adding, "You can't say anything about the immigrants because you're saying that you're ... but all these eastern Europeans what are coming in, where are they flocking from?" He replied "A million people have come from Europe but a million British people have gone into Europe."[51][52] Brown's conversation with his communications director Justin Forsyth (JF) went:

text:
"GB: That was a disaster. Sue should never have put me with that woman. Whose idea was that?
JF: I don't know, I didn't see her.
GB: Sue's I think [Brown's gatekeeper]. Just ridiculous ...
JF: What did she say?
GB: Everything, she was just a sort of bigoted woman who said she used to be Labour. I mean, it's just ridiculous. Sue pushed her up towards me."[53]

text: Brown's remarks were recorded by a Sky News microphone he was still wearing, and widely broadcast. It was later said that Brown had misheard Duffy and thought she had asked, "where are they fucking from?"[54][55][56] Soon after the incident, Brown talked to Jeremy Vine live on BBC Radio 2 where he publicly apologised to Mrs Duffy. American comedian Jon Stewart commented that the clip showed the moment when Brown's "political career leaves his body".[57] Subsequently, Brown visited her house for 43 minutes in order to apologise in person. Upon emerging, he described himself as a "penitent sinner",[58] while Duffy refused to speak to the press and would not shake hands with him in front of the cameras. She said the incident had left her feeling more sad than angry and that she would not be voting for Labour or any other party.[59] The incident was subsequently dubbed as "Bigotgate".

text: May[edit]

text: In Hornsey and Wood Green constituency 749 postal voters were sent ballot papers which asked voters to pick three candidates instead of one; Haringey Council had to send correct versions by hand.[60]

text: The Metropolitan Police launched an investigation in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The Times reported on 2 May that the investigation had revealed some names on the register were fictitious, with a late surge in applications to be added to the electoral register (before 20 April deadline) leading to 5,000 additions without time for full checks.[61] In terms of the outcome of the borough's two seats, the narrower majority in any event exceeded 5,000 votes in Poplar and Limehouse, at 6,030 votes.

text: The Labour candidate for North West Norfolk, Manish Sood, described Gordon Brown as Britain's worst ever Prime Minister.[62] The comments, which he repeated to a variety of news outlets, took attention away from the previous day's speech by Brown to Citizens UK, widely described as his best in the campaign.[63][64]

text: A Conservative Party activist in Peterborough was arrested after alleged postal voting fraud, calling into question 150 postal votes.[65]

text: Simon Bennett resigned as the head of the British National Party's online operation then redirected its website to his own on which he attacked the party's leadership.[66]

text: On the morning of polling day, 6 May, the former and later leader of UKIP, Nigel Farage, standing in Buckingham against the Speaker, was injured when a light banner-towing aircraft in which he was a passenger crashed near Brackley, Northamptonshire.[67]

text: Groups of voters waiting in queues at 10 pm were locked out of polling stations in Sheffield Hallam, Manchester and Leeds; and police said one London polling station was open until 10.30 pm, which triggered a national review of polling station requirements led by the Electoral Commission.[68]

text: The counts for the Foyle and East Londonderry constituencies were suspended because of a security alert around 11 pm after a car was abandoned outside the counting centre, causing a bomb scare.

text: Debates[edit]

text: Following a campaign by Sky News and with agreement of the party leaders.[69] it was announced on 21 December 2009 that there would be three leaders' debates, each broadcast on prime time television,[70] and a subsequent announcement in March 2010 that a debate between the financial spokesmen of the three main parties, Alistair Darling, George Osborne and Vince Cable would be held on 29 March.[71]

text:
Date
Host
Location
Moderator
Subject

15 April
ITV
Manchester
Alastair Stewart
Domestic policy

Highlights
In instant polling after the event Nick Clegg was judged the clear winner.[72] This first debate caused a large, immediate, and unexpected impact on opinion polls in favour of the Liberal Democrats.

22 April
Sky News
Bristol
Adam Boulton
International affairs

Highlights
Nick Clegg and David Cameron came out best in the instant polls with Gordon Brown very closely behind. Nick Clegg, having received such a surge after the first debate, was judged to have fended off Labour and Conservative Party attacks. Gordon Brown was judged to have drastically improved his performance, and David Cameron was judged to have overcome the nerves that commentators believed affected him in the First Debate.[73] In the build-up, the Liberal Democrats were affected by claims Clegg had received secret donations from businessmen, although he subsequently released his financial statements to show that no improper conduct had occurred.[74]

29 April
BBC
Birmingham
David Dimbleby
Economy and taxes

Highlights
In the third and final poll, David Cameron was widely regarded as the party leader who made the best impression to the audience at home.[75][76][77][78][79] At the end of the debating night, the Conservatives had gained a 5% lead over Labour.

text: The SNP insisted that as the leading political party in Scotland in the latest opinion poll, it should be included in any debate broadcast in Scotland.[80] On 22 December 2009, the UKIP leader, Lord Pearson stated that his party should also be included. Following a decision by the BBC Trust not to uphold a complaint from the SNP and Plaid Cymru over their exclusion from the planned BBC debate, the SNP announced on 25 April that they would proceed with legal action over the debate scheduled for 29 April.[81] The party said it was not trying to stop the broadcast but it wanted an SNP politician included for balance. The SNP lost the case, in a judgement delivered on 28 April.[82]

text: Opinion polls[edit]

text: Since each MP is elected separately by the first past the post voting system, it is impossible to precisely project a clear election outcome from overall UK shares of the vote. Not only can individual constituencies vary markedly from overall voting trends, but individual countries and regions within the UK may have a very different electoral contest that is not properly reflected in overall share of the vote figures.

text: Immediately following the previous general election, Labour held a double-digit lead in opinion polls. However, over the course of 2005, this lead was eroded somewhat. By December 2005, the Conservative party showed its first small leads in opinion polls following the controversial 90 days detention proposals and the election of David Cameron to the leadership of the Conservative party.[83]

text: In early 2006, opinion polls were increasingly mixed with small leads given alternately to Labour and Conservative. From the May 2006 local elections, in which Labour suffered significant losses, the Conservatives took a small single-digit lead in opinion polls. Labour regained the lead in June 2007 following the resignation of Tony Blair and the appointment of Gordon Brown as prime minister. From November 2007, the Conservatives again took the lead and, from then, extended their lead into double digits, particularly in response to the MPs' expenses scandal, although there was some evidence that the lead narrowed slightly towards the end of 2009. By the end of February 2010, Ipsos MORI, ICM, YouGov and ComRes polls had all found a sufficient narrowing of the Conservative lead for media speculation about a hung parliament to return.[84]

text:
Conservative;   Labour;   Liberal Democrats;   Other
Graph of poll results since 2005

Graph of YouGov poll results from 6 April 2010

text: From 15 April 2010, following the first televised debate of the party leaders, polling data changed dramatically, with the Lib Dem vote proportion rising to 28–33%, and the Conservative vote proportion falling. In some polls, the Liberal Democrats took the lead from the Conservatives. Under UNS projections, this made a hung parliament highly probable, if Lib Dem performance had persisted.[85]

text: The following graph shows ComRes poll results recorded over the period 11 April – 6 May 2010, including annotations of the three TV debates:

text: After the second debate on 22 April the polls, on average, placed the Conservatives in the lead on 33%, the Liberal Democrats in second on 30% and Labour in third on 28%. If these polls had reflected the election day results on a uniform swing nationwide, Labour would have had the most seats in a hung Parliament.

text: Exit poll[edit]

text: At 22:00 on election day, coinciding with the closure of the polls, the results of an exit poll completed by GfK NOP and Ipsos MORI on behalf of the BBC, Sky and ITV news services was announced. Data were gathered from individuals at 130 polling stations around the country.

text:
Parties
Seats

Conservative Party
307

Labour Party
255

Liberal Democrats
59

Others
29

 Conservatives 19 Short of Majority

text: The results of the poll initially suggested a hung parliament with the Conservative Party 19 seats from a controlling majority; this was later adjusted to 21 seats. The distribution of seats amongst the Conservatives, Labour, Liberal Democrats and other parties was initially suggested to be 307, 255, 59 and 29 respectively,[86] although the seat numbers were later changed to 303, 251, 69, and 27 respectively.[87]

text: Initial reaction to the exit poll by various commentators was of surprise at the apparent poor prospects for the Liberal Democrats[88] because it was at odds with many opinion polls undertaken in the previous weeks. The actual results showed that the exit poll was a good predictor.

text: A later BBC Exit poll (05:36 BST) predicted the Conservatives on 306, 20 short of an overall majority, Labour on 262, and Liberal Democrats on 55.[87]

text: Endorsements[edit]

text: Newspaper endorsements[edit]

text: National newspapers in England traditionally endorse political parties before a general election. The following table shows which parties the major papers endorsed.

text:
Dailies

Sundays

Weeklies

Newspaper
Endorsement
Newspaper
Endorsement
Newspaper
Endorsement

The Times

Conservative[89]
Sunday Times

Conservative[90]
The Economist

Conservative[91]

The Guardian

Liberal Democrat[92]
The Observer

Liberal Democrat[93]

The Daily Telegraph

Conservative[94]
The Sunday Telegraph

Conservative[95]

Financial Times

Conservative[96]

The Independent

Undeclared[95]
The Independent on Sunday

Undeclared[95]

Evening Standard

Conservative[97]

Daily Mail

Conservative[95]
The Mail on Sunday

Conservative[98]

Daily Express

Conservative[99]
Sunday Express

Conservative[95]

Daily Mirror

Labour[95]
Sunday Mirror

Labour[95]

Morning Star

Labour[100]
The People

Any coalition[95]

The Sun

Conservative[101]
News of the World

Conservative[102]

The Daily Star

Undeclared[95]
Daily Star Sunday

Undeclared[103]

text: The Independent and The Guardian advocated tactical voting to maximise the chance of a Liberal Democrat/Labour coalition to make electoral reform including of the House of Lords and introduction of domestic proportional representation more likely.[92][104]

text: Results[edit]

text:
↓

306
258
57
29

Conservative
Labour
LD
Oth

text:
Party
Leader
MPs
Votes

Of total

Of total

Conservative Party

David Cameron
306
47.1%

306 / 650

10,703,754
36.1%

Labour Party

Gordon Brown
258
39.7%

258 / 650

8,609,527
29.0%

Liberal Democrats

Nick Clegg
57
8.8%

57 / 650

6,836,825
23.0%

Democratic Unionist Party

Peter Robinson
8
1.2%

8 / 650

168,216
0.6%

Scottish National Party

Alex Salmond
6
0.9%

6 / 650

491,386
1.7%

Sinn Féin

Gerry Adams
5
0.8%

5 / 650

171,942
0.6%

Plaid Cymru

Ieuan Wyn Jones
3
0.5%

3 / 650

165,394
0.6%

Social Democratic & Labour Party

Margaret Ritchie
3
0.5%

3 / 650

110,970
0.4%

Green Party

Caroline Lucas
1
0.2%

1 / 650

285,616
1.0%

Alliance

David Ford
1
0.2%

1 / 650

42,762
0.1%

Speaker

John Bercow
1
0.2%

1 / 650

22,860
0.08%[105]

Independent

Sylvia Hermon
1
0.2%

1 / 650

21,181
0.07%[106]

text: Turnout nationally was 65%, a rise from the 61% turnout in the 2005 general election.[107]

text:
e • d Summary of the May 2010 House of Commons of the United Kingdom election results[108]

Political party
Leader
Candidates
Votes

Nominated
Elected
Of total (%)
Gained
Lost
Net
Count
Proportion
of total (%)
Change in
proportion (%)

Conservative[table 1]
David Cameron
631
306
47.1
100
3
+97
10,703,754
36.1
+3.7

Labour
Gordon Brown
631
258
39.7
3
94
−91
8,609,527
29.0
−6.2

Liberal Democrat
Nick Clegg
631
57
8.8
8
13
−5
6,836,824
23.0
+1.0

UKIP
Lord Pearson
558
0
0
0
0
0
919,546
3.1
+0.9

BNP
Nick Griffin
338
0
0
0
0
0
564,331
1.9
+1.2

SNP
Alex Salmond
59
6
0.9
0
0
0
491,386
1.7
+0.1

Green
Caroline Lucas
310
1
0.2
1
0
+1
265,247
0.9
−0.2

Sinn Féin
Gerry Adams
17
5
0.8
0
0
0
171,942
0.6
−0.1

DUP
Peter Robinson
16
8
1.2
0
1
−1
168,216
0.6
−0.3

Plaid Cymru
Ieuan Wyn Jones
40
3
0.5
1
0
+1
165,394
0.6
−0.1

SDLP
Margaret Ritchie
18
3
0.5
0
0
0
110,970
0.4
−0.1

UCU-NF
Reg Empey
17
0
0
0
1
−1
102,361
0.3
−0.1

English Democrat
Robin Tilbrook
107
0
0
0
0
0
64,826
0.2
0.2

Alliance
David Ford
18
1
0.2
1
0
+1
42,762
0.1
0.0

Respect
Salma Yaqoob
11
0
0
0
1
−1
33,251
0.1
−0.1

TUV
Jim Allister
10
0
0
0
0
0
26,300
0.1
N/A

Speaker
N/A
1
1
0.2
0
0
0
22,860
0.1
0.0

Independent – Rodney Connor
N/A
1
0
0
0
0
0
21,300
0.1
N/A

Independent – Sylvia Hermon
N/A
1
1
0.2
1
0
+1
21,181
0.1
N/A

Christian
George Hargreaves
71
0
0
0
0
0
18,623
0.1
+0.1

Scottish Green
Eleanor Scott and Patrick Harvie
20
0
0
0
0
0
16,827
0.1
0.0

Health Concern
Richard Taylor
1
0
0
0
1
−1
16,150
0.1
0.0

Independent – Bob Spink
N/A
1
0
0
0
0
0
12,174
0.0
N/A

TUSC
Dave Nellist
37
0
0
0
0
0
12,275
0.0
N/A

National Front
Ian Edward
17
0
0
0
0
0
10,784
0.0
0.0

Buckinghamshire Campaign for Democracy
John Stevens
1
0
0
0
0
0
10,331
0.0
N/A

Monster Raving Loony
Howling Laud Hope
27
0
0
0
0
0
7,510
0.0
0.0

Socialist Labour
Arthur Scargill
23
0
0
0
0
0
7,196
0.0
−0.1

Liberal
Rob Wheway
5
0
0
0
0
0
6,781
0.0
−0.1

Blaenau Gwent PV
Dai Davies
1
0
0
0
1
−1
6,458
0.0
−0.1

Christian Peoples
Alan Craig
17
0
0
0
0
0
6,276
0.0
0.0

Mebyon Kernow
Dick Cole
6
0
0
0
0
0
5,379
0.0
0.0

Lincolnshire Independent
Marianne Overton
3
0
0
0
0
0
5,311
0.0
N/A

Mansfield Independent Forum

1
0
0
0
0
0
4,339
0.0
N/A

Green (NI)
Mark Bailey and Karly Greene
4
0
0
0
0
0
3,542
0.0
0.0

Socialist Alternative
Peter Taaffe
4
0
0
0
0
0
3,298
0.0
0.0

Trust
Stuart Wheeler
2
0
0
0
0
0
3,233
0.0
N/A

Scottish Socialist
Colin Fox and Frances Curran
10
0
0
0
0
0
3,157
0.0
−0.1

People Before Profit
N/A
1
0
0
0
0
0
2,936
0.0
N/A

Local Liberals People Before Politics

1
0
0
0
0
0
1,964
0.0
N/A

Independent – Esther Rantzen
N/A
1
0
0
0
0
0
1,872
0.0
N/A

Alliance for Green Socialism
Mike Davies
6
0
0
0
0
0
1,581
0.0
0.0

SDP
Peter Johnson
2
0
0
0
0
0
1,551
0.0
N/A

Pirate
Andrew Robinson
9
0
0
0
0
0
1,348
0.0
N/A

Common Sense Party
Howard Thomas
2
0
0
0
0
0
1,173
0.0
0.0

Staffordshire Independent Group

1
0
0
0
0
0
1,208
0.0
0.0

Tendring First

1
0
0
0
0
0
1,078
0.0
0.0

Solihull and Meriden Residents Association

2
0
0
0
0
0
977
0.0
0.0

Communist
Robert Griffiths
6
0
0
0
0
0
947
0.0
0.0

Democratic Labour
Brian Powell
1
0
0
0
0
0
842
0.0
0.0

English Independence Party

1
0
0
0
0
0
803
0.0
0.0

Democratic Nationalist Party

2
0
0
0
0
0
753
0.0
N/A

Save King George Hospital

1
0
0
0
0
0
746
0.0
0.0

Workers Revolutionary
Sheila Torrance
7
0
0
0
0
0
738
0.0
0.0

Peace
John Morris
3
0
0
0
0
0
737
0.0
0.0

Animal Protection
N/A
4
0
0
0
0
0
675
0.0
0.0

Christian Movement for Great Britain

2
0
0
0
0
0
598
0.0
0.0

New Millennium Bean Party
Captain Beany
1
0
0
0
0
0
558
0.0
0.0

Total
7003372000000000000♠3720
650
100
115
115
0
29,687,604
Turnout: 65.1

text: Jump up ^ This figure excludes John Bercow (Buckingham)

text: On 27 May 2010 the Conservatives won the final seat of Thirsk and Malton, thus giving them 306 seats. The election in that constituency had been delayed because of the death of the UKIP candidate.[109]

text:
Vote share

Conservative

36.1%

Labour

29.0%

Liberal Democrat

23.0%

UK Independence

3.1%

British National

1.9%

Scottish National

1.7%

Others

5.2%

text:
Parliamentary seats

Conservative

47.1%

Labour

39.7%

Liberal Democrat

8.8%

Democratic Unionist

1.2%

Scottish National

0.9%

Sinn Féin

0.8%

Others

1.5%

text: Voting distribution per constituency[edit]

text: Election petitions[edit]

text: Two results were also challenged by defeated candidates through election petitions – Fermanagh and South Tyrone, and Oldham East and Saddleworth.

text: Fermanagh and South Tyrone[edit]

text: The defeated Unionist 'Unity' candidate, Rodney Connor, lodged a petition against the successful Sinn Féin candidate, Michelle Gildernew, in Fermanagh and South Tyrone, alleging irregularities in the counting of the votes had affected the result. Gildernew had won with a plurality of four votes. However the court found that there were only three ballot papers which could not be accounted for, and even if they were all votes for Connor, Gildernew would have had a plurality of one. The election was therefore upheld.[110]

text: Oldham East and Saddleworth[edit]

text: On 28 May 2010, the defeated Liberal Democrat candidate Elwyn Watkins lodged a petition against the election of Phil Woolas (Labour) in Oldham East and Saddleworth constituency.[111] The petition challenged leaflets issued by Woolas' campaign as having contained false statements of fact concerning Watkins' personal character, which is an illegal practice under section 106 of the Representation of the People Act 1983. The statements attempted to link Watkins with Muslim extremists and death threats to Woolas, accused him of reneging on a promise to live in the constituency, and implied that his campaign was funded by illegal foreign political donations.[112][113]

text: During the court case a number of emails between Woolas and his campaign team emerged. In one, Woolas' agent, Joe Fitzpatrick, emailed Woolas and campaign adviser Steven Green, to say: "Things are not going as well as I had hoped ... we need to think about our first attack leaflet."[114] A reply from Fitzpatrick said: "If we don't get the white vote angry he's gone." Some have criticised these tactics in light of significant existing racial tensions in the area.[115] The court hearing finished on 17 September 2010, with the judges reserving their judgement until 5 November 2010.[116] On that day Woolas was found to have breached section 106 of the Representation of the People Act 1983 in relation to three of the four statements complained about, and the judges ruled that his election was void.[117] Phil Woolas applied for a judicial review into the ruling,[118] stating that "this election petition raised fundamental issues about the freedom to question and criticise politicians." and that it "will inevitably chill political speech".[119] He succeeded in overturning the finding in respect of one of the three statements but the main findings of the election court judgment were upheld. A by-election on 13 January 2011 resulted in the election of Debbie Abrahams (Labour).

text: Analysis[edit]

text:
Wikinews has related news:

UK elections: Hung parliament, Cameron to negotiate with Liberal Democrats
2010 UK general election results

text: At 9:41 on 7 May, the BBC confirmed a hung parliament. The Conservatives stood at 290 seats, Labour at 247 and Liberal Democrats at 51.[2][120] One constituency seat (Thirsk and Malton) was contested on 27 May because of the death of the UKIP candidate and was won by the Conservative Party, whilst another seat (Oldham East and Saddleworth) later had its result declared void; Labour won the resulting by-election.

text: The result showed an overall 5.1% swing from Labour to the Conservatives, the third largest national swing achieved in a General Election since 1945 and similar to the 5.3% swing achieved by the Conservative leader Margaret Thatcher in 1979.[120] The 97 net seat gains made by the Conservatives outdid their previous best gains total in 1950, when they gained 85. Labour's loss of 91 seats was worse than their previous greatest loss of seats, when they lost 77 seats in 1970.

text: Of the 532 seats contested in England (a final seat, Thirsk and Malton, was contested on 27 May), the Conservatives won 298 seats and an absolute majority of 61 seats over all other parties combined, securing an average swing of 5.6% from Labour.[121] Labour did poorly in many Southern areas, notably in the Eastern Region where they won only two of their 14 seats from 2005: Luton North and Luton South. Labour did however gain two seats: Bethnal Green and Bow and Chesterfield. The Conservatives made 95 of their gains in England, but they also suffered three losses, all to the Liberal Democrats. For the Liberal Democrats, their eight gains were overshadowed by their 12 losses – one to Labour and 11 to the Conservatives.

text: None of Scotland's 59 seats changed hands and all were held by the same party that had won them at the 2005 election, with Labour regaining the two seats they had lost in by-elections since 2005. There was a swing to Labour from the Conservatives of 0.8% (with Labour increasing its share of the vote by 2.5% and the Conservatives increasing by just 0.9%) The Conservatives finished with just a single MP representing a Scottish constituency.

text: Of the 40 seats contested in Wales, the Conservatives more than doubled their seats from three to eight, taking one from the Liberal Democrats and four from Labour. Welsh nationalist party Plaid Cymru's number of seats was reduced from three to two on the new seat boundaries, but they managed to gain one seat, Arfon, from Labour. Labour did however regain Blaenau Gwent, which had once been Labour's safest seat in Wales until it had been taken by an Independent, Peter Law, in 2005.[122] Overall, Labour made a net loss of 4 seats but remained the biggest party, with 26.

text: There were 18 seats contested in Northern Ireland. Both Irish nationalist parties, Sinn Féin and the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), held their seats. The unionist Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) (the latter in an electoral pact with the Conservatives), lost one seat each. This left the nationalist parties unchanged with eight seats, the main unionist parties with eight seats (all DUP), the Alliance with one seat and an independent unionist with one seat. It is the first time since the partition of Ireland that unionist parties failed to secure a majority of Northern Ireland's Westminster seats in a general election, and also the first time Sinn Féin obtained the largest share of the vote in Northern Ireland at a general election.[123]

text: Notable results[edit]

text:
Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families Ed Balls held his seat in Morley and Outwood by just 1,101, despite much anticipation of a "Portillo moment"[124]
Minister of State for Borders and Immigration Phil Woolas retained Oldham East and Saddleworth by just 103 votes. However, following a legal challenge by his Liberal Democrat opponent, Elwyn Watkins, a new by-election was ordered and held on 13 January 2011. Woolas was barred from standing in this by-election but Labour held the seat with an increased majority.[125]
Minister of State for Health Mike O'Brien unexpectedly lost North Warwickshire, a seat he had held for 18 years, by just 54 votes to Conservative challenger Dan Byles.[126]
Green Party leader Caroline Lucas won Brighton Pavilion, becoming their first Westminster MP[127][128]
British National Party leader Nick Griffin finished in third place after a heavy loss in Barking to incumbent Labour MP Margaret Hodge[129]
In the wake of job losses at the local steel works, Solicitor General Vera Baird lost her seat of Redcar on a swing of 21.8% to Ian Swales of the Liberal Democrats.
Gisela Stuart held onto her Birmingham Edgbaston seat despite many predictions that she would lose it. This was the only one of the 50 most marginal seats Labour held that was not lost by the party.

text: Demographics[edit]

text: Candidate demographics[edit]

text: The election resulted in an increase in the number of MPs from ethnic minorities from 14 to 27, including the first black and Asian female Conservative MPs, Helen Grant and Priti Patel,[130] and the first female Muslim MPs, Rushanara Ali, Shabana Mahmood and Yasmin Qureshi.[131] This means that 4.2% of MPs are from an ethnic minority – in the 2001 Census, it was reported that ethnic minorities comprised 7.9% of the population. The number of female MPs rose to 141, an increase from 19.5% to 21.7% of all MPs, and the highest ever total; the number of female Conservative MPs rose from 18 (8.6% of all Conservatives) to 48 (15.7%).[132]

text: Voter demographics[edit]

text: Polling after the election suggested the following demographic breakdown:

text:
The 2010 UK General Election vote in Great Britain[133][134]

Social group
Con
Lab
Lib Dem
Others
Lead

Total vote
37
30
24
19
7

Gender

Male
38
28
22
12
10

Female
36
31
26
8
4

Age

18–24
30
31
30
9
1

25–34
35
30
29
7
5

35–44
34
31
26
9
3

45–54
34
28
26
12
6

55–64
38
28
23
12
10

65+
44
31
16
9
13

Men by Age

18–24
29
34
27
4
5

25–34
42
23
30
6
12

35–54
36
28
23
13
8

55+
41
29
16
14
12

Women by Age

18–24
30
28
34
9
4

25–34
27
38
27
8
11

35–54
33
31
29
8
2

55+
42
30
21
7
12

Social class

AB
39
26
29
7
10

C1
39
28
24
9
11

C2
37
29
22
12
8

DE
31
40
17
12
9

Men by social class

AB
44
23
27
7
17

C1
40
28
22
10
12

C2
33
33
19
10
0

DE
32
35
13
20
3

Women by social class

AB
44
28
6
12
16

C1
34
29
31
6
3

C2
41
25
25
9
16

DE
29
45
19
7
16

Housing tenure

Owned
45
24
21
11
21

Mortgage
36
29
26
9
7

Social renter
24
47
19
11
23

Private renter
35
29
27
9
6

Ethnic group

White
38
28
24
8
11

BME
23
65
20
10
40

text: Northern Ireland[edit]

text: In Northern Ireland a swing of more than 20% resulted in DUP First Minister Peter Robinson losing his Belfast East[135] seat to the Alliance Party's Naomi Long, giving Alliance its first elected MP in Westminster.

text: Sir Reg Empey, leader of the UUP/Conservative alliance (UCUNF), standing for the first time in South Antrim, lost to the DUP incumbent William McCrea. Thus both leaders of the main Unionist parties failed to win seats while the UUP for the first time has no MPs at Westminster. A few days after the election, Empey announced that he would resign before the party conference, triggering a leadership election.

text: Sylvia Hermon, Lady Hermon retained her seat in North Down, significantly increasing her percentage of the vote despite a slightly lower turnout and her defection from the UUP/Conservative alliance to stand as an independent.

text: New SDLP leader Margaret Ritchie, succeeding Eddie McGrady MP, won against Sinn Féin's Caitriona Ruane in South Down. All of the Sinn Féin and SDLP incumbents held their seats, although Sinn Féin's Michelle Gildernew retained her seat in Fermanagh & South Tyrone by only four votes over the Independent Unionist Unity candidate, Rodney Connor, after three recounts.[136]

text: MPs who lost their seats[edit]

text:
Party
Name
Constituency
Office held whilst in power
Year elected
Defeated by
Party

Labour Party
The Right Honourable
Jacqui Smith
Redditch
Former Home Secretary (2007–09)
1997
Karen Lumley

Conservative Party

The Right Honourable
Charles Clarke
Norwich South
Former Home Secretary (2004–06)
1997
Simon Wright

Liberal Democrats

The Right Honourable
Tony McNulty
Harrow East
Minister of State for Employment and Welfare Reform
1997
Bob Blackman

Conservative Party

The Right Honourable
Mike O'Brien QC
North Warwickshire
Minister of State for Health Services
1992
Major
Dan Byles

Conservative Party

The Right Honourable
Jim Knight
South Dorset
Minister of State for Employment and Welfare Reform
2001
Richard Drax

Conservative Party

Vera Baird QC
Redcar
Solicitor General for England and Wales
2001
Ian Swales

Liberal Democrats

Angela Smith
Basildon, contesting South Basildon and East Thurrock
Minister of State for Third Sector
1997
Stephen Metcalfe

Conservative Party

Bill Rammell
Harlow
Minister of State for the Armed Forces
1997
Robert Halfon

Conservative Party

Gillian Merron
Lincoln
Minister of State for Public Health
1997
Karl McCartney

Conservative Party

Phil Hope
Corby
Minister of State for Health
1997
Louise Mensch

Conservative Party

Dawn Butler
Brent South, contesting Brent Central
Minister for Young Citizens and Youth Engagement
2005
Sarah Teather MP

Liberal Democrats

Sarah McCarthy-Fry
Portsmouth North
Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury
2005
Penny Mordaunt

Conservative Party

The Right Honourable
Joan Ryan
Enfield North
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Nationality, Citizenship and Immigration
1997
Nick de Bois

Conservative Party

Bob Blizzard
Waveney
Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
1997
Peter Aldous

Conservative Party

Janet Anderson
Rossendale and Darwen
Vice-Chamberlain of the Household
1992
Jake Berry

Conservative Party

Shahid Malik
Dewsbury
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Communities and Local Government
2005
Simon Reevell

Conservative Party

David Kidney
Stafford
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Department for Energy and Climate Change
1997
Jeremy Lefroy

Conservative Party

Michael (Jabez) Foster
Hastings and Rye
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office; Minister for Equalities
1997
Amber Rudd

Conservative Party

Michael Foster
Worcester
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for International Development
1997
The Honourable
Robin Walker

Conservative Party

Dan Norris
Wansdyke, contesting North East Somerset
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
1997
The Honourable
Jacob Rees-Mogg

Conservative Party

Chris Mole
Ipswich
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Transport
2001
The Honourable
Ben Gummer

Conservative Party

Paul Clark
Gillingham and Rainham
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Transport
1997
Rehman Chishti

Conservative Party

Jonathan Shaw
Chatham and Aylesford
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions; Minister for Disabled People
1997
Tracey Crouch

Conservative Party

Ann Keen
Brentford and Isleworth
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health Services
1997
Mary Macleod

Conservative Party

Claire Ward
Watford
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Justice
1997
Richard Harrington

Conservative Party

Sally Keeble
Northampton North
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Department for International Development
1997
Michael Ellis

Conservative Party

Parmjit Dhanda
Gloucester
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Communities and Local Government
2001
Richard Graham

Conservative Party

Celia Barlow
Hove
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform
2005
Mike Weatherley

Conservative Party

Nick Ainger
Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Wales Office
1992
Simon Hart

Conservative Party

Charlotte Atkins
Staffordshire Moorlands
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Transport
1997
Karen Bradley

Conservative Party

James Plaskitt
Warwick and Leamington
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions
1997
Chris White

Conservative Party

Phyllis Starkey
Milton Keynes South West
Chair of the Communities and Local Government Select Committee
1997
Iain Stewart

Conservative Party

Andrew Dismore
Hendon
Chair of the Joint Committee on Human Rights
1997
Matthew Offord

Conservative Party

Lynda Waltho
Stourbridge
Assistant Regional Minister for the West Midlands
2005
Margot James

Conservative Party

Ian Cawsey
Brigg and Goole
Assistant Whip
1997
Andrew Percy

Conservative Party

Anne Snelgrove
Swindon South
Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to the Prime Minister
2005
Robert Buckland

Conservative Party

Rob Marris
Wolverhampton South West
PPS to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
2001
Paul Uppal

Conservative Party

Christine Russell
City of Chester
PPS to the Minister of State for Children, Young People and Families
1997
Stephen Mosley

Conservative Party

Andy Reed
Loughborough
PPS to Treasury Ministers
1997
Nicky Morgan

Conservative Party

Dari Taylor
Stockton South
PPS to the Minister of State for Health and Chairman of the North East Regional Select Committee
1997
James Wharton

Conservative Party

Shona McIsaac
Cleethorpes
PPS to the Minister of State for Health
1997
Martin Vickers

Conservative Party

Linda Gilroy
Plymouth Sutton, contesting Plymouth Sutton and Devonport
PPS to the Minister of State for Housing and Local Government
1997
Oliver Colvile

Conservative Party

Martin Linton
Battersea
PPS to the Department for Constitutional Affairs
1997
Jane Ellison

Conservative Party

Nick Palmer
Broxtowe
PPS to the Department for Constitutional Affairs
1997
Anna Soubry

Conservative Party

Terry Rooney
Bradford North
PPS to the Minister of State for Housing and Planning
1990
David Ward

Liberal Democrats

David Borrow
South Ribble
PPS to the Department for Education and Skills
1997
Lorraine Fullbrook

Conservative Party

Patrick Hall
Bedford
PPS to the Foreign Office
1997
Richard Fuller

Conservative Party

David Drew
Stroud

1997
Neil Carmichael

Conservative Party

Dr Roger Berry
Kingswood

1992
Chris Skidmore

Conservative Party

Tony Wright
Great Yarmouth

1997
Brandon Lewis

Conservative Party

Geraldine Smith
Morecambe and Lunesdale

1997
David Morris

Conservative Party

Frank Cook
Stockton North
Stood as an Independent candidate after being deselected

1983
Alex Cunningham

Labour Party

Gordon Prentice
Pendle

1992
Andrew Stephenson

Conservative Party

Gwyn Prosser
Dover

1997
Charlie Elphicke

Conservative Party

Julie Morgan
Cardiff North

1997
Jonathan Evans

Conservative Party

Brian Jenkins
Tamworth

1997
Christopher Pincher

Conservative Party

Liberal Democrats
Lembit Öpik
Montgomeryshire
Housing Spokesman
1997
Glyn Davies

Conservative Party

Dr Evan Harris
Oxford West and Abingdon
Science Spokesman
1997
Nicola Blackwood

Conservative Party

Julia Goldsworthy
Falmouth and Camborne, contesting Camborne and Redruth
Communities and Local Government Spokesman
2005
George Eustice

Conservative Party

Richard Younger-Ross
Teignbridge, contesting Newton Abbot
Heritage Spokesman
2001
Anne-Marie Morris

Conservative Party

Sandra Gidley
Romsey, contesting Romsey and Southampton North
Health Spokesman
2000
Caroline Nokes

Conservative Party

Paul Holmes
Chesterfield
Justice Spokesman and Chairman of the Liberal Democrats
2001
Toby Perkins

Labour Party

Paul Rowen
Rochdale
Work and Pensions Spokesman
2005
Simon Danczuk

Labour Party

Willie Rennie
Dunfermline and West Fife
Chair of the Lib Dem Campaigns Team
2006
Thomas Docherty

Labour Party

Susan Kramer
Richmond Park
Transport Spokesman
2005
Zac Goldsmith

Conservative Party

Conservative
The Right Honourable
David Heathcoat-Amory
Wells

1983
Tessa Munt

Liberal Democrats

Nigel Waterson
Eastbourne

1992
Stephen Lloyd

Liberal Democrats

Democratic Unionist Party
The Right Honourable
Peter Robinson
Belfast East
Leader of the DUP and First Minister of Northern Ireland
1979
Naomi Long

Alliance Party of Northern Ireland

Respect
George Galloway
Bethnal Green & Bow, contesting Poplar and Limehouse

1987
Jim Fitzpatrick

Labour Party

Scottish National Party
John Mason
Glasgow East

2008
Margaret Curran

Labour Party

Independent
Dr Richard Taylor
Wyre Forest

2001
Mark Garnier

Conservative Party

Dr Bob Spink
Castle Point

2001
Rebecca Harris

Conservative Party

Andrew Pelling
Croydon Central

2005
Gavin Barwell

Conservative Party

Blaenau Gwent People's Voice Group
Dai Davies
Blaenau Gwent

2006
Nick Smith

Labour Party

text: MPs first elected in 2010[edit]

text: Effect of the expenses scandal[edit]

text: Many of the MPs who were most prominently caught up in the scandal decided, or were ordered, not to stand for re-election in 2010. Among them were Margaret Moran,[137] Elliot Morley,[138] David Chaytor,[139] Nicholas and Ann Winterton,[140] Derek Conway,[141] John Gummer,[142] Douglas Hogg,[143] Anthony Steen,[144] Peter Viggers,[145] Julie Kirkbride and her husband Andrew MacKay.[146]

text: Where sitting MPs did stand for re-election after their expenses claims were criticised, there were some notable losses. Former Home Secretary Jacqui Smith lost her marginal Redditch seat, which showed a large 9.2% swing to the Conservatives. Smith had claimed expenses on a large family home in Redditch by declaring her house-share with her sister in London as her main home, which had been described as "near fraudulent" by the former chairman of the committee on Standards in Public life,[147] although she had only been ordered to apologise rather than repay the money.[148] Former Home Office minister Tony McNulty lost Harrow East to the Conservatives on an 8% swing, after repaying over £13,000 claimed on a second home, occupied by his parents, which was 8 miles away from his primary residence.[149] Ann Keen lost Brentford and Isleworth on a 6% swing, but her husband Alan Keen retained Feltham and Heston. The couple were criticised for claiming for a second home in central London while rarely staying in their nearby constituency home.[150]

text: Shahid Malik lost his Dewsbury seat on a 5.9% swing to the Conservatives. Malik had been required to repay some of his expense claims and, at the time of the election, was under investigation for other claims.[151] David Heathcoat-Amory was one of only two sitting Conservatives to be defeated when he lost Wells to the Liberal Democrats by 800 votes. Heathcoat-Amory was criticised for claiming manure on expenses.[152] Phil Hope, who repaid over £40,000 in expenses,[153] was defeated in his Corby constituency although the swing was lower than the national average at 3.3%. Lembit Öpik was defeated in his Montgomeryshire constituency on a 13% swing. Öpik had claimed a £40 summons charge for non-payment of Council Tax,[154][155][156]

text: Hazel Blears, who had paid more than £13,000 to cover capital gains tax which she had avoided by "flipping" the designation of her main residence,[157] suffered a large drop in her vote in Salford and Eccles, but was still comfortably re-elected; a 'Hazel must go' candidate won only 1.8%.[158] Conversely, Brian Jenkins lost his Tamworth seat on a large 9.5% swing despite being described as a "saint" by the Daily Telegraph on account of his low expenses.[159]

text: Predictions[160] of a rise in the number of successful Independents in the election as a result of the 2009 expenses scandal failed to materialise. Independents supported by the Jury Team or the Independent Network, support networks who both attempted to select and promote high quality Independents who had signed up for the so-called Nolan Principles of public life, set out in the Committee on Standards in Public Life, failed to have any significant impact. Broadcaster Esther Rantzen gathered a great deal of publicity for her campaign in Luton South constituency where the former MP Margaret Moran had stood down, but ended up losing her deposit in 4th place with 4.4% of the vote; the winner was Moran's successor as Labour candidate.

text: There was also a high-profile campaign over expenses directed against Speaker John Bercow, who had 'flipped' his designation of second home. An imperfectly observed convention states that the major parties do not oppose the Speaker seeking re-election; Bercow faced two main opponents in Buckingham. Independent former Member of the European Parliament John Stevens, standing on the Buckinghamshire Campaign for Democracy ticket, campaigned with a man dressed in a dolphin costume whom he called 'Flipper'[161] and polled second with 21.4%. Former leader of the UK Independence Party Nigel Farage also fought the seat but came third in the vote with 17.4%. Bercow won with 47.3%.

text: Voting problems[edit]

text: Problems occurred with voting at 27 polling places in 16 constituencies, and affected approximately 1,200 people.[162] This situation was condemned by politicians of various parties. Jenny Watson, chair of the Electoral Commission, the independent body that oversees the electoral process, was forced on to television to defend preparations and procedures. The Electoral Commission announced it would be carrying out a "thorough investigation".[163] Under the law in force at the 2010 election, voters had to have been handed their ballots by the 10 pm deadline; people who were waiting in queues to vote at 10 pm were not allowed to vote.[164]

text: In Chester there were reports that 600 registered voters were unable to vote because the electoral roll had not been updated,[165] while in Hackney, Islington, Leeds, Lewisham, Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield long queues led to many voters being turned away and unable to vote as the 10 pm deadline arrived.[163] Some dissatisfied voters staged sit-ins to protest against what some of them had called "disenfranchisement".[163] In Liverpool, higher than expected turnout meant several polling stations ran out of ballot papers, with defeated council leader Warren Bradley stating that some residents were unable to cast their votes.[166] In Wyre and Preston North, a 14-year-old boy cast a vote after being sent a polling card.[167]

text: In parts of Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg's Sheffield Hallam seat it was reported that students from the city's two universities were placed in separate queues from 'local' residents, who were given priority, resulting in many students being unable to cast their votes.[168]

text: Just days after the election Clegg spoke at a Take Back Parliament rally saying the results showed the British system is broken and needs fixing, while vowing the voices of the protesters would be heard. The rally demanded Clegg affirm his promise to push for "democratic and proportional representation of the British public".[169]

text: Because of closure of United Kingdom airspace as a result of the Iceland volcanic eruption, potential expat voters in New Zealand were denied a vote when postal voting papers arrived too late to be returned to the UK,[170] although Australian broadcaster SBS suggested that given the extremely tight timetabling of overseas votes, there is very little chance that voting papers [for voters outside Europe] will be received, let alone returned, in time to be counted.[171]

text: Post-election events[edit]

text: When it became clear that no party would achieve an overall majority the three main party leaders made public statements offering to discuss the options for forming the next government with the other parties.

text: On 11 May 2010, as coalition talks between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats seemed to be drawing to a successful conclusion,[3] Gordon Brown announced that he was resigning as Prime Minister and also as Labour leader. He then left Downing Street, accompanied by his wife and children, driving to Buckingham Palace where he tendered his resignation to Her Majesty the Queen and advised her to call for David Cameron.[172][173] Cameron became Prime Minister one hour after the Queen accepted Brown's resignation.[174] In his first address outside 10 Downing Street, he announced his intention to form a coalition government, the first since the Second World War, with the Liberal Democrats. As one of his first moves, Cameron appointed Nick Clegg as Deputy Prime Minister.[174]

text: Just after midnight on 12 May 2010, the Liberal Democrats emerged from a meeting of their Parliamentary party and Federal Executive to announce that the coalition deal had been "approved overwhelmingly",[4][5] meaning that David Cameron would lead a coalition government of Conservatives and Liberal Democrats.

text: Later that day, the two parties jointly published the Conservative – Liberal Democrat Coalition Agreement specifying the terms of the coalition deal.[175][176][177]

text: A film of the election was made by candidate and filmmaker John Walsh entitled ToryBoy The Movie, exploring the candidate’s selection process and the work that goes into an election campaign. One of the film's subjects, the British Labour Party MP Sir Stuart Bell, was later described as “Britain’s laziest MP”.[178] The film received cinema releases in 2011 and again ahead of the 2015 General Election.[179]

text: Party political and administration costs[edit]

text: UK parties spent £31.1m on the campaign of which Conservatives spent 53%, the Labour Party spent 25% and the Liberal Democrats 15%.[180] Figures from returning officers show that the average administration cost per constituency was £173,846 meaning the average cost per vote was £3.81.[181]


document_title: Cansino family

question_text: where does the last name cancino come from

root

text: Cansino family

text: The (Cancino) family was a Spanish-Jewish family, famous in history for its wealth and influence, its scholars and poets.

tag: p

text: Jacob Cansino I served as an interpreter at Oran, a Spanish colony in northwestern Africa, under Charles V, until 1556, when he was sent as an ambassador to the king of Morocco. The office was then held in regular succession by his son Isaac Cansino from 1568 to 1599, by his grandson Chayyim (Chayen) from 1601 to 1621, and by his great-grandson Aaron from 1621 to 1633. After an interval of three years Aaron's brother, Jacob Cansino, received the appointment (1636), and served until his death in 1666. He is known by his translation into Castilian of Extremas y Grandenzas de Constantinopla, from the Hebrew of Moses Almosnino.

text: Other prominent members of the family were Solomon Cansino, poet; Moses Cansino, scholar; Samuel Cansino, cantor in the synagogue, and wealthy philanthropist, who ultimately lost the whole of his fortune to gamblers; and Rabbi Abraham Cansino II, secretary of the Jewish community of Oran.


document_title: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

question_text: when was mr smith goes to washington made

text: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

text: Plot[edit]

text: The governor of an unnamed western state, Hubert "Happy" Hopper (Guy Kibbee), has to pick a replacement for recently deceased U.S. Senator Sam Foley. His corrupt political boss, Jim Taylor (Edward Arnold), pressures Hopper to choose his handpicked stooge, while popular committees want a reformer, Henry Hill. The governor's children want him to select Jefferson Smith (James Stewart), the head of the Boy Rangers. Unable to make up his mind between Taylor's stooge and the reformer, Hopper decides to flip a coin. When it lands on edge – and next to a newspaper story on one of Smith's accomplishments – he chooses Smith, calculating that his wholesome image will please the people while his naïveté will make him easy to manipulate.

text: Junior Senator Smith is taken under the wing of the publicly esteemed, but secretly crooked, Senator Joseph Paine (Claude Rains), who was Smith's late father's friend. Smith develops an immediate attraction to the senator's daughter, Susan (Astrid Allwyn). At Senator Paine's home, Smith has a conversation with Susan, fidgeting and bumbling, entranced by the young socialite. Smith's naïve and honest nature allows the unforgiving Washington press to take advantage of him, quickly tarnishing Smith's reputation with ridiculous front page pictures and headlines branding him a bumpkin.

text: To keep Smith busy, Paine suggests he propose a bill. With the help of his secretary, Clarissa Saunders (Jean Arthur), who was the aide to Smith's predecessor and had been around Washington and politics for years, Smith comes up with a bill to authorize a federal government loan to buy some land in his home state for a national boys' camp, to be paid back by youngsters across America. Donations pour in immediately. However, the proposed campsite is already part of a dam-building graft scheme included in an appropriations bill framed by the Taylor political machine and supported by Senator Paine.

text: Unwilling to crucify the worshipful Smith so that their graft plan will go through, Paine tells Taylor he wants out, but Taylor reminds him that Paine is in power primarily through Taylor's influence. Through Paine, the machine in his state accuses Smith of trying to profit from his bill by producing fraudulent evidence that Smith already owns the land in question. Smith is too shocked by Paine's betrayal to defend himself, and runs away.

text: Saunders, who looked down on Smith at first, but has come to believe in him, talks him into launching a filibuster to postpone the appropriations bill and prove his innocence on the Senate floor just before the vote to expel him. In his last chance to prove his innocence, he talks non-stop for about 24 hours, reaffirming the American ideals of freedom and disclosing the true motives of the dam scheme. Yet none of the Senators are convinced.

text: The constituents try to rally around him, but the entrenched opposition is too powerful, and all attempts are crushed. Owing to the influence of Taylor's machine, newspapers and radio stations in Smith's home state, on Taylor's orders, refuse to report what Smith has to say and even distort the facts against the senator. An effort by the Boy Rangers to spread the news in support of Smith results in vicious attacks on the children by Taylor's minions.

text: Although all hope seems lost, the senators begin to pay attention as Smith approaches utter exhaustion. Paine has one last card up his sleeve: he brings in bins of letters and telegrams from Smith's home state, purportedly from average people demanding his expulsion. Nearly broken by the news, Smith finds a small ray of hope in a friendly smile from the President of the Senate (Harry Carey). Smith vows to press on until people believe him, but immediately collapses in a faint. Overcome with guilt, Paine leaves the Senate chamber and attempts to commit suicide by gunshot, but is stopped by onlooking senators. He then bursts back into the Senate chamber, shouting a confession to the whole scheme; Paine further insists that he should be expelled from the Senate and affirms Smith's innocence, to the delight of Clarissa. The President of the Senate observes the ensuing chaos with amusement.

text: Cast[edit]

text:
Jean Arthur as Clarissa Saunders
James Stewart as Jefferson "Jeff" Smith
Claude Rains as Senator Joseph Harrison "Joe" Paine
Edward Arnold as Jim Taylor
Guy Kibbee as Governor Hubert "Happy" Hopper
Thomas Mitchell as "Diz" Moore
Eugene Pallette as Chick McGann
Beulah Bondi as Ma Smith
H. B. Warner as Senate Majority Leader
Harry Carey as President of the Senate
Astrid Allwyn as Susan Paine
Ruth Donnelly as Mrs. Hopper
Grant Mitchell as Senator MacPherson
Porter Hall as Senator Monroe
Pierre Watkin as Senate Minority Leader
Charles Lane as "Nosey", reporter
William Demarest as Bill Griffith
Dick Elliott as Carl Cook
The Hopper Boys:

Billy Watson
Delmar Watson
John Russell
Harry Watson
Gary Watson
Baby Dumpling (Larry Simms)

H. V. Kaltenborn as himself

Uncredited

Russell Simpson as Kenneth Allen
Dick Jones as Richard "Dickie" Jones, Senate Page Boy
Nick Copeland as Senate Reporter
Anne Cornwall as Senate Reporter
Gino Corrado as Barber
Maurice Costello as Diggs - Newsman
Alec Craig as Speaker
Beatrice Curtis as Paine's Secretary
Lew Davis as Senate Clerk
Dulcie Day as Senate Reporter
Wally Dean as Paine's Friend
Vernon Dent as Senate Reporter
Harry Depp as Hat Salesman / Secretary
Robert Middlemass as 2nd Radio Announcer
Gladys Gale as Committee Woman
Stanley Andrews as Senator Hodges
Harlan Briggs as Mr. Edwards, howling citizen

tag: table

text: Cast notes:

text: Among the unbilled veteran character actors seen in the film are Guy Kibbee's brother, Milton Kibbee, who has a bit as a reporter; Lafe McKee; and Matt McHugh of the McHugh acting family. Also in the film in minor roles are Dub Taylor and Jack Carson, later well-known actors. Silent film star Hank Mann played a photographer.

tag: ul

text: Production[edit]

text: Columbia Pictures originally purchased Lewis R. Foster's unpublished story, variously called "The Gentleman from Montana" and "The Gentleman from Wyoming", as a vehicle for Ralph Bellamy, but once Frank Capra came on board as director – after Rouben Mamoulian had expressed interest – the film was to be a sequel to his Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, called Mr. Deeds Goes to Washington, with Gary Cooper reprising his role as Longfellow Deeds.[N 1] Because Cooper was unavailable, Capra then "saw it immediately as a vehicle for Jimmy Stewart and Jean Arthur",[7] and Stewart was borrowed from MGM.[4] Capra said of Stewart: "I knew he would make a hell of a Mr. Smith ... He looked like the country kid, the idealist. It was very close to him."[8]

text: Although a youth group is featured in the story, the Boy Scouts of America refused to allow their name to be used in the film and instead the fanciful "Boy Rangers" was used.[4]

text: In January 1938, both Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Paramount Pictures submitted Foster's story to the censors at the Hays Office, likely indicating that both studios had an interest in the project before Columbia purchased it. Joseph Breen, the head of that office, warned the studios: "[W]e would urge most earnestly that you take serious counsel before embarking on the production of any motion picture based on this story. It looks to us like one that might well be loaded with dynamite, both for the motion picture industry, and for the country at large." Breen specifically objected to "the generally unflattering portrayal of our system of Government, which might well lead to such a picture being considered, both here, and more particularly abroad, as a covert attack on the Democratic form of government", and warned that the film should make clear that "the Senate is made up of a group of fine, upstanding citizens, who labor long and tirelessly for the best interests of the nation ..."

text: Later, after the screenplay had been written and submitted, Breen reversed course, saying of the film, "It is a grand yarn that will do a great deal of good for all those who see it and, in my judgment, it is particularly fortunate that this kind of story is to be made at this time. Out of all Senator Jeff's difficulties there has been evolved the importance of a democracy and there is splendidly emphasized the rich and glorious heritage which is ours and which comes when you have a government 'of the people, by the people, and for the people'".[4]

text: The film was in production from April 3, 1939, to July 7 of that year.[9] Some location shooting took place in Washington, D.C., at Union Station and at the United States Capitol, as well as other locations for background use.[10][11]

text: In the studio, to ensure authenticity, an elaborate set was created, consisting of Senate committee rooms, cloak rooms, and hotel suites, as well as specific Washington, D.C., monuments, all based on a trip Capra and his crew made to the capital. Even the Press Club of Washington was reproduced in minute detail,[4][12] but the major effort went into a faithful reproduction of the Senate Chamber on the Columbia lot. James D. Preston, a former superintendent of the Senate gallery, acted as technical director for the Senate set, as well as advising on political protocol. The production also utilized the "New York street set" on the Warner Bros. lot, using 1,000 extras when that scene was shot.[4]

text: The ending of the film was apparently changed at some point, as the original program describes Stewart and Arthur returning to Smith's hometown, where they are met by a big parade, with the implication that they are married and starting a family.[4] In addition, the Taylor political machine is shown being crushed; Smith, riding a motorcycle, visits Senator Paine and forgives him; and a visit to Smith's mother is included. Some of this footage can be seen in the film's trailer.[13]

text: Impact[edit]

text: The film premiered in Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C., on October 17, 1939, sponsored by the National Press Club, an event to which 4,000 guests were invited, including 45 senators.[8] Mr. Smith Goes to Washington was attacked by the Washington press, and politicians in the U.S. Congress, as anti-American and pro-Communist for its portrayal of corruption in the American government.[14] While Capra claims in his autobiography that some senators walked out of the premiere, contemporary press accounts are unclear about whether this occurred or not, or whether senators yelled back at the screen during the film.[15]

text: It is known that Alben W. Barkley, a Democrat and the Senate Majority Leader, called the film "silly and stupid", and said it "makes the Senate look like a bunch of crooks".[16] He also remarked that the film was "a grotesque distortion" of the Senate, "as grotesque as anything ever seen! Imagine the Vice President of the United States winking at a pretty girl in the gallery in order to encourage a filibuster!" Barkley thought the film "... showed the Senate as the biggest aggregation of nincompoops on record!"[16]

text: Pete Harrison, a respected journalist and publisher of the motion picture trade journal Harrison's Reports, suggested that the Senate pass a bill allowing theater owners to refuse to show films that "were not in the best interest of our country". That did not happen, but one of the ways that some senators attempted to retaliate for the damage they felt the film had done to the reputation of their institution was by pushing the passage of the Neely Anti-Block Booking Bill, which eventually led to the breakup of the studio-owned theater chains in the late 1940s. Columbia responded by distributing a program which put forward the film’s patriotism and support of democracy and publicized the film’s many positive reviews.[17]

text: Other objections were voiced as well. Joseph P. Kennedy, the American Ambassador to Great Britain, wrote to Capra and Columbia head Harry Cohn to say that he feared the film would damage "America’s prestige in Europe", and because of this urged that it be withdrawn from European release. Capra and Cohn responded, citing the film’s review, which mollified Kennedy to the extent that he never followed up, although he privately still had doubts about the film.[18]

text: The film was banned in Hitler's Germany, Mussolini's Italy, Franco's Spain and Stalin's USSR.[19] According to Capra, the film was also dubbed in certain European countries to alter the message of the film so it conformed with official ideology.[19]

text: When a ban on American films was imposed in German occupied France in 1942, some theaters chose to show Mr. Smith Goes to Washington as the last movie before the ban went into effect. One theater owner in Paris reportedly screened the film nonstop for 30 days after the ban was announced.[20]

text: The critical response to the film was more measured than the reaction by politicians, domestic and foreign. The critic for The New York Times, for instance, Frank S. Nugent, wrote that "[Capra] is operating, of course, under the protection of that unwritten clause in the Bill of Rights entitling every voting citizen to at least one free swing at the Senate. Mr. Capra’s swing is from the floor and in the best of humor; if it fails to rock the august body to its heels – from laughter as much as from injured dignity – it won’t be his fault but the Senate's, and we should really begin to worry about the upper house."[21]

text: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington has been called one of the quintessential whistleblower films in American history. Dr. James Murtagh and Dr. Jeffrey Wigand cited this film as a seminal event in U.S. history at the first "Whistleblower Week in Washington" (May 13–19, 2007).[22][23]

text: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington has often been listed as among Capra’s best, but it has been noted that it "marked a turning point in Capra’s vision of the world, from nervous optimism to a darker, more pessimistic tone. Beginning with American Madness (1932), such Capra films as Lady for a Day (1933), It Happened One Night (1934), Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936), and You Can’t Take It With You (1938) had trumpeted their belief in the decency of the common man. In Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, however, the decent common man is surrounded by a venal, petty and thuggish group of crooks. Everyone in the film – except for Jefferson Smith and his tiny cadre of believers – is either in the pay of the political machine run by Edward Arnold’s James Taylor or complicit in Taylor’s corruption through their silence, and they all sit by as innocent people, including children, are brutalized and intimidated, rights are violated, and the government is brought to a halt".[24]

text: Nevertheless, Smith’s filibuster and the tacit encouragement of the Senate President are both emblematic of the director's belief in the difference that one individual can make. This theme would be expanded further in Capra's It's a Wonderful Life (1946) and other films.

text: Awards and honors[edit]

text: Academy Awards[edit]

text: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington was nominated for 11 Academy Awards but won only one.[25]

text:
Award
Result
Winner

Outstanding Production
Nominated
Columbia Pictures (Frank Capra)
Winner was David O. Selznick - Gone with the Wind

Best Director
Nominated
Frank Capra
Winner was Victor Fleming - Gone with the Wind

Best Actor
Nominated
James Stewart
Winner was Robert Donat - Goodbye, Mr. Chips

Best Writing, Screenplay
Nominated
Sidney Buchman
Winner was Sidney Howard - Gone with the Wind

Best Writing, Original Story
Won
Lewis R. Foster

Best Supporting Actor
Nominated
Claude Rains*

Harry Carey*
*Winner was Thomas Mitchell - Stagecoach

Best Art Direction
Nominated
Lionel Banks
Winner was Lyle R. Wheeler - Gone with the Wind

Best Film Editing
Nominated
Gene Havlick, Al Clark
Winner was Hal C. Kern, James E. Newcom - Gone with the Wind

Best Music, Scoring
Nominated
Dimitri Tiomkin
Winner was Herbert Stothart - The Wizard of Oz

Best Sound Recording
Nominated
John P. Livadary
Winner was Bernard B. Brown - When Tomorrow Comes

text: Other honors[edit]

text:
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington was named as one of the best films of 1939 by The New York Times and Film Daily, and was nominated for Best Film by the National Board of Review.
James Stewart won the 1939 New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor.
In 1989, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington was added to the United States National Film Registry as being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."[26]

text:
1998 AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies #29
2003 AFI's 100 Years... 100 Heroes and Villains:

Jefferson Smith, Hero #11
Senator Joseph Paine, Villain - Nominated

2006 AFI's 100 Years... 100 Cheers #5
2007 AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) #26

text: Remakes[edit]

text:
In 1949, Columbia planned, but never actually produced, a sequel to Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, called Mr. Smith Starts a Riot. They also considered doing a gender-reversed remake in 1952, with Jane Wyman playing the lead role.[4]
A television series of the same name, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, ran on ABC during the 1962–1963 season, starring Fess Parker, Sandra Warner and Red Foley.
Producer Frank Capra, Jr. remade the film as part of Tom Laughlin's Billy Jack series, Billy Jack Goes to Washington (1977).[citation needed]
The film was also loosely remade as The Distinguished Gentleman (1992), starring Eddie Murphy.[citation needed]

text: In popular culture[edit]

text:
The March 10, 1940 broadcast of Jack Benny's NBC radio show featured a parody entitled "Mr. Benny Goes to Washington."[27]
The short-lived NBC political drama Mister Sterling (2003) was described as "a Mr. Smith Goes to Washington for the 21st century", with the show centering on an idealistic young senator from California, coming to grips with Washington and appointed by a scheming, underhanded governor.[4]
The VHS release of Ernest Rides Again featured the opening Saturday Night Live-based short "Mr. Bill Goes to Washington", a spoof of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.
The Simpsons episode "Beyond Blunderdome" includes a parodistic, fake remake of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, authored by a fictional Mel Gibson with Homer Simpson's help. The fictional remake follows the same plot of the original (save for being set in the 21st century) until the final iconic "filibuster scene", replaced with a stock action scene in which a nearly exhausted Mr. Smith suddenly stands up and viciously slaughters every single senator, impaling Senator Payne with an American flag, destroying the Senate and beheading the President of the United States, mockingly quoting Marilyn Monroe's "Happy Birthday, Mr. President".
The Simpsons episode "Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington" is inspired by, and contains several references to Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. The episode deals with Lisa Simpson's disillusionment with Washington government, following her winning a trip to Washington as a prize in an essay contest.
The Simpsons episode "Mr. Spritz Goes to Washington" is also inspired by this film. In it, the Simpsons help Krusty the Clown get elected to Congress in exchange for his help in passing a bill that would move the airport flight path away from their neighborhood. Once in Washington, they find their plans blocked by a corrupt and lazy Congress, until Walter Mondale (who is now a janitor) shows them the tricks to get their bill passed.


document_title: Victoria & Abdul

question_text: where was the movie victoria and abdul filmed

text: Victoria & Abdul

text: Plot[edit]

text: Abdul Karim, a young prison clerk from Agra, India, is instructed to travel to England for Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee in 1887 to present her with a mohur, a gold coin which has been minted as a token of appreciation from British-ruled India.

text: The Queen, who is lonely and tired of her fawning courtiers, develops an interest in and later a friendship with Abdul. She spends time with him alone, and promotes him to become her Munshi as his guardian. She asks him to teach her Urdu and the Qur'an. When Victoria discovers that he is married, she invites his wife and mother-in-law to join him to England. They arrive wearing black Burqas, to the consternation of the household.

text: While Victoria treats Abdul as a son, his preferment is resented by her household and inner circle, including her son Bertie and the Prime Minister. The household plots to undermine their relationship, hoping that Abdul will be sent home. When Victoria embarrasses herself by recounting to the court the one-sided account of the Indian Mutiny that Abdul had told her, Victoria's faith and trust in him are shaken and she decides he must go home. But the following day she changes her mind and asks him to stay. She gives Abdul a bejewelled locket with her photograph.

text: Victoria's interest in India grows, and at her Isle of Wight home of Osborne House, she has the Durbar Room built for state functions, elaborately decorated with carvings by Bhai Ram Singh in an intricate style, and with a carpet from Agra. She hangs portraits of Indians in the House. She tells the household that she intends to give Abdul a knighthood.

text: The Prime Minister is adamant that the royal household must find a way to get rid of Abdul. They research his family background in India, and present Victoria with a dossier to show that his family is more ordinary and poor than Abdul has told her. When Victoria insists her doctor examine Abdul to find out why his wife has not fallen pregnant, he discovers that Abdul has gonorrhea, and rushes to tell the Queen, expecting her to dismiss him in disgust. However, Victoria remains loyal to Abdul and admonishes her courtiers for plotting against him.

text: Eventually the household decides that, if Victoria does not break with Abdul, they will all resign. They also threaten to certify Victoria as insane. When Victoria is told, she angrily summons the entire household to the Durbar Room and demands that anyone who wants to resign step forward. When none do so, she tells them she has decided not to make Abdul a knight, but to include him in her next honours list as a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order.

text: When Victoria falls ill, she urges Abdul to return to India, while she can still provide him with protection. She warns him that when she dies, the court will turn on him, but Abdul insists that he will stay with Victoria until the end of her life. In 1901, Victoria dies, and her son Bertie, now Edward VII, rejects Abdul, burning all the gifts and papers he has received from the Queen, and sending him and his family back to India. Abdul's wife manages to save the locket for him. It is revealed that Abdul lived in India until his death eight years later in 1909. The film ends with Abdul kneeling at a large statue of the Queen close to the Taj Mahal, talking to it and kissing its feet in respect.

text: Cast[edit]

text:
Judi Dench as Queen Victoria
Ali Fazal as Abdul Karim
Eddie Izzard as Bertie, Prince of Wales
Adeel Akhtar as Mohammed
Tim Pigott-Smith as Sir Henry Ponsonby
Olivia Williams as Jane Spencer, Baroness Churchill
Fenella Woolgar as Miss Phipps
Paul Higgins as Sir James Reid, Physician to the Queen
Robin Soans as Arthur Bigge
Julian Wadham as Alick Yorke
Simon Callow as Mr. Puccini
Michael Gambon as Lord Salisbury

text: Production[edit]

text: On 17 June 2016, it was reported that Judi Dench would play Queen Victoria (reprising her role as the Queen from the 1997 film Mrs Brown) in Victoria & Abdul, a film based on the book of the same name by Shrabani Basu. Stephen Frears was set to direct.[3] On 5 August 2016, it was announced that Ali Fazal would play Victoria's confidant Abdul Karim, while the film would be co-produced by Working Title Films and BBC Films, and co-financed by BBC and Focus Features.[4] Focus also handles U.S. distribution rights, while Universal Pictures International handles all other countries. The script was written by Lee Hall, and the producers are Beeban Kidron, Tracey Seaward, Tim Bevan, and Eric Fellner, while the other cast includes Eddie Izzard, Michael Gambon, Tim Pigott-Smith, and Adeel Akhtar.[4]

text: Principal photography on the film began on 15 September 2016, at Victoria's former royal residence Osborne House on the Isle of Wight in the United Kingdom.[5][6]

text: Costumes from the production were on display at Osborne House, from 24 July until 30 September 2017.[7] To capitalise on the renewed interest in Victoria arising from both the film and the concurrent second season of ITV's Victoria television series, the Isle of Wight Tourist Board has created a 'Victoria's Island Trail' encouraging tourists to visit the key locations on the island that have connections to the Queen.[8]

text: The production also filmed at The Chatham Historic Dockyard, Kent on The HMS Gannet and the quayside adjacent to the ship. [9]

text: Release[edit]

text: Victoria & Abdul was released for audiences in the United Kingdom on 15 September 2017, followed by a U.S. general release on 22 September.

text: Reception[edit]

text: On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 66% based on 175 reviews, with an average rating of 6.2/10. The site’s critical consensus reads, "Victoria & Abdul reunites Dame Judi Dench with the role of Queen Victoria — which is all this period drama needs to overcome its imbalanced narrative."[10] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 58 out of 100, based on 34 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[11]

text: In the Women's Voices for Change, Alexandra MacAaron, who rated the movie eight out of ten, wrote that "Judi Dench's Oscar-worthy second turn as Queen Victoria is a poignant portrait of fading power and human connection."[12] Christopher Orr's response from The Atlantic was positive, and he wrote "Victoria & Abdul is worth seeing for Dench's magisterial performance and for Frears's light but sure directorial touch. Just don't mistake it for actual history."[13]

text: Writing for The Independent, Amrou Al-Kadhi was highly critical: "Films like Victoria & Abdul seek to absolve our barbaric behaviour in colonised countries." He criticised the white-washing of the British Raj and the "offensive two-dimensionality" of Abdul's character, who is shown kissing the feet of Queen Victoria and expressing gratitude for being among the "glorious people" of the British Empire.[14]

text: In the Daily Express, critic Andy Lea rated the film two out of five, describing Abdul's character as "disappointingly servile" and criticising the plot as "decent material for a knockabout farce", but praising Dench as "predictably brilliant".[15] In his 4-out-of-4-rated review, Rex Reed in the New York Observer wrote: "Judi Dench gives a touching, majestic performance" and, complimenting the script and direction, he said that "every scene is gorgeous to look at, every shot magnificently detailed and richly framed. And the exemplary performances are as good as it gets in movies today."[16]

text: Accolades[edit]

text:
Year
Award/Festival
Category
Nominee(s)
Result

2017

26th Heartland Film Festival
Truly Moving Picture Award

Stephen Frears

Won

21st Hollywood Film Awards
Hollywood Film Composer Award

Thomas Newman

Won

2018

14th North Texas Film Critics Association
Best Actress

Judi Dench

Nominated

7th AACTA International Awards
Best Actress
Nominated

75th Golden Globe Awards
Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy
Nominated

24th Screen Actors Guild Awards
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
Nominated

38th London Film Critics Circle Awards
British/Irish Actress of the Year
Nominated

17th AARP Movies for Grownups Awards
Best Actress
Nominated

22nd Satellite Awards
Best Actress
Nominated

Best Adapted Screenplay

Lee Hall

Nominated

Best Costume Design

Consolata Boyle

Nominated

71st British Academy Film Awards
Best Makeup and Hair

Daniel Phillips and Lou Sheppard

Nominated

90th Academy Awards
Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Nominated

Best Costume Design

Consolata Boyle

Nominated