Low Voter Turnout As British Labour Wins Historic Second Term; Tory Decline Continues

June 8, 2001

British Prime Minister Tony Blair is on track to record a second historic landslide victory over the Conservative Party.

As results now start to flow in, the Labour Party is holding all its seats and has gained at least one more in Wales.

Television network tallies record 131 Labour seats so far, compared to only 1 for the Conservative Party. There are 659 seats in the House of Commons. The Labour Party currently holds 418.

The Liberal-Democrats vote appears to have risen and it has easily held a number of its most marginal seats, including the constituency of Torbay which it won by 12 votes at the last election in 1997.

Voter turnout has fallen dramatically to around 53%. At the 1997 general election, the turnout was 70%. The decline may be attributable to disillusionment with politics, politicians and the nature of political discourse, but may also reflect general contentment with the government and a lack of faith in the Tory Opposition.

Tony Blair has been declared the winner in his northern constituency of Sedgefield.

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