| Election Name: | February 1974 United Kingdom general election |
| Turnout: | 78.86%, 4.95% |
| Leader1: | Harold Wilson |
| Leader Since1: | 14 February 1963 |
| Party1: | Labour Party (UK) |
| Last Election1: | 44 seats, 44.5% |
| Seats1: | 40 |
| Seat Change1: | 4 |
| Popular Vote1: | 1,057,601 |
| Percentage1: | 36.6% |
| Swing1: | 7.9% |
| Election Date: | 28 February 1974 |
| Country: | Scotland |
| Leader Since2: | 28 July 1965 |
| Party2: | Conservative Party (UK) |
| Type: | parliamentary |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 1970 United Kingdom general election in Scotland |
| Previous Year: | 1970 |
| Previous Mps: | List of MPs elected in the 1970 United Kingdom general election |
| Next Election: | October 1974 United Kingdom general election in Scotland |
| Next Year: | Oct. 1974 |
| Seats For Election: | All 71 Scottish seats to the House of Commons |
| Elected Mps: | List of MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, February 1974 |
| Leader2: | Edward Heath |
| Last Election2: | 23 seats, 38.0% |
| Leader Since5: | 18 January 1967 |
| Popular Vote4: | 633,180 |
| Percentage4: | 21.9% |
| Seat Change2: | 2 |
| Party5: | Scottish Liberal Party |
| Last Election5: | 3 seats, 5.5% |
| Seats5: | 3 |
| Swing4: | 10.5% |
| Image5: | Liberal |
| Leader5: | Jeremy Thorpe |
| Popular Vote5: | 229,162 |
| Percentage5: | 7.9% |
| Seats2: | 21 |
| Swing5: | 2.4% |
| Map Size: | 400px |
| Popular Vote2: | 950,668 |
| Percentage2: | 32.9% |
| Swing2: | 5.1% |
| Image4: | SNP |
| Leader4: | William Wolfe |
| Leader Since4: | 1 June 1969 |
| Party4: | Scottish National Party |
| Last Election4: | 1 seat, 11.4% |
| Seats4: | 7 |
| Seat Change4: | 6 |
See main article: February 1974 United Kingdom general election.
A general election was held in the United Kingdom on Thursday 28 February 1974 and all 71 seats in Scotland were contested.[1] Labour won almost twice as many Scottish seats as the Conservatives, although both main parties suffered a drop in seats and vote share compared to the previous election. The Scottish National Party achieved significant success at the election by increasing its share of the popular vote in Scotland from 11% to 22%, and its number of MPs from one to seven. The had campaigned widely on the political slogan "It's Scotland's oil" following the discovery of North Sea oil off the coast of Scotland.[2] [3] The Liberals also gained vote share, and retained their existing three seats.
When combined with results from across the UK, the election resulted in a hung parliament, the first since 1929. Labour, led by Leader of the Opposition and former Prime Minister Harold Wilson, ended up as the largest party, but seventeen short of an overall majority. The Conservatives, led by incumbent Prime Minister Edward Heath, lost 28 seats (though they polled a higher share of the vote than Labour). Heath sought a coalition with the Liberals, but the two parties failed to come to an agreement and so Wilson became prime minister for a second time, his first with a minority government. Wilson called another early election in September, which was held in October and resulted in a slim Labour majority.
List of MPs for constituencies in Scotland (February 1974–October 1974)
| Party | Seats | Seats change | Votes | % | % change | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40 | 4 | 1,057,601 | 36.6 | 7.9 | |||
| 21 | 2 | 950,668 | 32.9 | 5.1 | |||
| 7 | 6 | 633,180 | 21.9 | 10.5 | |||
| 3 | 229,162 | 7.9 | 2.4 | ||||
| 0 | 16,464 | 0.6 | 0.1 | ||||
| Turnout: | 2,887,075 | 78.86 | |||||