Just over twice as many independent candidates stood in the 2024 general election than in 2019. They were also more successful, with six independent MPs elected, whereas none were elected in 2019.
Minor parties also increased their overall vote share in 2024.
This Insight looks at the independent and minor party candidates who stood in the 2024 election to see where and why they have had more success in 2024 than in 2019.
Independent candidates
A candidate standing for election without representing a registered political party is known as an independent.
In the 2024 general election, there were 459 independent candidates (accounting for 10.2% of the total number of candidates). This is more than twice as many as stood in the 2019 election, where there were 224 independent candidates (6.7% of the total).
Overall, independent candidates received 564,095 votes (2.0% of total votes cast). This is an increase from 2019 when independents received 206,486 votes, accounting for 0.6% of total votes cast.
Successful independent candidates
Six independent candidates were elected at the 2024 general election. Five won seats in English constituencies where Labour party candidates came in second place and one gained a seat in Northern Ireland against an incumbent from the Alliance Party.
Of the six independent MPs, only Jeremy Corbyn had previously been an MP, where he represented the constituency of Islington North for the Labour party.
The five candidates who won seats from the Labour party prominently featured their positions on the Israel–Hamas conflict in their campaigns and opposed the major parties’ positions on the conflict.
Although Alex Easton won the North Down seat as an independent, he was previously a member, and the leader of, the Democratic Unionist Party in the Northern Ireland Assembly. He stood unsuccessfully in three general elections before winning his seat in 2024. He resigned from the party in 2021 after 21 years as a member shortly after Jeffrey Donaldson was elected as leader
| Name of winning candidate | Constituency | Vote share | Majority | Second place party |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeremy Corbyn | Islington North | 49% | 7,247 | Labour |
| Alex Easton | North Down | 48% | 7,305 | Alliance Party of Northern Ireland |
| Iqbal Mohamed | Dewsbury and Batley | 41% | 6,934 | Labour |
| Shockat Adam | Leicester South | 36% | 979 | Labour |
| Ayoub Khan | Birmingham Perry Barr | 35% | 507 | Labour |
| Adnan Hussain | Blackburn | 27% | 132 | Labour |
Minor parties
Minor parties are defined here as any party which fielded three or more candidates in the election, except for the following:
- Labour (including Labour and Co-operative)
- Conservative
- Liberal Democrats
- Reform UK
- Green
- Scottish National Party
- Plaid Cymru
- Sinn Féin
- Democratic Unionist Party
- Social Democratic and Labour Party
- Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
- Ulster Unionist Party
Based on this definition, there were 32 minor parties in the 2024 general election.
Number of minor party candidates
681 candidates stood for minor parties (an average of 21 candidates per party) and 444,935 votes were received (1.5% of total votes cast). This was a marked increase from 2019 when there were 19 minor parties (with an average of 9.4 candidates per party) who received 91,110 votes (0.3% of total votes cast). The minor parties with the highest vote share are listed in the table below.
Minor parties with the highest vote share
| Party | Number of candidates | Number of votes | Vote share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Workers Party of Britain | 152 | 210,252 | 0.73% |
| Traditional Unionist Voice | 14 | 48,685 | 0.17% |
| Social Democratic Party | 122 | 33,811 | 0.12% |
| The Yorkshire Party | 27 | 17,236 | 0.06% |
| Independent Network | 5 | 13,663 | 0.05% |
| Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition | 40 | 12,901 | 0.04% |
| Alba Party | 19 | 11,784 | 0.04% |
| Rejoin EU | 26 | 9,235 | 0.03% |
| People Before Profit Alliance | 3 | 8,438 | 0.03% |
| Aontú | 10 | 7,466 | 0.03% |
The Workers Party of Britain won the largest number of votes of any minor party (210,252) and 0.73% of the UK-wide national vote.
George Galloway, leader of the Workers Party of Britain, had won a seat in the 2019 Parliament in the Rochdale by-election in February 2024. However, this seat was regained by Labour in the 2024 election with George Galloway taking second place.
The Scottish Libertarian Party received the smallest number of votes out of the minor parties in 2024; 536 (0.002% of the UK-wide national vote).
Birmingham Yardley was the constituency with the highest percentage of votes for minor parties, with 29.3% going to the Workers Party of Britain.
Average votes per minor party candidate
On average, across all minor parties, there were 625 votes per candidate. The average numbers of votes per minor party candidate are shown in the chart below.
The Traditional Unionist voice fielded 14 candidates and received an average of 3,478 votes per candidate. The People Before Profit Alliance fielded three candidates and received an average of 2,813 votes per candidate.
The Scottish Libertarian Party received the fewest votes per candidate, fielding four candidates with each receiving 134 votes on average.
Candidates in a UK parliamentary election must pay a deposit – currently £500. If they receive at least 5% votes in their constituency their deposit is returned. Of the 681 minor party candidates who stood in the 2024 election, 52 reached the 5% threshold.
Independent and minor party candidates who came a close second
Five Labour MPs had previously large majorities substantially reduced in the 2024 general election by independent and minor party candidates who finished in second place.
The biggest reduction in majority where an independent or minor party candidate came second was in Bethnal Green and Stepney. Rushanara Ali previously won her seat in the former constituency of Bethnal Green and Bow with a 72.9% vote share in 2019, and she won Bethnal Green and Stepney at the 2024 election with a vote share of 34.1%. The independent candidate Ajmal Masroor came second with 30.5%.
Wes Streeting received just over 500 more votes than independent Leanne Mohamed to win Ilford North.
Jess Phillips’s previous majority of 10,700 votes in the former Birmingham Yardley constituency was reduced to 693 in the new constituency with the same name. She narrowly defeated the Workers Party of Britain candidate, Jody McIntyre.
Independent candidates also finished in second place in the Bradford West and Birmingham Ladywood seats won by Naz Shah and Shabana Mahmood.
The reductions in majorities for these MPs in 2019 and in 2024 are shown in the chart below.
About the author: Lewis Hussey is completing an internship with the House of Commons Library. Esme Kirk-Wade is a senior researcher in the Social and General Statistics section of the Library.
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