Barometer | 25 July 2019

Losing confidence

The government may soon face a vote of no confidence, the second this year. How often do these votes happen — and succeed?

— Since 1945, UK governments have faced votes of no confidence on 23 occasions. Only one of these has been successful — when Jim Callaghan lost by a single vote on 28 March 1979, precipitating the election which brought Margaret Thatcher to power.

— There have been 24 successful votes of no confidence in history, 13 of which were in the latter half of the 19th century.

— Since 1900 there have been only three — that in 1979, and two in 1924 which brought down Stanley Baldwin and Ramsay MacDonald respectively.

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— William Gladstone holds the ignominious record of having lost three such votes, in 1873, 1885 and 1886. But even the third defeat was not the end, and he returned as prime minister in 1892.