2005 United Kingdom general election in the context of "Iain Duncan Smith"

The Parliament of the United Kingdom currently has 650 parliamentary constituencies across the constituent countries (England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland), each electing a single member of parliament (MP) to the House of Commons by the plurality (first-past-the-post) voting system, ordinarily every five years. Voting last took place in all 650 of those constituencies at the United Kingdom general election on 4 July 2024.

The number of seats rose from 646 to 650 at the 2010 general election after proposals made by the boundary commissions for England, Wales, and Northern Ireland (the Fifth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies) were adopted through statutory instruments. Constituencies in Scotland remained unchanged, as the Boundary Commission for Scotland had completed a review just before the 2005 general election, which had resulted in a reduction of 13 seats.

The 2010 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 6 May 2010, to elect 650 Members of Parliament (or MPs) to the House of Commons. This was the first election to be held after the minimum age of candidacy was reduced from 21 to 18.

It resulted in the Labour government losing its 66-seat majority to the Conservative opposition; however, with the Conservatives only having 306 elected MPs, this election resulted in the first hung parliament since February 1974. This election marked the start of a Conservative government that would last for 14 years until its ousting in 2024.

The fifth periodic review of Westminster constituencies was undertaken between 2000 and 2007 by the four boundary commissions for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland for the UK Parliament. The changes for England, Wales and Northern Ireland took effect at the 2010 general election; that for Scotland took effect at the 2005 election. Changes were also made to the constituencies and electoral regions of the then National Assembly for Wales (now the Senedd), and took effect at the 2007 Assembly election. All of the recommendations were approved.

A polling place is where voters cast their ballots in elections. The phrase polling station is also used in American English, British English and Canadian English although a polling place is the building and polling station is the specific room (or part of a room) where voters cast their votes. A polling place can contain one or more polling stations. In Australian English and New Zealand English, "polling place" and "polling centre" are used. Americans also use the term voting precinct in some states.

Since elections generally take place over a one- or two-day span on a periodic basis, often annual or longer, polling places are usually located in facilities used for other purposes, such as schools, churches, fire stations, public libraries, sports halls, Gym, Post office, Community centre, Retirement home, local government offices, Metro and Railway Stations or even private homes, Hotel, Bank, Restaurants, Fitness centres, Private Shops, and may each serve a similar number of people. The area may be known as a ward, precinct, polling district, or constituency. The polling place is staffed by officials (who may be called Returning Officers and election judges, or other titles) who monitor the voting procedures and assist voters with the election process. Scrutineers (or poll-watchers) are independent or partisan observers who attend the poll to ensure the impartiality of the process.

The 2005 Conservative Party leadership election was called by party leader Michael Howard on 6 May 2005, when he announced that he would be stepping down as Leader of the Conservative Party in the near future following the party's third successive general election defeat. However, he stated that he would not depart until a review of the rules for the leadership election had been conducted, given the high level of dissatisfaction with the current system. Ultimately, no changes were made and the election proceeded with the existing rules, which were introduced in 1998.

The contest formally began on 7 October 2005, when the Chairman of the 1922 Committee, Michael Spicer, received a letter of resignation from Howard. Nominations for candidates opened immediately, and closed on 13 October.

Sir Sadiq Aman Khan (born 8 October 1970) is a British politician serving as the third and current mayor of London since 2016. He was previously the Member of Parliament (MP) for Tooting from 2005 until 2016. A member of the Labour Party, Khan is on the party's soft left and has been ideologically characterised as a social democrat.

Born in London into a Pakistani family, Khan earned a law degree from the University of North London. He subsequently worked as a solicitor specialising in human rights issues and chaired the Liberty advocacy group for three years. Joining the Labour Party, Khan was a councillor for the London Borough of Wandsworth from 1994 to 2006 before being elected MP for Tooting at the 2005 general election. He was openly critical of several policies of Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair, including the 2003 invasion of Iraq and new anti-terror legislation. Under Blair's successor Gordon Brown, Khan was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government in 2008, later becoming Minister of State for Transport. A key ally of the next Labour leader, Ed Miliband, he served in Miliband's Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Secretary of State for Justice, Shadow Lord Chancellor and Shadow Minister for London.

This is a list of members of Parliament (MPs) elected to the House of Commons at the 2005 general election, held on 5 May. The list is arranged by constituency. New MPs elected since the general election and changes in party allegiance are noted at the bottom of the page.

During the 2005–2010 Parliament, Michael Martin and John Bercow served as Speaker of the Commons, Lady Hayman served as Lord Speaker, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown served as Prime Minister, and Michael Howard and David Cameron served as Leader of the Opposition. This Parliament was dissolved on 12 April 2010.

Dame Priti Sushil Patel (born 29 March 1972) is a British politician who has served as Shadow Foreign Secretary since November 2024, having previously served as Home Secretary from 2019 to 2022. A member of the Conservative Party, she was Secretary of State for International Development from 2016 to 2017. Patel has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Witham since 2010. She is ideologically on the right wing of the Conservative Party; she considers herself to be a Thatcherite and has attracted attention for her socially conservative stances.

Patel was born in London to a Ugandan-Indian family. She was educated at Keele University and the University of Essex. Inspired to get involved in politics by the Conservative prime minister Margaret Thatcher, she was involved with the Referendum Party before switching allegiance to the Conservatives. She worked for the public relations consultancy firm Weber Shandwick for several years before seeking a political career. After she unsuccessfully contested Nottingham North at the 2005 general election, the new Conservative leader David Cameron recommended Patel for the Party's "A-List" of prospective parliamentary candidates.