A general election was held in the United Kingdom on Thursday 28 February 1974 and all 71 seats in Scotland were contested. 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. 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.
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File:United Kingdom general election 1974 Feb in Scotland.svg ...
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