These are graphical representations of the House of Commons showing a comparison of party strengths as it was directly after the 2010 general election and before the 2015 general election: This table shows the number of MPs in each party: Notes:
This is not the official seating plan of the House of Commons, which has five rows of benches on each side, with the government party to the right of the Speaker and opposition parties to the left, but with room for only around two-thirds of MPs to sit at any one time.
List of MPs elected in the general election
The following table is a list of MPs elected, ordered by constituency. As the constituency boundaries changed for this election, the "notional incumbent" column lists the party estimated to have won the seat at the 2005 election, had that election been conducted under the new boundaries. Names of incumbents are listed where they stood for re-election; for details of defeated new candidates and the incumbent who stood down in those cases see individual constituency articles.
Changes and by-elections
After the general election, changes can occur in the composition of the House of Commons. This happens as a result of the election of Deputy Speakers, by-elections, defections, suspensions or removal of whip. Technically, MPs cannot resign. However, they can effectively do so by requesting to be appointed as the Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead or the Crown Steward and Bailiff of the three Chiltern Hundreds of Stoke, Desborough and Burnham, which vacates their seat. The net outcome of all changes at the dissolution of Parliament resulted in four fewer Conservative MPs, two fewer Labour MPs, one fewer Liberal Democrat MP, four more independent MPs, the addition of one Respect MP and the addition of two UKIP MPs. This resulted in a reduction of the actual government majority from eighty-three to seventy-three. Both Respect and UKIP were previously unrepresented in the fifty-fifth Parliament. This was the first time that candidates standing for UKIP had been elected to the House of Commons.
Deputy Speakers
Although Deputy Speakers do not resign from their parties, they cease to vote and they do not participate in party-political activity until the next election.
Eleanor Laing was elected First Deputy Chairman of Ways and Means on 16 October 2013.
By-elections
By-elections are held for seats that become vacant. If a vacancy is created within a certain period of time before the next general election, then a by-election may not be held, with that seat being left vacant for the remainder of the Parliament.
Defections, suspensions and removal of whip
In some situations, the label which MPs sit in the House of Commons under can change. When this happens, MPs often become independents.