Landslide victory


A landslide victory is an election result in which the winning candidate or party achieves a decisive victory by an overwhelming margin, securing a very large majority of votes or seats far beyond the typical competitive outcome. The term became popular in the 19th century to describe a victory in which the opposition is "buried", similar to the way in which a geological landslide buries whatever is in its path. A landslide victory for one party is often accompanied by an electoral wipeout for the opposition, as the overwhelming support for the winning side inflicts a decisive loss on its rivals. What qualifies as a landslide victory can vary depending on the type of electoral system, as the term does not entail a precise, technical, or universally agreed-upon measurement. Instead, it is used informally in everyday language, making it subject to interpretation. Even within a single electoral system, there is no consensus on the exact margin that constitutes a landslide victory.
A landslide victory implies a powerful expression of popular will and a ringing endorsement by the electorate for the winner’s political platform. A landslide can be viewed by a winning candidate or party as a mandate or a tacit authorization from the public to implement their proposed policies and pursue their agenda with confidence. Emboldened by the result, the winner may undertake ambitious reforms or significant policy shifts to reflect the electorate’s desire for meaningful change. However, it can also indicate deep political polarization in an electorate or an unfair election.
A combination of factors, including charismatic leadership, a favorable shift in public sentiment driven by dissatisfaction with or support for the status quo, strategic electoral campaigning and a positive media portrayal, can create the conditions necessary for a landslide victory. A landslide may fundamentally reshape the political landscape of a country; one example of this phenomenon is Franklin D. Roosevelt's election as US president in 1932. In a post-landslide scenario, a winning party can sometimes implement its policies with little resistance, while its severely weakened opposition may struggle to perform essential checks and balances.

Notable examples

Australia

Local and mayoral elections:
File:2021_Western_Australian_state_election_-_Simple_Results.svg|thumb|Map displaying Labor's landslide victory at the 2021 Western Australian state election. Seats won by Labor are in red, seats won by the Liberals are in blue and seats won by the Nationals are in green.
State and territory elections:
  • 2021 Western Australian state election – Mark McGowan led the Labor Party to win 53 out of the 59 seats in the lower house. The Labor Party had a primary vote of 59.92% and a two-party-preferred vote of 69.68%. The National Party won 4 seats and the Liberal Party won 2 seats, making the National Party the official opposition, the first time they had held this status since the 1940s. To date, the election is the most decisive result at any Australian state or federal election since Federation, in terms of both percentage of lower house seats controlled by the governing party and two-party preferred margin.

    Canada

In a Canadian federal election, a landslide victory occurs when a political party gains a significant majority of the House of Commons of Canada.
Landslide victories may also occur during provincial elections, and territorial elections in Yukon. Landslide victories are not possible for territorial elections in the Northwest Territories, and Nunavut, as its members are elected without reference to political parties, operating as a consensus government.

National landslide victories

The following Canadian federal elections resulted in landslide victories:
Until 1996, New Zealand used the traditional first-past-the-post system as in the U.K. to determine representation in its Parliament. Thus, landslide elections at that time were defined in an identical fashion, i.e. where one party won an overwhelming majority of the seats. Since 1996, New Zealand has used the mixed member proportional system as in Germany, making landslides much less likely.
First past the post
  • – The Liberals won 51 seats and 57.8% of the vote while the Conservatives won 13 seats and just 24.5% of the vote.
  • – The Liberals won 49 seats and 52.7% of the vote while the Conservatives won 19 seats and just 36.6% of the vote.
  • – The Liberals won 58 seats and 53.1% of the vote while the Conservatives won 16 seats and just 29.7% of the vote.
  • – The Reform Party won 55 seats while the Labour & Liberal parties won just 23 seats combined.
  • – The Labour Party won 53 seats while the Coalition won just 19 seats.
  • – The Labour Party won 53 seats while the National Party won just 25 seats.
  • – The National Party won 67 seats while the Labour Party won just 29 seats.

    Samoa

  • 2006 – The Human Rights Protection Party, led by Tuilaʻepa Saʻilele Malielegaoi, won a landslide victory, winning 33 seats, an increase of ten. The main opposition party, the new Samoa Democratic United Party, won 10 seats.
  • 2016 – The Human Rights Protection Party, led by Tuilaʻepa Saʻilele Malielegaoi, won by a landslide victory, winning 35 of the 49 seats in the Legislative Assembly, gaining six seats. The main opposition party, the Tautua Samoa Party only won two seats, losing 11 seats. Independents won 13 seats.

    United Kingdom

In UK general elections, a landslide victory involves winning a large majority in parliament and often goes with a large swing from one party to another as well. Landslide victories have usually occurred after a long period of government from one particular party and a change in the popular mood.
Large majorities, however, are not always the advantage they appear to be. Anthony Seldon gives a number of examples of the infighting that can arise from large majorities. He claims that a "sweet spot" parliamentary majority of 35-50 seats is enough to protect from by-elections and still comfortably pass legislation.
Notable landslide election results
  • 1906 – Henry Campbell-Bannerman led his Liberal Party to victory over Arthur Balfour's Conservative Party who lost more than half their seats, including his own seat in Manchester East, as a result of the large national swing to the Liberal Party. The Liberal Party won 397 seats and a majority of 124 seats, while the Conservative Party were left with 156 seats.
File:UK General Election, 1997.svg|thumb|left|150px|This map shows the Labour Party landslide victory in 1997.
  • 1945 – Clement Attlee led the Labour Party to victory over Winston Churchill's Conservative Party, a 12.0% swing from the Conservatives to Labour. Labour won 393 seats while the Conservative Party were left with 197.
  • 1983 - Margaret Thatcher led the Conservative Party to win a landslide victory with 397 seats and a majority of 144 seats, while the Labour Party led by Michael Foot won 209 seats. Additionally in the popular vote the party finished just two points ahead of the SDP–Liberal Alliance. However, they receive far more seeds due to the first past the post system.
  • 1997 – Tony Blair led the Labour Party to win a first landslide victory with 418 seats and gained an overall majority of 179 while the Conservative Party led by John Major won 165 seats. The swing from the Conservatives to Labour was 10.2% and was the second biggest general election victory of the 20th Century after 1931.
  • 2001 – Tony Blair led the Labour Party to win a second landslide victory with 412 seats and retained an overall majority of 167 while the Conservative Party led by William Hague won 166 seats, making Tony Blair the first Labour Prime Minister to serve two consecutive full terms in office.
File:2019UKElectionMap.svg|thumb|right|150px|This map shows the Conservative Party landslide victory in 2019.
  • 2019 – Boris Johnson led the Conservative Party to win a landslide victory with 365 seats and a majority of 80 seats, while the Labour Party led by Jeremy Corbyn won 202 seats. The election led to 54 Labour seats changing to Conservative predominantly in the Midlands and Northern England – some of which had been held by Labour since the first half of the 20th century.
  • 2024 – Keir Starmer led the Labour Party to win a landslide victory with 411 seats and a majority of 172 seats, while the Conservative Party led by Rishi Sunak won 121 seats